A Change for the Better? (4 page)

Katie
’
s plan worked like a charm, soon Marcus was relying on Katie, not only to keep his working day as trouble free as possible, but also he
needed her to relax and enjoy himself in a way he couldn’t
’
t at home with his wife and children making all the everyday demands on him that families do.

It was soon a full blown affair; Marcus secured Katie an apartment in the docklands. It was exactly the sort of place she had dreamt of, a New York style loft space with polished floors, windows on two full sides, a balcony to relax on and it didn
’
t cost her a penny. Actually it cost Dawson, Philips & Chamberlain, as Marcus put it through the firm as a place for visiting experts and witnesses to stay, not that they ever did!

Life continued in this way for three years, Katie didn
’
t really have any friends as she made sure she was always available for Marcus whenever he was free, but it didn
’
t worry her. She saw people at work, she e-mailed and visited a few old college friends who lived outside of London and, of course, she had Mo too. The loneliness she felt sometimes she thought was a price worth paying for all she had around her, the flat, the designer clothes, the state of the art gadgets in every room and last but definitely not least Marcus.

Then it had happened, it had all
come
tumbling down and exposed the fragile
‘
house of cards
’
her life actually was. Katie and Marcus had been away on another business trip, they generally kept business trips very businesslike until they had concluded work and then stayed on for a couple more nights for themselves. Apparently Sarah, Marcus
’
s wife had had her suspicions and had employed someone to watch him, not that Katie and Marcus knew that then. No, the photos of their liaison were presented by Sarah the following Wednesday in the middle of the partners meeting when Katie was taking minutes.

Katie paused in her story, shuddering as she recalled the horror of that moment. Cliona just reached out and patted her hand to reassure her. Taking a deep breath Katie continued. Sarah had stormed into that meeting waving the photos and spreading them round for all the partners to see. She then told Marcus where to go and called Katie a few choice names in the
well-worn
tradition of wives to mistresses. Then she
’
d turned on her Jimmy Choos and left. Katie was dumbstruck, horrified and had lost the use of any of her limbs and looked to Marcus for support. That, of course, was not forthcoming. He had looked at her with disgust and then shot out of the room after his wife leaving Katie to face the other five partners who were now all looking to her for answers. It was Jed Dawson, the most senior partner who had come to
her rescue.
Realising
she was in no fit state to answer any questions relating to her position at the moment and that she didn
’
t have to answer the more curious ones about their relationship, he had dismissed the meeting, fetched Katie a drink of water and then once she had regained her composure he had sent her home telling her to take the rest of the week off. She was instructed to ring personnel once she was feeling better and they would take things from there. Somehow it was Mr. Dawson
’
s kindness, despite the disapproval and disappointment that was clear in his eyes, which upset Katie the most. For the first time she really felt like the scarlet woman, the home wrecker, that no doubt, everyone in the office was branding her.

At home, in her beautiful flat, Katie waited for Marcus to ring, and waited, and waited. She had thought he would at least ring to see if she was ok but by Thursday evening there had been no contact at all. So nervously Katie had
dialled
his mobile, it was switched off. Then she checked her e-mails to see if he had sent her a message under the guise of doing some work, but again there was nothing. By Saturday evening when there was still no word Katie
realised
she wasn
’
t going to hear from him, he was simply going to cut her out of his life as if she never existed. Katie had been asked to go in for an appointment at work on the following Tuesday where they had quietly dispensed with
her services. She had gotten the call about Mo
’
s fall on the Sunday and found herself in Laxley Heath and Tolpuddle House by Wednesday.

Katie paused at the end of her story, she looked briefly at Cliona, not wanting to see the dislike in this kind woman
’
s eyes but expecting it none the less. But instead Cliona just patted Katie
’
s clenched hands, smiled at her with genuine warmth and said

“
You made a mistake, you
’
ve paid the price and you’ll never do it again. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and do something new - and remember security in life only ever comes from within - someone else can
’
t give it to you, because they can always take it away again.
”

A few days later as Katie was returning from what was becoming a fairly regular morning coffee with Cliona, she arrived at the front door at the same time as one of Mo
’
s other guests. The girl was attempting to follow the guidelines for opening the door but with a folder under one arm and a long slim jersey skirt restricting her leg movements it was proving impossible. Katie arrived just in time to stop a string of expletives about to be uttered.

