Public Property

by Mandy Baggot

  ‘I’m not with you.’

  ‘This land belongs to me,’ he announced. He spread his arms wide and let out a satisfied laugh.

  ‘You bought the field? Isn’t it a little out of the way for a Recuperation Inn? The nearest petrol station is at least three miles away,’ Freya commented.

  ‘I bought the town of Gatebrook, from boundary to boundary. Isn’t it great? I own the church, the bridge and all this grass.’ He was really going for it with the laughter now. It was like JR Ewing nailing an important oil deal.

  ‘You own one of the Christian Fathers bridges? But they’re protected, aren’t they?’

  The thought of him taking a wrecking ball to one of her much loved sites would be the final nail in their relationship. She might even have to vomit up the lunch if that’s what he was telling her.

  ‘Everyone has a price, Freya,’ he answered.

  ‘God, now you’re starting to sound like my father.’

  ‘So, what do you think?” He turned to her, loosened his tie a little. He looked like he was waiting for her to answer favourably.

  ‘I think if you’re considering building one of those hotel monstrosities on this land then you’re going to have a lot of local opposition. In fact I will start the protest.’

  She’d heard enough and her stomach was protesting. She began to walk back to the car.

  ‘And what if I was going to create a purpose-built village with houses for the homeless, shops and businesses to create jobs for them and a school for their children?’ he called.

  That got her attention. She turned back around to face him. She saw his expression was serious, not a hint of humour on his face.

  ‘I think your cause is really something the government should be providing. But, seeing as there’s a void there, I think your charity is exactly what’s needed. I like the idea of satisfying a need and providing opportunities. It’s caring coupled with self-improvement and I think it will work,’ he finished.

  ‘Be careful, Jonny. Your mask of ruthlessness is slipping.’

  ‘This isn’t business. This is giving something back. Giving something back to you,’ he stated.

  ‘You don’t owe me anything. I kept the Argos ring. It’s mounted,’ she replied quickly.

  ‘I’m serious, Freya. I really want to do this and I am doing this, whether you want me to or not.’

  ‘What’s the catch? There has to be one.’

  ‘No catch.’

  ‘No catch?’ Freya queried.

  ‘Well, I would like you to take some photographs for the Recuperation Inns, but it isn’t a deal breaker. Whatever you say to that, I’ll still go ahead with the Every Day project,’ he assured her.

  She looked at him. Jonny Sanders. Who was this man stood before her? He’d let her down before. Could she trust him with a project that meant so much?

  ‘Freya, I mean what I say. No hidden agendas,’ he reiterated.

  She nodded.

  ‘Well then, I think it’s an amazing idea. I mean, here would be a perfect location and…’

  ‘Can we be friends?’ he interrupted.

  ‘Look, this is all very weird, Jonny. It’s been so many years and I’ve tried so hard to put that life behind me, I don’t…’ she started.

  ‘It would mean a lot to me, Freya. I know what I did was wrong and I can only put it down to being a stupid teenage… “dirt bag” I think is the term over here,’ he spoke.

  He looked sorry. He looked genuine. What he was offering was more than she dared to believe.

  ‘How much is all this going to cost your company?’ she asked.

  ‘I have no idea and…who cares?’ He smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

  ‘Come here then, friend. Have a hug.’ She opened her arms to him.

  He put his arms around her and held her tightly against him.

  ‘This hug feels good,’ he admitted.

  ‘Yes it does.’

  It also felt truly awkward and was bringing back so many memories of the past. She let him go and stepped away, straightening her top. She hugged her arms around herself trying to stave off the winter wind.

  ‘Well, let’s head back to Exposure and we can make an appointment for you to start photographing the Recuperations,’ he suggested.

  ‘I haven’t agreed to that yet. And as far as I can remember, most of the buildings are really ugly,’ Freya said, screwing up her face.

  ‘Cost was taken into account when they were designed but we do offer you a choice from ten different textures of pillows,’ Jonathan reminded her.

  ‘And five different coloured bath robes,’ Freya added.

  ‘You really have stayed in one.’

  ‘We were very desperate at the time, but I do still have the red bathrobe.’

