by Lacey London
‘They had to find out sooner or later.’ Paulie laughs like a naughty adolescent and skims a pebble across the water. ‘You know that.’
I look at Janie, feeling completely lost for words. I don’t believe what I’m hearing here. What the hell has she gotten herself involved in?
Suddenly finding her voice, Janie takes a step towards Paulie. ‘I actually wanted to talk to you about the whole marriage thing.’ She smiles thinly and plays with a strand of over bleached hair. ‘I’ve been thinking that we should… wait.’
‘No! No! No!’ Shaking his head angrily, Paulie kicks a pile of sand and lets out an annoyed roar. ‘You said this week. You promised, Janie!’
Trying to calm him down, Janie passes me Noah and stumbles towards him, leaving Oliver and I staring at the pair of them in complete shock.
‘It’s just… it’s just that I need to wait a little while.’ Her voice wobbles as she holds onto Paulie’s arm like a scared puppy. ‘There’s just some legal stuff I need to sort first.’
‘Legal stuff?’ I hiss, not being able to contain myself. ‘By legal stuff do you mean that you have to divorce Randy first?’
A sharp intake of breath from Mary Beth catches the attention of the coast guard and I wave at him to indicate that we are OK.
‘You’re still married?’ Mary Beth screeches, clutching her head in her hands like it’s the end of the world.
‘She’s lying, right?’ Paulie holds his breath and waits for her respond. ‘Janie, tell me she’s lying!’
Unfortunately for him, her silence speaks volumes. Letting out an almighty scream, he grabs a bottle of water and throws it on the sand. ‘I don’t believe this!’
‘It’s OK, we can still get married.’ Janie stammers, her bottom lip starting to waver. ‘I just need a few weeks.’
‘Wait a minute!’ Mary Beth yells above the chaos. ‘Just wait a minute! Paulie, think about this. If she is already married, that means that her current husband will take half of everything she owns.’
‘This cannot be happening!’ Paulie whispers, mortification setting in on his pimply face. ‘So does that mean the mansion will have to be sold?’ He looks at Janie furiously. ‘Oh, man! What about The Lambo? The villa in the Caribbean?’
Lambo? As in Lamborghini? My head starts to throb and I suddenly feel really sick.
‘Janie? What is he talking about? You don’t have anything of those things!’ I look over at Oliver who confirms this.
Perching on the edge of a sun lounger, Janie crosses her legs and looks down at the ground. ‘I… I… well…’
‘You have got to be kidding me! Paulie shouts. ‘So, not only are you already married, you don’t have any money?’
‘It’s complicated!’ Janie wails.
‘What’s complicated about it? You lied to me! Now this whole relationship has been for nothing!’
‘Please don’t say that!’ Janie sounds devastated and I can’t help but feel a little sorry for her. ‘It wasn’t just about the money!’
‘Is that a joke?’ He laughs sarcastically and claps his hands together. ‘Of course it was about the money! Why else would I be with you? Look at you!’ Janie’s face falls and a single tear slips down her cheek. ‘You’re old, wrinkly and let’s be honest, a bad alcoholic!’
Woah! That had to hurt! I am about to jump in and console her when Mary Beth grabs her handbag and takes Paulie by the arm.
‘This has all been a complete waste of my time. Come on, son. Let’s get out of here.’ With a final filthy look in our direction, the pair of them spin around and stomp across the sand, neither of them bothering to look back.
Glancing over at Oliver, I wait for him to say something, but he is just staring at his mother blankly, not breathing a word. If I couldn’t feel Noah biting my arm, I would swear that I was having the world’s weirdest nightmare. Sitting Noah in the sand with his dinosaur, I gingerly tiptoe over and put an arm on her bony shoulder. My mind is racing with a million questions, but I can’t bring myself to ask a single one. My brain refuses to focus as I try to piece together what has just happened.
Not knowing what else to do, I push her hair out of her face and wipe away her tears. ‘Janie, you need to start talking because this whole thing is making my head hurt… a lot.’
