Something Wonderful Read online

  Maggie Jane returned to the call a few minutes later.

  “Sorry about that. I forgot Carol was coming around, but if it’s okay with you, I invited her over to yours for a drink.”

  “The more, the merrier.”

  “Okay. We’ll pop to Sainsbury’s and see you soon. Do you want any nibbles?”

  “Pick up whatever you fancy, mini pizzas, dips, anything, and I’ll settle up when you get here.”

  “Don’t worry about that. It’s my treat.”

  “Okay, see you soon.”

  I pushed myself off the sofa, flying round the house to make sure everywhere was presentable. The bathrooms were clean and after a quick go over with the hoover, I’d be ready.

  Hideous rap music pumped out loudly from Dillon’s bedroom. I knocked on his door. He didn’t answer, so I knocked again. No answer again. This time I banged until he came to the door. He pulled it slightly ajar.

  “What?”

  “Turn that bloody racket down, I can’t hear myself think.”

  “It’s not even on that loud.”

  “Loud enough so I can hear it, so either turn it down or put your earphones in.”

  “I don’t wanna listen to it through my earphones.”

  “Then turn it off, end of discussion.”

  “When’s Dad coming home?” he snarled.

  “I don’t know, Dillon, but don’t count on it happening anytime soon.”

  He pushed the door closed, nearly squashing my nose in the process. I was tempted to bang on the door and read him the riot act when I heard the lock click.

  The music volume increased once more, but I refused to rise to his bait, not right now. A brilliant idea unfolded in my mind; one I knew he would throw the world’s biggest strop over.

  Tomorrow, when he got home from school, Dillon would be in for the shock of his life. I smiled, knowing what was coming. He would go berserk, but I was more determined than ever; he’d toe the line and behave like a respectful human being or I’d ship him off to military school. I wasn’t going to be responsible for another loud-mouthed, entitled thug roaming the streets. I’d lock him in the basement and beat him with a wet mop before I allowed that to happen.

  Once I’d hoovered over the carpets, I headed down to the kitchen, wanting to be sure I had enough ice–I had a few bags in the freezer. Clean glasses were popped onto the table in the conservatory which overlooked the huge gardens and glistening pool.

  If the warm weather held, I’d switch the garden lights on and enjoy the night outside with Maggie Jane and Carol.

  ∞∞∞

  An hour later, I heard the doorbell ring.

  Walking through the hallway, I could see Maggie Jane through the glass front door with a lady I assumed to be Carol stood shielded behind her.

  “Ding, dong, Avon calling,” Maggie Jane shouted through the glass, a line from her favourite movie, The Adventure of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

  I pulled the door open as she swooped in to deliver an air kiss. She wore more rouge than Miss Piggy. Christ, I thought, she’s been out in public looking like that.

  Behind her stood what I could only describe as a little pocket rocket. A very dainty, doll-like, slip of a woman with shorter-styled mousey-brown hair and a generous cleavage stood in front of me.

  “This is Carol,” Maggie Jane announced. “And, Carol, this is my big sister, Michelle.”

  “Hi, Carol, it’s good to meet you, but call me Shell, all my friends do.”

  She leaned in for a quick hug but stood on her tiptoes. I was five-foot-six, and hardly doll-like. “Good to meet you too, Shell.”

  “Unless she’s in trouble, then it’s Michelle.”

  “I’m always in trouble, Mags.”

  “True, but you wouldn’t be you without a bit of drama.”

  “Come on through you two. I’ve set up in the conservatory, but we can use the front room if you’d rather?”

  “The conservatory sounds fine for me,” Carol said, and Maggie Jane nodded her approval. “This house is just gorgeous…”

  Just then, Dillon came thundering downstairs, his face sullen. “Oh, it’s you,” he said, addressing his aunty.

  “Hello, my darling nephypoos,” she teased. “You got a big kiss for your Aunty Mags? Come on, pucker up.”

  “Ugh, like, no.” His face was scrunched up, bypassing her.

