by Kiki Archer
Jayney placed her frothy mug on the table and smiled. “Yours looked so appealing that I thought I’d give it a go.”
Pippa frowned, daring to look up once again. “I thought you only drank black coffee?”
“I’ve changed.”
“Oh right. Is this how it starts?”
Jayney pulled her sleek red hair behind her ears and slid into the booth. “I have.”
“Is that what this is then? Ten months on and it didn’t work out with lover girl, so you’ve come back to try your luck?”
Jayney picked up her mug and tried to sip some of the sweet latte, instantly overwhelmed by the whipped cream. She picked up a napkin and wiped her nose. “I knew I should have gone for the coffee.”
“That’ll teach you to try and impress me,” laughed Pippa, using her finger to sweep around the rim of her own mug for the last bit of froth. She lifted her latte and drank with ease.
“I’m not here to impress you,” said Jayney, trying to blow some of her cream to the side of her mug. “I just wanted to catch up.”
“Why today? Why now?”
Jayney gave up on her drink and looked across the table. “I saw something today that made me realise what a fool I’ve been.”
“What did you see?”
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that it made me realise how badly I treated you and I just wanted to make amends.”
Pippa folded her arms. “You saw your girlfriend with someone else?”
“I haven’t got a girlfriend.”
“So who did you leave me for then?”
Jayney sighed. “A woman, who I now realise I meant nothing to.”
“Oh, so you’ve asked me here to wallow with you in our loss of lovers?”
“No! This is coming out wrong.” Jayney paused. “I just wanted to catch up. It’s been so long. How’s your auntie?”
“Dead,” said Pippa, lifting her mug and draining the last of her drink.
****
Zara woke herself with a loud snort, visibly twitching in the brown leather recliner, shaking her head from left to right in an attempt to orientate herself and figure out if anyone had heard.
Andi was sitting in the far corner of the lounge under the soft glow of an overhead lampshade. She quietly lifted her head from her reading and whispered. “You were sleeping.”
Zara buzzed herself back into the seated position and wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. “No I wasn’t. Just dozing. Where’s Pippa?”
“She left a while ago.”
“Good, she was annoying me.”
Andi returned her eyes to her pamphlet. “Stop being irritable. There’s no one here to impress anymore.”
Zara stretched her arms up and yawned, feeling a blanket slide to the floor. She peered over the side of her chair. “What’s that?”
Andi kept her eyes on her work. “I covered you.”
“I’m not eighty! I hope you didn’t do it while Pippa was here.”
Andi circled an important quote and continued reading. “Of course not. It wouldn’t have mattered though.”
Zara rolled her eyes. “Yes it would. I think she likes me.”
“I’m sure she does,” said Andi without looking up.
****
“Dead?”
Pippa nodded. “A week after you dumped me.”
Jayney tucked her long red hair firmly behind her ears. “Make me feel worse why don’t you?” She shook her head. “I’m so sorry, Pippa. You should have called.”
“Yeah right. ‘Hello, you’ve just ended our year long relationship, having spent half of that year cheating on me with some woman at work, not that it mattered because you were planning on ending it anyway as I was far too boring, with no work or housing prospects ... but please come and comfort me, my great auntie, who I’ve spent the last year of my life nursing, is dead.’ I don’t think so, do you?”
Jayney continued to look aghast. “But Gee-Gee, she meant so much to you.”
Pippa looked away. “We were expecting it.”
“It’s still a shock though.”
Pippa shrugged.
Jayney reached out across the table and took Pippa’s hand. “What you did for her was incredible.”
“I didn’t have a job. I got free board and lodgings.” Pippa pulled her hand away and chose to sit on it instead. “It was no big deal.”
“Stop it. You wouldn’t have let anyone else look after her and you know it.”
Pippa used her other hand to prop up her cheek. “She didn’t quite know what was going on at the end, bless her.”
“Did Gee-Gee ever know what was going on?”
