Never Mind The Botox: Rachel

by Penny Avis

  Rachel took another beer out of the fridge, went back up on deck and put her hand on hips.

  ‘How do I look?’ she said, grinning at the others.

  ‘Very cute,’ said Luke.

  ‘And warm,’ said James.

  ‘Your make-up is a bit smudged,’ said Sonya quietly.

  ‘Thanks,’ said Rachel.

  She got her canvas beach bag from the locker next to the helm where Luke was steering, took out her emergency pack of tissues and wiped her eyes. She then took out her bag of sweets and offered them round. ‘I always find it helpful to have sweets in a wet clothing emergency,’ she said to Luke.

  ‘Absolutely,’ said Luke, grinning at her. ‘Me too.’

  Rachel went back to her position by the side rope and sat down, marvelling at the new warmth and comfort she was feeling. She was ready for anything now. Bring it on!

  ‘Right, get ready to go round the mark,’ shouted Luke after a few minutes. They raced towards the red buoy at breakneck speed and ended up round the mark in first place.

  ‘Yee hah!’ Rachel shouted as their boat turned away from the others. Her hair was stiff with sea water, her make-up was ruined, she was dressed in somebody else’s oversized clothes, but she felt great. She put her face into the spray and closed her eyes. This was fun.

  ‘Wind’s picking up,’ said Luke, looking at one of the dials below the steering wheel. And before long, the sun disappeared behind some ominous grey clouds and it really started to blow. The boat crashed up and down over the waves and Rachel suddenly started to feel sick. The combination of beer and sweets wasn’t ideal preparation for some rough weather.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Will asked, seeing her go a bit pale.

  ‘I feel a bit queasy,’ said Rachel.

  ‘Keep your eye on the horizon,’ said Sonya.

  Rachel tried to watch the horizon but the rise and fall of the boat was getting in the way. Before she could stand up and get a better look, the nausea won out and she was sick over the side of the boat. The side rush of the wind blew bits of sick across the side of her face and into her hair. She grabbed her hair, held it back into a makeshift ponytail and leant over the edge, balancing on one hand. Luke suddenly appeared next to her, gently took hold of her ponytail and put her other hand firmly back on the side of the boat. She retched violently over the edge, coughing and spluttering on the bits of chewed sweets that flew out into the foamy water below. Once the contents of her stomach were safely overboard, Luke handed her a tissue and a bottle of water.

  ‘God, I’m so sorry,’ said Rachel, wiping her face with the tissue.

  ‘That’s okay, but I could do without you falling overboard,’ said Luke. ‘Feeling better now?’

  Rachel nodded.

  ‘Apart from being a sicky disgusting mess, that is,’ she said.

  ‘Come and steer for a bit,’ said Luke. ‘That makes you look forwards and should help stop you feeling sick.’

  ‘Steer? Are you sure? I don’t have the first clue what I’m doing,’ said Rachel.

  ‘Really? You surprise me,’ said Luke, looking at Rachel’s comedy clothes, sick-filled hair and streaky face. ‘And there I was thinking that you were the experienced sea-faring type.’

  ‘Ha, ha, very funny,’ said Rachel, feeling that if she didn’t laugh, she might cry, and that would be a humiliation step too far.

  Rachel steered the boat for the next ten minutes or so, following Luke’s instructions to the letter. And Luke turned out to be right again: concentrating on where the boat was going made her feel much less sick. The rest of the race went in a bit of a blur. The high winds and choppy seas meant that the boats were throwing themselves round the course at some speed. Rachel pulled her rope in and out of its cleat so many times she lost track − she was too busy enjoying herself. And in the end, after much shouting and rope pulling, their boat came in a close second.

  ‘Cheats!’ Rachel shouted in good humour at the winning boat as its crew leapt about hugging each other and punching the air.

  Rachel gingerly hugged her own crew members too.

  ‘Sorry I smell a bit sicky,’ she said, laughing.

  ‘No you don’t,’ said Will, pulling her into a hug with one arm and shaking hands with Luke at the same time.

  Rachel turned to hug Luke, who grabbed her towards him, sniffing at her hair.

  ‘Yes you do, very sicky in fact,’ said Luke.

