Michelle Morrissey
Michelle is an aspiring writer living in London, England. Originally from Co. Kerry, she enjoys reading, writing and has been involved in several debating teams over the years. Both of her parents are interested in writing and she believes her love of writing stems from their passion for literature. She hopes to one day write a book of her own.
Inconclusive Events
I was at a meeting with my councillor, Pierce, who asked me to write down a brief outline of my life, of the things that made an impact on me. I don't know if this will help me to expel any anger or not but I'm giving it a shot. So Pierce, here goes nothing.
It had been forty years now since I moved to Canada. When I got here I was frightened and alone. Then I met David. I remember the day so well. I was just beginning to find my feet at work. Helping me along the way was a partner at the firm.
He was an older man, I want to say an older gentleman but he was far from that. He was completely perverted. Eyes on nothing but my lips or legs or some body part… It was so off putting! One of my workmates, Lauren, sensed my distress and took over as my caretaker. We became very friendly and enjoyed plenty Saturday nights out on the town. I was devastated when she decided to move to the States. When her apartment went up for sale, she gave her old auctioneering company her custom and I was given the job of showing the place whenever anyone requested to see it. There was a lot of interest in
the place but people seemed a small bit put off by the price. I had begun to tire of this and was just about to call Lauren and ask her to lower her asking price when my phone rang.
“ Hello, Brooksville Auctioneers, Nicole speaking”.
“Hello. I was wondering about that place on Hisscan Terrace, is it still on the market?” I could tell that this caller was more interested than any of the others had been.
“Yes, it’s still on the market. Would you like to make an appointment for viewing?”
“ You know, I think I rather would. I’m going to be busy all week though, today is the only day I have any time to myself. I wonder could I see it today at all?” I was ten minutes away from finishing work for the day but I agreed, I really wanted to get this place wrapped up.
“ Yes, I’ll meet you there in half an hour if that suits?”
“Great, goodbye.”
I grabbed my bag and jumped in the car. I said I would be there in half an hour and the place was
at least an hour away. Why had I said that? That was one of the last things I can recall having thought about before I woke up
again.
When I woke up I was very lightheaded. It seemed that nothing made sense. Like that tube sticking out of my arm. Why was it there? Or that cast on my leg… I didn’t know what had happened. It was a while before I realised I was in a hospital and when I did, I started to panic. Doctors were quick to come and address my concerns. They told me the whole story.
“ Nicole, you are VERY lucky to be alive. Your car hit a wall just ten minutes from your place of work. You must have been driving terribly fast. In any event, the main thing is that you are alright. There was nobody else involved either, so you needn’t worry about having harmed anyone else. Now the only real bad news is that you have quite a few fractures and three broken bones. You will need to be here for another month at least, maybe even two.”
I lay there in shock. What was I supposed to do in a hospital for two months? Well, here’s what I did. I fell in love… With my doctor. Now, many doctors came and went throughout the day, but this doctor came every day and stayed quite a while upon each visit, generally until his pager went off and he needed to leave. Five weeks later I was discharged. I left with several scars
and also, I hoped, a boyfriend. We dated for a year before he popped that all-important question. Of course I said yes, and our marriage was a very happy one. We had a beautiful daughter, Hayleigh, followed by another little girl,
Jessica. They were our pride and joy, still are of course. I wish that I could say that to Jessica, that we love her and she is now and was always one of our our most proud achievements in life. Jessica’s twenty-first birthday gift from
me was a sterling silver bracelet encrusted with diamonds. Her father had bought her a car. It wasn’t a new one and it was rather small, but she was very grateful for having gotten it. Her boyfriend of three years, Hugh, had given her
a ring. Not just any ring, an engagement ring. I won’t pretend I was happy about it, I wasn’t. I never liked him. He didn’t have any prospects in life. He didn’t have a job, he didn’t want a job and the only thing he did want was our Jess. I
worried about her studies and how they might suffer because of him. She was going to be a doctor like her father, she should be marrying a doctor like her father. David consoled me by reassuring me that they would never get married.
“ Darling, that boy has no income. He has nothing. How do you think he will pay for a wedding with no money?” I wasn’t
convinced.
“I don’t know David, there are all kinds of ways to do that. They could get a loan… Or go to a registry office… They could… They could do anything!” I was pale with fear.
“ Nicole, I need you to listen to me. Our daughter will not get married in a registry office. Her soul is too romantic and spiritual for that. As for the loan, what bank would back those two? A trainee doctor with four years study to complete before she earns any real cash, and a man who has no qualifications or any job at all. They are an unlikely pair and Jess will see
that soon. Please don’t worry.” But I did worry.
