by Joyce
MAIN MALE CHARACTER
Name: Paul
Age: 34
Occupation: lawyer
Likes: animals
Dislikes: heavy drinkers
Something else about him: very good lookingMAIN FEMALE CHARACTER
Name: Jean Wallacev Age: 50
Occupation: housewife
Likes: chocolate vDislikes: doing housework
Something else about her: she is fatA PLACE
Be fairly specific: a busy shopping mallGENRE OF STORY
i.e. is it a romance, a mystery, a western, a science fiction, a fantasy, a thriller, a comedy or something else? ThrillerWHO IS THE AUDIENCE?
Are you writing for children, young adults or adults? ChildrenAND JUST FOR FUN ….
Pick
a colour: red
something to eat: spaghetti
an item of clothing: anorak
an animal: dog
Jean Wallace sat in front of her dressing table mirror and took stock of herself. She was recently widowed, looked every one of her fifty years, was plump ... well, fat ... all that chocolate had finally caught up with her. She was down to five hundred dollars in her saving account and she just had to get a job. Trouble was, she wasn't trained to do anything special. The past thirty years had been spent looking after her two children and a husband who was more often out of a job than in one.
She scanned the job advertisements in the local newspaper and saw nothing she could qualify for. She vaguely recalled a notice in the local shopping centre grocery chain asking for people to stack shelves. 'Sounds like my speed,' she thought and with fresh makeup and wearing a new pantsuit, off she went to seek an interview.
The store manager, Eric Johnson, looked at her doubtfully.
"There's a lot of heavy lifting to this job, Mrs Wallace," he said. "We were looking for young men, preferably young and active." He looked so uncomfortable that Jean felt embarrassed for him. She stood up to go but the manager suddenly said, "Mrs Wallace, how do you feel about a housekeeping job, looking after two small children?" Jean smiled at him.
"That's my line of work," she said.
"Sit down a minute then while I make a phone call," Eric Johnson said. He spoke to a man he called Paul for a couple of minutes and then wrote an address on a piece of paper which he gave to Jean. "This is my brother Paul," he said. "His wife has gone away for a few days and he badly wants a housekeeper cum nanny to run his house for him. I'm sure the job will be permanent if you are suited. Paul and Janet have been looking for someone since their housekeeper got married a couple of weeks ago and left without giving them much notice."
Jean took the address gratefully and set off at once to meet Paul Johnson. She was very impressed by him. He was good looking and in his late thirties, she guessed. He said he was a partner in a local law firm and his hours were a bit erratic so he would need her to live in, so he asked if that would suit her. He explained that his wife also worked, as a buyer for a department store and her job took her away for a few days at a time on buying trips. As a matter of fact she had left a message on his answer phone to say she was off on one trip but would be back in a couple of days.
Jean told him she had no ties and could work whenever she was needed. Paul took her upstairs and showed her a large airy room which would be hers. Jean was impressed. She couldn't wait to give up the dingy little flat which she had rented for the last few years. This room seemed like heaven by contrast.
"I would like the job very much. There is just one thing," Jean said. "I've got a dog, a German Shepherd. He loves children and he's a good watchdog."
"No problem," said Paul. "I'm sure the kids will be delighted. They've been after me to get a dog for ages but the last Nanny wasn't too keen."
"I can't give you any references either because all I've done for the last twenty years is take care of two children who are now grown up and my husband who passed away."
Paul smiled at her.
"I'm a pretty good judge of character," he said. "I'll take a chance on you. Now I expect you would like to see your charges." He led the way to an enclosed garden at the back of the house. It was equipped with swings and a slide and sandpit and even a tree house. The two youngsters came racing up to meet them and Jean was introduced to David, aged four and Fiona who was six. They greeted her solemnly, shaking hands like little grown ups. "This lady is your new nanny," said Paul. "I think you will have a lot of fun together.
"Oh, goody," said David. "Will you read to us at bedtime?"
