Silent Exit by Julie Rollins

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Copyright © 2012
    All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by
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methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other
noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
    Copyright © 2012
    'David.
It's four O'clock in the morning.'
     
         Tess stood in the lounge doorway. Her
dark brown eyes looked distressed. She hugged her flowery dressing gown into
her delicate frame.
         David laughed and lunged in for a
kiss. He reeked of beer and cigarettes.
         'I'm being serious David. This has
got to stop. It's not fair.'
         'I've just been out for a few beers.
That's all.'
         He ripped his boots off and fell
back onto the sofa. His hair was disheveled from his long drinking session. He
quickly fell into a drunken coma and began to snore loudly. Tess left him to
sleep and got into bed. She had been unable to talk to David about anything of
late and these 4am drunken states were becoming a regular thing. Although it
would break her heart, she didn't think she could take much more. Part of her
thought it was time to leave this situation altogether and the other part
wanted to make a final attempt to talk to him. After all, she did love him.
         Eighteen months before, things had
been good. Everything about moving to Vietnam had been a novelty. The locals
were friendly. Not being able to communicate with them very well, had been an
interesting challenge. She thought about the friends they had made, some crazy,
others genuine. But of course a lot of them had moved on somewhere else. It was
the transient life of the expat, ever moving, ever changing. Sometimes it was sad
and sometimes amazing.
         She thought back to how they had
laughed together when they first arrived, having both got the initial nasty
series of stomach problems that came along with living in Asia. They had lived
in a hotel room in the beginning and they had spent a lot of intimate time
together. They quickly secured a nice rental home, with a pool and garden. Tess
loved the beautiful bay window at the front of the house. The place was light
and airy.
         After she had unpacked and settled,
Tess took her first solo venture into the heart of the city. The traffic was
dense and the horns were tooting furiously. There were a sea of motorbikes and
face masks. Tess stood on the side of the road, searching for a gap. She waited
for her time to cross, but it did not come. The smell of boiled rice and spices
invaded her nose and people bashed into her, as they made their way towards the
market.

 
    She wondered what would come of this new
experience. So far it seemed OK, although she had not yet managed to get a job.
Still patiently waiting for a clearing in the traffic, she felt someone take
hold of her elbow.
         'You have to walk straight into it
and the traffic will go around you.'
         The woman with red bobbed hair and
pale skin, smiled warmly.
         'Just arrived in Vietnam?'
         'We got here four weeks ago.'
         The woman began to slowly walk out
into the road, keeping hold of Tess. The motorbikes and cars seemed to weave
around them and she was on the other side in no time.
         'Thank you.'
         'No worries. Here's my card. Give
me a call if you need any help.'
         She moved away quickly, giving Tess
a wave as she disappeared down a narrow alley way.
         The taxi back to the house was
eventful. There was lots of weaving in and out of motorbikes and plenty of
uncomfortable moments, because the driver was too lazy to change gear. She
managed to block out the noise as her thoughts drifted to England, her place of
birth. She missed her friends and family and