Finn and Fiona. Day Seven

I took my time with my ablutions and dressed casually as today I was heading home again. I packed my bag, again, and looked around the room to make sure I had left nothing. Then I went downstairs for breakfast, once again getting the full English to get me through the day.

After I had cleaned my teeth and gargled I added my dilly-bag to the suitcase and went back downstairs to settle up for the second time this week. The management was very kind and gave me a loyalty card for the chain which would give me a discount in about a hundred hotels across the country. I realised that with my new job I may well get some use out of it. On the way to the police station I picked up my suit and hung it in the back of the car.

At the police station I was shown into a room where a detective wanted my notes from the factory and for me to go through them with my reasoning. He then got me to dictate a statement which I needed to wait to be printed before I could leave. While I was waiting I saw Amy come in, obviously they wanted to dot all the i’s with her description of our guided tour. I gave her a smile and she smiled back before telling me that this was her first time in a police station and had worried that it would be like a prison. We sat chatting until a female officer came to take her so that she could give her statement. As she stood she said “I’m glad that it was you at the factory this week, Mr Olsen. You have cut a tumour out of the place. Everyone knew that something was going on but those ruffians would have hurt anyone who said anything. I didn’t know the manager was in on it, though. That was a real surprise.” The female officer lifted an eyebrow at this and I was sure that there would be a few gentle questions that Amy would have to answer. She may have been green but she was certainly not dumb.

The detective came back with my statement for me to read and sign and double checked my contact details in case they had any more questions. Then I was free to go. I got into the car and pointed it south, stopping at a country pub on the way for lunch, making sure I kept the receipt. Before reaching home I topped up the petrol tank and tucked this last receipt into the pile I had collected this week.

Back at the building I parked outside and carried my bag and suit up to my flat, then locked up and went back to take the car through a carwash before putting it away in the lock-up. I strolled back to the flat and unpacked my bag, putting my washing straight into the machine and hanging my clean suit in my wardrobe. I suddenly realised that I would need to get a couple more in my new job, as well as a few more shirts. When I went to the refrigerator to see what I could heat for my tea I found that we had suffered a power cut while I was away and some of my food had melted and did not look edible. There were a couple of frozen meals that had refrozen in good order but I would need to shop a bit sooner than I had expected.

Having nothing better to do I heated up one of the meals and sat at my kitchen table eating it, followed by some melted and refrozen ice cream which now had a very watery consistency. I put everything that was no longer edible into a plastic bag and took it down to the bins. I sat at the table and got one of my notebooks to write out what had transpired during the week. It took me a few hours but I was sure, in the end, that I had recorded the facts and that, should I be called to give evidence, I would have everything at my fingertips. I dated and signed every page before I put the notebook into an envelope with the name of the factory and the dates on the front. This went into my briefcase to be put into the company safe on Monday.

I then took myself off to bed and, after some little time when I thought over the events of the week, I started thinking about whether I should go for a spa treatment to rid my skin of toxins. With that thought in mind I went off to sleep until the classical music made me open my eyes in the pink bedroom.

I felt absolutely fabulous and knew that, after today, I would look similar. Today was my salon day. As the wedding was in the morning – tomorrow!!!! I had scheduled a full salon session today because there wouldn’t be time on Saturday. Once again, I took my time getting out of bed and went down to the kitchen for breakfast. As I ate, I went over all the things that were needed for the morning and discussed it all with my mother. We decided that I had thought of everything and had enough new clothing to last a couple of years. She then gave me a figure that she would need for the house that would allow her to get a retirement unit with a bit left over. It was a bit less than I had thought and I said that I would make some enquiries to see if we could afford it. Inside, I was thinking that it would be a fabulous idea but would go no further until we were married.

After clearing up in the kitchen I went back to my room to shower and dress. Again I did not need to dress much as I would be spending much of the day with not much on. I giggled when I thought that I would be spending much of Sunday in the same vein. With everything I needed in my handbag I took the bus to the city centre and the salon where I was booked in. I was up for a full waxing, a pedicure and manicure, a hair-wash and style and a full make-up session. I had taken a selfie when I was wearing the necklace and ear-rings so they could work out a set of colours that would make me look good.

Exchanging my shift for a salon gown I spent much of the morning being waxed and the rubbed with soothing oils. After the spa treatment my hair had come out easily and my skin was already soft. I then had the full treatment on my hands and feet, ending up with greenie-blue nails top and bottom in a hard wearing acrylic. We stopped for a sandwich and a cup of tea and then I had my hair washed and dried, twice, before the stylist did her thing. She was miffed that I wasn’t having it put up but I did explain that it was a morning wedding, followed by a lunch and a flight to the Mediterranean and that it needed to be looking good for the whole day. When she had finished I was subjected to much discussion before the girls decided on my needed colour. I had put the necklace and ear-rings in my bag so put them on to let them see what they needed to enhance. As they worked they told me exactly what they were doing and how it was being applied. They used a couple of tricks around my eyes that I had not seen before and they made sure that I understood all the procedure.

When they had finished I looked at myself in the mirror and could not believe that the beautiful girl looking back at me was little old Fiona. They took a couple of pictures for their own records and took a couple for me on my phone so I could recheck the look tomorrow. I was then presented with a carry bag of products as well as the bill, which I paid with happiness. As I walked back towards the bus station, I saw myself in shop windows and it occurred to me that my shift, from this morning, did not match the face I now had and it was with great good timing when I looked into a shop window and saw a fabulous dress that would go with the new me. I went into the shop and tried one on. I just couldn’t help myself, I now looked right so got the sales girl to snip the tags and I left the shop looking like a million dollars and my shift in a store bag.

I stopped at a café and sat down at a table. The waitress was very nice as I ordered a coffee and some of their sponge cake. I sat for a while with my cake and coffee and decided that I was changing, becoming more aware of myself. I had always been the serious sister but I felt that, even though I was already nearly thirty, I was only now fully maturing into a woman. Tomorrow I would be a married woman, as long as he had got back into the country today. Putting a couple of notes on the table for my drink and cake I then walked to the bus station to go home. When I walked in my mother noticed my new resolve immediately and gave me a hug, telling me that I had suddenly grown up. It is marvellous what a little make-up can do.

We had a light tea and watched some television and then I went up to my room to take off my new dress, remove my fabulous face (hoping that I could recreate it in the morning) and put my undies in the hamper. Tomorrow was the big day that had taken so long to arrive and, I was sure would pass in a hazy flash until we looked at the photos. I put on my black nightie and got into bed and I went to sleep almost immediately I turned out the light, and then ……..

My alarm woke me on Saturday morning and my bladder was insisting I get out of bed.

Marianne G 2021