Sign of the Times

by Susan Buchanan

  “Well, we’ve been house-hunting, as you know. We’ve another few places to look at the day after tomorrow. Originally it was meant to be tomorrow, but then I thought we’d probably be pretty hungover after tonight,” smiled Jennifer.

  “Too right,” said Holly. “So have you seen anything you like so far?”

  “It’s hard to say. Obviously we need something that’s big enough for us and Mum. We’ve been showing her schedules.”

  “Where have you been looking?” Holly asked.

  “Mainly in Ayrshire, but we’ve looked at places in Johnstone, Kilbarchan and Kilmacolm too.”

  Turning to Maggie, Holly enquired politely if she was still staying in the West End.

  “Actually I’m just about to move.”

  “Oh yes, where to?”

  “I’ve taken a post with the VSO, so I’m doing a year’s placement in St Vincent.”

  “St Vincent!” Holly was agog. “Lucky bugger. What are you going to be doing there?” As Maggie launched into how she would be teaching the locals about AIDS and its long-reaching effects and about how she would be educating them to be more sexually aware, the occupants of both gondolas listened intently. She was just getting into her stride, when Maria arrived to tell Holly a journalist from The Guardian was on his way up. Telling Maggie once again how lucky she was, but how admirable too, she left to greet the first of the Media. I hope she holds onto him, thought Holly, looking back over her shoulder at Jennifer. He looks like a keeper.

  Jennifer had given Holly the low down on their relationship so far. They’d almost broken up, due to Ben’s soon to be ex-wife causing a scene. It hadn’t helped that Ben hadn’t seen fit to tell Jennifer he was in the middle of divorce proceedings or that he was still technically married. But Jennifer had decided not to hold a grudge. Life was too short and she’d had very few chances of happiness in the last few years, so she wasn’t about to let this one get away from her. Holly could only think her friend was right.

  As the correspondent from The Guardian strode through the entrance hall of the City Chambers, he spoke into his Dictaphone, commenting on the exquisite mosaic of the Glasgow Coat of Arms on the hall’s floor and the Japanese style tapestry depicting the city’s past and present which hung on one wall. Climbing the marble and alabaster staircase leading to the Banqueting Hall, he admired the granite and marble pillars. A gondolier greeted him as he entered the Banqueting Hall. Accepting the mask offered him, he was just admiring his reflection in a handily positioned mirror, when Holly descended upon him.

  “Marcus, how are you?” Holly greeted him warmly.

  “Great. You look magnificent.”

  “Thank you. You don’t brush up too badly yourself,” she smiled at him. “Well, you’re the first of the Press to arrive, so you get extra marks for punctuality. Would you like an exclusive preview?”

  “Definitely,” and linking his arm in hers, he let himself be led away to the other end of the hall, where Holly told him all about her latest trip to Tuscany.

  Maria had settled into the vacant spot Holly’s absence had created in her gondola and was graciously trying to find out all she could about Holly’s friends. She had arrived just as Maggie had been telling Holly she was going to do some voluntary work in St Vincent. How exciting. It wasn’t even like going to work in Africa, where missionaries had been posted for years and certainly since she was a little girl attending Mass every Sunday and they were asked to pray for them. It was the Caribbean. Lucky sod. Holly hadn’t mentioned too much about Maggie to Maria, as she was really Jennifer’s friend, but apparently she’d had a bit of a tough time of it in the past. Things certainly appeared to be looking up for her now.

  Maggie filled them all in on her new life and said she couldn’t wait to fly out next week. She had done most of her packing. It was a bit sad that she could actually fit most of what mattered in her life to her into two suitcases, she said.

  “Jennifer’s taking more than that on the cruise,” Ben piped up good-naturedly, ducking to avoid a blow from his girlfriend.

  “That’s not true,” she protested. Ben grinned and Maggie simply said, “I know what you’re like. I bet your poor mum gets about ten percent space in the cases.”

  “Rubbish,” Jennifer said dismissively. “Mum’s even asked me to buy her some new outfits.” This was big news. Due to her mother’s bedridden state and their woeful financial status, she hadn’t bothered to renew her wardrobe in the last few years.

