City Woman

by Patricia Scanlan

  Caroline knew that taking this job was the most important step she had ever taken. So when Pat asked her if she would like to join a silk-painting class, she immediately said yes and later in the evening when Féile suggested she join her badminton club, she found herself agreeing.

  ‘Oh God! I’m going to have a hell of a hangover,’ moaned Nell as they took a taxi home several hours later. Because it was her last night, everybody had been buying her drinks.

  ‘Don’t worry; at least you don’t have to get up for work in the morning,’ Caroline remarked as the driver drove past the imposing Sheraton Hotel. The previous night, Bill had taken Nell and herself and the other two girls in the office to the Inn of Happiness, the Chinese restaurant in the Sheraton, as a treat before Nell went home. They had had the most superb meal in the exotic red-and-black restaurant and Caroline promised herself she was going to go there again.

  The following morning, she padded around the apartment, making sure not to make any noise so as not to disturb Nell. It was a beautiful morning out and she stood on the balcony marvelling that the sun was so hot and the sky so blue in the middle of November.

  She also found it so incongruous to go into the huge co-op that stocked everything from Christmas cards to Kerrygold butter and see all the Christmas decorations, or to listen to Christmas music being played in Spinneys, the large English shop, and then to come out to the oven-blast heat and the blazing sun.

  ‘Morning!’ A cheerful voice interrupted her musings. For someone suffering from a hangover, Nell looked remarkably well. Seeing Caroline’s quizzical look, Nell laughed. ‘I’m not as bad as I thought I’d be: lots of water and an Alka-Seltzer last night and some orange juice this morning did the trick. So since we have the day off and I’m all packed and organized, what do you say we catch a few rays? I’d better top up the tan for going home. I have to make them all pea-green.’

  ‘I’d love that,’ said Caroline eagerly. She hadn’t been to the beach yet and she was dying to go swimming in the Arabian sea.

  Twenty minutes later they were driving through the suburbs and past the enormous sheikhs’ palaces to the Intercontinental Hotel.

  ‘You have to be a member of a beach club, unless you just want to go to the ladies’ beach,’ Nell explained as she expertly negotiated a huge roundabout covered with flowers. ‘This one is one of the most exclusive. Bill pays our membership as a perk for working unsocial hours. It’s terrific, Caroline: there’s tennis and squash, a gym and saunas, and you can do water sports like windsurfing and paragliding off the beach. It’s lovely to come down here on your mornings off, particularly if it’s midweek when it’s not packed. I usually try to come once a week, just to flop and relax and be by myself for a while. It really renews you.’

  ‘I’d say!’ exclaimed Caroline, as they turned left off the carriageway and drove down to a marina that was full of luxurious yachts and sleek motor cruisers, the like of which Caroline had only seen in films. Nell parked the car and led the way to the entrance of the beach club. She handed Caroline a card. ‘This is your membership card and you are entitled to bring two guests if ever you want to.’ The smiling man at reception handed a pair of thick fluffy towels to each girl and then Nell was leading Caroline past the tiled shower- and changing-rooms out to a verdant lawn, beyond which were two rows of loungers with luxurious emerald cushions that just invited a body to sink into them. Shaded by palms, the club was like something out of an exotic travel brochure. A long crescent of white sand curved along the coast, fringing the aquamarine waters of the Gulf. At the edge of the lawn was a large circular shaded bar, where patrons could order drinks or tea and coffee or snacks. Lucinda Marshall, eat your heart out, thought Caroline in amusement. This was the nearest to paradise she had ever been.

  ‘You like it?’ Nell spread her towels on a lounger and stepped out of her sundress to reveal a black bikini and tanned smooth skin. ‘Ooohhh, I’d better make the most of this,’ she sighed, oiling herself with Hawaiian Tropic. ‘It will be grey skies and cold weather for the next few months.’

  ‘I think I’ll go for a swim first,’ Caroline decided, as she was feeling quite warm. Pulling off her shorts and T-shirt, she stepped out of her sandals and walked down to the water’s edge in her turquoise bikini. The sand was hot under her feet and with a sigh of pleasure she waded out into the crystal-clear waters of the Gulf and dived in. It was bliss. The water caressed her body as she swam and floated. Later she lay on her lounger and let the sun warm her cooled limbs as she fell into a peaceful slumber under the shade of her palm fronds.

