‘I don’t know! This is all brand new to me. All I know is I have feelings for her. Strong feelings. I really am sorry, for the way I’ve treated you … the way I … took advantage of you.’
Lawrence fiddled with his watch and turned away to look out across his dark front lawn. ‘Nah,’ he said and Annalise was relieved to see that the anger had dissipated as quickly as it had been spawned. ‘You didn’t take advantage. I always knew where I stood with you. I just … hoped, that’s all.’ He looked back at her and smiled then – a sad sort of smile. ‘But if I’m not even on the right team, what hope did I ever have?’
* * *
The cab pulled up near Darling Harbour quicker than Frankie expected and she still wasn’t altogether sure if she wanted to be here. Of course it was all for a good cause, but she wasn’t certain she was up for a night with a bunch of women from MOP. But Lucy had talked her into attending, and she couldn’t sit in the car all night letting the meter tick over. She paid the driver and climbed out, then crossed the road and headed down to the wharf to find the right boat.
On board she found her table and was about to take her seat, when she saw a familiar face across the table and did a double-take. ‘Linda! I didn’t know you were part of MOP.’ Although why you would be considering you and Paul don’t have children, she added silently, but she figured it would be a bit rude to say that out loud. She’d never asked why the two of them didn’t have kids.
Linda smiled back. ‘I’m not really. A friend asked me to take her spot when she couldn’t make it last minute. It’s for a good cause so I agreed.’
Lucy appeared next to Frankie then, looking stunning in a sleeveless, brightly coloured knee-length dress. ‘Yay!’ she said happily. ‘You showed up!’
‘Of course I showed up,’ Frankie said crossly. ‘If I say I’m going to do something, I do follow through with it, you know?’
‘Yes, yes, of course you do, sweetie. Now, I’m not sitting next to you, sorry, I’m a few seats away. But there is another MOP member coming who has kids at your school, and she’ll be next to you, okay?’
Frankie felt a wave of affection for her sister. Typical Lucy, always playing the mother. Even before they’d lost their parents she’d been that way.
* * *
The lights were dimming, and Poppy was thinking she needed to accept the fact that Annalise wasn’t going to make it in time, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see her friend looking down at her.
Poppy couldn’t keep the grin off her face. ‘You made it!’ she said.
‘Yep. Listen, I’m so sorry for ignoring you these last few days.’
‘Here, sit down.’ Poppy motioned to the chair she’d saved but Annalise remained standing. ‘Could we … could we go for a walk? I need to talk to you.’
Poppy furrowed her brow. The look of sadness in Annalise’s eyes worried her. She was about to agree, but someone started tapping a microphone at the front of the room and everyone fell silent.
‘It’s okay,’ Annalise whispered, taking her seat, ‘we’ll wait for a break.’
* * *
‘As you can all see, we’re making a move away from the wharf so I hope everyone has their sea legs ready!’ announced the woman who’d taken up the microphone and addressed the room.
Annalise looked across to a window and saw the landscape begin to glide by as the boat reversed out and slowly began to turn. She felt her stomach churn, and she stared down at the table and tried to ground herself.
‘You okay?’ Poppy whispered.
‘Fine!’
Annalise was feeling encouraged by Poppy’s kindness – she wasn’t angry with her for freezing her out these last few days; in fact, she seemed happy to see her. She just hoped she was going to remain as understanding once she’d told her everything she needed to say.
A waiter appeared behind Annalise and leaned across with a champagne bottle to fill her glass. She covered it with her hand. ‘No, thanks.’ He indicated the wineglass instead and held up a red wine bottle in his other hand. She shook her head. ‘I’m good,’ she assured him.
The MC up the front started welcoming everyone.
Poppy gave her a sideways look. ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ she whispered.
Annalise nodded.
Kellie leaned across Poppy. ‘Never thought I’d see the day when this one would turn down a free drink,’ she hissed, jerking her thumb at Annalise and winking at Poppy.
