Minnie Chase Makes a Mistake (21 page)

 ‘There is one other thing,’ said Minnie.

‘
He
wants to break up with
me
?’ snapped Bachmann. ‘And he sent
you
to tell me?’ 

He. Me. You. Minnie physically felt the intonation in those three words. It was like sharp steel pins in a voodoo curse. She flinched. 

She could have sweetened the message but the facts remained the same. Greene did not want to get married to Bachmann. 

Bachmann was absolutely bewildered. Minnie realised that this was a woman who had not experienced much rejection in her lifetime. 

‘He couldn’t tell me himself?’ asked Bachmann.

‘He…’ Minnie tried to respond but Bachmann suddenly cut her off.

‘No one breaks up with Bachmann!’ The grammatical shift to the third person now sounded like political fighting talk.

Minnie chewed her lip nervously, knowing that whatever she said right now would not be well received. 

‘Does he plan to hide from the world forever?’ questioned Bachmann. Her lips were pulled into a tight line. 

‘He doesn’t want to get married,’ Minnie said quietly.

‘He needs me more than ever.’

‘I’m not sure he feels the same way.’

‘Men like Greene don’t have feelings. He will be fine.’

‘He just needs…’ 

‘He
knows
I’m planning to announce my candidacy for the State Governorship,’ rasped Bachmann, interrupting Minnie once more. She looked incredulous. ‘Why would he do this?’

Minnie had a pretty good idea. He was cutting ties with everyone; determined to retreat so no one could watch his demise into a cruel illness. She didn’t voice this opinion.

‘I know you have a mutually beneficial, er, arrangement,’ said Minnie carefully. ‘Greene donates money to your campaign while your political, um…’ she was going to say ‘influence’ but changed her mind and said, ‘…
reach
is useful in business.’

Bachmann glared at Minnie. ‘Get to the point.’

‘The wedding is off but it doesn’t mean the break-up can’t be handled in a civilised and…’ Minnie paused again, trying really hard to say the right thing, ‘mutually beneficial manner.’ 

‘Ashton Greene doesn’t get to break up with me. I can’t break up with him. Your not-so-private tête-à-tête at The Savoy has seen to that. We’re stuck with each other. I can’t leave someone who is…’ she hesitated and opted for a politically correct assessment, ‘…medically challenged. He can’t leave me because Greene Inc does very well out of my political connections, thank you very much!’

‘You both want the same thing, sort of,’ said Minnie lamely. 

‘Pah!’ snorted Bachmann. ‘You’re forgetting that I know the man. Greene
always
wants more.’

‘He admires you. He told me so.’

‘So now what?’

Minnie offered a carefully-hedged answer. ‘Greene wants me to orchestrate the perfect break-up.’

Bachmann’s eyes lit up with an interested glint. ‘Is he suggesting that both parties can exit this relationship with no damage whatsoever to reputation and business?’ 

Minnie nodded. Finally,
she had Bachmann’s undivided attention.

‘The perfect break-up?’ repeated Bachmann.

Minnie nodded again.

‘Genius. I love an oxy
moron
!’ laughed Bachmann, her lungs blasted out a gust of air that landed on the last syllable, which, although unintentional, unfortunately reminded Minnie that she was never far from stupid.

Bachmann’s shook her head and looked bemused. ‘And how does one propose to do this, Miranda Chase?’ she asked. 

But Minnie, the supposed hardened brainiac, didn’t have an answer. 

Perfect chaos indeed. 

Bachmann swivelled around on the picnic bench to face Minnie. ‘Let me know when you work out the fine details to this perfect break-up. In the meantime, I will help you with your apology, or whatever it is that Greene wants, purely because I happen to be feminist friendly.’

‘You sound like an intimate hygiene product,’ said Minnie truthfully.

Bachmann laughed. It was a relaxed laugh though, not a theatrical guffaw that Minnie had heard her release in front of a crowd. ‘I see that you’re still working on that goal, the one where we think before we speak,’ she said.

There was a genuine pause on Minnie’s part. ‘I do think,’ she said, watching waves drag shells back into the sea. ‘I think too much. That’s the problem.’

‘Well, I couldn’t possibly encourage a woman to think
less
, especially as I’m so…’ she paused dramatically, ‘feminist friendly. This must mean there is no cure for you.’