  The girls spent the day at the club, chatting, snoozing, swimming, eating and drinking and when it was time to leave, Caroline took a last look around, knowing that she was going to spend many happy hours in this gorgeous place.

  They did some last-minute shopping for presents that Nell wanted to bring home and then it was back to the apartment to get ready for Nell’s departure.

  As she stood with Bill behind the glass partition at Abu Dhabi airport, waving to Nell until they could see her no longer, Caroline tried to ignore the vague knot of apprehension that twisted her intestines. She had met lots of people, she had the Irish society and Féile and Pat and most of all she had that beautiful beach. Thousands would give anything to be in her shoes.

  ‘Will you be all right on your own?’ Bill cast a glance in her direction as he pulled up outside the apartment.

  ‘I’ll be fine, Bill,’ Caroline assured him confidently.

  ‘Well, you have my number: use it if you need to.’

  ‘I will, Bill; don’t worry.’ Caroline gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

  ‘Good night, good night, Caroline,’ her boss blustered, but Caroline could tell he was pleased. Despite his gruff exterior, he was as soft as butter.

  ‘I’ll see you in the morning, Bill, bright and early,’ she promised, and waved as he drove off.

  It was strange going into the apartment without Nell being there, but in another way it was nice being on her own. She made a pot of tea and some toast and pottered around for a little while and then, knowing she had to make an early start, she went to bed and almost before she knew it, she was asleep.

  ‘Don’t be a coward!’ Caroline spoke severely to her reflection in the mirror. Big brown eyes under a feathery fringe of black hair stared doubtfully back. She was trying to get up the courage to drive to work rather than get a taxi. ‘Start as you mean to go on.’ All her paperwork was in order and the keys to Nell’s Honda Civic were lying on the dressing table. She picked up her map of Abu Dhabi and ran her eyes along it. On paper her route looked relatively easy. It was a straight road to the city. Airport Road would be no problem. There were no roundabouts until she got to the big one opposite the Cultural Foundation where she would have to turn on to Zayed the First Street, and then all she had to do was to turn right at Khalid Bin Al Waleed Street, near the British Embassy. Then she was on the Corniche and the rest was a doddle. Still she dithered. She had seen the erratic driving. Would she keep her nerve with all the beepings and lane-hopping that were part and parcel of driving in Abu Dhabi? She looked at her watch. It was almost seven-fifteen; she’d want to hurry if she wanted to be into work on time, whether driving or taking a taxi. Caroline knew that if she took a taxi today, she’d never drive in the city. So, taking a deep breath, she picked up the car keys and closed the door behind her.

  Opening the car door, Caroline sat in, only to remember with a deep sense of shock that the car was left-hand drive! Exiting on the passenger side, she was sorely tempted to lock the doors and hail a taxi but her stubborn streak came to the fore and with a hasty prayer to her mother in heaven, she got in and started up the engine. It was a bumpy start, to say the least, as she clutched at an unfamiliar gear and tried to remember that her handbrake was on her right side rather than her left. Cautiously she edged out, her gears jarring unmercifully as she slowed to a halt to let some traffic pass. Then the car cut out. Cursing vehemently, Caroline st
arted up the engine and then shot out on to the street and turned left on Airport Road. The traffic was fast-flowing but she kept to the slow lane and proceeded at a steady pace. She passed the white walls of the open-air mosque where everyone gathered to celebrate Eid al Fitr, the great three-day celebration after the long fasting of Ramadan. She would be here for the next Ramadan which would start some time around the end of February. During that month, all Muslims had to fast from sunrise to sunset and non-Muslims, such as herself, would have to refrain from eating in public or anywhere they could be seen by Muslims in daylight hours.

  Although she knew Pat lived somewhere nearby, she didn’t dare look around but kept her eyes firmly on the road ahead. ‘Remember the traffic lights are overhanging,’ she muttered, as a taxi-driver shot in in front of her. As she got closer to the city centre, the traffic intensified and sweat prickled her brow and upper lip.

