Whiplash Hotel

by Christine Crean

  ‘Don’t worry’ Amy shouted from the kitchen ‘We don’t need any help at all. The women folk will take care of the food’.

  She heard a few laughs coming from the same direction Derek had disappeared towards and suspected that the three men in her family were watching some class of a football game.

  ‘I better leave them to it’

  ‘They’re quieter where they are. I can’t be having them in here under my feet anyway. Sure, they’d have the meat eaten before I even put it on the table’ Sarah laughed

  ‘So, tell me honey, how are you?’ She moved toward her daughter leaving her hand on Amy’s face. Sarah was such a loving mum. She was caring and kind always an ear to listen. When Frank left, she had sent her dinners solidly for two weeks. She had offered to come and stay but knew Amy knew she wouldn’t want to be away from her home and other half. Not pushing it, she did the next best thing she could think of with her dinners and wonderful homemade cakes and buns.

  ‘I’m ok ,Mum. I’m up and down but honestly I’m generally ok’

  ‘Are you sure? You look like you might have lost a bit of weight!’

  ‘Great!’ Amy laughed ‘At least something good will have come from it’

  ‘Are you eating ok?

  ‘I’m eating too much. I don’t think I’ve lost anything at all to be honest. I wish! I’m just busy at work and I’ve gone back to the gym so that must be it’

  ‘Well, we’ll feed you up. You really should come home more. Your father misses you’

  Amy felt a little pang of guilt. She really hadn’t been coming to Loughrea as much as she used to. Amy loved coming home on a Sunday with Frank so when he left, going home just brought back bad memories. As she made a silent promise to herself to make a better effort, her mother announced it was dinner time. She was instructed to gather the men and turn off the match. This she knew, would not go down well. Galway were playing in a hurling match and were on the wrong side of winning.

  After a delicious dinner of roast chicken and potatoes finished with her mothers’ homemade apple pie and ice cream, she thought that a walk around the gardens would go down well. Putting on her jacket, she grabbed her umbrella; sure that it was going to rain. Strolling around, she realised it had been some time since she had walked alone around her parents’ gardens. Wandering around the four acres of well established flowers and plants, she wished that someday she too would have the pleasure of owning such beautiful gardens. She doubted that she would have the patience her father had or indeed the green fingers to maintain it.

  ‘What are you doing out here all on your lonesome?’

  ‘Well nosey, I was just having a quiet walkabout, deliberating how I was ever going to have the time or the patience to have a garden as beautiful as this’

  Amy sat on a bench beside one of the ponds, as her father joined her.

  ‘It takes years and years but you know that’

  ‘Many the good manicure I’ve ruined helping you…’she smiled gently.

  ‘You always did a good job. You should really think about buying a few plants for your own. It would definitely help you…well…you know’

  Seamus never liked to bring up the past. He didn’t like to hurt her any more than she was hurting. He was not a talker anyway, something Amy loved about her dad. He was such a simple man. He had simple wants and was happy so long as he had his wife and his garden.

  ‘I might just do that you know. It would give me something to do on the weekends apart from feel sorry for myself’

  ‘Well you have plenty of space and if you’d like, I can help you pick out some bits and pieces at the garden centre. I have plenty of cuttings that I’ve been growing as well. They’re in the shed….and I’m sure they’d be delighted to go to a nice home?’

  Seamus was such a good man. She was definitely a lucky girl. No matter what she went through, he was always there for her. It wasn’t that they talked in depth on any one thing. He would just sit there and listen. Never ever would he talk about anyone else or any conversation he might have had. Seamus was very loyal. He knew how to listen and in this day and age, that was very difficult to come by.

  ‘I’d be delighted Dad’

  ‘Great, maybe next Saturday we could go. Let me know but no worries if you’ve got something else on’

  ‘Thanks Dad’

  ‘For what?’

  ‘Ah you know. Just for being there’

  ‘That’s what Dads are for’

  Strolling back to the house, it started to rain heavier. Just in time for a cup of tea.

  Arriving outside her house, she noticed a strange looking car parked just off her drive. It was a Peugeot. She didn’t know anyone with that type of car and wondered if they were lost. Stepping out of the car, Frank, stood looking directly at her. Holy Jesus, she thought to herself. Her lovely day ruined. What did he want?

