Dressing for Pleasure

Earlier in the week they arranged that this Friday his wife will pick Angela and Sonia up from school, then drive straight to his parents' place, north, up the coast. Up to the big old house they have retired to, nestled near the shores of the lake, not far from the beach.

When they arrive it should still be daylight, and warm enough for the girls to swim in the ocean. Greg says he will follow them up in his car, after work, and that these weekends they share away, all together, are special for him.

Greg rings his wife early on Friday afternoon. He has a client on the northern beaches he needs to see. He'll drop in there on his way up north to join her. "But don't hold dinner for me, I might get held up. I'll be there as soon as I can," he tells her.

"Love you darling," they both say as they hang up.

Every few weeks Greg sends Elizabeth shopping for herself. Her favourite shop is on Oxford Street in Sydney and she buys everything there. He's never actually been to the shop himself, but he's well known there, and they have all Elizabeth's sizes. It's upstairs, this shop, and it's small, but he knows it's full of the special underwear, clothes and shoes she loves. In fact, it stocks everything a woman could ever want to wear - all in one place - and Elizabeth loves shopping there.

Greg leaves the office early for his appointment. He takes a small black suitcase out of the boot of the car and puts it inside, on the back seat. It has a little gold badge on the side that reads AIRPORT. He has left Angela's birthday present in the boot. The present wouldn't be a surprise if she found it in his wife's car. They always got into everything when they helped her to unpack at Grandma's. Greg smiles as he thinks about them.

He leaves the carpark and joins the busy streams of hot traffic heading north. The cars are full of people eager to be home or to escape the city for the weekend, just like him. But Greg stops on his way. Pulling into his driveway he parks the car and takes the small black suitcase with the little gold badge that says AIRPORT off the back seat and goes into his house with it.