The Empty Room Read online

  “All right, I’ll just go and get a jumper,” Karen declared getting up and heading to my room and coming back out with one of my old jerseys in her arms. Hannah laughed and we headed off down the road to The Boathouse for dinner.

  “So, how are you doing?” Hannah asked me.

  “I’m okay I think Hannah,” I replied, knowing what she was trying to say.

  I still had the occasional dream and it always worried Hannah that I never really tried to find help or at least talk to someone. I guess since Anna had left my life a few weeks ago I needed to talk to someone about a lot of things. Luckily, I met Karen – one incredible day walking into Audrey’s office seeing her new receptionist. She didn’t know me although I’d known her my whole adult life. We were pen-pals from the time I was 17 to the time I had just left for England on my OE. She was just someone on the end of a dial-up computer I got to talking to and we really hit it off. I’m not sure how I knew her, but some of her mannerisms sparked some interest – and that pinkie-ring! So, one night a couple of weeks after telling Anna it was over, I decided to email this girl I could talk to about anything. After a few hours, I told her how exactly I knew her and asked her what she was doing. She had been really shocked when she realised who I exactly I was.

  ‘What, why didn’t you say something?’ Karen had written.

  ‘What was I supposed to say?’ I replied.

  ‘How did you know it was me?’ she had asked.

  ‘The ring on your pinkie-finger. It was your grandmothers, but too small for the other fingers on your hand so I took a guess,’ I wrote back.

  ‘You’ve always been an idiot, you should have asked me chicken.’

  ‘Well, I’m asking you now, go out with me, let me take you out to dinner…? Phil.’

  ‘You know I’d really like that but I can’t this week. Can we make it Wednesday night?’ Karen asked.

  ‘Yeah what’s a few more days,’ I typed.

  (Looking back now I wish I had those days back.)

  ‘Where would you want to go, I live in Shepherd’s Bush,’ Karen typed.

  ‘Let’s meet first then decide,’ I wrote.

  It all came flooding back to me, as I held her hand walking down Putney Hill heading towards the main street. I had vanished into my memory and a smile broke out onto my face. Coming to, when Karen noticed and squeezed my hand really tightly.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Karen asked.

  As Hannah was walking a few feet in front of us.

  “Just remembering how we met,” I said.

  Squeezing her hand lightly back.

  “Yeah, you were such an idiot,” Karen joked.

  Unfortunately, Hannah heard that and I could hear her laughing.

  “Hey, how are you two doing?” Hannah asked, with a massive smile on her face as she turned back to lead the way into The Boathouse.

  “Yeah good, how are you?” I asked.

  “Hungry, and are we having wine with dinner?” Hannah asked.

  “Um, yeah I’ll share a bottle with you Hannah,” Karen said.

  “Ah, good,” Hannah said as we all walked into The Boathouse to have a meal.

  “Far out, do we need to find new places to eat Hannah?” I asked.

  “Ha, possibly, aye,” Hannah replied laughing.

  “Well, you can always come over to Shepherd’s Bush,” Karen suggested.

  “Yeah, haven’t been there for ages,” Hannah said, before adding, “So, what are we after tonight?”

  “I’ll go for the steak tonight I think,” I replied.

  “Yeah might go for the fish pie myself,” Karen added.

  “Hmm, I think I could smash a steak as well,” Hannah bragged.

  “Oh really, Hannah,” I remarked, which made Karen smile.

  Hannah knew what I was talking about and retorted, “Yes, I reckon I could even beat you!”

  “All right then, I challenge you,” I laughed, making Hannah laugh, until she held out her hand.

  “Challenge accepted,” she replied.

  As I went to shake her hand, Karen put a hand on top of ours, “Challenge completed. Now, where are the servers? Let’s get this show on the road,” she said, with a sly smile on her face.

  Hannah and I just started laughing, and Hannah tried to tighten her grip on my hand.

  “Cut it out,” I laughed.

  “North Islands’ gonna smash you mainlanders,” I added.

  “Bring it on sucker,” Hannah muttered.

  “Something I’m missing here?” Karen asked.

  “Yeah you probably don’t know too much about New Zealand then Karen?” Hannah said.

