Arms Wide Open

by Donna Jay

  “He’s my son.”

  The revelation rocked Julie to her core. “How?”

  Brenda lifted an eyebrow, the tease of a smile making an appearance. “Well in my case, I can assure you no turkey baster was involved.”

  Julie laughed despite herself. “I didn’t mean it like that. You don’t look old enough to be the mother of a teenage boy.”

  “He’s twenty. I’m forty-one.”

  “No way!” Julie’s eyes almost bugged out. “Wait until I tell Yvonne. She was certain you were no older than thirty.” So was Julie, but she kept that tidbit of information to herself.

  “How is that sexy wife of yours?” Her gaze turned seductive. “And I meant what I said. I would’ve been honoured to have given you ladies a ride that night.” The words dripped with innuendo.

  Julie’s mind raced with what that could entail. A pang of guilt tore her from her lustful thoughts. They should not be having this conversation.

  The manager, or co-worker, or whoever the dude was, glared in their direction. “Can I have a little help over here?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Brenda didn’t even look at him.

  “Aren’t you worried you’ll get fired?”

  “Nope, you can’t fire the boss. But I can lose customers. One sec.” She raced over to the counter, pinched the sales assistance’s cheek playfully, plucked up a card and was back at her side before Julie could blink. “I’ll be in Feilding next weekend for the A & P show. If you ladies would like to catch up, call me.” The brush of her fingers as she handed over the card sent a shiver up Julie’s spine.

  “Why didn’t you just Facebook stalk us? You know Yvonne’s full name.”

  “That’d be a little stalkerish, don’t you think? You know, spying on someone without them knowing.”

  Heat shot up Julie’s neck. Guilty as charged. She looked at the ground, wishing she was small enough to slip through one of the cracks. “How can I make it up to you?”

  “I’ll leave that up to you and your wife to decide.” She sauntered away, hollering over her shoulder, “Call me.”

  It wasn’t until Julie was ten minutes out of Dannevirke that she realised she’d left the store empty-handed. That wasn’t entirely true, the card she’d been given was burning a hole in her pocket as fast as guilt was burning a hole in her gut.

  The trip over the Saddle Road demanded her attention, but each time she had to pause for roadworks her mind drifted back to Brenda.

  What would Yvonne say? Would she believe Julie didn’t encourage any advances? Now that they knew Brenda was only ten years their junior, not twenty, would Yvonne admit to fancying her, because she’d been hot as hell when they got home that night.

  While waiting for the council worker to turn the STOP sign to GO, Julie glanced at her phone wondering whether to send a quick message to Yvonne or wait until she got home.

  The icon to the dating app on her phone gave her a short-sharp reality check. Fuck, they were meeting Pamela the same weekend Brenda said she’d be in Feilding.

  Traffic started moving, and she pushed thoughts of their love life to the back of her mind. She couldn’t make a decision without talking to Yvonne first, so there was no point going over a hundred different scenarios.

  If Yvonne said no way, no how, then that would be it. End of story.

  ***

  When five-thirty rolled around and Yvonne still wasn’t home, Julie started to worry. Ironic really, considering she had more chances of dying in a car accident than Yvonne.

  Halfway through typing out a text, her ears perked up. The familiar rattle of their car was music to her ears. Yvonne was home, a little late, but safe and sound nonetheless.

  “Hey, Vonn.” Like always, Julie greeted her with a kiss and a smile. “I was starting to worry about you.”

  The look in Yvonne’s eyes was murderous. “I had the day from hell.” She yanked open the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine.

  Disappointment washed over Julie. She shelved the encounter with Brenda for the time being. Hopefully, once she’d given Yvonne time to vent and unwind, she could bring it up.

  In the meantime, she’d do what she always did when Yvonne was in one of her moods. Give her space and offer a listening ear.

  “Here.” She took the bottle out of her hands. “Let me get that, you go get changed.”

  Without a word, Yvonne disappeared up the hallway. Julie turned to Ginger who was still parked in front of the fridge.

  “Sorry, big guy. But you’re going to have to wait. Mumma’s pissed.”