  ‘Hi Amy, it’s good to see you’

  Amy couldn’t say anything at all. Her brain completely failing her, she raised a hand to attempt a hello. She wasn’t angry at all which surprised her. She was stunned. She hadn’t seen Frank in what seemed like years, not weeks. Why was he here?

  ‘I wanted to talk to you about something; do you think we could go inside?’

  ‘Yeah sure’ was all Amy could muster. She couldn’t speak with the shock of seeing him.

  Walking in behind Amy, Frank looked around him nostalgically. He touched the photos on the mantelpiece in the sitting room and sighed loudly.

  ‘What’s this about?’ Amy was almost afraid to ask. Did he want to come back?

  ‘I just wanted to stop by and see if you are ok?’

  ‘You wanted to stop by to see if I’m ok?’ Amy started to get agitated realising that she was less than happy to see her husband, if that’s what she still called him.

  ‘Well yeah’ Frank was a bit sheepish now Amy noted.

  ‘Well now, let me see. You left me two months ago and you are coming to see if I’m ok now? That’s not all you came for is it?’

  ‘Not exactly’

  ‘Well would you like to tell me exactly it is you want? Or I will be telling you EXACTLY where to go!’

  ‘Well,if you are going to be like that...’

  ‘BE LIKE WHAT YOU….YOU ASSHOLE, I haven’t seen you in over two months and you show up out of the blue and you have the cheek to...’

  ‘I want a divorce’ he interrupted.

  Silence. Amy didn’t know whether to throw something in his direction or launch herself at him. Unable to do either, the dizziness set in. Sure she was going to fall over, she sat on the couch so that her legs would not give way, nearly slipping off in the process.

  ‘You want what Frank?’

  ‘You heard me Amy. A divorce. I want a divorce!’ He was being unnecessarily mean with his tone now.

  ‘A divorce’ the words caught in her throat.

  ‘I have the papers here for you sign to get things started but I just wanted to give them to you personally’

  ‘How thoughtful’ Amy spit back sarcastically. With that, Frank left the papers on the coffee table.

  ‘I didn’t want you to get them in the post. I just thought that it might be better coming from me personally’

  ‘As I said, thoughtful! Is that all?’ Amy sneered at him the tears beginning to form at the corner of her eye.

  ‘What do you mean? Isn’t that enough?’

  ‘Is that all you want Frank? Amy replied standing signalling that the conversation was ending.

  ‘Yes Amy but…’ Frank lowered his eyes to the ground.

  Amy bounced towards the door, suddenly getting a burst of energy.

  ‘Well in that case don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out!’

  ‘Em, well you see’

  ‘Look now YOU see…I JUST SAID…if there is nothing else….’ Unable to hold her anger in any longer, she pointed toward the door.

  Frank knew his number was up and scampered into the hall. He attempted to say
something else but knew by the look on Amy’s face that he had better do as she had said. Amy had a temper. Not everyone had seen it but for those who had, suffice to say you did not want to be in the room when she exploded.

  Seeing his new car drive off didn’t make her sad. She was angry. Very, very angry. So angry she started to cry. Angry hot tears. Not knowing what to do, she picked up the phone. She stared at it and put it back down. She had no idea who to call. Sharon? Liz? Sean?

  Dialling Sharon’s number, she paced up and down the kitchen. Opening and closing the fridge door not even knowing what she was looking for. The phone rang and rang. Eventually Sharon picked up.

  ‘Hey Amy, how are’ before Sharon could finish Amy cut in:

  ‘Oh God Sharon, Frank was just here’

  ‘Oh Jesus no, are you ok?'

  ‘Well no, I’m not to be honest. The bastard just asked for a divorce!’

  ‘Jesus Ame, he didn’t! What did you say?’

  ‘I couldn’t say anything…I…I…’ Again, words failed her.

  ‘Oh, I’m so so sorry Amy, I don’t know what to say! Are you by yourself?’

  ‘Yeah, I’m ok though. I just wanted to talk to someone’

  ‘I'd come up to you but I’ve work tomorrow. I’ve a massive project on and I’m going to be even working the weekends for the next month. We are so busy; I’d be shot if I asked for time off! I’m so sorry!’