They got married in a registry office in the end. It was low-cost and apparently it was more romantic than a church wedding, as it showed that neither party cared for money as much as they cared for love. Pretty soon
problems started to appear in the marriage. Cracks that could not be painted over formed.
“ Mom, he wants me to have a baby NOW… Like I need to finish college, I keep telling him! All he says is that if I loved him I would, that he will stay at home and look after it when it’s born. We have no way of supporting it, I have told him that. He got so angry when I said that. I thought he would hit me. He doesn’t care about what I want.” Jessica was crying and it was
breaking my heart. I hated the man that she called her husband. David had told me not to interfere, but how could I not
interfere?
“ Listen Jess, you must leave him. Do it now before it’s too late. He is never going to improve. How could he possibly be everything you need? Come back to us Jess. Go back to the house, get your belongings and come home.” I hoped she would agree.
“ You know mom, I’m going to do it. I’m going to leave him. But I feel so silly! We are only married thirteen months. What will people think?”
“ Jessica, they thought you were mad to marry him in the first place. Anyway, never mind what people think.” That was the last time I saw her. I was becoming anxious later that evening when she hadn’t come back. David was passive.
“ Darling, those two are always fighting and then twenty minutes later they are in love again. It’s what they do. Now I asked you not to get involved and you did. Please just leave it. Call her tomorrow”.
I did call her, there was no answer. Later , her phone had been switched off entirely. I drove over to her house. Hugh answered the door.
“ Is Jessica here? I need to see her.” Hugh stared blankly at my face.
“We had a fight yesterday, she drove off and hasn’t been back since. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go.” I didn’t like his
tone.
“ Why Hugh, why do you have to go?” I asked sharply.
“I don’t need this from you Nicole, I really don’t.”He refuted.
“ Well, I need to know where my daughter is and as you don’t know and my husband doesn’t know perhaps the police can find out.” He seemed shaken.
“No! Don’t ring them. There’s no need. A waste of good police time they’ll say it is Mrs. Humes. They could arrest you for wasting their time you know”.
Mrs. Humes. That was something which Hugh had not referred to her as since before he married Jessica. When he was still trying to buy her affection by being gentlemanly, or at least trying to. I called the police.
That was five years ago. They never found her, not even any reported sightings. The only thing that was found was a single hair of hers in the trunk of Hugh’s van. There was never a trial because there was never a body, but I know he killed her. I see it in his eyes. He never calls us to see how we are getting on. He has moved away since. Lives in New York now I believe. I
don’t ever want to see him again.
I hope this was alright Pierce,
Nicole.
I was at a meeting with my councillor, Pierce, who asked me to write down a brief outline of my life, of the things that made an impact on me. I don't know if this will help me to expel any anger or not but I'm giving it a shot. So Pierce, here goes nothing.
It had been forty years now since I moved to Canada. When I got here I was frightened and alone. Then I met David. I remember the day so well. I was just beginning to find my feet at work. Helping me along the way was a partner at the firm.
He was an older man, I want to say an older gentleman but he was far from that. He was completely perverted. Eyes on nothing but my lips or legs or some body part… It was so off putting! One of my workmates, Lauren, sensed my distress and took over as my caretaker. We became very friendly and enjoyed plenty Saturday nights out on the town. I was devastated when she decided to move to the States. When her apartment went up for sale, she gave her old auctioneering company her custom and I was given the job of showing the place whenever anyone requested to see it. There was a lot of interest in
the place but people seemed a small bit put off by the price. I had begun to tire of this and was just about to call Lauren and ask her to lower her asking price when my phone rang.
“ Hello, Brooksville Auctioneers, Nicole speaking”.
“Hello. I was wondering about that place on Hisscan Terrace, is it still on the market?” I could tell that this caller was more interested than any of the others had been.
“Yes, it’s still on the market. Would you like to make an appointment for viewing?”
“ You know, I think I rather would. I’m going to be busy all week though, today is the only day I have any time to myself. I wonder could I see it today at all?” I was ten minutes away from finishing work for the day but I agreed, I really wanted to get this place wrapped up.
“ Yes, I’ll meet you there in half an hour if that suits?”
“Great, goodbye.”
I grabbed my bag and jumped in the car. I said I would be there in half an hour and the place was
at least an hour away. Why had I said that? That was one of the last things I can recall having thought about before I woke up
again.
When I woke up I was very lightheaded. It seemed that nothing made sense. Like that tube sticking out of my arm. Why was it there? Or that cast on my leg… I didn’t know what had happened. It was a while before I realised I was in a hospital and when I did, I started to panic. Doctors were quick to come and address my concerns. They told me the whole story.
