by S M Mala
‘She told him she was in her thirties at the time and dad believed her. He was quite ill. Daddy said she was nice at first then after she had that child; she wasn’t.’ Lottie looked up at Mabel. ‘We used to talk, daddy and I.’
‘She’s like nearly as old at grandma!’ laughed out Jess. ‘She’s like the late fifties.’
‘Really?’ said Mabel, knowing her mother had lied once again about her age.
‘Do you love Alex?’ Lottie asked, making Mabel gasp. ‘Is it serious?’
‘Time will tell,’ she honestly replied.
‘He’s well buff,’ said Jess, grinning. ‘And he knows it.’
‘Don’t be dirty,’ hissed Lottie. ‘He’s mum’s boyfriend that is nice because Rose can stay here with us. They can sleep in the spare room.’
Mabel once again looked at the savvier child, shaking her head from side to side, while smiling at the innocent first born.
‘Thing is my girls; you must help me decide about daddy’s specimen or the whole thing’s going to have to go to court. Then who knows what’s going to happen next.’
‘How hard did you celebrate?’
Mabel was standing at Alex’s front door, seeing the dishevelled, wet, heap in front of her. ‘Should I go home and wait for you to sober up? Joanna’s taken the girls out shopping. That’s how she celebrates. Spending all the money she’s going to make.’
‘Come in,’ the croaky voice replied, as he tried to smile.
It looked like it hurt.
‘It’s okay, I can come back. I’ve got a few things to do this morning and-.’
He grabbed her arm and kissed her on the lips, tasting of toothpaste and alcohol.
‘If I put a light near you, will you combust?’ she asked.
‘Can we go to bed?’
‘Are you sure?’
‘That’s the best way to get rid of a hangover. A good screw then I can sleep it off.’
Mabel laughed at the honest summary and kissed him back, then he turned and walked back to bed. She looked at the living room, which had a few open bottles and glasses.
‘Who came back here last night?’ she asked, picking them up and putting them by the sink.
‘The team. It was fun. Are you coming?’
Looking at the empty glasses, she saw some had lipstick marks and wondered which women had been there. Then she stopped, realising that was a bad thing to do.
It was too soon to be insecure and jealous.
All she had to remember was to keep it light and not needy.
Clearing up the mess and wiping things clean, the place looked habitable again.
When she walked into the bedroom, he was fast asleep.
She smiled and looked at his naked body. Taking out her phone, she took a few tasteful pictures. Alex looked so peaceful, and she didn’t want to wake him up, but Mabel was itching to know how it was going to work with ‘Love to Love’ and her.
There was no way she was going to be around when Lee turned up.
That would be far too embarrassing if any of the others found out.
And mortifying that Mabel hadn’t known who he was in the first place.
Going back into the living room and tidying up some more, she noticed Alex’s paper-thin laptop on the side and picked it up.
She checked the agency’s website, which had announced it had won the account.
It was so like Calum to jump the gun before signing the papers.
The next port of call was to go to the ‘Love to Love’ website and take a proper look.
Not once was Lee’s name mentioned, so that was some small relief on her part.
Then she logged into her email account, and there were messages from Lee.
They had been sent last night.
She read them in time order.
‘Mabel, I can’t stop thinking about you. I know what you said, but I need you right now. Call me when you’re ready.’
‘Oh dear,’ she mumbled.
‘I wish I knew where you lived. I want you so much. It’s right between us. Ring me as soon as you get this message.’
‘Oh God,’ she gasped. ‘I must be good at faking.’
She was a bit worried to open the last one but composed herself before doing so.
‘Why haven’t you emailed me back? I’m going to track you down. I want to spend time with you. Mabel, you need to get in touch. I want you so much. You’re the perfect one for me. I think I’ve fallen for you.’
‘Oh fuck!’
‘Oh, fuck indeed,’ Alex said, making her jump as he grabbed the laptop and read what Lee had written.
Then he darted a glance at her before looking at the rest.