  ‘Don’t be daft Shar, I’m grand anyway. Don’t be going off feeling guilty now do you hear me! I’ll be ok, I just got a shock and it knocked me’

  ‘I know you will, I just worry for you’

  ‘Well don’t. Look, I’d better go. I’ve another call coming in’

  Amy didn’t have another call. She just couldn’t bear the pity any longer. Not knowing why she had called, she felt even worse now. She doubted it was Sharon’s fault. Hanging up the phone, she sat staring out the window for a while. Unable to cry anymore, she felt numb. Work was definitely off the cards tomorrow. Tom would go mad but the thought of the office for the next few days would do her no good. A few days off sick would do the trick.

  5

  A week later, Amy was still off work. Afraid to face the world, her house became her haven. She spoke to Liz and Sharon but apart from that, she kept to herself. As predicted, Tom nearly had a fit. To her amusement, Mary on reception told her that because she was off Tom had to pony up and do a presentation on Amy’s behalf. Good enough for him, she thought. He actually had to do a bit of work. He probably didn’t know what hit him. She imagined him huffing and puffing, pulling his trousers up by the belt nearly up to his chest. He would pace over and back, yelling at his poor P.A for absolutely anything. Poor Susan really had a cross to bear. Tom was like a child on a good day, Susan almost having to feed him his dinner. Amy didn’t care, as long as she gave in a doctor’s cert he couldn’t say a thing to her. Although she knew that she would probably pay for it when she got back. Never mind, she thought to herself, a few more days feeling sorry for herself on the couch would not go astray.

  It was a week ago to the day that Frank had come to her with his wonderful news. Since that day, while she had been feeling sorry for herself, she had truly come to the realisation that Frank was an asshole. She had given herself to him, she had married him and he had thrashed her heart. He may as well have taken it out of her chest and danced on it. She doubted that it would be more painful than what she had already gone through. Still in her pyjamas and contemplating which of Franks’ body parts she would like to cut off and where she would like to shove it, a knock came to the door.

  Cursing to herself and almost laughing she thought that if it was Frank this time, he really would be leaving minus his favourite accessory. Looking out the window and catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror she did a double take. A shower would not go amiss and indeed neither would a hairbrush!

  ‘Hello’ a familiar voice said at the other side of the door. It definitely wasn’t Frank. Hiding herself she peered through the glass at the side of the front door. It was Sean.

  ‘I know you’re here. Are you going to let me in?’

  ‘I’m not here and no I’m not going to let you in’ Amy announced.

  ‘Come on dumb ass let me in!’ Sean was not about to give up that easily.

  ‘If you don’t let me in, I’m going to give your neighbours something to talk about’

  ‘My neighbours have plenty to talk about with or without you’ Amy gave up and opened the door. She knew he wouldn’t give in.

  ‘Jesus Amy, what happened to you?’

  ‘What do you mean, what happened?’

  ‘I mean, what the bloody hell happened to make you not come into work for the last week! You look like shit and I know for a fact it’s not the flu’

  ‘How do you know it’s not the flu?’ Amy’s defences were up now. Who did he think he was coming in here? She could very well have the flu!

  ‘Right, ok fine, it’s the flu. I came to check up on you’ Sean raised his hands in defeat, his head lowered ‘I hadn’t seen you in a week and I was worried you’d done away with yourself!’

  He started to clear away some of the papers and ice cream cartons from the coffee table. The house stank with take away tray’s and pizza boxes littering the sitting room. Amy conceded that the house was a terrible mess. So was she.

  ‘Well, you can see for yourself that I have not ‘done away’ with myself. I’m alive and well thank you very much’

  She didn’t know what to make of him being here. Was he really checking to see if she was alive or was he on a mission for Tom to see if she was faking it? She doubted it was the latter, as Sean hated Tom as much as she did and the fact that they were ‘friends’, he wouldn’t do that to her.

  ‘Alive yes, well….I’m not so sure about that one. The place is a mess Amy and have you looked in the mirror lately?’ Sean put his hands up again ‘Never mind don’t answer that one’ as he headed towards the kitchen after gathering about five mugs in each hand.

  ‘Look, if you’ve come here to give out holy hell you can go out the same door you came in, right!’

  Amy pointed towards the hall. Sitting on the armchair close to the fire place she folded her arms in a sulk.