“ Nicole, you are VERY lucky to be alive. Your car hit a wall just ten minutes from your place of work. You must have been driving terribly fast. In any event, the main thing is that you are alright. There was nobody else involved either, so you needn’t worry about having harmed anyone else. Now the only real bad news is that you have quite a few fractures and three broken bones. You will need to be here for another month at least, maybe even two.”
I lay there in shock. What was I supposed to do in a hospital for two months? Well, here’s what I did. I fell in love… With my doctor. Now, many doctors came and went throughout the day, but this doctor came every day and stayed quite a while upon each visit, generally until his pager went off and he needed to leave. Five weeks later I was discharged. I left with several scars
and also, I hoped, a boyfriend. We dated for a year before he popped that all-important question. Of course I said yes, and our marriage was a very happy one. We had a beautiful daughter, Hayleigh, followed by another little girl,
Jessica. They were our pride and joy, still are of course. I wish that I could say that to Jessica, that we love her and she is now and was always one of our our most proud achievements in life. Jessica’s twenty-first birthday gift from
me was a sterling silver bracelet encrusted with diamonds. Her father had bought her a car. It wasn’t a new one and it was rather small, but she was very grateful for having gotten it. Her boyfriend of three years, Hugh, had given her
a ring. Not just any ring, an engagement ring. I won’t pretend I was happy about it, I wasn’t. I never liked him. He didn’t have any prospects in life. He didn’t have a job, he didn’t want a job and the only thing he did want was our Jess. I
worried about her studies and how they might suffer because of him. She was going to be a doctor like her father, she should be marrying a doctor like her father. David consoled me by reassuring me that they would never get married.
“ Darling, that boy has no income. He has nothing. How do you think he will pay for a wedding with no money?” I wasn’t
convinced.
“I don’t know David, there are all kinds of ways to do that. They could get a loan… Or go to a registry office… They could… They could do anything!” I was pale with fear.
“ Nicole, I need you to listen to me. Our daughter will not get married in a registry office. Her soul is too romantic and spiritual for that. As for the loan, what bank would back those two? A trainee doctor with four years study to complete before she earns any real cash, and a man who has no qualifications or any job at all. They are an unlikely pair and Jess will see
that soon. Please don’t worry.” But I did worry.
They got married in a registry office in the end. It was low-cost and apparently it was more romantic than a church wedding, as it showed that neither party cared for money as much as they cared for love. Pretty soon
problems started to appear in the marriage. Cracks that could not be painted over formed.
“ Mom, he wants me to have a baby NOW… Like I need to finish college, I keep telling him! All he says is that if I loved him I would, that he will stay at home and look after it when it’s born. We have no way of supporting it, I have told him that. He got so angry when I said that. I thought he would hit me. He doesn’t care about what I want.” Jessica was crying and it was
breaking my heart. I hated the man that she called her husband. David had told me not to interfere, but how could I not
interfere?
“ Listen Jess, you must leave him. Do it now before it’s too late. He is never going to improve. How could he possibly be everything you need? Come back to us Jess. Go back to the house, get your belongings and come home.” I hoped she would agree.
“ You know mom, I’m going to do it. I’m going to leave him. But I feel so silly! We are only married thirteen months. What will people think?”
“ Jessica, they thought you were mad to marry him in the first place. Anyway, never mind what people think.” That was the last time I saw her. I was becoming anxious later that evening when she hadn’t come back. David was passive.
“ Darling, those two are always fighting and then twenty minutes later they are in love again. It’s what they do. Now I asked you not to get involved and you did. Please just leave it. Call her tomorrow”.
I did call her, there was no answer. Later , her phone had been switched off entirely. I drove over to her house. Hugh answered the door.
“ Is Jessica here? I need to see her.” Hugh stared blankly at my face.
“We had a fight yesterday, she drove off and hasn’t been back since. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go.” I didn’t like his
tone.
“ Why Hugh, why do you have to go?” I asked sharply.
“I don’t need this from you Nicole, I really don’t.”He refuted.
“ Well, I need to know where my daughter is and as you don’t know and my husband doesn’t know perhaps the police can find out.” He seemed shaken.
“No! Don’t ring them. There’s no need. A waste of good police time they’ll say it is Mrs. Humes. They could arrest you for wasting their time you know”.
Mrs. Humes. That was something which Hugh had not referred to her as since before he married Jessica. When he was still trying to buy her affection by being gentlemanly, or at least trying to. I called the police.
That was five years ago. They never found her, not even any reported sightings. The only thing that was found was a single hair of hers in the trunk of Hugh’s van. There was never a trial because there was never a body, but I know he killed her. I see it in his eyes. He never calls us to see how we are getting on. He has moved away since. Lives in New York now I believe. I
don’t ever want to see him again.
I hope this was alright Pierce,
Nicole.