Costume Party

Judy sat solemnly on a chair by Lloyd’s bedside. She didn’t move. Or rather, she couldn’t move, not with the tiniest of chances he could suddenly wake up and go into some long rant about the doctor’s lack of linguistic accuracy, despite, as Lloyd would put it, him being technically more advanced than either of them was because he obtained the qualification saying so. Judy smiled to herself, then blinked away the tears that threatened to slip when his voice was heard in her head. For a moment Judy closed her eyes, then she was there - same place, same smell, it smelled a little like Autumn, like when you walk through the park, just as the leaves make their slow transition from earthly green, to mouldy green. Everything around Judy seemed to stop, for just a moment, she could feel her heart explode as to the floor he fell.

“Lloyd!” She screamed, half expecting Lloyd to just bounce back up again. It didn’t occur to her that he might not. All she wanted to do was go home.

“Mrs Lloyd?” Judy was soon broken out of her trance by the sound of the doctor’s voice. Is he talking to me, Judy thought, as she scanned the small room. He must be, the only other Mrs Lloyd was his mother, and she’s long gone. Then again, Barbara was once Mrs Lloyd, but they’ve since long been divorced. So the only Mrs Lloyd the doctor could be addressing right now, is Judy herself.

Judy looked up at the man with tired eyes, and sat up straight. 

“Good morning, Doctor,” she spoke politely, in a voice so quiet the Doctor had to bend forward to hear even a slither of the words she spoke. Perhaps, she thought, Lloyd was simply sleeping, so rather than being as loud as to wake him, she would let him sleep in peace. It would be just like Lloyd to be listening right now as she threatened to fight the tears from her eyes.

She glanced around the room then laughed to herself as she recalled a joke. Basically, a man says to a woman, ‘did you know they say that the man at number seventeen has had every woman in the street but one?’ Then the woman responds with, ‘is that right? I wonder which one.’ That joke would be funny, if not so ironic to Judy at the moment, only three in a room, two out of three have done each other, but Judy thought the doctor needn’t mind. He was, of course, an outsider to whatever imaginary world Judy had conjured up. She looked up at him again, scanning his features, he was attractive, she’d give him that. But it seems a little false. Ordinary working people who just get by don’t have blinding teeth, or shiny cheekbones, his face fixed with a permanent smile. Talk about mixed messages. Judy glances down as he continued to talk.

“I’m afraid we have no updates regarding your husband’s condition, Mrs Lloyd. I’m very sorry.”

Judy didn’t know at this point whether he meant his apology or not. Lloyd always used to make stuff up to get the reaction he wants, so maybe this Doctor is doing the same, Judy thought. She supposed he’s said those same lines so many times, he’s practically on autopilot. “Automatic bloody pilot,” she whispered to herself, an attempted deliberate echo of the words her ex husband Michael threw at her during one of their many, many rows. How she remembers that after so long is a complete mystery, especially as she has such a tragic memory, she’s notorious for it. That’s why she carries her notebook everywhere, jotting down words as they’re spoken. Funnily enough, her notebook has captured so much of what others miss, and it usually comes in handy a great deal of the time. Judy tried to recall why that lines sticks out amongst all others, maybe because the Doctor is perfectly mirroring those old moments, and Judy can finally understand Michael’s frustration. But she’d never sleep with the Doctor, that’s a given. The Doctor took her out of herself for a moment, by speaking again, “We will update you further, when we have more information,” he said, and gently placed a hand on Judy’s shoulder.

“Thank you, Doctor,” was all she could manage, as she grasped tighter onto Lloyd’s lifeless hand.

After being told by about a dozen different doctors to leave for the night, she eventually did. But her mind never left his side. Judy recalled a conversation she once had with Lloyd, she couldn’t remember specifics, only that it ended with her saying, “Anyway, I’m a piece of earth, and you’re a piece of sky.” Judy smiled through her tears as Lloyd smiled back at her, then she blinked and he was gone. She had never really thought about it much, but they really did have nothing in common. Lloyd was poetic, he could remember any poem at the drop of a hat, and loved listening to himself recite them, Judy loved his voice. She made a list long ago in her head of “Good Things about Lloyd,” and she decided his voice was at the top. The Welsh was nuanced, and almost musical as he spoke. Judy, on the other hand, couldn’t write a piece of poetry to save her life. If the world around her was burning, and the only way Judy could save herself was through writing a stanza of poetry, she’d see herself burn with the world around her. But despite their differences, something always worked. Lloyd once joked about the horizon, and Judy predictably corrected him by stating, “The horizon is an illusion,” that made Judy sad to think about. She usually disliked religion, but if Lloyd does die, Heaven forbid, then is it not more comforting to think that someday they’d be back together again? Judy pondered this thought as she walked back to her car. She finally got a new one after Lloyd’s persistent pestering that she should. It drove her absolutely mental, so in the end she caved in.