God, did she really drink that much that one night saying no meant everyone went into shock? And could you really call the drinks free when they’d already chipped in $90 per head?
‘I’m not in the mood,’ Annalise hissed back.
Poppy now leaned in too. ‘Hey,’ she whispered, ‘you should know there’s a whole heap of MOP women here tonight.’
‘Of course there is,’ said Kellie. ‘I assumed that’s why you wanted to book us some tables, so we could represent!’
She fell quiet as several other women across the table shot them a look.
Serious? Annalise mouthed back at Poppy.
‘Serious that they’re here,’ she hissed, ‘but no, I didn’t plan it that way!’
Great, thought Annalise, one more complication to an already complex night.
Poppy picked up her wineglass and took a large sip and Annalise twisted around in her chair to look at the other tables. She felt the skin on the back of her neck prickle and realised that just a few metres away, three women were all giving their table some major stink eye. She whipped her head back around and breathed in deeply. Could she really deal with this tonight? Maybe she shouldn’t have come after all.
* * *
Frankie thought there were far more whisperings and mutterings around the table than there should have been, considering the official proceedings of the night had begun. Shouldn’t they all wait until the MC stopped talking? There would be plenty of opportunities for chatting throughout the night.
She caught a snippet of the conversation between two women seated between her and Linda.
‘Can you believe they even had the gall to buy three tables? Let alone any!’
She was curious. ‘Who?’ she asked, leaning in on their conversation.
‘NOP! They’re just over there.’
Frankie spun around in her seat and scanned the faces. Her gaze landed on Poppy and Annalise, who were both leaning in to one another, having their own whispered discussion.
Right, so Annalise who hadn’t even turned up to work all week could suddenly show up for a night out on the harbour. Wasn’t that nice for her?
‘Frankie!’
She turned back around, surprised at the volume that someone was exclaiming her name when everyone was trying to stay quiet.
It was Chelsea, pulling out the chair next to her own to take a seat. Ah, so this must be the school mum that Lucy had mentioned.
Chelsea lowered her voice. ‘Had to head to the ladies first and steel myself by popping a few anti-nausea pills – never been good on the water,’ she said. ‘Anyway, good to see you.’
‘You too,’ said Frankie, and found that she really did mean it. She was still feeling extraordinarily grateful towards Chelsea for the way she’d helped her when the kids were missing.
It suddenly occurred to Frankie to wonder if the woman who’d written the article about NOP could be here tonight – the other imposter in the group. As she wondered, her eyes locked with Linda’s and Linda tipped her glass a fraction in a silent cheers. Frankie lifted her own in response.
* * *
The MC wrapped up her welcome and the noise began to swell around the room as waiters weaved their way between the tables delivering starters.
Poppy turned to Annalise. ‘You want to go outside on the deck somewhere to chat?’
Before Annalise could answer, a group of NOP women from one of their other tables seemed to materialise around them.
‘Oh my God, Poppy,’ said one who she only vaguely recognis
ed from one of their NOP nights out. ‘I can’t believe it!’
‘Can’t believe what?’ Poppy asked, looking up and feeling slightly irritated by the way they were all shutting her and Annalise in, their faces shining with excitement.
‘Carla!’ the woman practically shrieked.
Beef Cheeks, Poppy suddenly thought, that’s who she is – the woman who ordered the beef cheeks last time they went out. She still couldn’t think of her name though, and she didn’t think the woman would appreciate it if she started referring to her by her menu choice.
‘What do you mean? What about Carla?’ she asked.
‘She’s at one of the MOP tables,’ said Beef Cheeks. ‘She has to be our mole.’
‘What?’ Poppy stood up to look past them all but she couldn’t spot Carla.
‘Where?’ she asked, ‘I don’t see her.’
‘She’s changed her hair, that’s why you don’t recognise her. It’s really short now and heaps darker. Plus, she’s wearing really thick glasses. Must have had contacts in when she came out with us. We nearly couldn’t tell it was her either.’
