Good Morning from Paradise (6 page)

Brit
and Amber came to me just after 7am, I told them everything I had heard and
they comforted me and wiped my tears. Amber said Dan had been calling her and
Kyle trying to get messages to me and I looked at my phone, dead. I charged it
up while Amber made coffee.

“I
called Jonathan.” Brit told me “It’s all true, Rachael is pregnant but as far
as he knew he had her booked in for an abortion because she didn’t want it and
she had asked for his help. She must have changed her mind when she saw Dan
again. Jonathan said they were never dating but that he had felt sorry for her
in her situation and wanted to help. I find that hard to believe, Ella, we both
know what a selfish bastard he is. Something is going on here that we don’t
know about but I’m sure as hell gonna find out.” She assured me. Amber joined
us with coffee

“Kyle
is adamant it can’t Dan’s baby because Dan had told him he hadn’t touched her
for months” she blew over her cup before taking a sip.

“That’s
what he told me too and I was stupid enough to believe him. I know it hasn’t
been long but I really thought we could have something, you know. I let myself
fall for him and I hate myself for it.”

I
wiped my tears on my sleeve. I didn’t care what Kyle thought, it didn’t change
the fact that Dan was no longer mine. Tears dripped into my coffee and my phone
sprang to life. He had been leaving messages, lots of them. He wanted to see
me, wanted a chance to explain his choice. I didn’t want to hear it but I
couldn’t let it end this way. I talked it over with Amber and Brit and decided
I would talk to him, it’s not his fault that she’s pregnant, well actually it
is but he’s doing the decent thing and as much as it hurts, as much as I hate
it, I love him more for it and that’s what’s torturing me. I love him. The
girls gave me some space and I text him.

I’m at my hut if you want to talk to me.

Ella xx

He
came straight away, as he always had when I called. He knocked, I took a deep
breath and opened the door.

“Hi”
I managed to squeak. This was going to be harder than I thought. He looked as
bad as I felt.

“Hi.
Can I come in?” I stepped aside and he walked into the living area. I wanted to
hold him but I had to be strong, this was going to be hard enough.

“Ella,
I’m so sorry!” he walked up to me and tears rolled down my face, he wiped them
for me.

“It’s
not your fault Dan, you’re doing the right thing, as much as it hurts I think
you’re doing the right thing.”  I shrugged.

“So
how come it hurts so fucking much? I want you to know I never knew this was
going to happen, I never set out to hurt you, I wanted this to be forever, it’s
killing me to think it’s over, that someone else will get to hold you and make
love to you.” His head dropped and I knew he was crying too.

“It’s
not your fault Dan. I was stupid, I shouldn’t have let myself fall so hard but
I couldn’t help it.” I reached out and touched his cheek.

“Don’t
worry about anyone else, there will never be anyone who comes close to you, I won’t
be replacing you Dan, I don’t think I can.” He kissed the palm of my hand.

“So
I’m going to be stuck with a woman I can’t stand and a child I didn’t want and
you’re going to be lonely forever? How fucked up is that Ella? I hate that even
more. Please don’t be lonely because of me.”  He walked up to the door.

“I’m,
we’re leaving this afternoon. Jonathans orders. This isn’t how I wanted it to
end, hell I didn’t want this to end. I’m sorry.” And he was gone.

I
didn’t know how to react. I cried, screamed, kicked and punched my bed. I must
have fallen asleep mid tantrum because when I woke up it was dark and I knew he
had gone. I got a bottle of wine from the fridge and drank alone on the sand
for a while. Brit joined me and we drank well into the night and chatted about
everything. This isn’t how either of us had imagined the holiday turning out. I
never imagined I’d meet Mr Perfect, never thought for a second that Brit and
Wil would split or that Mr Perfect would maul my heart to shreds. Thank all that
is holy for the creation of wine, my only reliable source of comfort.