  ‘The red ones are in short supply. A popular colour with the clients that want to take a souvenir home with them,’ he teased.

  ‘What are you insinuating?’

  ‘Absolutely nothing. I wouldn’t dare.’

  Six

  When Freya arrived home that evening Nicholas was sat in the garden, his back to the house, reading through a script. Freya crept out of the patio doors and walked on tiptoes towards him, hoping to catch him by surprise. It was only when she was caught by a gust of icy wind she saw he was wearing a sweater and perhaps she should have thought about a coat.

  ‘You would never make it as an assassin,’ he said as Freya stopped just behind his chair.

  ‘Oh, how did you know I was there?’ Freya asked, disappointed.

  ‘Did you not see Willis climb out of the tree licking his mouth at the prospect of Mommy arriving home to feed him treats? Here he comes now. Hey, boy, you ruined Mommy’s surprise.’ Willis nuzzled his hand and then weaved in and out of Freya’s legs.

  ‘I told you he was clever and it’s Mummy! He isn’t bilingual you know. He recognises English not American. Anyway, have you had a good day? You’re tired aren’t you? Hallmark channel a bit emotionally draining?’ Freya asked, kissing him on the lips then sitting in the chair opposite him.

  She could have done with a blanket.

  ‘Yeah I’m tired. How did you know? Not looking so hot?’ he asked.

  ‘You’re wearing your glasses. You always wear your glasses when you’re tired.’

  ‘My God, you know all this and we aren’t even married yet.’

  ‘So, how did your meeting with the writer guy go?’ Freya asked.

  ‘It was fine. We’ve done my childhood now and looking after Matt, so we’re just about to get into the realms of the Cheesy Twangers commercial and my first movie role, freaky hairstyle and all.’

  ‘Oh, I was hoping you would have skipped to the chapter about meeting me. After all, that’s when your life really began.’

  ‘I’ve told him that already. I said Mark, we can get through all this real quick because my life meant nothing until I met my fiancée. He said we had to go through the motions. But trust me, your chapter is the centre of the story. The rest is just padding,’ he assured her.

  ‘You’re good.’

  ‘Hey, never mind my book. How did it go with Sadie Fox? You didn’t call me. I said give me a call and let me know how it went.’ He took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes.

  ‘I didn’t call because there was nothing to report. She cancelled me. Gave Sasha some excuse about having to fly to Paris. I think it’s more likely she’s found another photographer,’ Freya told him.

  ‘Well, that’s her loss. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.’

  ‘No, I know, I won’t. So, did you pick up the fancy dress outfits for tonight?’

  ‘Yes I did.’

  ‘And have you looked at them yet?’ She grinned.

  ‘Yes I have.’

  ‘And what do you think?’

  ‘Please tell me I’m the doctor and not the nurse.’

  She let out a scream of laughter and rocked back and forth in her chair. Willis darted for the safety of the house.

 
; ‘No, Freya! No way! I am not dressing up in a nurse’s outfit! Absolutely not!’ he exclaimed.

  ‘But Nick, the doctor’s outfit was the only one they had in my size, apart from the Darth Vader costume. And I just couldn’t visualise how I was going to eat with the mask on or talk without scaring Sam and Jolie’s kids,’ she explained.

  All lies. She’d seen the nurse costume and thought it would be perfect for him.

  ‘I’m not doing it, Freya. I mean it.’

  ‘Come on, you so have the legs for it,’ she cajoled.

  ‘There’s nothing you can say to persuade me into that outfit. Nothing,’ he insisted. He picked up his glass of orange juice and drank it down.

  ‘Oh no? Are you sure about that?’ She ran her hand slowly up the inside of his thigh.

  ‘Have you seen the length of the skirt? It’s practically obscene,’ he continued.

  ‘You. Me. A bottle of wine and candles. Some soft music, maybe Luther Vandross or Lionel Richie. A plate of soft fruits and double cream. We could light the fire and close the blinds and…’ Freya began. She slipped her hand up inside his t-shirt and caressed his stomach with her fingers.

