It’s like an episode of Jerry Springer! ‘What a beautiful gesture for Geron to do for them but what on earth was he thinking not telling Amelia straight away? What’s with all the lies this week?’I thought as I then remembered she said he wanted to marry her. ‘OMG, did Geron ask you to marry him?’ I squealed in excitement, completely forgetting about the baby he is having with the lesbian couple.
Amelia waved her hands in the air…there was no rings on either hand. ‘I refuse to marry a man who can keep something like this from me. He said they made the arrangement that he was just going to be their sperm donor but are you telling me that he’ll be able to look at the baby and just walk away? I doubt it very much, so I’ve ended it with him! I just need to send him some of the things he left at the flat then I’m moving on from this freak show,’ she stated coldly as she tucked into her chicken salad.
‘A little harsh but I guess she is hurting at the moment’ I pondered as she decided that she didn’t want to talk about it anymore and we started to dissect the week I had just had. ‘Your parents have spilt up Neets? Are you being serious?’ she gasped as her words made the situation all the more real and I couldn’t contain it anymore and the flood gates opened.
I no longer cared about the uncomfortable stares and whispers I was getting from the other diners as this is why I needed Amelia to come back.
She was always the caring, motherly, thoughtful one, who, when any of us had problems, no matter what she was doing, she would always drop it to listen to our woes and never judge.
‘Hun, it’ll be fine really,’ she said as she hugged me. ‘Your dad would never cheat on your mum. He loves her too much and you can see it as soon as you meet them. Just talk to him and find out the truth.’
I must admit, I had ignored all his calls and his efforts to meet me as all the evidence pointed towards him cheating but I knew I had to give him a chance so I agreed to call him that evening and arrange to meet him to talk. ‘So, is Angus being your knight in shining armour then?’ she quizzed as she tried to lighten the conversation.
There was no other option but to lie as it would have sounded pathetic to say, ‘he’s not exactly talking to me cos I hung up on him when he couldn’t see me Sunday evening’. ‘Yeah, he’s been really sweet. So how are your mum and dad?’ I asked as I quickly changed the subject.
Luckily, she didn’t press the Angus topic and as we settled into much more fun topics (Anya’s latest client, Dolph, Gabrielle’s new conquests, new nights we needed outfits for, etc) and a few more glasses of wine, I didn’t realise how late it was and promised to continue the gossiping tonight at the flat, whilst I rushed back to the office.
Pretending to listen to Ann, whilst she shouted out figures at me to input into a spreadsheet, I wondered about how Angus would introduce me to his family and friends. ‘Would he throw caution to the wind and as soon as the divorce is through declare his undying love for me and tell his family and friends that no matter what they say he is marrying me straight away. Or would he be more sensitive to the situation and introduce me as his girlfriend and after a few months tell everyone we’re getting married? Either way as long as we’re married I don’t mind. I’ll still be there for my man,’ I mused as Ann came to the end of her list.
Luckily, 6pm came quite quickly (a little overtime doesn’t hurt especially when your trying to get a promotion. I would like to say I wanted the promotion to develop my career but it really meant a pay rise and being closer to the salaries of Gabrielle and Amelia instead of always feeling like it was my first ever job and it was minimum wage!) and I ran out of the building as though it were on fire.
A much need bottle of white wine was chilling in the fridge, so I found it was worth fighting my way through the rubble, dust and wooden planks left by the work men who were working on refurbishing the two top floor apartments into one, to get a big glass and my favourite chocolates. Kicking off my heels, getting one of the box of chocolates Geron bought for Amelia throughout his week of begging for her forgiveness, I joined her on the sofa for our daily instalment of the soaps. ‘Have you seen all the rubbish they are making out there?’ Amelia scowled as she looked at the card with the description of chocolates on it.
She pointed out my favourite chocolate, Turkish Delight (it’s great as all the others don’t touch these chocolates and look at them like they are poison) and I savoured the smooth chocolate coating and the aromatic jelly rose interior as I continued, ‘I know it’s disgusting but it’ll be fantastic when its finished. Just imagine how big it’ll be? Whoever’s bought it must have paid a pretty penny for them both!’
We both nodded as we thought about how much it would cost to buy the two flats, knock them together and make the refurbishments.
