Small World Ch. 02

There is no sex in this story.

I thank my LadyCibelle and Techsan for their patience, proof reading, editing skills and of course encouragement they always give me. I also thank of my friends, who write to encourage and help me to continue writing and posting, these demented ravings of mine. Your emails are always greatly appreciated.

Later that night I ran over in my mind the events of that day and I wondered just what was going to happen the following weekend.

The following morning I called into work early and left a message with night security that I would be late in the office that day. I had decided to have breakfast with Clinton and Gina and I studied the couple carefully whilst we ate. Then I saw them off in their car to wherever they were going next.

I was in my room when the chambermaid came around. I was on first name terms with almost all the staff in the hotel by then. She volunteered to get me all the information I required.

++++++++++++++

Surprisingly, I got the expected call from Leanne early on the Friday morning, before I had even gone to work. You know, I would have thought Leanne would have left it a little bit longer.

Leanne asked me if I would meet her on the Saturday evening as she had something important she needed to discuss with me. At first I refused unless she told what she wanted to speak to me about, but she wouldn't say.

After playing silly buggers for a little while - I didn't want her to realise that I knew what was going on - I relented and suggested that we meet in one of the local pubs.

I chose the pub very carefully; it was a place that generally catered to the office lunch crowd and so it was usually very quiet on Saturday evenings. It was the sort of place courting couples went to for a quiet time; the jukebox normally played slow ballads all evening on Saturdays.

Saturday at lunchtime I met up with James and Ashley. They never said anything so I gathered their mother hadn't let them in on her little secret. They both told me that Leanne had appeared to be very happy all that week.

I was sitting in one of the booths at the back of the pub well before eight o'clock when Leanne was due to arrive. She didn't see me when she first came in, so she went to the bar and purchased a drink. As she turned around from the bar, she saw me sitting in my little corner.

With a big smile on her face she came over and sat beside me.

"Hi, Pete. Thanks for coming. Look I'll get straight to the point. I've met someone this week who I'd like you to meet as well."

Leanne got her mobile phone out of her handbag and I watched her push one of the buttons.

"Pete, I know you always thought it was me in that film that your friend George took. But this week I've met someone who I'm sure will convince you that it wasn't."

I hoped I was making a good job of looking confused.

"She'll be here in a minute. Honestly I think you are going to have trouble believing this."

'You're not kidding!' I thought to myself. I heard the noise from the street get louder as the door opened and Gina came walking through it, followed by Clinton.

I must say the girls had made a very good show of it; they were dressed, not exactly identically, but close enough. They even had similar hairstyles. Gina came straight over to the table and plonked herself down opposite me.

"Hi, you must be Pete. Leanne has told me so much about you and that silly mistake you made."

"Pete, this is Gina and her husband Clinton. They were looking around the stables the other day when I went for my RDA session. Gosh, I thought I was looking in a mirror for a minute. It was only after I spoke to her that I realised that it must have been her in the film that your friend George took. When I asked her, Gina told me she was in Bournemouth eleven years ago on her honeymoon with Clinton. Pete, it was Gina on the film, not me! You see you did make a mistake."

I looked at Gina and then at Leanne. Then I turned my attention to Clinton.

"Tell me, Clint, who's better in bed - Leanne or Gina? I'm assuming that Gina is her real name."

Clinton had a puzzled expression on his face, as did the two women.

"Oh, come on, Leanne, didn't you realise these two shared a bed last Sunday night. I doubt that was in your plan though, was it? Oh, yeah, Leanne, Clint and whoever she is here, booked into the two rooms that you reserved for them, but the bed was only used in one of them."

"You know, if only you hadn't bothered with this bleeding charade, you would have won. I must admit that up until last weekend I'd pretty well convinced myself that I had made the biggest mistake of my life. But then something happened that told me I was correct in my first assumption, and it was you who had spent an illicit weekend at that hotel in Bournemouth with Clinton here.

"If you're wondering, it was Gina here that gave the game away. I'm assuming Gina is her real name; she lies so easily that could be an untruth as well."

"What are you talking about?" Gina demanded.

