Second Time Around

by Colette Caddle

  ‘That’s good,’ he said and went back into his office.

  Mandy grinned. Mission accomplished.

  Douglas closed the door on her, shaking his head. She really was a piece of work. Not for the first time he wondered how two such different people could spring from the same gene pool. He was thrilled now that Suzie had agreed to come to Zagreb. It would put Amanda in her place, once and for all. For the first time since Pam died, he found himself looking forward to a trip. Suzie deserved a break and he was looking forward to pampering her and showing her the city.

  He’d been thrilled to discover that her interest in art and architecture was genuine. She really wanted to learn more about both, and he was happy to be the one to teach her. It reminded him of how eager she’d been to learn all about their systems in CML, staying late to bring herself up to speed, determined to prove herself.

  Suzie hadn’t changed quite as much as they all thought. He remembered the feisty girl in bargain-basement clothes and luminous nail varnish he’d interviewed all those years ago. She’d had a sharp tongue then, too, but behind those flashing eyes was a defensive, fragile young girl who didn’t give her trust easily. Motherhood had mellowed her, though, and perhaps her experiences had taught her to hold her tongue.

  There was a knock on the open door and he turned round to see Amanda standing there. He smiled at her. ‘Heading home?’

  ‘Yeah. See you tomorrow.’

  ‘No.’ Suddenly, Doug couldn’t bear the thought of having her around. He was finding it harder to hide what he truly thought of her. He forced himself to smile. ‘Take the day off, Amanda. In fact, take two. You’ve been putting in a lot of hours lately, and I have some business to take care of.’

  ‘What sort of business?’ she asked, a suspicious frown marring her beautiful face. ‘There’s nothing in the diary.’

  ‘That’s because it’s personal,’ he said, and took a cruel pleasure at her disappointment at being shut out.

  ‘But you don’t have a private life,’ she shot back, a malicious gleam in her eyes.

  It was an effort, but he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of showing his annoyance at the remark. ‘That was the case,’ he agreed, ‘but it seems that there’s hope even for losers like me.’ Her eyes widened and he hurried on as she opened her mouth to respond. ‘I must grab a shower. Enjoy your break, Amanda.’

  She stood, speechless, as he walked past her and went upstairs. He stood on the landing and listened as she gathered up her belongings and then let out a sigh of relief when the door finally closed behind her.

  He decided to go ahead and have the shower and then take a wander down to the village and have a bite to eat. On a whim, Doug dressed in a pair of his new jeans and a blue cotton shirt that Amanda had chosen for him. He slipped on his new deck shoes, put his keys, phone and reading glasses into the pocket of his jacket and walked out into the summer evening, his heart light. The wine bar he liked wasn’t open for another hour, so, stopping to pick up a newspaper, he went into the nearby pub, ordered a pint and settled down on a bar stool to do the crossword. He glanced up a couple of times at the group at the other end of the bar who looked and sounded as if they’d been here a few hours. He was pondering whether to have another pint or go and eat when a hand clapped him on the back and he looked up into the bloodshot and slightly unfocused eyes of Nigel Brennan, a prick of the highest order.

  ‘Doug? Doug Hamilton? It is, isn’t it?’ The man gave a loud bark of a laugh.

  Doug drew back from the fumes emanating from the other man and took his outstretched hand more to steady the other man than anything. ‘Hello, Nigel.’

  He winced as he suffered yet another thump.

  ‘My God, I thought you were dead,’ the man bellowed. ‘The life you’ve led, you should be!’

  I’m in better shape than you, Doug thought, looking at the man’s broken veins and red nose. And Nigel must be fifteen or twenty years younger. Doug gave a brief smile and looked back at his newspaper, hoping the man would move on.

  ‘You’ve been off the radar for some time, Doug. I haven’t seen you since . . .’ The man faltered.

  ‘Pamela’s funeral,’ Doug said. This was what he had been running from for years.

  ‘Of course. Terrible. We lost her far too young.’

  Doug got up to leave. He couldn’t listen to this bullshit. ‘Good to see you again, Nigel.’

  ‘Don’t go. Come and join us.’

  ‘Another time, I’m meeting someone for dinner.’