Pippa laughed. “Remember that time when you arrived and she thought you were that ‘nice actress off the telly.’ I never did figure out who she meant.”
“Then there was that time I came over and she thought I was there to curl her hair.”
“Which you did, and which I loved you for.” Pippa shook her head. “It’s fine. It was expected. Dad’s okay, and so is Mum. In fact, I probably learnt more in that one year than I’ve ever done.”
Jayney tried once again to sip her latte, a feat made slightly easier by the sinking of the cream. “The old are wise, as they say.”
“No, I meant looking after myself and someone else.” She paused. “I think it proved a point to my parents.”
“You’re their youngest daughter, they’re meant to mollycoddle.”
Pippa laughed. “They still send up a weekly food hamper.”
“From Devon?”
“Yes, they’re still there, still loving retirement.”
Jayney swallowed and tried not to grimace at the sweetness of the drink. “That figures! So where are you now?”
“Still in West Hamstead.”
“In Gee-Gee’s house?”
Pippa nodded. “It’s my house now. She left it to me.”
“You’re joking?” Jayney failed to hide her surprise. “It must be worth a fortune!”
Pippa shrugged. “Maybe. I’m just pleased she wanted me to have it.”
“And your family? Were they okay with that?”
“Of course.” Pippa smiled to herself. “Old Gee-Gee made sure everyone got a fair share. She even managed to put aside half of her old age pension every week for the past twenty five years.”
“And where did that go?”
“To the cats.”
Jayney laughed. “No need to worry about work then.”
“I’ve actually got a job and have been very happily employed for the past nine months.”
Jayney frowned. She had only ever known Pippa as a glorified carer, with no real money or possessions to her name. “Doing what?”
“Making use of my degree in Politics and International Relations.”
“Oh wow, Pippa. That’s brilliant.” She raised her eyebrows. “You’re doing really well for yourself then.”
Pippa shrugged. “Well I’m actually only a PA, but it’s for someone who’s incredibly political and focused on improving international LGBT relations.”
Jayney took a sip of her latte. “Who’s that then?”
Pippa’s smile was wide and her dimple was deep. “Andi Armstrong.”
Jayney coughed up some froth and reached for a napkin, hastily wiping the drips from her chin. “Andi Armstrong?”
Pippa nodded with pride. “She’s the most inspirational awe inspiring woman I think I’ve ever met.”
Jayney pushed her mug to the side and stared at her ex-girlfriend in disbelief. “You work for Andi, frigging, Armstrong?!”
****
“Andi, fucking, Armstrong!” shouted Zara, squeezing her legs together and intensifying the final few pulses of her orgasm. It was her forth of the day and second of the night. “You’re incredible!”
Andi slowly emerged from under the covers and placed a gentle kiss on her wife’s rosy cheek. “My pleasure.”
Zara caught her breath and wrapped an arm around Andi�
��s waist, pulling her close. “No, you really are incredible.”
Andi rested her head on Zara’s shoulder, nuzzling gently into her neck. “And so are you.”
“No I’m not. I’m a miserable old trout who falls asleep in the middle of the afternoon while you have a giggle with your young, fit and very hot PA.”
Andi smiled. “You work hard. It’s fine.” She paused. “Pippa’s my PA and you’re my wife … And anyway, I like watching you sleep.”
Zara started to stroke the short thick tufts of Andi’s blonde hair. “Really?”
Andi nodded. “It reminds me that you’re all mine.”
“I am.”
“Forever and a day?” asked Andi, lifting her head and looking at her wife with sincerity.
“Forever and a day,” whispered Zara, planting a gentle kiss on the soft, smiling lips.
Chapter Twelve
Pippa burst into Andi’s office, out of breath and slightly dishevelled. “I’m so sorry I’m late, Andi!”
Andi looked up at the large clock. It was still only ten to nine. “It’s fine. You don’t officially start work until nine.”