  ‘Omigod! Omigod!’ she breathed as she was tooted at impatiently from behind. ‘Creep, jerk!’ she swore, her palms sweaty against the wheel. ‘Keep to the right; keep to the right; O Sacred Heart of Jesus, get me to work safely.’ Caroline prayed to herself the whole way into town. The roundabout at the Cultural Foundation came into view and she slowed down to negotiate it, only to invite a torrent of hoots and beeps.

  ‘Piss off, the whole shaggin’ lot of you,’ Caroline growled as she shot around the roundabout and turned left onto Zayed the First Street. It was with immense relief that she finally drove on to the Corniche and saw the haven of her office building.

  Standing in the lift as it glided silently up to the tenth floor, Caroline tried to compose herself. Her crisp white cotton blouse and tailored black trousers still looked good in the mirror in the lift. Despite her traumatic journey, she didn’t look as flustered as she felt. At least she had a good idea about how the office worked. Nell had been very patient and thorough at explaining; so she wasn’t too apprehensive about her first day without her.

  ‘Morning,’ Bill greeted her as she walked through the door into the office.

  ‘Morning, Caroline,’ Filomena smiled sweetly. Caroline wasn’t sure that she particularly liked Filomena, who could be a bit smug and superior and didn’t like to be asked to do things.

  ‘Morning, all,’ Caroline returned their greetings cheerfully.

  ‘You had no problems getting here?’ Bill cocked an enquiring eyebrow.

  ‘None at all,’ Caroline sat down at Nell’s desk.

  ‘You took a taxi.’ Filomena made a statement rather than asked a question.

  ‘Not at all,’ Caroline said. ‘I drove.’

  ‘Ha!’ exclaimed Bill. ‘That’s thirty dirhams you owe me, Filomena. I knew Caroline would drive in.’

  ‘What’s this?’ she asked in amusement.

  ‘Filomena was so sure you wouldn’t drive that she bet me thirty dirhams. She should know better than to bet with me, eh, Filomena?’ Bill was as pleased as if he’d won a grand.

  ‘Know-all!’ Filomena snapped, and Caroline felt a secret sense of satisfaction that she had proved her wrong. It would be interesting to see how the typist behaved when Bill was not in the office and Caroline was in charge. An instinct just told her that Filomena was someone she was not going to like. There was something bossy about the younger girl and it was perfectly obvious in the few days that Caroline had been at the office that Filomena resented her presence and, understandably, probably felt that she should have been left in charge of the office during Nell’s absence. However, she did not have Caroline’s linguistic skills nor her experience of office administration. Caroline hoped there would be no unpleasantness between them and that Filomena would not take advantage when Bill was away.

  It was a hectic day. Bill had secured a contract to build a palace for a sheikh in Oman and Caroline spent the day on the phone getting quotations from suppliers. At lunchtime, Filomena decided that Caroline and Maria should have first lunch and she would have second. Caroline knew she was being tested.

  ‘That’s very kind of you, Filomena,’ she said pleasantly. ‘I’m dying for a bite to eat. We’ll let you go on first tomorrow.’

  ‘Oh I don’t mind looking after the office: I’m used to it.’ Filomena was as sweet as sugar.

  ‘Oh, fair is fair!’ Caroline said firmly. ‘Isn’t that right, Maria?’

  ‘Oh yes,’ Maria affirmed, much to Filomena’s chagrin. Caroline gave a mental sigh of relief, feeling that she had handled the situation quite well. Maria was a gentle soul and it was obvious that Filomena, if she were allowed, would boss her around. Nell had made sure that didn’t happen and Caroline, seeing the way the wind was blowing, decided she would continue to keep Filomena in her place.

  ‘Caroline, would you like to come to the Pizza Hut on Khalifa Street?’ Maria asked. ‘It’s not far from here and they do very tasty food.’

  ‘I’d love to, Maria,’ Caroline agreed, glad to get out of the office for an hour and delighted that she’d have company for lunch.

  ‘But you brought sandwiches,’ Filomena interposed.

