by Foster, Zoe
‘No! No,’ Marcus said, quickly. ‘You told me, Abby, that I needed to be young and free and travel and live a bit, remember? That was massively offensive, as I told you then, and I will tell you again now. But on some level, well,’ he looked around, as though hoping to find his script on the specials blackboard, ‘I guess there was an element of truth to it … I am twenty-two … I am young. I am in a good position and stage of my life to be a bit loose and a bit free.’
Abby crossed her legs and arms in sync, not realising she instantly gave away her anger in doing so. She loved being right, but if she decided her original perspective was incorrect, she preferred to be wrong.
‘So let me get this straight,’ Abby said. ‘You now agree with what I said, but you’re still angry with me?’
‘It’s not as black and white as that, Abs. When you get dumped because the woman you’ve fallen in love with believes you should be out there having fun, and then never contacts you again, well after a while, I guess you start to start to think she was right.’
‘Unfuckingbelieveable,’ Abby muttered and shook her head, a grimace of astonishment on her face.
‘You realise you can’t be pissed at me over this, right? It was YOU who planted the seed in the first place and—’
‘I’m not pissed.’
Marcus leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table, trying in vain to lock Abby’s eyes onto his, but she refused to look at him for longer than a few seconds at a time. He, on other hand, was calm and cool-headed. The irony of Abby’s childishness was not lost on her.
‘Abby, I was crushed. You know I took us a lot more seriously than you did. So I thought a lot about where we’re both at, and what you’d said, and I spoke to Chris and he really helped me get some perspective an—–’
‘Oh, of couuuurse Chris was there for you. I’m sure he had a harem of twenty year olds just chomping at the bit to meet you.’ Abby was being vitriolic and horrible, but she couldn’t stop the words firing from her mouth. She’d always thought Chris had too much influence over Marcus. Of course, if she were honest with herself, it was nothing more than insecurity on her behalf that Chris would eventually tell Marcus he could do better than Abby.
Marcus was doing that thing he did when Abby was flying off handles. Which was to sit quietly, looking at her, waiting for her to calm down.
Abby sighed. ‘I’m sorry. That was an awful thing to say. I’m sorry. I know how big a role Chris plays in your life.’
‘No, I don’t think you do. He’s pretty much a father to me, Abby. And for the record, Chris actually said I should chase you. He saw how miserable I was.’
Abby was immeasurably glad she hadn’t said anything more about Chris. Especially since, amazingly, it sounded like he was in her corner. For once in her life, Abby Vaughn had no idea what to say.
‘Anyway, that’s all beside the point. Abs, I’m just— I think I need to stay on this path for now. I’m going to travel a bit before the end of the year and maybe take on a project with Caleb which will take up all my time anyway and …’ His sentence petered out to silence.
Tears trickled into Abby’s eyes, and hollowness spread through her body. Marcus meant it. He really meant it.
‘Abby, are you okay?’
She looked around the café, buzzing with happy, slurping people having high-spirited, creative meetings, and she wanted to throw her shoe at them. She took a quick breath in and cleared her throat.
‘I’m fine, well, I will be. You’ve made up your mind, there’s nothing else I can say. I can see that. I fucked it all up. And I— it was— I never— Forget it, I should go.’ She pushed her chair back and stood up.
‘Abby, you can’t do that, please tell me what you were going to say, come on. There’s no need to be so dramatic.’
‘I don’t see the point, Marcus. You know how I feel, I know how you feel, and it’s all just a bit gutting, to be honest. Let’s keep with the no contact, okay? It’s not useful for either of us to stay in touch.’
Marcus was looking at Abby with broken eyes, knowing how much pain he was putting her though, momentarily forgetting she’d pushed him down the exact same slippery slide five weeks earlier. And as she put her coat over the body he’d fantasised about constantly for months and walked away, his mind was furiously trying to confirm he’d done the right thing.
37
To: Abs work email
From: Chelsea Patton
Feel like I’m leaping off the fucking cliff w no parachute: I’m having a baby, I’ve moved and I have a stepson –HOW DID THIS HAPPEN??? W the fuck happened to my life??? Seriously!!
