Getting him Back (7 page)

‘I know that
but maybe he’s realized he made a mistake.’

She sipped her
tea then turned to face me, her green eyes fixed on mine. ‘I think
you are making a big mistake meeting up with him. If he does want
you back, who’s to say that he won’t do it again.’

I took a
gulp of my tea and tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach.
My head knew Doreen was right but my heart chose to ignore the hard
facts. I liked freckly Mark a lot but, right now, I wasn’t in love
with him – I knew I could love him, the early signs were there, but
I still loved my Mark and I probably always would.

Once
break time had finished, Mia called me into her office. I sighed as
I knocked on the door. Once I was seated she took out a folder and
started to read some papers. She then shuffled them, placed them
back into the folder and folded her arms. ‘So, Terri. I’ve been
thinking…How did you like doing my job last week?’

I didn’t know
where this was going but I told the truth. ‘I loved it.’

Her eyes
narrowed. ‘Good. That’s what I was hoping you’d say. The thing is,
I’ve been thinking about a lot of things lately and I’ve come to
realize that there are more important things than work.’ Wow. I
never thought I’d hear her say that. She stood up and started to
pace back and to. ‘I’m about to turn thirty-five and I feel that
I’m ready for a new chapter in my life. I’m resigning, Terri. I’ve
already spoken to Steve and we both feel that if you want my job
then you are more than qualified. It will save on advertising for
new staff and I could train you up during my notice period. What do
you say?’

This was
a total shock. I didn’t know what to say. Since Mia had been back
she’d seemed happy and I hadn’t expected this at all. Mia loved her
job. Maybe she’d found something to love more.

‘So what are
you going to do?’ I asked.

She smiled and
it suited her. She seemed carefree and relaxed and much younger.
‘Can you keep a secret?’

‘Yes.’

‘I’m
emigrating! I’ve found a new job in New York. Can you believe
it?’

Before I
realized how intrusive I was being I asked a personal question. ‘So
what does your husband have to say about it?’

She stopped
still, her eyes wide. At first I thought she was going to shout but
she sat back down, rested her arms on the desk and leant towards
me. ‘It doesn’t matter to me what he thinks. I’m leaving him. It’s
time for me to go it alone.’

‘So you’re
splitting up?’

She laughed.
‘If you had to put up with what I’ve had to put up with from him
the past few months you’d be going it alone too, I imagine. So, how
are you anyway? You seem much happier lately.’

I couldn’t
believe that Mia Cowell was actually interested in somebody other
than herself! ‘Yeah, I’m fine actually. I’m meeting Mark on Friday.
I think he might want to get back together.’

She attempted
to say something and then closed her mouth, obviously thinking
better of it. She picked up the folder she’d been reading and stood
up. ‘Well, I think that concludes our meeting. I will have a
contract drawn up and we’ll start you’re training tomorrow.’

I almost
fainted with shock when I got back to my desk. Doreen had to get
emergency donuts to help restore my sugar levels! I felt good,
though. Maybe things were going to get better after all. I had the
job of my dreams- Marketing Assistant- which came with a huge pay
rise, and there was a chance I would be getting back with the man
of my dreams.

***

I wasn’t
looking forward to seeing freckly Mark. He’d arranged to pick me up
and take me out for tea. He told me to dress casually as were only
going to a local pub but I’d never felt so nervous getting ready. I
didn’t want to lose him as a friend but I knew I would if I
mentioned my Mark. I decided not to mention anything and to try and
act normal. I pulled my curls into a ponytail and stepped into my
tight jeans and trainers. I wore a Kings of Leon t-shirt and
leather jacket to finish my casual look. I’d still not managed to
perfect the make-up and hair that Catherine had done to me when I’d
first met freckly Mark. I sometimes felt he was disappointed when
he saw me come out of my house in jeans, wild curls and no make-up,
but he never said anything.
He was too nice. That was the reason I couldn’t afford to
get serious with him; that’s when things would go wrong. Doreen was
right. We were having fun and I wanted to do that for as long as I
could.

He kissed
me on the ch
eek when I
got into the passenger seat. He looked gorgeous in his black
t-shirt and black jeans. ‘I hope you’re hungry,’ he
said.

