Good Morning from Paradise (8 page)

“That’s
the most poorly thought out plan I’ve ever heard Brit. Yes, Billy might be
looking for a girl but Rachael isn’t single. Do you really think she’d double
cross Dan like that?” Brit never said anything, she just smiled. I gave up.

“Ok,
I’ll help but you’ve got to promise me that once this is over with and it’s
failed, you’ll help me get over him. Deal?” I held out my hand, she grabbed it
and shook it.

“Deal”
She said smugly “And El, if this fails I promise I’m going to help you get so
far over Dan you won’t even remember who he is!” We laughed, finished our
drinks and said goodnight. I turned on my phone as I climbed into bed. It
pinged, it was him.

El, I know I keep saying this but I’m sorry
this happened, you’ll always be in my memories, my thoughts, my dreams, my
life. Whatever you decide to do, I’ll have to learn to live with it. I’ll hate
every minute we’re not together and every time I close my eyes I’ll picture you
walking towards me on the beach, looking beautiful in your free dress, I’ll
remember the first time I saw you blush, I’ll remember the feel of your skin in
the water as I traced your tattoo, I’ll remember the first time I brushed my
lips against yours. You’re the most perfect girl in the word El and it’s
killing me that we can’t be together. Take care gorgeous girl.

D xx

Ok
the fights back on! My phone pinged again, this time it was an unknown number,
it said:

Ella Bella, thanks for the advice, you were
right, telling Brit was easier than I thought it would be. I’m on your side
kiddo. If there’s any way I can help you, just ask.

Jonathan

Wow,
I never expected that. Maybe miracles do happen.

Sunday 23
^rd
June

Diary,

Well, I think it’s safe to say the emotional
rollercoaster I’ve been on for the last two weeks has totally drained my
energy. I was planning one last lazy day before going back to work tomorrow but
Brit and Amber want to meet for lunch. I’m really looking forward to seeing
Amber again, I’ve missed her since coming home. I guess I’m excited to start
planning the party too. I doubt the flimsy plan will work but at least I’ll get
to dress up and get drunk. You never know, it could be fun. Better get ready
for lunch.

Ella xx

We
met at a Mexican place in town and found a table after about ten minutes of catch
up hugs, giggles and comments on each other’s clothes. We ordered our lunch and
Brit filled Amber in on Jonathan’s confession. Amber handled it like a pro and
acted as if she hadn’t heard the whole thing before. She hadn’t heard the bit
about Billy before.

“Ooh
this could be fun.” She smiled deviously. I felt an uneasy twinge in my
stomach.

“‘I
don’t know guys.” I admitted. “There’s just something not right about trying to
get a decent guy lumbered with a bitch and a baby too.” Brit took my hand in hers.

“El,
you’ve got to stop seeing things as permanent. Billy is looking for a bit of
fun. Rachael is looking for anyone with money to throw at her. If she actually
is pregnant she had no right to force Dan into taking responsibility for a
child that’s very likely to be someone else’s. I don’t believe for a second
that she is pregnant, personally and, knowing Rachael like I do, I think she’s
overheard the rich guys talking about how much money is headed their way in
contracts, Jonathan had taken her away from Michael and let’s face it, he’s not
about to be her sugar daddy so she’s looking for an easy way to make money.” I
was shocked that anyone could even think like that. Amber seemed to agree.

“I’m
with you on that one Brit. What better way to ensnare Dan? Tell him she’s
having his baby! Then, while he’s working hard making money for them she ‘has a
miscarriage’ and he feels guilty that he wasn’t there for her so he stays with
her through guilt.” Brit nodded and I shook my head in disbelief.

“You
guys watch too much T.V!” I said giggling.

“Honestly
El, there are evil people in this world who will do whatever it takes to get
what they want. We’re not all good people like you El.” Brit rubbed my back
like I was her child.

“Ok,
so say she actually is that evil, is it fair to cast her on to poor Billy?” I
asked. Amber chuckled.

“Oh
don’t let Billy fool you Ella, he’s a man whore you know. Different women every
weekend, that’s why it’s a good idea. She’ll already know how much money he’s
spending on the renovations, he’s a vet too and he owns the surgery so he’s not
short of a dollar or two. That will attract her, the fact that she’s attracted
will make her easy pickings for him. She doesn’t know he’s a one night only
man, he likes to brag so even if she’s sneaky about it, it will get back to
Dan. Dan is free to be with you again where he belongs, Billy carries on being
Billy and Rachael is out on her own.” Amber shrugged as if life just always
goes to plan like that.