Mads still won’t speak to me. I’ve called emailed text … I even left a letter in her mailbox --- nothing.
Its been 3 weeks now and not one word from her
Abby had never witnessed Chels admit things were out of her control, it was like hearing a librarian asking everyone to please talk louder. But her single, sassy, flashy life had indeed been flipped on its pretty, blow-dried head.
To: Chelsea Patton
From: Abby Vaughn
Honey, I know you’re scared and freaking out. But you know everything will work out, right? Of course it will. You are Chelsea fucking Patton. Everything always comes up rosy for you. It’s your thing. You’ve made these decisions because they felt right, in your gut or heart or big toe, so have faith in them. Jeremy is a GOOD EGG. He will support you. He loves you. It will be a “journey”, but you’ll get through it together … And don’t forget, you are bringing a new human being into the world! This is a very happy and exciting time of your life! Please remember that, honey, it’s important that your little belly human can feel your love. And sorry to be a downer but you gotta remember how much some people would give for this privilege …
I’m here for you, as always, whenever. Can come over tonight it you want for Thai and a walk?
Mads will thaw out. She’s just in pain. And it’s not you she’s angry with, it’s the situation.
I’ll call her now. My two broken friends need to be fixed. xxxx
Ps As a bit of cold comfort: Marcus still hasn’t made any contact. Since when did we become so unpopular?? It’s so over. Schooled by a kid! Touché.
To: Abs work email
From: Chelsea Patton
Make her talk to me again pls. asap.
You know the kid is playing you, right? Giving you a taste of ur own. You held all the cards and don’t forget you dumped HIM. Let him feel like he’s in power for a bit n he’ll come back. Trust me --- I know men. xc
It was surprisingly good advice from Chelsea. Maybe Marcus was just letting Abby sweat for a bit. She was suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of missing him: that she might never lie in bed with him at night, or never feel him kiss the back of her neck as she slept, or see him perform intoxicated, hilarious acrobatics with salt shakers at a restaurant table. She took a deep breath and steadied her head by placing it between her hands on the table. She was not as strong as she thought she was. She had treated Marcus badly. She deserved to feel pain and melancholy. She was emotionally dyslexic, and it had taken a man ten years younger than her to expose her. In the only show of strength she could muster, she went onto Facebook and, trying not to notice the new profile picture of him looking ridiculous climbing up a palm tree somewhere hot and delicious, deleted him as a friend. Should’ve done it ages ago, she chided herself, but still felt secretly smug that she’d beaten him to it. It was amazing what time and the deafening sound of no contact from him could do. She had, in the days following their coffee at Alfie’s, expected him to come back to her. Clearly she was prone to both reckless optimism and megalomaniac tendencies, because aside from a polite text on the day they’d met, saying he was sorry to upset her, and it was great to see her and bullshit, bullshit, bullshit; nothing. It still made Abby a bit angry, but it didn’t make her sad. And she was proud of her strength: She hadn’t called him drunk, she hadn’t stalked his Facebook, and she hadn’t even sent him any tra
nsparent, I’m-totally-fine-with-this-have-a-great-life texts. In a funny way, the anger helped, propelling her through, reminding her to have an Excellent Life because he sure as hell was, and that to waste any more time thinking about him was preposterous. After all, he was just a kid. Even he’d admitted it in the end.
Abby called Mads, but she did not answer her phone. Abby would go around there tonight, like Dylan had suggested. They’d had a long email back and forth and he was not coping too well, no one was – they’d never seen Mads in such a funk. Well, thought Abby, in every friendship there came a time when a good friend pulled a sad friend out of her slump. And tonight was it.
Two hours later, Abby looked around the flower market, searching for Charlie. They had to choose a floral theme for the girls to wear in their hair and around their wrists and necks for a new designer swimsuit boutique launch tomorrow night.
Abby saw Charlie, looking cool and effortless in flat ankle boots and a short cream lace dress, poring over some freesias, and walked over.
‘Hey, Charlie!’
Charlie turned around, hand on her heart, eyes closed.
