Page 24 of The Typo

‘Turns out he can. According to my contract, he only has to give full sick pay for seven days, and then that’s it, it’s on to statutory sick pay for me, which won’t cover the bills. The union checked it carefully for me, but that’s the best scenario they could see. Never let yourself forget, Amy, that when it comes to work, us employees are just another tool to get things done. And if we can’t get things done, well, that’s that. When it’s down to numbers on a spreadsheet, we’re as replaceable as a broken lightbulb.’

‘Ian would be hard-pressed to find someone else as good as you,’ I insisted, although I knew there was truth in what Malcolm was saying. ‘But it sounds like if the theatre was doing better, the boss might reassess his position on the sick pay? That’s something to hold on to,’ I pressed. I didn’t want to get Malcolm’s hopes up, but the kernel of an idea was starting to form. It would mean going against the boss’s direct instructions, but given the circumstances, it felt like the best option. I had to do something to help my friend and colleague.

‘That’s what he implied, but it was probably meaningless talk. You know what Ian’s like. He pretends he’s everyone’s best pal, but he’s very much out for himself.’

‘Write down a record of that conversation and the date and time it happened. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing. At least you’ll have the notes to back you up.’

Malcolm grumbled, but I heard his wife in the background, adding her voice in support. He must have had me on speaker phone.

‘Go on then, but I don’t see what difference it will make.’

I decided not to say anything in case my plan came to nothing.

‘I’ll leave you to rest up, but keep me posted, and remember I’m only a phone call away. Take care.’

‘Thanks hen. You take care too. And could you do me a favour?’

‘Of course.’

‘Can you keep an eye out for Leonie? I feel guilty for leaving her in the lurch like this.’

‘She’s been trained by the very best, I’m sure she’ll be fine. And you’re not leaving her in the lurch, please don’t worry about that. But I promise I’ll watch out for her. See you soon, Malc.’

I hung up and quickly ordered a delivery of his favourite beers. If he was going to be stuck at home unable to get out to the pub with his mates, at least he’d have something nice to share with them when they came round to keep him company. And then I started writing a list. If I was going to pull my idea off, I needed to get to work, and fast.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Date: 30 Jan, 15:30

Subject: Re: Re: Video call? YES

Zoom sounds great. Will send link from port. Due back any time Thurs aft onwards. Forgive brevity. Seasick again.

Cameron

ChapterThirteen

My plan, such as it was, was to take matters into my own hands and push ahead with reopening the Cellar Bar for use as an extra performing space. It was clear that Creepy Colin had done precisely nothing to follow up on my idea, so I needed to force the issue. There was a high degree of risk to this strategy of going against Ian’s directive, but given the urgency of Malcolm’s situation, I had to try.

I stared at my list of tasks. They were all achievable, but doing them by myself was simply not practical given the time constraints. A lot of performers would already be booked up, but that wouldn’t stop us hosting open mic nights, book readings, and providing rehearsal space for local amateur groups. It wouldn’t generate millions, but if we could start getting punters through the doors several nights a week and they bought tickets and drinks, it could help put some more dosh back into the theatre’s coffers which in turn might force the boss to reassess his hard-line attitude towards supporting Malcolm. I feared I was probably grasping at straws, but I was tired of passively letting things happen. Time to seize the initiative for a change.

I snuck down to the Cellar Bar by the back staircase, going the long way round to lessen the chance of bumping into Ian who had developed a worrying habit of jumping out at staff members when we least expected it. Shutting the door of the bar behind me, I set my phone down on the floor with the torch shining up at the ceiling. First things first, I needed to replace the broken bulbs in the main light fitting so I could see what I was doing.

I grabbed one of the dusty chairs from the centre of the room and gingerly stood on its seat. It let out an ominous creak. I waited, bracing myself for it to break under me. Thankfully it managed to hold. I was glad nobody was around to see how long it took me to change those lightbulbs, but my excuse was that I was doing it in far from ideal circumstances. I was also taking extra care. If I went and broke an ankle like Malcolm had done, it would be extremely problematic, especially as no one knew I was down in the cellar, and my phone was out of reach.

Once I could actually see properly, I realised the full extent of the challenge facing me. When Malcolm had come down here with me, it had seemed like such a simple job—a bit of tidying up, a simple lighting rig, and that was it. But getting this place sorted around my other normal work tasks would take days by myself. If I was going to do this, I needed to do it properly. A half-arsed attempt would be bound to result in failure. But the issue was that if I enlisted anyone else to help with my scheme, then I would be putting them in the firing line too. I sat back on my haunches and sighed. This was going to be a lot harder than I’d thought. Or was I once again using problems as an excuse not to follow through with something? I pushed that thought to the back of my mind.

The bleep of my phone interrupted my reverie.

Drink tonight?

A text from an unfamiliar number. I frowned, trying to think who it could be from. I hadn’t exactly been dishing my number out to anyone of late. I decided the invitation probably wasn’t even intended for me, just the result of someone getting their digits mixed up, a bit like the typo which had led to my correspondence with Cameron. Connecting with one random stranger was quite enough for me.

I deleted the message and then started working on moving the chairs to the corner of the room so there was more space for me to get scrubbing.

My phone bleeped again.

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