Charlotte’s like that, must be a Lloyd family trait, but she has Judy’s eyes. Judy’s eyes expressed honesty, her integrity rarely questioned by opposing counsel, she just had one of those faces where if her mouth doesn’t open to say it, her eyes will. She pulled out her phone to call her daughter, it took a moment or two for Charlotte to pick up, her voice slurred yet again. Charlotte had been experimenting with alcohol. She’s young, Judy supposed, she’s bound to do silly things like that, but it doesn’t mean she has to support it.

“Hi Mum,” Charlotte spoke loudly, obviously trying to cover up the sound of people in the background. Charlotte is grounded for drunkenly throwing eggs at their neighbour’s window, after she refused to pay Charlotte’s sponsor money because she didn’t actually run. The woman had warned Judy that Charlotte would just take the money, and Judy believed the woman had every right to refuse payment. It would be like hiring a gardener, and them not showing up, but still expecting to be paid, it wasn’t on, and Judy knew this. Charlotte’s reaction to it was unacceptable, so Judy grounded her. Being grounded meant she wasn’t to have people at the house, so why did she have people round? It would be another thing for Judy to sort out when she got home.

But at this moment, she didn’t care, she just wanted to hear her daughter’s voice. 

“Hi Charlotte. You okay at home?” Judy asked, not sounding like herself. She sounded almost… defeated? If that’s the word. Either way, it wasn’t Judy. Not that a drunk, fifteen year old kid would notice. All Judy is to Charlotte is a rule enforcer, Lloyd was the softie, with just one, “Daddy, please…” Charlotte could have Lloyd obeying her every demand. And good God there’s been a few of them. Ranging from something as simple as buying a lollipop from the local funfair, to more extravagant purchases like a new phone. Judy’s dreading the first lot of driving lessons, not two weeks after starting she can already hear, “Daddy, please can I get a new car?” And off Lloyd goes. It makes Judy smile, though, knowing how much Lloyd loves his daughter, she will admit it, she had prenatal misgivings on Lloyd’s dedication to fatherhood, despite him having two other children, but he’s really stepped up, and for that she is thankful. 

It took a moment for Charlotte to respond, after far too much to drink, and all Judy could hear was the sound of vomiting coming from the other end of the phone.

“That doesn’t sound good,” she said quietly, more to herself than to Charlotte, and hung up. Judy didn’t want to go home just yet, she’d much prefer to look at the outward scenery, first. It’s peaceful here, she thought, as she wound down the window, and watched as squirrels scurried by. Stansfield was a very old village, with houses dating back to Victorian times. It took years, and years of hard graft from Lloyd’s end to make Judy live with him, having a baby sealed the deal. Judy loved Lloyd, but didn’t dare tell him, he’d become unbearable if he knew.

Malworth is a town located beside Stansfield, it’s a better developed town, with rubbish bins located beside every lamppost in a bid to keep the title of “Tidiest Town.” They didn’t dare make a mess in Malworth, the police force is strong, Judy should know, she worked for them after being promoted to Detective Inspector. That was where she met Colin, addressed directly as just “Drummond,” they’d spare him the dignity for such unspeakable crimes. The thought of him made Judy’s skin crawl as the threats spiralled through her head. He wasted no time at all that Judy would have been his sixth victim, but thankfully for Judy, Lloyd’s weak bladder couldn’t handle the car ride home from Judy’s Malworth flat, Lloyd’s Stansfield house, when Colin saw Lloyd enter with Judy, his “animal instincts,” just couldn’t resist the “tasty” girl walking just a mile or two away. He’s an opportunist deep down, so they say. She threw her newspaper down in frustration, her hands trembled violently. After breathing deeply, and another sip of coffee, Charlotte walked in.

“Oh, Mum, my head is splitting,” she groaned, and took a seat across from Judy. Upon receiving no response, Charlotte gave Judy a funny look, before snatching the newspaper away.

“What’s this?” Charlotte asked. “Ooh, he’s hot! Has someone got a crush?”

“No, I do not,” Judy replied, irritated as she took the newspaper away, her cheeks flushed pink from being interrogated by her own daughter.

Charlotte smirked as she poured herself a cup of coffee, taking pleasure in what appeared to be her mum’s embarrassment, as Judy’s hand began to twitch. Without a word, Judy ran out of the room, tightly clutching the newspaper, and locked the bathroom door, reading and rereading the article.

“He’s being released,” she said to herself, quietly, closing her eyes a moment. Maybe, she thought, this was merely nothing more than a nightmare, she would open her eyes and be on the sofa, in Lloyd’s arms, listening to him ramble on about why people should use semicolons, Drummond would be locked up where he belongs, and all would be well with the world. Judy hoped with all her heart this would happen, as her heart sank when she opened her eyes. She looked down at the newspaper, it said the same thing, Colin Drummond was being released.

Judy’s heart broke for the victims and their families, she only came inches away, but those poor girls had to endure the pain themselves, and some didn’t survive to seek justice. Then there’s the families of these girls, who every day have to watch their; daughter, sister, niece, granddaughter, best friend slip further and further from reach. It isn’t fair, thought Judy, as she exited the bathroom.