Poppy looked again and this time she zeroed in on the woman with short dark hair and concentrated on her face. They were right. It was Carla. Had she chopped off all that long, beautiful hair just to disguise herself? And then it occurred to her – was the long hair the disguise? Was she wearing a wig when they met her? No wonder her hair had seemed so glam and lustrous!
At the same table, she saw another familiar face: Frankie. Right, so that made sense, the two imposters were friends. And Frankie must have known who had written that article all along. She sat back down and looked sideways at Annalise who stared back at her, looking uncharacteristically horrified, rather than fired up as she would have expected.
‘Carla’s probably not even her real name!’ said Beef Cheeks, and Poppy found herself wanting to ask her why she was so damn happy about all of this.
‘Sorry,’ said Annalise, interrupting them all and standing up, ‘I have to run to the bathroom.’ She pushed her way through the gaggle of women, and Poppy wished she could follow her and make sure she was okay, but the faces were still all staring down at her expectantly.
* * *
Annalise strode down the side of the boat to reach the stairs to the upper deck. She needed fresh air. Her head was spinning. She couldn’t say if she normally got seasick because she’d never been on a boat before. Like the aquarium, this was her first time.
Upstairs she stood still and grasped the railing. She looked out over the black water, drinking in the chill air. After a few minutes, the stirring in her stomach settled a little and she glanced around to see Frankie coming up the stairs. As soon as Frankie saw Annalise she spun on the spot to head straight back down.
‘Wait!’ Annalise called.
Frankie paused, her back still turned. This was going to be another chance for Annalise to clear the air. Another chance for her to work her way towards a fresh start.
‘What do you want?’ Frankie asked.
‘Please, Frankie, I just want to talk to you.’
Frankie finally faced her. ‘Umm, now’s not really good,’ she said.
‘Please,’ Annalise repeated, ‘I really need to say this.’
She saw Frankie’s face start to relent and she took a couple of steps towards her.
‘Okay,’ she said and folded her arms. ‘What is it?’
Now that Annalise had her attention she realised she was going to have to actually speak. She hesitated, and Frankie cut in, her voice clear and cool. ‘I’m surprised to see you out and about, by the way. Poppy’s been keeping us all updated at work about how sick you’ve been.’
She felt a rush of gratitude to Poppy. Believing that she was going to run away had meant she hadn’t bothered to call in sick or explain her absence in any way. It meant a lot that Poppy had covered for her, even though she’d continued to resolutely ignore her attempts at contact.
Annalise took a deep breath and ignored Frankie’s slight. ‘I wanted to tell you how sorry I am,’ she said, ‘for not passing on that message to you. I swear to you, I didn’t do it intentionally, and it had nothing to do with a NOP challenge or getting back at you for being a fake member or anything like that that. But I was careless and I truly am sorry. Poppy and I … we’ve never been nice to you. We’ve always judged you and made certain assumptions about you that weren’t fair. I’m hoping that we could maybe … start fresh.’
Frankie looked more than a little taken aback. She stayed quiet for a moment and then her eyes opened wide.
‘Annalise,’ she said, ‘why have you been so sick all week?’
* * *
Frankie had to admit she was pretty shocked to receive the apology from Annalise. She’d never heard her speak with so much compassion. She’d only ever known her as the rough, sweary warehouse manager who didn’t take shit from anyone and didn’t care what anyone thought of her. Who put away beers and hamburgers like a person twice her size and had brought that group of blokes in the warehouse under control within days of starting her job at Cormack.
Something had changed. And then it clicked. Annalise didn’t have a drink in hand. It was rare to see her out at any event without a beer or a shot. Annalise had been away sick all week. Annalise seemed different.
Frankie’s eyes flicked down to Annalise’s belly and she saw her hands instantly cover it up. ‘You’re pregnant, aren’t you?’ she said.
‘How does everyone keep working that out?’
‘Just a hunch,’ Frankie replied.
‘Listen, please don’t say anything in front of Poppy. I haven’t told her yet and I think it’s going to break her heart.’
‘Why would it break her heart?’
