“This doesn’t have to be the end for us either, unless you want it to be?” Cilla said, kissing his cheek, “obviously I’ll be out of commission for a while, but I’m having a baby, right? I’m not dying!”
Kaelan caught Dave’s eye over her shoulder, the man simply winked at him. He didn’t know whether he wanted to keep the sexual side of the relationship going, and he thought that Dave might lose interest in sharing her, now that he was finally going to be a Father.
“Let’s see how it goes, shall we?” he replied, not wanting to pour oil on untroubled waters, “you probably won’t feel like it very much once the baby’s here.”
“Hmmmm true,” Cilla chuckled, “but I promise to be a pain in the arse all the way through it. And I’m certain that I’ll be ready to be your bitch again before too long.”
As he drove away to get the kids sorted, and to prepare for his date with Mandy, Kalen couldn’t believe what had happened. He was going to be a not-Dad, and he couldn’t be more pleased. If anyone deserved to be happy it was Cilla and Dave.
*****
Sophie crawled off the sofa and staggered to the front door to meet Howie and the kids, she wasn’t pissed, just slightly numb, she’d drunk enough to take the edges off.
“Where are they?” she asked him, peering over his shoulder to confirm he was alone.
“Not here,” he snapped, tossing his car keys into the tub by the kitchen door, “Kaelan wouldn’t let them come. He said you won’t be seeing them until he’s sorted out proper visitation rights through social services.”
She almost collapsed, “What? Why? He can’t do that!”
Howie went into the kitchen and she trailed miserably behind him.
“I’m afraid he can, we can challenge it legally of course, but for the moment, we’re going to have to be realistic. He has all the power where the kids are concerned.”
Sophie’s chest felt like it was going to explode, like her heart was going to thunder and drum its way out through her ribs. She clutched at her throat and sobbed in dry lungsful of air.
“Did, did he say…why?”
Her lover turned his nose up as he slipped onto one of the tall stools around the central island, and picked up a magazine. It was a gleaming wasteland of a room, all white tiles and chrome. Everything was white, it was like living in the aftermath of a flashbulb.
“He told me that you were a ‘fucking irresponsible slag, and that you would see the kids when hell was frozen over, if he had his way. Taking down the video didn’t seem to appease him.”
She resisted the urge to scream and throw something at him, “that fucking video! You should never have filmed it, I should never have listened to you. Of course, someone would see it, fucking…”
He slammed his hand down on the marble surface of the island, making her jump, “don’t start with that bollocks, you weren’t forced to do anything. All the risks, all the danger, you loved every minute. It was all shits and giggles until we got caught, well let me tell you something sweetheart, thems the breaks.” He gave her a lingering glare and then went back to his article about high performance cars.
Sophie was open-mouthed. Part of what he said was fair, she had wanted it, she had enjoyed the risks, but he was the one who’d pushed her, cajoled her, coaxed her, wheedled his way to get what he wanted, and now he didn’t seem to give a toss.
With a sniff, she picked up the landline secured to the wall by the pantry and dialled her home number. Her old home number, she thought, a thought which was like a lemon juice poured onto a paper cut. It rang so long that she considered giving up, but then it was picked up.
“Hello, Cope residence.”
“Mum? What are you doing there?”
Her Mother’s voice went taciturn, “Kaelan is out for the evening, and he didn’t want Carys to have all the responsibility of looking after Finlay. I said I’d help out, of course.”
The impact of her tone of voice was cancelled out by the news that Kaelan was out for the evening, “where is he?”
“It’s not my place to say, is it? But I think he may be out on a date.”
That sent a cold, hard lump falling from her throat to her stomach, “a date?”
“I suspect so, what do you want Sophie?” it was clipped, bordering on hostile, it took her aback. She realised that she hadn’t spoken to her Mum for a while, what had Kaelan told her?
“I…um…just wanted to speak to the kids, as Kael isn’t there.”
There was a pause, “I’m sorry, he specifically told me that you weren’t to see them or speak to them. As he’s the parent in place, I have to do as he directs, I’m afraid. You’ll have to talk to him about it. Now I’m sorry, but I must help Finn with his homework. I’ll see you soon.”
The line went dead, and it was like a actual death. Sophie felt even more like a phantasm.
*****
Kaelan was still fuming after the visit from Howie, how dare Sophie send that fucking prick to pick up his children! He was lucky not to have left in an ambulance. He drove through the quiet streets to the address Mandy had given him. The satnav was behaving, and it said he would get there in ten minutes. He was in the middle of the industrial estate, surely, she didn’t live here? There weren’t any houses around, as far as he was aware.
The satnav told him, in the voice of Darth Vader, to take the next right, but it was a suspicious looking lane. “You must be joking Darth, it can’t be down there.” He stopped opposite the turning and only decided to take it when an impatient lorry driver blasted him with his horn.
