The Perils of Paula Pt. 05

GEORGIE

This is Part Five of The Perils of Paula where Paula is reunited with Georgie, an old friend who returns from London after divorcing her husband. The two women bond over a general distaste for men and shared memories.

Author's note: Snags are sausages in Australia and contrary to popular belief they don't barbecue prawns/shrimp.

*****

The arrangement I had with Cheryl was no different to the one Robert had with his mistress but like his affair, mine was destined to end when Cheryl abruptly ended her marriage. She had been a little tense the last three months but put it down to work-related stress. However, one rainy March night during an impromptu dinner party Sam did the unthinkable. He openly insulted his wife in front of guests, it was one of those childish PMT jokes that might have been funny in a men only zone but in mixed company it went down like a lead balloon. The women just stared at Sam, their partners coughed and looked anywhere but at Sam, and Cheryl threw a glass of wine in his face.

That episode saw Sam storming out to his car and he drove away, but here's where it got crazy because the police had set up a mobile breath testing station on Whitehorse Road, and while he only registered 0.06 it still meant a mandatory licence suspension. Personally I would have loved to see the look on his face when he was delivered to the house by the police just as the last of the guests were leaving. Cheryl just took one look at him and shook her head.

"Just wait there with the police, I've got something for you."

Knowing the police I can imagine they thought she had a weapon on the premises because a cop came into the house with her, only to reappear a minute or so later when Cheryl brought out two suitcases.

"Fair's fair, I'll give you what you brought into this fucking marriage but that's all you're getting from me," she put the suitcases down.

"You bitch," he started forward.

Cheryl met him halfway and he came to a dead stop.

"I'm not a bitch, I'm a fucking feral bitch. You insulted me tonight in front of guests, and now you've lost your licence. This marriage is over, take your shit and go back to mummy, I'm not going to wipe your arse any more," she took a step back.

"Don't worry about giving me back the keys," she checked her watch, "I called a twenty four hour locksmith, he'll be here shortly but if you so much as threaten me I'll take out a restraining order against you so fast your head will spin."

She nodded at the police.

"Have a good night, officers," and with that she turned on her heel and stalked back into the house leaving Sam staring after her.

It was a monumental month for two other reasons, the first was when Rachel called the police on her husband and then promptly moved back to her parents' house with the kids. The second thing that happened was the return to Australia of an old friend, Georgie. She'd been my best friend at Box Hill Tafe where she'd been doing a professional writing course. She was a bridesmaid at my wedding and managed to catch the bouquet, six months later she married Gary, an English exchange student. They moved back to England because his mother was ill and they'd stayed ever since. We'd kept in contact of course although the previous twelve months she'd just dropped off the radar, but when she arrived in Australia with her twin girls I found out that she'd divorced Gary.

"Sorry, I would have told you earlier but it's been hell with moving around and trying to deal with the bloody property settlement."

She was standing in my kitchen at the time and I managed a tight smile.

"It must be the month for marriage break ups, two of my girlfriends have just left their husbands. What was your reason?"

"I caught him in bed with the babysitter, I took the girls down to the London Eye for a treat but Evie fell over and hurt herself so we went back to dress the knee and get a change of clothes, and there was sweet little Amy moaning like a whore on the couch. Gary didn't know we were standing in the doorway until Evie screamed, then all hell broke loose."

"Oh fuck," I winced, "what did you do?"

"I threw my phone at him," she grinned, "it bounced off his head and broke into three bits."

"Maybe that's what I should have done to Robert," I replied.

"You too, huh?" Georgie raised an eyebrow.

"Well in my case he started and I just decided that two can play at that game," I turned the tap on to fill a vase with water, "it's a bloody farce to be honest but the only thing that stops me pulling the plug are the kids. He has his faults but he's a good father but we're skating on thin ice all the same," I turned the tap off and set the vase on the bench.

"Cheryl and I have been having our own little affair for the last eighteen months and part of me is wondering if I should just take the bloody plunge and out myself."

"Oh," Georgie started unwrapping the flowers she'd brought around, "you didn't strike me as being that way inclined."

