by Lacey London
I hit myself on the head playfully and let out an embarrassed laugh. ‘I know, I was meaning to and then I totally forgot…’
‘I asked you to call me six hours ago.’ Cutting me off mid-sentence, he pushes himself to his feet and wanders around the bed.
The stench of alcohol on his breath indicates that he’s been drinking for some time. Leaning against the door frame, I watch in a worried silence as he scratches his beard and looks down at the street below.
‘What’s happened?’ I whisper, not really sure if I want to know the answer. ‘You’re scaring me.’
Finally bringing his eyes up to meet mine, he takes a final glug of whiskey and dumps the empty glass on the dresser. ‘I lost my job, Clara.’
My jaw drops open as I stare at my husband in shock. ‘Wh… what?’ I manage, my mouth becoming inexplicably dry. ‘What do you mean?’
‘They let me go…’ He stares at me with an unreadable expression on his face before tearing his eyes away.
My heart starts to pound in my chest as his words ring loudly in my ears. ‘They can’t do that…’
‘Well, they did.’ Dropping down onto the bed, he rolls onto his back and stares up at the ceiling.
‘But, why?’ I stammer, my entire body prickling with shock. ‘They can’t do this. You have rights. They have to follow rules and procedures before they can fire you!’
Oliver pushes himself onto his elbows and laughs sarcastically. ‘I don’t have any more rights than anyone else who lost their job this month! Besides, being made redundant is sort of a one strike and you’re out kind of deal.’
Furiously trying to regain the use of my tongue, I try and fail to think of something to say. He’s lost his job. It has actually happened. My mind goes into overdrive as I try to process what he has just said. There’s just weeks to go until Christmas and Oliver is jobless. My head starts to spin and I take a seat next to him to regain my composure.
‘What are we going to do?’ I breathe, giving him a sideways glance. ‘What happens now?’
Oliver leans forward and rests his head in his hands. ‘I have been asking myself that same question all day and I still don’t know the answer.’
Taking a series of deep breaths, I tell myself to get it together. I can fix this. I can come up with a plan to make all this right again. Think, Clara! Think! Reaching over his lap, I take his cold hands in mine and force my face into something that resembles a smile.
‘Everything is going to be alright. We will find you another job, a better one.’ My attempts at keeping a light tone to my voice prove useless, as it is evident to anyone who can hear that I am on the verge of tears. ‘You are probably ready for a new challenge now anyway, aren’t you? This is a good thing for you!’
Oliver looks deep into my eyes for a moment and nods slowly, choosing not to say anything.
‘We have enough money in the bank to see us over for a little while, we will just have to pull our belts in, that’s all.’ Realising that I sound like a broken Furby, I decide to shut up.
I look away and my eyes land on the collection of shopping bags I brought home with me. The shoes, the lipstick, the extortionate jumpers… A wave of guilt washes over me and I swallow frantically to get rid of the growing lump in my throat. I will not cry. I won’t let myself be perceived as weak in front Oliver at a time like this.
‘Thank you.’ He eventually whispers, slipping an arm around my shoulders and kissing my head softly.
‘What for?’ Rubbing my face against his beard clad chin, I try my hardest to ignore the tears that are prickling in the corners of my eyes.
‘For being so positive about this. It makes it much easier to take knowing that you’ve got my back …’
I smile up at him and bury my face into his chest. I don’t feel positive. I feel more negative than I have ever felt before, but I can’t let him know that. I have to stay strong and pretend that I know how to handle this, as the last thing I want is my family descending into chaos right now.
Clearing my throat, I look up as Pumpkin comes ambling into the room. Obviously sensing the tension between Oliver and I, she wanders over to the warm radiator and curls up into a tight ball. I must stare at her for a good five minutes before finally prising myself out of Oliver’s arms.
‘Right, I am going to collect Noah.’ Putting on my bravest face, I smile encouragingly and hold out a hand to pull him up. ‘You should run yourself a bath, get a change of clothes and I don’t know, order a take-out or something.’
