Finding Izzy

by Nanette Fox

  “Goodness, that will be quite a step, although I suspect most of the men we know, would take it off you in a heartbeat.”

  “No, I don’t want to see it anymore, it has to go.”

  “And then the house, Tim is going to draw me a new one, and we’ll get a puppy.”

  Lucy corrected her, “Design, I think you mean?” but thought to herself that is telling.

  *

  Two days later, Isabella was back in the gallery. She gathered the three of them together for a meeting. Julia and Rebecca noticed she was still not completely herself. Rebecca knew Isabella was staying with her parents. Her mother had told her it was best for a little while. She seemed vague and preoccupied. The first item of agenda was a surprise though, she was now to be called whatever anyone felt comfortable with, it could be Isabella, or Izzy. Julia and Rebecca shared an amused glance.

  The second item another surprise. A discussion about what vehicles were practical for the gallery. Julia spoke, “Both Rebecca and I have our personal cars, and we have the SUV for anything we need to collect or deliver, it’s really the gallery vehicle.”

  Rebecca spoke, “Yes the SUV is the business vehicle.”

  “Why?” she queried. “I am going to sell the Mercedes, I will get a personal car for myself, something I want but I thought about getting another business vehicle too.”

  Julia answered, “We don’t really need another business vehicle, however, with Tim using the SUV, we have been stuck a few times.”

  “So maybe I should buy him a car?”

  Julia stopped her, “Izzy that would be over the top ridiculous.”

  “And you know what, I think he would hate it.”

  Rebecca could see a row brewing, “Maybe another SUV is a good idea, for the business,” she soothed.

  Over a cup of coffee, they discussed the current stock. They talked about the popularity of some items, and as they carried out full stock-takes on an almost monthly basis, they discussed some of the items that had been hanging around and potential discounting. They discussed how Tim had begun to improve the appearance of many of the displays as he built specific cabinetry. He had also moved around entire areas to make the most of the natural and artificial light. They agreed he was certainly a great addition, workwise, to their little team.

  Isabella spoke about Julia leaving to go back to Italy after she was married. They discussed whether they would take someone else on in the gallery. They realized Tim was getting busy with his architecture work, and they knew whilst he would still have time to do some things for them, it wouldn’t be forever. What they did agree on was that it had been an excellent idea of Isabella’s to want to attach an architect to the gallery. It gave them design credibility and was drawing in many professional enquiries.

  Isabella piped up, “He is nice to look at too.” She said it with such seriousness the other two looked at her and all three dissolved into hysterical laughter.

  Rebecca crying with laughter said, “Yes, a tick to the new attractive male display.”

  Julia giggling said, “Ladies, stop, we are being sexist!”

  Isabella asked Julia, “When will he be back do you think?”

  “Izzy, I am sorry, I don’t know.”

  Rebecca said, “Izzy, why don’t you ring him?”

  Her reply, “I can’t, he has to tell me it is okay, that it doesn’t matter to him, I wrote him a letter,” was a little odd. Rebecca remembered the ‘pie with sauce’ and the handwritten note, she’d let Julia in on it later.

  Chapter 17

  The Bare Facts and a Puppy

  Late that same afternoon, as they were closing up and Isabella had popped out for a little while Julia asked Rebecca if she knew about the letter. Julia had her protective big sister hat on. Rebecca reminded Julia of the ‘pie with sauce’ package. She told Julia that it was just as well that Tim didn’t simply bin it. She explained how when she saw him take the sauce sachet out before he put it in the microwave, she had noticed it was wrapped up and tied with ribbon, a folded note on Isabella’s stationery.

  Rebecca said, “Julia, he didn’t look happy at what it said, in fact, I would say displeased.”

  Julia simply said, “Oh good lord, what now?”

  Rebecca said, “It was distinctly odd, you know you might put a cute little post-it in or something, but this was a carefully written letter.” Julia was really worried now.

  Rebecca said, “Mum was asking about Izzy and Tim?”

  “I was trying to get some information as to why she wanted to know but Mum clammed up.”

