Getting Back Ch. 02

In Chapter 1 Georgina Georgina learnt of love and marriage, disappointment and pain. She knew nothing of husband Wayne’s betrayal with her sister Harriet. After a fight, she decided enough was enough – she was leaving.

CHAPTER TWO

As Georgina walked the cases grew heavier. She hadn't enough money for a taxi and her sister's house was over a mile away. By the time she arrived she felt as though her arms were stretched enough for her knuckles to scrape the floor.

Harriet was not in. Georgina went round the back and found the spare key under the brick. She put her cases in the hall and made a cup of tea. She was sure that Harriet wouldn't mind. They had never been particularly close, but they were sisters. She wrote a note to explain the presence of the cases. And suddenly she felt good.

Already things were sorting out. She would stay with Harriet until she found a job and a place of her own. She would find her own friends. And maybe a lover. She pulled the engagement ring and then the wedding ring from her finger and dropped them into her purse. She was no longer married. No longer Wayne's property.

Life was going to be good. Georgina locked the door and replaced the key under the brick. She was going to enjoy her new life. Nothing would stop her. She was going to do exactly what she wanted whenever she wanted. She felt good. She felt strong. She was ready for a real beginning.

The new Georgina sang as she walked along the street. This was quite a change from recent months when she rarely left the house and never sang. Her whole life was transformed. She grinned, clenched her fists and began to whistle. Her whistling technique wasn't very good, but that didn't worry her.

She reached the bank, ignoring the stares that followed her jaunty walk and tuneless whistling. She put the card in the hole in the wall, tapped in the numbers and grinned again. She withdrew all but one pound from the joint account. With two hundred and eighty four pounds in her purse she headed for the shopping centre.

She took her time over shopping, picking out clothes that were completely different from those she normally wore. She tried on everything, searching for inspiration. She felt that she needed a new image of herself for herself. But couldn't find one. Nothing caught her fancy in the first few shops she visited, so she took a break and treated herself to a cup of coffee and a cream doughnut. While she nibbled at the doughnut and sipped at the coffee seated by the window of the cafe, she watched others bustling around the enclosed world of the shopping centre. She felt quite sorry for the harassed mums with their little children and baby buggies. Perhaps things would have been different if she and Wayne had of had children. But Wayne always said he was too young to be a father and that he needed to build the business up first.

With the plate cleared of the last grains of sugar and the tips of her fingers licked clean for the last time, she returned to the task of finding a new image.

In the next shop she was holding a rather skimpy dress against her body when she was spoken to.

"It's Georgina isn't it? Hi, haven't seen you for ages."

Georgina looked round. This was not the friend she would have chosen to meet. Margot Goody. She had rarely seen her since she left school. Margot Goody. The girl that William Bragg two timed her with. But that was the past. This was now. And it was good to have someone to talk to.

"Hello Margot! It's lovely to see you again. How's life?"

"Not so bad. Have a look." She smiled a triumphant smile and held out her hand to show a rather flashy engagement ring.

"Craig popped the question at last. Do you remember Craig Howarth?"

Georgina nodded, vaguely remembering a spotty youth.

"He's an assistant manager with the Midland bank now. How are things with you and Wayne? I've hardly seen you since the wedding."

Georgina remembered. Margot had been going out with one of Wayne's friends. She'd tried to flirt with Wayne at the reception. Georgina grinned. "Brilliant," she said. She held out her hand, to show no ring. "I finished it last night."

"Oh," a look of concern softened Margot's face. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not. Wayne's a bastard and I'm so pleased to be shot of him I could fly."

"Oh!" The idea that someone could be pleased to lose a husband like Wayne was so alien to Margot that she was left speechless for a moment. She caught her breath and searched for a safer topic of conversation. "Are you still working at the fish and chip shop?"

"No, Wayne didn't like me working evenings so he made me jack it in. He still went out drinking of course, but at least I was there when he came home."

"Where are you living now? I mean if.."

"No longer in the flat. I packed my things and took them over to my sister's this morning. I want to get away from everything to do with him."

"What are you going to do about a job? Will you go back to the fish and chip shop?" Margot sounded very concerned and her face radiated feigned distress.

"I'll see what turns up." Georgina did not want Margot's pity. She changed the subject decisively. "What do you think of this dress?"

