A Hole in Serenity

A Hole in Serenity

By

Mark Draycott

This novel is a work of fiction. Characters, names, organisations, events, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Text copyright © 2016 Mark Draycott

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means either electronically or mechanically. Also, it may not be photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without written permission from the author.

Cover design by Kellie Dennis

Author’s note

Parts of this novel are set in Sheffield in the North of England. However, the villages of Furnage and Woodside are fictitious.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Letter from the Author

Chapter 1

As 9 o clock approached on Sunday evening, the thought of another mundane week ahead began to make Kerry’s stomach turn. The weekends, as they always did, seem to disappear before her eyes and she wondered at what point they would begin to slow down. She didn’t exactly dislike her job; she just felt that she had reached that point in her career where it had simply become something to do outside of her weekends.

She had worked as a recruitment consultant for almost five years now but this past year it had begun to feel like she was losing the drive and enthusiasm that she knew she needed to stay successful. The high targets, combined with the laborious outbound calls to clients who were not exactly thrilled to hear from her, had begun to wear her down. She was, however. very successful at what she did and had frequently been the top biller in the company with her more-than-healthy pay packet the only reward. Recently, this money-driven attitude had started to diminish and she now felt that the time had come to be honest with herself. The same could not be said for Kerry’s husband, Simon.

Simon was almost 35 years old and seemed very content with his role as an IT executive based at the company where he and Kerry had been working at for 4 years, S&L Law Services in Sheffield. He had worked in IT all of his life. It was all he knew, but regardless, he was not one to embrace change, especially at his age.

Kerry and Simon first came eye-to-eye at the company’s annual recruitment fair in London. They were unaware of each other’s existence until that night, both remaining adamant that they were the one to make the first move. Deep down Kerry knew that if it was not for Simon’s James Bond-style approach in his black suit they would probably never have hit it off. Ever since, neither of them had looked back even amongst the early concerns at how the whole ‘working relationship’ thing might pan out. But they made it work and it was still working. Neither of them could be happier if they tried.

After tying the knot two years’ ago in a simple ceremony in Sheffield, they decided shortly afterwards to buy their first home together. It was a city centre apartment ideal for rolling out of bed at 8 o clock in the morning to just make it into work for 9. With two bedrooms and a spacious open-plan lounge/kitchen, it was all they needed. Their apartment had recently turned into the equivalent of the 19th hole with Kerry and Simon regularly playing host to their colleagues after work on a Friday evening. They were happy with their home, at least for now. They both knew that at some point, however, they would be ready for children. Having both come from big families themselves, this was a subject that came up frequently and it served as a relief to both knowing that they were both on the same page. There was nothing that they both craved more than to find the perfect retreat in which to raise their family, together. Kerry was also aware that her biological clock was ticking and she knew this had to happen sooner rather than later.

Simon glanced over at her having almost finished the weekly pile of ironing that he loathed with a passion.

Are you ok darling? Kerry, the self-confessed Facebook junkie, sat with her head buried deep into her phone, the screen illuminating her tired eyes.

I’m fine babe. Just really tired and not looking forward to work in the morning. Simon sensed her disappointment realizing that it was 10.30 and almost time for bed.

Oh Kerry, not this again. You can do that job with your eyes closed! You are so good at what you do and like I’ve said, you can’t moan too much bringing home that sort of money every month. Just think, we would have no chance of affording this dream home we keep talking about if it wasn’t for you.

That’s half the problem though Simon. I don’t want to be able to do a job with my eyes closed. I want to learn something new, find my work challenging but at the same time be able to enjoy what I’m doing. I walk through that door Monday to Thursday to the same old egotistical, money-hungry robots, knowing exactly what I’m going into and it’s just no fun anymore.

Kerry had only worked four days a week for some time now as she and Simon were earning enough money between them to support them both but also to support Kerry’s Fridays off. Simon was a bit taken back by her latest rant but he had become somewhat used to it. She had a habit of sounding off, particularly on Sunday evenings and even more so when she was tired. He was happy to put this one down to tiredness, very rarely taking her too seriously. Simon’s love for Kerry was unfathomable and it always had been but he was the type to steer clear of an argument or any deep and meaningfuls that might occur.

I’m going up now, bellowed Kerry from the bottom of the stairs.

Okay. I’ll be up in a minute.

Later that evening Simon climbed into bed and wrapped his arm around his wife.

You’ll be fine Kerry. It’s just that typical Sunday night feeling that we all get. He knew that wasn’t true as he never felt like that on a Sunday night but he always tried his hardest to say the right thing. Kerry responded with a snore. She was already fast asleep.

He lay there for what seemed like an eternity. Simon had always had problems sleeping and after trying every legal remedy possible, he had given up and resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to get used to it, which he had done. For some reason when his head hit the pillow and the world stopped around him, his brain would fire up like a Harley Davidson on amber, filling his head with all sorts of weird and wonderful information. Tonight, however, there was only one thing on his mind. What if Kerry was serious and she really wasn’t enjoying her job anymore? What else could she do? After all, recruitment was all she knew. Her only other passion was animals but surely she would need the relevant qualifications to be able to work with them. No, it was just another rant. He would ignore it as he always did.

