The First Domino Pt. 01

PART ONE

This story is a spin off from Taking Chances where Fiona had a few brief appearances but that particular story was all about Gail and Sarah getting together. However, at the end I let it slip that Fiona was also now involved with a woman, hence the title of this story is The Domino Effect. It's always been on my mind to write this story and to check in with Gail, Sarah and Cassie. I hope you enjoy the story.

The the term, the domino effect usually has negative connotations but English is a surprisingly adaptable language and I should know, I teach secondary school English at a school in Heathmont. It means that an action such as selling on bad debt just propagates the problem because the debtors could incur extra charges and the company selling on the bad debt might have also lost money. Over a period of time this has other negative effects on the economy, bank interest rates rise, thus more people are in debt and if left unchecked you have serious problems. Broadly speaking this is due to the fall of a single domino, leading to the domino effect. I've only used one notable example to explain the term but it can be applied to many other aspects of society.

However in the spirit of pushing the envelope I want to talk about a domino effect that had positive effects and to do that I have to lay out the background. My name is Fiona and I live two doors down and across the street from Gail and her daughter Cassie, who goes to the school where I work. For quite a few years I was the chief babysitter due to the fact that Gail was a policewoman and in all that time I considered myself to be straight. That changed however the day Gail was wounded on the job when some guy fired a gun at her because one of the first officers on the job was Gail, who works in Special Operations.

I was dimly aware that things were happening between Gail and Sarah, but that was because I was dealing with my own personal situation. At the time I was engaged to Robert, a New Zealander who'd moved to Australia and at the start there was certainly chemistry but when we agreed to get married something changed. The spark that had kept us going flickered and when I agreed to an eighteen month engagement I felt as if I was somehow shackling myself to a man who couldn't commit himself. An engagement in my mind should be short and sweet, once you start stretching it out then you get restless.

At the time Gail and Harriet got together I was over in New Zealand with Robert meeting his family and when I returned I felt a strange unease and it was not because my best friend was up close and personal with another woman. Robert's mother had pulled me aside whilst he was out with his two brothers and told me that while she loved me and thought that I was a wonderful catch, I was too good for her son.

"Robert is like a bee, he dips his wick into every pretty little thing. It's not up to me to tell you but if you pull the plug and end it then you won't get any arguments or ill feeling from me."

When a mother says that about one of her children you'd better sit up and pay attention because the jigsaw pieces started falling into place. For quite a few months now I'd been puzzled by his late finishing times at work because he was just a mechanic at a car wrecking yard. He had claimed he was working overtime at the yard but on more than one occasion he'd asked me to tide him over until payday. Now I was wondering if his 'overtime' actually involved dropping in on some other woman and at least two or three times a month he had to cancel a date because something had come up at Tafe. He was doing a course in web design.

To cut a long story short I asked Sarah's advice and she suggested hiring one of those rent a bombs and following him from work. It sounded a little theatrical but I was quite taken by Sarah, she was one of those no nonsense women who has to face down some very dangerous characters and come out on top. But I didn't need to go that far when my sister dropped in one night after work to ask what Robert's car was doing in Belgrave, he worked in Lilydale and when I rang to ask if he was coming over tonight for dinner he said he was at work.

"So, why is your car in a suburban street in Belgrave?"

You could have heard a pin drop and Cassie looked up as I sat down.

"You've got five seconds to come up with an answer," I stared at my sister, "Lynne has just driven past your car on her way to see a friend, so this had better be good."

"Okay, okay, I've been helping a friend, she, he has had some issues."

"She he?" I raised my eyebrows, "is it a she or a he, or is that the issue?"

"Shit."

"Shit is right, tell you what. I'll save you the drive over here and I'll mail the ring to you. Don't bother coming around to plead with me, it's over," I hung up and sank back against the back of the couch.

"That cunt," I exploded, "that fucking cunt."

"So it was his car."

"Yeah," I stared at Lynne, "he didn't deny that, he's helping someone with issues but he got the gender mixed up, it's either a he or a she."