  “Is she looking forward to the trip?” Maggie asked.

  “Like you wouldn’t believe. She’s worse than a child, but I don’t grudge her a bit of it. She deserves it with everything she’s been through. So do I,” she said as an afterthought. It was manna from heaven, being given the lifeline from the travel company who arranged the competition she’d won. She was so ecstatic when she received the letter informing her she’d won the top prize. Concerned it might be a scam, she read it carefully and checked that there was no, ‘calls to this number will last approximately eight minutes and cost one pound fifty a minute’ small print and then she called the London number. Only when the girl on the other end asked her about the dates and her travelling companion’s name, did it hit her she couldn’t go. Her mother needed round the clock care and couldn’t possibly travel. She explained that she’d need to get back to them and about her mother’s situation and the girl had asked if she could put her on hold for a moment. A few minutes later, her supervisor came on the line and said there were full time carers on board. They were due to leave on the twenty third of December for two weeks, cruising the Caribbean. Maybe next year she’d be able to go on a short break with Ben. Her new employer had been most understanding of her need to take holidays so soon and she was convinced she had done the right thing in going to work for him.

  A waiter brought more canapés and the gondolas soon filled up with guests. As she accepted a goat’s cheese crostini, Jennifer took in the waiter’s black and white striped top, black trousers, red neckerchief and straw boater with red ribbon and suppressed a giggle. Holly had outdone herself this time. She really knew how to throw a party. Maria gave her a conspiratorial smile, as if she had guessed what was filling Jennifer with mirth. Once the gondolier had passed to the next boat, Jennifer leaned over and said, “You’ve done a fantastic job. It’s so decadent. So over the top.”

  “I know,” grinned Maria. “I love it. It’s been one of the most fun events I’ve ever done.”

  Czeslawa and Anastazy sidled up just then. “Have you seen Holly?” Czeslawa asked.

  Maria shook her head.

  “Last I saw she was with some journalist,” Tom said. “I’ve barely exchanged two words with her all night,” he said mournfully

  “Oh right. Antonia and Jack are here,” she said.

  “We’ll let her know if we see her,” said Ben.

  “I’ll go and say hi,” said Tom, getting up.

  “Hi Antonia, Jack, Oscar,” Tom said, shaking their hands in turn. “Holly’s otherwise engaged, somewhere,” he said.

  “How are things? I take it the kids aren’t coming?” Tom guessed.

  “Yes, that’s right. Things are fine. Jack and I popped in to see Lucy before we came over. She’s OK, gutted to be missing this though,” Antonia said.

  “Yes, she likes a good party. She would have loved this. Are the kids looking forward to the holiday?”

  “They can’t wait. I think it’s all that’s been keeping Felix going. Something to look forward to,” said Jack.

  “Well, that’s to be expected, with all that’s happened.”

  It was the understatement of the century. It had been a trying year for their family. Felix in particular needed a proper break, after defending the accusations of rape made against him. Formally charged, he’d had to go through the indignity of DNA and other tests, even though any real forensic evidence would be long gone and still wouldn’t prove if sex had been consensual. Compounded with the Chinese whispers that spread a
round their middle-class neighbourhood regarding him, it was no wonder it had been such a low time for him. He’d lost so much weight he looked emaciated. If you didn’t know better, you would think he was a junkie, but that’s what stress could do to you, when you were accused of a crime you didn’t commit.

  In the end he’d been lucky. The girl’s story didn’t add up. She was more pregnant than she’d let on. It came out in the forensic evidence that she’d already had at least one previous sexual partner. She’d finally broken down in court, in front of a disbelieving father and sobbed that Felix hadn’t raped her. They’d had sex, but it was she who had foisted herself on him. She thought her father would kill her if she told him she was pregnant, never mind pregnant to a thug whom her father knew well and had always professed a dislike for. So, she’d set her sights on a nice, middle-class boy. One her father could approve of.

