Happily Ever After_ - Benison Anne O'Reilly [121]
‘Oh alright,’ she said, ‘but this is getting ridiculous. Definitely tomorrow night then?’
‘Yeah, definitely.’
Tracey is up in Sydney visiting her parents and, even though I had to regrettably stay sober, our dinner together last night was the perfect antidote for my troubled mind.
Her first reaction was predictable. ‘All I can say is hoo-ray and good riddance to that prick. You know I never liked him.’
‘You don’t say,’ I said. ‘I know you never got on but he’s not all bad. He has good qualities that you didn’t get to see.’ What was it about me? Here I was defending the man who twenty-four hours earlier had pretty much called me a whore.
‘Yeah, like the fact he was banging the flight attendant while you were pregnant with Issy.’
‘Okay, I’ll concede that was not one of his better qualities.’
I told her the secret of my unplanned pregnancy. Poor Mum and Dad were still in the dark but Tracey got to hear the lot.
‘How funny! I can’t believe you don’t know who the father is. How very Jerry Springer of you, Ellie!’
‘It’s not funny.’
‘Yeah, it is, a bit. Admit it.’ She made me laugh then, the bitch.
‘Maybe you should try women from now on,’ she counselled as we were leaving the restaurant. ‘Just think you’d never have to worry about getting pregnant.’
‘I think I’ll sleep on that one,’ I said, as I kissed her goodbye.
‘Yeah, you’re still holding a candle for the other guy, aren’t you?’
I went to bed and slept like a log.
This morning, that is Saturday, I grabbed the real estate section of the Sydney Morning Herald and started to look for suitable flats for lease. The weather had cleared to reveal a perfect March day: sunny and clear skies, no humidity. At least I wouldn’t need to be dashing between properties with umbrella in hand. I circled a few properties and was mapping out a rough itinerary when my mobile rang. Please don’t be Tony, I thought.
I was in luck. It wasn’t him. It was Alex.
‘Hi,’ I said hesitantly. ‘Is everything okay? Did my husband threaten you with violence or something?’
‘No - not yet, anyway. More importantly, how are you going?’
‘Not too bad. I’m just about to go flat hunting with Isabel.’
‘I know. That’s why I called. The races fell through and since I haven’t any other plans I thought you might like me to drive you around, so you don’t have to borrow your mum’s car again. You can navigate.’
‘What happened to the races? It looks like a brilliant day for them.’
‘Oh long story.’
‘That’s very sweet of you but I’m sure there are lots of other things you’d rather be doing with your time. I know I would.’
‘No seriously - I wouldn’t have called otherwise. I’d like to.’
‘Well I think you’re quite mad, but if you insist.’ I gave him Mum’s address.
‘I’ll be there in about twenty minutes,’ he added as he called off.
‘Who was that?’ asked Mum.
‘That was Alex. You know, from my old job. He’s offered to take Issy and me flat hunting.’
‘That’s very nice of him, if a little strange. Do you think he might be keen on you or something?’
‘No, no…he’s just a nice guy who feels a bit sorry for me, I think.’ Further explanation could wait until later.
When Alex arrived, Issy, in her inimitable way, said ‘Hello’ as if she’d known him all her life and hopped in the back seat of his car.
‘She’s so cute,’ he whispered. ‘She looks just like you.’
‘No, she looks like her father, Alex,’ I said drolly.
‘The eyes maybe, but the nose and smile are definitely yours.’
‘Okay you can think that.’
The three of us drove around the suburbs of Sydney all morning, looking for a new, if temporary, home for my abbreviated family. I was looking for something small - sufficient only to accommodate Issy, the baby, Meggs and myself - and easy to maintain.
By lunchtime I was beginning to regret bringing Alex along. Every place we looked at, which I usually found to be fine, Alex would find some fault with.
‘No it’s too close to a busy road. You’ll get traffic noise.’
‘No it’s really pokey and the walls are paper thin.’
‘Did you see those next-door-neighbours?