"I'm sorry," Lynne reached for me, "I didn't know what to say when I saw the car, I thought it might just be the same model and maybe I got the registration mixed up."

"Do you want me to get Sarah to arrest him?" Cassie ventured, "she could make something up I'm sure."

Despite the way I was feeling at the time I did laugh out loud but it was forced. What happened next still makes me cringe because it's so unlike me. I gathered up all the clothes he'd left in my room and cut holes and strips in them, and then got Lynne to drive me over to his place. His car was on the nature strip and when I dumped his mangled clothes on the bonnet it was still warm. He saw me and came racing out just as I tossed the ring onto the pavement.

"Fuck you," I screamed.

Robert reached me just as I was getting back into the car and yanked the door open, and if not for the fact that a motorist pulled up just beside him I might have had a serious problem. I got the door closed again but he managed to thump my rear passenger window as I pulled away. I was shaking all the way home and it took quite a while for the panic to subside and then I had to contemplate my act of vandalism. That just triggered off another anxiety attack and so Lynne and I went over to Gail's place, I'd seen her car in the driveway as we drove past.

"You look like you've had some bad news," Gail looked up from the couch, "Cassie didn't tell me everything."

I told her everything and she listened without interruption and then she picked up her phone.

"What are you going to do?"

"Calling a friend," she tapped the screen, "actually I'm calling Sarah, she's at home but she'll be able to tell me if he's reported you."

She was on the phone in the other room for some time and when she came back she had a slight smile on her face.

"What's so funny?"

"Your ex fiancé has another secret."

"What's that?"

"A little matter of car rebirthing," she perched on the edge of the couch, "Sarah ran a check on the Belgrave address and it um, seems he's been doing a few back yarders for mates and their mates, which involves changing engine numbers. She's said that there's nothing she can do at the moment because he's under surveillance but it's possible you were seen at the house spitting the dummy."

"Car rebirthing," I pinched my nose, "fuck, how could I not have known?"

"He might have a woman on the side as well, but it's also possible that the address in Belgrave might just be where he does his rebirthing thing. Her advice, and I agree with it, is just to avoid any contact with him and if he lodges a complaint about what you did to his clothes just call Sarah or myself and we'll see what we can do."

She glanced at her phone as she continued.

"It's in the hands of the major crimes division anyway, they may call on you to ask if you've any information they could add to their profile but that's their call and from what I can work out he's just a bit player who might be used to reel in some much bigger fish."

Sarah came around not long afterwards and I had a bit of a cry, I felt as if every emotion was bubbling to the surface and overflowing. There was relief that it was all over, anger that he'd lied to me, shame at being so bloody naïve and fear that I could face charges. Sarah and Gail were there to reassure me that the police were far more interested in him than me, and I guess now that I've laid out the background I can say that it was that night I first felt the tentative urges for another woman. Those two women are very fond of each other and yet they both live in separate houses, there's a chemistry between them that never existed between Robert and I.

That night as I lay in bed I found myself going over the situation again and again, trying to put it all together and then getting even more pissed off at myself because I should have put two and two together and come out with four. Love is blind as they say but now that I've given you the back story let me fast forward six weeks.

By then I'd kind of calmed down although a part of me was still seething. Robert had pulled into the driveway of my Heathmont home but when I stepped out onto the front porch with the phone at my ear he backed out, thinking I was calling for backup. And he would have been right, I was calling Gail and I have no doubt she would have dealt with him. The police had been to see me a the week before and I gave them all the information I had, which wasn't much but they seemed interested that he was always broke. I was assured that my temper tantrum wouldn't see me facing charges but it had been very entertaining to the surveillance team.

Because I was distracted, I decided to turn on the computer and try to lose myself in surfing or reading, anything to take my mind off the fact he'd just rolled up. However when I saw the message on my screen I cursed out loud. It was one of those Windows updates messages, the kind that tells you Windows is updating and will reboot your computer, but when it rebooted it went into some kind of suspended animation and refused to load my desktop. I did my usual tapping the keyboard, tried control, alt, delete and even a hard reset, all to no avail and so in desperation I called Gail.