  Nigel gave a knowing grin. ‘A lovely lady, I don’t doubt. Still lead in the pencil, eh? If you don’t get lucky, come back later.’ He winked and nodded towards his friends. ‘That redhead is gagging for a ride.’

  Doug looked at him in disgust and glanced at the redhead in question, who looked young and fresh and innocent. He wanted to tell her to get the hell out of here and go home, but why would she listen to an old man? ‘Have a good evening, Nigel,’ he said and left the pub.

  He felt tainted for ever having associated with the likes of Nigel and countless other feckless bastards. He’d found out who his true friends were when his life fell apart, and they’d been his long-term employees, Malcolm and Jack. They’d sat with him as he’d spent his nights in the pub, drowning his sorrows. They’d cleaned up after him and put him to bed and, God help him, even held his hand as he cried himself to sleep. And, along with Gina, they’d kept his business afloat when he couldn’t go on. Suzie was right: it was time to meet up with them again.

  Douglas went into the restaurant and, after making sure that he didn’t know any of the other customers, took a seat at a table at the back of the room. A smiling waitress handed him a menu and he quickly made his choices. Embarrassed by the number of expensive vintages on the wine list that had once lined his own cellar, Doug ordered a bottle of the house red. He pondered how Nigel had recognised him, despite his wrinkled face and greying hair. He grudgingly acknowledged that Amanda was right. He had let himself go and all it took was a haircut and nice clothes for him to be recognised again. It was the first time that had happened since he’d returned to Ireland three years ago. Pamela had been unimpressed when he’d hired Suzie, describing her as plain, plump, coarse and ‘common’. His wife had been such a terrible snob but she’d also been loyal. After his heart attack and bypass, she’d taken over the running of CML and kept everything running smoothly until he’d fully recovered, tolerating his interventions and, acknowledging – grudgingly – he was right, Suzie was good.

  Doug’s thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing, and he smiled when he saw who was calling. ‘Hi, Suzie. How are you?’

  ‘I was lying on the bed, dozing and I started thinking about Jess and how frightened she is of dogs. Do you remember her being attacked, Doug?’

  ‘Yes, now that you come to mention it, although I’m surprised that she does. She was so little.’

  ‘Can you tell me about it?’

  ‘You don’t remember?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘It was the dog from next door. I can’t recall what breed he was but he was big. He’d never given any trouble before but he got sick, a tumour, I think. Jess was in the garden playing and you had gone inside to get sunscreen. Pam was watching from the window and saw the dog appear. He’d burrowed a hole under the fence. It must have been the sound of Jess laughing that attracted him. Pam wasn’t really concerned but she went outside in case Jess was frightened. But, before she reached Jess, the dog had pounced.’

  ‘Oh, God.’

  Doug heard the anguish in her voice. ‘Forget about it, sweetheart.’

  ‘No, Doug, tell me. Please? I want to know.’

  Doug sighed. ‘Pam whacked him with a chair and he ran away, but he’d already bitten Jess. The wound wasn’t that bad but there was a lot of blood and, when you saw her, you were hysterical; Pam wasn’t much better. Jess only needed a few stitches in the end but you were upset because it was on her face.’ Doug gave a sad smile. �
��Pam kept telling you that Jess would look even prettier with a fringe and eventually you calmed down. The neighbours were very upset. The dog was put down the same day and they bought Jess a big cuddly toy.’

  ‘Like that made up for what their bloody dog did to my daughter,’ Suzie said, sniffling.

  ‘It wasn’t their fault or the dog’s, Suzie. No one could have foreseen how the tumour would affect him. They’d had him since he was a puppy and he had never given them any trouble before.’

  Suzie was silent for a moment. ‘I told Jess that Percy was trained to be gentle, that he was different and would never hurt anyone, but that’s not true, is it? He could get some virus or disease and go mad and kill and—’

  ‘No, Suzie, stop this. The chances of Percy ever doing anything remotely violent must be a million to one. Besides, if you knew that he was sick, given what happened to Jess, you’d be a lot more careful.’

  ‘If I remembered to be,’ Suzie retorted. ‘My mind isn’t what it was. Who knows what I’ll remember and what I’ll forget?’

  Doug could hear the hysteria in her voice. ‘I’m coming over.’

