One?

by Jennifer L. Cahill

  ‘Penelope, are you alright you look a little pale?’ Francois asked, with a concerned tone.

  ‘Oh, well, yes, I’m not feeling very well actually, let me just get a glass of water and I will see how I’m feeling.’ Penelope took her seat reluctantly, and slinked down in the chair. Just when she was starting to feel a little better, the girl that Alyx was with stood up, and Penelope got a better look at her…

  Chapter 18

  Surrender

  Penelope cried off ill and took the Eurostar back to London late that night…

  ‘Hi…’ Penelope blubbed into the phone, sobbing.

  ‘Pen, is that you? What on earth is the matter?!’ George nearly didn’t recognise her voice, she was crying so much.

  ‘Well, em… I… sniff, sniff…’ Penelope struggled with the memory, and the words.

  ‘Oh my god, what is it? Stop crying for just a sec… are you ok?’ George was trying to get some sense out of Penelope.

  ‘No, well, you see, I was in Paris and, you know… out with work and eating in… Buddha Bar…’ Each word was interspersed with sniffs, blubs and nose blowing.

  ‘What happened?’ George was getting impatient, she wasn’t sure whether she should hang up and phone the police for Penelope, or keep her on the line to calm her down.

  ‘And… we were all there and…’ Penelope was talking like a hysterical five-year-old who had been crying so much that she could barely get the words out.

  ‘And…’ George demanded.

  ‘Alyx was there, and…’ Penelope blubbed.

  ‘And??’ George’s tone was getting frenzied.

  ‘He was with a …’ Penelope struggled to say it.

  ‘Oh my god, I’m coming over, I can’t bear to think of you in this state… just take a few deep breaths and I’ll be there as soon as I can, ok? Shall I bring munchies?’

  ‘No, I really … don’t think that… I could… eat anything.’ Penelope sniffled.

  ‘Shit, this is bad, I better get over there quick,’ George thought to herself.

  ‘Ok, I’ll be right there.’ George was nearly out her front door, even though it was way past bed time…

  Sniff, ‘Ok, thanks George.’ Penelope trembled as she hung up.

  Fifteen minutes later, George arrived in SW4.

  ‘Right… what did he do to you?’ George sat down in front of Penelope trying to read between the lines.

  ‘Nothing, he didn’t even see me…’ Penelope could not speak properly.

  ‘What? Well what’s the matter then?’ George was puzzled.

  ‘He was on a date… with a girl… and…’ The tears started rolling down her face again, and the words stopped…

  ‘Oh my god here come the waterworks again, what girl…? Are you sure it was a date, it could have been one of the musicians?’ George was searching for reasons to calm Penelope down.

  ‘And she was… … pregnant…’ Penelope finally got the word out.

  ‘Oh my god, do you think she was his…well you know… girlfriend?’ George’s tone softened.

  ‘Yes, or maybe even worse… maybe his… his… wife.’ Penelope sat back in the chair, completely deflated. Her eyes were all red and puffy.

  ‘Oh my god, I don’t know what to say.’ George was nearly speechless.

  ‘I’m so upset George, and this isn’t like me, I never let guys upset me this much, it’s just that I really liked him, I really, really liked him, and the time I spent with him, even doing just normal things, was amazing…’ Penelope cried.

  ‘Well, I have certainly never seen you like this, over a guy! I don’t really know what to say… and what about Richard?’ ‘Uh oh… I just set her off again!’ George seriously regretted mentioning Richard.

  ‘He keeps asking me out, and driving me mad… he says he thinks I’m “the one”, it’s fucking ridiculous… no better way to scare off a potential girlfriend!’ Penelope’s face was like thunder, the last thing she wanted to talk about was Richard.

  ‘Indeed… oh dear… well look, I think we need to call in an expert on this…’

  ‘What, expert… what do you mean?’ Penelope sounded concerned. Penelope only swore when she was really stressed, so her colourful language was a good barometer of her stress levels.

