Runaway Mum Read online

  Runaway mum!

  A short story by

  Deborah George

  Chapter One

  Sometimes I wonder what my life should be like, rather than what it is like. I'm a mum, with a stressful unappreciating family.. I want to tear my hair out or run away, but the love I have for my family keeps me here. For now! I want to be loved, appreciated, taken care of sometimes, is that really too much to ask? Wonder how my family would survive if I did up and leave, heck would they even notice? hmmm maybe I should put it to the test.. let them see how much I really do for them, She thought to herself.

  Mary was feeling kinda down again, after one of her usual rushed mornings, every morning it was the same thing, fight with the kids to get dressed, fight with them to eat breakfast, fight to get them out of the house in time..

  Her day always felt ruined after her morning from hell.

  No matter what she did or how many talks she had with them nothing ever changed, its as though she was, just the hired help. As though she wasnt important and not one of her kids or even her husband really cared. She was just there to do everything for them.

  "Guess I better get the housework done," She said to herself in the empty house.

  Kids where now all in school and the husband at work. She got up from the kitchen table with an empty cup in hand, she had finished her tea in silence as usual. Dishes first, may as well she thought while she was already in the kitchen.

  Her day progressed slowly enough, after the house was cleaned she went and watched a bit of daytime T.V the only time of the day that she could. Mark her husband was a football fan and quite obsessive over it. He could spend all night watching highlights and ignoring her. Mary hated football season. She didnt have a problem with the footie, more with the neglect she felt during it.

  After her programme, Mary decided to log into facebook see what the rest of the world was up to.

  "Wow!" Mary exclaimed, a childhood friend had left her husband and was travelling around the world, reclaiming her lost youth. "I wish I could do that" she remarked secretly impressed with her friend. "If I had the money I would be gone tomorrow" she said with a sigh, "then again would I?, the guilt would get to me I think!" she laughed "Yeah cos talking to oneself is so much better" she paused "I need to get a grip"

  still chuckling to herself she heard the door knock.

  Mary made her way downstairs to the front door, peeking through the peephole she saw it was the postman "hmm he is fit" she remarked quietly to herself before opening the door. Didnt want him hearing her!

  Well it was nothing interesting just a dvd through for hubby. More boring football DVD's! Mary rolled her eyes and set it on the table, it wouldnt be long till the tribe where home and the chaos started again.

  After all the kids where fed and sent to bed ready for another rushed morning Mary tried to snuggle up to Mark on the sofa, but he moaned "I am watching the footie Mary" she huffed and moved away from him.

  "Aww come on Mary, the only time I get to relax is when I watch my football, dont take the huff with me, at least you get to do nothing all day while I am out working hard" he smirked for some reason he thought working outside the home made him some kind of super hero! because of course in his eyes Mary did absoloutely nothing all day long.

  Mary stormed out of the room with laptop in hand and decided to give him the silent treatment for the rest of the night. She went downstairs to the kitchen and logged into online Bingo she thought she may as well try her luck.

  Mary deposited ten pounds to play with, Mark always complained saying she wasted too much money after him working hard to earn it, so she had to play in secret. She knew he would be busy for the next hour or so. So she settled down to play.

  "OMG!" Mary whispered with her hand over her mouth "No fricking way" she mumbled, but yes sure enough her bingo balance had shot up to one thousand pound she had only gone and won the jackpot. "OMG!!" she mumbled again, Mark will be so happy, maybe they can get some new furniture for the house.

  "Oh," she thought " what am I thinking, these are my winnings no way am I telling him, he will just decide what it was to be spent on and once again I will end up with nothing." she clicked on withdraw and sent the money to her bank with shaking hands. It would take at least a week to get into her account, time to get planning!

  Chapter Two

  Today was the day her planning was to come into play. The week had passed with Mary trying to hide her excitement while she waited each day for the winnings to hit her bank account. Yesterday morning when she checked her online banking she saw the money had arrived.

  Now she couldnt wait till everyone had gone to school as she had some major plans to put into action. She was excited, scared and worried all at the same time, but this time she knew it was something she wanted to do. No more thinking or wanting it was time to act.

  For once Mary was going to think of herself. How hard could it be?

  "Come on kids hurry it up I have things to do." She yelled at them. She finished making their packed lunches and finally got them out to school.

  On her way back home after the school run she began to get nervous, can I really go through with this she thought.

  After getting home she tidied up made sure all the washing was finished even though she was leaving she still wanted to be sure everything was done and sorted for the family first. Old habits die hard!

  Then she got her packed suitcase from out of the cupboard, it had been hiding in there for a few days. The hotel was booked. It was time to go. The hotel she picked was in the middle of nowhere and she had booked in under a different name. She didnt want anyone finding her.

  Before she left she sent her husband a text message at work it simply said "I am going away for a while, my mum is picking the kids up from school you can get them on your way home, for too long no one has treated me with respect and I need to go away to think. My phone will be off so dont bother to try to talk me out of this." as soon as she hit send on her phone she turned it off and grabbed her things and walked out the door to the car, parked in the driveway. With one last look around she got into the car and was ready to go..