  Julia said nervously, “I think I’ll give Tim a call.”

  “I am really worried, and I need answers before I go away tomorrow. He wants to be in a relationship with Isabella so badly. I hope she doesn’t want to be ‘just friends’ or she has manufactured some other problem.”

  At that moment, David came in the door, “Hi Sis, how are you?”

  “Hey is Isabella around.”

  “Dave you can call her, whatever you like, Isabella or, Izzy. As of our meeting a few hours ago it is perfectly acceptable,” said Julia.

  “She will be back shortly and hello to you too,” said Rebecca, irritated he had ignored her.

  “I don’t care what I call her.”

  “Okay then I’ll wait.” Then looking towards Tim’s desk, “Is the kid around?”

  Julia’s temper started to rise. “No, he is not? Why David, what do you want to see Tim for?”

  David replied, “I don’t, I just wanted to see him squirm when I take Isabella to dinner.”

  Isabella returned through the door. “David, what are you doing here?”

  He smiled a flirty smile and said, “I thought you might like to get dinner.”

  Isabella gave him a withering look and said, “Most definitely not.”

  David stepped back a little, grumping at her, “So the kid has got to you, then.”

  Julia was about to step in when Isabella, firmly and with some malice in her tone, said, “David you are not god’s gift to women. And furthermore, I don’t want to see you anymore, for dinners, if it is simply so you can hopefully sleep with me.” The other two very quickly backed away and out of sight.

  David boomed at her, “Isabella, I am your friend, I really like you; how can you say such a thing.”

  “Yes true, you’ve always liked me, you’ve always wanted to look after me, but you don’t love me David and you never will, not enough.”

  He started to say something else and she cut him off. “I am for you, what’s the word? Ah, I know ‘convenient’. You know I was always just there, someone pretty, someone in their sadness who didn’t see you properly, as just a friend.”

  “Geez, Isabella, how can you say that?”

  “Because it is true buddy,” she replied evenly. They stood glaring at each other for a bit then David stormed out the door.

  Isabella looked angrily at Julia and Rebecca as they emerged from the tea-room. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “I am going home.”

  Julia stepped over quite quickly and grabbed her best friend’s arm, "No you are not, you are going to talk to both Rebecca and myself and properly, not the edited ‘Isabella’, the real ‘Izzy.’

  Out in the carpark, David who wasn’t really watching where he was going in his anger, walked into the slightly taller figure of his brother. Tim still had his helmet on and without taking it off flipped up the visor. David looked at him angrily, “She doesn’t want to go to dinner with me. I am pissed, and I reckon it’s your fault.”

  Tim, strengthened by the resolve he had found while with his grandparents, “Damn right she shouldn’t go to dinner with you. It is what dinner leads to you prick!”

  “Timmy boy, you’re getting vicious.” Tim looked into his eyes, somewhat scaring David with his aggressiveness and intensity, “So how is Veronica mate?”

  “She’s away on a conference,” replied David.

  “Ah so you come chasing I
zzy? Bit fickle Davey boy, aren’t you?”

  Then totally unexpected, Tim wriggled where he was standing and unzipping reached into his jacket and pulled the puppy’s head out. David looked in amazement at the tiny sheepdog puppy. “Oh well there is no competition is there?”

  “Isabella is going to be over the moon with that little guy,” David snorted.

  Tim grumbled, “Yeah that is probably all you truly know about her, ‘she wants a puppy’.”

  “I got this little guy up at Gran and Gramps’, their closest neighbour has a litter he is trying to find homes for.”

  “By the way Dave, you need to go and see them, Gran and Gramps.”

  David looked anxiously at Tim and said, “I always find Gramps irritated with me that I won’t go fishing or dirt-bike riding.”

  “I have absolutely no interest in the farm, I hate horses.”

  “Well maybe you need to try, said Tim.”

  “He’s a good man; he is very similar to how Dad was.”

  “Oh, and Gran Rosa’s cooking is still brill.” David said softly, “Dad always used to say ‘brill’, never brilliant.”