  ‘Zoe, of course… she’s great at this stuff, let me call her, I won’t tell her it’s you of course.’ George picked up her phone and searched for Zoe’s number.

  ‘Of course, well if you think it would help…’ Penelope sighed and blew her nose.

  ‘I don’t think we have much choice,’ George stated.

  ‘Hi Zoe, it’s George, lovely thanks… look I have a bit of an emergency, yep, a friend of mine… no, no , no, it’s not me, I promise, no everything is fine, you see the thing is, yeah he kind of travels a lot with work, yeah, hard to pin down, well the thing is we think he was spotted in Paris with a girl… just a sec…’ George put her hand over phone.

  ‘Pen, sorry this may hurt… but was she pretty?’ George felt awful asking Penelope this, she felt like she was twisting the knife.

  ‘Yes, very.’ Penelope welled up again.

  ‘Hi Zoe, yep, I’m afraid so, well… the thing is, it’s a bit of a heartbreak situation, she seemed a bit pregnant too, I know… I know… what do you think? No, no she never met any of his friends, or family, a bit of a James Bond character… yep, gorgeous, bloody gorgeous. A bit French looking, but in a good way Yep, that’s what I thought, ok well I better go, I’ve got a bit of a situation here, ok, thanks for your help… speak to you soon…’ George hung up and took a deep breath and turned to Penelope.

  ‘Yep, she says… forget about him, I’m really sorry Pen, I know this must hurt a lot.’ George hugged Penelope.

  ‘I have never felt pain like this in my entire life. I can’t describe it, my heart feels like it hurts, I know that sounds ridiculous but I have a pain in my chest from all the crying.’ Penelope started bawling again.

  ‘I can imagine… is there anything I can do? Anything at all?’ George said soothingly.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Penelope sighed.

  ‘Do you think you should contact him to see, kind of confront him or something?’ George was trying to be practical.

  ‘No way, we were never a thing, couldn’t really be, he is away all the time, couldn’t really get anything off the ground, you know the way it is… he was always good about keeping in touch, but he was in the country so rarely… come to think of it, I don’t actually know where he lives in London… oh my god George, maybe he doesn’t live in London at all…’ The truth hit Penelope like a tonne of bricks, she had these deep feelings for someone who she knew very little about. She didn’t even know where he called “home”.

  ‘I’m surprised there are any tears left in there, come here and I’ll give you a hug… this has really hit you hard Pen.’ George hugged Pen as hard as she could.

  ‘I can’t stop crying all the time, I had to hold it in while we were in Paris, and then the minute I walked in the door here, the floodgates opened…’ Penelope welled up again.

  ‘Is that why you didn’t ring me about it from over there?’ It was starting to make sense to George now.

  ‘Yeah, I knew this would happen. I just can’t believe what has happened, you know when you meet someone that you really like, and they seem to fit into the picture of the perfect guy that you have, and you really click with them and you really fancy them, and they seem to really like you and then they just fuck off and get married and have kids…’ Penelope cried.

  ‘Well, now we don’t know that for sure…’ George chided.

  ‘I know what I saw George…!’ Penelope exploded!

  ‘Ok, ok, calm down, no need to shout at me.’ George stepped back.

  ‘Sorry George…’ Penelope was sheepish.

  ‘That’s ok, I understand.’ George hugged her again.

  ‘He was the first guy I really, really, liked and I can’t believe this… I had kind of a feeling about hi
m, like he might have been, I don’t know, he might have been…’ Penelope paused momentarily ‘… Someone good for me… It’s like, have you ever had an idea of your perfect guy in your mind… I never actually thought that he might exist, and then I met him… and it totally floored me…’ Penelope nearly said the fateful word… the “one” but she stopped herself just in time.

  ‘But…’ George added.

  ‘But what?’