Mabel noticed his mouth was slightly open as he looked at what could only be the last email.
‘Put it this way, you pretending to think about me in bed has certainly made him keen,’ he eventually said, putting the laptop down. ‘I’ve still not thought how I’m going to deal with this.’
‘There’s nothing to deal with. I won’t work on the account, and no-one will be the wiser.’ She discreetly wiped the nervous sweat from her brow. She was met with a blank expression. ‘What’s wrong? I didn’t email him.’
Again, his face didn’t change. All remnants of his hangover seemed to have disappeared.
Now Alex was back to normal.
‘I think you’re gorgeous,’ she smiled, and there was a small turn of his mouth, which could have been interpreted as a smile.
‘Bed,’ he eventually said, carrying the laptop towards the bedroom.
Mabel had no idea what was going on in his head but did as she was told and followed him in.
He placed the laptop on a table and shut the lid down before turning to look at her.
She was gazing at his arse.
Alex walked towards her and kissed her gently all over her face before unzipping her dress and removing her clothes. He then pushed his tongue into her mouth.
Mabel gasped, because his hand also went between her legs, massaging her pubic bone quite hard. He stepped back, pulling her forward and sat down on the edge of the bed.
His mouth licked her nub, and he fingered her very slowly as she closed her eyes, feeling what he was doing. Little tickling flicks making her excited until his lips started pulling to massage her very sensitive bit. She held onto his shoulders, knowing she was going come very quickly.
And she did, looking down as her eyes met his.
His lips then kissed all up her body, as he pulled her down onto the bed and lay her on her back, making sure her legs were spread. Slowly he put his finger inside, then he put another finger, gently screwing her with his fingertips.
She had to close her eyes. Her body was still shaking from her last orgasm. A mouth was placed on her nipple as he sucked, before moving to the other. Running her fingers through his hair, she still gasped, her legs bending to feel the intensity of what he was doing.
Alex then sat her up and moved position, taking a condom from the side and handing it to her. She moved her palm up and down his thick shaft, bending down to place it in her mouth. Licking and sucking him before putting the condom on.
Then he grabbed her hips, placing them directly under him.
She kissed his lips, felt his tongue fill her mouth then he pushed inside her, as they slowly screwed on the bed. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, his thrusts became harder and stronger while all the time their lips never parted.
And she came quickly again, and so did he until they stopped moving.
She smiled, opening her eyes to look at him, trying to catch his breath. Slowly their bodies became unjointed.
Alex looked at her and placed his forehead against hers.
‘He made love to you, and it bugs me,’ he whispered.
‘Don’t spoilt it.’
Alex jumped out of bed and pulled off the condom, which snapped back at his groin.
The look he gave her over his shoulder could have turned the room to ice as he walked towards the bathroom
.
Getting up, she followed him and saw he was under the shower, his face getting heavily splashed by the water.
‘Alex?’ she said and he glanced at her.
‘Come in.’
Carefully, she stepped under the spray and let the water pelt on her body. Mabel looked down at his feet, which were facing her and put her foot out to touch his toes.
As she looked up, she noticed he was half smiling, and half looking grumpy.
‘Mabel, remove the photos from your phone, please? I should be enough.’
It was then she realised that the man standing naked in front of her wasn’t that confident.
‘I love you, Alex Chambers, with all my heart. I know that’s a needy thing to say. When I fall, I fall hard, and I’m very loyal. When I get hurt, I fester the pain.’
‘For years?’
‘I’ve only fallen in love with one other man, so I expect so.’
‘It’s a pretty needy statement to say you’ve fallen for me, don’t you think?’
‘I probably fell in love with you months ago but didn’t want to admit it,’ she said in all honesty. ‘And if you never wanted me, I’d have still felt the same way, but wouldn’t have told you.’
‘I knew when I saw you in the bus; I could have been hurting you. That’s when I stopped seeing Sumi. I told her I’d fallen for someone else and was going to try and make it work, even though this woman I care about is very upset now. I want to make her happy.’
