“I’m sorry but with the economy the way it is at the moment, we’re having to make cutbacks, starting right now” my boss Brian sighed as he looked around the room at the surprised faces before him.

We’d thought we were safe, that cutbacks were something you heard about on the news but never actually happened where you lived. How wrong we’d been.

“Typical!” Gemma whispered “bet it’s me who gets the chop”

“It could be any of us” I whispered back, hoping it wouldn’t be me. I’d worked my ass off for this company, been ruthless in my quest to reach and exceed goals, plus I’d built up a hefty credit card bill over the past few months and also recently moved to a bigger and more expensive home with my boyfriend. I couldn’t lose my job now, or any other time, I had too many outgoings to pay for.

Brian carried on talking and then told us that he’d call us one by one to discuss our future with the company. We all wished each other luck, but we all hoped we weren’t going to be one of the unfortunate ones.

“Amelia, would you like to come with me please?” Brian asked and turned to walk back towards his office and I stood up, smoothed down my skirt and took a few deep and hopefully calming breaths. I tried to think positively, thinking of all the business I’d brought into the company since joining almost two years ago – sure I’d be one of the lucky ones. How could I not be?

“Take a seat please” he gestured to the empty chair across the desk from his own. I did so. “You know how much I appreciate all the hard work you’ve done since joining the company” he started and I nodded my head in agreement “and you also know this is a difficult decision I have here”, again I nodded, sure that I would be safe.

“Here’s the thing…even though you are one of the best on the team, you’re also one of the last in and I’ve had to weigh up the pros and cons. I’m sorry Amelia, but I’m going to have to let you go. You’ve been here just under two years and the company won’t have to pay out any redundancy money. Plus you’re young and ambitious…you can walk into another job…”

I blanked out the rest of his pity talk. I was out of a job, unemployed and nothing he could say would make me feel any better!

I cleared out my desk immediately - almost two years amounting to just a few possessions in a cardboard box – and walked out of the door, not looking back, not wanting anyone to see the tears which threatened to escape from my eyes.

“Find another job, yeah right, I’ll show him and everyone else!” I muttered to myself as I clicked my car key to open the doors to my beloved Audi TT. I sped out of the car park and soon found myself drowning my sorrows in a nearby bar. I couldn’t face going home and decided that vodka would help me through the day from hell.

It only made things worse.

Having downed more vodkas than I cared to count, I left the bar convinced that I was still capable of driving. It wasn’t something I usually did, in fact I was usually extremely anti-drunk driving, but my brain wasn’t functioning on all cylinders at that point. And so I started the engine and hit the pedal to the metal for home. I got maybe a mile from the bar when I noticed the flashing lights drawing closer behind me. Shit!

Never in my life had I received as much as a speeding ticket, and now I was about to be busted for drunk driving. My life sucked!

“Miss, could you step outside of the vehicle?” a uniformed officer requested once I’d pulled over.

“What’s the problem…Officer Dorough?” I asked, straining my eyes to look at his name badge, hoping I sounded sober and that he couldn’t smell the alcohol fumes on my breath.

“I have reason to believe you are driving under the influence of alcohol, now could you step out of the vehicle?” he asked again, more forcefully this time.

It didn’t take a genius to come to the conclusion that I was well over the limit and after a night in police custody, I was given an instant driving ban and a hefty fine. How could life get any worse?

It found a way!

At first, Nick was very understanding and supportive, saying that we’d find a way to manage until I found another job. But just two months later, the twenty third of December to be precise, he dropped a bombshell I never thought I’d hear coming from hip lips.

“Amelia…it’s just not working anymore” he said, hardly able to meet my eyes.

“I am trying Nick, but finding another job at this time of year isn’t easy!” I retorted. I wasn’t asking him for anything and I’d spent the last of my earnings paying my share of the household bills, neglecting my own personal debts. How could he be so mean? If the tables were turned, I’d support him.

“It’s not that…it’s us…I don’t want to be with you anymore” he admitted.

I took in a sharp intake of air. Had he just said what I think he’d just said? “You don’t mean that, do you?” I asked.

“Yes, I do mean it” he replied.

“Please Nick! How?...Why?...” I sobbed, realising that he was deadly serious.

