“So?”
“Well, her dad used to take her to speech therapy sessions on Saturdays—the same ones Mariana used to attend...”
“I don’t believe it! You and Louisa’s dad! What happened? ”
“Well, we got to talking while the girls were having their sessions. You know, sharing our concerns about over daughters’ speech problems. And he was feeling off keel after his divorce and we just clicked. Soon we started going out for coffee while we waited for the girls and then one thing led to another and...well, you know how it is.”
She shrugged her shoulders and held up her palms in a gesture of helplessness, to express the inevitability of the outcome.
“I can’t believe it! Were you in love with him?”
“No, it wasn’t love, although at the time I half believed that it was. It was just an incredible adrenalin rush I thought I would never experience again. I never imagined I would ever be unfaithful to Miguel.”
“My God, neither did I! But how long did it last?”
“A couple of months. Hot, torrid sex at first—but then the novelty wore off and reality set in. The excitement of sneaking around started to turn into a burden and it sort of lost its appeal. We weren’t going anywhere with that relationship, of course, so it sort of fizzled out.”
Laura stared at her friend in amazement. This was not the solid, reliable Sara that she knew—or thought she knew. Talk about still waters running deep!
“Sara, I’d never have believed it if I hadn’t heard it from you.”
“Well, obviously I didn’t plan on it happening and I certainly didn’t want to hurt Miguel, but I found myself thinking: What if I land up regretting not doing this more than actually going for it? When I’m a little old lady will I regret not knowing what the thrill of an illicit affair is like? And that pretty much eliminated any mental barriers I had left,” she grinned.
Laura shook her head in wonderment. It just went to show that you could never really, truly know anyone, not even your closest friends and family. Sometimes, out of the blue, people do the most unbelievable things which makes you wonder if they’re acting out of character, or if they’d simply been hiding their true character before.
“I still can’t get my head round this, but I’ve gotta go now. The school bus will be dropping Vanessa off soon. We’ll talk later. ”
A tight embrace and a few giggles later, Laura was on her way home. She arrived in time for the school bus, helped Vanessa with her homework and prepared a roast for dinner as the housekeeper didn’t always have enough time to cook. Dona Maria had, however, already cleaned and polished the villa seeing that all interior work was done. They could now start to move their stuff in. Yet more elation.
By the time David got home from work, Laura looked like she was on a manic high.
“You hopped up on cocaine or something?” he asked her.
“Just feeling rather upbeat and energetic today, that’s all.”
He grinned at her. “Well, in that case, I fully intend to take advantage of that later on.”
Chapter 12
“No, Hugo, it’s not an excuse. It was either today and tomorrow, or not for another week. And I don’t want to wait that long to get these conformity inspections out of the way, otherwise we’ll never be able to move into the villa.”
A beat.
“Well, if that’s the way it is, that’s the way it is.”
“But don’t worry, I’ll send you the worksite inspection report this afternoon.”
“Laura, when have you not delivered on time? You know perfectly well that’s not why I’m disappointed.”
“I know, Hugo, but ...listen, I have to go. I have another incoming call. We'll talk on Friday.”
Just as she took the other call, the dogs began barking furiously, indicating someone was at the gate.
“Senhora Laura Cruz? Furniture delivery. We are at the gate.”
“Excellent! Just a moment, please.”
She tried to buzz the gate open but it wouldn't budge. She cursed and made a mental note to call the electrician again. Enough fiddling with the wiring—he ought to just replace the PCB because that's probably where the problem lay.
She jogged down the driveway and manually opened the gate. After the truck had passed through, she tested the mechanism with her remote control. The gate immediately glided open. How infuriating! It was so unreliable—you never knew whether it would work or not.
As she jogged back up the driveway, she whistled shrilly to the dogs to get them to shut up. They were not pleased about not being able to vet the unknown vehicle and its occupants.
Feeling like a little kid in a candy store, Laura instructed the three men where to place all the furniture they had bought. She felt pleased; the move would actually be quite easy as they’d only have to lug their personal items and clothing to the villa. All the heavy, bulky items were new and their old stuff would remain in the guest cottage.
Once the men were gone, Dona Maria gave the new furniture the once over with her duster before carting over the linen and crockery from the cottage. The rest of the day was spent organising shelves and drawers and receiving the various technicians who came to do the utility conformity checks.
That done, she went down to the barn and was pleased to see that Senhor Manuel and his men were making headway with the renovation. Only the elusive electrician said that he would not be able to come round before Friday.
***
“Thanks for picking Mariana up; it saves me the drive. Not that that we’re too busy for me to go myself,” said Sara ruefully, “but at least I can save on petrol.”
“Not a problem. I wanted to return the fabric samples. We’ve finally made up our minds. Let me show you.”
“Girls, mind you don’t knock anything over,” warned Sara as the girls chased each other excitedly round the store.
“Here, take my iPad and sit down over there while Auntie Sara and I have a little chat.”
“Thank you, Auntie Laura. When can Vanessa sleep over at our house?”