‘That’s the closest declaration I’m going to get from you about love isn’t it?’ she said, stroking his wet chest and stepping closer. ‘I don’t mind. It’s better than nothing.’
‘It’s a family decision.’
Mabel was sitting in Baba’s living room the following Thursday, with her daughter’s either side. ‘I wanted to tell you today because it’s best coming from us.’
‘But it is my son’s love juice?’ Baba said, on the verge of tears. ‘It produced your children and Edward.’
‘Dad should have stopped at us,’ whispered Jess as Mabel tried not to smile.
‘Oh, Granny Baba, we love you so much and don’t want to make you cry,’ said Lottie, getting up to sit next to the woman. She looked smaller than Baba’s arm when perched beside her. ‘And Tafari isn’t being very nice.’
‘That madam told me I should give her the Mini Metro my son left to me. I told her it was Jess’s inheritance and would not part with it!’
‘I love you too, Granny Baba,’ Jess said in a baby voice.
Mabel knew the child was sucking up to get the wheels.
‘By the time you end up driving in it, the thing will be a rust bucket,’ whispered Mabel. ‘And you better start saving up your pocket money to pay for your lessons.’
‘That’s okay because Grandma Joanna says she’ll pay.’
‘And we don’t want to hurt you,’ continued Lottie, holding Baba’s hand. ‘Daddy shouldn’t have gone behind my mum’s back with Tafari. That’s why their marriage failed. He was deceitful, and that’s not right.’
Only Lottie could criticise Wes in front of Baba and get away with it.
Mabel wanted to see if the woman would confess her part in the whole thing.
The old lady kept her lips firmly pursed together.
There were more tears from Baba as she hugged the children goodbye.
When she went to hug Mabel, she stopped.
‘I am sorry for punching you so hard when my son died. It was not aimed at you, but my anger towards losing Wesley. You should think twice about what you are doing. There is not another chance of you being able to have my son’s child.’
‘What do you mean?’ Mabel asked, seeing Jess stop to eavesdrop while Lottie waited by the car.
‘Your time has been and gone, Mabel. As years go by, there will be no suitors coming to your door. You might yearn for the company of another child, as Lottie and Jess leave home and start their lives.’
Knowing that was an almighty dig, Mabel smiled.
‘And by keeping the sperm, I can defrost each little tadpole one at a time and have a baby every five years to keep me company, is that what you’re saying?’
‘All women need sons.’
‘I don’t need his son,’ Mabel said, scowling at Baba’s shocked face. ‘All women need are people around them who love and care.’
Mabel walked out and got into the car, as the girls looked at her.
‘Do you think we should have told her?’ whispered Lottie, leaning forward.
‘Nah. She would have gone mental. You know what Granny Baba’s like,’ muttered Jess. ‘Anyway, at least we managed to bunk off school for the day. What did you tell them, mum?’
‘I told them we needed to see a family member urgently,’ Mabel replied, starting the car and driving off. ‘I didn’t say one of them was at a hospital and currently lives in a test tube, or did live in a test tube until today, did I?’
‘Seven weeks.’
Alex was mumbling into her neck as they stood in the garden of a pub in Soho. ‘And I’m happy.’
‘You’re happy because you’ve won four new accounts and built up some existing business,’ she sighed, stroking his back. ‘Plus, you’ve had three large Gran Marniers.’
‘Yes, that too. But I was talking about you.’
He kissed her gently on the lips.
In the seven weeks they had been together, he hadn’t told her once he loved her.
Mabel knew he was the type of man not to gush.
And she had started holding back on her words of love, knowing it might be putting undue pressure on him. But everything else was wonderful.
That Friday, he coaxed her to come and see him in town as he had another pitch in the morning.
His phone was ringing so he released her and took the call.
‘Mabel?’ she heard someone say and turned.
Lee Appleton was standing next to her with a woman.
‘Oh?’ That was all Mabel could say seeing Alex’s eyes widen. ‘Hello, Lee.’
