A shuddering affair

The rain had been lashing down much to her dismay but now the raincoat felt heavy and unnecessary as the ground dried and the scent of lingering wood filled her breath. Gripping her large bag laden with books and stationary she reached the bus stop. Ten minutes to wait, she read on the tracker.

Many other people waited, locals, tourists and others with costumes or elaborate clothing, no doubt heading to the festival a few stops away. She, as usual, felt fortunate to be part of this city she called home. She notices a text from Marc, who she is meeting which tells her he is cancelling due to illness. With a sunken heart, Macy contemplates her options for the day; return home, have a coffee and go home or visit the gallery.

Before giving it too much thought she boards the bus heading to Princes street, taking out her ponytail and shaking her head she lets herself relax into this change of plan. Ten minutes and she hands over her card to the museum receptionist, who smiles and asks her where she is from. England. She smiles and says ‘enjoy’.

Checking the price of lockers, Macy holds onto her bag as the payment is too much. Daylight robbery she mutters. Peering into the first room of the exhibition, she feels a small jolt of surprise as she spots Marc with Sadie from the project and they are holding hands. Exiting she gasps softly and heads to the bathroom to get her head together. So Brice’s suspicions were right - and she had been quick to dismiss it.

Sadie, a service user, had been assigned Marc as a key worker at ‘Mental health Scotland Association.’ Even as a practising volunteer herself she knew Marc was in the wrong here and was breaking protocol. Although Sadie is a fully grown decisive adult she would still have to report this somehow.

Slightly sickened she enters the cafeteria and sits the furthest away from the business of the reception area. Firstly, Marc is a married man and Macy knows his wife and secondly he has a child - little Ben. She cannot shake the way that Marc and Sadie were looking at each other, they looked as smitten as lovers and probably were.

Today's meeting was concerning Sadie and her appeal for legal aid and Marc was planning to explain the procedure to Macy as a relatively new member. Perhaps Marc would give Sadie a private tutorial in the procedure - Macy swallows the bitterness along with her bread and soup, then gulps down some iced water.

Her phone beeps and there is a text from the manager addressed to all volunteers: Marc has given up his post due to family commitments and will be well and truly missed. Macy realises she has a bit of a dilema on her hands and wonders what to do. She is obliged as a member to report any instances of misconduct and this fits that description. However people could get hurt and does she want this on her conscience?

She texts Brice for advice knowing there would inevitably be a ‘told you so’ moment. He will meet her in half an hour outside the museum. Macy orders a small ice cream and fruit dish which she plays with rather than eats but fully indulges in her ‘cafe creme’ and ‘italienne biscuit’.

Brice shows up bang on half an hour and Macy is impressed by his unusual punctuality. They enter the gardens nearby and sit at a bench with Macy shaking her head in disbelief. Brice asks for a full description of what Macy saw and claims that this should be communicated to the manager.

‘I always thought that Macy - that Marc is a bit of a law into himself at times and there's Ben aswell to consider….’

‘I’m gutted and quite shocked at this level of deceit, frankly Brice’

The one o’clock gun sounds. Tourists look bewildered. At the other side of the gardens out of their view, Marc’s wife is heading to the play park with Ben. She receives a text and glancing swiftly she smiles as her husband cancels the playpark due to an overload at work. She knew about his affair but could not complain as her relationship with Alex had reached new depths and the quicker Marc left, the better.

Ben picks up a stick and waves it infront of his mother.

‘Yes Ben, stick, good find’ he laughs and runs unaware of his parents' lost hopes and dreams.