  ‘But… because you never really saw him that often, you never really got beyond the honeymoon stage…’ George offered a dose of reality.

  ‘Go, on… I’m listening…’

  ‘He was the ultimate fantasy man, and that fantasy was never shattered because, well you never did anything normal together, think about it Pen, bands singing to you, dates in New York, it’s like something from a film…’ George gestured dramatically.

  ‘But I thought that’s what it is supposed to be like!’ Penelope gasped.

  ‘Well, yes, really romantic things can happen, but… it’s just that they don’t happen that often, and they don’t keep happening the way they did with you and well Alyx…’ George was trying to be realistic.

  ‘So you think the whole thing was a bit unreal…?’ Penelope was searching for answers.

  ‘No, no, not unreal… just a bit erm, how can I put this, unrealistic.’ George added. She was trying to be practical, to offer reassurance.

  ‘As always George, you are making so much sense, it still doesn’t stop me from feeling totally shit, but understanding these things always helps matters a bit…’ Penelope gave her nose a definitive blow as the tears stopped flowing.

  ‘Indeed, now what I think you should do… is take Richard up on his offer, even though I know guys are probably the last thing on your mind right now…’ George knew that another man was the only thing that would help Penelope get over Alyx, even if it was only Richard.

  ‘I would be happy if I never saw another man again as long as I live… why on earth do you think going out with Richard would help matters?’ Penelope didn’t get it at all.

  ‘I just think that it might be good to take your mind off the dreaded Alyx, and he seems to really like you, and you know sometimes it’s the ones you least expect…’ George advised.

  ‘I supremely doubt that, but maybe you are right, maybe I should give him a chance, he is certainly being persistent.’ Penelope sounded exhausted.

  ‘I reckon, you have nothing to lose there… and I would hate to see you swear off men altogether… what are you going to do … become a nun, god help us! If you pardon the pun.’ George laughed lightly.

  ‘I don’t know how you managed to make me laugh in this state…’ Penelope sniffled and stifled a small laugh at the thought of herself in a habit.

  ‘Go on, text Richard back now, and arrange to meet up…’ George was convinced that if Penelope arranged something with Richard, it would speed up her recovery.

  ‘Yes mum.’ Penelope picked up her phone reluctantly.

  ‘I guarantee it’ll make you feel better…’

  ‘I hope you are right…’

  ‘Well, only one way to find out…’ George hugged Penelope as soon as the text was winging its way to Richard.

  Chapter 19

  Post Alyx Apocalypse

  Penelope struggled through the next few weeks of work, and was actually glad that her days were so busy that she barely had time to think about him. She had finally arranged a time to meet Richard, and reluctantly mustered the enthusiasm to try to enjoy his company.

  ‘Ah… couldn’t resist could you…’ Richard grinned at Penelope and kissed her on the cheek as she approached him in All Bar One on Cannon Street.

  ‘Well no, not quite you see…’ Penelope began…

  ‘Drink?’… and promptly got interrupted by Richard.

  ‘Em, yes thank you…’ Richard poured her a glass of pinot noir from the bottle on the table.

  ‘I haven’t seen you in ages, tell me everything… did I tell you that I have a new pad, in Chelsea? You will have to come around for supper…’ Richard was on a roll.

  ‘Yes, I’d love to, supper would be lovely…’ ‘Oh my god, what am I getting myself into here?!’ The words flew out of Penelope’s mouth before she had a chance to stop them. She was still completed defeated after the Alyx in Paris experience, and her defences were down.

  The following evening, Penelope caught up with George.

  ‘Well… how did it go?’ George was dying to know.

  ‘Erm, ok actually, I still couldn’t get a word in edgeways but he was a perfect gentleman this time, he didn’t try to ram his tongue down my throat or get me drunk! He invited me over to his new pad in Chelsea for dinner next week…’ Penelope informed her.

  ‘… and…?’ George intoned.