Minnie could detect no meanness or malice in Bachmann’s voice. 

‘I’m so sorry that I can’t take back what I said at The Savoy,’ said Minnie.

‘I don’t understand why you care so much,’ said Bachmann. ‘You don’t know me or Greene.’

‘I hurt you. I hurt him.’

‘Votes and stocks,’ answered Bachmann with a shrug. ‘You need to grow a thick skin in this business, Miranda. Greene knows that, too.’

‘It’s more than that though, isn’t it? What about your wedding?’

‘You’re not going to sit there and make a case for true love, surely?’

Minnie considered her hopeless situation with James George. She paused, ‘I suppose not,’ she said. 

‘Oh shit,’ said Bachmann. ‘What’s his name?’

Minnie had no intention of talking about James George to anyone, least of all to Parker Bachmann but she couldn’t stop the words rushing out. It was an avalanche
effect.

‘The worst part is that I forgave him the minute I saw him in bed with someone else,’ babbled Minnie, head in her hands. ‘What kind of person does that make me? I want him back. I don’t care what he has done.

‘I’ve looked to the future and I see the memories we will make. I know what our three children are called. I’ve bought the curtains for a family home we don’t even own yet. It is not just about the past five years. It’s about a future we were supposed to have together. It was meant to be. I don’t know how to
be
without him.’

Bachmann sat and didn’t say a word. She had stopped staring out to sea and was looking at Minnie.

Minnie clutched her stomach. ‘I have this shocking ache that threatens to derail me. I can’t go back to being the person I was before James George loved me. I was no good. I saw myself as this unpretty person who had mathematical excellence going for her and nothing else. James George changed that. He’s given me confidence and self-esteem. He asked me to marry him and it was the best feeling in the world. He is a good person who made a mistake. We
all
make mistakes.’

The crashing waves took over the silence when Minnie stopped talking. The wedding was already planned in Minnie’s head. It was going to be small and simple. She would buy an off-the-peg wedding dress and borrow her mother’s jewellery. She had decided on dried rose petals to be thrown as confetti and silver ribbons tied around the chairs.

‘I’m starting
to really like the idea of the perfect break-up,’ said Bachmann eventually, attempting to lighten the mood. ‘By the looks of it,’ she added, staring at Minnie, who was still holding her stomach, ‘true love sounds worse than major abdominal surgery without anaesthetic.’

Minnie nodded.

‘Why do you want to get married so much, Miranda?’ questioned Bachmann quietly.

Minnie shrugged. ‘I’m a conformist. I like security. I want to be normal. Like everyone else.’

‘No one is normal, Miranda,’ said Bachmann gently. ‘No one is perfect either.’ She paused and added playfully, alluding to herself, ‘Well, okay, maybe
some
people are more perfect than others.’

‘I just want to get married to James George and put all this drama behind us.’

Bachmann looked Minnie in the eye and said, ‘You’re the mathematician, not me, but even I can see this man sounds like a variable in your life. I don’t think you’re going to work him out.’ 

‘Have you worked Greene out?’

Bachmann shrugged. ‘Ashton is a genius at making money but he has yet to realise that making people happy requires considerably more investment.’

Minnie could detect a veil of sadness hanging over the sentence.  

Realising that it was getting too personal, Bachmann changed the subject. It was a smooth move. 

‘Did you
really
get arrested?’ There was an amused gleam in her eyes.

Minnie turned and faced Bachmann. ‘How did you know about that?’

‘Ashton’s helicopter was spotted making an impromptu visit to a women’s correctional facility out of town. I had it checked out.’

‘Did your sources tell you that I was Tasered, too?’

Bachmann’s bright eyes widened, lashes feathery. It was the first time Minnie had ever seen her speechless. ‘Holy cow,’ she said eventually. ‘I don’t believe it.’

‘It’s true,’ said Minnie dryly. ‘I have the emotional scars to prove it.’

There was a relaxed pause punctuated by a sharp screech from a seagull overhead. It broke the moment. 

‘Let’s drive back into town,’ said Bachmann. She had snapped back into mayor mode. There was work to do. 

‘You go,’ said Minnie. ‘I know someone who lives not far from here.’

Bachmann nodded. She elegantly swung her long legs off the seat and stood facing Minnie. ‘Get in touch with me when you’re ready to talk to the speech writer. I’ll make the arrangements for you.’ And with that she was off, striding across the sand with her shoes in her hand.

