Love or Money?

by Carrie Stone

  There was no point trying to convince Fee that Stacey was someone he’d just met. Anyway, her friend Sylvia would undoubtedly feed it back that he’d been with Stacey for over two years. He hadn’t bargained on his girlfriend sharing their life story with Sylvia whilst he went and got coffees for them all in the hospital waiting area. The damage had been well and truly done.

  “Baby, are you working this afternoon?” Stacey called out from the upstairs bedroom.

  Dan closed his eyes to her whiney voice. A week, that’s all he’d been back for and already he was regretting it.

  “Nope” he replied, taking another long drag on his cigarette.

  His attention flitted to the muted television. That smug morning presenter that he really disliked was interviewing some leggy blonde. The man was an out and out idiot; but the women seemed to love him.

  Stacey walked into the room with a towel wrapped around her head.

  “I was thinking we could go to the tile shop later. That bathroom could do with a makeover” she said wrinkling her nose.

  Dan nodded slightly, desperate not to engage too much in talk of house renovation. The last thing he wanted to have to do was decorate on his day off. Let alone be the one to pay for it.

  “Oh yes, I meant to tell you” Stacey said excitedly waving her hand towards the television.

  “What?”

  “You’ll never guess who’s boyfriend that is” she said pointing at the presenter, who was now carefully massaging lotion into a woman’s arm.

  “Whose?” Dan asked distractedly, watching in fascination as the presenter began to apply the moisturiser to his own face. This man was unbelievable. How did the women not see through him? He was a cock.

  “Sylvia’s, that friend of your client Fee. She told me that night at the hospital.”

  Dan looked up at the mention of Fee’s name. Yet he was surprised by Stacey’s comment. Sylvia had come across to him as a strong woman up for a laugh. He certainly wouldn’t have put her with a man like Phillip Moore.

  “By the way, did you hear anything about her? Is she ok now?”

  “Who? Sylvia?” Dan asked confused.

  “No, I meant Fee.” Stacey said rolling her eyes.

  Dan took another drag on his cigarette, biding his time.

  “How do you expect me to know? She’s just someone’s garden I tend to. I suppose I’ll find out when she gets in touch with me to cut her grass” he replied flippantly.

  “Well maybe you should text her or we could send her some flowers. You men are useless at knowing what to do in difficult situations. That poor woman could be in a permanent coma. Anyway it’s good to keep her on your side, you don’t want to be losing clients, do you.”

  Dan looked up in fury. He was sick of Stacey’s stupid comments and interfering behaviour.

  “Or how about you mind your own business and let me treat my clients how I see fit. Haven’t you got cleaning or something to be getting on with” he said nastily.

  Stacey looked at him quizzically, her eyes brimming with tears. She couldn’t seem to do anything right lately. She was beginning to wonder why Dan hated her so much.

  If only she wasn’t so head over heels in love with him.... she might have been able to ask him to leave.

  Felicity stared at her laptop screen for the hundredth time that morning. She knew her reservation number and flight details by heart now. The idea that in less than two days she’d be travelling to the other side of the world, for no apparent reason, still hadn’t properly sunk in.

  Australia. The land of kangaroo and barbecues. It was the one place that despite her extensive travel, she’d never visited previously or had any desire to visit. Yet now she’d be spending the next ten weeks of her life there.

  Despite the panic that she felt at the absurdity of her trip, she was also excited. It had been so long since she’d had her mind focused on anything but work and money and the idea of exploring a country and perhaps even taking the odd excursion, filled her with an aliveness that she hadn’t experienced in years.

  She’d worked hard over the last few days to ensure that Maurice and the office would run smoothly without her. Her own personal matters such as the cottage maintenance and finances, were being handled in her absence by her mother and all thoughts of Dan, James and past pain had been pushed aside.

  She’d have plenty of time to assess her feelings on those in detail once she was alone in Australia. But today, she was looking forward to catching up with both Zara and Sylvia.