‘Isn’t it obvious?’ Oliver laughs angrily, shaking his head in disgust. ‘She lied to him.’
‘Oliver…’ I hold my hand up and send him a mental signal to stop kicking her when she’s already down.
‘It’s true.’ Janie manages between sobs. ‘I did. I lied to him.’
‘But, why?’ I ask, already feeling pretty confident that I know the answer.
‘Why do you think?’ She cries loudly. ‘A man like Paulie wouldn’t want someone like me! I had to or he wouldn’t have been interested.’
‘Even so, how did you manage to convince him that you were filthy rich?’ I hand Noah a spade as he starts to build a sand castle.
‘I met him in California, that part was true. He presumed that we were part of a celebrity party and I didn’t correct him. One lie led to another and before I knew it I had created this entire new life.’
‘What exactly did you tell him?’ I press, feeling flummoxed at the gravity of her deceit.
She looks between Oliver and myself before hiding her face with her hair. ‘I told him I lived in Hollywood… I also might have mentioned that I had a yellow Lamborghini, a holiday home in the Caribbean and…’
‘And?’ Oliver interjects, staring at his mother as though he doesn’t recognise her.
‘And that I owned a restaurant in Beverly Hills.’
‘Wow…’ I breathe, trying to imagine Janie living the life of a Hollywood celebrity.
‘Once I started, I just couldn’t stop. He liked me. Randy and I had just gone our separate ways and he showered me with attention. I was flattered. If I would have told him the truth, he wouldn’t have looked at me twice.’
‘He used you.’ Oliver laughs and I want to kick him for being so mean. ‘He played you like a fool because he wanted your money. Money that you never had in the first place.’
‘You don’t think I know that?’ Janie whimpers. ‘I knew the truth would come out eventually, I was just enjoying it while it lasted.’
‘Well, now that it’s over, maybe we can finally look at moving forward.’ I attempt a smile, but he doesn’t back down.
‘Are you kidding me?’ Oliver yells, causing me to wince. ‘You can’t just sweep this under the carpet, divorce Dad and pretend that everything is going to be OK, because I’ve got news for you – it’s not going to be! What are you going to do with your life now? Where are you going to live? What are you going to do for money?’
I’m about to tell him to calm down when he turns up the tempo.
‘Being married to my dad was the only thing that you have ever been good at. You were useless when I was a child! I had to deal with being laughed at every day in school, because while every other kid’s mom sent them in with home baked cookies, you gave me last night’s pizza and a damn Twinkie bar.’
He paces up and down along the beach, getting angrier with every step that he takes.
‘I spent my teenager years constantly worried that I would find you passed out drunk on the couch. Many times I did, I might add. Your relationship with my dad is the one thing I was proud of you for and now you have gone and ruined that too.’
Seemingly frozen to the spot, Janie lets out an almighty sob before jumping off her sun lounger and fleeing along the sand. Not being able to speak, I watch her open mouthed until she has disappeared out of sight.
‘Oh, Oliver…’ I whisper, holding my head in my hands.
‘What?’ He snaps, dusting sand from his shoes. ‘Everything I said was one hundred percent true.’
‘Well, that might be, but did you really have to say it to her?’
‘The truth hurts, doesn’t it?’
Exhaling slowly, I rub my throbbing temples and tr
y to gather my thoughts. Oh, how I wish this would all just go away.
‘You should go after her.’ Throwing all our beach stuff into my bag, I put Noah down so that he can walk for himself.
‘You’re kidding, right? She’s brought this all on herself and you know it.’
Not being able to disagree with his very valid point, I chew the inside of my cheek and nod in response. Those two are more alike than either of them would care to admit. I wait for Oliver to shake the sand out of his sea shoes before starting to make my way back to the car. The entire fifteen minutes it takes us to reach the car park neither of us says a word, the only sound coming from Noah’s incomprehensible ramblings. Waiting for him to load up the car, I lean against the boot and scan the area for Janie. Seemingly unbothered, Oliver buckles in Noah before climbing into the driver’s seat and turning over the engine.