"I wasn't when we were hanging around together," I replied, "it's a long story."

"Tell me more?"

"Not right now," I looked up, "little ears."

Nevertheless, we didn't get around to having that conversation for a few weeks due to her workload and sick kids, first mine and then her twins. During that time I saw little of Cheryl but towards the end of that period she turned up at my door with a bag of clothes for Elizabeth.

"Beckie's grown out of them and I was going to throw them out but then I thought of Elizabeth, some are a little big for her but she'll grow into them, or you could take what you don't need to the Salvos."

"Thanks," I flicked through the clothes, "quite a few of them will fit her though."

"That isn't the only reason I'm here though," she murmured.

"Hang on," I picked up the bag, "meet me out the back, I'll just take these through to her."

Cheryl was pacing up and down the back patio when I stepped outside a few minutes later with two Cokes.

"I've been going to call you but I thought you'd be busy enough sorting out your own shit."

"You always were intuitive," she cracked the can, "I've been flat out trying to keep the home fires burning.

"How's Beckie handling it?"

"It's tough," she admitted, "I'm going to cut my hours so I can spend more time with her. I was going to just move into the North Melbourne flat because it's so close to work but I don't want to disrupt her too much. She's doing so well at school," she finished abruptly.

"So, where does that leave us?" I frowned, "I'm not about to take the plunge right now, it might happen in the future but at this point I can't make promises I can't keep."

"I know," she sighed, "it's what I love about you," she took a sip from the can, "if I could find a way to make this work out I'd take it."

"Don't," I replied, "you need to focus on Beckie, she's more important than what we've got and I've got my own kids to think about. You and I can remain friends but we have to draw a line in the sand and not dare the other to cross it."

"And if you ever did cross it?" Cheryl raised her eyebrows.

"I'll certainly let you know."

"I believe you," she pinched her nose, "and you're right, she needs support. Just spending more time at home has opened my eyes to her struggles, she's trying to cope with the fact that she only sees her father every second weekend but I'm there every night."

"You should make use of this time," I replied.

"How's things with your husband?"

"Oh, fine or as fine as they can be," I shrugged, "he's got a mistress out in Eltham, some woman he works beside."

"Well if you change your mind let me know, I could sell that house and get a bigger one."

That offer did make me think because I knew she was serious. It was the first time someone had actually made me a concrete offer, an escape from the whirlpool that was threatening to engulf me and had I been stronger or weaker, depending on your outlook I would have taken it. But I had to go around once more before I finally pulled the pin and the last affair I had was with Georgie.

At first though it seemed as if Georgie might be curious but not curious enough to step over the line, she came around a week or so later for a hair cut and she was talking about this guy she'd been out with a few days previously.

"David is cute but not in a toy boy kind of way, more the cute cuddly type."

"Is there a difference?" I wondered aloud.

"He's older than me, by about eighteen years. He's got a property out at Yarra Junction but he stays with his ex wife in Heidelberg, which sounds weird but they're apparently good friends."

"That sounds weird."

"She's recovering from cancer," she replied, "he moved back to support her and the kids, he stays in a bungalow out the back. He wants me to meet her, which is why I want to look my best."

"So if he's moved back to support his ex wife isn't it odd that he's interested in you?"

"That's what I need to find out," she looked at me in the mirror, "I'm interested too but you're right, it is an odd situation."

This meeting was supposed to take place in three days time but I didn't hear about it until about a week afterwards when she turned up at the salon. I was due to go for a break and so we headed to a café just down the street.

"I couldn't do it," she told me over a cappuccino, "his wife is a lovely woman and he really is a nice guy but I can't take things further with him, it's just not right."

"And how did he take that?" I asked her, "or haven't you told him?"

"I told him that night when he tried to give me a goodnight kiss in my car. He looked hurt but he did understand where I was coming from, his ex wife needs him and I'd be the third person."

"Maybe he needs to rekindle the flame?"

"Well I didn't say that," she smirked, "but I was thinking it, I mean if I was in the same position as her I'd be tempted to cross the line."

"So you're still looking," I looked at her over the rim of my cup.

