Chapter 1
The curtain fluttered lightly as the gentle breeze blew in through the open window, she loved days like this, it was going to be a beautiful sunny summer day, it wasn’t going to be overly hot and the best part that she loved about days like this, was that it was her day off.
God bless Rostered Days Off. R.D.O’s were a blessing from heaven.
Rebecca Peterson worked as an assistant lab technician. She wasn’t an extravagant person she wore simple clothes, she was thrifty at saving her pennies for that rainy day and she was glad she had done so, it had given her a home she was proud to call her own, she was an extremely organised person both at work and at home she paid her bills on time, every item in her pantry stacked and labelled in containers, her wardrobe was compartmentalised into functionality and colour.
Each morning before work she got up at five to go for a two kilometre run completing her run with a yoga session and a hot shower before sitting down at her kitchen table to a bowl of All Bran topped with sliced banana, all swimming in skim milk that had been fortified with calcium and vitamin D. An energy tablet completed her breakfast being washed down with a glass of V8 veggie juice.
At preciously seven forty five she would exit her small two bedroom unit in the suburbs walking a brisk eight minutes to the train station, waiting two minutes if the train was on time for the seven fifty five train to the city, sitting she would travel a further two stops checking and updating her facebook page on her mobile then getting off to walk a further five minutes to her work.
Weekends were spent meticulously cleaning her home and shopping at the market for organic produce before spending the rest of the weekend with friends and family.
Her RDO’s were usually spent cycling, swimming or at the local gym working on building muscle tone.
But today she felt different she blamed it on the gorgeous day it was going to be, she felt a buzz inside her, she just knew it was going to be one of those fantastic days you remembered for a long time. She felt like doing something a little reckless, something a little different than frequenting the one or two suburbs that she had called home recently.
She stretched her limbs and climbed out of bed padding her way to the bathroom and showering, with her towel around her she looked in her wardrobe trying to decide what to wear, all the clothes were the same, her work clothes were functional they weren’t over the top. Her normal clothes were purchased for practicality something that she could wear by day and with a few accessories by night.
Deciding on jeans and a top she grabbed a pair of sandals and looked at herself in the full length mirror that sat in the corner of her bedroom, she grumbled at her outfit and went back to her wardrobe, there was really nothing in her wardrobe that said ‘I am a female and today is summer’, she wanted something that was yellow perhaps something with flowers. She had nothing of the sort, nothing that came even close.
That was it she thought, she was going shopping and not to the closest Kmart either not even Target for that matter. Nooo she was going to go to one of those really expensive exclusive stores in the city to buy herself a dress, one of those stores that waited on you, she wanted to feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when they waited on her hand and foot.
The more she thought of it, the more she got excited, hell she might even buy herself some shoes to go with it, to hell with her budget, today she was going to be frivolous. She gave out an excited giggle.
She ran into the kitchen and wolfed down her usual All Bran and went to put her bowl in the sink to wash it, and she laughed reminding herself she was going to be frivolous today, to hell with the bowl it would still be there later and she giggled some more as she went out the door.
Catching the train she willed it to go faster it was full of business men and women heading into the city to do a full days work for probably her whole months pay but she didn’t care, today was her day.
He tugged the tie tight around his neck and checked himself in the hotel mirror, two business meetings and a video consult with head office deciding on their next course of action. Depending on how the two meetings went depended on whether he would be staying a few more days in Melbourne or taking the flight that had been booked to leave for Sydney at midday the following day.
He hated the travelling, he had been all over the world but never really seen it, sure he had seen it from afar from the plane window or the window of a car as he was chauffeured past any landmark, living out of a suitcase sucked, he never emptied it, not entirely, he would get home and his assistant would restock it with fresh attire and toiletries, she was more a maid but he felt that was demeaning toward Gail, she was a really nice woman who he felt more like a sister and she was just trying to make her way for herself and her nine year old son Ryder, he was a nice boy they lived in his apartment and she tended to his tropical fish, houseplants and his general needs.
Their relationship was strictly business, he didn’t need any more than that in his life, his last relationship went sour, didn’t even know that his last girlfriend had left him til almost two months later when he enquired Gail as to her whereabouts.
“She left a note on the dish beside the fish tank muttering something about how you noticed the fish more than her. Don’t you remember, I told you when you came back from…” she paused tapping her forefinger to her head trying to think of the place he had been “where was that place you had just flown in from” she waved a dismissive hand “well it doesn’t matter, the note is still there.” She said pointing to the envelope.
He had received a Dear John letter, not that it bothered him that he had received one, actually it did, it pissed him off that she couldn’t tell him personally, but, it proved his point that he should not be in a relationship, his time was far too valuable, if only he could do what he did from a desk then he wouldn’t have to be jumping on a god damned plane every two days.
He walked out of the hotel and checked his watch, it was eight fifteen he breathed in Melbourne and he caught the flutter in his chest, for some reason he smiled and felt excited about the day, it was going to be a good day, the footman came up to him asking if he wanted a taxi
He shook his head with a smile “No it’s a nice day. I might just walk, thanks.”
She stepped off the train and ran up the stairs of the platform and stood under the clocks of Flinders Street Station she looked at her watch it was eight fifteen, she twirled and smiled.
God it was a glorious day she thought and she took in a great big breath of Melbourne. She skipped down the steps excited about the day she was going to have.