  “Dave, I need to get inside and unpack this little guy. Do you want to come and see three 32-year-olds turn into crazy squealing teenagers?”

  The girls were startled when Tim in full leathers and his helmet still on came striding into the office with David hot on his heels. Izzy stood, immediately putting her hand over her mouth, uncertain what to say, looking into Tim’s determined face. He had barely started to say, “I have a present for….”

  Julia, spotting the little head, squealed loudly to Izzy and Rebecca. “It’s a puppy.”

  Rebecca was right at Tim’s side, squealing about it being so cute and tiny, gently pulling it out from inside his jacket. The three grown women were clucking around together, cooing and billing. Tim was turning to say to David, “See, told you they’d all go silly,” when he was almost knocked off his feet by Izzy running into his arms. Her eyes were shining and her smile so wide.

  “It’s not just for you, it’s for Rebecca too, because Julia rang me, and told me Rufus has gone. We’ll get one of our own later, okay,” he whispered softly, looking down at her.

  “Let me get this helmet off.” He got it off and didn’t care what the others thought as he kissed her very deeply and passionately.

  David, looking on firstly at the silliness of the girls about the puppy, and secondly at Izzy almost bowling Tim over, and then the kiss, realized there was nothing here for him and quietly turned and went. Sitting in his car, he mulled over what his brother had said. He tapped his hands on the steering wheel as he absent-mindedly followed the tune on the radio. It was time for him to re-evaluate this life, particularly his personal life. His business life as an accountant was successful; he had always made a complete hash of his personal life. Chasing Isabella had always been the easy way out.

  He had caused himself grief by being overly dramatic about Isabella marrying Isaac. It had just been wounded pride. He’d swept his mother up into the belief he was the distraught wounded lover with a ‘Grand Passionale’ he had written and acted out at every opportunity. After Isaac’s death, he had taken advantage of Isabella’s grief and involved her in a continuous round of half-hearted flings between his broken romances. She was gone now. It seemed Isabella had finally found her way. Looking at his watch, he picked up his phone calling Veronica….

  The puppy had been named ‘Basil.’ He had already done a little puddle on the floor, which in their silliness, they all thought was very cute. Isabella was trying to find something suitable in her storage cupboard to give him some milk. Down on her hands and knees, all Tim could see was her very cute behind in the tight pencil skirt. He was standing watching them, holding a beer, which Isabella had managed to find in the back of her bar fridge under what seemed to be an awful lot of wine bottles. She emerged with a strange looking bit of pottery, but it would do the trick. Tim said to them all, “Ladies I had a very long ride on the bike because of Basil. Do you mind if I go home leaving you to your little ‘Welcome Basil’ party?”

  “No, we don’t mind, they chorused.”

  “Isabella can I have a quick word?”

  Julia piped up, “We had a meeting it can be Izzy now.”

  He laughed, and said again, “Izzy, please, just a quick chat, motioning outside the office.”

  Izzy looked down at her friends, “I think I am in trouble.” Tim grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the statement chairs.

  Sitting on one, he pulled her down into his lap. “Iz, I just wanted to say I got the letter. I can handle the Dave stuff. In fact, I think I have already had it out with him a little. And the thing is I thought that was what was happening from the day I came, and you had the big vase of roses. So that wasn’t a surprise.”

  He looked into her eyes, “You have to give me some time about the stuff with Isaac,” he said.

  Tim asked, “Who knows?”

  Izzy said, “Definitely just Lucy; and your dad knew.”

  Tim queried, “My dad?”

  “Do you remember when Lucy and your dad went to London and it was supposedly to see Uncle Robert’s solicitor about my trust fund. It happened then.”

  “No, I don’t really remember,” replied Tim.

  “Well Lucy and Dad certainly kept it to themselves.”

  “Dad certainly never let on to Mum or anyone, I don’t know for sure though.”

  “Izzy, I need time to think.”

  “Are you okay with me doing that for a while?”

  Her heart was sinking just a little, and she meekly replied, “Yep.”