  “Yeah, I was so comfortable in Sydney we never bothered to learn about the island to the East,” Karen joked.

  “Yeah, fair enough,” I replied.

  “So, we having dessert as well?” I asked.

  Once again changing the subject like a pro.

  Getting up and heading to the bar for a couple bottles of wine, and three glasses.

  It took a while to be served but Hannah and Karen had ordered everything by the time I got back from the bar.

  “Hey, got a couple of bottles of wine and some glasses, couldn’t be arsed waiting,” I said.

  “Yeah well, I’ve ordered the steaks,” Hannah replied.

  Karen just sat there with a massive smile on her face as I took my seat.

  “Hey what’s up?” I asked Karen.

  “I miss stuff like this, my room mates sometimes walk around me on egg-shells not knowing what to say,” Karen said.

  “Karen, I’m sorry, but I don’t know what to say,” Hannah said. “Do you want me to fill your glass?” she added.

  “Yes, please Hannah that’ll be great. It’s just nice that you guys are just ordinary, you know,” Karen said. “Well, you know what I mean you’re just you,” she added.

  “Oh, ordinary,” I joked. The tone wasn’t lost on Hannah who figured we were going to have some fun.

  “Wow, I’m not sure that’s a compliment,” Hannah remarked. “I’m a little more than ordinary.”

  “As am I Hannah,” I said. “Wow, how could you say such a thing about us Karen,” I added.

  “I reckon, Phil, someone might be jealous,” Hannah started, but gets lost on where she wants to take this and she starts to smile.

  I on the other hand lose it and started to laugh.

  “You guys are terrible!” Karen insisted.

  “Ha, that’s better,” Hannah said, still laughing.

  “Aren’t your roommates your sister and her husband?” I asked smiling as our meals finally arrived and Hannah and I start racing through it. I’d pay for that stupidity later, but it was a funny night where we all had a good time. We took our time when it came to the dessert. For the record, I won and Hannah paid for the taxi up the hill because all three of us couldn’t be bothered walking. Or we were to drunk and feeling lazy. By the time we got home, Karen went straight to bed and Hannah and I stayed up for a while longer and I talked about the day and taking a trip.

  “Wow, how long do you think you’ll go for?” Hannah asked

  “Um, not sure at this stage but will have to wait and see until after the next doctor’s appointment,” I replied.

  “Oh wow, how is she really?” Hannah asked, with a concerned look on her face.

  “We’ll have to wait and see what happens at the next appointment,” I said again, shrugging.

  “So, where do you think you’ll go?” Hannah asked.

  “Not sure, do you want to meet somewhere along the way?” I asked.

  “You might have to ask Karen, before inviting me,” Hannah replied.

  “Hey, I heard from Devin today.” I said.

  “What were you doing?” Hannah replied.

  “Yeah, I suppose I spoke to him a week or so ago,” I remarked.

  “How is he?” Hannah asked.

  “Good. He said hello,” I said.

  “Thanks. Was it great to hear from him? How’s he d
oing with the leg? Anyway, listen, if you get the all clear from Karen, I’ll meet up with you both, but for now I’m going to bed. Talk to you in the morning,” Hannah said.

  “Night Hannah,” I whispered getting up.

  “Night douchebag,” Hannah said, laughing on the way to her room.

  7

  The Terrible Dawn

  “Mm, morning Karen,” I whispered yawning looking down at a bunch of hair that was under my arm and all over my chest and feeling a little bit wet on my stomach.

  “Morning Phil,” Karen said, wiping off a little bit of spittle and looking up at me smiling.

  “I’m gonna get up and put the jug on,” I added.

  “Okay, I might stay here in bed,” she replied.

  Rolling over I notice my arm’s a little bit asleep and start pumping my fist to get some blood going through it, as I walked over to my draws and pull out a

  t-shirt. I only find my Redback Tavern t-shirt and so walk out into the kitchen putting it on. I put the jug on and walk out to the lounge to turn the TV on and check the time.

  “Hey, morning Phil!” Hannah said, as she walked over to the jug turning it off and grabbing three cups out of the cupboard.