Grabbing my keys, I retrace my steps back to the front door and let it close silently behind me. The second I hear the lock click I clasp my hands over my mouth as the reality of what has happened dawns on me. Choosing to take the stairs, I hold on to the railing and force myself to take the steps two at a time. I must keep it together. Crumbling into a blubbering mess isn’t going to help matters one iota.
I come to a stop at Marc’s door and compose myself before rapping on the knocker. Almost immediately the door swings open and before me stands a very shaken looking Gina. Her tear-stained face makes a stark contrast to her cheery snowflake jumper and I just know that she has heard the same news I have. Before I get the chance to say anything, she steps out into the lobby and embraces me tightly. Her hair nearly suffocates me as we hold on to each other, neither one wanting to be the first to let go.
As I let the tears roll down my cheeks, I find myself wondering why we are so upset. The truth is that Suave is a lot more to us than just a workplace. It’s where our journey as friends started all those years back. Not only have Marc and Oliver lost their jobs, we have just had our last tie with Suave severed. It’s like it never happened. It’s like the time that we shared there, the laughs that we had and the memories we hold have all been wiped out.
‘How is he?’ I ask, blinking back my tears.
‘He’s devastated. Suave meant so much to him.’ Gina shakes her head and takes a seat on the windowsill. ‘Marc put everything he had into that job and this is how they repay him.’
The sadness that has been weighing heavily on my heart suddenly vanishes and I get an overwhelming surge of anger. How dare they treat Marc and Oliver like this? It’s one thing laying off members of staff who have recently joined, but to cast aside the hard-working individuals that have been with the company from the start is horrendous.
‘Where are the kids?’ I mumble, using my fingers to wipe away the mascara stains from my cheeks.
‘I asked Owen to take them for ice-cream.’ Gina adjusts her jumper and sniffs loudly. ‘He happened to call just as Marc came home. I thought it would be best to remove them from the situation.’
I nod in response and make a mental note to thank Owen when I see him. ‘Do you mind if I go and talk to Marc?’
‘Not at all. I think he would really appreciate it.’ Leading the way, she slips inside the apartment and holds the door open for me to follow her.
Their apartment is freakishly quiet, just as mine was when I arrived home thirty minutes ago. Kicking off my shoes, I walk through the kitchen and find Marc sat stiffly on the couch.
‘Hey.’ I say gently, carefully taking a seat next to him. ‘How’s it going?’
Looking up, Marc manages a small smile before running his fingers through his hair and shaking his head. ‘I’ve been better.’
‘I bet…’ Having already had this exact conversation with Oliver, I don’t really have the energy to go through it all again.
‘I’m so sorry, Marc. I really am.’ Reaching out, I slide closer to him and give his hand a squeeze. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘It’s fine.’ He loosens his tie and kicks up a pile of papers in frustration. ‘Worse things happen to people, right?’
‘Right.’ I mumble uncertainly, unable to read his reaction. ‘I guess that’s a good way of looking at things.’
‘It’s the only way of looking at things.’ Marc laughs sadly and glances over at the beautifully wrapped presents beneath the tree. ‘What other op
tions do I have? Do I crumble? Do I breakdown and cry about it? No, I don’t have the time or money to do that.’
Feeling lost for words, I nod along and look down at my reindeer socks.
‘They have made so many redundancies lately, the odds of me keeping my place were on the flip of a coin anyway…’ He cracks his knuckles and exhales loudly, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the ground.
‘You put a lot into the company, Marc.’ I put a hand on his arm, but he brushes it off and pushes himself to his feet. ‘It’s OK to be upset about this.’
‘Of course I am upset about it!’ His voice develops an edge that makes me anxious as he paces around the living room. ‘I gave everything I had in that post. I worked extra hours, I bent over backwards to get new contracts, I never put a foot out of line…’
The anger I felt before suddenly makes a return and I curl my hands into tight fists. ‘Who conducted the interview?’
‘Mike and some guy from Human Resources. It was all over in ten minutes. In and out, as simple as that.’
Snatching a bauble off the tree and throwing it into the air like a tennis ball, Marc looks up as Gina comes over with a few glasses of wine.
