Young Writers Society

Susanna had promised her husband she'd bring home a pizza for dinner. They'd had a fight previous evening and this was her way of saying sorry. She'd also by been asked by her boss to finish archiving some documents before going home. She hadn't anticipated that it would take so long, and only locked the office doors half an hour before dinner time.

The pizza store, which was located conveniently beside her workplace, was packed at that time of night. Susanna didn't mind, it gave her time to phone her husband and tell him she'd be late. She pulled out her phone and dialled his number. The ring sounded in her ear for a second, then died. She looked at the screen and saw the battery symbol flashing. It was out of power.

Susanna shoved it in her handbag and walked down the road to a payphone. She deposited a coin and pushed on the dirty buttons. Tapping her toes, she waited as the phone kept ringing.

“Come on, Daniel...”

“Sorry,” her heart picked up when she heard his voice, but dropped straight afterwards, “but we're not available at the moment. Leave a message if you like.” Susanna thrust the phone back into place and reentered the pizza shop. She didn't bother leaving a message, because he never checked. Was Daniel still ignoring her or had he just missed the phone? Either way, he'd have to wait.

When Susanna collected her order, she carried the warm box to the bus stop. It was odd to be the only one there. Normally plenty of regulars were eager to chat. They had all left by now, of course, and Susanna stood alone with the rain puddles. She discovered why there wasn't anyone else – the last bus had already left.

She sat on the wet chair for a moment, pondering on whether there was any point in walking back to the phone. Daniel clearly didn't have his phone on him, and the town's taxi service was nonexistent. The sun was setting and she didn't have any other option, so Susanna decided to walk home.

In the bus she normally caught, it would have taken twenty minutes at the most. On foot, maybe an hour. And that was if the road was actually open. Susanna frowned when she saw flashing lights up ahead and groaned as a policeman approached her.

“Sorry, ma'am, but there was a car accident in this afternoon's downpour. Road's closed... to pedestrians as well. You'll have to take a detour.” He pointed down an adjacent street. Susanna had never been there before, and she explained this to the policeman.

He scratched his head and replied, “It might be faster if you follow the train tracks, actually. You'll see them round the bend.”

She begrudgingly thanked him for the advice and began the second leg of her journey. It was dark now and the chill was seeping through her office clothes. She was just thankful for the warmth of the pizza, held to her chest. She looked forward to sprawling on her couch and eating it.

Fate had another idea.

Susanna had walked along the track content enough, but then she came to a road crossing. There was a deep puddle stretched across it and she was wearing office shoes. Balancing on her tiptoes, Susanna stopped at the edge of the road and looked for cars. Though the wind had picked up and she couldn't hear the hum of its engine, Susanna saw a car's headlights approaching and waited.

To her dismay, the car sped through the puddle and a spray of muddy water flung up at her. Susanna shivered, wiping her face with her sleeve. She just wanted to get home, so she breathed in, held the warm box close and carried on.

Susanna tiptoed through puddle, her expensive shoes squelching. Focussed on this, she didn't notice a car, its lights broken, driving up the road. It didn't see her either and swerved at the last minute. Susanna jumped back. Her arms flung into the air and the pizza went flying. She fell backwards, water spraying around her.

Susanna stayed down for a minute, a wet, muddy mess in the darkness. Not even the food could warm her now – it was scattered on the ground. She put her head in her knees and sobbed. If only she'd walked back to the payphone and waited for Daniel to answer.

Susanna checked her watch, she was meant to have been home forty minutes ago. Would he be disappointed that she hadn't kept her promise? Angry, even? Would he come look for her? Probably not for some hours, at least.

Susanna glanced left and right, squinting to see in the darkness. The road was unfamiliar, but she didn't want to stay on the tracks. She knew the general direction she needed to go in. There wasn't another person in site, no one was coming to help, and she just wanted to get home. So she made the decision to get up and keep walking.

After five minutes, she reentered the suburbs. The house lights lifted her spirits. Even though the wind was howling, her ears perked up when she heard music. Susanna followed the sound and as it got louder, she could make out the passionate pitch of violins, the rich calls of trumpets and the heart-warming tune of a flute. She stopped outside a church hall. There was an orchestra playing inside.

Susanna entered the car park and sat back against the church's wall, she hugged her shoulders and closed her eyes. The music was comforting, like a woollen quilt in the winter. It was warm, like summer sun. It was colourful, like the flowers in spring. And its melodies floated around her like the falling leave in autumn. The music made her forget about the misfortunes of that evening.

Susanna sat by the church until the music stopped and a lady brought her back to reality.

“Are you okay, honey? You look like you've been in a warzone.”

“It seemed like I had.” The lady was holding a violin box – Susanna realised she'd been playing and instantly felt like they were friends. “But the music made me better. It was beautiful.”

“Thank you, that means a lot.” She began walking off, then turned back. “You look stuck. Can I give you a ride somewhere?”

Susanna accepted a lift from the lady and told her the story as they drove. The violin player was more than sympathetic and offered to take her for another pizza, but Susanna declined. She didn't have enough money, and by now, Daniel probably would have eaten without her.

When Susanna was dropped at her house, she saw that the living room light was on. So her husband was home, not out looking for her. She hoped he wasn't angry about dinner, even though it wasn't her fault everything had gone wrong. Everything right up until the church, that was. She didn't regret hearing the heavenly melodies of the orchestra.

“Susanna!” Daniel emerged from the front door. Her shoulders stiffened, expecting him to yell, but he only looked concerned. “You're finally home! Why are you all wet?”

“I missed the bus, and...”

“Never mind. Come in, I have dinner ready.”

“Dinner? But I was meant to bring it home. I'm sorry-”

“Don't be. I figured you had to work late, so I went down to the grocery store...” Susanna realised that's why he hadn't answered the phone. He'd been out. “And I made us a nice meal.”

A heartfelt grin was plastered across her face as she was led inside. Daniel wasn't even a little bit upset, it was as if their fight had never happened. Susanna couldn't have been happier.

A vegetable roast, complete with sourdough, was waiting on the table. Daniel brought in her pyjamas and Susanna changed as he piled potaoes and pumpkin onto her plate. She was warm, about to satisfy her hunger, and extremely grateful for such a good husband.

As they ate, Susanna experienced a feeling of deja-vu. It was a faint sound at first, but then she could make out the passionate pitch of violins, the rich calls of trumpets and the heart-warming tune of a flute.

“My bad,” Daniel followed her gaze to the TV, “I left the news on.” He was about to click the remote but Susanna grabbed it from him. The reporter was standing inside the church, watching an orchestra play. Susanna recognised the kind lady playing a violin. She smiled when the church wall came into view, knowing that she was on the other side of it.

“I've got a crazy, brilliant story to tell you.”

Susanna didn't remember that evening as the time she'd missed her bus, carried pizza along a train track, and fallen into a puddle. She remembered it as the night she'd listened to a heavenly orchestra and come home to a hearty meal made by her loving husband. Susanna wouldn't have changed a thing.