David E Balaam - Columbus Day

He grabbed the patio sliding doors and fumbled with the lock. "Come on, open." Then the door slid across to reveal the rain, which was now coming straight into Georges' face.

He looked across the patio only to have his fears confirmed. The Jukebox was lying where he had left it, in pieces and uncovered. He pushed the doors fully opened and dragged the carcase of the Jukebox into the lounge, quickly gathering up the loose pieces of engineered parts he had left scattered around the patio, and on the coffee table. He closed the doors and looked at the battlefield lying in front of him. Then he noticed the kitchen clock. 8.15am. "Bugger . . . " Senora Torres would be here in forty-five minutes. He scratched his head and breathed deeply. He could push everything into his office but that would only be short term, and only make more mess. Then he remembered the basement room. "Of course. The basement." He picked up the most easily transportable pieces and ran downstairs with them. After two more trips, he just had the cover and the base left. The cover was reasonably easy to manoeuvre, but the base, even without the motor unit and all the records, was an awkward piece of hardware to pick up by one person. He heard the distinctive sound of Mr Torres’s old Honda climb the slip road to the front door. "Damn it. She’s early." George had no choice but to lift and drag the remaining skeletal casing into his office. He closed the office doors and quickly pulled off his T-Shirt to wipe the wooden floor, just as the key in the front door turned.

Scanning the floor to ensure all wet patches had been wiped clean, he almost dived into the kitchen and tossed the sodden garment into the washing machine, just as Senora Torres entered the lounge. George was standing there in just his boxer shorts and a smile. Senora Torres shook her head. ‘Boxing-mad’ she said, but George had no idea, and just stood there grinning.

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