Free Watched: When Road Rage Follows You Home by Kerry Wilkinson

much a joint effort between the council, schools and the team around me. This is an award for all of us.’
     
    Charlie watched Esther’s lips twitching, and her eyebrows fluttering uncontrollably up and down as her eyes darted across the copy, once, then twice. Next to the headline was a photo of Dougie looking smart in a crisply pressed suit, holding an award and surrounded by children.
    ‘Is that him?’ Charlie asked.
    Esther’s whispered reply brushed through the air, barely audible. ‘Yes.’
    She continued reading for a third time as Charlie gazed at her, trying to make eye contact, wanting to ask the question. Had she somehow imagined everything from outside the hardware shop? Had Dougie really shouted and sworn at her? He was a model citizen, the brother of a police officer – surely this wasn’t the type of thing he did? He remembered his own encounter with Dougie’s apparent girlfriend, which hadn’t gone well. Was it them? Perhaps Esther really had driven erratically and Dougie had reacted badly for a moment, with her exaggerating? Maybe he had been inadvertently aggressive towards Dougie’s girlfriend? He was tall, after all, and perhaps she’d been intimidated.
    As Esther continued to avoid looking at him, Charlie decided to change the subject. ‘Shall we do something?’ he asked, trying to sound cheerful as he scooped the final mouthful of soup from his bowl.
    Esther didn’t look up from the dining table. ‘Like what?’
    ‘Something normal… we can go for a bit of a drive and then do some food shopping.’
    ‘You want to go out ?’
    ‘Why not? It’s a lovely evening.’
    Esther finally had a mouthful of soup, slurping it, before adding: ‘I left the washing on the line.’
    ‘Sorry?’
    ‘I just remembered I did some washing earlier but didn’t bring it back inside.’ She stood, picking up the nearly full bowl and heading towards the kitchen. ‘Do you want to help?’ she added.
    Charlie followed, unsure what to say. When he’d arrived home, Esther had told him about the mix-up with the carpet company but there was little more they could say or do. Was that really the type of thing someone who won awards would bother themselves with?
    Esther plucked a basket from the top of the washing machine and opened the side door, stepping bare footed onto the back garden. Even though the grass was overgrown, Charlie found something quite beautiful about the sight of his wife in a long floaty dress and no shoes stepping across the lawn so daintily. He stopped to watch for a few moments as she pressed down the grass with her feet and stretched onto tiptoes to reach the line. She was effortlessly breathtaking: everything he’d ever wanted.
    Charlie was about to start unpinning clothes when he realised Esther had stopped moving. She had one hand on the line and was peering along its length.
    ‘What?’ Charlie asked.
    ‘She dropped a pair of socks in the basket. ‘Nothing.’
    ‘Come on, hon, we’ve got to talk about this.’
    For a moment she didn’t move, before reaching out towards him unexpectedly, wanting his embrace. Charlie pulled her close, cradling her head into his chest.
    ‘There are things missing,’ she said softly.
    ‘From the line?’
    ‘My underwear’s gone.’
    As he peered towards the row of clothes, Charlie could see at least three gaps where there were pegs hanging loose.
    ‘Do you want me to—?’
    ‘—No, just leave it. It’s not going to do any good if you go and accuse him of taking things – especially if his brother’s a police officer. Let’s just get everything inside and then we’ll go out.’
    He wondered if she was confusing things. It was hard to think past the image of a man from the news article, surrounded by children, smiling having just won £10,000 for the local community. Could it really be him stealing Esther’s underwear? Or even his girlfriend?
    They did as she suggested, taking the clothes down and heading into the house. Charlie