Sunday
"Mum, is everything OK?" Sammy asks, you are not usually in bed this late.
Gill rolls over and looks at her son "everything's fine love, I decided to have a lie in today"
"All right Mum, I am off to spend the afternoon with Orla"
Gill hears Sammy's footsteps as he finishes gathering his things and leaves for his time with his girlfriend. She is happy to be left alone with her thoughts and feelings as her mind replays the events of last evening, which started with so much promise but ended up feeling like a horror show she was participating in.
Flashback to Saturday night
Gill very discreetly looked to the direction Rachel had indicated and saw Julie sitting close and intimately looking, clearly on a date with a stunning brunette.
Just as she was looking away, Julie glanced her way and their eyes met. She could see by her reaction that she was as stunned as Gill was... Of all the restaurants Janet could've chosen what were the odds of this happening?
They exchanged small smiles at each other. One, the smile of shock. The other a tight smile that for a brief moment seemed guilty.
Still, unaware of their boss' current predicament, Rachel went on
"Janet, have you seen the stunner with Dodson?" "I always knew there was something about her that I couldn't figure out, well, now it makes sense"
Janet, putting down the wine list, looks over to where Julie was.
"Indeed I see her, she is pretty. Good for her I say! Julie has been alone for a long time and deserves some happiness in her life. Don't you agree Gill?"
Gill who is still struggling to assimilate what she's seen, is momentarily at a loss for words.
"Don't you agree Gill?" Janet repeats
"Yes, of course she does" Gill finally manages to mumble as she hides behind her menu.
Rattled and struggling, the only thought swirling through Gill's mind was; Julie is out on a date. When did this happen? She takes a long time to make her dinner choices, trying to regain her equilibrium and not alert her companions to what's going on within her.
Rachel having moved on from perusing the restaurant returns her attention to their table. "So, what are we having for dinner? Have you chosen the wine yet Janet?"
oOo
At her table Julie is as rattled as Gill, up until 5 minutes ago she'd been having a wonderful date with Charlotte, having finally gotten over some of her guilt at not attending Gill's birthday celebration. Saying no to Gill was a very new occurrence on Julie's part, the practice of it still very foreign. Earlier in the evening, she'd wondered what they were up to and how they were getting on. Acknowledging, that she missed being with Gill tonight, even if others would also be there.
When she'd started dwelling too long on those thoughts, she'd worked hard at bringing her focus back to her date.
She found Charlotte to be charming, intelligent, very good company and, considering how many times she'd let Julie know she was interested in a personal relationship before Julie gave her an opportunity, very patient.
oOo
Having settled on their respective orders, the celebrating trio resumes their antics of the evening. They discussed the comedy show, the talented comedienne and the overall fun of the night.
As the wine freely flowed, Janet noticed Gill having more than her normal share and that some of her laughter was forced. These facts, seemed important for Janet to be aware of, so she paid extra attention.
Gill for her part, can't help quietly looking over at Julie's table. Her date seemed familiar to Gill, she couldn't place her but knew she'd seen her somewhere before...
It is Rachel, who in her usual impulsive way, brings the conversation back to the table across the restaurant.
"Have you noticed how Dodson's companion looks at her? Better than any desert on the menu. Then again, if my date looked as dapper as Julie does tonight, I would be looking like that too" she said with a smirk" She seems familiar though, don't you think Janet?
Janet who is not necessarily comfortable discussing Julie's date at their table tries to change the topic.
"Rach, I don't think we ought to be gossiping about Julie's personal life"
"Oh come one Janet, it isn't as if we are doing anything wrong, I tell you, Dodson's date looks very familiar"
Janet looks over again and says, "well she is one of us. She is a DI with Manchester Police, isn't that right Gill?"
To Gill it is as if a light has suddenly gone off, that's where she knew her from! As she has no intention in participating in this conversation she replied,
"I don't think so Janet, let's forget about Julie and her date"
Followed by a rather large sip of her wine.
oOo
"Julie, have you noticed your friend Gill is here also? She is across the restaurant with friends" Mentioned Charlotte as they were having dessert.
Inwardly Julie groans, she'd hoped that Charlotte, would not notice the other table.
"Yes, they are celebrating Gill's birthday"
"Well, the other two seem to be very interested in you" said Charlotte
"They are part of syndicate 9 and, are probably wondering why I haven't gone over to their table, it being Gill's birthday celebration and all"
"I won't mind if you do, specially if they are colleagues"
"Are you sure Charlotte?"
