OK Ch. 13-18

Jessica nodded.

Tracy continued, "John wanted me to finish furnishing the house ready for when he comes home."

"So you'll be staying up here with him?"

"Don't know. I reckon John won't be just taking up his old job here. I think he's destined for bigger things at head office. Wouldn't be surprised if he moved back to London or to one of our subsids abroad."

"Could you give me his address where he's gone? I'd like to contact him."

"Sorry," Tracy answered. "No one knows where he is at the moment. It's top secret; even Tom doesn't know, and neither do I. But John promised he'd contact me as soon as he could. I miss him when he disappears like this. It's worrying."

Jessica left after apologising for disturbing Tracy and drove thoughtfully back to her own place, where she thought some more before phoning Susan, who invited her for dinner.

"It's not good," she told Susan after the meal when the latter asked her if she had been to see John.

"So?" from Susan.

"One, he's gone again, and this time on some sort of secret mission that'll take him some months. Two, Tracy Rushton, that's her name, is a flame from London and is house sitting for him. She is to furnish the rest of the house for him in his absence. Three, you can tell she's more than just a colleague or platonic friend, you know, she has that possessive feel about her, as if she belongs there."

"Oh."

There was a long pause while Susan assessed the situation. Her shoulders sagged and her brow furrowed, then she looked up.

"OK," she said at length. "Looks bad, but he was keen on hooking up with Carol again once he knew the truth."

"Hardly, keen, Sue." Jessica countered.

"Yes, keen. He went to the party to make up with her, he said as much."

"But he kept her at a distance right up to that time. We don't know how strongly he wanted to get back with her. Aren't you being a bit optimistic?"

"Yes I am; someone has to be. You know those two are totally suited, it's just a shame he's had to go off again. I bet he'll be round to her when he gets back. He might even call her while he's away. Carol has all but given up, but all is not lost. We've got to keep her on track until John comes back, or until he gets in touch, don't you think?"

Jess sighed. "You're right. So how do we do this?"

"Tom!" Susan exclaimed. "Tom is doing John's job; he's John's oldest friend. Tom'll be the first person John contacts when he's able to. I think I need to go and have a long talk with him. After all, it was the two of us that got Carol to listen to John. I'm pretty sure he thinks Carol has another man, and he needs disabusing of that.

"I'll go and see him. Tom might know what this Tracy person is to John, whether it's serious between them. If it is, we'll have to think again."

"In the meantime," said Jess, morosely, "we have to convince Carol to hang in there for a few more months."

On Saturday evening they called on Carol to take her out for a drink. She looked thoroughly depressed, more so than usual.

"John's written," was the first thing she said. "Come in."

She fired up he laptop and found the email.

"Here," she said dully, "Read it."

Jess and Susan read the mail.

Dear Carol, I'm writing this on a train, beginning a four month assignment about which I cannot tell anyone anything. I've only been home for a week since my weeks in Holland, and I'm on the move again. I did intend to see you but work intervened, so I need to write.

I think I understand why you wanted to see me at the party. After your experience because you did not talk to me before divorcing me, I should have realised that you would want to tell me face to face that you had found someone else, someone whom you loved dearly before I even came on the scene. They told me at the hotel that he was an old flame from schooldays. He is obviously the man you wanted most in your life, and I assume for some reason you were separated from him before you met me.

Now he is back in your life, I hope you are settled with him, and I want to assure you I understand. I wish you every happiness with him and I will not trouble you further. All is forgiven and I hope we both have fond memories of our four years together, rather than the distress of the last few years. I know I do, they were the best four years of my life.

Move on Carol with him with my blessing. I will try to move on in my turn.

Much Love, John.

Jessica and Susan sat staring at the screen after they finished reading, trying to read between the lines. At last they began to notice Carol sitting in an armchair staring into space.

"Well," said Susan eventually, "I don't know what to say. He still doesn't know the real situation."

"He still loves you so much, Carol," Jessica said, misty eyed. "Can't you see it?"

"Jess, he's moving on," Carol said dejectedly. "OK so he doesn't know the truth, but he's moving on. That woman..." She drifted into silence.

Jessica looked at Susan, and Susan looked at Jessica and nodded.

"You might as well know," Jessica said. "You obviously can't feel any worse."

"You went to see him?" Carol pricked up her ears.

"I went to the house," said Jessica. "He'd already left, but his girlfriend was there, Tracy's her name. Said she's house-sitting for him while he's away; she works for the same firm and is helping Tom out while John is away."

"She was his girlfriend in London," said Carol. "He's moving on with her."

She said no more but looked downtrodden.

"Carol!" Susan said sharply. "You always see the worst side of everything these days. Look, he thinks you've rediscovered the love of your life from before you met him. He's wrong but he doesn't know it. He might be shacking up with Tracy for now, but that doesn't mean it's permanent, now does it?"