‘You can’t be serious? We are not leaving without her.’
‘If she’s big enough to get herself into these ridiculous situations, I am sure that she will find her way back to the hotel. Now, get in.’ He turns on the radio and I have one final check of the beach before climbing in and slamming the door.
With a face like thunder, he pulls out onto the open road and I rest my head on the window as the world whizzes by.
‘When you went to find your mom last night, what did you say to her?’
Oliver stares out at the open road and exhales slowly. ‘I foolishly told her that if she and my dad were separating, I would do everything I could to help her.’
‘What a very supportive thing to say. I’m proud of you.’ I attempt a smile, but he returns it with a frown.
‘Well don’t be. I’ve withdrawn my offer.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘When I told her that, I had no idea about her lies and deceit. She’s going to have to get out of this one on her own.’
‘But…’
‘I don’t want to hear it, Clara. I don’t want to hear it!’
Life is like a coin.
you can spend it any way you wish,
but you only spend it once…
Chapter 17
The entire journey back I find myself trying to come up with a plan to put Janie’s life back together, but even as we pull into the hotel car park, I have failed to think of a single scenario that could possibly see this mess work out. Just when you think that you’ve finally put every sordid detail out on the table, Janie throws another curveball into the mix. Helping Oliver to unload the car, I lift up a tired Noah and rest him on my chest as we make our way up to our hotel room. Without saying a word, Oliver takes Noah for a bath and I start packing up our belongings. A pang of sadness washes over me as I take our swimsuits and toss them carelessly into a suitcase. Sandals, beach towels and bottles of sun cream land in the bottom of the case with a thud. All the things that are supposed to make you feel excited and full of glee, now just leave me feeling empty and deflated.
Throwing the final bikini on top of a huge pile of clothes, I am about to gather up the toiletries when the sound of Oliver’s phone ringing distracts me from the task in hand. Abandoning the suitcase, I rummage through the beach bag and finally locate the handset beneath a mound of pool towels. Squinting at the screen, my heart skips a beat as I see Randy’s name flashing back at me.
‘Oliver!’ I yell, running into the bathroom. ‘Oliver! It’s your dad!’
Wrapping up Noah in a fluffy towel, I pass him the mobile and watch with bated breath as he runs over to the window for a better signal.
‘Dad?’ He yells, wiggling around the handset and trying to get the picture to settle. ‘Dad? Can you hear me?’
‘Oliver?’ Randy’s voice crackles out of the speakers and I can’t help but smile as Noah’s face lights up at the sound of his grandad’s voice.
The image finally settles and Randy’s face springs into focus. With a tan darker than the Hoff and what appears to be a bright blue ocean glistening behind him, I can’t for the life of me work out where he is.
‘I’ve been calling you for days! Where the hell are you?’ Oliver yells, wiggling the phone as the screen blurs again.
‘Well, the thing is, son. I’ve decided to take a break. I… I needed to get away for a little while. Clear my mind. If you have spoken to your mother, I am sure you understand.’
Nodding solemnly, Oliver perches on the edge of the tub and sighs. ‘I totally understand. You take as long as you need.’
‘Speaking of your mother, how is she?’ Randy asks, bobbing around on the screen. ‘I hope you have been looking after her?’
Oliver scoffs and looks over his shoulder at me. ‘Is that supposed to be a joke? Because if it is, it’s not funny!’
Noah lets out a squeal and I bribe him with chocolate from the mini bar to be quiet whilst Oliver finishes his conversation.
‘I’m serious, Oliver. She puts on a strong front, but she is going to need you right now. We didn’t take this decision lightly. I need you to know that. Your mother and I still love each other dearly and always will.’
‘If she loved you, she wouldn’t be cavorting around Florida with a boy less than half her age!’ Oliver yells, clearly not being able to contain himself.
A look of hurt runs over Randy’s face and once more the screen goes fuzzy before returning to focus.
‘Paulie? Yeah, she did tell me about him.’
‘You knew?’ I gasp, not realising that I have said this out loud.