"Look, come off it. What kind of an idiot do you three take me for? I knew that something wasn't kosher the moment you opened your mouth. Your accent, girl; you're English with an Aussie accent. That means you've been living out there for years. Who are you? A cousin of Leanne's or something? You do look very much like each other."

"But, but...." was all Gina got out before I attacked again.

"Come off it, girl. If you'd been back in England for the last eleven years as you tried to tell me you'd been last weekend, I'm damn sure your Aussie accent would have faded a little by now. When I thought back on it, I seemed to remember Leanne's mother showing me some photos the first time I went to her house. There were some pictures of Leanne when she was very young, with a cousin who'se parents immigrated to Australia. The two young girls were like twins; I can remember Leanne's mother remarking on the fact."

"And then there's those bloody hair-styles! Okay, you might have gotten away with the coincidence of you both having the same hairstyle eleven years ago, because that cut was all the fashion then. But, come on, you both just happen to have similar hairstyles now, eleven years later. That's pushing things just a little too far."

"Oh, I said nothing last week, because I just wanted to see how far you idiots were planning on taking it. But you talk too much, Gina. Rosy - oh, by the way that's Rosy as in Rose not Rosie as in Rosemary, as you kept saying last week. When Rosy and George gave me that bit of film, Rosy told me that she had never spoken to the woman Clinton was with at the hotel."

I turned to Leanne.

"You know you really didn't do a very good job of briefing her, did you, Leanne? I'm afraid your friend here elaborated just a little bit too much. Oh, and one other little thing: Rose and George adopted the twins about three years ago; they only had four children when they were in Bournemouth, Gina. Unfortunately one of their daughters takes after her mother and got herself in the family way. But the kids today haven't got the guts to stand by their mistakes like George did. So George and Rose adopted their daughter's twin girls."

"When you and the arsehole here showed up, Gina, you might have convinced me if you'd kept your bloody mouth shut. But you spilled out all sorts of information that could only have come from Leanne. So after the first shock of seeing you, it didn't take me long to figure it was a set-up. I'm really glad you did it though because I was about to make the second biggest mistake of my life and go for a reconciliation."

"The second biggest mistake of your life? What was the first?" Leanne asked.

"Marrying a lying cheating bitch like you. Did you really think you could con me with this farce"?

Leanne looked very sad, but she didn't cry. Looking back now I think it was a look of resignation on her face.

"Oh, Clint, me old mate, I really don't think it would be a good idea for you to hang around Exeter very much in the future. See those two guys over there?"

Clinton looked over at the two old friends of mine who were staring in our direction with venom in their eyes.

"Well, they don't like the idea of you banging other peoples' wives and I happen to know that they can get a bit physical sometimes."

"Are you threatening me?" he demanded.

"No, Clint, I wouldn't do something like that. Let's just say, I'm offering a little friendly advice."

"Right, I think this little meeting is just about over. So I'll be leaving, but before I go I have to thank the pair of you," I said, looking at Gina and Clinton. "You know, last week a very nice lady invited me to take her to bed. I turned her down because I was planning on trying to reconcile with Leanne here. But now I've been thinking that's one mistake I'm going to correct in the very near future."

"Now please let me out of this seat, Leanne, before I really begin to lose my temper and turn violent."

Leanne stood up in some kind of a daze. Once I'd extracted myself, Leanne collapsed back into her seat and I turned back to look at her.

"Good bye, Leanne. I hope our paths don't cross too often in the future," I said and then made my way towards the exit.

As I did so, one of the two guys the other side of the bar also stood so that the striking looking woman who'd been sitting, hidden in the back of their booth, could get out and join me. She took hold of my arm, and then kissed me on the lips. We both took a last look back at Leanne and her friends and then left the bar.

++++++++++++++

It was five years later, at my eldest daughter, Jeannette's, wedding before I spoke to Leanne again. I'd only seen her a few of times during those intervening years, at the children's graduation ceremonies and the like. I'd ignored her and we hadn't spoken. But at Jeannette's wedding, I doubted that I would get away with doing that again without a confrontation of some kind, especially with the reception afterward.