"Not exactly," she replied, "I've got two girls to think of, I have priorities and bringing a strange man home is always a difficult thing to do."

"Maybe that's why I prefer women," I smiled crookedly, "they're not about to threaten my kids."

She didn't reply at first but then she slipped a hand beneath her blouse to adjust her bra strap.

"Maybe I should do the same," and then she added, "not dropping hints by the way."

Nevertheless, her words played over and over in my head, it was one of those casual remarks we come out with now and then. When pushed to clarify our position we'll obfuscate, laugh it off or act as if you've insulted us and that's why my next move was the boldest one I'd made yet. Robert had managed to get a week off work when the kids had their school holidays. When he suggested taking the kids to the Gold Coast for the week I helped pack their bags but refused to come too.

On the way back from the airport I detoured to Georgie's house out in Croydon, which is a hell of a detour and she was surprised to see me. She was wearing a silk beige blouse with light tan trousers fastened with a tie belt, she had a glass of beer in her hand and a bemused look on her face.

"Well this is a surprise," she looked past me, "you didn't walk out did you?"

"Nope, he walked out on me with the kids, they've gone to Surfers for a week."

"And you didn't go as well?" Georgie stepped back to let me in, "I'd have been off like a shot."

"Been there, done that," I flicked at my hair, "I needed time on my own to think."

"Sounds like a plan," she closed the door behind me, "come on through to the patio, my family are here, but I'm sure we can throw a few more snags on the barbie."

I met her two sisters, Helen and Toni, and their respective partners, 'Bob the Builder' was a rugged looking guy with a cheerful outlook on life and a new tattoo of a Viking woman on his arm, which Helen called the other woman. She was a couple of years younger than Georgie and worked as a graphic artist from home.

Toni was a good eight years younger than Georgie and was a primary school teacher at a local primary school. Her husband was Ahmad. He owned a computer shop in nearby Bayswater and that was where he'd met Toni when she dropped her computer off to get fixed. He was originally from Iraq but had fled after the US-led invasion and managed to move to Australia on a temporary visa. He was actually the reason for this impromptu barbecue because he had recently attended his naturalisation ceremony.

"This isn't his first barbie by any stretch of the imagination," Toni reassured me, "but it's his first as a naturalised Aussie."

Judging by the can of VB in his hand and a slightly flushed complexion he obviously wasn't a devout Muslim! I found him to be a charming younger man with an appreciation for other cultures and customs. Last but not least were her parents, George and Cathy, her father was a retired police officer but her mother was a lawyer specialising in immigration law.

"Mum was a real help with Ahmad," Georgie told me later, "he had a real battle with immigration at first because he had to change his visa from temporary to a spousal visa. In the old days you just got married to an Aussie and in three years time you did your naturalisation thing. Now they want to know the ins and outs of a duck's arsehole, mum was able to cut through the red tape. I wasn't at the hearing into his case but apparently the opposition fell like dominoes and the presiding judge actually asked the lawyer if she was new to the job."

"He's a real sweet guy though," she glanced out the window, "Toni's really quite stuck on Ahmad because he's so different to the men she's known over the years. When she was younger she could be a bit of a wild child and the guys she brought home were even wilder."

"So, you were named after your father?" I glanced at her.

"Well, dad was hoping for a boy and mum decided to name me Georgina, which explains why I'm the tomboy out of all of us. I was the one helping dad with little jobs around the house while the other two were playing dress up and fucking about with makeup."

The story of how her parents met was also quite moving. Her mother had been a legal advisor working for the Victoria Police Association when she represented a Senior Constable accused of assaulting someone in custody.

"She won the case and dad was so impressed with her that they started dating and the rest as they say is history," she stretched cling film over a bowl of salad.

I was just about to open my mouth when Cathy stepped into the kitchen, she was trailed by the twins.

"We're about to leave, your father wants to catch the replay and I have some paperwork to do at home," she stepped aside for the twins, "what time do you want the girls dropped off tomorrow?"

"Um, make it lunchtime," she bent down to hug her daughters, "there's enough food left over to feed the five thousand and I hate throwing food out."