"I certainly will," said Jean. "Now I must go and bring my things over to your house so I will see you later."
"How much later?" asked David.
"Tomorrow," she told him.
Jean hardly slept that night. She couldn't believe her luck, finding a job and a new home all in one day. The day had ended a lot better than it had started, she thought.
Jean was happy. The children David and Fiona were polite and well behaved. She took them on little excursions to the local park and their presence filled her life which had been empty for so long. Both her own children were living out of the state and although they phoned her often she still felt very alone after her husband passed away. The house although large didn't pose any problems for her. In fact she rather enjoyed caring for such a lovely place.
Paul was getting worried. He hadn't heard from his wife for several days. He finally phoned the department store where she worked and inquired if they knew where she had gone. The personnel manager was sympathetic but said as far as she knew, Janet had not gone on a buying assignment for the store.
He checked her wardrobe and all that seemed to be missing was her red anorak, a pair of black slacks and a large carry-all type of handbag.
Paul decided to call the police for help and he told Jean of his concern. Janet, he said, had never before left without telling him where she was going and even then had always phoned the children before their bedtime. He felt sure that something was wrong. Maybe she had had an accident.
The police department were able to tell him, after inquiries were made, that Janet had booked a taxi to the airport on the day she had left and bought a one-way ticket to Brisbane. After that there was no trace of her.
Two days later there was a break through in the case. Janet had withdrawn thirty thousand dollars from her bank account at a branch in Brisbane. Paul was bewildered. He told the police that as far as he knew Janet didn't know anyone in Brisbane. It was a complete mystery to him. He was relieved to know that at least the withdrawal indicated she was still alive.
That night he got a phone call from Janet. She was with her young sister at a police station on the outskirts of Brisbane and would be home as soon as she could get a flight. She said she and her sister had been stranded on an outback road when their old pick-up truck had broken down. She said to him,
"I'll tell you all about everything when Iget home. I don't want to talk now, Paul." He hung up the phone with a sigh. He was relieved to hear from Janet but wondered what she didn't want to tell him over the phone. He told Jean the good news and said she might like to tell David and Fiona that their Mummy was on her way home.
Janet told him that her sister Ann had phoned her from Brisbane begging for help. She was broke and it had turned out that her boyfriend had been dealing in drugs. He had run up a big debt and their lives had been threatened. Janet had got her address, a motel outside the city and had told her to stay there and she would come to get her.
When Janet arrived at the motel Jed, Ann's boyfriend, told her he wanted thirty thousand dollars to pay off his debt, before he would let Ann go.
"You can't get away with this," Janet told him, at which he produced a small hand gun from his jacket and pointed it at Ann's head.
"I've got nothing to lose," he answered. "If I don't come up with the cash I'm dead anyway. I'm sure your sister is worth thirty thousand dollars to you." Janet then agreed to go with Jed to the bank so they all went together in Jed's old Holden pick-up truck. After Janet got the cash Jed drove to a seedy looking pub where he said he had some business to take care of. As they waited in the truck Ann said,
"This won't be the end of it, you know. He won't let me go. I am so sorry, Janet, to involve you in this mess."
But Janet then noticed that the keys were still in the ignition of the truck. She slid over to the driver's seat, started the engine and they took off.
"We're going home," she said, putting her foot on the accelerator.
Now she smiled at Paul. "And you know the rest, the old bomb broke down in the middle of nowhere and the local police rescued us."
"Why on earth didn't you tell me before you left?" asked Paul, but Janet replied that with the affair being drug related she thought it best to keep Paul out of it.
"Not good for business, I thought."
"Don't ever scare me like that again," Paul told her. "And by the way, meet our new nanny. She's helped me keep sane over the last few days." Janet shook Jean's hand.
"Welcome to our usually happy home," she said.
Jean smiled.
"There's a big spaghetti dinner waiting in the kitchen for anybody who's hungry round here."
* * * * * * *