Suzy by Gary L Beer (easy books to read in english txt) 📕

goes outside.
The morning is a little damp and chilly and Suzy looks up to see a blue sky forming. The lawn is covered in early morning dew and a Robin sings from the top of the flowering cherry tree at the bottom of her garden. It looks like it is going to be a wonderful day, after she has done some work!
Unlocking the shed door she opens it wide and props it open with the old yard broom, looking inside Suzy sees that some of the plastic bag that she used to cover Doug's torso has been ripped and torn.
Rats! It has to be. Leaning in Suzy picks up the spade and fork that are just inside the door and walks round to the side of the shed. Sadly it will mean digging up her Daffodil patch; but will make a good place to grow runner beans.
Looking around for nosey neighbours Suzy sees that all is quiet and wasting no time starts to dig.
One and a half hours later a tired, but happy Suzy, locks the shed door and walks slowly back to her bungalow. Turning at the back door she views her handiwork and cannot help a smile as it looks so neat and tidy. The bean poles are tied into five wigwam shapes and are ready for the beans.
Going inside Suzy kicks off her muddy trainers and puts on clean ones; walking into the lounge she wastes no time in moving the furniture. Using her sharp carving knife she cuts away the blood soaked carpet and underlay. Dragging the carpet outside she tucks it behind the shed deciding to burn it tonight, along with the blood soaked plastic sacks; and the clothes she is wearing!
Stripping her clothes off in the kitchen down to her underwear Suzy goes into the bathroom and turns the hot water on for a bath. Walking into her bedroom Suzy opens her old fashioned walnut veneered wardrobe and thinks what she is going to wear. Picking a bright pink sweatshirt and faded blue jeans she throws them on the bed and goes back into the bathroom to enjoy her bath.

Suzy slams the front door and strides quickly along the path, unlocking Doug's car, which is now hers; she jumps in and starts the engine. This is the first time that she has been out since Doug's death four days ago now and she needs vital shopping. Coffee and sugar and milk mainly as her appetite has been poor. Suzy had been busy cleaning the lounge and trying to scrub the floorboards that were soaked in blood.
The blood remained impregnated into the floorboards as a black stain and Suzy realised that a new carpet is needed. Suzy had measured the room but could not risk carpet fitters coming into her bungalow. She had scrubbed and scrubbed but the blood had soaked in, staining the timber and she decides to leave it for a few more days.

Pulling up outside the corner shop Suzy is pleased to see it empty of customers inside and gets out the car quickly; locking it she enters the shop and makes her way to the coffee and sugar. The supermarket seems too much for her at the moment and Suzy picks up a large jar of coffee and two bags of sugar. Taking them to the till she puts them on the counter and walks over to the fridge picking up two large bottles of full fat milk and returns to the counter as the lad who is serving, totals them up on the till. Paying her money Suzy says a polite 'Thank you' and arms loaded with her shopping walks out to the car.
Putting the milk down onto the pavement Suzy unlocks the car and puts the coffee and sugar onto the back seat. As she picks up the milk a Volkswagen Polo pulls up close to her car and parks. Suzy looks up in irritation as the driver, parking so close has made it difficult for her to drive away as a car is also parked in front of her.
“Hello Suzy.” says the driver as he opens his door and gets out; it is her university friend Lewis.
“Hello Lewis, long time no see.” she smiles.
“Yes been a while, how are you?” he answers with genuine pleasure at their meeting. Lewis still had long hair as she remembered and had gathered a few grey hairs and wrinkles as he has aged. But Suzy remembers him as if it was yesterday; not the fifteen years it has been.
“Fine thank you; and you?”
“All the better for seeing you, where's Doug?”
“We split up about a week ago.”
“Oh, sorry to hear that, but a week is not very long you will get back together again.”
“No, not this time he has moved out, gone to live with his fancy woman.” Suzy lies.
“So you are on your own now, no boyfriend?” asks Lewis hopefully, as he had always fancied Suzy.
“Yes all alone now, going to leave it a while before I get involved with someone again.”
“You sound positive about that, all right if I visit you?”
Suzy looks at Lewis, she had always liked him and could do with some company; “Yes that would be nice.” she says her smile broadening.
“What you up to now? I got the day off today if now is not too soon?”
“Be good to see you; as long as you move your car back.” answers Suzy with a big smile as she opens her car door and gets in and puts the bottles of milk on to the passenger’s seat.
Lewis holds her door open until she is settled and shuts it firmly; “See you in about five minutes, I gotta get some baccy.”
“Ok see you in five.” smiles Suzy as Lewis walks back to his car and gets in behind the wheel. Starting the engine with the car door open he reverses the car about two metres and watches Suzy as she reverses and pulls out into the road.
Giving her a wave Lewis drives his car forward and turns the engine off. Smiling broadly and thanking his god for starting the day off well he optimistically goes into the shop.