‘Yeah. I’m
starving,’ I replied, but I was so nervous I didn’t think I could
eat anything. I felt like such a bitch. He’d told me he’d been
cheated on before and I felt like I was cheating now that I’d
arranged to meet my ex.

We arrived at
the pub and a waiter showed us to some seats overlooking the river.
I watched as some swans swam by. Mark shifted in his seat. ‘You
seem distracted,’ he said.

I turned to
face him. ‘Oh, not really. I’m just a bit shocked after what
happened in work today.’

‘Oh? What
happened?’

I told
him what Mia had said and he seemed really pleased for me. I
noticed he seemed a little weird too, though. ‘Are you ok?’ I
asked.

‘Not really,’
he said, turning away from me to glance at the river.

‘What’s
happened?’ I started to worry. I hoped he wasn’t going to break up
with me and then I realized that I did have feelings for him,
otherwise I wouldn’t be bothered, would I?

‘It’s just
something Moni said that’s all.’

‘What did she
say?’

‘
She was
looking at one of her boyfriends’ Facebook pages and there was a
photo of you on it.’

‘So?’

‘Well, when she
asked him who you were he said you were his ex fiancé.’

I
shuffled in my seat and
pretended to be shocked. ‘Wow! Small world, eh? So one of
her boyfriends is my ex fiancé! Talk about keeping it in the
family!’ I laughed, hoping he would see the funny side but he
remained glum.

‘I’m starting
to piece it all together now. That night at Zanzibar, you weren’t
interested in me, were you? Not until you found out I was Monica’s
brother.’

I felt
like a naughty school girl who’d been caught cheating in an exam.
‘That’s not true,’ I argued.

‘I can’t
believe I was starting to like you.’ He gulped some of his lager
and continued to stare out of the window. A long boat was going
past and the man driving it was waving at us. We both ignored
him.

‘I’m sorry.
It’s not what you think, honest,’ I said.

‘What do I
think?’

‘I don’t know,
but you’re not happy, are you?’

‘No. It seems
like you were only with me so you can find out stuff about your
ex.’

I took
hold of my bread roll and started to break it into pieces. ‘You
said yourself you’ve been cheated on so you know how it feels! He
cheated on me with your sister! I just wanted to see what she was
like, that’s all.’

He shrugged his
shoulders. ‘So why were you taking a photo then? Why were you
trying to split them up?’

‘Because I was
jealous, ok? I thought he should know that the girl he left me for
was a cheater!’

‘Yeah well he
cheated on you so you should be glad it’s happening to him
now.’

The
waiter brought us our food and seeing it made me feel sick. I
pulled out my chair and went into the toilets. I sat down in the
cubicle and took some deep breaths. Why was I feeling like this? I
was upset, but not about my ex. I was upset because it was
obviously the end of my relationship with freckly Mark. I should
have been honest with him from the start. He wouldn’t trust me now
– and he shouldn’t trust me, not when I was meeting my ex on
Friday. What if he found out about that from his sister?
She tells him everything and
she still keeps in contact with my ex because I’ve seen her
messages on his Facebook wall. Maybe I should tell him about my
ex.

. Once
I’d
sorted myself out I
went back to the table. Mark was tearing apart his steak with such
force I’d swear he was imagining it was me.

‘I’m sorry, I
just needed to get some air,’ I said when I noticed him glaring at
me.

‘What’s going
on here, Terri?’ he asked. I could see the pain and mistrust in his
eyes. I couldn’t hurt him any more.

‘
I
suppose I never should have gone out with you. That’s why I walked
off when you came over in Zanzibar. It was too soon after my ex. I
was on the rebound.’

‘So I am right
– you were only with me because of Monica.’

‘At first,
yeah, but then I really liked being with you. I like you a
lot.’

He laughed
sarcastically. ‘Well whoop de doo! I should feel flattered should
I?’

I never thought
I’d hear him speak so nastily. I was glad it was happening now,
though, before I got too close to him. Relationships always went
wrong. Maybe I should join a nunnery. ‘Like I said, I’m sorry. I
didn’t mean for you to find out.’

‘Yeah, I bet
you didn’t!’

‘So, I guess
that’s it then?’

He looked right
at me and instead of seeing warmth in his eyes I sensed a cold,
hard, almost evil presence. ‘Yeah, I can’t trust you now, can
I?’

