Destiny was in her third year of her deg ree and couldn’t understand his decision to go travelling straight away, why couldn’t he wait for her to finish and they could go travelling together, she never envisaged a future without him.
“Look Destiny I know it may come as a bit of a shock but it’s something I really wanna do and if I don’t do it now I never will, or maybe I’ll become too old to pursue it, it’s my dream and you know this!”
“I know, it’s both our dream remember or have you forgotten, all I ask is that you wait eight months and we can go globe trot together, it’s not something that I want to do alone and I can’t understand why you’d wanna go it alone without me!”
“I can’t wait that long, it’s something I feel I’ve gotta do now, put it this way when you’re finished with your degree you can join me, at least then I’ll have some experience of travelling that I can share with you, you’ve gotta try and understand me on this Destiny, and besides who knows a lot can happen in eight months and you may change your mind anyway, I just can’t wait that long!”
“Ok , yeah, I guess I understand when you put it like that, I guess I never thought about it until now but I’d never change my mind, we made a pact remember, or have you forgotten that as well?”
“No , I haven’t and we can still fulfill that pack of ours, it’s just I’ll be starting a little earlier than originally anticipated that’s all. I don’t know why you’re making this into such a big deal, besides maybe the time away from each other will do us good; doesn’t absence make the heart grow fonder?”
“Spencer just what are you trying to say, just spit it out for heaven’s sake it sounds very much like you want to call time on our relationship, am I right?”
Destiny could feel her heart breaking inside and was trying to hide her feelings so Spencer wouldn’t see just how upset she really was.
“No it’s not that at all, I love you and always will, I just want a little time to travel by myself, explore the world through my own eyes before we commit ourselves to marriage, we’ve talked about this so many times I thought you of all people would understand my decision!”
With this Destiny stormed out of his apartment in tears grabbing her jacket and flagging down a cab to her sisters, hoping that she was home from work.
Ella took one look at her devastated sister and offered her a glass of wine to calm her down, she understood her little sister more so than she thought she understood herself at times and couldn’t bear to see her distraught and heartbroken.
“Spencer wants to travel the world without me can you believe that?”
“No, I can’t believe it after all your plans to do it together when you finish your degree!” “He thinks the time apart will make our hearts grow fonder before he commits to marriage with me, at least that what he says. I just can’t understand why he couldn’t wait for me you know, its breaking my heart Ella and he’s no idea how much, I never envisaged this, not now, not yet!”
Ella poured herself a glass of red wine, topping Destiny’s up in the process; she sat patiently listening to her sister, trying not to judge Spencer too much, secretly she thought he was a selfish bastard like most men she had come into contact with; she was down on men due to the fact that her second son Carter had come along and his father was nowhere to be seen, off the radar somewhere, drinking with his buddies in the town centre admiring all the single girls that threw themselves at them, unable to acknowledge the fact that he had just become a father and his son just may want to meet him for the very first time in his short existence, after all Carter was only six months old and had never met his father.
“Oh D estiny sweetheart, I hate to see you like this, I sometimes think men are all the same, selfish and self absorbed, I can imagine what you’re going through. You know Carl hasn’t even bothered to visit Carter since his birth, it’s like he miraculously disappeared off the planet, maybe abducted by aliens!”
Destiny began to straighten up , sobbing wasn’t the answer. She managed to sympathise with Ella as she never seemed to have any luck with men either.
“Why don’t we hit the town tonight, go to our favorite haunts, dance the night away, get drunk and forget about men for the evening?”
“I couldn’t think of a better remedy myself, why not !” Ella arranged for the faithful Mrs Walsh to come over and babysit whilst they both got ready, luckily Destiny still had some going out outfits stuffed into Ella’s drawers somewhere and borrowed her sisters make up, hairdryer and hair straighter.
♣ The next day Destiny woke up with a hangover from hell forgetting the night’s events, she couldn’t even recall how she managed to get into bed at her own apartment, still fully clothed, and then the realisation of what Spencer had said to her came flooding back and her heart began to sink even further. Fuck the coffee this morning, she needed something far stronger, she realised she needed, “hare of the dog” She opened the fridge grabbing a bottle of beer she usually kept in good supply for Spencer and opened it taking a big mouthful. Out of curiosity she played her answer phone messages as she remembered leaving her mobile at Ella’s for the evening in case she got tempted to call Spencer in her drunken state and give him lots of verbal abuse, or text him nasty little hurtful messages.
There were a few messages from her friends inviting her and Spencer out at the weekend and there was another message from Spencer himself informing her that he had spent the entire evening trying to contact her and apologising for their misunderstanding yesterday, he wanted to meet up for lunch, she ignored it and decided it was better to take it easy in her apartment today, as drinking herself to self pity sometimes worked, then she didn’t end up feeling so bad the following day.