Monday 17
^th
June,

Ouch,

My head is killing me and my mouth tastes
like I went from hut to hut licking the bottom of everyone’s flip flops. The
down side of my reliable source of comfort, once you stop drinking it becomes
pretty uncomfortable! I wonder how long before Brit and Amber come and drag y
sorry arse out of this pit. Maybe I should shower and shock them. I’ll just
wait until the nausea subsides. I hate me right now…

Ella xx

I
spent most of the day hungover on the couch. Amber told me she would give me
until the hangover had gone and then she refused to let me waste the holiday in
paradise wallowing in self-pity. She was right, as always. I pulled myself
together in time to join the others at the bar. They had a laugh as usual and
it was nice to have some company. Kyle got a message, he read it and looked at
me and I knew it was Dan.

“He’s
home safely, asking about you.” He said.

“Tell
him I’m fine.” I lied and turned away until the tears subsided. There was no
more talk of Dan for the rest of the evening and that night I stayed with Brit.
I didn’t cry for long before sleep took me. When I woke up I could smell Brit
cooking. My stomach lurched, I hadn’t eaten much at all since Saturday, I
couldn’t face it. When I emerged from the spare room I made my excuses about
not feeling hungry but she fed me anyway, said I couldn’t live on just alcohol
and I agreed, so I tried to eat.

We
spent the next few days shopping, sunbathing, swimming, general holiday things
to pass the time. It was nice to spend time with Brit actually. I’m glad the
holiday is coming to an end though, this is our last full day and I can’t wait
to get home, to see Bud, to get stuck into work where I won’t have time to
think about him, to wonder what he’s doing and whether he’s thinking about me.
I won’t have time to keep checking my phone to see if he’s text and I won’t
have to fall asleep in the same bed where we made love so many times. I might
be able to let him go.

Today
Brit and the gang are going to a museum, I wasn’t in the mood so I thought I’d
have a look around the shops one last time, see if there was anything pretty I
could buy as a souvenir of this breath taking place. I was just leaving a shop
when I saw Jonathan sitting outside one of the little cafes opposite, working
on his laptop. I pulled my sunglasses down and hoped he’d be too engrossed in
work to notice me. The last thing I needed was a conversation with that
heartless shit.

“Ella
Bella.” He called over. “Come and join me, you look like you could use a good
meal. Come on girl, don’t make an old man beg.” Yuck. I joined him to stop him
from making a scene, I ordered just a water against his demands that I eat.

“I’m
surprised you’re still here.” I started the conversation. “I haven’t seen you
around.” He looked like he was thinking about something.

“Ella,
can I ask you a question?” Oh crap, I hope he’s not going to ask me out. I felt
the bile rise in my throat.

“Sure,
go ahead.” I answered reaching for my water.

“What
on earth did that girl say to him to convince him that baby is his?” I almost
choked.

“Excuse
me?” I coughed.

“Let
me tell you something Ella, now, this doesn’t reach my daughter or I will deny
everything and believe me I can be very persuasive when I need to be. I think a
lot of Daniel, he’s a good boy, very talented at his trade, he and Kyle have
done some fantastic renovations for me and I have, in return set them up with
some very lucrative contracts for the future and that’s why I can’t let this
pantomime continue. That girl is trouble, she’s money hungry and she’ll use the
child to take him for everything he’s worth.” He took a drink of coffee, this
wasn’t news to me, Dan had already told me what the bitch was like.

“Dan
knows that about her” I told him.

“You
have to promise me Ella, what I’m about to tell you will not reach my
daughter’s ears. Do you promise?” I gulped, he was deadly serious and I was
intrigued.

“Promise”
I nodded in confirmation. He was happy with that.

“I
need to give you some background first and you’re probably not going to like it
or understand my reasoning but here it goes. When I met Brits mother she was
working as a waitress in a club, it was a gentlemen’s club Ella, she wasn’t just
a server if you get my meaning.” I shrugged and looked confused so he went into
more detail.

“The
club had an extra purpose Ella, the men could pay for favours of a…” he stalled
for a moment and looked at me “…a sexual nature from the women that worked
there and Brits mother had worked there a while. When I met her I fell in love
with her instantly, I got her off the payroll and married her even though she
was already pregnant with Brit.” I almost chocked, Daddy Big Bucks wasn’t Brits
daddy at all. I waited for the rest.