“We’ll see,” smiled Laura at the little girl.
Sara shoed her daughter away and turned to Laura.
“Why doesn’t Vanessa ever want to sleep over? She knows us so well now.”
Laura hesitated a minute.
“Well, you know about her nightmares, don’t you? We’re always afraid she’ll have one and I won’t be there for her. ”
“But she doesn’t have them that often, and anyway I’m sure we could deal with it,” Sara reassured her friend.
“Actually, there’s another issue I haven’t told you about,” said Laura, lowering her voice. “Vanessa occasionally has accidents as well.”
“Accidents? You mean she wets her bed?”
“Yes.” Laura looked crestfallen. “We have to get her up in the middle of the night, or more often than not she’ll wet the bed and not even wake up.”
“Oh, poor lamb. But it’s nothing to worry about. My nephew had the same problem till he was eight, and then it just resolved by itself. Kids grow out of these things.”
“I know, but I feel so sorry for her. She’s always devastated when I have to change her in the middle of the night.”
“Poor baby.”
“Sara, don’t mention any of this to Mariana, will you? If it gets round at school…. Well, you know how cruel kids can be.”
“Of course I won’t, don’t worry. Talking of which, have you seen the latest email from the BusyBody Brigade? About the school play?”
“No, what bright idea have they come up with this time?” inquired Laura.
“Helena says that her darling little daughter isn’t happy with the role she’s playing, nor the costumes the teacher has designated for the class.”
“Well, isn’t that just devastating. And she’s going to do something about it, no doubt.”
Sara snorted. “But of course. She has come up with ideas for new costumes and alterations to the roles.”
&nb
sp; “And the rest of us, including the teacher, have to salute and obey. Can’t she see how rude and presumptuous it is to constantly override the teacher’s plans?” Laura asked incredulously. “And am I right in assuming that Carla and Susana have dutifully backed her up?”
“Bingo!” laughed Sara. “Devout minions that they are. But I don’t recall nominating her coordinator of the year 1 parents, do you?”
Laura sighed. “Being involved in your children’s schooling is one thing, and meddling is another.”
“Yeah, I hate being bossed around by busybodies who have nothing better to do. And I may well tell them so at the meeting tomorrow.”
“What meeting?” asked Laura.
“They’ve called a parent meeting for tomorrow. To give us our orders, no doubt.”
Laura replied with a world-class eye roll.
***
Having put Vanessa to bed early, Laura headed to the sitting room while David worked out in the home gym. She flopped into an armchair with her laptop and finally alone, her thoughts turned to work—and consequently, to Hugo. She’d deliberately been pushing thoughts of him out of her mind. But now she had work to get on with and so there was no avoiding it any longer.
What if she did get involved with him? What would the fallout be? How did she really feel about him? And about David? She pondered these questions while she opened the files pertaining to her current project at Delta. She toggled between the documents, staring sightlessly at them. It was no use, she couldn’t concentrate. Procrastinating, she accessed her email. Six new messages. One name jumped out at her.
Hugo Avelar.
Her stomach tightened. She hesitated briefly before clicking on the message. His words filled the screen, picking up where he’d left off:
Laura,
I hope you aren’t angry but I don’t want to pretend anymore. Can we talk?
H
“What’s happening tomorrow? Are you going in to the office?” David asked, coming up behind her with his face towel dangling round his neck.
Caught unawares, Laura jumped and hastily closed her laptop. She could feel her face flushing and a pulse beating frantically in her neck. She turned and looked back over her shoulder at him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, with a frown on his face.
“Nothing. You startled me, that’s all.”
“Something I shouldn’t see?” he asked, coming round the armchair to stand in front of her.
“Don’t be silly,” she said, trying for an amused laugh but not quite pulling it off. Her fingers gripped the laptop tightly.
He stared thoughtfully down at her, his lips pursed.
“No, I’m not going in tomorrow. I’m working at home because the utility people are coming and I’d better be here in case there are any glitches. Also, there’s a meeting at school that I should probably attend.”
“Anything wrong?”
“No, it’s just that the busybodies are trying to hijack the end of term show the kids are putting on.”
He nodded.
“Shall I take Vanessa to school?”
“No, that’s all right, I’ll take her myself. There’s no need for her to get up so early.”
“All right then. I’m going to bed.”
“I’ll be along later. I still have some things I need to do.”
He gave her a long, searching look before turning on his heel and heading for the bathroom. Laura let her breath out slowly and closed her eyes.
Chapter 13
Laura drove up the cul-de-sac that led to the school campus. To her left, three snow white Lusitano horses grazed in the mild sunshine, whilst the field to her right was covered in a carpet of pampas grass, the white tufts waltzing gently in the breeze. A sparrow hawk perched strategically on a lamp post, surveying his domain.
There were already three cars ahead of her, waiting for the school gates to open. Laura turned off the ignition and lowered her window. She sighed contentedly. The bucolic silence and the warm sunshine lulled her into a state of drowsiness. It was a real luxury being able to enjoy a few minutes of idleness without worrying about the workload she had.