Spencer c ould wait, she wasn’t about to give him another opportunity to hurt her feelings again, she had too much pride for that. She placed a call to Ella; she was feeling rather delicate too and couldn’t remember too much about their evening either, Mrs Walsh was coming over to help with Broody and Carter as it was Saturday and Ella was nursing the headache from hell.
Destiny hung up assuring her older sister that if there was any news on the Spencer front she would give her a call, equally if there was any news on the absconded father that Destiny would be the first to know.
Destiny had previously emailed her résumé off to several Media Consultant firms in the nearby areas and in London in the hope that when she finished her degree she would be short listed forever thankful she had swapped the psychology side of her degree two years ago and combined social science with media studies instead, this is where she felt her passion in the latter. Much to her surprise she fired up her laptop and received an email offering her a immediate position at one of the firms only five blocks from where she lived, she couldn’t quite believe her eyes and immediately dialed the contact number given on the email asking for a Stanley Hargreaves, she recalled meeting at one of the career nights St John’s often hosted on behalf of its successful aspiring under graduates, often the companies scouting for fresh new talent, she recalled handing her résumé and introducing herself to the chairman of the company, who was in fact no other than Stanley Hargreaves himself and had no idea it would lead to this. Forgetting her hangover, her argument with Spencer she talked away to Mr Hargreaves accepting his job offer and the one month trial to see if it was what she wanted to do and if she was the right candidate for the position of media consultant. It was agreed that with regard to her degree the company would allow her to work around it part time until completed, an opportunity she couldn’t refuse.
In her excitement she placed a call to her father’s offices over in New York to inform him of the good news, half expecting him not to be in the office and having to speak with his snooty secretary.
“Destiny my dear it’s so nice to hear from you, how are you sweetheart?” “Hi dad dy I am great thanks, I have some good news, I’ve been offered a position at Southern Consultancy as a media consultant, they want me to start straight away, can you beli
eve that?”
“Destiny slow down did I hear you correct, you’ve been offered a job as a media consultant? What about your degree? You still have under a year to complete it yet!”
“Don’t worry about my degree, they’ve honored me time to complete it. Can you believe my first real job, I can’t believe my luck!”
Destiny started to sense the disappointment in her father’s voice.
“Destiny , I beg you to reconsider my dear, there’s no possible way you can find the time to do both, your degree is more important and requires your full attention, there’ll be plenty of job offers in the near future when you graduate. Don’t be hasty like Ella to get out there in to the big wide world too soon, you’re educations way more important, I thought that you’d go on to do a masters in the social spectra, not to go into middle management, you’re worth more than that, look at your sister she can just afford to keep her head above the water, without my help I daresay she wouldn’t be able to survive, do you really want this type of life for yourself? What’s the salary they’re offering you?”
Destiny wasn’t in the mood for another one of her father’s lectures and started to regret her decision to inform him of her good news.
“Oh dad dy why can’t you understand it’s what I want to do. The salaries negotiable basically I start off with a fixed annual salary of twenty five thousand, when I graduate it’ll go up
considerably!”
“Destiny that’s a measly amount, how do you expect to support yourself on that?” Destiny could feel her temper rising.
“I tell you what daddy, I am sorry you were the first person I choose to inform of my good news, I obviously thought you’d be pleased and I was wrong, this feels like deja vu. I remember you lecturing Ella in the same context. Why can’t you ever be happy with our choices? Why do you judge me? When I daresay you don’t even know me, I’ve had it with trying to please you, its time I made a life of my own, as I am old enough to make my own decisions and if you can’t find it in you to accept them then I guess I no longer want you in my life!”
Destiny slammed down the receiver unaware it would be the last ever conversation she would have with her father.
♣ Eight years passed and Destiny worked herself up to partner in the consultancy firm, her dedication, and long soul destroying hours in the office, often spending twelve hours a day and weekends to become the best consultant she hoped she would be.
Spencer became a long lost memory, he wrote to her for the first six months promising her they would re-unite after her degree completion.
Destiny sometimes replied in the hope he would come home and walk back into her life and then the letters stopped, she found it hard to accept she had lost the love of her life and buried herself even further into her work.
Her father still financed her apartment up until the day she graduated and still sent her monthly cheques that she placed into her bank account, vowing to never touch any of his money again.
Destiny sometimes felt the urge to call her father, but her stubbornness got in the way, she hoped that they would make amends one day, if he would just call and tell her proud of her he was all would have been forgiven. Why couldn’t he just do? She had no idea. It became harder for her to accept with each year that passed. Was he still disappointed in her and her decisions? Should she swallow her pride and call him? She really missed him.
The little time she had left in her busy working schedule she would visit Ella and her beautiful nephews, and gorgeous little new niece who she was smitten with. Anna, was the first girl and was just adorable, Destiny found it hard to put her down, how she longed for her own children one day, she envied her sister to some extent, she was a great mother and she adored her family even though she couldn’t hold onto a man. Destiny thought that she was also doomed in the male department just like her sister, there had been no one special since Spencer, just dates she didn’t take up as she wasn’t interested in getting her heart broken again, she was lonely that was true but she vowed to rather be alone than in the wrong relationship, her career became her main focus.