“I don’t want to talk about it, you have until tomorrow morning to pack your stuff and leave” he said coldly, in a tone of voice I never thought I’d hear coming from him.

“But we rent this place together; you can’t just throw me out!” I cried.

“In case you haven’t noticed, it’s my name on the paperwork. I can do whatever I want in my house” he glared at me.

How could the man I thought I loved treat me this way?

“Nick…why are you doing this to me? Is there someone else?” I pleaded.

“No” he replied, very unconvincingly.

“There is, isn’t there?” I probed “just tell me the truth, you owe me that much”

“I owe you nothing” he spat and turned to walk away “you have until the morning and then I’m calling the police to get you off my property”. I heard the front door slam and then his car engine started and he was gone. I ran to the front door to try to stop him, but it was too late, he was out of sight. I closed the door and backed into the house, stepping on the piece of mistletoe which had obviously fallen from above the door. As if I have any use for that now!

I spent the first couple of hours crying, but then reality slowly sunk in and I began packing. With nowhere to go and no means of transport, I only packed what I could carry and then left the home I thought I’d spend many happy years in. I didn’t want to spend another night in a place where I wasn’t welcome. I wasn’t going to do any more begging, I was above that and so in the early hours of Christmas Eve, I stepped out into the unknown.

As I walked the streets, I contemplated life. What did I really have to live for? Over the past few weeks, my luck had done a U turn and stripped everything I held dear from me. I was in debt up to my eyes; I had no job, no boyfriend and nowhere to live. As night began to fall, so did my spirits. All day I’d walked these streets, seeing happy people, full of Christmas joy rushing around buying last minute presents for loved ones or couples walking hand in hand and looking full of love, sharing a sneaky kiss.

What did I have to look forward to? Nothing.

My wandering came to a stop when I came across an old cobbled bridge over the river on the edge of town. No one else was around and if they were, I was sure they wouldn’t pay little old me any attention.

“May as well just end it now” I said to myself as I stood on the bridge, overlooking the deep dark water below me.

The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. What did I have to live for? Who would even miss me if I wasn’t around anymore? My life was fucked, so why not put myself out of my misery and have done with it.

I climbed up onto the wall and stood there looking over the edge, I hoped it would be quick and relatively painless. Tears rolled down my face as my life flashed before my eyes. Yes, this was definitely the best way out of the mess I’d created.

“You don’t have to do that” a voice from out of nowhere said.

“What’s it to you?” I sobbed and leaned over a little further.

“I can’t stand by and do nothing, what kind of a man would that make me” he said, more urgently.

“So walk away then, this isn’t your problem” I remarked and turned to look at the wannabe hero. He looked like a god from where I was standing, or maybe an angel, the way the streetlight illuminated him, making it appear as if he glowed.

“Please…nothing is worth taking your own life over, won’t you just step down and talk about it” he said pleadingly.

“But…why would you want to talk to me?” I asked as I looked down at the blackness below.

“Because, it’s Christmas Eve and because you look like you could do with a friend” he replied.

“I…” I was replying, but lost my footing. I screamed, not ready for this, not sure I wanted death anymore. But before I was lost to the ice cold water below, I felt strong hands grip round me and in no time at all, I was safely back on the ground.

“Thank you” I sobbed into his chest.

“You’re welcome. Now what do you say we go and get a nice hot drink and talk about it? I’m Kevin” he tilted my face and I was met with the most sincere eyes I’d ever seen.

“I’m Amelia” I replied

With his arm placed reassuringly around me (or maybe to stop me running back to that bridge) we walked to a nearby coffee shop and Kevin ordered two hot chocolates. We talked for hours and I learned that Kevin was at that bridge for exactly the same reason. His wife had run off with his best friend and had also taken him for every penny in the divorce settlement. His house had been re-possessed when he couldn’t keep up the payments on it and he was living out of a suitcase in a cheap hotel until he could find a place to rent which was within his budget, and to top things off, he’d been overlooked for promotion in work. It was Christmas Eve and he’d felt he had nothing.

“So what do you say a couple of losers like us spend Christmas together?” I smiled for the first time that day.

“Sounds good to me” he agreed and his green eyes sparkled as he took my hand across the table.

THE END