Walking into the hallway, when I got home, I could see some of the packaging which couldn’t fit into the overflowing skip outside on the road. ‘Six person marble Jacuzzi, 50 inch television, expensive looking kitchen accessories, etc.’ ‘It must be someone in the media who’s going to move in,’I thought as I pretended to watch the television but really thinking about how I would decorate the space upstairs.
‘Surprise!’ shouted Gabrielle as she bounced through the door, gliding into the front room with her hand in the air.
As we both looked up from our heaps on the couch, we saw this elegant, sparkling platinum band, encrusted with sparkling diamonds which wouldn’t look out of place on a WAG. ‘OMG, what is that rock blinding us?’ screamed Amelia as she jumped out of her seat and ran towards the light shining from the jewel.
Gabrielle basked in her new found audience as she glided towards the TV area with Amelia in tow. ‘I know it’s sudden but whilst out to dinner tonight, John popped the question and I accepted,’ she responded as she flexed her hand to show the ring at different angles to a much intrigued Amelia, ‘but you’ve only been dating for a few weeks. Isn’t this a bit sudden?’ I enquired as I begrudgingly moved towards the sparkler.
My reality check did nothing to dampen Gabrielle’s superior state as she explained, ‘not at all Neets. We’ve known each other longer than we’ve been dating and I thought since I’m not getting any younger, why not? He’s a decent man, he loves me, has a good, secure job, he treats me good, so why not?’
‘I’m confused. Who is she marrying?’ Amelia asked puzzled. I got her up to speed on the ‘Gabrielle and John Saga’ and she continued to admire this new accessory on Gabrielle’s hand.
I was astounded by the light that caught the ring at every angle and inside I could feel my jealously begin to rise. ‘How is it possible that she is engaged to a man who she hasn’t even known for six months? She doesn’t even love him; it’s just convenient for her! I wonder what happened to the footballer,’I thought and before I could stop myself I blurted out, ‘but I thought the footballer was the love of your life last week?’
There was an awkward silence and Amelia pretended there was something more interesting to look at in the old TV Times. ‘I decided he was a little too high profile for me,’ she retorted as she composed herself.
Before we could continue the discussion, Anya walked in with three bottles of champagne.
Anya looked slightly tipsy which is strange for her as she can normally handle her alcohol so we were captivated by her new found friendliness. ‘Darlings, how are ve all tonight?’ she enquired in her stronger Russian tone (Anya’s accent was always enhanced when she was either very angry or when she was in the company of other Russians) before she saw Gabrielle’s engagement ring and grabbed her hand, ‘vot is this?’ she gawped.
Gabrielle told her the story and I went to the kitchen with one of Anya’s champagne bottles, opened it and poured a big glass before taking a large swig of it from the bottle.
As happy as I was for my sister and her impending wedding, it also brought to light that I was really nowhere near this with Angus and this made me feel dejected and in need of alcohol, to take me to the happy place where everything is funny, carefree and optimistic until the morning. ‘Here’s to my little sister and her upcoming nuptials’ I shouted as I came out of the kitchen with the bottle and an extra glass for Anya to make a toast. ‘I hope he makes you the happiest bride in the word, Gabs.’ Amelia seconded this as she raised her glass to meet mine in the air. ‘I hope he makes you as happy as Dolph makes me,’ Anya announced as we all looked at her in surprise as she never showed her emotions and this sign of sentiment for Dolph was new and very unforeseen.
However, we all managed to compose ourselves in time to congratulate the new bride-to-be and settled down to an evening of wedding talk, speculation on our new neighbour upstairs, Anya’s new declaration about Dolph and when Gabrielle should have her engagement party. ‘Well, I think you should make it big and glamorous with all the trimmings! You only do it once you know!’ Amelia declared as we nodded in agreement. ‘How about the country house where mum and dad had their anniversary party last year?’ I asked as I remembered the beautiful, spacious dining hall with the regal cornicing on the ceiling. ‘That actually sounds like a good idea Neets,’ approved Gabrielle as she started writing down all our ideas.
The ideas came thick and fast but just as I was enjoying contributing to it all; I was starting to get tired so after finishing the remains of champagne bottle number three, I decided it was time for bed.
After crying into my pillow about the state of my love life and how much champagne I had consumed in such a short period of time, I was out cold, in a deep, peaceful sleep.