‘You scared the godamn pancreas out of me …’ She caught her breath and smiled. ‘How’s tricks?’
‘Yeah, good thanks. Hey, I was thinking orchids. Do they have any?’
‘Mm-hmm. Not that I’ve seen so far.’
The two girls walked around the stands slowly, smelling different blooms, bunching small flowers together to get an idea of the final look.
‘Oh, hey, someone on Skype was calling yesterday afternoon while you were out; I forgot to tell you. Rang a few times actually.’
Abby smiled. ‘I think I know who that might have been.’ She realised with interest that Alessandro’s contact was now exciting to her. For the first week or two after returning Abby was polite and friendly in her responses, but not what you’d call ‘encouraging’, or ‘at all interested’. She hoped it wasn’t purely an exercise in ego boosting.
‘Will Smith?’
‘Sadly no. I had a bit of a thing with this Italian guy while I was over there. We’ve been Skyping a bit.’ Abby smiled as they stood behind a heavily pregnant woman choosing lilies. Apparently someone had forgotten to tell her baby it needed to eventually leave the uterus, because it appeared to already be the size of a two year old.
‘Reeeeally!’ Charlie said, a grin on her face, her eyes wide. ‘Has it got any legs?’ she asked, as she held some white lilies alongside deep magenta orchids.
‘I don’t know,’ said Abby, as she trailed behind Charlie. ‘We just chat about life, work … the time difference is killer. I’m at least a glass of wine down because it’s evening for me, but it’s his morning.’
‘Boners are always biggest in the morning. So what’s the point of it all? Will he come out for a summer romance? Will you ride red Vespas and eat gelato every day?’
‘Maybe … He has some cousin out here and keeps hinting he might come visit him. Not me, of course. Him.’
‘Ciao Abby, it’s Luigi, I’ma ata the airport! Are you free for some pizza and maybe soma garlic breada too?’
Abby laughed at Charlie’s atrocious accent. ‘I don’t think he’ll visit. Honestly.’
‘Do you like him?’
‘I have fondness for him, I guess, yeah.’
Charlie, gripping several bunches of bright flowers, was nearing both the end of the foliage hunt, and patience.
‘Well with things finished with Marcus, you’re free to be fond of whoever you wish,’ she said, distractedly.
‘Mmm.’ Abby held a small posy of dusty pink David Austin roses to her face and inhaled their deliciousness before placing them back carefully. She remembered how Alessandro had brought her flowers when they were in Florence, three bunches: one each for the bathroom, bedroom and lounge room, so that she ‘saw beauty wherever she was’. He really was incredibly charming, Abby realised. Maybe she should encourage him to visit, what harm could it do? No. No, no, no, she confirmed: You can’t revive a summer fling. It’s a big fat triangle that never fits into the Real Life circle.
‘These are definitely the winners, aren’t they?’ Abby nodded and Charlie placed the blooms on the counter, and the florist began stripping and snipping the deep pink, orange, white and red blooms they’d be adorning the girls with tomorrow.
‘Charlie! Hi!’ An attractive woman in dark jeans and navy striped top called to Charlie, waving. It was Diane Grove, from Tag.
Charlie looked startled. ‘Diane, hi,’ she said weakly.
‘Di! Hi!’ Abby moved into Diane’s vision and went in for a hello kiss.
‘Oh, Abby, hi …’ Di was stiff and awkward, seemingly forgetting that you need to lean in and offer a cheek for a hello kiss. How bizarre, Abby thought. Probably just felt bad about leaving the agency, she thought. Fair enough.
‘How’s things?’ Abby beamed at Di, gearing up to mischievously woo her back to Allure in a few well-constructed sentences.
‘Oh, good, thanks …’
‘You’re already missing us, aren’t you? Abby said, cheekily, grinning like a drunk.
A look of puzzlement spread over Diane’s face. ‘But I haven’t—’
‘Sweet tropical breezes, would you look at this guy!’ Charlie squealed loudly, bending down to pat Diane’s ludicrous French bulldog.