  The relief of Felix’s family was palpable. However, the damage to Felix’s reputation was already done. The tabloids hadn’t waited to find out if he was guilty or not. No, a middle-class, Prosecutor’s son, of course they were going to chase that story. Jack had demanded they print a retraction, but it didn’t make much difference. The seed was sown. Jack had arranged for Felix to be tutored at home for the time being. He was too raw to return to school. His hopes of going to university next year were fading fast, but ultimately it depended how well his mind recovered from the ordeal he’d been through. So far he wasn’t coping well. The holiday could be the turning point.

  “There you are,” Holly hugged and kissed her aunt and uncle. She greeted Oscar whom she had met a few times at parties at her aunt and uncle’s.

  “Glad you could make it. Grab a gondola whilst you can,” Holly advised them.

  Since she’d been back in the country, Holly had been spending a lot of time with Antonia, as a result of the situation with Lucy and Felix. It was an unwritten rule that they wouldn’t discuss those topics tonight. The past few months had been hard. Tonight was about celebration. Maybe that was why Holly had gone so over the top with the décor, Antonia thought, as she looked around. She’d previously confessed to Holly that Felix, relieved at the rape charges being dropped had broken down and confided in his mother.

  “Mum. She’s the only girl I’ve ever slept with.” Antonia had told him not to worry about it any more. But Felix was insistent. “Mum, you don’t understand. She’s the only girl I’ll ever sleep with. Why did I have to pick her? I’m gay, Mum,” and he had burst into wrenching sobs. It wasn’t common knowledge. Antonia felt the family had been under the microscope enough recently. She was waiting for the right moment to tell Jack. It hadn’t arrived yet.

  Antonia had needed to take a leave of absence from work. The timing couldn’t be worse given recent announcements regarding redundancies, but her family needed her and for the first time in a long while, it took precedence. Jack and she had talked at length about Jack’s proposal to set up an independent estate agency with Oscar. Jack, naturally, would be a sleeping partner. But what was to stop Antonia working there? She would have a vested interest. The property market had to recover sometime. Why not be ready for it? She was seriously considering it and she knew from the many talks they’d had with Oscar that he was completely fed up at National.

  They sat in the gondola adjacent to Jennifer, Ben and Maggie. Ben started when he saw Oscar.

  “Oscar, what are you doing here?”

  “I’m a friend of Jack’s. Who are you here with?”

  “This is my girlfriend, Jennifer. You remember I met her in Glencoe?”

  Oscar trawled his memory banks, but drew a blank.

  “Ah yes,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”

  Oscar and his wife Gaby were making tentative moves forward with their relationship. After much soul searching, he had given his wife another chance. She had cheated on him, but then again, so had he, even if it was after finding out she was pregnant with another man’s child. It was almost tit for tat. They weren’t living together again yet, but they were spending quite a bit of time together, trying to recapture the essence of their relationship. Oscar had been ready and willing to raise the child as his own, but it hadn’t been necessary. Gaby had miscarried not long afterwards. They weren’t sure whether to be saddened or glad. Oscar had accepted that he needed to spend time with his wife and as a result, had cut back his overtime at the office. They had talked at length about the future they might have. Whilst he could never forget what had happened, Oscar hoped he could forgive and was determined to try. Hopefully it would make them stronger as a couple and maybe they would give each other the attention they needed now. He found himself wondering how much Gaby had told her brother. His brother-in-law was affable enough with him, but he hadn’t seen Ben since he and Gaby split up. It didn’t appear as if there were any hard feelings there, but then why should there be. It was Gaby who had become pregnant by someone else. During the course of their many discussions late into the night in some instances, they had agreed that if they were able to sort things out, then they would try for a baby. But they were a long way from that yet.