  He could sense she was worried. He squeezed her hand, “It’s not bad for you I just have to take it in.” He pleaded, “Just give me some time to process.” He swung her up and on to her feet. “I have to go, I am exhausted. See you in the morning.” He kissed her very briefly on the lips, held his hand on her cheek, looking down into her eyes. “Night, sweet Izzy.” And he was gone, she heard the bike start up and drive away.

  Rebecca and Julia looked up as she came back in. She made light of her conversation with Tim and just described it as him wanting to kiss her again in private. She didn’t want the others to know or suspect anything was amiss. It would mean dredging up all sorts of memories that were better left buried in the past. Anyway, there was Basil and the three of them were happy.

  Chapter 18

  Refurbishment

  Tim had some spare time late the next week. Knocking on Isabella’s door as he could see she was involved in some paperwork and on the phone. Once she had finished her call, he stepped in and spoke about the night Basil had arrived. He had looked around her office and wanted to fix a few things. He wanted to measure up the space behind her desk to see if it would fit a small wine fridge. He also wanted to see if he could fix the storage cupboard, so it was a little bigger as she obviously needed some additional space.

  He suggested she take her laptop, paperwork and her mobile and use his desk while he measured up and looked to see what he could do. He had a tape, pens, pencils, graph papers, notebooks etc. in his hands, so he meant to do it right now. She liked his tidy office space where she wasn’t tripping over boxes of paper and things that needed to be put away.

  Tim started looking in the cupboards. It was a hotchpotch. He was annoyed to see some of the quality china mugs intended for clients had made their way in here and were shoved away dirty. There were wine glasses in one cupboard and then some more in another. Platters for cheese and wine functions were piled into another cupboard on top of some stiletto heels and two handbags.

  In another cupboard he found a stack of bridal magazines with the customs paperwork Rebecca had been frantically searching for. Basil’s dog food was in the same cupboard as the stationery supplies. He looked under the credenza where the printer/fax and shredder sat to find a rice cooker and a bundle of pale pink lace. He pulled the bundle out and was horrified to find a bra and G-string
. They had been sitting on top of fluffy pale pink jumper. The bottom shelf was empty so there was a box of paper on the floor.

  He went to the cupboard where Izzy had found the pottery ‘dish’ for Basil to find bottom shelves full of broken bits and pieces. One shelf had a stack of empty pizza boxes. By that point, he had enough. The girls had heard all the cupboards being opened and banged shut. He stomped over to the doorway and shouted, “Isabella and Rebecca get in here now.”

  He was standing looking ready to order them about. His hands on his hips and his face dark with anger, he motioned them inside. He shouted at them, “How do you expect to run a successful business?” He went over to the storage cupboard and threw the pizza boxes out onto the floor. He gestured to the broken things, “If they are damaged, write them off and throw them out.”

  “Basil’s food should be in one of the tea-room cupboards.” He looked annoyed at both of them. “You’re slobs.” He pointed at Rebecca and gestured at the desk, “You know those papers you were looking for just yesterday, you will find they are amongst those bridal magazines. You spent at least an hour looking for those, that’s just plain inefficient. I am guessing you girls had a bit of a party the night Basil arrived, but you could have cleaned up; washed the wine glasses and the mugs and put them where they belong.” He went on to exclaim, “What really got me,” he opened the cupboard under the printer, “was this little bundle. What the eff are these doing in this cupboard?” He held up the lacy bra with a pen and in the other hand, he held the G-string. Isabella wished a sinkhole would open swallowing her immediately.

  He stood in the middle of the room. With his arms outstretched motioned around the room. “Is this an office or someone’s home? I really need to know ladies.” He pointed his finger at Rebecca, “Take the rice cooker into the kitchen, and bring back a tray and some rubbish bags.”

  He looked down at Isabella who stood blushing and clutching her underwear. “Tell me something,” as he turned her around to face the couch, “do you sleep here often? Is that David’s ‘lucky’ couch?” She looked at him in horror. “Isabella I am going to completely refurbish this office for you.”