LITMIR.BIZ

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Chapter 7

       The Outsider

      Sally waited at the door wagging her tail, knowing her master was approaching; she knew him by his walk, by the sound of his breathing, by his smell. Parker walked in and was greeted with an extremely happy Labrador Retriever. Sally was his life companion, his best friend, the one who would never forsake him. Parker and Sally had met almost seven years earlier and it was love at first sight, they needed each other and they knew it.

      His house was a true reflection of his character, books on every surface, a stack of black leather notepads teeming with words, a small brown sofa which was obviously Sally’s favourite place to sit, judging by the layer of golden fluff on it. He fed Sally immediately, and as soon as she had finished her food he took her for a walk, walking past the museum that he had returned to this town for. He saw Abbey leaving work and walked over to her.

      ‘Abbey, this is my Sally.’ Abbey turned and smiled at the dog, a big full smile, Parker had not seen that smile before, he felt just by looking at it that he was invading her privacy; it was not intended for him. Abbey knelt down and rubbed the dog’s ears affectionately.

      ‘She’s lovely … Parker, I hope I didn’t offend you earlier. I was worried when you rushed off.’ She looked at him seriously while he racked his mind for what she could be referring to.

      ‘Oh no, you didn’t, I had to dash. I’m sorry but she barely forgave me for coming home late last night, I wouldn’t want to be in trouble two nights on the trot. I thought I could make it home and back before you left.’ He wasn’t lying. He had explained earlier how Sally had been so unimpressed with his late arrival the night before she had left a present for him on the living room floor. ‘I um … I wanted you to meet Sally.’

      ‘I see. Well, then, I understand completely.’ She beamed at him, the same smile she had used just moments before, he hoped she couldn’t notice his cheeks flushing in this light.

      ‘Can we walk you home?’ Parker asked. Abbey took Sally’s lead from him, her warm fingers brushing against his hands. He smiled back and put his hands in his pockets, walking behind them.

      Parker wasn’t good with people, he knew it, they knew it; unless you were two hundred years old and furry then there was little chance of him being able to connect with you on any level. Parker was deliberately aloof. He didn’t like people to get too close, he didn’t like the idea of anyone seeing beneath the veneer, the thin layer of personality that was between his mind and the rest of the world. This had been true for almost everyone he had ever met, but this girl, Abbey, was different.

      Parker watched as Abbey kept her distance from him, head turned firmly away, he knew she didn’t want to get close to him, she was just as happy as he was with prolonged silences – normally people feel the need to fill them with idle talk about God knows what. In some ways Parker was a little offended by her lack of interest in him, he was used to people wanting to understand him, which was funny because they never could, he made sure of that. Maybe there was something about dealing with the dead that made people like them bond, a kind of salute to a fellow enthusiast. But no, that wasn’t it, she was different. He recognised the signs of a broken spirit immediately; the way she held herself told him more than any amount of words could. He didn’t want to put her off, she had a sweetness about her. She wasn’t like most of the girls he met, she was quiet, insular and guarded. He knew it wouldn’t take much to push her away but he liked her for her shyness and he liked her instinct to be wary of people – he understood that feeling all too well.

      Parker felt strange walking with Abbey. Again they did not talk, just walked, with her holding on to Sally’s lead and Sally happily accepting her new controller as she bounded towards the river with her usual zeal. They crossed the Iron Bridge and headed towards the town, past the smattering of old pubs and tattoo shops that were long overdue for some cosmetic attention. This time it was Parker who felt the need to fill the silence as he searched his mind for a topic.

      ‘Have you worked at the museum long?’ Best to stick to talking about work.

      ‘Five years,’ she said, and that seemed to be the end of the conversation as she crossed the busy road and headed down South Street. He increased his pace to catch up with her.

      ‘And you have no professional qualifications?’ She looked at him with a raised eyebrow then turned and carried on walking. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean that to sound rude, you really have done a great job, not that you need my approval or anything.’ He should probably shut up now.

      ‘Well it’s not a well-funded museum, a friend of a friend got me the interview and I just convinced the director, Mr Lowestoft, that I knew what I was doing, they get to pay me a lot less than the going rate and I get to do the job I love. I know taxidermy isn’t very fashionable any more but …’ She turned back and smiled at him. He could tell she really did love the job, he had looked over the work she had done so far and been impressed.

      Abbey stopped outside a dusty weather-beaten black door, she handed the leash back to Parker.

      ‘Say thank you, Sally,’ he said to his dog, who was still panting vigorously at Abbey.

      ‘I would invite you in but I’m not allowed animals in the building.’

      ‘I wouldn’t call myself an animal!’ Parker displayed his best mischievous smile in an effort to get her to reciprocate. She didn’t. She just looked at her feet uncomfortably. She took her keys out and entered the building as he stood and watched.

      ‘See you tomorrow,’ he heard through the door, and breathed a sigh of relief. He looked down at Sally who was panting far too much considering they had barely walked three miles.

      ‘Yeah, I like her too,’ he said to Sally as he tugged at her lead, prompting her to carry on walking.

      The next morning he found himself walking past Abbey’s door on the way to work, it was not on his route but something compelled him to make it part of his course. He arrived at work before her and had to wait for her to arrive before he could get into the rooms they needed to work on today. Gemma, the girl on the front counter, was just settling into her seat for the day. ‘Hey!’ she proclaimed, a little louder than she needed to. He walked over.

      ‘I’m Parker, I work in the archives.’ He offered his hand. Gemma was one of those people who were friendly to everyone, an overabundance of chirpy goodwill seemed to flow from her every pore. He guessed that’s why she was on the front desk.

      ‘I wondered when you were finally going to introduce yourself to me. How are you getting on? Those rooms creep me out, all those dead things, ew.’

      ‘At least they don’t talk back.’ He smiled awkwardly and she laughed louder and harder than his quip deserved. He noticed Shane watching him from across the room. When they thought no one was looking, he knew Gemma and Shane would sneak into the back rooms for some privacy. He could feel Shane’s jealous eyes ablaze with anger.

      ‘You getting on OK with Abbey?’ she finally said when she calmed down, and he could tell she was asking even though she already knew the answer, and there was a hint of mocking in the way she said Abbey’s name. He realised for once he wasn’t the strangest person in the building.

      The women who worked in the canteen could be heard gossiping almost non-stop when you were at their end of the building. Sometimes he caught the words but mostly it was the sound of inane exchanges, last night’s soap operas, who was leaving ‘the jungle’, anything to make the time go by. Shane and Gemma would huddle together no matter what they were doing, either fighting or flirting, always in a whisper. Mr Lowestoft was occasionally seen roaming the halls looking at the progress and talking to the decorators who had somehow become invisible. Between the lady who gave the tours on the days they had school visits and the porters who moved the artefacts around silently when no one was looking, Parker realised he had never really seen anyone else talking to Abbey. The reason he got on so well with Abbey, if you could call it that, was because they were both the outcasts. In fact, for once, he thought it was possible he was the normal

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