“
Oh hi, thank god you
’
ve arrived
”
the girl looked at Katie with undisguised relief
“
this bloody door won
’
t open - now there is a knack if you ....
”

Katie had already heaved and kicked against the door and was now bowling into the hallway again.

“
Oh
”
the girl commented
“
you know the knack - you must be Mo
’
s granddaughter. I
’
m Poppy, first floor right side studio flat
”
Poppy extended her hand solemnly to Katie, which she took and shook with equal solemnity.

“
Delighted to meet you Poppy, I
’
m Katie and yes I
’
m Mo
’
s grand-daughter
”
Katie replied
“
It
’
s nice to see another of Mo
’
s tenants I
’
m afraid I
’
ve been a bit slow in getting round and introducing myself but I
’
m sure we
’
ll be seeing each other around, maybe we can have a cuppa sometime.
”

Poppy
’
s face broke out into a huge smile that transformed her plain features

“
Oh yes please - I
’
d love to, me and Mo often used to have a cuppa and a natter when I was off college or on a free period you know.
”
Poppy headed straight to Mo
’
s door as Katie
realised
she intended to take up the offer right now and it was too late, without being rude, to retract the invitation.

Resignedly Katie opened the door and invited Poppy through to the kitchen. As Katie was making the tea, boiling the kettle and warming the pot, Poppy chattered on quite freely about her college course. It transpired she was a design student,
specialising
in
jewellery
design. She was in her second year and loved the course. Her ambition was to be a
jewellery
designer to the stars. She had already designed her own logo and name
“
Poppy Seeds
”

“
You get it
”
she laughed
“
Ideas planted and developed by Poppy
”

Katie smiled back it was impossible not to be affected by this girl
’
s raw enthusiasm and delight in her passion. Katie looked at her again with renewed interest. She was a petite size, maybe five foot two; she had a shock of black hair with bright blue flashes here and there.
She was wearing what Katie called a ‘goth’ outfit, long black jersey skirt,
a
black top and black Doc Martin boots.
This was complemented with lashings of black eyeliner and mascara, but most eye-catching were the intricate trellis earrings that dangled below her cropped hair and the double looped necklace interlaced with amber coloured quartz. They looked stunning and very expensive.

“
Are those your own designs then?
”
Katie asked

“
Yes
”
Poppy replied
“
I
’
ve just completed these for my second year free style project.
”

“
They
’
re beautiful - you must be very talented.
”
Katie was impressed.

“
Thanks
”
Poppy seemed a bit awkward accepting praise.

“
So, how do you normally get through the door - do you just wait for the next person to arrive?
”
Katie asked, noticing her discomfort and changing the subject as she passed over a packet of biscuits for Poppy to open.

“
Oh no, eventually I have to put my folder down and hitch my skirt up. I can get a pretty good kick going with these on
”
Poppy pointed down at her Doc Martins.

“
I would think so
”
Katie laughed
“
but one day you might go through it all together. I think maybe I should get someone in to fix it. I
’
m sure I saw a card for a builder round here somewhere
”
Katie rooted through some drawers
“
Aha!
”
she proclaimed, triumphantly waving a small business card about.

“
BW Building and Maintenance, I
’
ll give them a call and get them round to look at the door - I don
’
t want to be responsible for either of the Clacketts doing themselves a mischief on our door!
”

“
Oh don
’
t worry about that
”
Poppy replied as she stood up and headed for the door
“
they have their own door at the back, they always use that.
”
She pulled the door open and shouted back to Katie
“
thanks for
the tea - it was great.
”
and she shut the door firmly behind her. Katie collected her cup from the table and noticed that over half the packet of biscuits had been eaten and she hadn
’
t had one. Laughing she thought, students - they
’
re the same wherever you go. That was why she saw a lot of Mo. Mo loved feeding people.

The following day Katie decided she really would have to venture to the supermarket. There were just too many ingredients, fresh fruit and vegetables she had been doing without. One big shop should keep her stocked up for a while and she could pop in and see Mo as it was a couple of days since she had been. Mo was improving steadily the sister informed Katie when she arrived at the hospital, but they were still concerned about how long it would take the fracture to heal and they
still couldn’t
be certain about the longer term, the injuries could well leave her weaker and with some movement difficulties.

Katie found Mo in bed with a posse of the over 65
’
s around her indulging in an
‘
innocent
’
game of poker. As they dispersed to let Katie visit, one of the old boys winked at Katie and with a twinkling smile said
“
Don
’
t look so disapproving my dear - it
’
s only a bit of fun, no money has changed hands
”