It was 5.45am on a Sunday morning in May. Most normal people were still in bed, taking it easy after working hard all week. Not so my husband. He was up with the lark as usual. Sundays were the only days he could do this particular job, when the factory was closed.
“Who are you taking with you?” I asked.
“No-one,” he replied. “None of the lads will do it, and anyway I don’t want to have to pay them Sunday rates.”
“You can’t go up there on your own,” I remonstrated. “What happens if you fall off? Who will know?”
“I won’t fall off. Why should I? I’ve never fallen off before.”
“Well there’s always a first time,” I reasoned. “I’m coming with you then.”
“No you’re not. You stay where you are. You need your rest after the week you’ve had, and the week you’ve got ahead of you. Anyway, I can’t wait, I need to get on with the job. It will take me all day as it is.”
“What time will you be back?”
“Dunno. Probably late. Probably I’ll not finish before dark.”
“Well I’ll come up at lunchtime then with some sandwiches for you.”
“You won’t be able to get in. I’ll have to lock the gate. There’s no security on site.”
“I’ll call you. Make sure you’ve got your mobile switched on.”
“Okay. If it makes you feel any better, but I don’t normally eat more than a cereal bar and an apple for lunch. I can’t work on a full stomach.”
I turned over in bed. I knew it was pointless trying to reason with Jim. He was stubborn and nothing I could say would ever shake him.
Around eleven I finished mowing the lawn and rang Jim. “I’m fine,” he said. “The way things are going I’ll be finished by six. It’s not as bad as I thought.”
At midday I made a pack-up of chicken sandwiches, filled a thermos flask, then got into my car and drove to the factory. There was no sign of anyone. Jim’s van was in the car park. I called him, but it went to voicemail. I left a message to say I was at the gate with a pack-up and was going to walk the dog. He had a spare key to my car, so I knew he would be able to help himself to the pack-up.
Near that factory there is a woodland where I often walk the dog. She loves it there so we spent a long time in the woods with her crashing around chasing squirrels and rabbits. When I got back to the car the pack-up had gone. I sighed and went back home.
The afternoon I spent ironing and getting everything ready for the week ahead before preparing a roast dinner to be ready for about seven pm, assuming Jim would be home by then.
Seven pm came and went. Still Jim’s mobile went to voicemail. Eight pm… nine pm…ten pm…
I drove to the factory again. Jim’s car was still there, but there were no lights on in the factory. I started to get worried. I went back home, looked up the number for the factory. Thankfully Bob Morgan’s mobile number was in the book as well. I apologised for disturbing him at home and told him that Jim had been working alone and not returned home yet.
Half an hour later I got a phone call from Bob. “Jim’s in hospital, I’m afraid. He fell off the roof and broke his leg.”
When I visited Jim in hospital it was all I could do not to say “I told you so!”
Creative Writing Homework May 2016 using last line prompt: I told you so (500 words)
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