Chapter 48
CLIFFORD
‘That bloody cat is a nuisance!’ Clifford yelled, as Cobweb sprinted in front of him, tripping him up. He grabbed at the chair for support and banged his arm. ‘She needs to go before she cripples someone.’
‘There’s no need to yell at her,’ Phyllis said, scooping Cobweb up in her arms and cuddling her. ‘She’s a sweetie. Not a bad bone in her body.’
‘Well, she gives me the creeps. I keep putting her out of my room, but she somehow always gets back in. Every time I wake up she’s there, sitting on my pillow staring at me with those creepy eyes.’ He rubbed his arm. ‘And I bet I’ve got a big bruise now.’
‘Sorry, I try to keep her in my room but she seems to have taken a fancy to you,’ Phyllis said.
‘Well, I haven’t taken a fancy to her! I don’t want her anywhere near me!’ Clifford yelled and flounced off upstairs. He’d have a long soak in the bath to calm himself down, he decided.
But the perishing bathroom was occupied, as usual! Whenever he wanted to use it, one of the women were in there, and Nancy refused point-blank to let him use the ensuite in her bedroom. Only a few months ago it was their bedroom. Now she kept it locked.
‘Can you hurry up in there?’ he shouted, banging on the door.
‘I’ll be out in a few ticks, pet.’ It was that Jackie. She practically lived in the bathroom. The door opened and she stepped out, dressed in just her very skimpy red lace underwear.
Clifford gasped, reddened and averted his eyes. ‘Sorry,’ he stammered.
‘Oh, don’t worry about me, pet. I’m a life model. Doesn’t bother me at all.’ She strolled past him and into her bedroom.
Had she no shame, walking about like that?
Clifford went into the bathroom and locked the door.
A life model, she said, so she actually posed naked!
He shook his head. Nancy certainly had an oddball mix of lodgers staying here.
Hopefully, she would see sense soon, get back together with him and he could throw them all out.
This used to be a quiet, orderly home, and now it was complete chaos.
There was always something going on. And as for that pesky cat…
he swore he’d swing for it if it got into his room one more time.
He started running the bath, squirting some bubble bath into it. He was going to have a nice long soak. Damn, he’d forgotten to bring his dressing gown with him. He left the bath running and went to get it. When he came back the door was locked.
‘Hey, hurry up in there, my bath is running!’ he shouted, banging on the door again.
The door opened, ‘Sorry, I had to nip to the loo,’ Phyllis said, as she came out.
Clifford grunted, went back in and bolted the door firmly.
The bath was full he was pleased to see.
He couldn’t wait to immerse himself in those bubbles; he was so tense he felt like he was about to explode any minute.
A nice, long, hot soak would sort that out.
And if anyone else wanted to use the bathroom, they could jolly well wait.
He turned off the taps, got undressed and climbed into the bath then shrieked. It was frigging stone cold!
He grabbed the side of the bath to scramble out again, slipped and splashed back down, submerging his entire body in the freezing water.
He was going to get pneumonia at this rate.
Teeth chattering, he pulled himself up and managed to climb over the side of the bath.
He reached for the towel to wrap around him and tripped over, stubbing his toe. Ouch!
Had that perishing Jackie woman used all the hot water on purpose?
Or the other woman – Phyllis – turned off the hot tap for a while, so the water would be cold?
One of them had done something, that’s for sure.
They were all working together to try and get him to leave.
Well, he wasn’t going anywhere! He rubbed his sore toe, it was a wonder he hadn’t broken his neck.
Then he recalled Phyllis’s words when she was gazing into the crystal ball. ‘Never stay where you aren’t wanted, or one injury after another will befall you until… well, until it’s too late.’
He shivered. He’d hurt his elbow and his toe today already.
* * *
Clifford was at his wits’ end. Every night he’d been kept awake by that hideous cackling noise, the sinister whispering, or the sodding cat.
Every morning, he was woken by deafening rock music because that guy Slate had band practice with his mates.
