Death of the Lion by Christie Adams

Author:Christie Adams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Christie Adams

14

PACT

Belle shared a house with mum Josephina, Jo for short. She liked to describe it to others that way. Better that than admit to still living at home with her mum, at the ripe old age of twenty-five. Not that many people cared enough to ask.

Her mother’s strength, and often frustrating and unwavering optimism, especially in the face of adversity, was something she’d taken for granted, even resented. Belle hadn’t had fancy holidays, or the craved designer gear. Had no hope of owning the latest trends as dictated by her school peers. Now she could see the materialistic resentment she’d felt as a sulky teenager was thanks to her hard-working single mum. A resilient woman who had focussed all her attention and money on providing a safe, warm home for her beloved daughter. For Jo, a young woman with Spanish roots and English as a second language, it can’t have been easy.

As the evening settled in, Belle heard her mum rattling pans in the kitchen. The air filled with a comforting aroma of freshly baked cookies. Gazing at the window but not really looking out, watching a TV that played on mute, she snuggled down with the dog and waited for the usual call from the kitchen to say tea was on the table. She stifled a yawn, the accompanying stretch too much effort.

Despite never travelling further than the British seaside, or maybe because of it, Belle often dreamed of adventures beyond the confines of her home city. She loved Sheffield and all its green spaces, but boredom and frustration at work had made it clear she needed more than to settle back and plod through corporate life.

Some days she yearned for travel. Maybe one day she’d seek her mother’s family roots in Spain.

She finally acknowledged she wanted to make a difference. Become a strong, determined, caring woman, like her mum. She’d need to find and fight for a cause. Or at least have a more rewarding job. A way to serve that didn’t involve her just sifting papers at a desk for eight hours a day. Her bland insurance office nine-to-five didn’t exactly inspire her to greatness.

On good days, she loved it. Took a pride in helping people through what was often the worse day of their lives. Bereavement, house fire, even a minimal damage RTC, road traffic collision. She thrived on those human interactions, bringing closure and, through skilled negotiation, a better result than expected.

On bad days, she spent her lunch hour maxing out her credit card. Used retail therapy to get her through the constant barrage of office politics and distant bosses in ivory towers, totally out of touch with their stressed out or switched off staff. Days filled with the repetitive admin tasks.

Some days, more often than not, her best wasn’t good enough. Her boss never satisfied with her efforts. No matter how hard she tried. Each promotion opportunity snapped up before she got a look in.

Fear, boredom and a lack of inspiration held her back from doing something radical, like a gap year, or backpacking somewhere exotic.

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