Pippa tried to tame her wild hair. “Why do we all get in at eight then? And I’m sure Elizabeth gets in at seven thirty!”
Andi smiled and patted the chair. “Sit down. I’ll make you a coffee. You’re not late.”
“I’m late for me, so I apologise.” Pippa took a seat on the comfy chair next to Andi’s. “I look like I’ve had my fingers in the sockets, don’t I?”
Andi burst out laughing. She had, in fact, noticed Pippa’s slightly wilder than usual bouncy brown hair. “I don’t know about fingers in the sockets, but you do look more, ‘on the go,’ as they say!”
“Do they say that?”
“No, possibly not,” smiled Andi. “So what were you doing putting your fingers in the sockets?”
Pippa laughed, resting her head back onto the firm fabric and stretching out her neck. “My ex-girlfriend got in touch.”
Andi had started to rise from her seat to make the coffees, but quickly sat back down again. “Ooo, Pippa. You’ve never spoken about an ex.”
Pippa grinned, turning her body towards her boss. “I have had some experience with women, Andi.”
“No, no, I wasn’t suggesting-”
“I’m teasing! It’s fine. We were together for about a year and we split up just before I got this job.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Pippa smiled. “Don’t be. She was a cheat.”
Andi glanced at the clock; there was always time for a quick gossip. “You finished it?”
“No, she did. I had no idea.” Pippa shrugged. “She had an affair with someone at work.”
Andi rose once again and headed towards the coffee machine. “I just don’t understand people’s inability to stay faithful. Did you know the person she had an affair with?”
Pippa continued to stretch her neck. “No, Jayney was a temp, always moving around and I never really got to know any of her work colleagues.” She shrugged. “It’s no big deal. It was never particularly serious with us.”
Andi added an extra sugar to Pippa’s coffee. She looked like she needed it. “Together for a year and it’s not serious?”
Pippa nodded. “If lesbians have been together for more than six months and they’re not living under the same roof, then no, it’s not serious.”
Andi laughed, passing the steaming mug to Pippa and sitting back down with her own. “Why did she get in touch?” She paused. “I hope you don’t mind me prying, but I’ve often wondered why you’re not with someone.”
Pippa looked at her boss. “Have you? I didn’t know that.”
Andi’s warm amber eyes were smiling. “Yes, I have actually.”
Pippa felt her cheeks redden, but managed to maintain the eye contact. “I’m my own worst enemy. I want perfection.”
Andi blew some of the steam from her coffee. “No one’s perfect.”
“Some are pretty close.”
Andi looked back up, aware of Pippa’s embarrassment, but unsure of its cause. “Does she want you back?”
Pippa shook her mass of brown hair. “No. I think she wanted to ease her own conscience. I think she got a taste of her own medicine and wanted to apologise.”
“And did she?”
Pippa thought back to the previous evening that had begun in the coffee shop and ended in a shot bar at three am. She sat up in her seat. “You know what? I don’t actually think she did.”
Andi smiled. “So what were you doing that gave you the finger in the socket hair?”
Pippa laughed. “Not what you think.”
Andi rolled her eyes. “Hmmm.”
Pippa frowned. “No, I promise!”
“It’s fine, you don’t have to tell me what you get up to.”
Pippa angled her body closer to Andi’s. “No, I promise. She was actually far more interested in you.”
Andi frowned. “In me?”
“Yes. As soon as she heard that I worked for you she came to life. One of the companies she used to work for was G-Sterling. Her claim to fame used to be that she’d once worked for Andi Armstrong’s wife, but now, since last night, she says her claim to fame’s going to be that she’s slept with a woman who now works for the actual Andi Armstrong!”
Andi batted away the compliment. “Aren’t people silly.”
“Anyway, she wanted to know all about you, asking me to carry on to a bar and quizzing me non-stop.” Pippa ruffled her hair. “Hence the, on the go, look! I drank far too much and woke up far too late.” She smiled. “I bet you get it all the time, but she was infatuated with you, your work, our relationship.”