  Suzie was pale and still seemed upset when she opened the door to him. ‘Sorry for dragging you over here.’

  ‘You didn’t. I invited myself.’ He presented her with wine and chocolates and held up a ball. ‘So, where’s the mutt?’

  She cracked a smile. ‘He’s no mutt. I’ll have you know Percy’s a thoroughbred.’

  She led him into the kitchen, where Percy sat by the sofa. He wagged his tail when he saw Suzie and then turned his head and looked up at Doug from enormous, sad eyes. ‘Come and sit down and let him get to know you.’

  Doug sat down, held out his hand to the dog, talking to him in a low voice, and scratched his ear. The dog had a good sniff, licked his hand and then settled at his feet. ‘He’s a lovely dog.’

  ‘I hope he goes to a good home.’

  Doug looked at her. ‘You’re not getting rid of him.’

  ‘I have to.’

  ‘Did Jess ask you to?’ he asked, knowing the answer.

  ‘No, but—’

  ‘Then stop being so dramatic. He’s a good dog and he’s found a new home and owner. Don’t take that away from him on a whim.’

  Her face fell and she reached down to stroke the dog. ‘Stop trying to make me feel guilty.’

  ‘Why not? You should feel guilty. Percy lives here, Jess doesn’t. She hasn’t asked you to get rid of him, so, until she says otherwise, keep him locked up when she visits, yes?’

  She looked from the dog to him and then back at Percy again and nodded.

  ‘Good. Now that Percy’s sorted, let’s watch a horror movie and drink some wine.’

  She smiled. ‘It might scare the dog.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll cover his eyes.’

  Chapter Thirty-One

  As soon as Jess woke, she reached for her phone and sent Katie a text. It was after nine but Katie was probably still out cold, so Jess decided to go back to sleep for a couple of hours. After the last couple of weeks, she’d earned a duvet day. Her phone rang and she grabbed it, surprised and relieved that it was Katie. ‘Hey.’

  ‘Hi, Jess. I take it you’re home alone in your own bed.’

  ‘Of course I am,’ Jess retorted, grinning. ‘How’s your head?’

  ‘Fine. The gang were going on a pub crawl and I was too tired for that malarkey, so I had a nice, quiet dinner with Mum and Dad.’

  ‘And I was home in bed with a mug of tea by ten. We are such hellraisers!’

  ‘So, tell me, how did it go with the hunk?’

  ‘It was nice.’

  ‘Nice?’ Katie snorted. ‘That’s it?’

  ‘It was very nice,’ Jess amended.

  ‘There was no chemistry?’ Katie asked, sounding disappointed.

  ‘Oh, trust me, there was plenty of chemistry.’ Jess smiled and closed her eyes, thinking of Cal’s mesmerising eyes and the thrill that ran through her when he’d kissed the palm of her hand.

  ‘Then, I don’t understand. What’s up?’

  Jess hesitated. She wanted to tell Katie everything but, not on the phone. ‘Can we meet for a coffee?’

  When Jess arrived at their favourite café, Katie was on the far side of the room, taking off her jacket. Jess waved and went to the counter.

  ‘You look great,’ she said, joining her friend and dropping her bag on the floor. Katie was a beautiful girl, but today she was positively blooming.

  ‘It’s relief.’ Katie smiled. ‘I can’t believe that the exams are finally over and I’m finished with classes and studying. I thought I’d sleep for a week but I actually feel energised.’

  ‘I’m glad for you. You’ve worked so hard.’

  ‘Speaking of working hard, you look tired. Are you overdoing it? Working for four publications can’t be easy.’

  ‘I love it but I do have a problem.’

  Katie reached for her hand. ‘What is it? What’s wrong, Jess?’

  And, caving in the face of her friend’s concerned expression, Jess told her all about her relationship with Louis.

  ‘Why am I only hearing about this now?’ Katie looked almost shell-shocked.

  ‘I didn’t want to distract you from your exams.’

  ‘You knew he was married?’

  ‘I didn’t at first but I figured it out.’

  ‘No wonder the women in the Gazette aren’t your greatest fans.’

  Jess groaned. ‘Don’t remind me. I’m not sure how much they know and how much is guesswork.’