Minnie watched her until she disappeared, becoming part of the shimmering heat haze in the distance.

Then she sent a text message to Jackson.

15

Silver Star Grill

Jackson sent a text back. It was late afternoon and he had just finished surfing for the day. Perfect timing, he said. The famous surf break, Mavericks, was just half a mile off shore from Pillar Point. 

Minnie walked to the Silver Star Grill. Cars and pick-up trucks were parked outside. She liked the look of the restaurant – a large, wide wooden veranda with brightly coloured
chairs and tables. Panoramic windows offered an unspoiled view of the ocean. The place had a relaxed atmosphere – informal and fun. 

Jackson had told Minnie he would bring some friends to reassure her that it wouldn’t ‘feel like a date’. She was very glad about that even though she was always nervous when it came to meeting new people.

The surfers had shed their wetsuits like a second skin. The dress code was casual – men in bright board shorts, loose tees and flip-flops. The girls were pretty much dressed in similar fashion, which immediately made Minnie feel out of place. Her knee-length navy dress and sensible T-bar shoes were more suited to an office than a beachside eatery. She hesitated. Then, suddenly, Jackson was in front of her. She was just about to shake hands when he hugged her. The familiar bear hug, lifting her feet off the ground.

‘Hey, good surprise! London’s loss is my gain,’ he said cheerfully. ‘What made you change your mind?’

‘Unfinished business,’ replied Minnie, pulling a ‘don’t-ask’ face.

‘Come inside,’ he said cheerfully. ‘We’ve gone ahead and ordered. Hope you don’t mind.’

Minnie shook her head and Jackson took her drinks order. She asked for a pot of tea. 

She might have been over-dressed but, for once, incredibly, Minnie didn’t need to worry about her careless hair. Most of the other diners had sea-dried hair with twisting spirals creating matted locks. 

Jackson pulled Minnie into a seat next to him and introduced her to the crowd. There was sand over the restaurant floor and nets and creels stuffed into corners to give the place an obvious themed look. It couldn’t be more different from the Bachmann lunch she had sneaked up on earlier that day.

She drank from a mug decorated with a starfish and tried to relax. There was no shortage of conversation that mainly evolved around waves and tide times.   

Jackson ordered a burger called Big Ass Grilled Cheese. Minnie had tacos. Jackson’s friends, like Jackson, had big appetites. Minnie kept a low profile and people-watched – some had gone outside, walking around, the slap of flip-flops against bare feet. In the parking lot, someone was skipping terrifically fast, as boxers do in training.

Minnie noted that the girls had boho charm sporting bracelets, bead necklaces, big hats and sinewy arms from heaving surf boards around. Everyone was warm and welcoming to Minnie. She began to relax.  

‘It’s a quarter after five,’ said Jackson after they had finished eating. ‘Come down to the beach for the rest of the afternoon.’

Minnie glanced at her watch. ‘I should get back.’

‘What happened to letting go?’ he gave her a quizzical look.

Minnie managed a tired smile. ‘As I said, unfinished business.’

It wasn’t the time or the place to go into detail. Minnie didn’t want to think about Greene or Levchin right now. She needed some sleep.

Jackson and Minnie took their drinks outside. Minnie rested her chin on her hands as she idly listened to Jackson’s friends make plans for the rest of the afternoon. She tasted salt on her skin and could smell it in the air. Jackson tried but couldn’t persuade Minnie to come down to the beach with him while he finished his training. She also insisted that he didn’t need to wait with her until the taxi turned up and eventually, reluctantly, he left. But, before he jogged down towards the beach, surfboard under his arm, they arranged to meet at the diner opposite Minnie’s motel the next day.

Minnie sat quietly and sipped her tea while she waited for the taxi to take her back into town. She wondered if James George was thinking about her. Did she cross his mind? Or was he preoccupied with thoughts about Vicki – the bouncing blonde with beautiful breasts. 

While she was lost in thought, a stunning girl approached Minnie’s table. She was carefully carrying a teacup and saucer.

‘Hello, I’m Beth. It’s Minnie, isn’t it? I’m pleased to meet you. Do you mind if I join you?’

Minnie jumped out of her chair and shook the girl’s hand. ‘Please, sit down.’