  Of course, Julie could’ve fed him herself now that he’d ventured inside, but simply feeding her beloved cat was often enough to soothe Yvonne’s frazzled nerves. She’d been so relaxed lately, it was odd seeing her so uptight.

  The slam of the bathroom door made Julie jump. What could’ve possibly got her so upset?

  Makeup free, cheeks flushed, Yvonne stepped into the kitchen looking stark raving mad.

  “You wouldn’t believe it.” She took the glass Julie handed her. “How long’s it been? Three frickin’ months. Three months!” She glared at Julie like she should know exactly what she was talking about.

  Clueless, Julie held her tongue. She wasn’t brave enough to hazard a guess. Ginger had even retreated to the corner.

  “Three months,” Yvonne said for the third time. “Then, this morning, I started getting cramps and feeling bitchy.”

  No shit. Julie bit her cheek.

  “Don’t you dare laugh at me.” Yvonne pointed, her anger dissolving ever so slightly.

  Julie grabbed her finger and aimed it away. “Don’t you point that at me when it’s loaded. I’m not the bad guy here.”

  With that, the fight went out of Yvonne. “Sorry, you’re right.” She slumped into a chair at the dining room table. “I’ve got my period.”

  “You don’t say.”

  “Don’t,” she said around a smile. “Ugh, my stomach hurts, my head hurts, and to top it all off, Gary was a dick today.”

  As she spoke, Julie threw a heat pack in the microwave. Feeling sorry for Ginger, she ripped open a pouch of food and dumped it in his dish, trying not to breathe in the smell.

  How the hell a lamb dinner smelled like fish was beyond her. Ginger didn’t seem to care, he had his nose in the dish before the pouch was even empty.

  “Oh, my baby.” Yvonne stood.

  “He’s fine, stay where you are.” Julie popped open the microwave. “Sit.” Yvonne obeyed, and Julie slid the wheat pack between the chair and her lower back.

  She leaned back, sighing with relief. “Oh, that’s bliss.” Her eyes welled up. “What would I do without you?”

  “That’s one thing you don’t have to worry about.” Julie retrieved a beer and twisted off the lid.

  In the end, she’d made a pasta salad with the leftover chicken. Dinner could wait until Yvonne had relaxed enough to eat.

  “Tell me about Gary.”

  With Ginger now in her lap, heat pack on her back, glass of wine in hand, Yvonne launched into her story.

  Chapter 24

  The following morning, Yvonne awoke feeling surprisingly bright and a tad contrite. Julie was the best thing to have ever happened to her.

  If she’d married anyone else, last night would’ve been world war three. Rather than ask what the hell her problem was, which would’ve upset Yvonne further, Julie had a calmness about her that penetrated the haze of red hot anger.

  She stretched her back, elated when it didn’t cramp. Her periods always punched her in the kidneys.

  Going through the motions, Yvonne grabbed a tampon out of the box on the window ledge in the bathroom and sat, delighted to discover she didn’t need it. One day and Aunty Flow had gone. Hallelujah, she might make it through the day after all.

  In the kitchen, her gaze landed on a note next to the toaster. ‘Take no shit, Vonn! You’ll be fine.’ An imprint of Julie’s lips underlined the words.

  The gesture made Yvonne’s hea
rt swell. Julie must’ve smeared some lipstick on for the sole purpose of leaving her a kiss. She folded the note and put it in her pocket as if it would give her the strength she needed to get through the day.

  The birthing centre was behind schedule, thanks to the electrical sub-contractor running out of cable. Somehow, the fact he underestimated the amount required was Yvonne’s fault. Gary was on a rampage. He told her in no uncertain terms if she couldn’t get it right, he’d find someone who could. It was an idle threat, but one she took seriously all the same.

  He’d berated Nick, too, stating as Quantity Surveyor he should’ve been aware they were going to run into a problem. However, Gary’s rant rolled off Nick like water off a duck’s back.

  He’d shrugged at Yvonne and said, “It happens, don’t stress it, they’ll get back on track.”