  ‘Well, now that you’ve split up, you can mend some fences.’

  ‘It’s not that simple.’ Jess gave her a lame smile.

  Katie’s eyes widened. ‘You have dumped him, Jess?’

  ‘I’ve tried but he won’t be dumped.’

  ‘Just tell him to feck off or get Noel and Cal to pay him a visit.’

  ‘That’s not the answer.’

  Katie rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. ‘It’s quite simple, Jess. There’s no need to turn it into a major production.’

  ‘I’m not, honestly,’ Jess said and, haltingly, told Katie everything that had happened since she finished with Louis, including the details of ‘that night’.

  Katie had paled as she talked and, when there was silence after she’d finished, Jess sneaked a look at her friend. She was shocked to see tears in Katie’s eyes.

  ‘He raped you,’ Katie whispered.

  Jess flinched. There it was again, the word that she tried so hard not to think about, never mind say.

  ‘No.’

  ‘Yes.’

  Jess shook her head. ‘It got out of hand, he was excited and turned on by me fighting him off.’

  Katie stared at her in disbelief. ‘Were you excited?’

  ‘No!’ Jess suppressed a shudder. ‘I felt cheap and dirty and . . . used.’

  ‘He raped you,’ Katie repeated, her voice soft.

  Jess didn’t bother denying it again. ‘I’m going to deal with it. I’m going to talk to him.’

  ‘When?’

  ‘There’s a work thing on, Friday night. I’ll tell him then.’

  ‘What makes you think that he’ll listen to you? He obviously hasn’t up to now.’

  ‘Because I feel stronger now that I’ve told you and Cal.’

  Katie still looked dubious. ‘I’m coming with you.’

  ‘On Friday?’ Jess asked, and her friend nodded. She smiled, relieved. ‘Thank you. I was hoping you would. You’re going to have to hide your feelings, though. All of the staff will be there. If you’re rude to him everyone will know that something’s been going on and that would be the final humiliation.’

  Katie stared at her, looking grim and gave a brief nod. ‘Fine. I’ll behave. What does Cal have to say about all of this?’

  Jess smiled. ‘Mostly he listens, but he thinks I should stop writing for the Gazette.’

  ‘I don’t care how much you like the work
, it’s not worth it. Anyway, the readership must be quite small in comparison to the others.’

  Jess nodded. ‘I’ve decided to hand in my notice next week.’

  ‘Why not today?’ Katie pressed, obviously thinking Jess would lose her nerve.

  ‘I don’t want him to be angry on Friday.’ She met Katie’s eyes. ‘I’m afraid of him.’

  ‘Okay, that’s it. You’re staying with me until we know that you’re safe.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Jess said, overcome with relief. She’d thought about moving home but was afraid that her mother would be suspicious.

  ‘I’m not inviting you, Jess. I’m telling you. We need to sort this out – and soon.’ Katie shot her a guilty look. ‘I’m going away.’

  Jess raised her eyebrows. ‘On holiday? Cool. Where?’

  ‘It’s not a holiday, Jess. My uncle has offered me a position in his transport business. The pay will be pittance but it will be great work experience.’

  ‘Absolutely. That’s fantastic, Katie. So where is this company?’

  Katie met her eyes. ‘Jersey.’

  Jess stared at her in shock. ‘Jersey?’

  Katie nodded. ‘I’m sure it won’t be for long, and I’ll still be applying for positions in Dublin.’

  ‘It’s great, really. I’m happy for you. When you’re not working you’ll be able to soak up the sun and play the tourist.’ Jess tried to hide her disappointment. She really was happy for Katie but dreaded the thought of losing her friend, even if it was only for a couple of months.

  ‘I am excited,’ Katie admitted, ‘but I hate leaving you with all this Louis business going on.’

  Jess forced a smile ‘Like you said, I’ll have to sort it out quickly, won’t I? When do you leave?’

  ‘The end of next week,’ Katie murmured.

  ‘Wow, that soon.’ Jess could hear the panic in her voice.

  ‘Yeah, sorry.’

  ‘Don’t be silly. Now we’ve even more reason to go out tonight and celebrate.’

  Katie looked relieved. ‘We do. Where shall we go?’