  “Friendly as ever.” Maggie Jane shook her head.

  Carol lowered her head.

  “Ignore him.” It was the best way to deal with him. “He’s struggling to adapt to my new house rules and isn’t feeling his most sociable.”

  “I’ve got one of them at home too,” she replied. “I find the best way to deal with it is a cold bucket of water dumped over his head when he starts.”

  I laughed, as Dillon returned. “Do you know where the lighter is?”

  “No,” I grunted, aware I was acting more childish than he usually did. “What do you want the lighter for?”

  “I’m dying for a ciggie.”

  “Tough,” I replied. “Go and look in the draw underneath the microwave. I’ve got you some patches–use them.”

  “I’ll decide if I’m giving up smoking, not you.”

  “Fine, but how are you going to pay for them?”

  “I’ll buy them with my pocket money.”

  “You won’t be getting pocket money, Dillon, not while you’re grounded.”

  “I’ll ask Dad.”

  “Your father won’t be providing you with money for cigarettes, or anything else, so get used to going without.”

  “This is a fucking joke–you’re a fucking joke.”

  Maggie Jane stepped forward. “Don’t speak to your mother like that.”

  “What’s it got to do with you?”

  “She’s my sister so treat her with the respect she deserves, or you’ll have me to deal with.”

  “I’m not scared of you.”

  “Dillon, enough,” I said.

  “Really?” Maggie Jane walked over to him.

  “Go for it,” Dillon urged. “I dare you.”

  And she did.

  No, she didn’t hit him, but unexpectedly, she flicked him good and hard right on the end of his nose.

  “Ow,” he yelled, his eyes streaming with tears. “What the fuck did you do that for?”

  I put my hand up to my mouth before I erupted with laughter.

  Carol snorted.

  “There’s many ways to deal with gobby teenagers, and that’s my favourite way. But if you want to continue, next time, I’ll rip your tiny balls off and shove them down your throat, okay!” She eyeballed him as he rubbed his nose. “Do you understand me? I won’t have you disrespecting your mother, or me, for that matter.”

  “Wait ‘til I tell Dad what you just did.”

  “Go for it, you little gobshite, see if I care. I’m not scared of that little pipsqueak either. Now, get to your room and don’t show your face again.”

  “Mum…”

  No way was I jumping in to defend him. “You heard your Aunt! Get to your room before you embarrass yourself any further.”

  He stormed off, stomping up every step.

  “Wow, it’s just like being at home.”

  I was mortified, having never met her before. “I’m so sorry you had to see that, Carol.”

  “It’s okay,” she replied. “I don’t know him, but I wanted to smack his head in too.”

  This time I did erupt with laughter. “Vodka. Now.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “I got loads of nibbles, so I hope you’re not on any diets, the pair of you?” Maggie Jane plonked the bags down, eyeing the cracks. “What the hell happened to your work surfaces?”

  “I gave Richie and Dillon a demonstration of what would happen to their skulls if they carried on annoying me.”

  “Shit, I’m not messing with you.”

  “I’m impressed,” Carol said, a smirk on her face. “You don’t take any prisoners.”


  “Not anymore.”

  Dillon’s music thumped through the ceiling. I looked up and smiled.

  “Shall I go and tell him to turn it down?”

  “No,” I said. “Let him have his way, tomorrow I’m cutting his electricity supply off.”

  We all burst out laughing.

  Chapter Five - Coming Back to Life

  The vodka flowed before we moved onto my favourite, Gin.

  I was pissed as a fart but hadn’t laughed so much in a long time.

  “Look at me.” Maggie Jane twirled around the room. “I could have been the next Darcy Bussell.”

  I snorted a laugh. My sister was never the most graceful person when simply walking down the street; dancing was another matter entirely. Dumbo would have had more grace. “Sit down, Mags, before you break something.”

  Carol laughed. “Your sister is certifiably insane, Shell.”

  “LOOK,” she cried, mid twirl.