Chapter Two

Suzy hears Lewis pull up in his car, coming out of the kitchen she opens the front door to a smiling Lewis who is walking along the path towards her.
“Hi Suzy, gotta admit it is good to see you.”
“And to see you, come in I'm making coffee in the kitchen.”
Lewis follows Suzy along the hall and enters her large brightly coloured kitchen of yellow painted walls and darker yellow kitchen units topped with a pink granite worktop; “Sit down I'll pour your coffee.”
Lewis sits down at the table in a hardback chair; “So what you been doing since you became a free woman?”
“Nothing really, just enjoying myself having the place to myself.” smiles Suzy as she puts a mug of coffee in front of Lewis.
“Nice one thanks, yes, living on your own has a lot going for it and I have been doing it for quite a while.”
“What no girlfriend?”
“No not since Holly, she will take more than a few years to get over.”
“You were with her a long time and I know you loved her deeply, but I always knew it would not last.” answers Suzy as she sits down at the table opposite Lewis, aware of the age gap that had been between them; Holly was twenty two years of age and Lewis forty four when they got together.
“I was always of the thought that it should never have happened in the first place, but love does strange things to you.” says Lewis with a sad expression on his face.
“What was that I heard about you throwing her out of the car in Wales?” asks Suzy with a stern face.
“Yes I lost a lot of friends over that, bit unfair really as no one would listen to my side at the time.”
“I am listening now.” Suzy says firmly.
Lewis looks at Suzy sharply, he knew she and Holly had been the best of friends and she would only have heard Holly's side of the story. Suzy had been one of the people upon hearing Holly's tale had either totally ignored him or made rude comments at the time. As the years passed Lewis knew that Suzy and Holly had fallen out and not been friends for years.
“Does it matter now?” asks Lewis despondently.
“It does to me; I have always wondered what really happened between you two.”
Lewis takes a sip of his coffee and puts the mug down onto the table, not looking at Suzy he starts to talk;
“As you know it took us a couple of months to split up, we had applied for these jobs in Wales at a research facility about six months before we started to disagree about things. I wanted to work in the laboratory and as luck would have it the company needed a translator and Holly could speak five languages including Chinese.”
“At the time we saw it as almost magical that we would be working together in the future and in the wilds of Wales; it would have been a dream come true. The interviews were even on the same day and even though we were not getting on very well at the time I drove us there.”
“All that way, who paid for that?” demands Suzy.
“I paid most, I even paid for the bed and breakfast; in separate rooms so that cost a bit more. My interview went well and within five minutes I knew I had got the job, I spent the next half hour talking about the birdlife that is in Wales. My interviewer, a Mister Jones was a birding enthusiast and we became instant friends.”
Lewis pauses for breath and takes a sip of his coffee before continuing; “Holly's interview did not go as well as she was interviewed by six different people all at once. Her two weak points they told her was speaking properly in front of a group, meaning themselves; and her Chinese. It seems there are thousands of dialects in China and Holly had learnt the wrong ones.”
“She took the interview very badly and was convinced she had failed; which was my entire fault of course. She started having a right go at me for suggesting the job, for taking her there and making her endure such a bad interview.”
“Do you want more coffee?” asks Suzy.
“No I am fine thanks, anyway, the drive back from the research headquarters was through the mountains. This place was well hidden away, even with the map we drove right past it three times before we found it. The mountain roads were