♣ Destiny hadn’t prepared for her father’s sudden death, all that time he had been nursing a brain tumor without even informing her, Ella, and Chase. Why?
Here she was sitting next to her sister in Wallace’s offices her late father’s accountant and best friend listening to the sums of money her father had left them all. She was grief stricken, shocked, lost for words barely listening, occasionally glancing over to Chase who had just flown all the way from Hong Kong to be here, with a devastating expression on his handsome face. She gently let go of Ella’s hand and went to Chase holding out her arms.
Chase held her close to his chest stroking her hair trying to calm her with his low whispers; he was really trying hard to hold it all together and was absolutely grief stricken.
Destiny looked up in to Chases watery eyes, noticing the tears rolling down her younger brothers cheeks, falling on to the highly polished mahogany floor. She had never felt this heartbroken, not in her entire life time. Her baby brother broken and her dear father dead and gone!
Chase
Chapter 11
“Why is d addy never here? Is he ever coming back? The train set he sent over doesn’t even work! I’ve tried everything. Can’t you call him and ask him when he’s coming home? I really miss him!”
Jeannie shuddered with panic, worrying what excuse she could use this time, she hadn’t the faintest idea on how help her son, silently cursing her husband for ever buying him a room sized Hornsby train set.
“Chase , sweetheart, daddy works very far away in another country, he can’t just come home now, I am sorry sweetheart, I am sure if I go and ask one of the boys next door they’ll be able to help get it to work. Wait there let me go and see if they’re home!”
“No Mummy, I don’t want the boy’s next door helping they make fun of me, I want my daddy, it’s not fair, he’s the only one who knows about trains!”
Chase began to sob, he folded his arms tight around his small body, and his pet lip came out.
Jeannie felt her heart sink, and went over to where Chase was sitting and placed her arm around his shoulders slowly stroking his masses of jet black curly hair.
“I know it’s hard for you to understand that daddy can’t be here right now, but he will be home for Christmas, I miss him too sweetheart, but try not to worry he will be home soon!”
“Christmas is so far away . Why can’t he could come home sooner, the boys at school are teasing me saying I don’t have a dad and he doesn’t love me enough to come home.”
Jeanie’s heart sank even further in to her delicate stomach. “Chase that’s not true, your daddy loves you very much, he has to work so far away so he can earn money for us all, if daddy didn’t work we wouldn’t have any money and we wouldn’t be able to afford nice presents for you and your sisters to open on Christmas day.”
Jeannie struggled with her words, careful not to upset her dear son more than he already was.
“Hey, how about we go downstairs and see if we have the ingredients in for your favourite cookies?”
Chase jumped up in sudden excitement.
“Ok, mummy I’ll give you a race, after the count of three, start, get ready and when I say go, GO. Are you ready?” Jeannie nodded smiling.
Chase counted to three very slowly.
They both started to run; Chase took two steps at a time. Jeannie purposely slowed down in order to let her son win.
Chase reached for a dining room chair to climb on the kitchen counter breathlessly as he was too short to reach the upper cupboards.
“Okay, I’ve found the chocolate chips, white and brown ones!” Jeannie replied breathlessly, “But what about the flour and butter? We need all the ingredients, don’t forget!” Chase began fumbling through the cupboards clumsily knocking and moving plates and saucers, struggling to reach the back of the cupboards with his small hands.
“Hey, I’ve found the f
lour!”
“Good boy, I’ve got the butter let’s get to work!”
Jeannie was thankful for the distraction and watched her son mixing the ingredients together, hoping he would temporarily forget about his father.
“We should surprise Ella and Destiny when they get home from school; you know how much they like your cookies Chase?” “Good idea mummy! Can I hide one of them in their rooms?” “Course you can Chase, but this time don’t eat them all before you hide them.”
Chase started to giggle.
“Ok, only if you don’t tell them, I wanna cut out some paper traces and leave them clues like the last time.”
With another burst of energy Chase ran upstairs to his room. Jeannie waited for a few moments to be sure Chase was in his room out of ears way. She dialled her husband’s office over in the states; once again on the second ring she heard the familiar voice of Janice, her husband’s secretary. Both women exchanged their usual pleasantries and Janice informed her that Wilhelm was out of the office, as he was out with a new client who was interested in a house been built in Washington.
Much to Jeannie’s disappointment she ended the call, recently it was becoming more and more difficult to reach her husband and she was beginning to feel frustrated. On the other hand she was immensely proud of her husband’s work and achievements; however she couldn’t help but think that her dear children were beginning to suffer as a result of his career. If she could only reach him and persuade him to come home sooner than Christmas and surprise the children they would be made up.
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