‘Have you tried speaking to Nicola?’ I accept a glass from Gina and take a much-needed sip. ‘There’s no way that she would be OK with this. She loved you and Oliver.’
‘I called her the second I left the office, but she’s been given redundancy too.’
A gasp escapes my lips and I narrowly avoid spilling red wine over the carpet. What is happening? I feel like I am in the middle of some awful nightmare which just keeps getting worse.
‘I guess our days with Suave are officially over then.’ Gina smiles gloomily and places her glass on the coffee table.
‘It just feels so wrong.’ I whisper, my throat hoarse with emotion. ‘Suave meant so much to all of us.’
‘Well, all good things have to come to an end sooner or later…’ Marc grumbles under his breath, throwing back his wine.
Nodding in response, I feel my head start to throb. ‘It’s just that no matter where life has taken us, there’s always been a connection to Suave in one form or another. Oliver has been there since the day we met. You were drawn back to the company after returning from Australia...’ I pause for breath and swirl my wine around the glass. ‘Secretly, I thought that we might all end up back there one day.’
‘Me too.’ Gina chips in, reaching for the wine bottle.
‘Yeah, me too.’ Marc nods in agreement and covers his face with his hands.
The lump that I have spent the past hour trying to ignore is now bigger than ever and despite my efforts to stop it, a tear slips down my cheek. Things like this shouldn’t happen to good people. It’s December for crying out loud, they couldn’t have at least waited until January?
Realising that the game is well and truly over, I decide to make an attempt at breathing some positivity into the room.
‘If our Suave days are over, we need to focus on the future. We need to hatch a plan for what we are going to do next.’
‘Clara’s right.’ Gina joins me in my attempt at raising the vibe. ‘I am bringing in enough to cover the mortgage for a few months. We’ll be OK, we have to be.’
Marc looks between the two of us and nods. ‘Yeah, we can turn this around. I just need to find something different and find it fast.’
‘There’s probably loads of work out there in the fashion industry.’ Gina exclaims, suddenly seeming a little more upbeat. ‘You will have another job in no time at all.’
I look down at the ground, not having the heart to tell them that if Oliver’s research has taught us anything, it’s that the fashion sector is pretty slim on the job front right now.
There’s a knock at the door and I can tell from the excited chatter that Owen is back with the kids. Immediately standing to attention, Gina grabs the glasses and dumps them on the kitchen island.
‘Let’s not tell the kids about this.’ Marc flicks on the television and sits back down on the couch. ‘It’s Christmas, I don’t want anything to spoil it for them.’
With a quick nod, Gina marches over to the door and throws it open. A chorus of cheers echo around the room as the kids fire into the apartment. High on ice-cream, the four of them tear through the kitchen and throw themselves onto the sofa.
‘Did you have a good time?’ I ask, reaching into the scrum and pulling out Noah.
Nodding manically, he holds up a tiny dragon and waves it in front of my face. ‘Look what Owen won for me! He had to fight the monsters and he won!’
‘He did?’ Taking the peculiar soft toy from him, I turn it over in my hands. ‘Where were these monsters?’
‘At the ice-cream parlour!’ Madison chimes in, showing me her own dragon. ‘Nobody else could do it, but Owen won four times!’
I turn to face Owen and smile as he looks down at the ground with pink cheeks. ‘It was just an arcade game.’ He mumbles, shaking off their praise. ‘Really, it was nothing.’
‘It was amazing!’ MJ claps his hands together and looks up at Owen as though he is Superman. ‘People were cheering him on! Weren’t they, Melrose?’
Too busy playing with her new toy, Melrose nods in response and makes her dragon attack the rug.
‘Well, you certainly seem to have made their evening!’ Marc picks up Melrose and claps Owen on the back. ‘Thanks, man. I owe you one.’
‘Yeah, thanks, Owen. I really appreciate it.’ Flashing him a wink, I signal for Noah to gather his belongings. ‘Right, I think it is someone’s bedtime.’
‘That goes for you guys too.’ Gina yawns and rests her hands on her hips. ‘And I don’t want to hear any complaining tonight. Remember that Santa is listening.’