The curtain fluttered lightly as the gentle breeze blew in through the open window, she loved days like this, it was going to be a beautiful sunny summer day, it wasn’t going to be overly hot and the best part that she loved about days like this, was that it was her day off.
God bless Rostered Days Off. R.D.O’s were a blessing from heaven.
Rebecca Peterson worked as an assistant lab technician. She wasn’t an extravagant person she wore simple clothes, she was thrifty at saving her pennies for that rainy day and she was glad she had done so, it had given her a home she was proud to call her own, she was an extremely organised person both at work and at home she paid her bills on time, every item in her pantry stacked and labelled in containers, her wardrobe was compartmentalised into functionality and colour.
Each morning before work she got up at five to go for a two kilometre run completing her run with a yoga session and a hot shower before sitting down at her kitchen table to a bowl of All Bran topped with sliced banana, all swimming in skim milk that had been fortified with calcium and vitamin D. An energy tablet completed her breakfast being washed down with a glass of V8 veggie juice.
At preciously seven forty five she would exit her small two bedroom unit in the suburbs walking a brisk eight minutes to the train station, waiting two minutes if the train was on time for the seven fifty five train to the city, sitting she would travel a further two stops checking and updating her facebook page on her mobile then getting off to walk a further five minutes to her work.
Weekends were spent meticulously cleaning her home and shopping at the market for organic produce before spending the rest of the weekend with friends and family.
Her RDO’s were usually spent cycling, swimming or at the local gym working on building muscle tone.
But today she felt different she blamed it on the gorgeous day it was going to be, she felt a buzz inside her, she just knew it was going to be one of those fantastic days you remembered for a long time. She felt like doing something a little reckless, something a little different than frequenting the one or two suburbs that she had called home recently.
She stretched her limbs and climbed out of bed padding her way to the bathroom and showering, with her towel around her she looked in her wardrobe trying to decide what to wear, all the clothes were the same, her work clothes were functional they weren’t over the top. Her normal clothes were purchased for practicality something that she could wear by day and with a few accessories by night.
Deciding on jeans and a top she grabbed a pair of sandals and looked at herself in the full length mirror that sat in the corner of her bedroom, she grumbled at her outfit and went back to her wardrobe, there was really nothing in her wardrobe that said ‘I am a female and today is summer’, she wanted something that was yellow perhaps something with flowers. She had nothing of the sort, nothing that came even close.
That was it she thought, she was going shopping and not to the closest Kmart either not even Target for that matter. Nooo she was going to go to one of those really expensive exclusive stores in the city to buy herself a dress, one of those stores that waited on you, she wanted to feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when they waited on her hand and foot.
The more she thought of it, the more she got excited, hell she might even buy herself some shoes to go with it, to hell with her budget, today she was going to be frivolous. She gave out an excited giggle.
She ran into the kitchen and wolfed down her usual All Bran and went to put her bowl in the sink to wash it, and she laughed reminding herself she was going to be frivolous today, to hell with the bowl it would still be there later and she giggled some more as she went out the door.
Catching the train she willed it to go faster it was full of business men and women heading into the city to do a full days work for probably her whole months pay but she didn’t care, today was her day.
He tugged the tie tight around his neck and checked himself in the hotel mirror, two business meetings and a video consult with head office deciding on their next course of action. Depending on how the two meetings went depended on whether he would be staying a few more days in Melbourne or taking the flight that had been booked to leave for Sydney at midday the following day.
He hated the travelling, he had been all over the world but never really seen it, sure he had seen it from afar from the plane window or the window of a car as he was chauffeured past any landmark, living out of a suitcase sucked, he never emptied it, not entirely, he would get home and his assistant would restock it with fresh attire and toiletries, she was more a maid but he felt that was demeaning toward Gail, she was a really nice woman who he felt more like a sister and she was just trying to make her way for herself and her nine year old son Ryder, he was a nice boy they lived in his apartment and she tended to his tropical fish, houseplants and his general needs.
Their relationship was strictly business, he didn’t need any more than that in his life, his last relationship went sour, didn’t even know that his last girlfriend had left him til almost two months later when he enquired Gail as to her whereabouts.
“She left a note on the dish beside the fish tank muttering something about how you noticed the fish more than her. Don’t you remember, I told you when you came back from…” she paused tapping her forefinger to her head trying to think of the place he had been “where was that place you had just flown in from” she waved a dismissive hand “well it doesn’t matter, the note is still there.” She said pointing to the envelope.
He had received a Dear John letter, not that it bothered him that he had received one, actually it did, it pissed him off that she couldn’t tell him personally, but, it proved his point that he should not be in a relationship, his time was far too valuable, if only he could do what he did from a desk then he wouldn’t have to be jumping on a god damned plane every two days.
He walked out of the hotel and checked his watch, it was eight fifteen he breathed in Melbourne and he caught the flutter in his chest, for some reason he smiled and felt excited about the day, it was going to be a good day, the footman came up to him asking if he wanted a taxi
He shook his head with a smile “No it’s a nice day. I might just walk, thanks.”
She stepped off the train and ran up the stairs of the platform and stood under the clocks of Flinders Street Station she looked at her watch it was eight fifteen, she twirled and smiled.
God it was a glorious day she thought and she took in a great big breath of Melbourne. She skipped down the steps excited about the day she was going to have.
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