“Our relationship?”
“You know, how we get on. Whether we spend time together outside of work.” Pippa smiled. “I think you improve my date-ability!”
“Oh Pippa, she sounds like a rogue.”
“Ha! A rogue. She probably is. But she’s a gorgeous red-headed rogue.”
“Are you seeing her again?”
Pippa leaned forwards in her chair and tapped her teeth together. “Ah! I hate admitting this, but I did, in the haze of an alcohol fuelled evening, consider asking her to be my plus one to your party on Saturday.”
“Really?”
Pippa shrugged. “What’s worse? Coming alone, or coming with a cheating ex?”
Andi placed her mug back on the coffee table. “You’ll be fine. And anyway, I’ll need someone to talk to.”
“It’s your thirtieth! You’ll be swamped with people.”
Andi laughed. “Exactly. I hate all of the fuss. Zara knows I do, but every year she insists on organising a big party and inviting all and sundry, for her to then spend the whole evening schmoozing the celebs.”
“They’ll be celebs there?”
Andi brushed off the interest. “Well, the ones who like a good photo op will be there.”
“It’s your thirtieth; they’ll be coming to celebrate your birthday with you.”
Andi raised her eyebrows. “I’ve been in this game a lot longer than you. I know how it works. Yes, Andi Armstrong from Proud Unity is ever so popular, and big faces will show up to celebrate. But not many of them actually know Andi from Wimbledon. The girl with the fang teeth and stick legs.”
Pippa tried not to laugh.
Andi tapped her incisors. “I got my teeth fixed, and now, approaching thirty, I’m pretty proud of my stick legs.”
Pippa let out a small laugh. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine you with fangs.”
Andi smiled with beautifully straight teeth. “I’m being serious. With Stella drowning in new motherhood, you’re fast becoming my closest friend.”
Pippa tried desperately hard not to blush and in consequence felt her cheeks burst into immediate colour. The past nine months had indeed seen them spending more time together both in and out of work, but Pippa had never dared entertain the notion that Andi Armstrong might actually regard her as a close
friend. “Really? I’m touched.” She grinned. “But I only call someone a friend if they’ve held my hair back on a night out.”
Andi pulled a sicky face. “Eugh. Okay. That’s our plan for Saturday night then!”
“You’re on!” laughed Pippa, lifting her mug with renewed energy and sipping her coffee. “So, what’s first on the agenda this morning then, boss?”
“Well either I stick my fingers in the sockets or you brush your hair. We’ve got photos at ten and we need to look harmonious.”
Pippa laughed and pointed at the skirting board. “Andi Fang Sticks ... the plug socket’s over there.”
****
“Come,” shouted Zara impatiently. She looked up from her desk on the top floor of the huge G-Sterling building. “Oh, it’s you,” she said with disappointment. “You don’t have an appointment.”
Melody Fickler stepped into the office and shut the weighty door. “Anne said you weren’t to be disturbed.”
“So you chose to ride the lift up here and disturb me.” Zara pulled her poker straight hair over her left shoulder and narrowed her eyes. “This had better be work related.”
Melody approached the wide desk and shrugged her shoulders, glancing at the chairs in the corner and admiring the London skyline that was perfectly framed by the large office window.
“Don’t even think about sitting down. It’s barely ten a.m. You of all people know how important the morning trading is.” Zara looked at her sparkling Cartier watch. “Really Melody, what is it?”
“Can we talk about us?”
Zara made a flicking gesture with her long fingers. “Oh, stop it! You sound about twelve.”
Melody stuck out her chest and tried a different tack. “Fine. Let’s meet after work ... Let off some steam.”
Zara looked her employee up and down, lifted her nose and scrunched her mouth in bitterness. “Been there. Done that. Move along now, please.”