  ‘I’m not wearing high shoes with it. Or stockings,’ he answered.

  ‘I’ll go and open the wine, you grab Luther.’

  Sam and Jolie’s home was inside the Town Circle and only a few minutes walk from Whitewood House. The party had been due to start at seven but at seven forty Nicholas still wasn’t ready.

  ‘What are you doing in there, Nick? We’re going to be late,’ Freya called to him.

  She stood outside the bathroom door, dressed in a blue surgeon’s outfit complete with head scarf.

  ‘I don’t know whether I can actually allow you to see this, let alone half the town,’ he called back.

  ‘Get out here, Matron. My blood pressure is rising,’ she teased, laughing.

  ‘Just give me another five. I’m coming to terms with it.’

  ‘OK…oh that’s the phone now. If it’s for you I’ll tell them you’re just slipping your petticoat on.’

  ‘You will not! Freya!’ Nicholas shouted.

  She went into their bedroom and picked up the phone from the nightstand.

  ‘Hello.’

  ‘Hello, this is Mrs P calling,’ Emma’s voice said.

  ‘Em, what time is it over there? I was going to ring but I didn’t want to wake up Melly.’

  ‘You don’t want to know what time it is but I’m awake, just. I thought I’d ring and find out what happened today. Was it Jonny?’

  ‘Hang on.’ She stood up and closed the bedroom door.

  ‘Freya?’

  ‘I’m here, but so is Nick. I haven’t told him about Jonny yet,’ she whispered.

  ‘You mean it was him. My God,’ Emma stated.

  ‘Yes it was him and Em, you should see him. You would hardly recognise him. He’s been completely swallowed up by commerce and industry,’ Freya told her.

  ‘He’s in business? What sort of business? What did he look like? Last time I saw him he was really skinny and had shoulder-length hair.’

  ‘Still skinny but very different hair. Have you heard of the Recuperation Inns? They’re a big chain of hotels over here.’

  ‘No, but go on.’

  ‘Well Jonny owns them. Them and countless other investments from what I can make out. He’s practically as wealthy as my father,’ Freya informed her.

  ‘I don’t believe it! Jonny Sanders the millionaire?! That is just so hard to imagine.’

  ‘I barely recognised him. He has a goatee and his hair is short and he was wearing a Versace suit. Versace!’

  ‘And what did he want? Did he just want to catch up or did he want you to take some photographs?’

  ‘Well yes he did want my services, but there was more to it than that. He’s bought a huge plot of land about twenty miles from here. He says he’s going to develop it into a village for my Every Day project. It’s going to be a proper community where people can be given a fresh start in life with training and tuition. There’d be jobs and a school,’ she started to explain.

  ‘That sounds fantastic but what would make him want to do that? And how did he know about your charity? I thought it was all still under wraps.’

  ‘He made a bid for the site at Chesterville. Then he dug around.’

  ‘And did you discuss what happened before? About him taking the money from your father?’

  ‘Yes, funnily enough it did come up. He claims my father had nothing to do with it. He says it was all too much for him, the commitment, meeting my parents and realising just what that entailed. He said it was his decision and he chickened out of telling me the truth, so he made up the story about my father paying him off.’

  The tale she was recounting sounded as believable as an X-Files script. But he’d told her and she’d believed him. Hadn’t she? Or had her opinion been blighted by the promise of help for the Every Day project?

  ‘So he lied to me! Did you believe him?’

  Did she?

  ‘I don’t know. It was strange, seeing him again and him being so different to how I remember.’

  Had she been charmed by the good stuff from the past? The chocolate brown eyes, the friendly hug at Gatebrook?

  ‘So, will you see him again do you think?’

  ‘Well, he’s going to be donating a lot of money to my charity, and I mean a lot of money. Millions of dollars. In return I said I’d do some promotional pictures for the Recuperation Inns. Vulgar buildings though they are,’ Freya told her.

  ‘I can’t believe he’s rich. I just can’t imagine it. I mean one of the reasons you dated him in the first place was because he was just the opposite of what you were,’ Emma reminded.

