Harv'

Decisions

-Chapter Eight-

Decisions

          ‘I’m sorry,’ Harvey grumbled. They were half way up the escalators heading towards the third floor, and not a word had been uttered since departing Head Office.

         ‘I wouldn’t worry about it,’ Chris said from behind. ‘We all understand how difficult this must be for you. Even Cathy, I think, understands deep down.’ Harvey snorted.

         ‘She’s got a funny way of showing it.’

         ‘Cathy is, shall we say, a bit of a bulldozer when it comes to sensitive matters. Always has been.’

         ‘That doesn’t excuse what you did,’ Brian said, surprising them all. Standing at the head of the group, he turned and addressed Harvey face to face. ‘What did you hope to achieve by that?’

         ‘I dunno. I was just angry.’

         ‘You don’t like authority, do you?’

         ‘Look, I’ve said I’m sorry.’

         ‘You won’t get far in life with a temper like that.’

         ‘Brian,’ Faith interjected. ‘That’s enough. What’s got into you?’ Harvey had been wondering the same thing. Brian tensed his jaw and faced forward again, ignoring the question. Faith, perplexed, offered Harvey a sympathetic smile. Silence descended upon them once more as they reached the top of the escalators.  

         The third floor had more than a passing resemblance to a hotel, with each room numbered and each door requiring a card key to unlock it. The corridors were many and twisted and winded off to the left and right. Traipsing across the freshly-laid carpeting, they took the right corridor and followed it round until they reached a glass door, blocking their path. At their approach, the door slid sideways to allow them passage. By the time they had reached the end of the corridor after rounding a corner and finding themselves at a dead end, they had passed through another four sliding doors.

         A single room resided here. The door was decorated in gold and ivory glyphs, and was of much finer design and make than any of the other doors they had passed by to get to this point. Emblazoned across the centre was the number ‘106.’  Brian retrieved a card key from his pocket and swiped it through the lock. There was a small beeping sound, signalling the card key had been recognised, and the door unlocked itself. They filed in, one after the other.

         Harvey was stumped. On their immediate right was a kitchen and dining area, complimented with an oven and cooking stove, a fridge-freezer, a microwave, a kettle, a toaster, several cupboards and draws, and a dining table with high-backed chairs. Directly ahead of them was a living room, with velvet lamp shades coated in glitter, a rug made of white fur, an oval shaped table crafted entirely of glass, a red leather sofa and a television that looked more like a small cinema screen. Branching off from the living room was a door which led into the bedroom; Harvey could not help but side-step the others and hobble towards it.

         A king-sized mattress. Two oak wardrobes. A dressing table. A golden framed mirror. Harvey took it all in, and then moved to the on-suite bathroom. Dominating the bathroom was a Jacuzzi, behind which was a shower.

         ‘Sick,’ was all he could say. He had always wondered what it would be like to live the life of luxury, to spend a day in the shoes of a millionaire. This was the closest he was ever going to get to realising that dream. 

         ‘Come along lad, we need to sort your hands out,’ Chris called to him from the other room, but Harvey had already forgotten about his bleeding knuckles. This was like paradise compared to his life in Cobs Crescent. Everything was perfect.