Chapter twenty-nine
The news that Julie was back on the scene was a shock to the system. I can't help but think she ultimately has something to do with all of this mess with Andy.
"So she's staying at Shannon's then?" I ask Shaun.
"Yeah, apparently she's been there for a few weeks but he didn't tell us since none of us can stand her anymore" Shaun tells me.
"Wait, so why would Andy stay there then?" Brooke asks, clearly unaware of this information as well. "She screwed everything up between Andy and Elle the last time she was in town."
"I have no idea" Shaun replies, sitting back in his chair and picking up the last of his burger. "But he's cranky as all fuck at the moment so I seriously doubt that he's even knows she exists."
My appetite has disappeared and I wrap the last of my sandwich up and throw it in the rubbish bin next to our table. I have no doubt in my mind that Julie is the root of this evil that has been making us all miserable.
Looking at her watch Brooke clears her throat before saying "Aren't you supposed to be back at work now?"
I glance at the time and gasp. I'm already ten minutes late. "Oh shit, sorry guys I've got to go. Thanks for having lunch with me though, I'll talk to you later on" I say as I stand quickly grabbing my bag and racing back to the shop.
"Sorry, sorry" I say as I walk in the door to Sandra. "I honestly had no idea I was running late, I'm so sorry" I say to Sandra but she just smiles and waves me off. "Let me go put my bag away and you can head off for lunch" I tell her, walking into the office.
I'm pulled up quickly by the appearance of a flower arrangement on my desk. I lean over and smell the beautiful mix of flowers before noticing the envelope with my name on it. I grab it and open it up, pulling a small note card out.
It's blank with a single X on it.
I frown slightly and turn it over in my hands but there is nothing else on it.
How odd.
I walk back out to Sandra who is standing there smiling at me, obviously waiting for my reaction.
"So, who are they from?" she asks me.
I hold the card out to her and she frowns as well. "Wait, is that it? Who the hell would send such beautiful flowers and leave an X on a card?"
"I have no idea" I say to her as I take the card back from her outstretched hand.
"You don't think it would be Andy?" she asks me.
"Flowers like these aren't really his style, and why wouldn't he sign it if it was though?" I reply.
"Maybe he just didn't know what to say to you? Perhaps this is just his way of saying he's thinking of you."
I'm deep in thought when I realise that Sandra still hasn't gone for lunch and I have more work that needs doing. "Why are you still here?" I say to her.
"Oh right, yeah, lunch. Okay, I'm going I'm going" she says grabbing her handbag from under the counter and heading for the door. "You ring me if you work out who it is, otherwise I'll be back in an hour" she says as she opens the door and steps out on the sidewalk.
I smile to myself at her enthusiasm but then the smile fades when I start to wonder who would have sent them to me.
I grab my phone out and give Bradie a quick call hoping he might know something but he doesn't answer. I leave him a voice message and go back to my work, hoping it will distract me enough to forget about the mysterious flowers.
By the time Sandra gets back I'm busy unpacking a box of stock that was delivered in her absence. She doesn't mention the flowers and I'm grateful that she is distracted by the new lot of dragon lamps that have arrived.
When three o'clock arrives I grab my things, flowers included and hug Sandra goodbye before making the drive home.
On the way I pull to the side of the road when my phone rings and I realise its Matthew my lawyer.
"Hi Matt, what's up?" I say as I answer the phone.
"Hello Elle, I'm just calling with some good news for you. It seems that the Piper's have had a change of heart and have withdrawn the custody claim. Congratulations" he says.
"Oh terrific news, thank you so much Matthew" I say to him, as enthusiastically as I can.
"Why do I get the feeling that you already knew about this?" he says. I obviously should not be an actor.
"Ah, I might have already been told by Jim and Carol about it the other day actually. But thank you so much for ringing me and letting me know officially" I say to him.