The hair on Abby’s arms stood on end. Something strange was going on. Abby looked at Di, who looked equally confused. Abby decided to dive in. If she was being fucked over, she wanted to figure it out now.
‘So, how’s it all going over at Faces?’
If Diane was tipsy with confusion before, she was now bordering on shitfaced.
‘Abby, I’m sorry … but I don’t quite know what you’re talking about—’
Charlie bounced back up, a psychotic smile on her face.
‘Di, it was lovely seeing you, we have to go unfortunately, but it was really great running into you.’ She threw eighty dollars down onto the florist’s bench, picked up the bundles of flowers and grabbed Abby by the arm to lead her away. Di was left standing, mouth agape, eyebrows furrowed in bafflement.
Abby allowed herself to be dragged ten metres before planting her feet down and shaking Charlie’s grip off.
‘Okay, what was that? What just happened?’
‘Nothing! I mean, you know Di …’ Charlie said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head as though Di had just caused a scene, which was perfectly normal, and everything was cool.
‘Yeah, I do, and that was not regular Di just there.’
‘I guess it’s weird seeing you because she left Allu—’
‘Do you think I suffer from arrested development, Charlie? What’s going on?’ Abby’s voice had become slightly shrill and blood was rushing to her head as though it were an exit in a fire. She looked at Charlie like she was faced with a stranger.
Charlie switched the flowers from one arm to the other and sighed. ‘Abby, you’re over-reacting. It’s just the usual ex-client stuff.’
‘So why was she so thrilled to see you?’
‘Uh, she was the same with you, Abs.’ A hint of insolence crept into Charlie’s voice.
‘Were you wearing a blindfold and headphones? She was terrified of me! Charlie, just please, whatever you’ve done, we can work it out.’
Abby stared at Charlie, who gazed back at her with a look of perfect calm.
‘It’s honestly nothing. I just, well – to be honest? – I think she was annoyed you were overseas for so long, and so I tried to calm her down, which is why she’s still cool with me. Abby, I’m sorry. But I had so much going on and it was just easier to kiss her arse and send her off nicely, you know? Rather than bother you with it while you were on holiday—’
‘I wasn’t on holiday,’ Abby said through clenched teeth. ‘I was working the entire time, you know that. She could’ve— should’ve emailed or called me. I have no idea why she didn’t, and I gotta say it shits me that you didn’t involve me.’ Abby sigh
ed and frowned at her business partner. Something was still amiss, but Charlie wasn’t going to give anything away. Abby would simply contact Di herself tomorrow.
‘I wouldn’t contact Di, probably. She’s still a bit pissed.’
Nice try, doll, Abby thought. ‘Hey, I’ve gotta go, are you right with those flowers? Or shall I take them?’
‘Um, no, it’s fine, I’ll take them … Hey Abs, are we cool?’ Charlie’s elfin face was the picture of concern, but Abby wasn’t interested.
‘Yeah, course. Okay, I’ve gotta go, see you at mine in the morning.’
As Abby walked away, her intuition buzzing wildly that all was not well, she started to wonder if she knew who Charlie Fennessy was at all. And just how awesome a decision it had been to let her into her business and home.
38
‘I’m exceptionally impressed with how Allure is tracking, Abby.’ Rob sat across from Abby in his jeans, Converse and crisp white t-shirt and sipped on his coffee as he looked over her figures on his laptop. He was looking even fitter than usual, Abby thought, but then, she thought every man was looking fitter than usual, because she was in a dry spell.
‘And if you ever let Charlie go, I will personally fine you five thousand dollars.’
‘Yeah, she’s been great …’ Abby said as enthusiastically as she could muster. She held her tongue regarding Charlie’s ‘brilliance’ while Rob went on about how she had attracted 30 per cent new business since coming on board, which not only made Abby feel jealous and territorial, but desperate to know what Charlie had been doing that wasn’t accounted for on spreadsheets.
‘See, that’s what I’m talking about,’ he said, scrolling down spreadsheets, shaking his head, ‘That’s the golden rule: 20 per cent of your clients will bring in 80 per cent of your income, and right now, that client is CashCard.’
