by R. H. Dixon
NIGHT NIGHT
R. H. DIXON
www.rhdixon.com
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Copyright © 2016 R. H. Dixon
Big marshmallow creations lay scattered about inside the shop. Some propped against the walls and others lying flat. Some exposed and others adorned in neutral cottons and deep satins. Faye could imagine how comfy they would be to lie on, unlike her own mattress. She rubbed her back. How it had happened, how the mattress had ended up in such a state, was all quite bizarre really. On Sunday night when she’d gone to bed everything had been fine, but somewhere between Monday morning and Monday night that had all changed. Suddenly bed springs were poking through the sateen fabric, biting tender skin, bruising. She’d called to Neil and he’d come upstairs to have a look. He’d scratched his head in bewilderment, eventually offering to sleep on the couch if she wanted to use his side of the bed instead. But she soon discovered that his side was no better than hers. In the end she’d slept on the couch and Neil had made do with the floor. The sleeping arrangement simply wouldn’t do for another night, they needed a new mattress as a matter of urgency.
In recent weeks, on her way to and from work each day, Faye had noticed a new bed and mattress store called Sleep Rite, which was located down a side street not far from where she and Neil lived. Hoping to be able to buy a mattress and have it delivered that very same evening, she dropped by on her way home. Chimes above the shop door ting-a-linged, a soft dream-catcher sound, when she entered and panpipe music played from speakers somewhere above. There was a sweet and pleasant smell, like Battenberg cake, hanging in the air. Faye pressed against a mattress to her right to test its spring-ability and, at the same time, caught the eye of the shop assistant.
‘Evening,’ the shop assistant said, flashing a smile and making her way over.
The other woman’s gait was slow and goose-like, Faye thought. She looked to be in her late-fifties, had a slender face, large pinked lips, small dark eyes and, although her arms and midriff were slender, she had the biggest hips Faye had ever seen. An already tight-fitted pencil skirt was pulled taut at the seams and looked fit to burst.
‘Evening,’ Faye said, returning the smile.
‘How may I help you today?’ A badge affixed to the shop assistant’s blouse suggested her name was Maggie and, at such close proximity, Faye realised it was Maggie who smelt of almond paste.
‘I’d like to buy a mattress please.’
‘Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place.’ Maggie’s words were croaky, but not at all dry in their context. ‘Was there anything in particular you had in mind? Orthopaedic, memory foam, luxury, budget…?’
‘To be honest I’m not fussy,’ Faye said. ‘I mean, if there’s anything I could have delivered this evening, that would be super.’
Maggie smiled; her teeth small and pointy on large, bulbous gums. ‘Absolutely, I reckon we’ll be able to slot you in. We’ve got most mattresses in stock out back, all ready to ship out. Do you live locally?’
Faye confirmed that she did and went on to choose a white memory foam mattress with champagne piping. She paid by credit card and gave Maggie her address. Maggie advised that Gordon the delivery driver would have the mattress out by no later than 7pm. Faye said that was perfect and left, already looking forward to bedtime.
After only a couple of days had passed she and Neil awoke one morning with small, itchy lumps. The rashes were confined to their ankles and wrists at first, but after a few more days passed the sores had spread to their midriffs, backs, arms and legs.
‘Right, that’s it,’ Faye said at the breakfast table one morning, rubbing an angry red welt beneath her ribcage, ‘I’m going back to Sleep Rite to make a complaint. It can’t be a coincidence that we’ve both broken out in sores since we got the new mattress.’
‘Yeah. Maybe there are allergens in the fibres,’ Neil suggested.
Faye nodded and scratched her back.
When she finished work later that day she called to the bed shop as planned. Inside the showroom the air smelt of almonds again. She looked around to see if she could see Maggie and, as it happened, an enormous bottom was sticking up from behind a bed display. Recognising it at once, Faye marched over. ‘Good afternoon.’
Maggie stood up straight, red in the face from fiddling with the folds of a valance sheet, her eyes fidgety and quick like a fly’s. ‘Oh, er, afternoon, madam, how may I help you today?’
‘You might remember that I bought a mattress here almost a week ago?’
