The Unexamined Life

Andy Murray was through to the third round. Ray ate a bowl of muesli. The forecast was cloudy, mainly dry. He topped up his mug with tea. Julie was in the shower. He ate toast with marmalade. There were plans to extract shale gas in Lancashire and Yorkshire. He switched off the radio, looked at his watch. His bus would arrive in fourteen minutes. It took three minutes to get to the bus stop. He put his breakfast things in the dishwasher. Julie always took the car to work. She was out of the shower, getting dressed. He went to the bathroom and had a crap. They were going to Crete for two weeks in September. He washed his hands, checked himself in the mirror. He didn’t wear a tie to work any more. Nobody commented, not even Maxwell. Julie called, ‘I have to work late tonight. You just go ahead and eat.’ ‘Okay,’ he said, coming into the bedroom. He’d make some pasta. He might go to the pub later, catch up with Rob and Alan. Julie was doing her face. ‘That’s me away then,’ he said. ‘See you later.’ ‘Bye,’ she said. She stopped applying mascara for a second, blew him a kiss. He checked his jacket pocket for his keys and bus pass. The front door still needed painting where he’d had to change the lock. At the top of the street he saw the bin lorry coming out of Orchard Crescent. He walked round to Constitution Road. The bus came. He got on, picking up a free newspaper, sat at the back. He texted Julie: Can u put out bin b4 u go Rx. He texted Rob: Fancy pint 2nite? 8pm? He’d wait until he heard back from Rob before he texted Alan. The sky was cloudy. He wondered if he should have taken his raincoat. He was feeling pretty good. He wasn’t expecting any bad stuff at work. Maxwell was on holiday. He saw cars and people going by. He turned the pages of the paper. Some of the other big names were already out of Wimbledon. Murray could go all the way this time. It was a strong possibility.