  ‘For your information, Ms Connelly, I did not come here to give out. I came here, as I’ve previously mentioned, to see if you are alive. Now that that’s established I think that my next mission will be to fire you into the shower’

  Alarmed Amy jumped to her feet ‘You will no such thing’ her eyes flared with anger ‘I’m perfectly capable of showering on my own’

  ‘Great. Perfect. When you’re done, you can help me clean up this…em…’ Sean looked around him with scratching his head ‘….mess’.

  Amy couldn’t argue with him. The house could do with a clean. Maybe a shower might be nice too. Either way, she guessed to herself she wasn’t about to get rid of Sean unless she complied.

  A half an hour later, Amy found Sean cleaning like a demon. He had hovered her sitting room, kitchen and hall. Both the kitchen and sitting rooms were free of cups, glasses, milk cartons, wrappers and clothes. How had she let the house fall into such a state? She watched him go between the kitchen and sitting room, all business. She vowed she would let down her defences feeling somewhat bad that she had acted like a spoiled child. He had only come to see if she was ok. This was not Frank. He was her friend.

  ‘Sean…’ Sean stopped arranging her magazines on the coffee table and looked up at her.

  ‘Yeah’ His big eyes looked at her with concern.

  ‘Thanks’

  ‘No problem kid’ leaving the magazines he came from behind the coffee table.

  ‘I was worried, really I was. I hadn’t heard from you in a week and I thought I’d done something wrong’

  ‘It’s not you Sean, I promise’ she didn’t mean to make him worry ‘Frank wants a divorce’ she may as well be honest with him.

  ‘I’m so sorry’ he sat bes
ide her now on the couch putting down his cleaning paraphernalia.

  ‘Don’t be. It’s ok. It was really only a matter of time before he wanted it so I guess I have no choice but to get on with it’

  ‘I know, but it can’t be easy’

  ‘It’s not. I just wanted a few days to get my head around it. I couldn’t face work. Everyone was talking as it was’

  ‘Well actually’ Sean began to laugh ‘Sorry to be the one to break it to you but Tom is in the news lately. You are no longer the topic of conversation. He dumped one of the women. She had a mickey fit and landed into the office on Wednesday blinding all over the place’

  ‘STOP it Sean! You are taking the piss?’ she giggled.

  ‘I’m not! I swear. The security guard on reception coving lunch didn’t know who she was and let her go on up to our floor. She only launched herself into his office screaming the building down saying how much of an asshole he was. Tom hasn’t been right since’

  ‘Balls…and I missed that’

  ‘And you missed that’ Sean was still laughing.

  ‘Seriously, no one is going to be talking about anything else for a while’

  Amy smirked thinking about Tom’s face seeing one of his women kicking up on front of the entire staff. Maybe coming back to work might not be so bad after all.

  ‘So listen, never mind Frank and his divorce talk. Come on out for a bit of lunch and a drive. You might even enjoy yourself’

  Amy didn’t relish the idea of leaving the house. For the past week, she really got used to her own company. Regardless, she had to admit, she was hungry.

  As it was such a beautiful day, Sean felt a drive would be the best way to break Amy into seeing the rest of the world again. Connemara was beautiful this time of year. The sea was generally calm and because it was sunny and warm, one could see for miles out into the ocean. Little towns here and there were still littered with tourists, big buses using up all the parking spaces, irritating the locals who just wanted to pop into the shop to get milk. The leaves starting to fall, created a light covering of green and brown on footpaths. One could tell it was a Sunday. Families came out of restaurants together and the weekday hum drum was non-existent. Driving along both Sean and Amy didn’t speak much. Both of them soaked up the peaceful mood, listening to the radio with their windows down and watching their surrounds with passive interest. After an hour, they stopped off at an abandoned beach. Knowing it wouldn’t be like that for long they agreed that a short walk would be nice. Afterwards they would get a bite to eat. Outside the car was a lot cooler than inside Amy thought to herself as a shiver coursed through her body. Seeing that she was shivering Sean took off his jacket placing it over Amy’s shoulders. Wanting to tell him she was ok and that she didn’t need the extra layer, she thought better of it and accepted his offer. It amazed Amy how men seemed hardier than women when it came to the cold! He didn’t even have a goose bump and she was freezing.