"Yes, go on while I enjoy my coffee"
Julie stands from their table and, as she walks across the restaurant, hopes she doesn't look as reluctant as she feels.
oOo
"Oooh Dodson is on her way over" Says Rachel
To Gill, this night just kept getting worse. The last thing she wanted to do was greet Julie and have polite chit chat with her while she was on a date with another woman. A date which must matter to Julie enough to turn down celebrating Gill's birthday with her as was their custom.
"Hello ladies, happy birthday again Gill. Fancy running into you here"
"Hi Julie" said Rachel and Janet
"Hiya slap" said Gill not looking at her. "Thank you for the good wishes"
"I guess we now know why you couldn't join us Julie" Janet said with a smile. "Nice looking date"
Julie ignores the comment and compliment wondering when did things get so complicated. She redirects the focus by asking "how goes the night on the town?" Thankfully, Rachel takes her comment as an invitation to regale Julie in full detail with the events thus far.
As she is speaking, Gill sits morosely, hoping for Julie to end her visit and return to her own table. As far as she was concerned, this night couldn't end soon enough. She thought, taking another large sip of her wine.
Sitting back, Janet is beginning to notice Gill's wine intake and the strange undercurrent between her and Julie...
Gill comes out of her fog hearin Julie say,
"Enjoy the rest of your evening love, see you next week when we celebrate your birthday"
At that, Gill finally looks at Julie with a wounded look that seared Julie to the core.
"Enjoy your evening too slap" said Gill wondering how she did not choke on those words.
Julie finishes her goodbyes and walks back to her own table, leaving the trio to finish their dinner.
oOo
Charlotte has finished her coffee when Julie returns, as hers has gone cold she uses this as an opportunity to end their dinner. She settles the bill and escorts her date out of the restaurant.
oOo
Gill watches Julie and Charlotte leave, she can't help notice that her hand is on her companion's lower back as she escorts her, they look good together. She has to agree that Julie indeed looks good tonight, Rachel had used the right adjective which fit her like a glove, "dapper"
This told Gill that Julie had made an extra effort. Was she trying to impress her date?
Could this be serious on Julie's part?
Back to present time
Gill is still in bed feeling ill both physically and emotionally.
The physical part is attributed to the very large quantities of wine she consumed the previous night in order to survive the ordeal the evening turned out to be.
Her emotional illness has another name, jealousy. She is jealous over Julie.
Last night, she came face to face with the possibility of Julie moving on from her and it scared her. It's not as if Julie hadn't dated, even had relationships in the past. But they had always been able to talk about it, Gill even met some of the women Julie had gone out with. The fact that Julie kept this particular date a secret from her was another example of the changes that had permeated their friendship as of late.
Gill remembered the day she met the woman she saw last night, it was at a conference for officers of rank, Julie was one of the presenters on the panel.
After the conference, as Gill lingered waiting for Julie to finish her duties, she noticed a very attractive DI she had been introduced to earlier (Charlotte something or another) hovering around waiting to introduce herself to Julie. There was something about her body language that told Gill there was more than professional interest on Charlotte's part.
Julie, as it was the norm when Gill was around had been oblivious to the flirtatious nature of Charlotte's interaction. In the car on their way back, Gill had even teased her about her new admirer to which Julie replied in astonishment denying any such interest on The DI's part.
"Gill, you think every woman who approaches me to say hello wants to get into my knickers" she'd said and they both had a laugh about it.
Was this a first date?
When had they progressed to dating status?
Why hadn't Julie said anything?
These questions and the fact that Charlotte was a fellow ranking officer, made her a formidable opponent and fuelled Gill's jealousy. Yet, was she ready to do anything about it?
Julie's Sunday morning
Julie turned over in bed exhausted by a sleepless night.
She sighed loudly, a night that began with such promise, started going downhill the moment she looked up and made eye contact with Gill. The final blow being Gill's wounded eyes just before she walked away from the other women's table.
As she drove Charlotte home, the atmosphere in the car was quiet and subdued. She knew Charlotte was puzzled by the change in her demeanour and she struggled to be able to explain it. Luckily Charlotte attributed the shift to work concerns.
Julie woke up tired, disappointed and angry.
Tired of this dance with Gill.
Disappointed in herself for her inability to move on from the love she's had for Gill for so long.
Angry at Gill for her inability to let her go or move forward together.
Charlotte was a real possibility, one she hadn't allowed herself in years.
What was she going to do?
oOo
DI: Detective Inspector