‘Of course I knew.’ Randy rubs his face and I can’t help but notice that he is minus his wedding band. ‘They’re still together then?’
‘Actually, they’re not. She lied to him.’ Oliver rolls his eyes dramatically and shakes his head. ‘Apparently she told him she was a millionaire…’
For a moment Randy stays silent, choosing to look deep in thought instead.
‘I thought there was more to it than she was letting on. Try not to give her too hard of a time about it. A quick fling is probably just what she needed.’
‘I can’t believe what I am hearing here!’ Oliver yells, causing Noah to look up from his chocolate buttons. ‘How can you be cool with this?’
‘Your mother is well on her way to being a single woman. She hasn’t done a thing wrong. Now, I know this will be a lot for you to take in, but we are both happy with our decision to go our separate ways. I need you to accept that.’
I reach over and give Oliver’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze and hope that this time he finally takes the message in.
‘Where exactly did you say you were again?’ Oliver asks, as the blue back drop shakes uncontrollably behind him.
‘Sorry?’ Randy mumbles, squinting at the screen. ‘I didn’t quite catch that.’
‘I said, where are you?’
‘I’m, erm… I’m actually in the Bahamas.’
‘The Bahamas?’ I squeal, unable to contain myself.
Randy laughs and runs a hand through his silver curls. ‘Yeah, like I said, I needed to get away.’
A high pitched squeak pipes up in the background and I strain my ears to catch the gist of their conversation. Who was that? Frowning at the screen, I notice that Oliver is also trying to eavesdrop.
‘Who are you talking to?’ Oliver whispers, his brow furrowed into a frown.
‘That would be Courtney.’
‘Courtney?’ We reply in unison. Who the hell is Courtney?
Motioning behind him, Randy seems to coax someone for ages before a tiny blonde thing appears on the screen. With a head of blonde waves, legs longer than most giraffes and cheekbones sharper than razorblades, she is easily one of the prettiest things I have ever seen.
‘Guys, this is Courtney.’ Pulling her onto his knee, the pair of them wave at the screen, cocktails in hand.
I don’t believe it! Not only is Janie getting involved with inappropriate people, now Randy is too! What is happening to the world that I know and love? Who’s next for the mid-life crisis? My dad? Lianna? Marc?
> ‘Hi.’ Noah takes it upon himself to wave to Randy’s new found friend and I’m relieved for the break in the silence.
‘OMG!’ She squeals, clasping her hands to her face in delight. ‘He is just the sweetest thing!’
Randy’s eyes land on Oliver’s astonished expression and he decides to wrap up the conversation.
‘Well, I’m glad that I’ve finally spoken to you, son.’
Taking that as her cue to leave, Courtney blows a kiss and wiggles across the screen and out of sight.
‘Remember what I said, your mother will need you right now. We’re both happy in our decision, so don’t feel that you need to make the situation miserable.’
Oliver pauses for a moment with an unreadable expression on his face before nodding in agreement. Leaving him to end the call, I change Noah into some fresh clothes and settle him down on his bed. A few moments later, Oliver appears in the bathroom doorway and slips his phone into his back pocket. Waiting for him to say something, I brush Noah’s curls with my fingers and bite my lip.
‘I don’t know whether I want to laugh or cry.’ He says eventually.
‘Laugh!’ I smile at him and pat the bed. ‘If they are your only options, always, always choose laugh.’
‘Laugh.’ Noah says decidedly, holding out his arms for Oliver to pick him up.
‘Come on, it could be miles worse. At least neither of them have spent the past few weeks crying over old wedding albums and drinking their weight in vodka.’
‘I’m not sure about that last one…’ He rolls his eyes and I immediately know that he is referring to Janie.
‘You should really make things up with your mum. Let’s face it, no one saw this coming.’ He nods slowly in response and stares out of the window. ‘Through all of this I thought your dad would be terribly upset. Not once did it cross my mind that he would be off doing the exact same thing. The fact that they can be so amicable about this really is something to be admired. And when you really think about it, wouldn’t you rather they spent their final years happy?’