  Rachel felt her stomach leap as Luke pulled her up against him. Unlike her, he smelt of aftershave and sweat, a much more attractive combination.

  ‘Thanks for the clothes. I’ll take them home and wash them,’ said Rachel, looking up at Luke and suddenly feeling slightly shy.

  ‘God, don’t worry. They’re only old spares. Just chuck them back in the bag,’ said Luke, stepping away from her.

  ‘I’ve got the clothes that I brought for the barbecue. I’ll change into those and give you these ones back,’ said Rachel, starting to go below deck to change.

  ‘I’m coming to your barbecue actually. Your company invited all the skippers. So why don’t you have a shower in the clubhouse and give me the clothes then,’ said Luke.

  ‘Oh right, okay, good idea,’ said Rachel, pleasantly surprised by the fact that she would be seeing more of Luke later.

  ‘Oh, don’t forget your, um, grab bag,’ said Luke, trying not to smile. He reached down and took her beach bag out of the locker by the helm.

  ‘Thanks. Hopefully I’ll look a bit less of mess when you see me next,’ said Rachel, pushing her matted hair away from her face.

  ‘Well, you certainly couldn’t look much worse,’ said Luke, laughing.

  ‘Thanks!’

  That was at least the fourth time Luke had laughed at her that day. But for some reason that she couldn’t really explain, Rachel didn’t actually mind.

  Chapter 27

  Rachel was sitting on her sofa staring at her phone on the coffee table, waiting for it to ring. It didn’t. ‘Ring, damn you!’ she shouted at the phone and looked at her watch for about the hundredth time.

  Luke had said he would ring her at ‘about eight’ and it was now gone twenty past. Rachel tried to stay calm: it didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to call. To a lot of people ‘about eight’ could mean any time really. They’d got on so well at the barbecue and she was sure Luke wasn’t the unreliable type − quite the opposite, in fact. She paced round her flat trying to recall every detail of the evening. Had she done anything to put him off? She didn’t think so. He’d definitely been impressed with her transformation from sick-splattered sailing crew member to disco diva.

  When her phone finally rang, Rachel was in the kitchen making a cup of tea. She sprinted into the sitting room and then stood by the phone, forcing herself to let it ring a couple more times. No point looking too keen.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Hi, is that Rachel?’

  ‘Yes it is,’ said Rachel, composing herself.

  ‘Oh hi, it’s Luke from Events Sailing,’ said Luke. He sounded very relaxed.

  ‘Luke, hi, how are you?’

  ‘Yes, good, thanks. Another hard day on the water. But at least none of my crew were sick or needed to wear my clothes, so that was a plus,’ said Luke.

  Rachel laughed. ‘That was lucky.’

  ‘Look, I was wondering if maybe we could meet up one night this week, maybe grab something to eat, if you’re free that is?’

  Oh yes, she was free, more free than he knew.

  ‘That would be great. How about tomorrow night?’ Rachel asked.

  ‘I’ve got running club tomorrow night but I could do Wednesday?’ said Luke.

  Running club! That was a bit healthy.

  ‘Yes, Wednesday is fine too,’ said Rachel a bit too quickly. Damn! Now she sounded like she had no social life of her own.

  ‘Wednesday it is then. Where shall we go?’

  ‘Maybe you could come here and we could
just wander down to one of the local restaurants?’ Rachel suggested.

  ‘Sounds great,’ said Luke.

  After the call, Rachel bounced around her flat in excitement and then rang Shali.

  ‘Well, I think he sounds fab!’ said Shali after listening to Rachel recount every last detail of the sailing trip and ensuing phone call. ‘If he was still interested after seeing you make such a complete prat of yourself then he must be good news.’

  ‘I think he might be a bit of a health nut, though. He looks really fit and he said he was going to a running club tomorrow night,’ said Rachel.

  ‘Well, you’d better hurry up and check out his stamina then, hadn’t you?’ said Shali, laughing.

  ‘Shali! I only met him on Saturday,’ said Rachel. ‘I hardly know him.’

  ‘You know he’s a great boat skipper, what more do you need?’ Shali asked.