"That's fine Elle. I'm glad it's worked out for you; custody battles are so messy most of the time. Well, I just thought you should know. I'll let you go" he says to me.
"Sure thing Matthew and thanks again for the call" I say before hanging up.
I pull back onto the road and continue on home. I run the flowers inside and put them in a vase before starting my walk to the bus stop. I still haven't heard from Bradie and his car is missing. I send him a quick text asking where he is as the bus pulls up.
The kids come flying off the bus, obviously happy its Friday and give me a hug. Their moods have been better since I spoke with them both and they are much more affectionate towards me now.
As we start to walk home my phone buzzes with a text message. It's from Bradie.
In the city, sorting some band stuff out. I'll call you when I'm on my way back.
I tuck the phone into my back pocket and listen as the twins tell me about their day.
The rest of the afternoon passes without incident, almost. The kids notice the flowers of course and ask who they are from. When I tell them it's a bit of a mystery Lilly teases me about having a secret admirer whilst Max seems to get his nose out of joint about it. I guess he's thinking they're from Andy.
By the time Bradie phones I have dinner already made and on the table. I put his in the oven for when he gets home and the kids and I settle into a quiet evening.
Just after eight o'clock we hear Bradie's car pull up out the front. Lilly races to the front door to open it for him and as soon as he steps inside she proceeds to tell him all about 'Mum's secret admirer'.
Bradie glances at me and smiles before sitting down at the table and listening to all of Lilly's theory's as he eats his dinner. When he's finished it's time for the kids to go to bed.
I can hear Bradie in the kitchen washing up his plate as I say goodnight to them both and tuck them in. I pass him in the hallway on his way to say goodnight and I give him a small smile. I have no doubt in my mind I'm about to be asked twenty questions about these flowers so I make my way to the couch to wait for his return.
Surprisingly he's quite a while with the kids and by the time he's sitting next to me I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps he doesn't have some news of his own to share, judging by the look on his face.
"How was your day dear?" I ask him with a grin.
"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours" he replies cheekily.
"You first" I say but he shakes his head no to me.
"Oh fine. Alright, let's see. I had lunch with Shaun and Brooke today. Shaun let it slip where Andy is staying and I also know who else is staying there" I tell him.
A look of shock registers on his face. "So you know who we suspect of screwing with your lives then?" he says, to which I simply nod.
"Then when I got back to work someone had sent me a bunch of flowers, which Lilly told you all about, but with only an X on the card. You don't know anything about this do you?" I ask him.
"Nope, not a thing. Maybe Andy sent them to you but he didn't say anything to me about it. Who do you reckon did?" he replies.
"Andy is the only person who comes to mind to be honest, unless you were being nice to me but I would think you would have signed the card."
"It wasn't me, I swear" he says.
"Well, if it was Andy, why wouldn't he have signed it?" I ask.
"I don't know Elle."
"Oh and my lawyer rang and told me that the custody petition has been formally withdrawn so that made my day a little special" I tell him.
"I'm glad to hear it. That must be such a huge weight off your shoulders" he says.
"Yeah it is. So come on, your turn" I say.
"Alright, the record label wants us to film a DVD on this tour in July. Sort of like a documentary on how we got started, places where we've played, things like that."
"Really? That sounds awesome, I bet you're thrilled at that" I say.
"Extremely, we spent all day mapping out what the structure is going to be like and who's filming what and places we can go and people to interview. I'm really looking forward to this" he says.
We spend the rest of the evening on the couch talking about the DVD and eventually I go to bed around eleven.
Saturday morning we're all up early for the kid's soccer game. Bradie and I take them to the fields and spend the morning running up and down the sideline and helping out where we can. Their team wins and we have a celebratory lunch at Hungry Jacks with all the other kids and their parents. It's a very busy and noisy afternoon and when the time come for me to take them over to Sarah and Tom's place to stay the night I'm feeling a little exhausted.