‘Ah yes, of course.’
‘Well, the thing is, my husband and I are covered in some sort of itchy rash.’
Maggie looked vague, so Faye hitched up her blouse to reveal some of the angry red marks on her body.
‘Deary me, that’s not good at all, is it?’ Maggie gasped.
‘Well, no. No it’s not,’ Faye agreed.
‘I must apologise whole-heartedly, I’ve never known anything like it. How about if we send out a replacement? You can choose a different brand if you’d prefer and I’ll ensure it gets out to you by this evening, if that would be convenient.’
‘Yes absolutely, that would be very kind.’ Faye nodded her approval, relieved that Maggie was being so accommodating. She had a mosey about the showroom again and chose a similar mattress to the last one, only this time she opted for one that clearly stated ‘Allergen Free’ on its list of specifications. It should have cost an extra fifty pounds, but Maggie said she would waiver the charge. And so Faye took her new delivery note and left the shop, again feeling pleased with herself.
As she got into her car, thinking how happy Neil would be with the new bargain mattress, she looked up and saw a big sign in Sleep Rite’s window: Closing Down.
Damn!
Faye had been so preoccupied when she’d arrived that she hadn’t noticed the sign on her way in.
Biting her lip, she thrummed her fingers on the steering wheel for a while, thinking. The bed shop was a small independently run business, if it was closing down where would she go to if she experienced any sort of problems with the new mattress? She couldn’t afford to lose the money she’d already forked out.
After a further few minutes of internal debate, she stepped out of the car again and headed back to the shop, having made the decision to cancel the second order and ask for her money back. But when she tried pushing the door inwards she found it was locked. A sign behind the glass stated that opening hours were between 9-5:30. Faye checked her wristwatch. 5:33.
Damn!
She’d hoped to get everything sorted before the new mattress was dispatched, because she didn’t want to have to deal with a grumpy delivery man when she had no choice but to refuse the order. Surely Maggie couldn’t have left the premises already, though. But if she had the delivery driver must be around somewhere. Faye reckoned she could at least try explaining the situation to him before he loaded up. With a brisk pace, she headed round to the back of the shop.
And saw the Sleep Rite van parked up.
Phew!
Crossing the moss-covered yard, Faye noticed several empty beer cans lying about the place and three mouldy mattresses propped against the wall. She frowned at the sloppiness of it all, immediately reassured that she was indeed making the right decision to cancel her order. At the back door she raised a hand to knock, but then heard a strange strangulated noise coming from within. Leaning slightly to the left, she peered through a small dirt-streaked window, expecting to see Maggie lugging a mattress about or shoving a heavy bedstead across the stockroom. What she actually saw was Maggie squatting over a mattress, panting profusely, with her skirt pulled up around her waist. The older woman’s forehead was beaded with sweat
and her hair was damp, clinging to her face. Unprepared for the sight, Faye clamped a hand over her mouth and watched in horror as globules of pulsating creamy-white rice shaped things fell from Maggie’s bottom onto the mattress.
Keeping her hand firmly in place, Faye retched and watched as the delivery driver, a tall man called Gordon in green overalls, stepped into the stockroom.
‘How’s it going, Mags?’ he asked. He looked like a giant greenfly, Faye thought; his limbs all spindly and his eyes small and black.
Maggie straightened up and pulled her skirt back down over her hips. She wiped the back of her hand across her forehead. ‘This one’s about ready to go. I haven’t lain as many this time, I think I overdid the last one.’
‘Surely not.’
‘The customer came back not long since, complaining that she and her husband were covered in rashes. This one needs to go out as a replacement.’
Faye’s eyes widened even further and she fought harder to keep her semi-digested lunch down. What in the hell was she witnessing? She forced herself to stay by the window, to listen to what else Maggie had to say.
‘I must admit, I didn’t think I had lain too many last time,’ Maggie went on. ‘But I swear our offspring are getting more and more aggressive, Gordon. We’ve had a lot more complaints this time around. I mean, we’ve not been here six months and already we need to move on.’
The delivery driver shook his head. ‘Maybe they’re mutating like we did?’