He lunged forward and was aiming for her mouth as she quickly turned her head.
‘What are you doing here?’ he asked, taking her hand and squeezing it.
‘Hi Lee, good to see you,’ Alex said, walking forward and putting out his hand to shake Lee’s palm. ‘What brings you to this end of the world?’
‘Erm, I had a lunch that went on a bit longer and…’ Lee looked puzzled. ‘Do you know each other?’
‘Alex and I were having a drink. We have mutual friends,’ she said, hoping Lee hadn’t caught them canoodling.
‘Yeah, we’re having a quick drink before meeting up.’
Then she remembered Lee’s recent text messages and tried not to grimace. He had only stopped sending them a few weeks ago, but she hadn’t told Alex that.
‘How do you two know each other?’ Alex asked, looking at Lee then partially glaring at Mabel.
‘We met through a mutual friend too,’ Lee interjected quickly. ‘Isn’t that so, Mabel?’
‘Actually, we met-.’
‘I think we should be heading off,’ Alex said quickly to stop Mabel from speaking.
‘I saw you a few months back,’ Mabel said, looking at the woman he was with. ‘I was in Chelsea and you were at a bar by the river. Was that your wife?’
She smiled innocently, noticing Lee looked uncomfortable.
‘Are you sure it was me?’ he said, with a fixed smile.
‘Lee, I’d know you anywhere. I was going to come over, but I wasn’t quite sure if I should.’ Mabel glanced at Alex, who was staring at Lee.
‘Can I have a word with Mabel if you don’t mind?’ he asked, smiling at Alex before turning to her.
‘Not at all,’ Alex replied, finishing his drink, giving her a warning glance.
Lee touched Mabel’s arm and guided her away.
‘Why haven’t you called me?’ he asked and didn’t look happy. ‘And you know Alex?’
‘Yes, I do. I didn’t
call because it doesn’t feel right between us. Lee are you still married?’
‘I’m separated like I said.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Look, I think you’re making a big mistake,’ Lee said, stepping closer, trying to touch her neck. Mabel pulled away. ‘You know I use the agency Alex works for.’
‘Really? What’s this agency called? He said something like Haynes Wyatt or something.’
‘You don’t know who they are?’
‘Should I?’
‘Wyatt Haynes. It’s owned by two people who’ve been trying to pitch for parts of my business for years. The woman is always coming on to me. She’s practically sixty and her partner is younger.’ Mabel sipped her drink, to stop from smiling. ‘You can tell they’re screwing.’
That’s when she choked on the wine and spluttered out of shock.
‘I worked with Alex at his last agency. I only considered Wyatt Haynes because of his excellent reputation.’ Then he laughed. ‘That’s his work one. His reputation with women proceeds him.’
‘Why’s that?’ Mabel gulped hard, quickly wiping her mouth and seeing Alex look over.
‘He’s not into serious relationships. That’s what I’ve heard.’ He moved closer. ‘Dates them, makes them fall in love then waves them goodbye. That’s how he gets his kicks.’
‘I see.’
‘Mabel let’s meet up. We're going to have to meet up.’
‘Why?’
‘We have to go,’ Alex said, walking towards them and taking Mabel’s arm. ‘Good to see you, Lee.’
‘Let’s meet up for lunch,’ he said to Mabel.
‘We’ll see,’ she replied, letting Alex lead her quickly away.
‘What’s wrong?’ Alex asked a few minutes later, looking at her.
‘Did you screw around at your last agency? Is that what you do? Go through all the women then move on?’
‘Whoa! Where’s this coming from?’ Alex stopped dead in his tracks. ‘You loved me about ten minutes ago.’
‘How can someone like Lee know that?’
‘I used to work with him at my old agency,’ he sighed, shaking his head.
‘You never told me that!’
‘It’s not important.’
‘Don’t use me, not for fun. Our kids know each other now. Please don’t confuse the children if this is a whim. I can’t do that to Lottie and Jess, and you can’t afford to with Rose.'