Chapter 2
The four girls quickly settled back into each other's company, and were soon half way down the second bottle of wine, and all laughing hysterically over some shared moment of the past three years. Brenda had been through a couple of times with plates of sandwiches and bowls of nibbles, but the girls had been more interested in catching up with all the gossip, rather than eating, and as a result were all rather the worse for wear. When Anna finally stopped laughing enough to glance at her watch, she exclaimed loudly. At this rate they would just have enough time to all get ready, and Tara was famed for having the ability to spend the longest time in the Bathroom.
"Where are we headed tonight Anna?" asked Helen, "What's the dress code, casual or clubby?"
"There's a new wine bar opened in town," replied Anna, "and so I thought we could start there, and then just work our way round."
As Paula stubbed out the end of her cigarette, she remembered how the four of them had always got on so easily, and knew that with not a lot of pushing on her part, this could easily become a weekend to remember.
The four girls hit the town and left their mark. They had always made a striking group, Tara's blonde coolness was in stark contrast to Anna's shorter, dark haired frame; and Paula was tall next to Helen's small, structure. Heads turned as the group entered H2O's, the wine-bar that was still new enough to have a carpet that you did not stick too. As they sauntered through the door, mostly oblivious to the admiring glances, Anna linked arms with Paula, "I'm so glad you could make it Paulie, I've really missed you."
As Paula smiled back at Anna, she realised how much she had gone through with all of these people, but Anna in particular. Three years was a long time to share each other's lives.
As they sat and giggled over past misdemeanors, Paula thought about what she was going to do with herself. Seeing the others had brought it all back to her, Anna nearly always had men-friends, and Tara had been practically engaged at birth to her father's best friend's son Iain. Helen of course was still getting over Ed, although Anna was hatching some wild plans for the party for her; it seemed to Paula that since Mickey, her love life had been seriously lacking in … anything. She thought back to Jack in the train. How could she have been so rude to him, he had seemed really nice, and just because she had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts, and had nearly missed her stop, it was not his fault, she should not have taken it out on him. He was only trying to be nice, and besides he had had the most gorgeous arse!
"Hey, what are you thinking about? This is supposed to be an enjoyable experience." The crisp Scottish accent cut through Paula's thoughts and she turned to face Tara with a smile.
"I was just thinking about Uni." she lied. Not for anything would she admit to Miss Successful-At-Everything how she felt about men. As the night went on, Paula forgot her men problems, and got on with the more pressing business of getting drunk and reminiscing about old times. The night finished in a series of 'remember when…' and when the four girls left the club, Paula was in an altogether better frame of mind.
The chink of light shone through the windows of the spare room in which Paula had fallen into last night and slowly brought her round into consciousness. As she reluctantly dragged her weary body into the living room, still with her duvet wrapped round her like Hiawatha, it was to find Helen sat in front of the blank television screen staring into space with the remains of a Kleenex scrunched up in her hands. As Paula settled into the space on the settee beside her Helen smiled thickly, "has the hang-over kicked in then?"
"To be honest mate, I'm more worried about the lack of one," Paula joked, "the amount we put back last night, I should be in BRI now with a stomach pump. Those half-price cocktails were really a bad idea. Still, I always wondered what a Fluffy Navel would taste like, and now I know." She paused, hating herself for wittingly getting herself into a situation which could so easily ruin Anna's carefully planned weekend, but at the same time, she felt she owed it to Helen not to leave her in any doubt about Ed and his feelings for her.
"How do you feel today Hel, apart from the hang-over?"
As Paula asked the question which Helen had dreaded being asked, she slipped her arm around her friend and pulled her into the cocoon of the warm duvet. Helen shrugged, "Alright, I guess." And then before Paula could begin to say any more, Helen second-guessed her. "Look Paula, I now you're just trying to help but I don't want to think about Ed right now. I have done a whole heap of crying over him, even done some serious drinking, and now I want to try and get over it. Please don't tell me about anything to do with Ed, I just want to enjoy the four of us being together."
Paula smiled and nodded. Perhaps ignorance is bliss, she reminded herself. The photo album was still on the coffee table in front of her, and as she nudged it open with her foot she saw the photo of Helen and Ed, with herself and Mickey at one of the Home games in the rugby season. Despite everything, she and Mickey had shared some good times, and she missed the idea of not having anybody around. Perhaps a quiet word with Anna might be in order. She would surely know if there were any single good-looking men around, perhaps someone who had just recently come in off a train? With this thought in mind, she got up and went in the kitchen, in search of the morning after the night before food - a fry-up.
It was later that morning as the girls were sitting round in the front room, trying to decide an agenda for the day, when the doorbell rang. As Brenda answered it, Tara peeked through the curtains to see who was imposing on the slob session. "Hey Annie, who do you know who has a violet Skoda convertible with fluffy dice in the mirror?"