"I don't think it's quite you," Margot giggled. She lowered her voice to a whisper and accurately expressed Georgina's own thoughts. "It's rather, well, tarty, isn't it."

The expected condemnation was enough to sway Georgina. "I like it," she said. She enjoyed the look of disapproval on Margot's face.

"Where could you wear it?"

"Anywhere, anytime." Georgina said. "In fact I'm going to wear it now."

Margot's surprised expression made her determined to carry her statement through. She went to the counter and paid for the dress. She asked the assistant to cut off the tags so that she could wear it out of the shop.

It cost sixty pounds, but the dress was at a sale price and reduced by a third, so she felt pleased.

She went into a cubicle and put on the dress. Her bra strap was showing. She couldn't have that. With a joyful feeling of reckless abandon so she removed the bra. Then, since it was a hot day, she removed her tights as well. She looked at herself in the mirror and was pleased with the result. She re-joined Margot.

"It's a bit, revealing," Margot said. The dress gave a good view of her cleavage and the light material barely disguised the shape of her nipples.

"You mean tarty," Georgina said.

"Oh no, not tarty, not really, but it is, well, young for you."

"I'm as young as I feel. And I feel good." She looked in the mirror and did a twirl, noticing the skirt was short enough to give a glimpse of knickers from the slightest movement. She was glad she'd removed the tights.

"If you don't go back to the fish and chip shop what will you do? There aren't many jobs around." Margot wanted to change the subject again.

"I don't care."

"What happened to your eye?"

Make up didn't quite cover the discolouration of an old bruise.

"A present from Wayne, almost a week ago."

"Wayne hit you? I didn't know he was like that."

"He's been like that for years. Every few weeks he liked to show me who was boss. It was really nice of him, but I never argued so I didn't understand why he needed to do it."

"Oh, Georgina, I am sorry."

"Don't be."

"Would you like to talk about it," Margot had her caring voice on, she wanted to dig the dirt. "We could go for a coffee."

"I'd rather have a lager. Do you fancy one? They should be open." She wanted to show Margot that she felt free and happy and going to a pub without Wayne would confirm that she really was an adult.

Margot followed her to a nearby pub and waited while Georgina bought two lagers.

"You mustn't let what happened with Wayne put you off men." Margot said when they'd got their drinks. "They're not all like that. Craig would never lift his hand to me."

"That's what I thought about Wayne before he started. But I'll tell you what to do if he does. Don't put up with it. Don't worry about his tears and apologies. Don't try to understand. Just wait for your chance, smack him one, and leave the bastard."

"Did you hit Wayne?" Margot really was surprised.

"I really damaged him."

"What happened?"

Georgina grinned, proud of the memory. "He came in last night at seven, he'd gone to the pub after work as usual. He told me my cooking was crap and when I looked miserable he smacked me round the face and told me to pull myself together."

Margot nodded, waiting for more.
"He also told me I was crap in bed. He actually said he'd have more fun humping a blow up doll. That was one of his favourite lines. I don't know why it annoyed me so much. I suppose it's because I used to enjoy sex. When we first went out our sex life was fantastic. But in the last year he's only ever been good for five
minutes once a week."

Georgina paused, memories of the early days had slid into her thoughts. She shook her head, then took a long drink from her lager. "They say men hit their prime early and tail off fast. A blow up doll is all the woman he'd be capable of satisfying. Anyway, instead of feeling miserable like I usually did, I felt angry. So I didn't stand there crying," she held up her fist. "I punched him."

Georgina laughed at Margot's wide eyes. She remembered the feeling of exultation when her fist connected with Wayne's nose. She remembered the comical look of surprise on his face as he reeled backwards, caught the backs of his legs on the coffee table and fell heavily to the floor.

"Weren't you scared?" Margot asked.

"No, I never was scared of him in that way. I always thought it must be my fault and he was hitting me because of what I'd done. I was scared of losing him, not scared of him hitting me."

"What did he do?" Margot was clearly shocked by the story.

"He went wild." Georgina answered calmly. "He got off the floor, blood pouring from his nose. He yelled at me that I was a bitch and he was going to kill me. He tried to grab me, so I smacked him in the eye. He yelled again so I kicked him very hard, right where it hurts most and he curled up like baby and lay on the
carpet crying. I left him to it and went to the kitchen. I made myself a cup of tea but I was still annoyed, so I didn't make him one."