It was quite narrow, flanked by overgrown hedges and had a trail of grass growing down its centre. This couldn’t be it, and yet in four hundred yards Darth Vader was certain he would reach his destination. Just as he had given up hope and started to yell at his Imperial satnav, he rounded a corner and was surprised to find a row of three cute little cottages.
He checked the address and found that Mandy’s was the middle one. It was beautiful, with a thatched roof, mullioned windows and the front was covered with red and pink roses. Kaelan pulled up outside and killed the engine. All the anger drained away and he suddenly felt nervous. Mandy wasn’t like Cilla or Paula, she was classy, more refined, more of a challenge?
He clambered out, checked his reflection in the car window and opened the little wooden gate. It was like a chocolate box, and so incredibly out of place in the middle of an industrial estate. The scent from the roses was thick in the air as he pulled the old-fashioned door bell.
Mandy answered almost immediately, Kaelan had to catch his breath. Her honey-coloured hair had been fashioned into a shining cascade of loose ringlets and she was wearing a 1950s style skin tight dress, which was bright blue bringing out the colour of her eyes.
“Welcome Kaelan, would you like to come in?” she stood aside, but Kaelan was struck dumb for a moment, he couldn’t stop drinking in the sight of her, which made her giggle.
“Yes…umm... Thank you! These are for you,” he handed her the flowers he’d picked up on the way back from Cilla’s place. They looked a bit paltry compared to the riot of colours and scents in her small front garden.
“They’re gorgeous, that’s very kind of you. Just go right through to the kitchen, I’m finishing the starters. I hope you’re hungry?”
He was. The passage-way was short and homely, the walls were thick and irregular, and they were adorned with small watercolours of the local area. He stopped to look at one that portrayed one of his favourite places on the planet.
“Do you like it?”
“Very much, it’s my thinking place. I go there when I’m not sure about something, or I’m stressed. It’s so peaceful. It’s very well done, who painted it?”
“I did,” she said matter-of-factly.
Kaelan looked at her admiringly, “It’s fantastic. Are these all painted by you?”
She shrugged, “most of them. It’s a hobby now. At one time I painted professionally, but I found it killed the joy for m
e. It became a job. I’d rather do something mundane and routine for money, not leech something to death by turning it into commerce.”
He didn’t say anything to that, it was a noble sentiment, but he wasn’t sure that he could make such a choice. If professional rugby had panned out he would have undoubtedly sold what he loved for money.
Mandy surprised him even more profoundly during dinner. She was intelligent, refined, driven, but by the things she loved not by what other people thought, or by the desire to own material things. She was a breath of fresh air.
Once they’d eaten, in the kitchen Mandy led him through to the small reception room facing out onto the front garden. The window was open and the sound of birdsong sounded so incongruous against the background of industry that existed a mere stone throw away.
He sat on the couch and was a little disappointed when she took the chair opposite. While she looked under some magazines on the coffee table for the sound system remote, he allowed himself to take in her glorious figure. Her dress hugged under her high round boobs and outlined the sweep from her waist to her hips. She crossed her legs as she leaned back and turned on some light classical music, his mouth went dry.
The talk was as pleasant and easy as it had been during their meal and he completely lost track of time. One thing he discovered was that he loved making her laugh, it was a perfect accompaniment to the music.
It was about eleven thirty when Mandy leaned forward and said, “you know, we won’t be spending the night in bed Kaelan, I’m sorry.”
He almost spat his red wine, “I…”
She chuckled and reached across to pat his knee, “it isn’t that I’m not attracted to you, and I told you already that I like a little fun now and again, it’s just that I like to really get to know someone first.”
“I understand,” he replied, trying to hide his surprise and disappointment, if he was being truly candid with himself, he’d expected to end up in her bed, and he wanted it even more now that it wasn’t going to happen.
“I hope you don’t think I’m a tease, but I like the chase almost as much as the finale.”
Kaelan took a sip of his drink and stared at her, should he be annoyed? Was she basically telling him that he had no chance, that this was just an elaborate prank. Was he a means of boosting her ego? He waited for her to continue.
“Look,” she said sitting forward again, “I haven’t been completely honest with you,” Kaelan steeled himself for the humiliation he felt sure was coming his way, “you see, Kaelan, I’m not really married.” He let out a breath that he hadn’t been aware he was holding. “I mean, I was married, but my husband, Gregor, he died four years ago.”
“I’m so sorry,” he didn’t know what else to say in response to such a revelation.
“It’s okay, but thank you. He was an officer in the navy, one night they went out in a dinghy to investigate something in the North Atlantic, well he disappeared. None of the four men in that boat were ever found. I still have hope, that maybe someday, well…”
“That he might be found?”