Yeah, I'd had a few words with both Jeannette and Asha during the planning stage of things. Even James and Ashley had put their oars in during the discussions. Jeannette wanted both her mother and me to be at the wedding.

At first I'd said that I would happily pay for the wedding, but that I wouldn't attend if Leanne were going to be there. I said that I wouldn't stay in the same room as Leanne, and definitely wouldn't sit at the same table.

As you might expect Jeannette started getting upset when I told her that, but then Asha stepped in and read the riot act to me.

"Peter, please, don't be so bloody silly. Now calm down and listen to what Jeannette has to say." Asha lectured me, "You've been divorced from Leanne for nearly six years now and it's about time that you got over what happened. Really, what is your problem with Leanne being there?"

"Embarrassment, Asha. That woman played me for a bloody fool for god knows how many years. Probably from the day we got married."

"No, dad, it wasn't like that. Mother..." Jeannette started to say. But then stopped herself and appeared to think for a couple of seconds, before she started speaking again. "Think about it, dad. Who's going to be more embarrassed: mother sitting there on her own, knowing that she drove you away, or you with your lovely wife Asha and your two beautiful little babies?"

The point that Jeannette had made about Leanne sitting there on her own went right over my head.

"Dad, whatever mother did," Jeannette went on, "I can assure you that whilst you're happy with your lot now, she definitely isn't happy with hers!"

"You're kidding me! She can get together with the wanker whenever she likes now she hasn't got to worry whether I'm around to catch her."

"No, dad, she hasn't..." Jeannette started angrily, but she suddenly stopped speaking again. "No, dad, this isn't right. We all made a pact when you married Asha that we would never discuss mother or what happened between the two of you. It was your idea, remember?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, Jeannette," I replied. "But I still feel very angry about what she did to me, to us all really. Although I must admit, that I wouldn't have met Asha here, but for your mother's lying cheating ways. I'm sorry; I guess it is your wedding, Jeannette. If you want your mother there, I won't object again.

"But, for god's sake, will someone make sure I don't drink too much, because I might well be able to keep a civil tongue in my head where your mother's concerned. But I'm not sure I could keep my anger under control around that damned arsehole boyfriend of hers."

Jeannette made as if to say something else, but apparently changed her mind. I kissed my loving wife and then I turned and hugged Jeannette.

++++++++++++++

On the day of Jeannette's wedding, the weather smiled on us. Jeannette had been living with Asha and myself since she'd graduated so the wedding was being held at our local church. There wasn't any favouritism about her choice to stay with us; it was just the fact that she had been offered a damned good job not too far from the house Asha and I had bought.

It was quite a busy household really, because once Asha's first child had been born, Mattie (now retired) had moved in as well. Mattie acted as a kind of housekeeper come nanny and that had allowed Asha to return to the office.

Having walked Jeannette to the altar, I took a quick look over my shoulder to smile at Asha and was pretty well gobsmacked to see her in deep conversation with Leanne. Leanne was actually holding our youngest child.

But when I took my seat later in the service, Leanne had moved to the end of the pew. I still had a distinct distrust of Leanne and wondered what she was up too.

I can't say I was too enamoured to see that it was Leanne and Mattie who escorted both Asha and my babies out of the church either. I wanted to say something to Asha about it, but figured I'd wait until later when we were not in such a public place.

After the photo call, I was really surprised and somewhat annoyed to find that Asha had invited Leanne to join us in our limousine for the short journey to the reception at a local hotel. I held my tongue though; I knew that Leanne, like myself, had to be amongst the first arrivals at the hotel, so that she could be in the receiving line with us.

Leanne chose that opportunity to say hello, but I ignored her.

"Leanne said hello, Peter. Now if you're going to be silly and spoil Jeannette's day, I'll have this car take the children and me straight home," Asha chided me.

"Good afternoon, Leanne!" I said to her, with venom in my voice.

That was to lead to Asha reading the riot act to me yet again after dragging me into the hotel's office on our arrival there.