The sleeping couple were woken by Simon’s alarm at 7.45 and after a brief snooze Kerry sat up and wiped the dried saliva from her mouth before rolling out of bed ready to begin her morning ritual which usually consisted of a beauty regime that any super model would be proud of. She was a very attractive 31-year-old with long dark hair and piercing green eyes. Simon had always been amazed at how long it took her to get ready each morning. In his eyes she could have left the apartment in her pajamas and still be the most attractive woman on the street. He was sure that he was not the only man to feel this way about their wife and knew exactly how lucky he was to have her. As they left their apartment he noticed the same glum expression from the night before on Kerry’s face. Maybe she did need a change, he thought. He decided there and then that if change was what she needed then he would support her every step of the way. For the first time in a long time Simon thought to himself that change might not be a bad thing after all. He would go along with whatever made his wife happy. Kerry’s new beginning would be his new beginning and as they walked hand-in-hand through the streets of Sheffield, a smile appeared on his face.

Chapter 2

To Kerry’s delight, Friday arrived surprisingly quickly. The end of the working week seemed to have become a highlight on her desktop calendar of late - the smiley red face a permanent resident in the blank white space. The morning had so far been a combination of staring into space and clock-watching with the odd call interrupting her thought pattern. As it approached 12pm, she couldn’t wait to get out for an hour with Faye.

Kerry and Faye had become inseparable since the day Kerry had started at S&L and they had remained that way ever since. Kerry saw Faye as more of a close friend than a colleague and they would frequently unite for girl’s nights in or after-work drinks. Like most girl’s nights in, or out for that matter, the conversation always turned to men, with both parties welcoming the chance to sound off.

As they sat down at their favourite ‘all you can eat’ Chinese lunch buffet, the smell of prawn crackers and sweet and sour sauce filling the air, Kerry had only one thing on her mind. She needed to offload and Faye was a great listener.

So are you still enjoying it? Kerry asked, hoping Faye would ask her the same question.

I am, yes. I’ve had a few rubbish months but doesn’t everyone? replied Faye.

I guess so, yeah, said Kerry rather unenthusiastically. Faye sensed that she was quietly being asked to probe further.

Are you not then?

Not really. I haven’t been for a while. I just think I’m ready for a change said Kerry.

But what else would you do apart from another recruitment job? asked Faye.

To be honest, I haven’t given it much thought yet. I would love to work with animals but I wouldn’t know where to start. Kerry had always wanted to put her love of animals to good use but her life to date had taken a different path and she had all but given up hope of doing so when she hit 30. When Kerry had left school at 16, she had gone straight to college to study art and design but after two years of not exactly taking college life too seriously, she had ended up securing a job with a mobile phone company as a sales consultant. Ever since then her working life had revolved around targets, stress and more targets.

Faye found it difficult to offer any useful advice as she herself didn’t know the first thing about working with animals. In fact she was not much of an animal lover at all.

My aunty has her own dog walking business but that’s about as close as anyone I know has come to working with animals. She laughed nervously feeling as though her advice was useless before noticing Kerry’s sudden fixation.

Are you serious? asked Kerry.

Err yeah. She has been doing it for years. She loves it. It’s not exactly my idea of fun but whatever floats your boat I guess.

I would love to do something like that said Kerry beaming from ear-to-ear. Imagine spending all day out in the fresh air, running around after dogs.

Yeah and freezing your arse off at the same time replied Faye. Like I said, whatever floats your boat.

Kerry shovelled in her last forkfuls of egg fried rice whilst thinking about how much fun Faye’s aunty must be having and comparing it to her daily routine which now just depressed her even more. Sat at her desk day in, day out surrounded by target driven and commission-hungry robots. No, that was it. Kerry made her decision. She was going to start looking for a new job. Something that would excite her into getting out of bed in the morning. She just had to run it past Simon first. Not that his decision was always final, she just always felt like it was the right thing to do. After all they shared everything and that was the way it had always been.

On the way back to the office, Kerry continued to quiz Faye about her aunty and the ins and outs of dog walking.

I’m not entirely sure to be honest. I think she has a few people that trust her enough to leave a set of keys with her to go in and feed the dogs and take them out for a walk and that. You’ll have to ask her yourself. Give her a call. It’s all she ever talks about, so be prepared to be on the phone for a while.

Where does she do it? asked Kerry.

She does it where she lives in Furnage. It’s about half-an-hour from here.

Kerry had heard of Furnage but didn’t know much about it or where it was exactly.

Kerry spent the majority of her afternoon on the internet looking at pictures on Faye’s aunty’s website having decided that she would call her to find out a bit more about it. She couldn’t wait to get home and talk to Simon.

Although Kerry and Simon worked together, they very rarely spoke during the day. With Simon working in IT, it was hard for them to email one another as he was the one supposedly monitoring company email usage. They were. however, both happy with this set up, agreeing that it was a positive thing and meant that they could save their conversation for their evenings together. As soon as the clock struck five-thirty, Kerry shut down her computer, grabbed her coat and flew out of the office door, almost as if the fire alarm had just sounded. Simon arrived outside shortly and greeted his wife with their customary post-work kiss and cuddle. A moment that Kerry knew she would never take for granted.

They arrived home, both changing out of their work attire before settling down for a Friday night in front of the television.

What do you want for tea? Simon asked. Shall I just put that oven pizza in with chips?"

Simon had become the resident chef of late. Even with simple oven food he saw it his place to sort out the tea each evening.

I want to watch that property programme at eight o clock. They’re in Sheffield this week. Since they’d begun saving for their new home, property programmes had taken centre-stage. They would mentally store all sorts of home improvement ideas ready to unleash on their new home when the time came.

Yes, that’s fine with me, replied Kerry. I’ve got something I want to talk to you about anyway.

Oh yeah, anything interesting? Anything I need to be worried about? asked Simon with anticipation.

"Oh no. It’s nothing to