Page 3

February 14 – Somerset

The noise crashed through the walls of the office with such force that the half-chewed biros rattled in their dusty mugs and the monitor of Laurie’s ancient computer flickered. Her heart spiked but she didn’t move. She waited. Surely today, of all days, someone else would step up? Her fingers twitched, suspended over the keys. The sounds from the warehouse next door changed to shouting. She glanced up. Everyone was looking at her. Fine. She pushed back her chair, stood and stalked to the door, metaphorically rolling up her sleeves to deal with the inevitable shitstorm awaiting her on the other side.

She was not disappointed.

The warehouse of Somerset Snax was usually in order, Laurie made sure of it. But now it was in chaos. A pallet had fallen off a forklift, discharging five thousand four hundred and forty-six cans of Blackcurrant Bliss to go off like overly tired toddlers at soft play. The concrete floor was a fizzing purple sea of stickiness, and standing in the middle of it all, looking at the ceiling, were three muppets loosely disguised as men.

Laurie didn’t need to be Miss Marple to work out what had happened. One of them – she guessed Kevin due to the colour of his cheeks – had backed the forklift into one of the enormous shelving units, dented one of the supporting uprights and got wedged. Knowing him, he then panicked, and with his limited cognitive function, tipped the pallet of drinks onto the floor as he tried to get out. Now, one of the high shelves was leaning ominously. It was not only a god-awful mess, but a fatal accident waiting to happen.

Despite all the words fighting to exit her mouth, Laurie was at work. She was a professional in an increasingly unprofessional environment, so reluctantly pushed them into the overstuffed room of her mind marked ‘things I want to say to my fuckwit colleagues’, locked the door and forced a smile.

‘Okay. Barry, how about you get a bucket, empty out any half-full cans, then put them in the recycling? Kevin, why don’t you get the mop and start clearing this up? Trevor, can you pick the pallet back up and take it out into the yard? I’ll find the hazard tape and start filing the accident report.’

Barry and Kevin moved off, but Trevor’s feet had stopped working. Laurie watched him looking between the forklift and the damaged shelving above, as he rubbed a dirty hand through the remains of his hair. She gritted her teeth.

‘You help the guys instead, eh?’

He nodded and scurried off; the final rat leaving the sinking ship.

Laurie picked her way gingerly across the floor and climbed up into the cab. It had been designed for a man, so her six-foot frame could be accommodated. But forklift drivers didn’t usually operate them wearing tight pencil skirts and heels. Laurie foolishly believed if she dressed like she belonged in an office, she wouldn’t keep getting called into the warehouse to do other people’s jobs. However, once everyone knew she combined loyalty and perfectionism with the inability to say no, they made sure she was driving the good ship Somerset Snax, whilst they hung out on the back deck drinking beer.

With practiced skill, she got the pallet back on the forklift and drove it into the yard. The icy rain was biting, sending sharp shocks across the back of her hands and slapping into her white shirt. February was always a cruel month on the Mendips, but today was especially bitter. She knew she should go back into the warmth of the office, but also knew if she didn’t chivvy the men along they wouldn’t make the delivery schedule for that afternoon. After Christmas, this was the busiest weekend of the year, and last-minute orders had been coming in all day. So, as ever, she led by example, doing a job she wasn’t contracted or paid to do, whilst Barry, Kevin and Trevor helped by standing too close and staring at her large breasts, as her top turned translucent in the rain.

An hour later, Laurie was in the ladies, holding her sodden shirt against the ineffective dryer and trying to avoid the Valentine’s day decorations tacked to the low ceiling. The door opened with a squeak and a pretty blonde girl breezed in, gliding under the pink balloons.

‘There you are!’ she said.

‘Hey, Stacie.’

‘All sorted?’

Laurie grimaced. ‘I’ve seen worse but it’s under control now.’

She tucked her shirt back in and the two women looked at themselves in the mirror. Stacie was Laurie’s closest friend at work and the two women could not have been any more different. Stacie was petite, blonde, and bubbly. Laurie was tall and full- figured, with brown skin and curly black hair. Right now, she felt like all the fun had been sucked out of her.

‘Sorry I can’t celebrate your birthday with you, Laurie. It’s just, you know, today is so special to me and Nath.’

Laurie forced another smile and nodded. Valentine’s Day was for people like Stacie, not her. Her friend was utterly in love with Nathan, the operations director at Somerset Snax. Laurie hadn’t dated anyone since Scott, and had no illusions about love after his prick burst that bubble with a beauty therapist from Shepton Mallet.

‘You didn’t think of going back to see your family this weekend?’ Stacie asked, applying another layer of pink to her lips.

Laurie took off her glasses to clean them, and retreated into a blurry world. Having a birthday on the 14th of February sucked. No one was free, and everywhere was booked or too expensive. She cleared her throat.

‘Liverpool’s too far for just a couple of nights. And Shelly and Denise said they would take me out.’

Laurie was glad her glasses were off so she couldn’t see the look she knew was on Stacie’s face. Denise and Shelley worked in payroll at Somerset Snax, were in their late fifties, and had fallen out of love long ago. A night out with them always involved vast quantities of alcohol followed by a diatribe detailing the shortcomings of fifty per cent of the population.

‘That’ll be nice,’ Stacie finally managed.

Laurie put her glasses back on and squared her shoulders. She could do this. Turning thirty wasn’t that big a deal.

Stacie took her hand and pulled her out of the bathroom.

‘Come on, Laurie, let’s get back to work.’

Laurie took a breath in and dredged up another smile for her friend. She would get through work and enjoy a night out.

Following Stacie into the office, Laurie stopped in surprise.