Stockings and Cellulite (41 page)

‘There are dark and evil forces at work in this world,’ I muttered.

‘Have you been overdosing on Doctor Who again?’ asked Morag sharply.

Five minutes later we were working our way through a bottle of scotch.

‘Go easy Julia, you’re driving us back,’ Morag said bossily.

‘Oh cheers.’

‘The only good thing to come out of this,’ I ventured, ‘is that the shock jump-started my overdue period.’

‘About time,’ commented Morag.

‘Mind you, this afternoon it stopped again. Weird.’

‘Menopause,’ Julia muttered.

As December got underway I retreated into a twilight world, seemingly too shocked to function properly. I didn’t go into Hempel Braithwaite for a few days. For once I was glad that Edna was around. An unofficial pattern was established whereby Edna would surface at the crack of dawn and I would later shuffle into the kitchen, still in my dressing gown, to find her standing over the kitchen range.

On this particular Friday morning my future mother-in-law was frying hash browns and tomatoes. Great hunks of buttered wholegrain bread were set upon the table.

‘Good morning Cassandra dear. I should have told you last night but I clean forgot – silly me – I was too preoccupied hanging the new curtains in the lounge.’

I blinked. What new curtains in the lounge? I’d wanted Roman blinds. ‘Er, told me what Edna?’

‘A lady telephoned for you last night but you were in bed.’

‘Was it Morag?’ She’d been ringing me on an almost daily basis, anxiously monitoring my emotional progress.

‘I’m afraid she didn’t tell me her name and by the time I’d thought to ask she’d rung off.’

‘Oh.’ Perhaps it was Nell. Typical of ditzy Nell to forget to say who was calling. ‘Was there a message?’

‘Yes dear. She asked if you could meet her for dinner this evening. She said she had a problem that couldn’t be aired at home.’

Ah. Definitely Nell. Obviously the marital troubles were ongoing and she needed to get something off her chest.

‘Here’s the address.’ Edna moved away from the frying pan and picked up a piece of paper. ‘The Planet Restaurant, Ainsley Ford.’

‘Thanks Edna,’ I tucked the paper into my dressing gown pocket. ‘Meanwhile I’m going to get ready for work.’

Jamie came into the kitchen and caught my last sentence.

‘Is that wise darling?’ He grabbed a loaded breakfast plate with one hand and ruffled my hair affectionately with the other as he sat down. ‘I think you’re still traumatised over your boss’s sudden death.’

‘Jamie’s right,’ said Edna, ‘and lately you’ve been looking terribly tired dear.’

I sighed. ‘I feel constantly exhausted. Actually one of the reasons I want to go back to work is to hand in my notice.’

‘Excellent idea,’ said Jamie tweaking my bottom as I brushed past him. ‘Once Mum goes home you’re going to have a full-time job running this place.’

I gave my fiancé a wan smile. ‘Oh, by the way, I’m out with Nell this evening.’

‘Ah,’ Jamie frowned. ‘I’m out too.’

‘Are you? You didn’t say.’

‘Sorry, it slipped my mind. Can you rearrange with Nell? This is something I really don’t want to put off. I’m meeting up with Ethan Fareham. Business.’

‘Don’t worry dear,’ Edna interrupted. ‘I’ll babysit the children. You go and have a nice time with Nell. Do you the power of good.’

‘Okay, thanks. Meanwhile I’d better get my skates on and get to work.’

It was strange to be back at Hempel Braithwaite and not have Martin Henniker breathing fire down my neck. Susannah Harrington wasn’t surprised when I handed her my written resignation.

‘Terrible business,’ she murmured
sotto voce
, ‘but not altogether unexpected.’

‘Well I was absolutely pole-axed Susannah,’ I said in shocked tones.

‘Yes but he did have a very stressful job Cassandra.’

‘What’s choking to death on chocolate cake got to do with Martin Henniker’s stress levels?’

‘But Cassandra, Martin Henniker didn’t choke to death – he died of a heart attack!’

‘Heart attack?’

‘Yes!’

My face broke out in a huge grin. I was innocent! ‘But that’s absolutely brilliant news!’

‘Sorry?’

‘Fantastic!’ I jumped up and punched the air with delight.

‘Cassandra I know you didn’t see eye to eye with Martin but I really wouldn’t let your
joie de vivre
be on general display. Rather bad form and all that.’

‘Sorry,’ I beamed. ‘Terribly sorry, but you don’t understand. Up until just now I’d been blaming myself for his death, but now you’re telling me his ticker tocked out. Don’t you see? I’m off the hook!’

Susannah gasped. ‘Good Lord! Well I can certainly assure you his death was absolutely nothing to do with your chocolate cake.’ She glanced at the unopened letter in her hand. ‘Do you still want to tender your resignation?’

I hesitated, but only for a second.

‘Yes. I want to concentrate on my family. My
new
family. Life’s too short for stress.’

‘I quite agree dear. However, it would be tremendously helpful if you could stay for the remainder of the month and assist Morag who is initially taking over Martin’s clients.’

This meant my last day at Hempel Braithwaite would literally be the day before flying out to the Bahamas. Oh well, I reflected, there would be plenty of time in the New Year to catch up on the little things in life – like sleep. I hid a yawn in the palm of my hand as Susannah thanked me for my co-operation. Taking this as my cue to leave, I waltzed into Morag’s office.

‘Hiya!’ I trilled. ‘Isn’t life just
fab
ulous! Just look how the spine of those tatty files are frayed to fluffiness and the way the wallpaper peels so attractively over the dirty air vent. Beautiful.’

‘Are you taking happy pills?’ she gave me a sharp look.

‘No of course not!’

‘Final fitting tomorrow.’

‘Final fitting for what?’