When he got up he could never get in the bathroom, because one of the women was always in there, especially that Jackie who had no shame and wandered around the house half naked.
Creepy Phyllis was always reading tea leaves and consulting her crystal ball.
There was no privacy, no calm, no order.
He couldn’t believe that Nancy was happy living in such a terrible set-up.
Whenever he went into the kitchen, someone’s washing was always in the machine, or dinner in the oven, and he could never find a clean cup or plate.
As for Nancy, she totally ignored him. She never asked him if he wanted a drink, something to eat, anything ironed.
It seemed that as far as she was concerned she’d given him a bed – if you could call it that – to sleep in and that was it.
When Nancy was out at work there was always one of the others home so he got no peace.
Jackie’s daughter had visited the other day and her grandkids had chased each other up and down the stairs, even wandered into his room when he was trying to catch up on sleep.
The cat was constantly tripping him up, it’s a wonder he hadn’t broken a bone. The box room was so crowded that he could barely get to his bed – and the other night a suitcase had fallen off the top of the wardrobe and just missed his head. It was a nightmare.
Clifford went to see his solicitor for advice, but was told quite clearly that there was nothing he could do.
‘You agreed not to make any claim on the house. You signed a financial agreement that neither of you would ever have any future claim on the other’s money.
It was cut and dried and everything was instigated by you.
The final order has been granted and will arrive any day.
It must be delayed in the Christmas post.’ Ellen looked at him sternly over her glasses.
‘You’re lucky that your ex-wife is allowing you to stay there. Are you paying rent?’
Clifford shook his head.
‘Then you don’t even have lodger’s rights. Mrs Marshall could call the police and have you removed any time she wanted. Alternatively, she could change the locks so that you can’t get in. She’d be perfectly within her rights.’
‘But I wasn’t thinking clearly. I think I had some sort of mental breakdown!’
Ellen adjusted her glasses. ‘You were thinking clearly enough to wipe the bank account and file for a divorce,’ she pointed out.
‘I didn’t realise…’
‘I suggest that you find yourself a new home to rent as soon as possible, Mr Marshall, before your ex-wife decides that she’s had enough and kicks you out.’
He didn’t want to move out and start paying rent and he had no money to buy a place.
How stupid he’d been to let Nancy keep the house.
Yes, it would have to be sold, but there would be enough left for her to buy a little flat.
She would be okay, she would have a roof over her head, a home.
Whereas, he had nothing. What had possessed him to give it all up and take off like that?
He had to stick it out. Maybe Nancy would come around in time. After all, he’d only been back just over a week.
He walked around for ages, made a visit to a couple of estate agents but the rents were so high. And there was nothing he liked.
He’d been an idiot.
When he arrived back at the house, it was in total darkness, but there were a couple of cars on the drive, one he didn’t recognise. He guessed one of the lodgers had visitors. Again.
He went inside, flicking the hall switch on. Then he heard the murmur of voices from the living room. He pushed open the door and reached for the light.
‘Don’t put the light on. You’ll frighten the spirits!’ Phyllis called.
Clifford blinked. Slowly the room came into focus. Sitting around the candlelit table was Phyllis and another woman. And on the table was a Ouija board.
‘Ah, Clifford, just in time. Raymond’s here. He has a message for you…’
Raymond! Even now his older brother’s name made him tremble. He had bullied Clifford mercilessly when they were young and they had never got on. Clifford had been relieved when Raymond had died some years ago.
‘Raymond?’ he repeated in a shaky voice.
‘What do you want to say to Clifford, Raymond?’ Phyllis asked.
Clifford watched transfixed as the glass on the Ouija board started moving. Phyllis called out the letters and the other woman wrote them down.
‘What did he say?’ Clifford stammered.
‘He said, “Leave Nancy alone if you know what’s good for you,”’ the other woman read out.
Clifford slammed the door shut, ran upstairs, packed his bags and drove off. He didn’t want to spend another night here. He would book into a B&B for the night then find himself a flat tomorrow. He’d had enough.