Jessica followed this with "And look how lovingly he writes at the end, he hopes you are settled with the love of your life: he's stepping aside for your happiness, he looks back fondly to your four years together. Best years of his life. All is forgiven. Can't you see? I bet he was coming to the party to tell you all was forgiven and he wanted you back."

"And he's now away for months," added Susan. "Tracy has come up here to work. John has gone away. They can't be that close; they just get on well together. In any case that relationship, if it exists, is on hold for months. You're no worse off. You've a chance when he comes back to enlighten him. Carol he needs to know the truth!"

"They used to sleep together, they will have been sleeping together here," Carol countered.

"Well, yes, but they did that in London with no ties," said Susan patiently. "Don't forget he thinks you're spoken for. Please Carol, don't give up now. At least wait until you talk to him face to face. You have nothing to lose, have you? Please?"

Carol sighed petulantly, "OK, OK," then she giggled, much to the surprise of the other two. "Just as well John isn't here."

They looked puzzled.

"OK!" she explained. The others laughed.

"What I was going to say," she continued, "was that I feel no need to go looking for another man for the foreseeable future, but I do think it's too late for John. I don't think we'll get it back even if we talk when - if - he gets back."

The others gave a muted sigh of relief her reaction was better than outright rejection, if not much.

"I think you have good reason to hope, no, to expect, John will want you back." Susan stated.

Carol shrugged, having less optimism than her friend after so many setbacks, and wondered what was going on in Susan's mind: she had that look she got when she had a plan. It was worrying.

--

"Hi, Sue!" Ann greeted her, "Come in. Tom's on the patio, go through. What will you have?"

"Lovely to see you again," said Susan. "It's been too long. G & T?"

Susan walked through to the patio to find Tom reading in a director's chair.

"Apt seating, Tom, director man!" she joked as she came up behind him.

He jumped up grinning at her allusion to his temporary post at work.

"Sue, how are you? Glad you rang. We haven't caught up since the revelation," he laughed as he hugged her. "Hasn't exactly gone smoothly since, has it? I suspect you're here about that, eh?"

"Yeah," she replied

"OK, Sit down."

"You mean 'All Right sit down' I think," Susan laughed.

Tom covered his mouth in mock guilt. "Apologies to his sacred memory," he said, joining his hands as if in prayer. Then he laughed, and she giggled..

They sat and Ann brought Susan her drink. "Dinner in fifteen," she warned before disappearing into the kitchen.

"Well, it's all a bit of a mess, isn't it?" Tom began. "Carol going off with someone else, after all our hard work. So, what's new?"

"What's new is that Carol hasn't."

"Hasn't?"

"Hasn't gone off with anyone else."

"But the party? John said she'd taken up with an old flame."

"John was led to believe that by the hotel. They said she was with a man in his room, an old flame, as you say. It was a lie, she was with me in the ballroom."

"But why should they lie?"

"Liam."

"Oh, that figures, doesn't it? I should have guessed."

They sat in silence for a while.

"Of course, John went away the next day for weeks," Tom reflected. "Only been back a week and he's off again."

"Yes, not only has he gone away again," she paused, as if wondering whether to say more. "He's left a girlfriend in his house."

"Oh," Now it was Tom's turn to wonder whether to say more.

"Tom? We're working together for John and Carol, remember?" Susan prodded.

"Well," Tom said hesitantly. "It's clear you've guessed. Yes, she is an ex-girlfriend from his time in London, but she's really up here to help me out. She's only house-sitting for John because they know one another and it's convenient. She wouldn't be here at all if he'd been back for good after Holland."

"But they're sleeping together." She stated it as a fact.

"I've no idea whether they are or not," said Tom. Then, seeing her expression, "but, like you, I suspect they are. John said they did frequently in London. But..."

"But?"

"Tracy doesn't strike me as the settling down type, at least not yet. She's only in her twenties."

"Late twenties."

"How d'you know?" asked Tom, intrigued.

"Saw her in the Griffin. That's what's brought me round. Carol's now in a state of severe depression: she saw her as well, and she's convinced that John is now in a permanent relationship with Tracy. The fight's gone out of her. After all her hard work to make up for what she'd done, thanks to that stupid party she now thinks she's lost him."

"Yes, I heard she went round everyone telling them John was innocent and would they kindly ask him round to dinner. I was relieved: he'd been working too hard for his health." Tom smiled at that thought and then thought for a while.

Susan broke into his musings, "You know as well as I do that they belong together. If it hadn't been for Liam they'd still be married, probably with children."

Tom frowned: he was trying to think it through. "OK."

Susan giggled. Tom raised an eyebrow, which brought on more giggles.

"Point taken, his shadow still looms over us," he said. "One, it's not up to us to dictate how they'll resolve this."

"But?"

"Let me work this through, Sue.

"Two, John needs to be in full possession of all the facts, and that is something we can easily fix when he gets back.