  I cringed, seeing what was coming before she did. “Mags, be caref–”

  With a shriek, she lost her footing and crashed into the occasional table. My favourite lamp shot off and hit the floor with an almighty crash.

  The dance came to an end as she stood and surveyed the damage. “Whoopsie daisy.”

  “You’re a bloody klutz, do you know that?”

  “Oh, it’s only a lamp.” She waved her hand like it didn’t matter. “I’ll buy you another one.”

  “It was an anniversary present and…”

  “Well the marriage never worked and nor does the lamp.”

  Carol gasped, but I was used to my sister and her blunt nature.

  “Not now it doesn’t.” Any other time, I’d have wanted to throttle my sister, but she was right, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “You owe me a new lamp, and nothing cheap either.”

  “Buy cheap, buy twice.” It was one of her most used phrases. Her excuse for spending money like it was going out of fashion. Still, she had enough of it, so what did it matter?

  “You know something…” Carol was chuckling to herself. “…the two of you are eerily similar.”

  “I don’t think so.” Maggie Jane feigned offence.

  “Oh, I do,” Carol replied.

  She was right. My sister and I were very much alike, but my personality had been dulled somewhat by a teenage pregnancy, marriage and responsibility. If I was honest with myself; I didn’t know who I was. The wife and mother in me were plain to see, but the person behind those two roles was buried so far in the background, it was virtually impossible to see her.

  I turned to Carol. “You’re observant, I like it.”

  “I don’t often miss much.” She took a sip of her drink.

  There was something I liked about her. I didn’t make friends very easily. In fact, I didn’t have many friends at all, but I already felt comfortable with her.

  We seemed to have a lot in common.

  She was a single mother too, having divorced her husband nine years earlier. Her son, Jamie, was twelve but was already displaying some of the signs she’d witnessed with Dillon earlier.

  “I won’t take any messing from him, and he knows it, but my problem is, when he goes to his father’s house, he comes back with that nasty, entitled attitude and for a few days after, he’s a nightmare to deal with.”

  “Do you get along with your ex?”

  “Can’t stand him and the feeling is mutual, but we rub along for the sake of Jamie, But, if we didn’t share a child, I wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, why did you break up?”

  “It wasn’t my choice,” she replied before taking a big gulp of her gin. “Turned out one family wasn’t enough for Kevin.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He had another wife and a couple of kids tucked away.”

  “You’re kidding me?” I topped up my drink, riveted by the tale. “He’s a bigamist?”

  “Yep, and he went to prison for three months.”

  “Is that it?”

  “I’d have done a Lorena Bobbitt on him,” Maggie Jane piped up. “And tossed his dick out the car window.”

  We all laughed as she mimicked cutting his private parts off with an imaginary pair of scissors.

  “I’m sorry for laughing, but it’s the sort of thing you hear about on a soap opera. I bet you were heartbroken.”

  “At first, I was inconsolable, but then anger set in. I wanted to murder him, and to my shame, my mind went through all sorts of dark scenarios. I wanted him dead, to suffer, and feel a fraction of what he’d put me through.”

  “Shit!” I felt my jaw drop. It was honest but still quite the revelation. Sitting up straight, I braced myself for more. I was shocked she had considered taking things to such extremes. “That’s awful.”

  “I know, but I was humiliated, and his couldn’t-care-less attitude made my blood boil. He wasn’t sorry and still hasn’t apologised to this day.”

  “Is he still with the other wife?”

  “Oh, no, she binned him long ago. He’s the type that can’t be single. He had some skinny bint writing to him in prison and she met him at the gates apparently all doe eyed and in love. He told me she’d signed up for some inmate pen pal service, but I reckon he had her on the go at the same time as me and Kim.”

  “The dirty bugger,” Maggie Jane added. “I hope his bollocks drop off.”

  “And you’ve been single ever since?”

  “There have been other guys, but nothing serious. I can’t face another failed relationship.”

  “You’re bloody amazing, do you know that?”

  “Oh behave!”

  “I mean it, I’m in awe of you, of everything you’ve been through...” Carol was strong, intelligent and beautiful to boot. She gave me something to aspire to.