Georgina was enjoying telling the story. It seemed to put the events into perspective, helping her to understand what had happened.

"Georgina!" Margot sounded horrified.

"Don't be so shocked, he's capable of making himself a cup of tea. And I had every reason to be annoyed, he'd spattered his blood on my dress, and you know how hard it is to get rid of some of those wash day stains." Georgina grinned. She was feeling good. Her own person.

"So what did Wayne do?" the bemused Margot asked.

"About five minutes later he came in the kitchen and told me he was sorry. So I told him to go fuck himself."

Margot's face registered shock again. She looked around to see if anyone else had heard the word.

"It's a perfectly reasonable thing to suggest to a total wanker, but he got all angry again," Georgina continued. "So I threw my tea over him." Georgina forced her face into a mock caring mould and covered one of Margot's hands with one of hers. "So you see, I did behave like a caring wife. He did get a cup of tea after all." She sat back and grinned at Margot's horrified face.

"He wasn't grateful though, he just stormed out of the flat without so much as a thank you. That's when I finally realised that he's a stupid weak-kneed toe rag, and I didn't want to be with him any more."

Georgina raised her glass to her lips and emptied it. Then looked directly in Margot's eyes. But she wasn't seeing Margot. "Why did I ever think I couldn't live without him? Since he left I've felt like super
woman. I've never felt so good in my life before. I'm me and I can do what ever I want."

The words were more a prayer than a statement.
"Are you sure?" Margot asked. "Are you sure you aren't just, well a bit hysterical."

Georgina jerked back to reality and laughed. "Of course I am. I know how it must feel to be let out of prison after getting a life sentence. I am a new person. Reborn and ready to live. Want another drink?"

"Oh no, I couldn't have two at lunchtime. I ought to be going, I still haven't done the shopping for dad's tea, and Craig's coming round at six."

"Well I'm having another."

"Oh, I really can't stay and you shouldn't be here on your own."

"Don't worry about me," Georgina said, "I can look after myself. You go and shop. See you again."

"Come and visit sometime," Margot said. "I still live at home. I'm in most tuesdays, that's Craig's bowling night."

"Maybe I will. It was good to meet you again after all this time."

Georgina went to the bar. Margot fluffed around a little, then said goodbye and left the new Georgina to her new life.

Georgina ordered her drink. There were three men at the bar. Perhaps men was a bit of an exaggeration. Georgina guessed they were just old enough to be drinking legally. They were trying to look cool.

"Let me get that for you," one of them said.

Georgina looked at him. He was about her height, with a friendly, slightly chubby face that looked as though it had been polished.

"If you really want to buy it for me," Georgina said, "I'll be quite happy to drink it." She was feeling good after her reconstruction of life for Margot. She sipped the lager, smiled at the stranger and returned to the table where she had been sitting with Margot. The man paid for her drink and followed her to her table.

"Would you mind if we joined you?"

"I haven't come apart yet, but if you want to come and sit with me, I wouldn't mind." She was her old self, the person that worked in the fish and chip shop and bantered with the customers. She felt confident and wanted to prove to herself that she was able to talk to males other than Wayne.

His two friends followed him. "My name's George, this is Wolf and Denzil."

"Denzil?" She looked at the third man, he was quite stocky and obviously of afro-caribbean decent. "How do you do, Denzil. I don't think I've ever met a Denzil before. I've met a lot of wolves and I'm another George."

"Your name's George?" George asked.

"Georgina, but you can call me George. You can call me anytime you want." The flirtatious persona she had slipped into was fun. She felt in control. Denzil obviously found her attractive and that was good for her morale. All three were also a bit nervous and working hard at being relaxed. That made her feel brave.

The three men sat down.

"Is your friend coming back?" Wolf asked. "It's George's birthday and we're in the mood for a celebration."

His face looked more foxy than wolflike, Georgina thought. "Happy birthday, George. I'm afraid my friend won't be back, there's only me."

"That's enough for me," Denzil said.