‘We didn’t mutate, Gordon. It was an accident. Besides, we’ve been spawning for years now and nothing this bad has ever happened before. I’m telling you, something is changing. I can feel them all inside of me, clawing and pinching. And I swear they’re getting more and more brutal. One customer came in and her skin was practically down to the bone on her ankle. I had to fob her off. She told me she’d be taking legal action, so we really need to shut up shop in the next couple of days.’
The delivery driver nodded. ‘Yeah, we will. We’ll take all the money and run. Perhaps go continental for a while. France could always do with more bed bugs.’
‘I’m not sure I can do this anymore…I’m scared, Gordon.’
‘Why ever for?’
‘What if one of these days they eat me from the inside out?’
‘Nonsense! How on earth could they do that? They haven’t even hatched when they’re inside of you.’
Maggie sounded hysterical now. ‘Aren’t you listening to me? They’re changing. I can feel them.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous, that’s not even…’
‘You don’t know what it’s like.’
Gordon’s face reddened and his thin lips became tight. ‘Well what do you suggest we do, Margaret?’
Maggie looked down at her feet. ‘I…I don’t know. I just want to be normal again.’
‘Well that’s not going to happen, is it? I thought you loved me? I thought we said that we could do this together…’
‘I do…and we did.’ Maggie looked him in the eye, her entire demeanour dejected. She nodded. ‘I’ll be okay, Gordy. I’m just scared that’s all.’
Gordon moved over and kissed the top of her head. ‘Don’t be daft, dumpling, I’m here for you, aren’t I? Now chin up, there’s a good girl. Give me a hand with this mattress and I’ll get it moved out.’
Maggie nodded, her small black eyes glassy like buttons. ‘Alright.’
‘Tell you what,’ Gordon said, putting his hands beneath one end of the mattress, ‘I’ll try and get the other four deliveries out this evening eh? Then we’ll head off tonight. We’ll go wherever you like. You can choose this time.’
She smiled thinly. ‘Sure, Gordy, whatever you say.’
Faye turned away from the window and this time couldn’t hold back, she spattered the doorstep with a rush of sour nausea that burnt the back of her nose. For a while she couldn’t move; frozen to the spot by fear and disbelief. Her skin felt like it was crawling, a million microscopic bugs scuttling about on the underside of her epidermis, and the rashes on her body felt suddenly itchier. She wanted to go home and jump into a bath full of neat bleach, to scrub off the first layers of her skin entirely. She wanted to rip off the bedding and throw it in the bin. She wanted to take the mattress and…
The mattress!
She needed to get home to stop the imminent delivery of the second one. No way could she accept it into her house, didn’t even want to speak with the delivery driver. She would pretend she wasn’t home, hide behind the curtains until he left. To hell with the money she’d lose. Once he’d left, she’d get Neil to help her lift the other mattress into the garden and they would burn it. She had no idea what to tell Neil though, how she’d explain the situation. He’d never believe it if she told him the owners of the bed shop were humanesque bed bugs. In fact, talk like that could get her sectioned.
When she arrived home she went inside and stood quietly in the hallway for a moment, contemplating. And that’s when she heard Neil’s voice drifting from the lounge. ‘I know, Sally, I know,’ she heard him say. ‘You can come round again as soon as she’s not in. I promise.’
Sally?
She was a colleague of Neil’s. He’d mentioned her name before. In fact, he’d been on a two-night work trip with her around four months ago.
‘I know it’s hard, babe,’ he went on. ‘But we’ll be together again. Soon.’
Faye’s chest felt like it might cave in. She leant against the partition wall, her thoughts making her feel dizzy.
‘Yeah, last Monday certainly was fun,’ he was saying now. ‘Why don’t we do it again? She’s working late next Thursday. Let’s take a flyer, spend all day in bed again. What was that? Oh the mattress.’ Neil laughed. ‘Don’t worry, we’ve got a new one. We’d better be careful next time, though, else she might cotton on. I mean, don’t get me wrong, babe, I love it when you’re wild, but maybe we should tone it down a little.’