“Anita
never got over her past, she couldn’t escape the nightmares, the things she had
done to make a few bucks, she turned to drink and well, you know the rest.
While Brit was still a baby and Anita was trying to take to her new role as a
mother she changed, became bitter, she said it was having to look into the eyes
of a child conceived in misery. It broke my heart to see her this way, and to
me, Brit had the eyes of an angel. I loved that little girl like she was my own
but business was taking more of my time than I had liked and as she grew her
mother got worse. Brit blames me for not being around. You see Ella I had spent
a lot of time and money buying out seedy sex clubs and turning them into
cocktail bars and restaurants hoping to end the sex trade that had cost my wife
and daughter so much. But every time one club closed another opened, the
underground sex industry always finds a way Ella, it is worth a hell of a lot
of money. Knowing this I started not buying and changing these clubs but
upgrading them, cleaning them up, freeing them from drugs, employing body
guards, vetting members, charging high membership fees to weed out any
scumbags. The women who worked the clubs worked because they chose to. They
were all given health insurance, put on birth control and were given a choice
of client and how far they wanted to go. Any man who tried to push his luck got
a good shit kicking from the body guards.” He paused for another drink. I felt
sick. I had often wondered what kind of business Jonathan was in and now I wish
I didn’t know. I started to wonder what the hell kind of deal he was striking
up with Wil but his voice pulled me out of my daydream.

“I
know what you are thinking Ella, that I’ve still made mega money from the sex
trade and you are correct but I have also put many young women through
scholarships, I have housed and clothed many, and have even taken a few under
my wing to show them the ins and outs of business, of course this was seen as
me having affairs but I wasn’t ever untrue to Anita, Ella. After her death it
took me a lot of years to date again but I do from time to time.” His phone
rang and he excused himself. He told whoever was on the line to call back. I
welcomed the break to absorb some of what he had told me, my head was spinning.
He’s in the sex trade, he’s not Brits dad, he never dated those young women.
Then a question sprung to mind.

“So
how does this all link to Rachael?” I asked in the hope he would cut to the
chase before I heard any more sinister stories. He smiled.

“Rachel
was taken in by one of my associates at a dinner party I hosted to thank Daniel
and Kyle for their amazing work. Unfortunately, that girl is a bad egg, she
wanted it all and Daniel was sensible, he wouldn’t risk his livelihood for a girl
like that. She started spending more time with ‘Michael’, the owner of one of
the seediest sex joints I’ve ever come across, and I’ve been buying out places
for a long time now. I don’t even think Michael is his real name but that’s
what his associates call him, he’s my latest project but he’s proving to be to
be a slippery sucker. I invited him to the dinner party so that he could meet
the people who could help him to upgrade his business, help him to get a better
perspective of what his place could be like so that he would agree and sign the
contract and then I could legally remove him. Unfortunately, he was more
distracted by Rachael than he was interested in business but he’s slowly coming
around. You’ve got to understand, Ella, Michael is about as low as you can get,
he has no morals, no ethics, no regard for the women he holds at his club. Most
of them are so reliant on drugs they have no idea where or even who they are.
He supplies the drugs for a cut of their wage, the men who go in there can pretty
much do what the hell they like to the women. Rachael would have been his next
victim. He dates the women for a while, spends money on them, time with them,
gets them used to the place then he gets them hooked on the drugs and bam, they
go from love of his life to pieces of meat in a matter of weeks. I couldn’t let
that happen to Rachael, I hoped she would realise what he was like after a few
weeks with him but she didn’t seem to care, she saw the money and that’s all. I
stepped in when he introduced drugs and started to talk of sharing her with his
colleagues. Her demise would have been swift from there on out so I took her
away from him. Rachael left Daniel for
Michael
that day Ella, not me. He
told her he was going to take her on vacation but she didn’t know what he
really had in store for her. I had one of my drivers pick her up and rather
than taking her to the airport he brought her to me. I told her the harsh truth
about Michael and his plans, she told me she was pregnant and wanted rid of it.
I promised to help her if she promised not to contact Michael again. Luckily
she hadn’t been on the drugs long enough to suffer any strong withdrawals or
harm the baby she was carrying. I didn’t want another young woman to suffer
like Anita had. Michael has no idea where she is. Well, he didn’t until she
pulled that stunt with Daniel. Now I’ve got some damage limitation to do,
Michael won’t be happy that she went back to Daniel especially if he knows
about the pregnancy. Daniel doesn’t know about Michael, about the months of
betrayal before I stepped in, there is a very high likely hood that the baby
she is carrying isn’t Daniels.” I don’t know if he continued because the
ringing in my ears drowned him out, I started to sweat and then everything went
black. I woke up on the floor of the café to hear Jonathan ordering someone to
bring me something to eat and drink.