  ‘… and… nothing… look George, I have completely given up on men, and the concept of finding that one perfect guy, as far as I’m concerned I did find him and, well now he’s bloody married, so don’t lecture me about bloody Richard…’ Penelope got testy.

  ‘Ok, ok… so having given up on men you are still seeing Richard?’ George backed off a bit.

  ‘He’s not strictly men now is he really?’ Penelope bit back.

  ‘Ah some people might disagree with you there…’ George winked when she said this.

  ‘Well are any of those people here?’ Penelope challenged her, looking her directly in the eyes.

  ‘Erm no, no of course not I mean well, some people do think he’s a bit of a catch, being loaded and all that, great job … you know you could do worse, and your mother would love him…’ George giggled.

  ‘Oh, I know she would, she’d be wittering on about if she was twenty years younger etc. etc. etc…’ Penelope dreaded the thought!

  ***

  Over the coming weeks Penelope’s vow of resistance towards men, and Richard in particular thawed considerably. Time was the great healer, and as the weeks passed, Alyx started to slip slowly but surely from her mind. Having put him off a few times, Penelope eventually relented and agreed to have dinner at Richard’s Chelsea pad.

  ‘Well, how was the dinner at Richard’s pad?’ George called Penelope for a post-mortem.

  ‘Em, yeah, it was ok, I mean it was nothing like what it was like with Alyx, but it was nice actually, even though I’ve officially given up on men, it was kind of nice to have my battered ego massaged…’ Penelope admitted.

  ‘Good girl… did he try to kiss you again?’ George was keen for the gory details.

  ‘No, not this time, he was a bit more civilised this time around.’

  ‘Good, good, glad to hear it. Do you fancy him?’ George got straight to the point.

  ‘Not sure, I’m very negative about men at the moment, but he’s definitely ok, I think he could kind of grow on me, and I already like his personality, his sister is down from the dreaded castle next week, he wants me to meet her. Let’s hope she’s not covered in tartan from head to toe like his mother!’ Penelope hissed.

  ‘Fingers crossed. Do you reckon they have tartan family knickers too?!’ George squealed with laughter.

  ‘Probably… that wouldn’t surprise me at all, big tartan granny knickers with the family crest on them… It’s really hard not thinking about Alyx though…’ Penelope’s voice dropped to a whimper.

  ‘Well try!’ George encouraged her.

  ‘I am trying my best, it’s just not easy that’s all I’m saying…’ Penelope echoed.

  ‘I know, I know… well hopefully Richard will help to keep your mind off it,’ George advised.

  ‘Yeah, that is helping a bit… and I know I’m not up for meeting any new guys at the moment, and going on dates and all of that stuff, so it’s definitely better to go out with someone I kind of know and kind of trust…’

  ‘Good,’ George soothed.

  ‘I really don’t know why he affected me so badly, maybe George is right, maybe it’s because he was kind of a fantasy man, kind of like the perfect guy
, well the perfect guy for me anyway. But she is probably right, he wasn’t a realistic boyfriend, he was never in the country long enough to have a proper relationship with me… what am I talking about, he’s probably bloody married to that other woman, oh no here come the waterworks again… is this ever going to end…?’ Penelope stared into space as soon as she came off the phone to George, and the tears started tumbling down her cheeks.

  Chapter 20

  Glitter

  In W1, Zara eventually found her first assignment, and clutching her A to Z she pressed on the buzzer, this was definitely the address she had been given… but she could clearly see a bar through the glass doors?! She approached the reception cautiously, she wasn’t sure if she was in the right place.

  ‘Good morning, Zara isn’t it?’ The receptionist smiled at Zara reassuringly, she did not look like a regular receptionist, she looked more like a model.

  ‘Yes hello, the agency said that I would be meeting erm…’ Zara stuttered, now that she knew she was in the right place, she was totally intimidated by it all. It had high ceilings, floor to ceiling windows, and pictures of famous ad campaigns all over the walls.