Chapter 3

Annie Reed haplessly bashed around her kitchen as if everything in that room were the enemy. Everything in this area affronted her, utensils filled her with rage, the lettuce she was currently chopping irritated her and she threw the knife into the sink with reckless abandon. As for the walls they angered her the most, the pink she once saw as feminine reminded her of hospital waiting rooms and she hated it. She reflected on her day after finally telling Becky the truth about Valentines night. She considered again how she had made it as far as the Empire State Building and how her hands had been firmly gripped around the door handle when the cry of 'Annie' had stopped her.

Annie had swung around to witness Walter rushing across the streets of Manhatta narrowly avoiding being clipped on the side by taxi cabs, his arms outstretched, his breathing a hacking rasp with his allergies. Annie had looked at the man and felt an almost wretchedness for what she had said to him in the Rainbow Room, standing still she knew she had to hear him out this one last time.

"Annie, I can't. I thought I could but I just can't," he had gasped grabbing a hold of her coat as her caught up to his ex-fiancé.

"Walter did you run here?" Annie asked startled by his sweaty appearance up close.

"Well you know how it is to get a cab on a Saturday night…" Walter faded off as he spotted the yellow vehicles lined up on the side walk ready for hailing.

Annie despite herself had uttered a small laugh, "What can't you do Walter?"

"Let you go."

Annie knew in that moment she had to give this man who had devoted so much time to her a chance, a real chance. She had, with great difficulty, pushed aside the dream of the man atop of the building above her with his soulful eyes and kind face.

She had reached out and had taken the hand outstretched towards her.

"Walter I'm sorry," she had mumbled feeling ashamed because it sounded like a lie in her head. Annie had watched as Walter had crumpled at her feet with his face buried into the hem of her dress, never had she seen such emotion from the man. 'God bless him' she thought 'he would have forgiven her anything'.

The couple had been married later that year and had had a June in the garden as suggested by her father. Harold her brother had been in attendance but firmly insisted that he wore his bee catchers hat because as he had reminded them for the umpteenth hundredth time, he was allergic to every type of bee. Walter had worn a morning suit, she her mother's dress…no strawberries were in attendance due to Walter's allergies and he had ensured he had taken a regulated dose of allergy medication. The day had gone off without a hitch.

Yet here she now was actively hating the existence she should have been in bliss with. Now she spent her days always wondering about the man she potentially had left on top of the Empire State building.

Annie realised then she had set out two place settings for the both of them even though Walter had called her and said he had had to go out of town on insurance business. Vitality insurance had opened a new office in Tampa and Walter had been called down at short notice to oversee the running of the new staff… their current office manager had been hospitalised due to a jet ski accident.

"I hope he had insurance," Walter had joked badly before hanging up the line.

Annie in response to this flashback reached over to the phone and pushed in Becky's number. Becky answered on the third chime.

"Hey Beck, do you want to come over for dinner?" she asked leaving the extra plate on the side and hoping to add an extra glass to it.

"Yes sure, Rick is helping his mother install a spice rack, I told him it was a bad idea to buy a woman who has one jar of mixed herbs to her name a whole rack for it," Becky grumbled down the phone. "Let me grab my purse and I'll see you in ten."

"Bring a bottle," Annie yelled as Becky crashed the receiver down at the other end.

An hour later the two women were strewn across the sofa; salad's still intact discarded on the dining table. Instead one bottle of wine had been consumed and empty take out cartons Becky had naughtily grabbed at Chopstick House on her way over were being picked at, more so by Annie than Becky who could not resist Chinese chicken curry.

"Where's Walter tonight?" Becky asked as they cracked open their second bottle of wine a red to their previous white.

"Tampa," Annie answered quickly desperate to avoid the subject of Walter after the story she had been forced to tell Becky earlier that day. Becky sat back against the sofa and curled her legs up under her, sipping the Shiraz from her glass she fixed Annie with a look.

"So are you in love with Mr Seattle?"

Annie brushed her oversized sweater down and looking at her wine glass, suddenly the liquid had lost its appeal and instead she just felt a bit queasy.

"No, no I love Walter, I do…I," Annie began to sob. It was as if she had held back the emotion of how she had been really feeling for months and now it was all coming out in her Chow Mein.

"I assume those are tears of joy Annie?" Becky said firmly, "I mean if I offered to help you bury Walter right now, like you would my Rick you would say of course not."

Annie was without response, she was lost with the sobbing and unable to hold back the river of tears as they sploshed into her wine.

"Oh come on Annie you're watering down the produce," Becky pulled Annie into a tight hug and rocked her slightly. Becky let her friend calm down before urging her to continue.

"I've been thinking about Sam," she had finally dared to give him his Christian name and put it out in the ether, "a lot recently…in fact I can't stop." Annie continued taking a breath "I feel like ever since I chose Walter than night I've been miserable. I could tell you something ethereal like our souls no longer match Becky, or I've been a shell or a ghost but I've just felt so wrong." Annie sighed and dropped her feet to the floor and curled the carpet under her toes.

"I just don't want to be with Walter any more, I want a different life… the life I think I was meant to have. I know it sounds selfish and like I'm a huge cop out but I'm selfish enough to admit I want the feeling I had that night I heard his voice on the radio…God damn you Dr Marcia Fieldstone and your sugary vocal problem page," Annie slapped her thighs in irritation on the last sentence.

"Quadruplets!" Becky yelled after she had let this bombshell of Annie's sink in.

"Becky I was hoping for something a bit more helpful than 'get pregnant' that'll fix things," Annie laughed despite herself rubbing her hands through her hair self-consciously, and then realising she had Chinese sauce on her fingers suddenly stopped.

"No no no no no no," Becky stood up and began to rifle urgently in her purse fishing about in its depths. Annie watched as her best friend pulled out a computer printout and shoved it at her face. Annie took the offending piece of paper and scanned her eyes over it.

"Fifty five year old woman gives birth to quadruplets…I still don't think that is the way forward for me Becky."

"Read where the poor woman lives Annie…read it!" Becky said the excitement of a little girl was becoming apparent in her voice, it seemed even Becky enjoyed the chase.

"Shirley mother of the four babies has now been allowed to leave hospital and has returned to her two bedroomed apartment in the Elliot Bay Towers Seattle. I really hope he's not the father of these babies," Annie really could not see where her friend was going with this.

"Annie I know we've had a bottle of wine but I'm in my right mind here. As your boss I order you to go to Seattle and interview this woman for the Baltimore Sun," Becky placed her hands on her hips in an attempt at being bossy and toppled slightly.

"Seattle…you want me to go back to Seattle?"

"Do I need to draw a picture Annie? I'm ordering you, get your bum out to Seattle get me my story and for Gods sake go and get your man!"