  ‘I know and now he’s practically Trumpesque. It’s a rags to riches tale if ever there was one. Perhaps there’s a film in it,’ Freya joked.

  ‘So, why haven’t you told Nick about meeting with him?’

  Good question, best friend. Why hadn’t she told Nick about meeting Jonny? Think of an answer, anything will do.

  ‘Oh, I don’t know. It was weird, you know, and it hasn’t sunk in properly yet. I just want to get it straight in my head first before I tell Nick.’

  ‘And that’s all it is? There were no old feelings being stirred up when you saw him? I mean, you did want to marry him once.’

  ‘Yeah, I know, but it was a long time ago,’ Freya reminded her.

  ‘And he was the only man before Nick that you admitted your identity to,’ Emma continued.

  ‘There were no old feelings being stirred up. Apart from this amazing thing he’s doing for my charity, he’s driven by profit and that makes him very unattractive. Actually he gave me a hug when we were out at Gatebrook and it felt just plain weird,’ Freya said, remembering the moment.

  ‘How d’you mean?’

  ‘I don’t know. It was odd. It felt awkward and just off. Anyway, it didn’t make me feel anything remotely like God, my first love, how I want him back,’ Freya concluded.

  ‘Then I’d tell Nick you met with him and what he’s going to do for the charity in case he jumps to the wrong conclusion. You know what men are like about things being kept from them, particularly with regard to exes.’

  ‘Yes, I do remember quiet, mild-mannered Yiannis fighting with Dopey Darren in the fountain.’

  ‘Exactly, so what time is it there? What am I interrupting?’

  ‘It’s nearly eight at night and we’re going to a friend’s birthday party. Sam. Him and Jolie run the local store,’ Freya told her.

  ‘The couple with twin boys you call Krueger One and Krueger Two,’ Emma said.

  ‘Yes, that’s them. It’s fancy dress and Nick’s holed up in the bathroom because he’s a little uncomfortable with his outfit.’ She laughed.

  ‘What have you got him dressed in?’

  ‘A nurse costume!’

  Emma let out a shriek and both the women split their sides with laughter.r />
  Seven

  ‘You can see my ass in this uniform,’ Nicholas said, pulling at the hem of the skirt.

  ‘Can you? Let me look.’

  He’d insisted they called a cab so he didn’t have the humiliation of walking past the photographers at their front gate. Now they were outside Sam and Jolie’s home in the centre of Mayleaf.

  ‘I’m freezing,’ he complained as they waited on the doorstep for someone to arrive.

  ‘I did say you should wear tights but Mr Macho wasn’t having any of it, was he? If you go down with the flu don’t blame me. Are we expecting snow? I thought snow didn’t exist in Hollywood,’ Freya said, pulling her surgical rubber gloves further up her arm.

  ‘I don’t believe they didn’t have a nurse costume in your size.’

  ‘Nick, you know if you’re bigger than Barbie here you don’t count. It’s just a knock on effect. You should campaign,’ Freya told him.

  ‘Nick! Freya! You made it! My God, Nick, you’re certainly making a statement with that costume,’ Jolie announced, opening the door. She was dressed in a cowgirl outfit.

  ‘Is it OK if I carry on with the statement making in front of your fire?’ he asked, stepping past Freya.

  ‘Sure, come on in guys,’ Jolie invited, making way for them to enter.

  Jolie was thirty five and a mother of two six year old boys, Michael and Adrian. She and her husband, Sam, ran Mayleaf’s convenience store and were an integral part of town life. Jolie took the minutes of the town meetings and Sam was a member of the Town Festival committee.

  ‘Jolie, I’m sorry we’re late. I got talking on the phone and Nick was having a prima donna moment over his outfit,’ Freya said, entering the house.

  ‘That’s OK, you’ve only missed Brian trying to rescue the boys’ football from the tree and falling head first into the compost.’

  ‘Oh you’re kidding me? I missed the “Brian Episode”! How could that happen so early on in the evening? Nick, I missed the “Brian Episode”,’ Freya announced, disappointed.

  ‘I have no doubt it won’t be the only one of the evening. Hey, where’s the birthday guy?’ Nicholas asked Jolie.