Instantly stopping what they’re doing, the kids freeze and wait for instructions. Isn’t it amazing what children will do for the promise of gifts of Christmas Day? Looking at their five eager faces, I can’t help but wonder if Santa is listening to our wishes too…
When life sends a blizzard, build a snowman…
Chapter 8
‘Right, we’ve got six hours until we need to collect Noah.’ Sliding a mug of coffee across the dining table, I shuffle the huge stack of papers in front of me and flash Oliver a smile. ‘Let’s do this!’
As soon as we put Noah to bed last night, Oliver and I decided that we wouldn’t let this unfortunate situation ruin our Christmas. From the comfort of our own bed, we made a promise to each other that we would put all our efforts into looking at this positively. One of my mother’s favourite sayings is when life gives you lemons make lemonade and that is exactly what we plan to do.
‘I think I should start with the internet ads…’ Oliver says confidently, flipping open his laptop and reaching for his glasses.
‘Great idea!’ I smile back at him and grab the local paper from the rack.
Coming to a stop at the job section, I take a pen and get to work at circling everything and anything that seems even remotely applicable to Oliver’s field. As the ink hits the pages, I suddenly find myself feeling rather optimistic. Isn’t it amazing the difference a positive, can-do attitude can make? I sneak a peek at Oliver who is tapping away at his keyboard with purpose. Catching me looking at him, he shoots me a smile and takes a sip of his coffee.
Not wanting to get distracted from the task in hand, I tear my eyes away and tap my pen on the table. My gaze lands on a listing for a role at Janie’s Footwear and my mind flits back to the conversation I had with my mum yesterday. With everything that was going on when I arrived home last night it totally slipped my mind, but now that the storm has passed I can’t help but bring it up.
‘Oliver, have you spoken to your parents lately?’ I mumble, trying to sound nonchalant.
Taking the pen out of my hands and making a scribble on his notepad, he frowns at the screen and turns to face me. ‘Sorry, what was that?’
‘Your parents…’ I clear my throat and offer him a biscuit. ‘Hav
e you spoken to them?’
‘Yeah. After he called the other day, my dad sent over some photos of him and Courtney on the boat.’ He reaches into his pocket and produces his mobile phone. ‘Didn’t I show you these?’
‘I can’t remember.’ I blatantly lie, scrolling through the pictures that I have seen three times already. ‘They’re lovely. What about your mum, have you spoken to her?’
Taking back the handset, he curls his lips up into a smile and nods. ‘Oh, I see where you’re going with this.’
Unable to resist smiling myself, I raise my eyebrows and look at him expectantly. ‘Is there something that you want to tell me?’
‘It’s not a problem, is it?’ He cracks his knuckles before reaching for his coffee. ‘I know what happened the last time she was here, but it just felt the right thing to do. I didn’t like the thought of her being alone at Christmas…’
‘It’s fine.’ I cut him off and lean over to place a kiss on his cheek. ‘I would just have preferred to have heard it from you and not my mother.’
‘It’s just for the holidays, I swear.’ Giving my hand a squeeze, he turns back to his laptop.
‘Just think, you could be in a whole new job by the time that she arrives. Isn’t that exciting?’
‘It sure is.’ Hitting send, he lets out a yawn and types a number into his phone. ‘Although I must admit, I really can’t picture myself at another company…’
‘Give it time. It’s only been a day. When I left Suave to have Noah, I didn’t think I would ever work again, but then Floral Fizz was born and it just felt right.’
‘I guess. It’s just that design is the only thing I’ve ever been any good at, do you know what I’m saying? Before I stumbled across fashion I was going down a real bad route. It saved me from a life that I didn’t want to lead.’ He leans down and strokes Pumpkin on the head. ‘I just don’t want to let my family down…’
‘That’s not all you’re good at.’ Anger bubbles in my chest as I look at the sadness on Oliver’s face. ‘You’re a fabulous designer, but that doesn’t define you. Your job is a part of your life, but there are so many other aspects of you that make you the amazing person that you are. You’re an incredible husband, a loving son and the best father that Noah could ever wish for. You couldn’t let us down even if you tried.’