  She didn’t know why she let Gary’s angry words get to her so much that day until she hid in the toilet, afraid she’d say something she regretted, and noticed her period had made an untimely appearance. Not that there was ever a good time.

  Fuck, now she had to start counting the months again. How long was she supposed to wait until she was considered to be in menopause? Was it twelve months?

  Deep in thought, Yvonne locked the house. At least the sun was shining, that always seemed to lift people’s moods.

  Unable to shake the feeling she’d forgotten something, she patted her pockets. Keys. Yep. She looked in her handbag; cell phone, wallet, sandwich, and banana. All there.

  Her gaze landed on the empty cat basket on the doorstep.

  Shit. Ginger.

  She opened the door and dashed back inside, heading straight for their bedroom. No cat. She went to the living room, and there she found him. Curled up on the mat in front of the unlit fire.

  “Come on, big guy.” She picked him up. “It’s warmer outside than in here.”

  By eleven that morning, Yvonne wondered what the hell all the fuss was over. Sure, the sub-contractor had dropped the ball, but he’d also brought in extra staff, so if anything they were ahead of schedule.

  With a renewed pep in her step, Yvonne left the site and headed for the nearby dairy. She’d ignored the craving to binge on chocolate yesterday, but today a treat was in order.

  ***

  All day Tuesday as Julie wandered from meter to meter her mind never strayed far from Yvonne.

  More than once she pulled her phone out with the intention of texting her, then thought better of it. She didn’t want to interrupt Yvonne while she was busy with a sub-contractor, or worse, while she was trying to placate Gary.

  Going by the notion no news is good news, she hoped the note she’d left Yvonne that morning was enough to buoy her.

  The stress of her job was often hard on both of them, but the proud look on Yvonne’s face when a project went well was worth giving her the space she needed when things weren’t going so well.

  Shortly after four o’clock, Julie heard Yvonne’s car rumble up the driveway. The fact she was home an hour early sent her brain into overdrive. Surely she hadn’t been fired.

  Prepared for the worse, and hoping for the best, Julie plastered on a smile. Her heart kicked up when Yvonne stepped inside, green eyes sparkling.

  She looked radiant—powerful—dressed in a knee-length pencil skirt, crisp white blouse, black heels, and briefcase in hand.

  “Damn, you’re sexy, Mrs Henderson.” Julie kissed her, breathing in the floral fragrance of her perfume.

  “You’re not too shabby yourself, Mrs Wilson.”

  “Did the boys drop to their knees, beg for forgiveness, see the error of their ways?”

  “Not quite, but you’re close.”

  Happiness flared in Julie’s chest. She fist pumped the air. “Yes! That a girl. I knew you had this.”

  “Let me go get changed, and then I’ll tell you all about it.”

  “Wait a minute.” Julie plucked up her phone.

  “What? I’m not a celebrity.”

  She aimed the camera. “Maybe not, but you’re my star.”

  Click.

  The image was one Julie would treasure forever. It was a rare day she got to see Yvonne rocking the corporate look. More often than not, Julie left for work before Yvonne was even out of bed, and the first thing Yvonne did when she arrived home was wash her makeup off and change into casual clothes.

  Ten minutes later, Ginger fed, drinks poured, they sat side by side on the sofa. Yvonne gave Julie a quick rundown of her day.

  “So, you’re back on track, crisis over?”

  “For now.” Yvonne plucked her iPad off the coffee table. “I took some photos of the progress. Fiona should’ve uploaded them to the company’s Facebook page by now.”

  Enjoying the relaxed atmosphere, Julie snuggled closer. Ginger, uncharacteristically, watched them from her chair. He probably thought he’d pulled one over her and was expecting to be booted off any minute.

  When she turned back around Yvonne was eyeing her curiously.

  “What?” Julie asked.

  “You and Brenda?”

  “What?” Julie repeated, trying to keep up.

  Rather than reply, Yvonne held the iPad up. Her blank expression gave away nothing.

  Trying not to panic, even though Julie knew exactly how it looked, she read the message for a second time.

  ‘Hey, Yvonne. I hope you don’t mind me messaging you. I didn’t think it would seem too stalkerish now that Julie has my number. It was great to see her. Can’t wait to see you both again.’