“Yeah
but what if she is pregnant?” I ask gloomily.

“I
think she’ll still go for Billy, Dan will be rid of her and at least then she
might learn to take responsibility for her own mistakes.” Brit said, Amber
nodded in agreement. I guess we would all just have to wait and see. Somethings
not right, I can feel it but I just don’t know what it is.

“Maybe
a small part of me thinks that Rachael and the baby are better off with Dan. I
don’t want that to happen but I don’t want her to see no other option but to go
back to Michael either, imagine that. Once the baby is here she’s back on the
drugs and making him a fortune in no time and if the baby is a girl, how long
until she suffers the same fate?” I shudder at the thought.

“A
boy would be trained up to be just like daddy and there’s another scumbag on
our streets.” Amber added. The waiter brought our meals and we ate in relative
silence, all of us reflecting on the conversation.

“We’re
forgetting that Jonathan is in the process of taking that bastard down so by
the time the baby arrives, IF there is one, Michaels club will be history.
Plus, it’s not fair on Dan, he should be with you Ella, he loves you!” Brit
said through a mouthful of dessert.

“She
has a point El.” Amber nodded.

“See,
the whole thing is just too complicated, too riddled with ifs and buts. And I
don’t think he loves me, Brit.” The situation was icky at best.

“He
so does. He’s been moping around like a kid who lost his puppy. He barely makes
it to work on time because he’s sleeping on the couch, he’s not enthusiastic
about the new contracts and Kyle said he spends most of his evenings either at
the diner or the bar but won’t let Kyle join him, says he wants to be alone.
He’s living in perpetual gloom without you Ella. If that’s not love lost I
don’t know what is.” Amber chipped in. She must get all of the ins and outs
from Kyle.

“Ambers
right Ella, Dan’s a mess without you. Besides sometimes the biggest problems
have the simplest solutions.” Brit shrugged nonchalantly.

“I
had no idea he was like that. Maybe Kyles right, maybe I should make more
effort to be his friend, it’s just so difficult.” I’m hardly doing well myself
but I don’t need to tell them that, they’ve been picking up the pieces since it
all fell apart. It suddenly dawned on me how much they care for me and support
me. They’re like sisters.

“Thank
you girls. I’d be a mess without you, it means a lot to me to have your support
through this.” I looked from Brit to Amber as tears flooded my eyes.

“That’s
what we’re here for honey” Brit said putting her arm around my shoulders.

“Agreed.”
Amber handed me a tissue to wipe my now streaming eyes. My friends are the
best. At least I have that if nothing else.

 We
had a lovely afternoon catching up with Amber and the time seemed to fly. It
felt strange going home in separate directions and I suddenly longed to be back
in paradise, getting ready to go out with the guys laughing and feeling giddy.
When we got home I took Bud running with me while Brit got to the task of
removing Wil’s stuff from her life. I ran past the diner Amber said Dan goes to
and sure enough, there he was, sitting by the window looking glum, on his own.
I tied up Bud and went in for a drink, inwardly praising myself for tucking
some money into the tiny pocket in my shorts. I walked up to where he was
sitting.

“Hi,
you here alone?” I cringed at my cheesy line. Real cool Ella.

“Ella.
Hi. Yeah I’m alone, do you want to join me?” he looked so lost, I couldn’t
bring myself to leave him.

“Only
if you do me one little favour.” I don’t know why I felt the need to
demonstrate the meaning of little using my fingers, what’s wrong with me? I’ve
gone all gaga in his presence.

“I
won’t mention her or the baby, scouts honour.” He smiled.

“No,
no that’s fine, I can’t expect you not to talk about your life if we’re going to
be friends. I was going to ask you if you’d mind bringing your drink outside, I
have Bud tied up out there and he’ll start barking for me soon.” I pointed out
to Bud who was laid on his back like a stuck tortoise shuffling around trying
to satisfy an itch. Dan laughed at him and we made our way outside. Dan made a
fuss of Bud and Bud was in love with him for it immediately, just like his
human companion was. His smell was intoxicating and I needed a distraction
otherwise I was going to jump him.

“Do
you always take him running with you?” he asked as if he sensed my need for
distraction.

“Most
of the time, yeah. He likes the exercise and I like the company.” I patted Buds
head.

“He’s
awesome.” Dan giggled as Bud rubbed himself around my legs.

We
sat and chatted for a while, both pretending we were doing better than we
actually were. It was nice to spend some time with him and not actually cry for
a change. When Bud started whimpering with boredom I knew my time was up so I
stood to leave.

“It
was really nice to see you.” I gave him a quick hug.

