In Another Life Read Online Free

were like torture devices upon her feet, killing her toes off one by one. With her feet finally free she joyously flexed them as she called up the relevant file to be amended on her computer.
     
    *
     
    It was seven o clock when Amanda was satisfied that Marie had incorporated enough details about shoes in to her notes. Marie didn’t waste a second in dashing from the office as soon as she could. She still needed to get back to her apartment building, grab the bag she’d packed the night before and go get her car from the parking lot in the bowels of the building. Eating was pushed down the list of priorities even though her stomach was already growling menacingly, like a caged beast threatening to break free.
     
    “Mum, I’m running late,” Marie explained in to her mobile phone as she boarded the blissfully empty carriage of the train.
     
    “You’ve not set off yet?” her mother asked in her thick Manchester accent.
     
    “Not yet, no, I had to work late.”
     
    “No, Bill, she had to work late,” Carol Schneider called out to her questioning husband, pulling away from the phone she held in her and.
     
    “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Marie promised.
     
    “Have you had anything to eat?” her mother asked anxiously.
     
    “Not yet.”
     
    “I’ve got some lasagne leftover from tea I could heat up for you?”
     
    “Sounds good,” Marie smiled. She missed her mother’s home cooking. She didn’t have the time to prepare decent meals herself and she existed off a diet consisting of beans and toast and porridge.
     
    A male voice mumbled in the background on her mother’s side of the call.
     
    “Your Dad says he doesn’t like you driving in the dark,” Carol relayed the mumbled message.
     
    “I’ll be fine,” Marie replied, sounding more confident than she was. She was a nervous driver and the thought of navigating the motorways in darkness terrified her. The only consolation was that the roads up to Manchester would be relatively clear at that time of night.
     
    “We just worry about you,” her mother admitted, sounding emotional.
     
    “I’m looking forward to coming home.”
     
    “We can’t wait to have you here, darling.”
     
    Marie’s eyes misted as she heard the emotion in her mother’s voice. It had only been a few weeks since her last visit but sometimes it felt like an eternity. Home was the strongest constant in Marie’s life. Her parents still lived in the home where she had grown up. The home where she’d once believed Father Christmas came to visit, the home where she’d hosted fashion shows with all her dolls and the home where she’d wept over her first heartbreak, fearing that she’d die from the devastation. Marie missed home. She missed it every day, she’d just gotten extremely good at pushing those feelings way down to the pit of her stomach.
     
    “I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” Marie said brightly, wiping at her eyes. “I’m looking forward to some of your lasagne.” On cue her stomach released a deep, desperate growl. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to last that long, she might have to make a pit stop at the services for a snack on her way back.
     
    “We can go shopping tomorrow if you like,” her mother suggested, the emotion in her voice giving way to hopeful, uplifted tone.
     
    “We’ve not been to the Trafford Centre in ages.”
     
    “Sounds good,” Marie nodded. She enjoyed shopping with her mother. They’d gossip about people they knew, stop for a cup of tea and something sweet and generally while away the day absorbed in one another’s company. Her Dad would remain back at home consumed by whatever football game was on television. In the evening they’d all reunite for a big family meal and then watch a movie together. It was a blissful routine that Marie was excited to relive.
     
    There was some more male mumbling in the background of the call.
     
    “Your Dad says to make sure you avoid the toll road,”