The Eden Effect by David Finchley

deliveries. Martin stopped the van at the address, Arthur took in the goods and returned to the van.
    â€˜Don’t know Gill,’ Arthur said. ‘I did not really notice this morning. I’ll check tomorrow’ he volunteered.
    Arthur noticed the time on his watch. 9pm. He would have to leave. He had to get up before 5am. He felt he could not say anything, after all Roger and Gill were taking him out. The third bottle of Shiraz was empty and Arthur hoped that there would not be a fourth. He was not confident of his ability to walk home as it was. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the waiter approaching with the bill. Arthur assumed he had been summonsed. Gill reached for it, pulled out some cash and handed it to the waiter. The three of them stood up. Arthur thanked them for the dinner and company and said that he had a great evening. He felt his speech was slurred but he doubted that Gill and Roger noticed.
    They shook hands good-bye and Arthur headed home on foot, making sure to walk as steadily as his brain allowed him to do.
    The house was dark when he arrived. He did not call out hello. He went to the bathroom, then to his bedroom, changed into his pyjamas and was fast asleep five minutes after he had arrived home.

It’s been a month, Arthur, and you’re still here,’ Martin said as they headed off on another morning run.
    â€˜You’re now at the average stay. From here on, you’ll be above average and if you are here in another five months, you will have equalled the record. You’ll be here in another five months, wont’ you, Arthur?’
    Arthur hesitated. He was not sure how to reply. He didn’t have any plans to leave, but did not feel ready to give Martin a commitment that he may not be able to keep.
    â€˜I’ve got no plans to leave in the foreseeable future, Martin,’ he replied.
    Arthur thought that Martin looked a little disappointed.
    Martin was disappointed. He began to like Arthur. His first impression when he met him was that Arthur was a bit of a no hoper. He seems so down and out. So defeated. Martin realised that he had not actually paid attention to Arthur’s life story when he told it that first day. He got the gist of it, just not all the details. He did see that Arthur had been hard done by. Life had not been kind to him. But that was not Martin’s problem, as he saw it. He had his assistant at cheap rates, thanks to Centrelink and that was all he cared about. But in the four weeks that Arthur had been there, Martin had grown to like and respect the man. He was clearly highly intelligent and had had a very successful career. Martin’s initial impression that Arthur was somewhat spineless had changed as he got to know him. Four and half hours a morning, seven mornings a week allowed for lots of conversation about lots of topics. It had become clear to Martin that Arthur was no pushover. He was prepared to stand up for himself when it mattered, he would take no crap.
    So, Martin quietly hoped that Arthur would stay on. Not forever, he knew that, but perhaps for a year. He could certainly handle the job and he was good company. Natalie liked him. Perhaps a bit too much, Martin thought. She talked about him a lot. And the two cops certainly liked him. The three of them went out for drinks, regularly, the occasional dinner and they even gave Arthur a ride in the police car, lights and siren.
    So, Martin was a little disappointed when he heard Arthur’s non-committal reply.
    â€˜I understand, Arthur,’ Martin said. ‘I don’t expect this to be your life long career but I’ve enjoyed our time together and I hope you’ll stay a while at least.’
    Arthur felt flattered. In their month together, Arthur had never heard Martin express such a personal opinion.
    When he thought about it, Arthur realised that he did enjoy the job. Well, not the job so much, it was mind-numbingly boring. It was the whole package.