  ‘Oh, I feel like a pizza and I can show Caroline around as well,’ Maria said as they walked out to the lift.

  Filomena was annoyed with herself. She realized that she had made a mistake throwing Maria and Caroline together but she had thought that Maria would have her usual sandwich in the office before going out for a walk along the Corniche. It had never entered her head that Maria would ask Caroline to go to lunch; she was such a mouse normally.

  In a thoroughly bad humour, Filomena assaulted her keyboard, prompting Bill to enquire, as he walked through to his own office, if she was still sore about the thirty dirhams.

  ‘Huh!’ She kept her head down and ignored her boss, much to his amusement. Bill had a pretty good idea of what was wrong with her and it would be interesting to see how Caroline handled the situation. So far, she was doing fine and he was very pleased that she had driven to work this first day. She would be able to use the car to get around and it would give her a chance to see the Emirates properly.

  By the time she got home that evening, Caroline was on a high. She had come by a different route which, although it had four roundabouts, had meant that she did not have to go into the city centre. As long as she stayed in the slow lane, she was fine.

  ‘I did it! I did it! Easy-peasy,’ she hummed to herself as she undressed. ‘First day over and I did fine. Good girl, Caroline,’ she applauded herself, thrilled at the way the day had gone and proud of the fact that she had taken the car.

  It was bliss to stand under the cooling jets of water. She washed her hair, slipped into a robe and sat down with a cup of coffee to read the Gulf News.

  A knock on the door surprised her and when she opened it Féile was standing there.

  ‘Hi, how are you getting on?’ asked her neighbour, smiling. ‘How did the first day go? I see you took the car.’

  ‘Come in, come in,’ bubbled Caroline. ‘I’m still on a high after it all. I can’t believe I drove into the office, but I’m just so glad I did!’

  ‘I thought you’d be wrecked,’ laughed Féile.

  ‘I’m not. I feel I’ve loads of energy. If you knew me, you’d know what an achievement this is for me. I’m a bit of a mouse at home. I used to avoid like the plague driving in O’Connell Street, and even having the first day in the office without Nell over and knowing that I did a good job is a great relief. I won’t be dreading it or the journey to work any more.’

  ‘Caroline, I’m telling you: you’ll go home a different person. Being in a city like this and learning to fend for yourself gives you loads of confidence. I’m here three years now and I’m a totally different person from what I was when I came out. So make the most of it and enjoy it! Talking of enjoyment, how would you like to pop over to the souk for a while? Nell told me she hadn’t had the chance to bring you. I’m going myself for an hour or two.’

  ‘Oh, that would be a real treat! I’m dying to go there. I’ve heard so much about it.’

>   ‘Have you had your dinner yet?’ Féile enquired.

  ‘Ah, I’ll get something when I come back,’ Caroline replied.

  ‘Come over and have a bite with me,’ Féile said easily. ‘It’s nothing exotic – just pasta and a side salad – but it will save you cooking.’

  Caroline accepted the offer gratefully and as she dressed, reflected on how kind her neighbour was. Nell had obviously asked Féile to keep an eye on her, but giving her her dinner was above and beyond the call of duty. Caroline resolved to have the other girl over later on in the week. And to think she had been worried that she would be lonely. Maria had gone to lunch with her, she was having dinner with Féile and then going to the souk: it was still like being on holidays.

  This impression was reinforced as she strolled around the exotic streets of the souk with Féile. They had taken a taxi and then walked across the huge white winding pedestrian bridge known as the Twirly. Illuminated with strings of lights, it led to an Aladdin’s cave of narrow shop-filled streets. There were glittering gold shops, fabric shops with the purest of silks and chiffons, electric and watch stores, oriental gift stores, rug and tapestry shops and exotic grain and spice shops which scented the air with the most aromatic scents. It was a shopper’s paradise and Caroline was in her element. ‘I’m going to get some silks, and I want some good runners oh! and look—’ she pointed out a Little Mermaid doll that sang, ‘—that would be perfect for Mimi, Maggie’s little girl.’ Féile urged caution, reminding her that she was going to be there for some time and that she should shop around and see where the bargains were to be had.