  Mary reversed out of the drive and began her journey. The tears flowed slowly she loved her kids but maybe this was the wake up call that they needed.

  The place she was going to was about a 4 hour drive away, a little village in the north. Hopefully no one would think to look for her there, she had deleted all history from her computer so that no one could find anything out.

  Mary cranked up the radio and sang along to some of the classic hits. For the first time she wasnt having to worry about the children fighting in the back of the car, distracting her and making her lose her way. Something like that happened every time they went out in the car, it was so frustrating. Mary was beginning to enjoy her little adventure into the unknown.

  About two hours into her journey Mary felt hungry and pulled in to the next service station. Time to stretch her legs and enjoy a quiet meal alone!

  She actually felt nervous and amazed at how easy it was lining up at the service station diner without having to tell the kids to shhh or stop arguing and then trying to get them to pick their meals, Mary picked a nice pasta dish paid the lady, smiled and went and took her seat. The diner was quite full and a few minutes into her meal a man approached and asked if he could sit with her, Mary looked up into the brownest eyes ever and got butterflies in her tummy he was a fine looking man. "yeah sure" she said swallowing her mouthful.

  It had been a long time since she felt that kind of reaction to a man.

  He introduced himself as Sam, Mary shook his hand and for the next ten minutes they made polite conversation, he asked where she was off to on her own and she told him.

  "Coin
cidence, or what!" he exclaimed "I am heading to the same place, theres a small cottage I am interested in buying close by." he smiled "We must meet up for drinks while I am there."

  Mary hesitated and then replied "That would be nice!", wiping her hands on her napkin she said "I better get going or I will be late checking in, nice to see you Sam and will see you again later."

  After they said their goodbyes Mary walked back to her car, and started her journey again. With thoughts of Sam circulating in her head, he was tall, dark haired with a splattering of freckles on his nose, she hadnt noticed a wedding ring but that didnt always mean anything she thought to herself. Her husband didnt always wear his wedding band. She herself had taken hers off before leaving, she had left it on the dresser in her bedroom.

  The heat spread through her body at the thought of meeting him later, she was definitley attracted to him. But being married Mary felt guilty for even looking at another man. But figured she had runaway from her family, maybe some excitement was what she needed.

  Chapter Three

  Arriving at the quaint bed and breakfast Mary smiled, this place was a slice of heaven. The garden was full of flowers, fountains and little benches to sit on. She figured it would be adorable in the evenings.

  Walking up to the door she rang the bell, a little plump woman with greying hair arrived and welcomed her in, "You must be Tracy?" she said, "Welcome, your room is all ready for you, and dinner will not be long you must be hungry after your journey. Hope you like chicken pie, if you dont I can make something else." She said.

  "No chicken pie sounds delicious I cant wait" she laughed but felt slightly guilty for lying about who she was. This woman seemed such a genuinely nice person.

  After being shown to the cosy room, with a window overlooking the delightful garden, Mary freshened up in the en-suite room. She sat on the bed and felt how comfortable it was and decided she was really going to like it here. She had a selection of books in her case and planned on totally relaxing for the next few weeks. Well, until she decided what to do with the rest of her life.

  Making her way back downstairs to the friendly dining room she noticed there was only one other person there and it was Sam, he waved her over to his table.

  "Hi," he said "come sit with me, no point us sitting alone when we have already met" he patted the seat next to him, but Mary chose the one opposite him figuring that would be too close for comfort.

  When she sat down Martha the little old lady came out with two steaming dinners and placed them infront of them.

  "Thanks Martha these smell delicious as always" Sam commented and Martha blushed, then offered them a pot of tea, Mary and Sam both nodded and began tucking into their meals.

  After they finished eating Sam spoke "so what is your name?" Mary replied "Its Tracy"

  "Nice name Tracy, after our dinners settle how would you fancy a stroll in the moonlight with me?" He tilted his head to the side and awaited her reply.

  "Erm sure why not!" Mary was just buzzing on the inside.

  They made their way outside and began walking towards the bubbling river that they could hear in the distance. The gravel paths where surrounded by greenery, the place was tranquil. Just what Mary needed to think through her future.

  They talked and Sam told her that he bought properties and rented them out either as holiday homes or residential homes, renovating them if he needed to, but preferring the traditional look. Mary told him she was simply trying to find herself, not denying her family just not talking about them.

  As they got closer to the bubbling river Sam took Marys hand in his and said "I am so glad I met you Tracy, otherwise this trip would have been like any other boring business trip" He smiled and said "I may even extend my visit for a few days!" Marys heart skipped a beat, this guy actually liked her, a frumpy old mum from London! Mary let her hand remain in his and they walked to the rivers edge and just stood looking out at the night sky! This moment felt perfect, but alas Mary knew the truth would soon change all that. What person would be interested in her once they knew that she had three children a husband and a dog whom she had walked away from, even if it was only temporary.