  “Hey, does Karen want a coffee or tea?” Hannah asked.

  “I’ll grab a coffee please Hannah,” Karen said, as she headed off to the bathroom.

  “So, what have you got on today?” Hannah asked, as she walked out to the lounge.

  “Um, not a lot aye. Possibly take Karen home, find out when her next appointment is, give Audrey a call and work on some more writing stuff.”

  “Ah, cool,” Hannah said, handing me a coffee and taking a seat on the couch next to me so we could both watch the morning news on TV.

  “So, what’s happening at work today?” I asked.

  “Same old stuff really. Got a project on with Kalliope starting in a few weeks, so setting that all up so we can hit the ground running,” Hannah said, all the while smiling at me.

  “Ha, good one, Hannah,” I laughed, smiling back as Karen walked back to the room to get changed.

  “Hey guys won’t be long,” she declared.

  “Are we going somewhere for breakfast?” Hannah asked, looking at me a little bit puzzled.

  “Ha, I was thinking the same thing,” I said smiling.

  Just then, Karen came back out, grabbed her coffee and joined us on the couch, “So, what’s happening today?” she asked.

  “Well, I’ve got to get ready for work soon,” Hannah replied.

  “Yeah and I should have a shower and get changed at some point,” I said.

  “Do you guys want to go get some breakfast?” Karen asked.

  “Can’t this morning sorry,” Hannah commented.

  “We could drop into somewhere on the way back to yours if you like?” I asked Karen.

  “Unfortunately, I’m gonna head to Mum’s, then head into to work in a few hours. I need to find out about this next appointment and they usually ring through to my Mum,” Karen replied. “I’ll let you know what’s happening this afternoon. Are you ringing Audrey today?” she asked.

  “Um, yeah later this morning.”

  “Oh cool, we can speak then,” Karen said getting up, finishing her coffee and heading back to my room.

  Hannah just looked at me, “Haven’t you met her mum yet?” she asked.

  “No, but I heard from her ages ago.”

  “Oh wow. Okay, listen I’m gonna be out later tonight so don’t make anything for me for dinner,” Hannah instructed me.

  “Yeah, no worries. I have no idea what I’ll be doing but, I’ll see you later on,” I said, getting up and heading to my room.

  “Hey there,” I declared.

  Karen was getting all her things together and getting sorted, “Hey! I’m gonna head off, but I’ll hear from you later on,” Karen remarked walking over to me and kissing me before she walked out.

  I hear her farewell to Hannah as she headed to the door, so I walked over to the computer and turned everything on. Then, 20 minutes later, as I’m revising some words, Hannah popped her head in and told me to have a great day.

  “Yeah same to you Hannah, have fun on your date,” I remarked.

  Still looking at the screen in front of me.

  “Yeah, thanks Phil,” Hannah replied, wondering how I knew. “I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow,” she laughed, turning around and heading out.

  The next few hours flew by faster than I thought they would. Feeling a little bit dirty I got up and headed to the shower, only getting back to my room in time to see I had missed a couple of calls from Anna. Not knowing what I wanted to say there, I got changed and headed down the road, just in time for Karen to call me for Audrey.

  “Hey Phil, what’s happening?” Karen asked.

  “Just heading down the road, not sure why, might do some grocery shopping,” I replied.

  “Well, I’m gonna transfer you through to Audrey,” Karen said.

  “Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?” Karen asked quickly.

  “Yeah all right,” I replied, as I walked into the Sainsbury’s.

  “Cool, I’ll put you through now.” She flipped the switch and Audrey was there.

  “Hey, what have you been saying to my P.A.?” Audrey asked.

  “Do we really want to go there Audrey?”

  “Yeah, good point. Hey, so listen, everything’s going really well. How was dinner with Susan’s parents?” Audrey asked.

  “Yeah, really good. Whoops, sorry, can’t believe I haven’t thanked you until now,” I said.

  “Oh, that’s okay, glad to hear it went well,” Audrey replied.

  “So, what’s this I hear about a trip also?” Audrey asked.

  “Oh, you’ll have to wait and see.”