"I'll tell him," she nodded at me, "nice meeting you, Paula."

"You too," I replied.

It was only when they'd finally gone that Georgie finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my girls but I've had so much to organise with this move back home that I've been a bit short with them lately."

"So, why did you move back here?" I asked as I followed her through to the living room, "I mean apart from the obvious reasons."

"Well the family ties were a big factor," she sipped her wine.

"But to be honest I felt that if I stayed much longer I'd never want to come home. London is an exciting place, I miss it but I needed to put some distance between myself and friends that my ex and I had in common. I mean most of them were supportive of us despite our breakup but I always felt that if I was going through some crisis then it might get back to him. I basically needed a fresh start," she arranged herself on an L-shaped couch and grinned.

"Sorry, I'm a journalist, why use six words when you can use sixty?"

She shifted further down the couch until she was nestled against the corner of the couch and kicked off her shoes.

"It's not that I don't trust you," she eyed me, "but this is my favourite part of the couch, the girls usually claim it."

"That's fine," I replied, "I didn't come around here for that anyway."

"So, I'm not your type," she pushed her foot out further to nudge my leg.

"I never said that," I angled to face her, "not that I'd fight you off but I'm not about to make a move on you if that's what you think."

"So, what do you see in women?" I'm doing a story on female sex workers who service women, I've got most of the background for the story but maybe you can fill in a few blanks for me."

"Sure," I replied, "what do you want to know?"

"Specifically what turned you onto women in the first place? The woman I knew back in Tafe certainly wasn't the bisexual kind."

In another time and place I might have fluffed it, or given her a basic story but a combination of Cheryl's offer and my own gnawing dissatisfaction with the status quo saw me unburden myself to Georgie in a way I'd never done before. I know it took a lot out of me because I was physically drained by the time I finished. Georgie looked intrigued as she leaned forward and stretched, and when I went to gather the empty wineglasses she took them from me.

"I'll do that," she rose, "it's an interesting story all by itself. You really should write a book about your adventures."

"Hah, as if anyone would read it."

"Oh I don't know about that," she smiled slyly, "I know of a few in the business who'd consider it staple reading, there's at least two women at work who've made it clear they'd like to swing a leg over me."

"And you're not interested?"

"Not in one because she's just too hard, she scares the other lesbians I know but Kimberley is quite cute, she's a junior reporter who's been assigned to me so nothing's ever going to happen between us, which might explain why I find her attractive."

The conversation continued a couple of minutes later when she returned with more wine.

"Ruth is always on the bloody prowl for a freshie, we call her the vampire because she keeps such late hours but I'm not about to be notch on her belt."

"So, what's Kimberley like?" I accepted the wine from her, "fair's fair, I told you all about me."

"I like the fact that she's a hard worker, there are those who talk about how hard they work and then there are those who just shut the fuck up and work hard. Kimberley is definitely the latter of the two and then you have to factor in guys who think she's bisexual. I'm forever chasing this one guy, Mal away from my desk because he's always trying to find reasons to come and see me."

"Or Kimberley?"

"Exactly, at first I thought there was history between them but then she outed herself to me and I've been keeping Mal at bay ever since."

That led to a discussion about the men we'd known in the past that ventured onto sex and sexuality in general. Before I knew it the light was fading and I was looking at my watch thinking I should get back home before realising that I didn't have anyone to go home to. Thus, when she suggested I stay for dinner I had no plausible excuse.

"You can stay the night if you want," she added.

"Now there's a point, I could drop in on Rachel, she's just moved to Lilydale."

"Your dream woman," she smirked, "now that she's separated."

"Too complicated," I sighed, "but still a nice fantasy. Rachel's my best friend and if we slept together and broke up it would cut to the bone."

"Been there done that," she sighed, "my first boyfriend in high school was also my best friend and when we broke up I was depressed for weeks. It was like losing a part of my soul."

She stretched and I caught a glimpse of her bra between the buttons of her blouse, which might not seem unusual but when she slipped her hand beneath the blouse I felt something shift. She had an odd look on her face as if considering something and then looked at me and smiled.