  “Steve, have you seen Lexi’s Nintendo DS?” Zara called out from the half painted nursery.

  “I already asked Daddy and he said he hadn’t seen it” Lexi replied, staring at Zara with a downturned mouth.

  “Well I don’t know then, darling. It must be somewhere, ask your sisters again.” Putting down the roller brush, Zara wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand as her daughter sulkily left the room.

  She stood back surveying the half painted pale green wall. It wasn’t anywhere near the jungle theme they’d originally had in mind. But it would have to do.

  “What’s up?” Steve asked appearing in the doorway of the nursery.

  Zara took in her husband’s freshly showered and shaved appearance. Dressed in a pale pink shirt and his best jeans, she experienced a nauseous feeling. Squashing it, she turned to her husband with sticky, paint covered hands.

  “Lexi’s moaning because she can’t find her console. I thought you might have seen it.”

  Steve scratched his head distractedly. “No, I already told her I haven’t.”

  Walking across to open another of the windows, Zara was overcome with exhaustion. The baby was really beginning to move around and her energy levels had seemed to plummet in the past week. Despite being her fourth pregnancy, it was her hardest one yet.

  “Listen, I’ve got to go and meet Tony about some work. I’ll be back by dinner time.”

  Zara nodded silently, scooping down awkwardly to pick up a small paintbrush. She didn’t want Steve to notice her glassy, teary eyes or the disappointment that had plastered itself across her face.

  Oblivious to his wife’s distress, Steve eyed the wet paint.

  “Good job, its coming along nicely” he said patting his wife’s back. “Right, I must shoot off, see you later.”

  Zara only dared to look up once Steve’s heavy footsteps could be heard making his way down the stairs and out of the front door.

  Sitting alone in the nursery, she allowed the tears to fall freely from her eyes. The feeling of uncertainly that had been building up in the past week had doubled in its intensity. All of the signs had been there for weeks, yet she had chosen to ignore them. The way Steve didn’t want to touch her anymore. The late working nights. The improved dress sense. The trimmer physique. The random and unexplained disappearances. It was exactly the way they wrote about it in every magazine she had ever read. Yet she hadn’t wanted to believe that her Steve could be one of those men. Her Steve. A cheat.

  Lexi padded into the room looking at her mother curiously.

  “Why are you crying Mummy?”

  Sniffing furiously and wiping her eyes quickly, Zara smiled broadly at her daughter with as much excitement as she could muster.

  “It’s tears of happiness darling. I was just thinking how lucky I am to have you girls and the new baby coming. It’s exciting, isn’t it!” she said, pulling Lexi close and tickling her belly.

  Lexi giggled in delight, squirming to get away. Abbey appeared in the doorway to join in on the fun.

  “Can I play, Mummy?” she asked sweetly, clapping her hands.

  Zara looked at her two little girls and felt her heart swell with love. It didn’t matter if Steve had found someone to replace her. She had all she wanted already and no man would take that away from her.

  Picking up six year old Abbey in her arms, Lexi followed as she went to check on her sleeping third child, Daisy. The girls were her life. With a new baby on the way,
she needed to be strong. Steve had always been there to support her and as much as it was sickening to realise his behaviour of late was seriously pointing towards him having an affair, she couldn’t let that affect her family.

  She would have to find a way to make things right. Glancing at the hallway clock on the way into Daisy’s bedroom, she realised that Fee would be arriving at any moment. If there was one person that she didn’t want knowing her concerns, it was her best friend. Sadly, Fee would never be able to understand her.

  Felicity looked at her mother suspiciously. There was something not quite right about her, yet she couldn’t place her finger on exactly what it was.

  “You seem happy today.”

  Glenda finished packing the last of Fee’s toiletries into the small travel zipper and smiled.

  “Well, I guess it’s to do with you, actually.”

  “Me?” Felicity said in surprise.

  Glenda looked at her daughter’s relaxed appearance. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Fee sitting around at midday in her pyjamas, looking at ease with herself.