I pushed my
plate away, having touched none of it and waited while Mark scraped
the last of his chips from his plate and put them in his mouth. He
washed them down with a large gulp of his lager. I felt my eyes
welling up and I hoped he wouldn’t notice. This was painful. It was
almost as painful as that Thursday night.

Without
looking at me he took his coat from his chair and said, ‘I’ll drive
you home, then.’

It was
total silence in the car. I turned my head away and looked out of
the passenger window through teary eyes. I didn’t want him to see I
was upset. If he saw how vulnerable I was he would only hurt me
more. When I saw my street sign I felt tingles in my stomach, pure
pain as I stepped out of the car without looking at him. I heard
the engine rev loudly and the screech of his wheels as he pulled
away. I rushed upstairs before my mum could see I was upset and
threw myself on my bed. I couldn’t believe how upset I was. It was
only a bit of fun. I wasn’t in love with him, I loved my old Mark.
I was just crying because he was a friend and I felt guilty, that
was it. That had to be it. At least I wouldn’t feel guilty now when
I met my Mark on Friday.

I’d decided to
go into town on my lunch break to find something new to wear for
Friday. I’d just stepped into my local boutique when my mobile
started ringing. It was Claire. What could she want? She hardly
ever phoned during lunch- she was usually too busy. ‘Hello?’

‘
Terri,
babes, I’m so glad I caught you. Have you accidently bumped into
Mark yet?’

‘Didn’t you get
my text? I’m meeting him on Friday. He phoned me when I was at
yours the other night.’

‘What text? I
didn’t get any text? You can’t meet him, that’s why I’m
phoning.’

‘What are you
on about?’

‘Well, you know
those rumours about your boss getting back with her husband and
everything, ‘cause he missed her?’

‘Yeah.’

‘
Well
Fiona got it wrong the stupid cow – it was the other way round! Mia
cheated on her husband and he threw her out. They’re not back
together at all!’

‘I know that!
She’s emigrating.’ Oops, I realized that was supposed to be a
secret. ‘Don’t say anything though, it’s a secret.’

‘That’s no
secret. I knew that. She’s going to New York with her
boyfriend.’

My heart sunk.
‘So she’s going abroad with the man she cheated on her husband
with?’

‘
Yeah.
Look, I’m sorry. It doesn’t mean Mark doesn’t want you back,
though.’

‘He must do,
otherwise why did he arrange to meet me?’

‘I don’t know.
All I’m saying is not to expect too much, that’s all.’

‘Well, thanks
for the call. I’ll phone you on Friday to let you know what’s
happened.’

‘You do that.
Don’t forget I’ll be in London though. My sister’s getting married
this weekend, remember?’

‘Oh, yeah. Give
her my best.’

‘
Will do,
Chou.’

I
continued to look around the shop and I chose a pair
of silk palazzo pants, which
looked so great on Claire; I’d been after a silk pair for weeks.
They were black with small white hearts on them, so I knew they’d
be slimming. I scanned the rails for a matching top and I was lucky
to set eyes on a fitted satin Basque-style top with tiny jewels for
buttons. There was no time to try them on so I took them to the
counter and paid using my credit card. Now that I was a marketing
assistant I could pay my credit card bill off on time, so a little
spending spree wouldn’t hurt. Mark was worth it. I’d already
arranged for Catherine to come round on Friday to do my hair and
make-up again, even though she was against the idea of me getting
back with Mark; but, like me she was intrigued as to why he wanted
to meet me.

That
afternoon I sat with Mia while she showed me how to use some of the
computer packages I’d not used before. I had to
admi
t, she was a great
teacher; either that or I was a great student as I picked it up so
quickly that she got through two days worth of training in one
afternoon. We spoke about her new job and she told me that she
would be working for one of the most prestigious advertising
agencies and although the job was entry-level it was full of perks.
She showed me a picture of her new apartment. It was gorgeous. I’d
always been jealous of her but now I was positively green with
envy! She had everything. She told me she was hoping to get half of
her husband’s millions when they divorced, but if Claire was right,
I’m sure she’d be lucky to get anything at all. When I’d finished
showing Mia I understood how to design posters, I was allowed to
sit with Doreen and finish off some of my own work.