"Now cut it out, Peter. This is Jeannette's day and I don't want you putting a damper on it for her. Damn it, I've had enough of this ridiculous pride thing with my own family. I don't want to see my new family fall apart because of your damned stupid pride. Leanne cheated on you and you kicked her out of your life. But please, Peter, don't go kicking your children out with her.

"You've done miracles up to now, with your idea of never discussing Leanne or what she did, or didn't do, with the children. But you are going to have to meet and talk to her yourself one day. Whether you like it or not, Leanne's going to have to be at all kinds of gatherings with 'us' over the next few years. Now's the time to start speaking and being civil to her for my sake, please!"

I knew that Asha was right; she nearly always was. So I stood in the receiving line alongside my ex-wife and she sat beside me during the meal and speeches. I even managed to remember to change the word "I" to the line "Jeannette's mother and myself" in my speech.

As I sat down, Asha caught my eye and smiled at me. What she made of Leanne taking my hand and kissing the back of it I don't know. Asha couldn't have heard Leanne say "Thank you!" to me. That confused me for a moment but then I realised that, from where she was sitting Leanne must have been able to read the original script of my speech. So she must have been aware of my impromptu editing.

As you can imagine I avoided dancing with Leanne. After I'd danced with Jeannette's new mother-in-law, I pulled Asha onto the dance floor. My son James was dancing that one with his mother.

The evening was enjoyable and to be honest, although I knew that Leanne was there, I hardly noticed her after a little while. Whether she stayed out of my way on purpose or not, I don't know.

Asha and Mattie took the two little ones home early, but Asha insisted that I stay until the end, or at least until Jeannette and her new husband left, or went to bed. That I feared would be pretty late because they were spending their first married night in the hotel's honeymoon suite.

I had slipped outside to smoke a cigar. The youngsters were still living it up on the dance floor and to be honest the noise of their modern music was getting at me a bit.

"They are two beautiful babies!" A familiar voice said from behind me.

I didn't look in her direction; I knew damned well who it was.

"They are, just like their mother," I replied. 'Take that one bitch!' I thought to myself. Look, I might have been trying to be civil, but that didn't mean I still wasn't angry with Leanne.

"Asha is very beautiful. You made a good choice there," Leanne agreed with me.

"What do you want, Leanne. Why have you followed me out here?" I asked, trying to sound as cold as my heart felt towards her.

"To apologise to you, Peter."

I looked in her direction then, hoping she'd see the hate on my face. But I think it was too dark; I couldn't make out her features.

"Bit late, don't you think?" I suggested.

"You're not kidding. I only wish it had never happened in the first place. Or that I'd had the guts to own up and beg for your forgiveness when you brought that damn CD back from Doncaster. God, I was stupid and I'm so sorry."

I thought that I could detect that Leanne was crying, although I couldn't see in the darkness.

"How long did it go on for, Leanne. How long were you taking the piss out of me behind my back?"

"It was only once, Peter. Haven't the children told you?"

I almost burst out laughing. I know that Leanne heard me kind of grunt when I barely managed to strangle my laughter.

"It's the truth, Peter. I know that you won't believe me, but I never went near any drugs or anything after that weekend, I promise you!"

Now Leanne had completely lost me, I had no idea what she was talking about. 'What the fuck did drugs have to do with anything?' my mind was asking me.

"What the hell are you talking about Leanne?"

"Pete, can we go somewhere private and talk for a little while? I'd like to explain everything to you. I know it'll never make any difference to us now; it's much too late for that. I must have been mad not to have come clean with you in the first place. But I just didn't know what to do. All I could think of was to try to lie my way out of it like I did; when I should have been telling you what actually happened. It was just that so many years had passed, and I'd been lulled into a false sense of security that you'd never find out and then when I saw the video, I panicked. All I could think to do was lie and keep on lying."

"Both you and I have been drinking, Leanne. I really don't think it would be a good idea for you to tell me anything tonight. I'm not sure that I could control my emotions," I said to her.

Even in the dark I could see the expression on Leanne's face change.

"Don't get me wrong Leanne; I feel nothing but anger towards you and what you did to me. If and when I learn the full facts I'd like to be in full control of my faculties. I've only ever come near striking two women in my life and you are one of them."