  “I’m just happy to see you looking so carefree and excited about this trip.”

  Carefree wasn’t quite the word that Felicity would have chosen. She was nervous. More than nervous, she was terrified. Yet strangely the feeling was almost an adrenaline boost.

  “I would have thought you’d be sad to see me go. Not to mention worried. Clearly not!” Felicity joked.

  Glenda looked seriously for a moment at her daughter. The worries she had felt had slowly evaporated in the past couple of days. Hearing Fee speak so positively about her trip and her rekindled friendship with Sylvia, had settled her fears. She was relieved her daughter was taking steps to rebuild her life in a healthy way. Even Fee’s visit to Zara’s house the previous day had been a pleasant surprise to be told about.

  Zara had called Glenda the previous evening explaining how Fee had arrived in old clothing and offered to help her paint the nursery and had then offered to feed the children and take them to the park. It had taken a full ten seconds of shocked laughter for the news to sink in.

  “Of course I worry about you. But I know this trip is going to be the best thing you’ll ever do. I have a good feeling about it for you” she said reassuringly.

  She also had a good feeling about her own life. Since her chance meeting with Bill, she had felt rather different about herself. He had enthusiastically taken her up on her offer to pop in for a cup of tea as a thank you for his lift home. They had chatted easily and comfortably for nearly an hour before Bill had needed to leave. Not before asking her for dinner though.

  She wondered if it was normal for a middle-aged woman to feel the same giggly, girly nerves at the thought of her date, as she had when she’d been a teenager. Bill’s appearance had brought out a side of her she hadn’t felt in years.

  “Are you sure you’re ok? You’ve got this strange smile on your face and you look flushed?” Felicity asked quizzically.

  Glenda dismissed her daughter with a wave of her hand. Picking up the last of the clothing to be packed, she squashed it carefully into Fee’s suitcase and closed the lid. It was only then that she felt a small wave of sadness sweep over her. In less than twenty four hours, her daughter would be gone until Christmas.

  Chapter Nine

  The silver suitcase stood mockingly in the hallway as Felicity prepared the final touches of her make-up. With her goodbyes already said, the taxi would be arriving in less than thirty minutes. Her hands shook with nerves as she gently tried to apply a third coat of mascara.

  She focused her thoughts on the five star hotel she had booked herself into for the first four nights of her trip. It had looked exquisite and was ideally located near the main sights of Sydney. Thinking about the remaining nine and a half weeks of her trip, her stomach did a flip. She hadn’t planned or booked anything. She was as free as a bird and as unprepared as a fool.

  “Goodness, what am I doing?” she asked aloud to herself in the mirror. What person in their sane mind takes a three month sabbatical from their life?! Dan’s face flashed into her mind to haunt her, immediately followed by James’.

  Looking her reflection firmly in the eyes she told herself she was doing exactly what was needed. Getting over the past.

  Applying a final layer of mineral veil she packed her make-up bag carefully into her new travel holdall – an unexpected leaving gift from Sylvia. Thinking of her new friendship made her smile. The holdall had been a promotional benefit of Sylvia working on the UK’s biggest girl band. It was amazing how much her client list had grown from the days that Felicity had known her. Despite her initial envy at her friend’s new found success, Felicity was proud of her.

  Catching up with her the previous day, she’d been surprised to hear the finer details of Sylvia’s relationship with her GMT partner. It seemed that his charming and caring persona on the television was a far cry from the ego-obsessed man that she had spoken of. She’d been even more surprised to hear that her friend had called an ending to things that very day, without so much as a backward glance. Surely that wasn’t a wise thing to do.

  The taxi horn made her jump. Picking up her holdall and extending the handle of her suitcase, she prepared herself for the biggest journey of her life. It was time to find Felicity Harroway again; she had missed herself for far too long.