"Is it possible for Cassie to come over and look at this computer? I don't know what I've done here but it's not rebooting."

"Sure, I'll bring around some cake as well."

I felt a bit guilty after I hung up because I know Gail tends to get to bed earlier than me because she has early starts but I was in no position to argue and Cassie is good with computers but even she didn't know how to fix it.

"It's buggered," she nudged her glasses further up her nose, "but you should ask Sarah for Harriet's number."

"Oh, okay," I frowned, "who's Harriet?"

"She built Sarah's computer and I'm saving pocket money so she can build me one next."

"She really knows her stuff but she's not one of those nerdy types," Gail passed me the plate of cookies, "she's an uber geek but you can still have a real conversation with her. She also does a bit of work for the police computer crime, hacking and data analysis."

"Is she?"

"She is," Gail put the plate down, "although we've both got a good variety of straight and gay friends, she's an attractive woman, got a very sexy Irish accent, and," our eyes met, "she's single as well."

"Well I'll keep it in mind, not that I'm thinking of converting but I've always been partial to Irish accents."

I called from work to make an appointment for the following day. She must have been told about me because she mentioned Gail and asked if I'd turned the machine off and on again.

"Okay, I can swing by around half past five, you're near Gail aren't you?"

"Two doors down on the other side of the road, I've got a brick fence and a lemon tree in the front yard."

"I think I know the place, all right I'll see you then but if I'm running late I'll text you."

I'm not one of those women who feels the need to put on appearances for anyone, a carry over from a mother who was OCD when it came to keeping the house clean and when I first moved into a rental in my late teens I used to deliberately leave unwashed dishes in the sink for three days at least. Thankfully I grew out of that habit after nearly gagging on the smell of mouldy cheese but whilst I keep a clean house these days I definitely don't take after mum.

I felt as if I should have spruced myself up when someone knocked on the door just after 5:30. The woman on the other side of the flywire door had long auburn hair that fell in soft waves past her shoulders, framing an oval-shaped face set with hazel eyes and bow-shaped lips. When she smiled she exposed dimples in her cheeks. She wore leather trousers and a tailored leather, biker jacket over a white blouse but when I looked past her at the vehicle in the drive it was just a basic Toyota. This couldn't be Harriet, could it?

"Can I help you?"

"I'm Harriet, are you, Fiona?"

She held up her purse with her driver's licence clearly visible through the plastic pocket.

"Oh, sorry, I saw the leathers and just thought," I opened the flywire door, "come in."

"I'm actually on my way to see my auntie," she replied, "I'm usually wearing more conservative clothes for house calls."

"No worries, so you're the guru?"

"I prefer the term geek," Harriet stepped inside.

"Geek it is then," I closed the door behind her, "so, you're on your way out?"

"Kind of," she glanced over her shoulder, "but if I'm late it's okay, she won't cut me out of her will just yet."

"Where does she live?"

"Kallista," she followed me to the computer.

"That's nearly half an hour away, I hope this won't take long for your sake."

"It shouldn't," she sat down at the computer.

"I'll just turn it on at the wall."

"No problem, flick the switch and let's see what's happening."

I'd thought that turning it off at the wall and then turning it back on again might have reset it but the same error message was on the screen but now it wanted me to run a check disc program.

"Let me see," Harriet plugged a USB pen drive into a port, "we'll reboot and have a poke around," she rebooted and held down a key on the keyboard. The screen flashed a couple of times and then I saw an unfamiliar screen.

"What's Ubuntu?"

"It's a Linux flavour," she explained, "it's a live distribution that we can load alongside windows but I just want to have a peep at your drive once it's loaded up."

It seemed to take a while to load up but I soon saw icons on the desktop and Harriet brought up a terminal window and typed a few commands into it. This seemed to go on for a few minutes and I eventually asked if she wanted a coffee.

"Or something stronger if you like."

"Coffee is perfect, black and strong, just like my women."