  ‘Actually he’s the technical director of the sailing company, which means he’s responsible for running and maintaining the boats. He skippers as well just because he loves being on the water. He’s got an engineering degree, you know, and has done loads of different events stuff − rally cars, motor boats, that sort of thing. He said that he’s usually in charge of running the equipment because of his engineering background.’ Rachel knew it sounded like she was showing off but she couldn’t help it.

  ‘He sounds like a right action man,’ said Shali.

  ‘Well, I’ll find out when I see him,’ said Rachel.

  On Wednesday evening Rachel sat in the Chinese restaurant round the corner from her flat feeling overdressed, again. Luke had arrived dressed very casually in jeans and a navy fleece. She’d nearly worn jeans too but in the end had opted for a knee-length black velvet skirt and a long-sleeved red top, which now seemed like the wrong choice. She gulped at her wine nervously.

  ‘How was running club?’ Rachel asked.

  ‘Yeah, good, thanks,’ said Luke. ‘It was fitness training night, so lots of sprints and shuttle running, that sort of thing.’

  ‘Sounds hideous. Do you do a lot of running?’ Rachel asked.

  ‘A fair bit. It helps me stay fit and I just find I feel better afterwards,’ said Luke.

  Rachel had to agree that he looked pretty good.

  ‘I don’t do anything, well, fitness wise that is. Obviously I do something, I mean, I have a job, of course,’ said Rachel, conscious of the fact that she was rambling.

  ‘Well, you look alright to me,’ said Luke.

  Rachel smiled at him. ‘Thanks, but to be honest I think I’m living on borrowed time. I work too hard and drink too much and will probably wake up one day soon looking like a wrinkled old hag with a huge beer belly.’

  ‘I doubt it,’ said Luke.

  ‘Well, I definitely need a bit of a break. That’s why I signed up for the sailing weekend. The last few weeks have been totally manic.’

  ‘Really? Why?’ Luke asked.

  Rachel hesitated. For some reason she suddenly had an overwhelming urge to tell him everything.

  ‘It’s a long story,’ she said.

  ‘Well, I’m in no hurry,’ said Luke, sitting back in his chair.

  Rachel and Luke talked nonstop for the next two hours and by the end of it Rachel felt both emotionally drained and a bit drunk.

  ‘So, as you can see, I’m a total basket case,’ said Rachel.

  ‘It sounds like you dealt with things pretty well to me,’ said Luke.

  ‘Well, maybe in the end,’ said Rachel, not very convinced.

  ‘So is this cosmetic surgery job finished now then?’ Luke asked.

  ‘Our bit is. But they’ve still got the legal side to sort out, stuff like that, before it’s a done deal.’

  ‘Do you know what you’re onto next?’

  ‘No, not yet, but my boss did mention something about a business that makes radiators,’ said Rachel, wrinkling up her nose.

  ‘That sounds a bit more, well, down to earth than − what did you refer to it as? − the tits and arse job?’

  Rachel laughed. ‘That’s the technical term, obviously.’

  ‘Obviously,’ said Luke.

  ‘Maybe down to earth is what I need. After all, a change is a good as a rest,’ said Rachel.

  And that doesn’t just apply to my next project, thought Rachel, looking at Luke.

  ‘Look, I’ve got an idea. If you need a bit of a change, you know a fresh challenge, I’m running a ten-k race with the running club in six weeks’ time. It’s open to anyone. Why don’t you have a go? I could help you train,’ said Luke.

  Rachel’s jaw dropped. ‘Run? Me? No, I don’t think I could. That’s not my thing at all,’ she said, shaking her head.

  ‘Of course you could,’ said Luke. ‘It would just be a matter of starting slowly. Honestly, I’m sure you would feel much better. It would give you a real energy boost, a goal to aim at − you know, something a bit different going on.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said Rachel. She’d been feeling pretty knackered but she wasn’t sure that running about all over the place was the answer. Six weeks wasn’t that long either. It sounded like a pretty tall order.

  Luke seemed to read her mind. ‘Why don’t we just give it a try? It would be fun,’ he said.

  ‘It might be for you. I’d just end up as a sweaty blob,’ said Rachel.

  ‘You ended up as a sicky blob when we were sailing, but you still loved it,’ Luke reminded her.

  It was true: she had loved it, and the buzz it had given her afterwards. Maybe it would be worth a try, and in any case, it would mean she could see lots of Luke.