  Walking back to the hotel, Sam escorted Mary to her room, standing outside the door he told her "I am busy in the morning viewing the cottage, but when I come back at lunch time do you fancy going for a drive with me? Maybe take a picnic or something?" Mary smiled and nodded "That would be nice." Sam eyes lit up, "Thats a date then." he said and leaned in and kissed Mary lightly on the cheek, her body trembled with excitement and her face reddened, she turned around and opened her room door. "See you tomorrow Sam" she whispered against the door as she closed it.

  Mary undressed for bed, drew the curtains closed and turned on the lamp. Climbing into bed she tried to relax by reading one of the books she had brought, but Sam was all she could think about. She was definitley attracted to him, there was a mutual desire for each other she could see it in the way he looked at her, but where was it going to end up? Eventually Mary fell asleep but her dreams where filled with thoughts of Sam.

  Chapter Four

  Mary woke to the sound of birds chirping outside of the window and the strong scent of the garden, the sunlight was trying to break through the gaps in the curtains. Yawning and stretching she checked her watch to see what time it was, it was ten am, Mary jumped out of bed forgetting where she was for a minute thinking she was late for the school run. After jumping out of bed Mary looked round and realised that she wasnt at home, no wonder she had slept in theres no way her kids would have let her sleep that long on a school day or any day for that matter. She wondered how they where getting on without her and contemplated switching her phone on to check in, but decided she wasnt ready yet to talk to anyone. Gathering up some clothes for the day she went into the shower and enjoyed the refreshing hot water on her skin. After getting dressed she went down stairs ready to explore this little village until lunch time when Sam came to take her out.. she was both nervous and excited about her date!

  As she got to the front door Martha came out of the kitchen "Ah good morning Tracy, I hope you enjoyed your sleep, breakfast was over at nine am, but I have kept some back for you if you are hungry!"

  Mary shook her head and said "Thats awful sweet of you Martha but I am not really a breakfast person." more like she rarely ever had time to get herself breakfast in the mornings. The mad morning rush with the kids kept her far too busy to think about eating.

  "No problems Tracy, theres always plenty if you fancy breakfast any mornings. Enjoy your day!" Martha went back into the kitchen and Mary stepped out into the crisp sunshine. The weather was nice for the end of April Mary thought.

  Walking down the path towards what would be considered a main road, Mary paused to take in the scenery, this place really was beautiful she thought and wished she could stay here forever but she knew that sooner or later she would have to make a decision. But for now she was going to visit the local shops and enjoy herself for once. She soon found out that there were not too many shops.

  Strolling down the little road she came across a post office, outside sat two elderly gentlemen one tipped his hat at her as she went into the post office to get herself a drink, she nodded and smiled back at him. Like most village places this one also doubled up as a grocery shop and sold the basics such as milk, bread and eggs. The lady who ran the shop was friendly enough, although some may say gossipy and wanted to ask Mary one hundred and one questions! Saying her goodbyes Mary vowed she wouldnt shop there too often.

  Walking further down the street she noticed a little antique shop and decided to browse and see if there was anything that would catch her eye. Mary liked to collect old things but Mark thought that it was a stupid hobby and hated what he called "her clutter!" So she tried to resist all urges to buy things. But Mark was not here and no-one was going to stop her this time.

  The shop was quite small and although Mary wasnt tall she had to duck her head down to enter the small do
or frame. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dimness of the room but when it did she gasped, there were all sorts of treasures here, from giant lion statues to tiny dragon fly brooches. Mary had found herself in heaven!

  Browsing the small shop she looked and smiled at everything, how she wished she could take it all home. Finally she decided the dragon fly brooch was ideal and bought it for herself, the antique dealer told her it would match her green eyes perfectly and pinned it to her blouse for her. Thanking him she left and headed back to the hotel, it wouldnt be long till Sam was back to take her out. She wanted to freshen up before then.

  Practically running the rest of the way she did not see the car coming around the corner and it drove straight into her. Mary was flung across the road and knocked unconscious. Sam stepped out of the car in shock and fear realising that it was Mary, or as he knew her Tracy, he ran to her side, cradling her head in his arms, while the blood from her head dripped onto his shirt. Taking his mobile phone from out of his pocket he rang for an ambulance.

  Chapter Five

  Mary woke up and looked around her wondering where on earth she was. Looking up she saw a man with dark hair and brown eyes staring down at her "Tracy, oh Tracy you are awake!" Mary shook her head who was he? Who is Tracy? she had no idea. "Where am I?" she asked. "Let me get a doctor for you Tracy" he said rushing away, Mary tried to sit up but the pain in her head made her pause for a minute. She reached up and felt the bandage on her head. What has happened to me she thought.

  A small bald man in a white coat came back with Sam, "Tracy my dear you are finally awake," he exclaimed, "So good to see you" Checking her over he helped her to sit up and told the nurse to bring her some tea. She shook her head slowly, "Just water please." looking back and forth at Sam and the doctor she asked them "Where am I? Who am I?"

  "Oh dear I thought this might have happened." Pulling up a chair the doctor took Mary's hand in his, "You where involved in an accident down near Marthas hotel, you had a nasty knock to your head, hence the bandage, I had to stitch it up for you, though I need to check those stitches soon as its been a while since they went in."