That was as much as Faye could stomach, she rushed upstairs to the bathroom and emptied the rest of her stomach into the toilet bowl. At the sink she splashed cold water onto her face and decided she couldn’t stand the thought of being under the same roof as Neil or the bug-riddled bed for a moment longer. She went to the spare room and took a holdall from the cupboard then threw in some clean underwear, which had been airing on the radiator, and a few toiletries from the bathroom. That would have to do. She couldn’t bring herself to go into the main bedroom for other overnight supplies because that’s where the bugs were. And that’s where Neil had shagged Sally.
At the top of the stairs she swung the holdall over her shoulder and watched as Neil came out of the lounge into the hallway. He looked up and saw her, then froze in shock.
‘Faye?’
She forced a smile. ‘Hey, I didn’t realise you were in.’
‘Oh.’ He eyed the holdall suspiciously. ‘Where are you off to?’
‘My folks’ for the night. Uncle Dave’s up north, so we’re having a little family gathering. You don’t mind, do you?’
Neil shook his head, looking more relieved than he should have. ‘No, no that’s fine, love. But, your Uncle Dave? You didn’t mention anything before...’
Faye rolled her eyes and huffed. ‘I did. The other day. Obviously you were too engrossed in the football, you never listen to a bloody word I say.’
Neil looked sheepish as she stomped down the stairs. ‘Oh. I honestly didn’t hear you, love.’
‘Well, I won’t be back till tomorrow night. I hope you won’t get too bored without me.’
‘I’m sure I’ll find something to do.’ He shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, but Faye could tell that his mind was already dancing with mischief.
He leant over to kiss her as she walked past, but she turned her head so he caught her on the cheek instead. ‘Bye then,’ she said.
‘Yeah, see you tomorrow night.’
Once outside, Faye called back to him, ‘Oh I almost forgot, I ordered a new mattress today and it’ll b
e arriving around seven-ish. You’ll be in for it won’t you?’
Neil’s face lit up. ‘Yeah, yeah, of course, that’s great. I’m not going anywhere.’
‘Great. I hope it’s comfy enough for you.’
‘Oh I’m sure it will be,’ he said, grinning.
Faye flung her holdall into the back of the car then sat in the driver’s seat. She bit down hard on her lip to suppress tears that were building. Tears of anger. She wondered how long her husband’s bed-wrecking affair had been going on for. Her fists clenched tightly. Instead of going straight to her folks’ house, she made a slight detour – to Sleep Rite via the speed bank. When she pulled up outside she was pleased to see the delivery van parked up. She banged on the shop’s door and a few moments later both Maggie and Gordon came into view. Maggie looked worried and Gordon looked irritated.
Faye waved and flashed her friendliest of smiles, even though she felt physically sick just looking at the pair of them. She watched as Maggie and Gordon exchanged words, then after a few arm-flapping and head-shaking moments between the two, Maggie walked to the door and unlocked it.
‘Evening madam, is everything alright?’
‘Oh I hope I’m not being a bother,’ Faye said, ‘but I’d like to discuss the replacement mattress I ordered earlier.’
Maggie’s eyebrows arched questioningly. ‘But it’s already loaded onto the van…’
‘The thing is,’ Faye interrupted, ‘I’m not sure it’ll be suitable anymore.’
At this, Gordon stormed over to join the two women at the door. ‘And why wouldn’t it be suitable anymore?’ he demanded, his skinny face red and black eyes like pieces of coal.
‘Because I’d like an upgrade,’ Faye said, grinning.
‘Oh, but I’m not sure…’ Maggie began to say before falling quiet.
Faye had reached into her handbag and pulled out an envelope full of notes. ‘I’ll make it worth your while,’ she said.
Ten minutes later, after a small amount of persuasion and a few threats, Faye was walking back out of the bed shop £500 lighter – and, despite the fact she was now absolutely skint, the spring was definitely back in her step. She went to her folks’ house, telling them that she and Neil had had a fight and that he’d been seeing someone behind her back. They were full of sympathy, waiting on her hand and foot all night. They made up her old bed too, which was big and comfy and soft, but unbeknown to them she slept on the floor.