“Ella,
are you ok? You really need to eat. I’ve ordered you something. Can you stand?”
I nodded slightly and he helped me back into my seat, the food arrived quickly
and I ate like I hadn’t eaten for years, it might not be his baby, I might get
him back, oh my god I might get him back. I needed a plan, obviously I couldn’t
tell Brit but Amber would help me. Kyle would help me. I couldn’t just go
barging in like a jealous ex, that’s for sure. If Rachael is such a bad egg she
will have a plan, she
has
already convinced him that the baby is his.
The last thing I want is for her to feel threatened enough to contact Michael
again. From the sounds of it, that would only result in trouble for Dan and for
Rachael. As much as I hated her, I didn’t think she deserves a life of being
drugged up and handed around to satisfy all of his friends against her will.
No, I need her to admit the affair and the fact that the baby may not be his to
him without actually involving Michael or revealing Jonathans secret to Brit.
Shit, I need to think.

Jonathan
paid for my food and stood to leave, I caught his hand.

“Jonathan,
is Dan in danger?” I asked, not really wanting to hear his answer.

“I’m
doing my best to make sure he isn’t Ella. Like I say, I like the kid. She’s put
him at risk, Michael isn’t your average law abiding citizen, but I’m pretty
sure I can protect him.” He patted my shoulder.

“Thank
you. You didn’t have to tell me all of that but I’m glad that you did. And for
what it’s worth I think you should talk to Brit, she’s more understanding than
you realise, you could have a real relationship with her you know.” He kissed
my hand and left. I hope he did talk to her. On my way back to the beach I
tried to think of ways to get Rachael to admit to Dan what she had done. I
hoped I could catch Amber to tell her everything preferably with Kyle but
definitely without Brit. My phone chirped for the first time in ages. It was him,
it was Dan and it simply said:

I miss you, gorgeous girl.

D x

Tears
streamed down my face but for the first time in a while there was hope, I was
going to get him back, I was going to fight for him. I dried my tears and text
him back;

Miss you more

E x

Now
I definitely couldn’t wait to get home. This place has changed my life. Now I
need to get back and work out where to go from there. Amber and Kyle are
spending their last night alone together so I didn’t get the chance to talk to
either of them, my flight leaves early so I’ll make arrangements to catch them
when we’re all home. It will be easier to get Amber on her own while Brit is
working even if I have to wait until next weekend. The thought leaves me cold,
I want him back now but I’ll have to be patient. I’m just praying that he
doesn’t fall in love with her before I get my chance. I need to find out when
the baby is due and what the date of their dinner party was so that I can check
the dates tally. If she got pregnant before that dinner party, then I’m back to
square one because the baby is definitely Dan’s. I am optimistic though if for
no other reason that on the night of the party Rachael was wearing that tiny
silver playsuit that was practically sprayed on and there was no sign of a
bump. If that’s all I’ve got to cling to then that’s good enough for now until
I get more facts. I used the flight to close my eyes and think back to the time
he told me about Rachael. They started renovations last fall but he hadn’t said
what they had done or when they had finished. She couldn’t have been pregnant
before the work started otherwise that baby would be heading towards spending
its first birthday in the womb. They must have finished recently, Jonathan said
Dan and Kyle had contracts lined up when they got home so there must have been
developments in business world while we were in Bali. Damn I wished I had asked
Jonathan more questions but I was so taken aback by what he was telling me I
didn’t even think to ask. One things for certain, sitting here letting my mind
run in circles was getting me nowhere. I decided to put my buds in, listen to
some music and see if I could drift off. God knows I could do with catching up
on some sleep.