‘You’re kidding, right? You were in NOP. You saw firsthand how much it means to her. And we were in it together. Considering how badly she reacted to your betrayal, how do you think she’s going to feel when she finds out about me?’
‘But you can hardly call this a betrayal, can you? You fell pregnant! It’s not like you were lying to her all along.’
‘Yeah, well, there are …. there are other factors … But anyway, the thing is, I promised her that this wasn’t what I wanted, that I had no interest in ever having children, same as her. But now that it’s happened, well, I want it.’
‘And you really think she’ll blame you for that? For changing your mind?’
‘I don’t know. I just know she’s going to be hurt. And she’s already been hurt enough. So don’t say anything until I’ve had the chance to tell her myself … please?’
Frankie nodded. ‘Okay, fine. I won’t say a word.’
‘I better go back in,’ said Annalise. ‘There was drama happening at the table when I took off. Apparently the person who wrote the article outing NOP is here tonight, sitting at your table actually.’
‘Really? Shit, that is some drama. Hey, Annalise, thanks for saying what you said. I appreciate it.’
Frankie watched Annalise head back down the stairs and then took her spot at the railing, not in any rush to return inside herself.
‘You okay there?’ said a voice from behind her and she turned around to see Linda approaching.
‘Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just escaping the noise for a minute.’
Linda came and stood next to her and they both looked out across the water towards the Opera House.
‘Not a bad view,’ said Linda.
‘Absolutely.’
Frankie had booked a meeting for Monday with both Paul and Linda to talk about the part she was playing in keeping Paul’s secret. She was going to finally tell them she couldn’t help them anymore. Not at the expense of her family. Should she say something now? But no, this wouldn’t be the right place to do it. Then she remembered what Annalise had just told her: the imposter who wrote the article was sitting at her table tonight. What if it was Linda? What if she’d lied to Frankie just now when she’d claimed she was here tonight filling in fo
r a mate. What if she was playing both sides, as Frankie had been?
She decided to ask her straight out.
‘Hey, Linda, are you the one who wrote the article about NOP?’
Linda tipped her head sideways to look back at Frankie. She paused then said, ‘Umm, what’s a NOP?’
Immediately Frankie realised It was a dumb thought. Of course it wasn’t Linda, it made no sense. She laughed. ‘Right, sorry. Never mind, obviously not you.’
‘Not me. I’m glad I’ve got you alone though. I know you’re probably already planning on chatting about this at our meeting on Monday, but I’m going to pre-empt you, if you don’t mind.’
Frankie waited.
‘I’m so sorry, Frankie,’ she said. ‘So sorry for the pressure we put on you. I’ve been selfish.’
‘No, you haven’t,’ Frankie tried to interrupt.
‘Yes, I absolutely have, and I need to say this. We took advantage of you. I was so caught up in trying to keep things safe for Paul, in trying to hold on to the company. What we should have done was accept the truth that he wasn’t well and been upfront about it, not created all these secrets and lies and made you a part of it all.’
‘I didn’t mind,’ Frankie tried again.
‘There’s more. Paul was right about giving you that bonus. We did have the money and we didn’t need to pass it by the board either. But again, I was being selfish.’
Frankie felt a jolt. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean I wanted to keep the money in case we needed it for Paul – for legal bills or medical bills. But I’m going to set things right. We’re going to make the announcement about Paul and he’s going to step down from the director’s position, and you’re going to get your bonus ASAP. I feel horrible; I actually used Paul’s illness against him. After you told me at that squash game that he’d promised you the bonus, I convinced him he’d made a mistake because he was confused, and that he was wrong about the money being available.’
‘Oh.’
‘I’m going straight to hell, aren’t I?’
Frankie didn’t respond immediately, torn between the desire to comfort the woman who’d become her friend over the past few months and the hurt that she felt at having been betrayed in that way. Especially when she and Dom actually did need the money. She swallowed. ‘I found out last week that Dom lost his job two months ago and has been lying to me about it all this time.’
Those Other Women Page 28