Bradie and I have a drink before getting dressed in our costumes for Brooke's surprise party. I've told him I'm driving as I'm not supposed to drink too much now that I'm on the anti-depressants. We leave at just after six o'clock and make the twenty minute drive to Brooke's parent's house. We've been told to park in the next street over from theirs and to walk through the neighbouring park into the backyard.
There are already about sixty or so other people there and I wonder how the hell they are going to keep them all so quiet so that the surprise isn't given away. Bradie and I mingle with everyone else; the usual crowd is all present except for Andy. I even notice that Shannon's here and I begin to wonder if that tramp of a cousin of his has tagged along as well. Surely she wouldn't dare show her face considering none of us can tolerate her at all.
Suddenly Brooke's dad appears and hushes everyone indicating that Brooke has arrived with Shaun. We all take our positions behind anything we can find, the huge boat being the most popular with a lot of the guys climbing in it and hiding.
We hear Shaun's voice say the key sentence "I just wanted to show you something" and we all jump out and yell "Surprise!" at the top of our lungs. The look on Brook's face is priceless, somewhere between complete shock and happiness. She turns to Shaun when she realises that he's behind it all and playfully slaps his arm. We all have a giggle at that and people begin to step forward to give her their birthday wishes.
Brooke says thank you to just about everyone, Bradie and I included and dashes back inside with Shaun to change into her costume. When they return Brooke looks absolutely gorgeous in her fairy costume. Shaun went with my idea of a sexy 'True Blood' character but decided on the werewolf Alcide instead. It suits him really well though and he and Brooke mingle in the crowd.
I spot Alice dressed as Goldilocks and I make my way through the sea of people to say hello. Bradie has followed me, apparently deciding not to let me out of his sight and we find some seats and sit down.
She leans into me and asks me how I'm going and if I've seen a doctor yet. We settle into a long conversation about baby's names and the potential they have for shaping the child's life. Bradie tires of our conversation and decides to go and mingle with everyone else. At one point Shannon comes over and says hello and asks us both how we've been. We speak briefly with no mention of Andy's stay at his place before he disappears into the crowd again.
Dinner is served as a buffet and we line up with plates in hand to grab something to eat. Whilst Alice and I are waiting we see a blonde walk in dressed like Ke$ha. When she sidles up to Shannon's side both Alice and I realise its Julie.
I feel Alice's hand on my shoulder, either as a comfort or as a symbol to say that she's here for me. We move forward in the line and as I'm dishing potato salad on my plate I feel a tap on my shoulder.
Looking behind me I see Julie standing there. She smiles sweetly at me and says "Hello."
Not wanting to stoop to her level I simply give her a slight smile before saying "Hi Julie how are you?"
"I'm surprised you're talking to me" she says, her eyebrows disappearing under the mop that is her hair.
"Just being polite" I say before turning back around and continuing on with my dinner. A few moments later Alice leans into me and says very quietly "she's gone."
We make our way back to the seats to find Bradie waiting for us already with a plate loaded with food. He obviously saw Julie's interaction with me and he asks me constantly if I'm okay. I reassure him that I'm fine and when we've finished eating he takes our plates to the bin for us.
"I'm just going to go to the toilet" I say to Alice and head inside the house.
After getting directions from Brooke's dad I walk down the hall to the bathroom and toilet. As I'm washing my hands I look up to the mirror and watch as Julie steps in the room behind me.
I turn the taps off, grab the hand towel and dry my hands before turning around to look at the blonde bimbo before me.
"So how's your perfect life and your perfect little family now that Andy wants nothing to do with you?" she says.
I allow myself a moment to digest what she's saying. So many responses are going through my mind that I'm unsure how to reply. Instead I chose to simply stare at her, eyebrow raised in question.
She obviously expected a much bigger response from me because I can see the anger starting to form on her face.
I give up waiting for her to continue and push myself off the bathroom bench and walk past her to the door. As I'm stepping through the doorframe she decides to speak again.