She looked at him, thinking how the new Georgina should answer. He looked strong. She wondered if he was as muscular in all parts of his body. She thought she would like to find out the truth about the black man myth, she'd never had sex with a black man. She'd never had sex with any man other than Wayne. Denzil wasn't really black, but he was close enough for an experiment.

"I'm more than enough for you," she replied with an arch smile, "I'm enough for all three of you. But not on one lager." She was almost shocked by the brazen response. But it felt too good a line to retreat from.

They laughed. "Now we know you're available there's just the haggling over price," Wolf said. The other two looked at her to see if he'd gone too far.

George broke into the silence before she could react. "I haven't seen you in here before. Do you live nearby?"

"No, I only came in for a drink. Thank you for buying it. Cheers." She raised her glass and drank deeply. She was beginning to think she wasn't really ready for this.

"Cheers," they replied and they raised their glasses and drank.

"It's nice to meet a friendly and beautiful woman," Denzil said. It was clear from the way he looked at her that he realised she found him attractive.

"You mean you fancy your chances," she said. " But what about your friends? Or are you the modern day version of the three musketeers."

Wolf laughed. "All for one and one for all you mean?" He looked at her hard, but grinning.

"Something like that," she said.

"Well if you're the one, I'd be happy to share."

"That's very nice of you," Georgina said. "I'm not sure that I'd be happy though. I'm used to one bloke at a time. It may be disappointing, but it means I'm in control." She made the movement from the gas advertisement of lighting an invisible cigarette light with her thumb.

"Excuse me, I need to go. While I'm away, feel free to talk amongst yourselves. I shall return." She raised her glass to her lips and emptied it, then got up and went to the toilet. She was beginning to lose her nerve.

"She's a pro," Wolf said once she'd left.

"Never," George said. But he was interested rather than denying.

"Of course she's a pro. Three of you but not for one lager. All for one. And then she goes off so we can decide if we want her. She's a pro. And very nice too, if you don't notice her eye. Fancy a bit?"

"I'm game," Denzil said. "What do we do, toss a coin for who goes first?"

"She'll decide that, she said she wants control."

"How much do you think she'll charge?" George asked.

"I reckon we could get the lot for maybe fifty or sixty quid. It's the afternoon, this is like bunts for her."

"Fifty or sixty each?" George asked.

"Naw, twenty each. Only, we're not going to her place, we'll take her out in the car or back to your flat George. I don't want to find some broken nosed pimp jacking up the price and judging from her eye that's what we'd find. Are you all in? 'Cos if not, I'll see what I can arrange for myself."

"I'm in," George said. "Are you sure she's a pro? You'll look stupid if she isn't."

"She's a pro, but she won't come straight out with it."

"She may not want to go off with three strangers either," Denzil said.

"Let me worry about that. Are you in?"

Denzil shrugged, "I'm in for twenty quid, but no more."

"Make it thirty," Wolf said. "We'll treat George to a birthday fuck."

Denzil nodded, "OK, but thirty's tops."

"Leave the talking to me. Denzil, get her another lager." Denzil went to the bar to buy the drink.

In the ladies, Georgina re-touched her make up and had a long look at herself in the mirror. She liked what she saw. The dress looked good on her, not exactly subtle, but good. It had certainly got the attention of the three men in the bar. She thought about them. They were a bit younger than her. She felt quite mature at twenty two. An old married lady. She guessed none of them had reached twenty yet. They were all OK, but she did fancy Denzil.

She grinned at the thought that maybe the other two could warm her up for him so she was really in the mood to get the best out of Denzil. She shook her head at herself in the mirror and went back to the bar.

As soon as she sat down Denzil put a fresh glass of lager in front of her. She smiled her thanks. He nodded his head in acknowledgement and she noticed his eyes paused on her cleavage before returning to her face. He grinned.

"Cheers," Wolf said. He raised his glass to her.

Georgina raised her glass in reply and sipped. "Aren't you boys having another drink?"

"We were thinking of going on somewhere else," Wolf answered. "Maybe you'd like to come with us?"

"Where were you thinking of going?" Georgina asked.

"We were thinking of going back to George's place, he lives just round the corner. A bit of music, a few drinks, a pleasant way to spend the afternoon."

Georgina laughed. "An afternoon with the three musketeers, now there's an offer." The offer was interestingly close to the idea she had just been fantasising about.