3.The News

GEOFFREY AND MAVIS
AND THE CREDIT CRUNCH
by Geoffrey's mum

(थिस स्टोरी इस एन्तिरेली fictitious)
3
The News

Geoffrey and Mavis waited with trepidation for the post to arrive that morning. But when it did there was nothing from the bank.
“He said we'd get the Formal Demand in the post today” said Mavis.
“Perhaps he missed the post” said Geoffrey. “After all he had worked himself up into a terrible state by the time we left. And I imagine Final demands are quite precise documents to prepare. He probably needed a lie down before he could manage important documentation so he might have missed the post.”
“We'll probably get it tomorrow” said Mavis. So, in the meantime they went back to making toffee.
The following morning was just the same. The post man delivered a telephone bill, a catalogue for spring bulbs and an invitation for anyone over 50 to get cheap funeral insurance but nothing from the Bank.
At lunch time they took their normal break to have a cheese and chutney sandwich and a cup of tea. They'd made a particularly delicious batch of toffee that morning and it had quite taken their minds off the bank. Or at least it had until Geoffrey opened the local paper and immediately dropped his tea mug.
“Mavis” he almost screamed, “Mavis look at this!”
As half of Geoffrey's tea had spilt on the newspaper it was hard at first glance to see what had so excited her husband. But then she saw it, a tiny article in Breaking News tinged with a fawny brown tea stain, 'Banker strangled to Death In His own Home'.
“Well I never” said Mavis, “what a coincidence, you dream you strangle a banker and then a banker gets strangled. Right here in our own town. What a coincidence!”
“But what if it's not a coincidence! It doesn't give the name of the banker yet but what if it's him? What if it's Mr Chargingbull?”
“Well what if it is” said Mavis? “To be honest, he was a particularly unpleasant person and I imagine there was probably quite a lot of people who would have liked to strangle him.”
“Yes but how many of them were actually prepared to do it?”
Mavis shrugged.
“Me Mavis, me. I was prepared to do it and I did it!”
“Don't be a silly old fudge cake. You had a bad dream about strangling that nasty man at the bank and then you woke up, in your own bed and told me about it.”
“But what if I did more than that Mavis, what if I got out of bed and went round to his house and strangled him and then came home and went to bed?”
Mavis had had enough of this nonsense. “I think you're going down with something my lad. Either that or the stress of this nasty bank business is affecting your thinking. We're going to close up early today, we're going to go home and I'm going to make you a nice neck of lamb stew and then we're going to watch a Doris Day movie and go to bed.”
Geoffrey was about to object but Mavis had set her mouth in that certain way and she had her hands on her hips. So he didn't bother.



To be continued.........

Copyright N Barton 2008