  ‘Well, maybe we could give it a try. I’m not promising I’ll do the race, mind you. We’ll have to see how it goes.’

  As they walked home from the restaurant Rachel put her arm tentatively through Luke’s. He responded by smiling and ruffling her hair. They walked back to Rachel’s flat without saying much, just enjoying the stillness of the evening air and the closeness of each other. When they got to Rachel’s front door, she couldn’t decide whether to invite Luke in or not. In the end, he made the decision for her.

  ‘I’d better go. Thanks for a great evening,’ he said.

  He leant forward to kiss Rachel on the cheek, but she turned her head and brushed her lips onto his instead. Luke shivered slightly and pulled her towards him. They stood holding each other tightly for a few moments and then Luke slowly leaned down and kissed her, properly this time, causing Rachel’s back to arch involuntarily and her legs to go rather wobbly.

  ‘I think I can still smell sick,’ said Luke, snuffling gently round her neck.

  ‘Liar,’ said Rachel, smiling.

  Luke stepped back and took both her hands.

  ‘So, when shall we start training then?’

  ‘I don’t mind,’ said Rachel. ‘Whenever suits you.’

  ‘How about tomorrow then? Call me when you get back from work and I’ll pop over.’

  ‘Okay, although I can’t quite believe I’ve agreed to this,’ said Rachel. ‘I must be mad.’

  ‘I like mad,’ said Luke, kissing her again. ‘In fact, I like mad a lot.’

  A couple of days later, Rachel met Shali for a catch-up.

  Shali stared at Rachel across the coffee shop table. ‘You’re doing what?’

  ‘Training for a ten-k,’ said Rachel.

  ‘Wow, you must really like this guy,’ said Shali.

  ‘It’s not that. It’s good for me, that’s all,’ said Rachel.

  ‘Yeah, right!’ Shali looked like she didn’t believe a word of it. ‘So have you started training yet?’

  ‘Yes, we’ve just done a few gentle jogs so far. I think Luke is trying to work out exactly how unfit I am! Anyway, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was a bit stiff the next day but nothing more than that and I slept really well.’

  Shali eyed Rachel suspiciously. ‘And you didn’t dive into any bushes for some c
heeky outdoor sex?’

  ‘No we did not! Not yet anyway. We’re, you know, taking things slowly,’ said Rachel, grinning.

  ‘Oh right, that’s nice,’ said Shali, faking a yawn.

  ‘Yes, it is actually,’ said Rachel.

  ‘When are you seeing him next?’ Shali asked.

  ‘Tomorrow morning, early. We’re going to start running before work a couple of days a week. I think it will be a bit easier than when I’m knackered after work,’ said Rachel.

  ‘How early?’ Shali looked alarmed.

  ‘Six o’clock,’ said Rachel, grimacing.

  ‘I can’t believe that some bloke is getting Rachel Altman out of bed at six o’clock in the morning to go running. It’s a bloody miracle,’ said Shali.

  ‘Leave me alone,’ said Rachel, punching Shali gently on the arm.

  ‘No seriously, I’m pleased for you, Rach, really I am,’ said Shali, giving Rachel a hug.

  ‘I’m pleased for me too,’ said Rachel, grinning.

  Three weeks later, Rachel, Shali and Natalie were standing chatting in Bar Q at the department’s quarterly drinks. On the small, high-topped table next to them sat a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket. Stood next to it was a large bottle of water.

  ‘So how long left to go until the race?’ Natalie asked.

  ‘Just over a fortnight,’ said Rachel.

  ‘Are you going to be ready?’ asked Shali.

  ‘I hope so. I’ve been training really hard and Luke thinks I will. I’m not trying to get a brilliant time or anything. If I do it in less than an hour, I’ll be happy,’ said Rachel.

  ‘Well, I have to say, you look fantastic. Whatever you’re getting up to with Luke seems to be working,’ said Shali, adding quickly, ‘not that you didn’t look fantastic before, by the way.’

  ‘Thanks. I can’t tell you what a difference it’s made,’ said Rachel. ‘I’ve got so much more energy and I’m loads more focused at work. Having a few nights of not drinking and running instead has just transformed me. Carl doesn’t quite know what’s hit him!’