  “It’s not what it looks like.”

  “And what’s that?” Yvonne quirked an eyebrow.

  “Like I’ve been seeing Brenda…behind your back.”

  “Have you?”

  “No! I would never cheat.”

  Yvonne dropped her iPad into her lap. “How about you start by telling me when you saw her?”

  That was the easy part. “I saw her when I had to go to Dannevirke for work. I stopped at the fruit and veggie store. Turns out, she’s the manageress.”

  “What did you buy?”

  Shit. Could she dig a deeper hole for herself? “Nothing.”

  “You expect me to believe you stopped at a fruit and veggie store just to browse. To smell the cauliflowers?”

  The analogy made Julie grin.

  The corner of Yvonne’s mouth twitched and Julie relaxed, pleased Yvonne was teasing her.

  “I wasn’t sure if it was her when I first walked in. She was kissing a guy.”

  “Boyfriend?”

  “Son.”

  “No way!”

  “Yes way, she’s forty-one. We had a quick chat, she said she’d love to catch up with us again and gave me her number.” Julie held Yvonne’s gaze. “That’s it, you have to believe me.”

  “I do.” Yvonne stroked her cheek. “But I’m still wondering why you didn’t tell me before now.”

  At least this one wasn’t on her. “Cast your mind back to last night.”

  It took a moment, but then the light bulb went on. “I was in a hell of a mood. You listened to me rant and rave and held me tight all night.”

  “And left you a note this morning.” Julie couldn’t resist propping herself up a little more.

  Gratitude shined in Yvonne’s eyes. “Thank you.”

  Julie drained her beer and put the empty on the coffee table. “Brenda will be in Feilding next weekend for the show. She wants to catch-up. Coffee, a drink, whatever. If you’re interested.”

  “As in friends or more?”

  “Friends, I assume. Why? Are you hoping for more?” Julie nudged Yvonne playfully, silently hoping she said she’d like more.

  “We’re meeting Pamela on Sunday, remember?”

  “What’s that got to do with anything?” Other than the fact they had a busy weekend coming up, Julie couldn’t see why it would be a problem.

  “I’m not going to turn into a whore overnight. Bang Brenda one day, shag Pamela the next.”

  �
�Considering you turned Brenda down last time, I never meant to imply you were going to bang her. And who says we’re going to shag Pamela?”

  “Are we?”

  “Are we what?” Good lord, what a train wreck of a conversation.

  “Going to shag either of them?” Yvonne asked.

  “Since when did you start talking like that? A shag implies a quick roll in the hay.”

  “Would you rather I said make love to them?”

  “Are you purposely goading me?” Julie asked.

  “Yep.” Yvonne held out her glass. “My wine’s empty and I can’t get up. Ginger’s asleep.”

  “And pussy’s rule, right?”

  A snort huffed out of Yvonne.

  “Message Brenda back and make a date for Saturday.”

  Yvonne narrowed her eyes.

  Backtracking, Julie rephrased the comment. “Tell her we’d like to meet up. You do want to, don’t you?”

  “Sure, she was nice.”

  “And hot.”

  Yvonne pointed a finger. “I’ll let you have that one.”

  Chapter 25

  Shortly after lunch on Saturday, they strolled hand in hand to Manfield Park. With the A & P Show (Agricultural & Pastoral Show) in full swing, finding a park nearby would be close to impossible.

  “I used to love going to the show as a kid. Nathan and I were fearless.”

  Julie turned to Yvonne, loving the way her eyes lit up just like they always did when she talked about her brother.

  “We used to beg mum to let us go on all the rides. One year, I binged on an entire bag of candy floss just before we rode The Hurricane. The second we got off, I puked my guts out, splattering Mum’s new shoes.” Her expression turned sombre. “I was twelve. She never took us to the show again.”

  “Well, you’re not a kid now.” Julie joined the queue to the ticket booth. “What rides do you want to go on?”

  “None.” Yvonne tugged on Julie’s arm. “Don’t you dare buy any tickets for rides, just pay to get us in.”