“You
too gorgeous girl. Nice to meet you Bud.” He bent to pat Bud goodbye and I felt
a sadness that we were parting ways again. “Take care of her for me, ok.” 
Bud liked his hand in agreement.

“Maybe
I should let you take him so that he can take care of you.” I reached out and
stroked his arm.

“Maybe
we should run off back to Bali and take care of each other Ella, to hell with
everyone else.” He took hold of my hand for a brief moment and then let go.

“That
would be awesome, let me know when you want to go.” I laughed. I need to leave
now before I beg him to come with me. I popped my earbud in and raised my hand
as a final goodbye before running off. All the way home I replayed his request
over in my mind wishing that he was being serious, knowing I would leave in a
heartbeat if he was.

Brit
had been busy while we were out. When Bud and I got back she had piled
everything belonging to Wil into bags and put it near the door.

“He’s
coming for that tonight, I’m going out to avoid him, are you going to be
around? Don’t worry if you’re not, I’ll just put it outside.” She went to grab
a bottle of water from the fridge.

“I’ll
be around.” I said catching the bottle of water she threw to me. “So, where are
you going tonight?” surely two nights in a row is too much for Jonathan, even
if he has turned over a new leaf.

“Well,”
she blushed and started looking coy, “Justin is taking me out for a drink.
We’re just friends at the moment but who knows. I kinda like him and he kinda
likes me so we’re gonna see what happens.” I gave her a hug.

“I’m
so happy for you Brit, Justin is lovely. I hope he’s not taking you to a
karaoke bar though.” I shuddered. Brit shook her head.

“No,
there’ll be no karaoke tonight, I hope not anyway. I’d like to be able to talk
to him and not just sit and watch him sing all night.” We laughed, Justin did
love his karaoke but if Brit could live with that then great, I’m happy for
her.

“How
about you.” She asked “Any plans for tonight?” I wondered if she meant was I
going to get drunk and cry over Dan again.

“Well,
don’t get jealous when I tell you this but when we were out running, Bud asked
me if I would like to cuddle him on the sofa tonight and watch some crap T.V. I
said yes, I hope you don’t mind.” I put my hand on her shoulder and a mock
sorry look on my face.

“Oh,
Bud, you little Casanova!” she bent down and stroked the dog who was about to
take off from wagging his tail so hard.

“I
need a shower. What time are you going out?” I asked getting a sudden whiff of
myself.

“Not
until seven but I’ve showered already so go for your life stink bomb, it’s all
yours” she slapped my back and scrunched her face up. Thank goodness I hadn’t
ran too far before I saw Dan, I doubt he’d have offered to run away with me
smelling like this. I showered and made a sandwich and settled on the couch
with my faithful friend. I almost forgot about Wil coming round until he
knocked. I opened the door, he was alone and I realised the last time I saw him
he was doing the horizontal shuffle with Nadia. I blushed as I tried to shake
the image out of my head.

“‘Hi
Wil, come in. Brit’s not here but she left your stuff right there. How are
you?” I asked, like I cared.

“I’m
ok Ella, thanks. How are you?” he asked, like he cared.

“Just
fine, thanks. Do you want a drink or anything or have you just come for your
stuff?” Why was I offering him a drink, sometimes I surprise myself?

“Er…I’ll
just take the stuff, thanks for the offer though El, you must hate me and
you’re still being nice.” He picked up his bags and turned to leave.

“I
don’t hate you Wil.” I told him, catching him off guard. He put down the bags
and gave me a hug. “Thanks Ella, and just so you know, she’s done this thing
before, hell, she was pregnant practically every month back in high school. We
thought it had stopped when people stopped believing her when nothing ever came
from it. Any way I guess what I’m saying is, be patient El, Dan will figure it
out eventually.” And he picked up his bags and left. My heart was racing. Maybe
Brit and Amber were right, maybe Rachael is just evil. I began to hope. The
rest of the night was boring, I had text Brit to say Wil had been and gone, she
replied to let me know they weren’t in a karaoke bar, thank goodness for that.
I decided to have an early night, work tomorrow and weirdly I’m looking forward
to it. I love my job and it will keep my mind occupied. As I got into bed I set
the alarm on my phone. Back to reality tomorrow. My phone pinged:

Would you really have given up everything and
ran away with me today?

D xx

I
replied truthfully:

In a heartbeat.

El xx

Ping:

I don’t deserve you gorgeous girl.

D xx

I
replied:

You do, you just need to figure some stuff
out and when you’ve done that come and collect me.

El xx

Ping:

Deal.

D xx