  How odd, thought Ben. Of all the places to run into his brother-in-law, this was the last one he’d expected to meet him. Gaby had given him the whole sorry tale. He had been shocked. From the conversations he’d had with his sister in the preceding months, it had been obvious she wasn’t happy, but getting pregnant by another guy was taking things to a whole new dimension. He really liked Oscar, but his loyalties naturally lay with Gaby. He’d felt awkward about contacting Oscar, unsure as to the reception he could expect. And of course, he’d been busy with his own new circumstances. Gaby had needed him too, in the weeks after discovering Oscar naked on their lounge floor with another woman, the wife of the man Gaby had cheated on Oscar with. The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on her, but it hadn’t made it any easier. At least when she had lost the baby, Oscar and she were already trying to make a go of things. It brought home what a decent guy Oscar was, Ben thought, that he’d been prepared to raise someone else’s kid as his own. He didn’t know if he would have done the same. People commented on his taking on Jennifer’s mum, but that was different. He wanted to be with her and her mum came as part of the package.

  Fortunately Jennifer had been reasonable and heard him out when he’d finally got to her through Maggie, whom he’d initially thought would have been the port of most resistance. He’d explained matters to Maggie, as Jennifer wouldn’t return his calls, or his letters. Mindful of her mother’s condition, he’d stopped short of turning up at the door. Maggie had looked at him as if he were a complete moron when he’d finished cataloguing the whole mess for her. Her expression said he had created this whole shambles and it had all been unnecessary. Telling the whole truth from the beginning would have saved a whole lot of hassle.

  *

  Holly had a lot to handle. The launch was a fabulous success so far, going by the numbers. She’d barely spoken to anyone for more than a minute or two. Her neighbours had arrived, some old friends from uni, a group of girls from the gym. She’d invited everyone and anyone she could think of. If nothing else, they’d all buy a signed copy of her book. Czeslawa was over by the signing stand, waving at her. Ah, another taker. Here we go again.

  Anastazy found Maria sitting chatting with Tom and promptly flopped down in the gondola beside her, his hand resting lightly along the back of the gondola, caressing her shoulders.

  “So, what do you think? Is it a success?” Anastazy asked.

  “It’s certainly bigger and better attended than the first one, but then she really has gone to town on this one. Look at this place.”

  They all agreed that it was one hell of an event.

  Tom watched the interaction between Maria and Anastazy. Was something going on between them? The Polish man seemed very comfortable in her presence, very casual. Maybe they were seeing each other. Intuition wasn’t his strong point. He’d need to ask Holly, as his curiosity was getting the better of him.
It was the first time he had met Anastazy or Czeslawa. Initially he’d thought they were man and wife, but then noticed the family resemblance and soon dismissed that notion. Watching the preparations and the way they worked tonight, he felt confident about using Occasions for their wedding. Ah finally. There was Holly making her way back towards him.

  “Well, hello stranger,” he smiled up at her, rising out of the gondola to give her a quick peck. “Everything OK?”

  “Yes, just mad busy. You guys OK?”

  “Fine,” Tom fibbed. “Just wondering where you’d got to. That’s some dress,” he admired his fiancée’s petite frame in it.

  “Thanks,” Holly grinned at him.

  “So what’s the script with those two?” he whispered, gesturing towards Maria and Anastazy.

  “Who?”

  “The organisers,” Tom said.

  “Oh, you mean Anastazy and Maria?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tom, do you ever listen to anything I say?”

  “Not if I can help it,” he joked.

  “Anastazy is Czeslawa’s brother. He was over visiting her and Amy, Maria’s daughter fell and had to be taken to hospital. Anastazy was her knight in shining armour who took her there in his chariot.”

  “Sorry?” Tom appeared suitably confused.

  “She was shaken up because of the amount of blood pouring from Amy’s head, so he drove. Since then they’ve been seeing a lot of each other.”

  “So, does he live here?”

  “No, but I think he’s working on it.”

  “OK,” said Tom, curiosity satisfied.

  “So, what do you think of the launch?” Holly quizzed him.

  “I think it’s amazing,” he said frankly. “You obviously put a lot of thought into it.”

  “I did, but it was a lot of fun,” Holly admitted.

  “I’m so proud of you, Holly,” Tom pulled her to him and gave her a hug.

  “Thanks, but don’t crush my dress,” she scolded.

  “Sorry,” Tom said apologetically.