Despite the disruptive, yet welcome, utility conformity visits, she had managed to get a lot of work done. She would certainly meet the deadline she had set herself for the Delta assignment, but then again she always did. She couldn’t afford not to if she wanted to be cost-effective. She normally allocated herself a tight period for each project, so that she could then move on to the next one. However, this time, maybe on account of the economy, she didn’t have another contract awaiting her. She felt a twinge of anxiety; with all their recent expenses with the renovation, they certainly needed the money. It was time to start putting her networking to good use.
A bell sounded, immediately followed by the sound of engines being gunned to life as the gatekeeper allowed the vehicles access to the sprawling school grounds.
Laura pulled into the parking lot, and made her way to the main entrance along a paved path. Walking on the grass was not encouraged; the front lawn was to be kept immaculate. David wasn’t the only one that obsessed about the lawn. She smiled, recalling another incident where grass had been an issue.
As a teenager she’d attended a rock concert at the sports stadium of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. A war was being waged between the spectators, who naturally wanted to get as close to the stage as possible, and security, who wanted to keep them off the grass. The standoff was resolved when the lead singer roared into the microphone: First they don’t let you smoke grass, now they don’t let you walk on it!
Needless to say, the pitch had been instantly invaded.
As soon as Laura entered the cavernous lobby with its double volume ceiling, she saw the BusyBody Brigade. They were fussing over the student exhibits that lined the walls, no doubt, reassuring themselves that no student (in other words parent) had dared produce anything that outshone their offspring’s efforts.
Glass walls permitted an unobstructed view of the junior’s playground from the lobby, and Laura could see an army of maroon clad clones letting off steam after a day’s enforced silence and stillness. An eagle-eyed teaching assistant ensured things didn’t get out of hand.
Laura ducked behind a gigantic potted rubber plant and phoned Sara.
“Where are you?” she demanded. “I don’t want to speak to the 3Bs on my own!”
“Right here,” Sara laughed, as she came up behind Laura. “Let’s go get them.”
The mothers (and one father, a successful writer who worked at home) perched on the tiny chairs, their knees coming up to their shoulders; one or two backsides spilled over the confines of the seats.
If Helena had been self-assured when she was overweight, she was positively cocky now. After a lifetime of adhering to fad diets, she’d had an epiphany three months before which had led to radical life-style changes. Convinced most foods were contaminated with harmful allergens, additives, preservatives and God knows what else, she’d adopted a strict macrobiotic diet and become an avid runner.
The kilos had positively melted away.
The mothers had cooed and fawned over her, while secretly hating her for her determination and willpower. There had to be something wrong with the woman for Chrissake—after all, who wanted to live on birdseed or quinoa, or whatever it was that she now ate.
She stood before them in skinny jeans and high heels, a pile of folders in the crook of her left arm. She beamed at her audience and waited for everyone to settle down. Laura half expected her to give them the royal wave.
Her sidekicks, Carla and Susana, basked in her limelight, waiting to spring into action and thus underscore their importance. It was vital everyone see they were pivotal to the running of not only the local church, but also the school.
Because all three had the good fortune of being married to wealthy farmers (pigs, poultry and fruit), none had a day job, which allowed them to throw themselves body and soul into both institu
tions— without needing an invitation.
The expensively, but demurely, clad pair took the folders and handed them out to the mothers and writer father, as Helena explained the changes she wanted to make. Oh, and yes, these ideas had been approved by their children’s beloved teacher, of course they had, she said, smiling at the poor woman who’d been banished to the sidelines.
In a struggling economy, the school simply couldn’t afford to antagonize the parents, who took full advantage of the situation (as did some of their children).
Laura and Sara started to fume. If every parent tried to override everything the school stipulated, there’d be chaos. What gave them the right to constantly impose their preferences on the other parents? Just because they had nothing better to do….
Laura dragged her attention back to what Helena was now saying.
“And so seeing as the play will be performed at Easter, we thought we should open and close the show with a little prayer,” she said in an authoritative voice.
A few heads nodded in agreement.
That did it. Laura stood up.
“I’m afraid I don’t agree. This is a secular school, which is why I enrolled my daughter here. Anyone wishing to provide religious instruction for their children should do so outside the school grounds.”
Helena looked shocked; no one had ever turned down a suggestion of hers. And in such a rude fashion, too. And a foreigner to boot. What gave her the right? She looked round the room for support, finding it in most of the faces present. Realising a tricky situation was developing, Miss Moreno, the class teacher, walked to the front of the room and cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry, but Vanessa’s mother is right.”
And there it was—yet another group of people she felt totally alienated from. Maybe the fault lay with her; maybe she was the stroppy one. Maybe she saw things the wrong way and brought out the worst in others.
Maybe.
But she didn’t think so.
Even David had agreed with her when she’d told him that evening what had transpired at the meeting.
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