I didn't manage to write anything yesterday; Marilyn and I both had early appointments so I put off the writing until the afternoon but didn't get around to it. However, it doesn't matter; our lives are so restricted now, there is little in each day which might merit a mention. My 'appointment' was simply to pick up a new pair of glasses. My last 'spare' pair has been misplaced but I put off replacing them in case my vision had deteriorated. When you get to my age, you expect things to go off but, at my last eye test, there had been no change so I decided to order a new pair. One wall in Specsavers is covered with possibilities. I could have a $200 pair as worn by some film star but I'm not looking for fashion. I went to the bargain basement and found a sturdy black pair for $39. If anyone asks, I can say I chose them because Michael Caine wore a pair just like them in The Italian Job - and $39 can't be beat! How can they produce them at that price and throw in a free bottle of cleaner and a chamois wipe?
ON THE REBOUND MARCH 5, 2024
‘She’s behind you!’ Adam’s spidey sense alerted him that Rachael was here. He’d been watching the door, waiting for her to appear and now she had disconcerted him by coming up behind him. How had she managed that? He had been dreading this meeting in any case and her unexpected covert entrance threw him into a spin.
“Oh, hi, Rache,” he stammered while noticing the little smile on her face. You enjoyed that, didn’t you? Bitch! He couldn’t help himself. Any feelings he might once have felt for her were long gone. Her snide remarks and lack of interest in anything he did had put paid to that.
“Hello, Adam. It’s good to see you.” Her voice, which he had once told her reminded him of the sound of doves cooing, now grated on his ears. How could he ever have thought that she might be ‘the one’? Now her words sounded harsh and he had to steel himself to stay calm and be pleasant.
“It’s good to see you, too, Rachel,” he managed to say. Surely he should try to be polite. After all, she hadn’t ever been really nasty to him and had seemed devastated when he suggested that they should have a break from each other. He remembered how her lip dropped when he suggested it and how her shoulders slumped as if she had been punched. Had it been a month? Yes, at least that, and she hadn’t tried to contact him in that time. He wondered how she would take the news he was about to spring on her.
“Can I get you a coffee?” He remembered his manners at last and, when she nodded, left her sitting at the table while he went to give the order. Glancing back at her, he noticed how well she looked: still very pretty and well-dressed. That’s what had attracted him to her in the first place. She was bright, too, and had a good job with the government. In normal circumstances, she would have been an ideal life-partner but, sometimes, things are not meant to be.
Returning to the table, he pulled in his chair. “How have you been?” he asked in a low voice.
“How do you think I’ve been?” she burst out. “You dump me with no explanation and I haven’t heard from you for nearly a month. I thought we meant something to each other but clearly you thought differently. I wonder what surprise you have for me today.”
Her coffee appeared and they both took the opportunity to take a deep breath and try to calm down.
“Rachel, I know you feel that I’ve let you down and I’m sorry about that. It was nothing to do with you but I felt you deserved better than someone like me.”
“Oh, don’t pull the old ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ excuse!”, Rachel interrupted. “You’re just a miserable worm and I’m better off without you. I only came today to make sure you realised just how lucky I feel that I’m not saddled with you any longer.”
Adam was taken aback but pulled himself together. “I’m sorry you feel like that, Rache. You’re probably right. Anyway, I have some news that might make you feel better. I’ve met someone else and we’re engaged.”
“Don’t call me Rache. My name is Rachel. I always hated how you thought it was cute to shorten it. And who is the lucky lady? Some bimbo you picked up on the rebound.”
“Well, no! As a matter of fact, she’s my boss’s daughter. I met her at a company picnic and we hit it off straight away. Her name’s Alice and we plan to marry in a few month’s time.”
“Not Alice Monroe! Oh, Adam, you poor fool. Haven’t you heard the stories about Alice Monroe. She was in my class at school and had a terrible reputation. She was nearly expelled at one stage but her father donated money for a new gymnasium and whatever she had done was all hushed up. But there were so many stories and her family had to ship her off to boarding school in Brisbane to squash some of the rumours. I’d heard she was home. You deserve each other and I hope you’ll be very happy together.”
Adam leant back in his chair. This wasn’t turning out as he had expected. Perhaps he was a bit starry-eyed about Alice. Another thought struck him. Could she be pregnant and only marrying him because of that? He lurched to his feet.
“It was good seeing you again, Rachel, but I have to go now. I’ll see you later.”
Rachel took the last sip of her
coffee, not even trying to hide her small smile of satisfaction.
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