I laughed at that and went to make the coffee. When I came back she was rebooting the computer and this time she'd gone past the Windows logo and my desktop was starting to appear.

"Wow, that was quick," I set the coffee down on the desk, "I'd almost forgotten I had a desktop," I perched on the edge of a sofa chair.

"So, what's the diagnosis, is it fixed?"

"No, I have to download updates," she replied, "but booting into Ubuntu meant I could copy the registry file to a USB disc in case we need to reload it."

"That went over my head completely," I managed a wry smile.

"In plain language," she squinted at the screen, "you've got some malware on your system and it was interfering with the updates, hence the rebooting shuffle. Windows is trying to fix itself but the pesky malware is getting in the way."

"Can you fix it?"

"For sure," she replied, "now that I know what I'm looking for," she tapped at the keyboard.

"So, what's Linux like?" I asked more as a diversion than anything else.

"It's just an operating system," she replied, "no mess, no fuss, and precious few viruses."

"I'm not sure I'd want to change my system," I replied.

"No one says you have to," she glanced at me briefly, "but once you've dipped your toes you find you don't want to go back even if you wanted to."

I smiled crookedly at the subtle suggestiveness.

"So, are you with anyone?"

"I was but we broke up a couple of months ago."

"I'm sorry," I fidgeted nervously, "what happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It's not that complicated," she shrugged, "she moved to America eight months ago for a modelling contract but then they extended it and she decided to stay. I had the option of applying for a visa but right now I don't fancy moving to an America with Trump at the helm and besides, being so long away from each other made me realise that I like my own space. I liked her but some of her habits could be a little, constricting," she finished with a smile.

"Yeah I get that too, she sounds a bit like my ex, Robert."

"What was he like?"

I hesitated before coming out with the story, partly because I was embarrassed at my naiveté and partly down to not wanting to stir the pot again but I found myself telling her, and it felt clinical, like I was talking to a therapist. Harriet however didn't interrupt and when I'd finally finished she pulled a wry grin.

"Well perhaps it's better you found out now than a couple of years down the track when it's harder to make a clean getaway."

"There is that and all, but I guess I'm just embarrassed, I'm not normally that naïve."

"It happens," she shrugged.

"I was involved with a woman a few years ago who was dealing drugs and the first time I knew about it was when she called me from the police station to get me to bring in some things. We didn't actually break up that night but the police did come around to question me and I found out a lot more about my partner, which explains why I moved to the other side of the world. I just wanted to get out and clear my head and fortunately my auntie was able to sponsor me for a visa."

"So it's not just bastard men then."

"Not at all, you've got bastards, bitches and everything in between," she flicked at her hair, "okay, it looks like your computer is booting up fine now," she glanced at the screen.

"I've deleted the malware and run a virus scan, so everything is looking healthy."

"Thanks," I glanced at the computer, "the computer is something I use most days even though everyone is using phones and iPads."

"There's the dreaded word," Harriet leaned back in the seat, "I avoid anything with an apple on the front but I've had to learn a lot of stuff about Apples, they're fine when they're working but when they go down it's never pretty."

Harriet didn't stay much longer and as I paid out the money I commented it was the first time I'd felt good about paying for a consultation. I spent the rest of the night checking emails and finding articles to use in the classroom. I teach high school students at a local secondary college and one of the themes I'm teaching is critical thinking, specifically translating articles and reading between the lines to find the subtext.

I was so engrossed in my work that I didn't notice the USB flash drive because it was actually under the keyboard, I've got one of those ergonomic keyboards that sits up on rear stands and it was only when I moved the keyboard slightly that I discovered it. I recalled then that Harriet had put it on the desk but she'd obviously forgotten about it and so I called her number again. The call went through the voicemail and so I left a message and just hung up.

Harriet however rang when I was in the kitchen and I had to race through to catch it but my phone had an annoying habit of cutting out after three rings and so I had to call her back thirty seconds later.

"Sorry, I was in the kitchen and it cuts out after three rings. You got my message?"