A Better Wife (Part 1)

“Don’t worry,” Brian said reassuringly. “They will love you.”

 

Eleanor smiled weakly at her husband before quickly looking out of the window of their car. She did not want him to see her worried face.

 

For years, Brian had worked as a mid-level sales executive for a big company in America. However about 2 years ago, a Middle Eastern investment group called Sun Horizon bought over the company and started to impose several misogynistic company policies that emphasized male supremacy over their female colleagues.

 

Eleanor had been trying to get Brian to resign from the company but with the American economy in such bad shape, it was something he refused to consider. Worse, Brian seems to enjoy working at Sun Horizon and had hinted for some months that he is in line for a promotion at the company.

 

So when he was “offered” to go for a company retreat with his wife in Canada, Brian practically ordered her to accompany him to the retreat. Eleanor took a deep breath. Maybe “ordered” was too strong of a word but Brian really wanted her to come and she could pretend to be the dutiful wife for 3 days. Although she did not want to admit it, she had to admit she was nervous about the trip.

 

“We’re almost there.”

 

Eleanor was surprised at that. So far all she saw were trees. “Where are we?” she asked. “I thought the retreat was near a town.”

 

“Water Springs.” Brian saw the look on his wife’s face and continued. “That’s the name of the town. The retreat is about 20 miles from the town and according to the GPS, we’re almost there.”

 

Eleanor bit down a retort about the reliability of the GPS system and concentrated on enjoying the view. The forest they were passing was picturesque and she had to admit she could believe that a country retreat was located nearby.

 

Amazingly, there was a side road that came into view 5mins later with a sign for “Immersion Retreat”. Brian took the road and after a short while, they came up to a mansion. Eleanor was unprepared for what she saw.

 

At the end of the gravel driveway was the biggest mansion she had ever seen. It was gigantic with several smaller cottages around it. As Brian pulled the car into a parking spot, she broke.

 

“Wow! Truly WOW!” she said. “You knew about this?”

“Hell no!” Brian sounded as surprised as she was. The couple got out of their car and took a good look around. The scenery was awe-inspiring. The mansion dominated the surroundings but everywhere they look, the couple could just smell the serious money it took to get everything looking the way it did. “I knew Sun Horizon was big but this is serious with a capital S!”

 

Eleanor was about to agree with her husband when she saw a Nissan drove up the driveway. The vehicle parked beside them and a couple got out of the car.

 

“Brandon,” her husband murmured quietly. Eleanor looked at her husband wondering what happen. He did not look happy seeing the man.

 

However Brian went forward with a smile and shook the hand of the other man. The 2 men exchanged greetings before Brian introduce her to his colleague, Brandon. Like Brian, Brandon bought along a woman. Eleanor greeted his wife Sandra warmly.

 

The 2 couples went towards the mansion and Eleanor made sure she and Brian fell behind the other couple. When they were far away enough, Eleanor whispered, “What’s going on? You’re not happy to see that guy?”

 

“No, not really.” Brian whispered back. “Could be nothing but that guy is a name up for the promotion.”

“The one you wanted?”

“Yup”

“So…this retreat is a working one?”

“Don’t know yet. Let’s see.”

 

The two couple proceeded into the mansion where they were greeted by a woman wearing a niqab. Eleanor stared at the woman.

 

It was the first time she saw a woman totally covered up like that. Brian had told her that Sun Horizon had imposed a dress code on all the women in the company and most of them were now wearing the niqab while working. However this is the first time Eleanor had actually seen a women in the niqab. The woman’s head and face were covered with a black veil and Eleanor quickly saw that the woman’s body and hands were also covered by a black blouse and a pair of black gloves.

 

The woman briefly looked at Brian and Brandon, and then quickly looked down. The two men spoke to the woman and she handed them a pair of paper. The woman spoke to the men, totally ignoring Eleanor and Sandra who quietly decided to stand a few steps behind the men. Eleanor remained silent the whole time, not wanting to cause a scene but inside she was fuming at being ignored. This was not what the suffragettes fought for.

 

Her feelings were not helped when the two men walked back towards their wives after a few minutes and told them they would have to wait at a lounge room on the ground floor. It seems they had a meeting in another room first before they would join them.

 

Eleanor shook her head and saw that Sandra was looking at her and nodding her head. The 2 women were in silent agreement at the nonsense they had seen so far at this “retreat”.

 

As the men went up to the first floor for their meeting, the 2 women went to the lounge room and entered. The decor was nice and there was a bar at the end of the room. As Sandra closed the door, Eleanor walked toward the drinks at the bar. She never reached them.

 

Halfway there, her legs suddenly felt weak. Eleanor heard a sound behind her and turned around. Sandra had collapsed on the floor. A few seconds later, Eleanor joined her.