  “Yeah, seems like it. Anyway, everything looks really good. How’s the new stuff coming?” Audrey asked.

  “Well, I think a trip could really inspire some words there, aye,” I declared.

  “Yeah, okay. Well, I’m sure Karen will tell me what’s going on there,” Audrey remarked.

  “So, when’s the first run set for?” I asked.

  “Oh yeah, I should know by the end of next week for certain,” Audrey replied.

  “So, no doubt I’ll see if Meredith will let me out again,” Audrey added.

  “Oh wow, let’s see what happens first, but always a fun night out, Audrey,” I said, trying not to laugh.

  “Well, she’s forgiven me for the late one we had last time,” Audrey declared.

  “So, I’ll talk to you next week and I’ll get Karen to keep me informed of your travel plans,” Audrey added.

  “Hey, thanks Audrey – for everything you’ve done,” I insisted.

  “Well, I’ve got to earn that fifteen percent,” Audrey replied back.

  “Well, you have been,” I insisted.

  “Thanks Phil, talk again soon,” Audrey commented, hanging up.

  I walked into the store and did some light shopping for stuff we needed, and then headed home and did a bit of cleaning. It wasn’t the most exciting start to the day, but a few things needed to be done. I was definitely going to get a cleaner if I ever made enough writing, I thought to myself.

  The words came in stops and starts for the rest of the day, I laid down most of the stuff I needed to, so I knew where the plots were all ending up and how the hook didn’t overtake the story line. I knew it was something that had to be written, but I started to drift off.

  I thought about that first time I had spoken to Karen, it was a quick hello in a sea of shock, nervousness and light breathlessness. I was shocked it had taken us so long to meet and the fact it was happening wasn’t something I ever would have expected. Yes, I had seen a photo, but, that one hello, held in that still silence of the other end of the phone was breath-taking. I couldn’t take the awkward smile off my face, but was so happy that the words didn’t let me down and Karen was as she always was – cheeky and slightly nerdy, ye
t strong willed and tougher than she looked.

  “Hi Phil,” Karen said, as we had decided to meet at the O’Neil’s next to the walk about in Shepherd’s Bush.

  “Hi Karen, so we finally meet,” I remarked, with a cheeky smile on my face.

  As Karen, somehow swiftly walked up to me and wrapped her arms around my neck and drew her face closer to mine. I wasn’t sure what was happening here, but I’m not going to lie, I leaned in, probably a little too fast, and may have surprised her as well. Then our lips met and we started laughing, then kissing a little bit more. Parting, Karen leaned in.

  “Well, it has been at least 10 years,” Karen remarked.

  “Wow, why’d we wait so long,” I said, smiling back.

  “Different countries.”

  “Oh, and I had to meet up with my sisters, so that’s three days we also had to wait,” Karen added, smiling at me.

  So I leaned in again, “That’s for those three days,” I declared.

  “So, how’ve you been today?” Karen asked, as we took a seat on her couch.

  “Really good. How long have you been working with Audrey?” I asked.

  “Ah, it’s just temp work. My mum works for the embassy so I’m doing a bit of an OE,” Karen said. “Good having her over here though. Lisa and Georgia are in Scotland and Tara’s back in Sydney. I told you she had twins, aye?” she asked.

  “Yeah, that’s so cool about the twins. You’re an Auntie. I still haven’t made it to Scotland,” I commented.

  I was still taken aback by the fact I was meeting Karen again and it seemed so easy, I thought.

  “So, let’s go get pizza, the bar is just around the corner is still really good,” Karen said.

  “Sounds good,” I said. I was nervous for some reason, and still a little amazed.

  As we decided to walk around the corner from Karen’s and not bother waiting for the bus or taxi we went inside and ordered a couple of drinks and a pizza and sat at a table in the corner, I started to laugh as Karen decided to call it Smitty’s corner.

  “Done, I’m sure my mate would appreciate that,” I laughed.

  “So, how’s everything with your health?” I asked, at which I noticed Karen’s expression changed.

  “I don’t really want to talk about that tonight, I’m just super stoked to be here, we’ll have plenty of time to talk about that,” Karen insisted, smiling at me while looking sadly through me.