  “I’m far from amazing but had to survive. He wouldn’t pay maintenance at first. I didn’t know what to do, so decided to go back to school and get my nursing degree.”

  “Wow, I’m impressed.” She had the get up and go that had got up and left me yonks ago, but if she could do it, so could I. I felt a renewed sense of hope, but that could have been the Gin.

  “It wasn’t easy and for a while Jamie and I lived hand to mouth, but I was determined and passed my degree with flying colours. Now I’m Matron of the Infectious Diseases Unit at Merryfields Hospital just outside of town.”

  “I’m so impressed.” I felt dumb in comparison. What had I achieved apart from being a trophy wife with a part time job I only took to prove a point? I resolved there and then to stop procrastinating and decide what I wanted out of my own life. What was stopping me? I’d never signed any form of pre-nuptial agreement; what was the point? Richie didn’t have a pot to piss in when we met and fell in love. It was my parents, then me, who supported him on the rise to the top of his game. I was entitled to half of everything and would make sure I got it.

  Maggie Jane must have noticed my mind had wandered off. “Earth calling Michelle.”

  I blinked my way out of my inner thoughts. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”

  “Anything you feel like sharing?” Maggie Jane couldn’t hide her concern.

  “I’m going to ask Richie for a divorce.”

  Both stared at me, but it was Carol that spoke up first. “What made you come to that conclusion?”

  “You did.”

  “Oh, no,” she said. “I didn’t mean for you to…”

  I held my hand up. “It’s all good, Carol, really. Our marriage is over and has been for a long time, it’s just time to dot the I’s and cross the T’s.”

  “What do you think he will say?” Carol enquired.

  “He will throw a hissy fit, at first, but when he has a chance to think about it, I reckon he’ll be relieved. I know I am just thinking about it.”

  Maggie Jane looked worried. “What will you do about the house?”

  “Sell it, split the proceeds, come to some arrangement about di
viding the rest of our assets.”

  “Well, you know, if you need money, I have more than enough, and it’s yours, you only have to ask.”

  “Thanks, Mags, but I think I’ll be okay.”

  “And any of my houses you want, yours.”

  “You’re the best sister a girl could ask for.”

  “I just want you to be happy. We’re all the family we have left.”

  “I’ll be fine…” I choked with emotion.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Shell, I didn’t mean to make you unhappy.”

  “I am happy, Mags. Well happier than I’ve been for a long time and he’s only been gone a day.” I raised my glass. The others followed suit. “To new beginnings…”

  “To new beginnings,” Maggie Jane and Carol said in unison.

  Chapter Six - The Scent of Jasmine

  I sat cross-legged on the floor. A chill swept through the later we continued through the evening, and the fire I lit provided us more time and a lovely warmth. Perhaps inside my heart and upon my cheeks. “It’s ten past one,” Maggie Jane announced, looking at her watch. “Time for me to go home.”

  “Aw, do you have to,” I grumbled. “It’s not like you to leave a party early.” My sister was usually the last one standing.

  “I know, but I’m tired and sozzled and wanna go to bed.”

  “I do have a spare room, you know?”

  “I need my own bed, and besides, when I throw up in a little while, I don’t want an audience listening in.”

  I tittered. “Okay, Mags, whatever you say.” My sister had her little quirks, and I loved her for them. “Shall I call you a taxi?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “And what about you, Carol? I can open another bottle of wine…” We’d finished the Gin and moved onto the wine Richie and I were saving for something special. I couldn’t see us raising a toast to divorce, and it was in the wine cellar gathering dust, so why the hell not?

  “Go on then, you’ve twisted my arm.”

  “That didn’t take much twisting, you old lush,” Maggie Jane said with a hiccough. “If I could be arsed going for a wee, I’d join you for a glass before my taxi ge…” Another hiccough stopped her mid-sentence.

  “You can use one of the spare rooms, Carol. It’s no problem and they’re all en-suite so you’ll have plenty of privacy.”