  Sticking his fingers deeper into the dry, crumbly soil of the newly planted shrub roses, Dan sighed. His client, Mrs Franklin, had evidently gone against his advice to provide the bordering plants with sufficient watering. Crispy brown petals littered the ground around him.

  His phone beeped making his body stiffen. She still hadn’t responded to his text. It had been two hours and he couldn’t bear the suspense any longer. Eagerly taking his phone from his pocket, he flipped open the screen to see Stacey’s name displayed. Disappointment ate at him. He should have known it wouldn’t be the woman he was hoping for.

  Ignoring the text and shoving the phone awkwardly into his jeans, he continued with his work. This garden had been one of his first landscaping projects. Usually it filled him with satisfaction and pride to see how things had flourished in the years since his client had contracted him. Today was different. He felt as dried up and disheartened as the wilted Delphinium he was tending to.

  His relationship with Stacey had gone from bad to worse and he feared it wouldn’t be long before she placed bigger demands on him. It seemed that she’d developed a backbone from somewhere in the past week. Her new found confidence and backchat was causing him grief.

  The other woman however, had been an unexpected find. She was everything Stacey wasn’t. Confident, sassy and sensually attractive. She wasn’t Fee though. She could never be Fee. But then Fee had made it clear from her lack of contact since the Kings Head incident that she wasn’t interested. Dan had come to accept in the past ten days that it would take more than he had to give to win around a woman like Fee. She was too much hard work. It was kinder to his own heart to let her go, than allow himself to be in love with a woman who would never want him.

  The new woman was just the fun he needed to distract his mind and heart. As long as he worked on keeping Stacey pacified, he had nothing to lose. He just hoped his new love interest wouldn’t take too much longer to respond to him. He had cleared an hour’s slot in his day to make the most of her.

  Felicity awoke to brilliant sunshine streaming through her seventh floor hotel room window. Despite the slight chill in the air, she threw back the heavy quilt and got out of her Queen-sized canopy bed.

  The flight had been more draining and tiresomely long than she’d anticipated. Even her frequent trips to Singapore and Hong Kong alongside Maurice paled in comparison. She had experienced jet lag of the worst kind, but cleverly staying awake followed by a half day of sleeping had brought her body clock in sync with the local time. It was her first proper day ‘on holiday’ and discovering Sydney, and she felt nervous tension bubble in he
r stomach. A full day with no work commitments, social commitments or plans. Only herself for company. The thought was terrifying.

  Looking out of the window she watched Sydney city below her coming to life. She hadn’t known what to expect from her new location, but as she saw the bustle of office workers in their suits rushing towards the high rise offices around her, she realised it reminded her of the London she had left behind.

  Opening her suitcase, she opted for jeans, a plain top and flat shoes. Surveying her finished look in the large wall mirror she picked up her leather handbag and thin leather jacket. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d dressed so casually on a week day.

  Making her way out of the hotel, she joined the stream of early morning workers in the Central Business District, listening with fascination to the varied Ozzie accents, the diverse range of ethnic people and appreciating the more relaxed stance. It felt like London to her, only much more appealing. Choosing to ignore the metro and following her tourist map, she began walking in the direction of Sydney Harbour.

  Striding slower than her usual rushed pace, she took her time browsing the many shops along her route, appreciating the freedom and carefree attitude she’d adopted for the day.

  Spotting a Starbucks, she headed towards it, grateful for the familiar aroma of coffee. She chose a comfortable seat near to the front of the shop, allowing herself to people-watch whilst she sipped on Mocha Latte and bit into her favourite chocolate brownie.

  A tall, well-built man caught her attention and she felt her heart momentarily skip a beat. Her mind was instantly filled with images of James. The man was walking towards her in the same confident manner, his mousey brown hair styled into the familiar messy cut and a wide grin on his face displaying the same crooked teeth. The brownie she was chewing on stuck in her throat as he turned directly towards her.

  “Excuse me; you wouldn’t happen to know how to get to Moozo’s from here would you?” he asked in a strong Western Australian accent.