"How does it feel to be dumped by a text? It must be wonderful to know that you meant that much to him that he couldn't even phone you."
I realise at that moment that she just confessed that it was her that sent that text. How else would she know about it? She has been the one behind this whole thing from the beginning. I feel the anger flood my senses as I turn and face her.
"Does it feel good?" she says looking real smug.
Before I know what I'm doing my hand is drawn into a fist and has connected with her cheekbone. She falls backward from the force of my strike and hits the tiled floor as Alice comes through the door behind me.
"Oh my God, are you alright Elle?" she says as I shake my hand by my side.
Brooke appears as well and they both ask me what happened. Julie is shouting things from the floor before Alice steps forward, towering over her and telling her to shut up.
After explaining that it was Julie that was behind everything, Alice is enraged and grabs her by the arms and marches her out the door. Brooke asks me again if I'm okay and I just nod, still reeling in anger.
Bradie rushes in and is immediately at my side. "I just saw Alice with Julie. Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?" he asks as he throws an arm around my shoulders and his other hand on my belly.
I hear Brooke gasp and I realise that Bradie has slipped up. "You're pregnant!" she exclaims.
I look at Bradie, vowing to remind him why these things need to be kept secret when Shaun wanders in too. Suddenly this little bathroom is very crowded.
"Did I just hear right? Did you deck Julie? And who's pregnant?" he says.
Rolling my eyes skyward I pray for a bit of patience as I take a deep breath.
"You two are sworn to secrecy okay, but yes. I'm pregnant."
"Holy fuck! Really? Congratulations" Shaun says as he hugs me to him. Brooke is quick to jump in on the hug and when they release me I'm thankful to be able to breathe again.
"I'm serious though, not a word to anybody. I very obviously haven't told Andy yet and I don't want him hearing about this on the grapevine" I say to them.
"Dude, you're going to be an uncle!" Shaun says, holding his hand out to Bradie and giving him the awkward one-armed man-hug. They are grinning at each other and Brooke is smiling at me with a tear in her eye.
"Alright guys, lets get out of here" I say as I lead them all out of the bathroom and back to the party. As soon as I sit down Shannon appears before me, apologising profusely for his cousin's behaviour yet again. I try to let him know that I don't blame him in any way and he finally believes me and wanders off in search of another drink.
Figuring that tonight has just been a little too eventful for my liking I find Bradie with Alice and tell them that I'm heading home.
"I'll come with you" he says. "Just let me finish this drink first."
Noticing that he's a little drunk something that doesn't happen very often, I insist that he stay.
"I'll drive him home Elle" Alice tells me and I feel relieved know that he's taken care of.
I find Shaun and Brooke and say goodnight to them both before walking to my car parked in the next street. I unlock the doors and climb in, grateful for the warmth since the chill in the air was starting to seep through my Nun's costume.
I pull the habit off my head and put it on the seat next to me as I start the car and head home. It's a little after midnight and when I'm halfway there my phone rings beside me. Glancing at the display I pull to the side of the road.
"Yes Bradie" I say as I answer it.
"I just wanted to make sure you're okay. Are you home yet?" he says
"Halfway there. I'll text you when I arrive DAD!" I say to him and he laughs.
"You'd better or I'll send a search party out for you" he replies.
"Alright, night Bradie" I say as I hang up the phone.
Pulling back on the road I continue on, singing along to the radio as I go. I flex my hand a few times and realise that it's starting to swell a little. I'll have to remember to ice it when I get home.
I pull into the driveway and turn the car off as my phone buzzes with a text.
"Are you there yet?"
It's from Bradie again. I quickly type a reply to let him know I've just arrived and I push send before grabbing the habit from the passenger seat and exiting the car. I push the remote lock button on my key ring as I make my way to the front door.
As I lift my head I have a moment of shock as I realise that someone is sitting on my doorstep.
Andy looks up at me and gives me a slight smile.