“Yes, I know it’s silly but I love… loved him so much,” she sat back and grabbed a hanky from under one of the cushions. The tears didn’t flow, but her eyes reddened and her voice cracked.
“It’s not silly at all, I completely get it. And you tell people that you’re married to keep the predators at bay, is that it?”
She blew her nose softly and nodded. When she could speak again, she confirmed what he’d surmised. “I have had a dalliance or two, I’m only human, but I don’t want anything more. I feel guilty every time. Does that make sense?”
Kaelan wasn’t sure what made sense any more where love and sex were concerned, but it didn’t feel like the time to say it.
“I do, I totally get it, honestly,” and suddenly he did, it was a huge relief. He felt all the pressure of trying to seduce her, even though he’d only been operating at a low level, disappear.
They talked about anything and everything, except the disaster his own marriage had become, and it was one of the nicest evenings he’d had for a long time.
“I’ve had a wonderful time Kaelan, thank you so much for your company. Maybe we could do it again sometime?” She leaned in to kiss him, and he was pleased to feel nothing but warmth and compassion for her. She truly was a fabulous woman.
“Anytime, thank you for the delicious meal and for your company too.” He turned and began the walk down the path to his car.
“Kaelan,” he looked back, “I’m not saying that there won’t be a finale, I hope you know that.”
He did, but he could also live without one. For the first time in a long while, he felt close to normal. That not everything in life, not even relationships with women, had to be about sex.
“I know Mandy, but you’ve given me something very special tonight. Thank you.” He waved and got back in his car. She had given him something special, she’d given him something back, something he thought he’d lost. What a marvellous person she was.
Chapter 17: The slide
Sophie braced herself against the tiled wall of the shower and bit her lip as the water virtually scalded her, she needed to be cleansed. Something was wrong with her and she couldn’t comprehend what it was. Howie had gone to work whistling and happy, while she’d stayed in bed until the last possible minute.
The isolation was overwhelming. To be cut off entirely from her family, coupled with the limited contact she’d had with friends, even Jess, was unbearable. Had she become such a pariah? Did she deserve to be cast out? People had affairs, marriages ended, what was so bad about her situation? About her?
Going to work, boring as it was, did at least give her some human contact beyond Howie and the men he seemed determined to pimp her out to. It was absurd. Before she met Kaelan, she’d had seven sexual partners, since she’d been with Howie she’d fucked easily three times that many. It made her cunt pulse at the same time as her heart sink. What on Earth was she doing?
She’d thrown away her life to become a hooker. No, she was exaggerating, feeling sorry for herself. She also hoped that this was just a hiatus, she wanted to go home. She wanted her kids back. She wanted to be with Kaelan, she was desperate to get back to normal.
The shower took longer than it should so she had less time than usual to get dressed.
Sophie put on a white clingy blouse and a tight black pencil skirt, she inspected herself in the wardrobe mirror. She didn’t feel sexy but she didn’t look too bad, considering how she felt. Her thoughts went to Kaelan, she wondered about his new job, whether it was working out, was he happy? She missed him cruelly. The possibility that he might have found someone else, and not just a regular fuck with that slag Cilla, made her breath shorten.
On an impulse, she picked up her phone and dialled Kaelan’s number. It rang until the voice mail kicked in, but even that was a standard communication, her husband had never gotten around to recording a message.
Rather than give in to the gloom she immediately sent a text to Jess.
[Sophie]: Hey stranger fancy a coffee and catch up later? X
There was no instant reply, so she chucked down her breakfast, grabbed her things and went into overdrive to avoid being late. Grace had been as good as gold, but she felt that even her patience was being stretched to breaking point.
*****
If the work had been tedious before, without the foundation of her family around her, it had become all but intolerable. Her earlier ideas about vital human contact dissipated like so much vapour. Sophie went through her email as quickly as she could, but there were one or two diversions into social media. As long as the work was done it wasn’t a big issue. She sighed as she read another complaint from Derek, a co-worker who just refused to buckle down and get on with it. Bloody whinger.
A new message appeared. It was from Howie. Sophia have someone coming to you in 30 minutes. He needs a reward for services rendered. I want you to service him for me H x
&nb
sp; Her whole body trembled, the thoughts she’d had before about becoming a prostitute came careening back into her mind, and she tutted loudly to herself. She wrote a response, erased it, and then wrote it out word-for-word again. How dare Howie treat her like this, unless it was a joke, but that didn’t seem likely. Howie wasn’t blessed with much of a sense of humour.
No Howie, I‘m working. I can’t just do that, and I wouldn’t even if I was at home. I’m not your sex slave.
She didn’t put a kiss on it, hoping that it would reinforce the message. She wouldn’t be his whore.
Listen to me Sophia, if you don’t do as I say, our little video will be on its way to your boss. Understand me?
A Shared Wife Stolen Page 15