Okay, just so everyone knows, the past events are in bold and any notes etc. are in italics. Please rate and review, thanks
Chapter 2
Jack Branning. The name that all the ladies recognised. The man was a serial womaniser; you shouldn't be surprised if he eyed you up when first coming into contact with you. It wasn't a surprise though, he was absolutely gorgeous and any girl who saw him definitely knew this. Ronnie definitely knew what the big deal was when it came to Jack, mainly because 2 years ago, she was the most important woman in his life. They'd been dating for almost 2 years at that point and very getting along really well, with a very popular and potentially promising career in the nightclub and the icing on the cake, Ronnie's little bun in the oven. It was a fairytale for Ronnie, who after having such a dreadful teenage life, had thought she was finally going to get her 'happily-ever-after'. However, as her father had always warned her, life was never a fairytale, no matter how much she wanted it to be and Jack and Ronnie broke up following a series of severe arguments and issues that put their relationship on life support, with no intention of getting better at all. And now, 2 years and a horrifying miscarriage later, they were closer than ever before.
Ronnie hurriedly pulled on her purple coat after taking it off the coat hanger. She left the house almost and quickly as she had put on her coat and briskly made her way through Albert Square. Checking her watch, she realised that she only had 5 minutes left to get to the club. She passed many familiar faces on the way there, many familiar faces that still weren't courageous enough to look Ronnie in the eye following her tragic miscarriage right outside the pub all that time ago. She was aware that this period of time was around the time when she'd miscarried a few years ago, but she couldn't deal with the pity and the sympathy, she didn't even have the time to feel sorry for herself, As Jack had correctly pointed out in one of their heart-to-hearts a few month after the miscarriage, Ronnie was a strong, independent woman and she'd spent way too much time wallowing in self-pity earlier on in her life. She needed to start enjoying herself after all, didn't she deserve to?
'You're late.' Jack whispered after Ronnie had entered the office. The bank manager had been there a while now, and wasn't very happy that himself and Jack were being accompanied by a woman. Ronnie recognised him instantly; he was Joel's boss, also known as potentially the most sexist pig ever known to the eastern side of the city. 'The sexist twat didn't know you were coming, I wanted to surprise him.' Jack continued, ending his sentence with a cheesy grin, which nearly set the case of the giggles off between them. Ronnie resisted the urge to laugh and remained professional. She appeared to hate when Jack sat back casually on his iPhone, cracking jokes like there was no tomorrow in business meetings, but secretly she loved it, it brightened up the meetings. At this moment in time, it was quite obvious that Ronnie did not want to be there, she was only there for Jack's sake, due to the fact that Jack, although he may seem incredibly intelligent, had the attention span on a toddler. She composed herself and sat down at the desk, flashing one of her fake polite smiles, fully prepared for the tedious that was going to happen.
An hour later, they were finally done and Jack waved the bank manager goodbye. 'Well thank goodness that's done. Wanna go down the Vic for a quick drink?', he asked Ronnie. Ronnie laughed at him, mainly for not noticing that they owned a club and therefore, did not need to go anywhere for a drink. Jack frowned, realising that maybe drinking may not be the best thing to do at this time of the day due to Ronnie's recent habit. 'Never mind then' he finally said after a few seconds of silence. This seemed to be happening a lot lately, the awkward silences and stupid questions. It was fairly obvious that they weren't over each other just yet and they both had a soft spot for each other. But the feelings were getting stronger and much harder to control. Ronnie decided that enough was enough and made her way to the office door, only to be stopped by Jack, who grabbed her wrist. 'I'm sorry babe, I'm so sorry' Jack had blurted out upon realising his actions. Did he really feel that strongly about her, that he would grab her to stop her from leaving? He'd never grabbed her like that before. Ronnie smiled shyly, her cheeks burning up, and walked away, the smell of Jack's perfume dazing her.
Walking back home, Ronnie bumped into Danielle and Stacey Slater, her best mate. Stacey had never been keen on Ronnie before, but for some reason, she had started to grow on her. Maybe it was pity or maybe she realised that Ronnie wasn't that bad to hang around with if you gave it time. 'You alright Ronnie?' Stacey asked while handing a cup of tea to Danielle. Ronnie nodded, stopping by their stall for a quick little natter. 'Stacey's coming for dinner, if that's alright with you?' Danielle asked. 'Of course it is, she's more than welcome, and I think she knows that!' she replied, giving a warm, genuine smile again. Ronnie had noticed that she was actually quite good at interacting with people the same age as Danielle and Stacey, a fact that deeply satisfied her because she knew that it meant she'd be able to get along with her daughter if she ever found her. After a quick gossip, she walked the remainder of the journey home and sat down on the sofa for a little snooze.
'I couldn't handle it anymore, I couldn't stand watching my eldest daughter turn into a minging little whore, spreading her legs for anyone she wants. This family has morals, we have dignity and pride, and she's blatantly tarnished the family name, the cheap little tart', Glenda had said, totally aware of the fact that Ronnie was sitting right there. 'She's our daughter, any caring parent would want the best for their child, have a heart Glenda and look at your daughter, she's hysterical for Christ's sake, she just wants to see her baby!' Archie replied, kissing his daughter's forehead to calm her down.'No. Hell no. She wants a baby? Tell her to wait 20 years! That baby isn't your anymore, you hear me Veronica? She's gone.' Glenda said coldly, looking into her daughter's eyes.
Ronnie woke up instantly, her eyes watering. Her palms were sweaty, she was sweating a lot, and a cold shiver ran down her spine. She didn't like to be reminded of what happened; it upset her way too much. She wanted to sob, to let it out of her system, but she couldn't. She jumped at the sound of her phone ringing and went over to her coat and fished into her jacket pocket to fetch it when she felt something that was not in her pocket before fall out of her pocket and onto the floor. She looked at her phone, which now had a missed call from Jack and checked the time. 5 o'clock. She had to get ready for dinner now, and as she walked towards the kitchen, she kicked the crumpled note. Ronnie picked it up and opened it carefully, not wanting to rip the paper. Her heart started beating faster as she read the note.
'Hi Ron, long time, no see. I've actually heard loads about you from my boss as well as other people, you know clients, people like that... Don't worry, it's all good! I really can't wait to meet you again of course, if that's alright with you. My number's at the bottom of the note, just in case you wanna make the first move for us to get back in call if you wanna reach me, drop me a text anytime soon. I've missed you Blondie. ;) Joel. x'
Ronnie smiled at the note, feeling quite warm all of a sudden. She'd wanted to meet Joel again, she knew where he worked from her mates' knowledge but never had the courage to go and meet him. She was scared that her old feelings would come back again, just like they were for Jack. She went to go and call Joel when suddenly, the doorbell rang.