"Three, we don't know what's going on with Tracy, and as her boss, I'm not in a position to find out. As her boss I can hardly ask her to discuss her personal life.

"Four, John won't be in contact for, in my opinion, at least twelve weeks if not more. Whatever he's doing needs the virtue of surprise, or there wouldn't be so much secrecy, but when he does get in touch, I can tell him the truth."

Susan sat and thought about what Tom had said, and had to admit he was right in every respect. Then she had an idea.

"Tracy doesn't have any friends up here, does she?" she asked him.

"Don't think so," he replied. "What are you scheming Susan?"

Ann came out to say dinner was ready. The children ate with them.

"I was saying that Tracy has no friends here," Susan said to Ann. "I wondered if she'd like to meet our group, you know, Jess, Karen, Kathy. We could take her clubbing or just to the pub."

"You know, that's not a bad idea," said Ann. "Tom's been saying she's been more of a manager than Colin, and Colin's fast turning into her assistant, but the problem of being a manager is that you don't associate socially with your staff. I think she might well be lonely and she'd be delighted."

"And Tracy might want to talk about 'things'," grinned Susan.

Tom smiled knowingly. "And Carol, Susan, you 'forgot' Carol. I assume you're expecting them to meet. You're sure this isn't part of some nefarious plan of yours?"

She looked at him with innocent eyes. "Of course not Tom. How could you even think that?"

Everyone laughed. With reason.

--

Chapter Eighteen

Next day being Saturday, Susan convened a coffee morning of the 'support Carol' club. Jessica, Kathy, Karen and Freya all made time to attend. Carol was not invited.

"Ladies, yesterday I had dinner with Tom and Ann Forstone. Let me summarise the situation. After all Carol's hard work to get John back, Liam destroyed it all at the midsummer party.

"John now thinks Carol has found someone else, a previous lover. I learned that John was only here for a week before going abroad again on some secret mission. Seems to be for three or four months. He cannot be contacted.

"London have sent Tracy Rushton to take Tom's place while Tom does John's job. Tracy is a friend of John's, probably with benefits, whom he knows from London. She is looking after the house and is furnishing it for him while he is away.

"Tom and Ann reckon Tracy shares his bed here, but Tom thinks Tracy is not into settling down with John or anyone else.

"We don't know how serious Tracy is, we don't know how long it will be before John gets in contact again. We know Carol is depressed and pessimistic about John. So I have a plan.

"Tracy is all alone here. She's a London girl and here for a few months. I suggest we adopt her. She is not a scheming man stealer, she befriended John when he was exiled in London, so she's probably a nice friendly person.

"We look after her, we keep off the subject of John unless she brings it up. She will likely be under the impression that Carol has found someone else and we can remedy that misunderstanding. We may even find out if she's serious about John, but only if she brings the matter up."

"And?" said Jessica suspiciously. "Carol?"

"Carol is also in our group so they are going to meet. From this we may find out exactly how Tracy ticks, what she hopes for. She'll get to know Carol which may give her food for thought."

"You mean we take her out for drinks, clubbing, parties?" asked Karen.

"Yes."

"Sounds good to me," said Jessica, and the others nodded with wry smiles: Jessica was a sucker for clubbing and parties, in fact she was a sucker for any activity where she could meet men, and she had a reputation as another kind of sucker entirely.

"We could start tonight," Kathy said. "We were all meeting at the Griffin anyway, then we were going to Karen and Ryan's for a bit of dancing. Got to support the hotel!"

Susan lost no time, and with Jessica in tow, was ringing John's doorbell by lunchtime.

"Hello," said Jessica when Tracy opened the door. "You remember me? I came looking for John."

"Yes," replied a puzzled Tracy, "but I told you he was away for a long while. Was there something else?"

"Hi, Tracy, I'm Susan. Like Jessica here, John and I go way back. It's you we've come to see. We reckon you're going to be here for months, and you won't have any friends up here. So we wondered if you'd like to come out with us tonight? Meet some more friends. We were meeting at the Griffin, you know it?"

Tracy nodded.

"Then we were all going on to a hotel run by two friends of ours that has dancing on Saturday nights till late. D'you fancy that idea?"

"That's very kind," Tracy said with a grin. "I was wondering what to do with myself at weekends, and going back to London every time is a no-no. Yes I'd love to!"

"Seven thirty then," said Susan. "You'll really like our friends and we'll have a good time. If you walk to the pub, we'll give you a lift to the Hotel and bring you back afterwards."

On the way back from Tracy's, Susan had a thought. "We must try to avoid starting any talk about John and Carol, Jess. We don't want to frighten her off right at the beginning. Is Carol coming tonight?"

"No, it's Lee's birthday party, she's going to that."

"That's good."

"I'll warn the others off." Jessica said. "They'll want to talk about John and what he got up to in London with Tracy, it wouldn't be natural not to."

"As long as we try to keep off the topic of Carol."

"We can but try."

Of course they failed.

to be continued