‘Our dresses. For the wedding?’ she added when I looked at her blankly. ‘Honestly Cass, sometimes I wonder what planet you’re on.’

‘That reminds me,’ I fished inside my handbag for my mobile phone. ‘Got to text Nell, she didn’t give me a time for our rendezvous this evening.’

I quickly tapped out a message.

Seconds later my mobile bleeped a response.

At lunch time Julia joined us and we remained in Morag’s office, unwilling to brave the freezing elements of the park or squash into Costa Coffee.

‘Glad to be back?’ asked Julia tucking into a hot bacon sandwich and dripping grease down her chin.

‘Feels a bit weird,’ I replied sinking my teeth into a peanut butter and sweet corn bagel which, for some strange reason, I’d been craving all morning.

‘Bound to,’ Morag nodded her head in recognition of this.

‘So what have I missed out on while I’ve been away?’ I turned to Julia. How’s your love-life?’ I grinned.

‘Actually I’ve been dumped.’ Julia’s bottom lip wobbled violently.

‘What?’ Morag and I chorused together. ‘Why?’

‘Oh you know, the usual male thing. Miles couldn’t take any more of being frogmarched past jewellery shops stuffed with engagement rings or listen to hints about Spring being a marvellous time to get married.’

‘Ah. Men,’ I nodded sagely.

‘Let’s face it,’ said Morag, ‘all women’s problems start with men. There’s
men
tal illness,
men
strual cramps and
men
tal breakdown.’

I joined in gamely, ‘
Guy
nocologist and
his
terectomy.’

‘And don’t forget
men
opause,’ Julia added giving me a pointed look.

Cheeky mare.

Once home I saw Jamie only very briefly.

‘Do you want my bath water darling?’ I asked emerging from the bathroom with a fluffy towel around me.

‘No, I haven’t got time. I’ll have one later,’ said Jamie discarding his uniform and plucking a denim shirt from the wardrobe. ‘I’d better get a move on as I’m running late,’ he said, fingers quickly doing up buttons. ‘Give my love to Nell.’

‘I will. By the way Mr Mackerel,’ I called after my fiancé. Jamie turned and looked back at me.

‘You are incredibly handsome in that denim shirt. Brings out the blue in your eyes.’

‘If you play your cards right,’ Jamie winked, ‘I’ll let you take it off my back later.’

‘You’re on. You’d better go darling, don’t keep Ethan waiting.’

‘Ethan?’ Jamie stared at me blankly.

‘Yes. Your business meeting?’

‘Oh. That Ethan. Yes, of course. Will do darling. See you later.’

‘See you,’ I gazed after Jamie, suddenly disconcerted. How many Ethans did he know?

I drove down the narrow winding lanes of Ainsley Brook and arrived at The Planet bang on half past seven.

Walking into the bar area I searched for Nell’s blonde head in a sea of faces. There was no sign of her. Suddenly I noticed a horribly familiar pair of broad shoulders encased in a check shirt. The owner caught sight of me and blanched. It was Euan. The love rat kitchen fitter. Even worse, his flame-haired wife was perched on a stool next to him. She had clocked her husband’s frozen expression and was already following the direction of his disbelieving gaze. Her eyes hooked on mine and widened as recognition dawned.

Horrified I darted off towards the restaurant area. Where was Nell? Ducking and diving between tables and diners stuffed into the restaurant’s candlelit nooks and crannies, I hurriedly searched for the whereabouts of my friend. She was nowhere to be found. And then suddenly, like a bad television repeat, I noticed another pair of familiar broad shoulders, except these shoulders were heart-achingly well-known and encased in the denim shirt he’d put on less than an hour earlier.

I ground to a halt and stared in utter disbelief at Jamie. He was engaged in earnest conversation with an Angelina Jolie look-a-like seated opposite him. Selina.

As if on cue Selina caught my eye. She acknowledged my presence with the tiniest inclination of her head. A malicious grin played about her mouth. For a moment I could only gape. And then everything fell into place. This was my anonymous caller. This was the person who had whispered I was a bitch – who had dared to ring my work place and declare her hatred. This was the person who had telephoned Jamie’s mobile when I’d eavesdropped outside the study door. And this was the person who’d rung our home last night to send me on this evening’s wild goose chase.

As I stared at her beautiful face, the bottom of my world fell out. Jamie of all people. My Jamie. The man I’d thought so decent, so honourable, who’d professed to be heartbroken over his dead wife. The man who had fooled me into believing that I’d been the woman to mend his shattered heart. Not only was I reeling from the hurt of his betrayal, I was staggered at his disregard for our children and the effect our splitting up would have upon them – for make no mistake, I wasn’t sticking around to be betrayed by another philandering Casanova.

A red mist descended as fury washed over me. How dare he? And how dare
she
! Enraged I marched over to their table. I’d been a participant in this scenario before. However the last time had seen me sitting down at the table with Euan while his wife made free with the table contents. This time there was a change in characters and my role was now standing room only, but no matter. I could remember how the play unfolded and would rework the lines.

‘You
bastard
!’ I shrieked, swiftly weaving through the dining room’s obstacle course of customers, tables and chairs. Once again the background babble dropped to a highly charged silence, this time all eyes firmly on table twenty-six.

‘Cassie!’ Jamie looked up, appalled.

‘
Cassie
,’ I mimicked.

‘Sorry you had to find out this way,’ Selina murmured.

‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Jamie growled at her.

‘You lied to me,’ I prodded Jamie hard on the shoulder. ‘And what I want-’

prod prod

‘Is for you-’

prod prod

‘To sod off-’

prod prod

‘You WHORE!’

Bugger. I should have started the prodding with Selina. Was it too late to start again? Yes, certainly with that army of waiters gathering over there.