As the girls fell about laughing in walked Jack, "I hope you aren't laughing at my new car, that's my pride and joy!" Despite herself, Paula could not help but feel a quiver of anticipation. She had built him up, in her drunken stupor last night, as she lay in a waltzer-like bed, to be this dashing figure that would enter into her life on a white steed and ride off into the sunset. A violet Skoda was not quite what she had in mind, and yet even so, she found herself straightening her dog-hair infested skirt, quietly cursing Rufus as she did so, and running her tongue over her teeth, in case of lipstick smears. As Anna introduced everyone Paula blushed to think how rude she had been yesterday, but Jack just smiled at her "I think we've already met, haven't we?" Aware that he had just granted her a public pardon, she smiled back at him and nodded, "Yes I had come up from Middlesbrough, to meet Anna. Had you come from far?"
"I had some business to see to in Manchester," he answered. As he spoke, looking her directly and clearly in the eye, Paula was more than aware of Tara's astonishment. Though the two of them were close friends, Paula had always felt somewhat self-conscious beside what most people considered to be the most gorgeous thing to come out of Scotland since Ewan Magregor. It was always Tara who found the good-looking men, and Paula was usually left with the sad friend. This time however, Paula got a huge buzz to realise that despite her long-standing engagement to the infamous Iain, Tara was at this present moment looking as if she had recently licked something not very pleasant from a large stinging plant.
Anna waved a fag packet around the room, and Paula realised that Anna was probably the only female in the room that was not unnerved by Jack's presence. Helen was still very quiet around members of the opposite sex, despite, or perhaps because of the effect Ed had had on her, and the palpable animosity between herself and Tara could have been cut with a knife. However, Jack did not seem fazed by the undercurrents that were racing round the room faster than Lewis Hamilton at time trials. As he accepted the proffered cigarette, Jack smiled at the girls.
"So Annie is the rave still on tonight then, because I may be late, I've got to drop this beauty of at Weston."
"Oh, I've never been to Weston, is it nice Jack," asked Tara. She smiled at him, running her tongue over her lips as she did so, she had obviously decided seconds were out, reflected Paula.
As Jack pointed confusedly out of the window to the car, which was sat glaringly on the front drive, Tara glided up to him and took his arm as she discreetly but pointedly turned him away from Paula.
"You aren't going to miss the social event of the weekend are you? We have come all this way to see the sights, don't tell me your leaving, just as I've arrived?"
Anna pointedly raised her eyebrows at Paula before going in the kitchen put the kettle on. Paula followed her through and sat herself on the worktop next to the kettle.
"Why does she always make every other female feel two foot small? Paula asked, "Do you think she realizes she does it?"
"You always were too charitable towards that girl," replied Anna, "she knows damn fine what she does, she just can't help it. She is far too used to getting her own way, and while I would hate anything serious to happen to her, I sure would like to see her taken down a peg or two!"
As Paula carried the tea through into the front room, Jack stood up to take the tray off her. "So how come you waited all this time before bringing any of your uni friends here Anna, or were you worried that we would all dish the dirt on you?"
"Now Jack, I think they already know everything that they need to know, and I am too sober to start reflecting upon my many misdemeanors, so let's keep schtum, shall we?" Anna laughed as she sat down, "Jack and I have known each other since birth, our parents were at the same ante-natal classes, and so if there's any dirt-dishing to do, I think I can keep my hand in!"
As Paula drank her tea, she couldn't help but look at Jack's legs, as he stretched them out next to her, long and lean, muscley and firm, just perfect for wrapping them around…
"…So what do think then Paula?" Jack's voice broke into her reverie, and she realized that she did not have a clue what the question was, and she hoped her cheeks didn't look as red as they felt.
"Well, it depends really," she offered tentatively, "what do the rest of you think?"
"Well, I don't mind, I've been to Weston loads of times, but there's a shop in the center that sells some lovely clothes, that I wouldn't mind going to, Helen, what about you?"
"Oh, I don't mind, if the rest of you want to go, then I might stay here, and finish off getting things ready for the party."
"No you bloody well won't!" Anna said, "You'll go and get your coat on, and come to Weston with the rest of us. Now we won't all fit in the passion wagon out there, so I'll take my car as well, and meet you up there Jack, Helen you come with me, we might go round to Simon's house and see if he wants to come along as well, I haven't seen him since I came home, Paula and Tara, you go with Jack, but Jack, a word of warning, Paula gets car-sick unless she sits in the front." This bald lie was accompanied by a discreet wink in Paula's direction, and Anna went to get her coat. Paula followed her out, "What the hell did you have to say that for? Now he'll think I'm a right daft tart!"
Anna started to laugh, "Did you see the look on Tara's face, she had obviously been planning a cosy twosome and now Jack is so worried about the state of his newly valeted seat covers, he'll insist you have the front seat, it doesn't matter how much you tell him I was joking."
Paula reluctantly started to smile, "I suppose it is worth it just to see the great Lady Tara slumming it in the back," never mind being sat up front with Jack, she thought to herself, as she pulled her coat on.