The Keeper of Stories

Janice wears the same nice outfit for five days, hoping to see the driver on the bus, but he is not there. Her shifts at Mrs. B’s become more about categorizing the extensive book collection than cleaning, and Mrs. B insists that Janice spend time reading the books so that she knows where to place them. Sometimes Janice shares part of a story that she is reading with Mrs. B, who calls her a collector of stories.

Mrs. B continues Becky’s story: Becky volunteered during the early part of World War I in Paris. Later, she moved to Cairo with another man and then returned to Paris to work for a more highly esteemed madam. Mrs. B cuts off the tale there, but Janice wants to know about Becky’s daughter. Mrs. B explains that Becky never saw her after she was forced to give her up. Janice asks if the story is real, and Mrs. B assures her that it is. Janice begins to get upset, emotional, and irate; she begins to speak bitterly about selfish people. Mrs. B claims that no one is all bad; she encourages Janice to explain her thoughts.

Janice vents her frustration with Mike. She has tried for years to see the good in him and convince herself that life with Mike is not that bad. Her emotions grow shaky: “Sometimes you just want to stand on the roof and scream that it is completely fucking awful, and you can’t do it anymore” (110). Janice’s inability to calm down prompts Mrs. B to fetch brandy. Janice curls up in the reading chair, exhausted.

Janice wakes up in a twin bed in the college building adjoining Mrs. B’s house. Mrs. B had Stan, the porter, arrange the overnight accommodation, and she called Mike to notify him that Janice would be spending the night. She asks Janice why she does not leave him; Janice does not know. Back home, she falls asleep in the bath while thinking through the story of a successful man whose passion was listening to birdsong. Mike brings her coffee, but it is made the way he likes.

Janice spends the next week avoiding Mike and sleeping in the spare bedroom. She feels hopeless and gives up any thoughts of the bus driver. Then, on Thursday, she gets off the bus at Carrie-Louise’s house and sees the bus driver—her bus driver—waiting across the road. He tells her that he knows her name and schedule since he has been driving her for seven months. He asks her to tea, and she lets him know that she is married, though it’s complicated. He says that they can meet as friends, that he has many female friends, and that it’s complicated for him too. She agrees and then heads to Carrie-Louise’s, only to realize that she did not get his name.

A chat with Adam about his favorite science-fiction shows reminds Janice of how her son, Simon, loved Star Wars. She calls Simon spontaneously and then feels awkward when he says he is heading to a meeting. Simon, however, says that he will call that weekend. Janice’s spirits lift, and she returns to Fiona, who has been joining the walks with Decius and Adam. Adam gives Decius some treats, and Janice panics, thinking they are chocolate. She pounces on the dog and pries at his mouth, raising her voice at Adam. Fiona calmly reassures her that it was not chocolate. The mood relaxes, but it takes a while.

Janice decides to use a gift card for new boots so that she can wear a skirt to tea with the bus driver. In the store, she worries that her legs will not fit into the zip-up boots, recalling another time when a male clerk lay on the floor at her feet trying to negotiate the tight zipper. This clerk, a kind girl, commiserates with Janice about thick calves. She has them herself because she plays squash; lunges build muscle. She demonstrates there in the store, and Janice is happy to have both the boots and a new story.

Janice stashes her new boots out of Mike’s sight in the spare bedroom, but she discovers cardboard boxes piled everywhere in the room. Mike says that they need to talk. He has a new plan that will be just the right restart for them. He claims that her cleaning jobs are partly what inspired him.

Mike has already purchased inventory for this new venture: selling battery-operated brushes in flowery pouches and cleaning products to go with them. He claims that the brushes and their pouches are his design. She asks him how much he spent. He finally reveals that he spent £29,000 on the brushes and pouches—their entire savings. He insists that her anger over this is shortsighted because she cannot see the reason behind his decision and lacks a mind for sales. He says that women will want them since they are of superior quality and come in a feminine floral case. He even reached out to the first four clients in her phone for their support.

This last part enrages Janice most; she cannot listen to more. She packs her things calmly, only dwelling over what books to take. At one point, she grows fearful when he approaches her at the top of the stairs, but he says that he would never strike her. She leaves him sitting on the top step.

Janice drives through the countryside, ending up in a desolate area of barns and fences. The thought of Mike stealing her phone to call four clients incenses her, and she decides to call them to explain: Major Allen, Mrs. B, Dr. Huang, and Geordie. There is no answer at Mrs. B’s. Major Allen makes it clear that he thought the call was not her husband but a phishing scheme. Dr. Huang is snippy but does not fire her. Geordie, preoccupied, was unaffected by her husband’s “butt-kissing.” When she gets emotional, Geordie grows more focused. He is about to leave for a three-week trip to Canada and says that he could use her help housesitting his plants. Janice accepts, relieved.

She goes to Geordie’s house and lets herself in with her key. Geordie left a kind, appreciative note, saying that the spare room bed is made up for her and that the bottle of champagne in the fridge is hers as well. Janice makes tea, puts on some music, and sashays to the freezer to choose a frozen dinner.