Everything to Nothing (12 page)

‘Yep, indeed
she does, although she changes her hair colour a lot, but my Sally
has definitely got green eyes. Coincidence,’ stated Simon.

‘Must be. What
car does your Sally drive?’

‘Don’t know for
sure. Think it is a Mini.’

‘Oh, right, my
one had a Focus, must be a coincidence.’

‘Sounds like
it. Hey, I do know something though; I met someone amazing last
night. Well, I didn’t meet her, I already knew her, just didn’t
realize how fantastic she is!’

‘Oh yeah,
who?’

‘You won’t know
her, someone from college.’

‘Oh, right.
What’s her name?’

‘Michelle.
Really pretty and a good figure, but man, what a personality!’

‘Not like you
to go for personality.’

‘I know! But I
think this is the new me! She is wonderful and we are going out on
a date next week!’

‘Winner. Good
on you.’

‘Cheers matie.
Hey, did you hear about Mike?’

‘No, I haven’t
spoken to any one today. Why, what has happened to him?’

‘He only got
himself banged up!’

‘Banged up?
Where?’

‘In the police
station, where do you think?! He got out late last night. Have a
guess what for?’

‘I don’t know,
hitting a police officer with a stick?’

‘No, indecent
exposure! He was only walking along with his tackle out and walked
straight into the arms of two police officers! You should have seen
his face!’

‘Sounds like a
right hoot.’

‘Believe me
when I say it was! When do you think you will be done then?’

‘Don’t
know.’

‘Coming out
tonight?’

‘Are you going
out again? Where to?’

‘Probably town
again.’

‘Nah, I will
leave it tonight. I’m broke.’

‘Broke? My
arse! The amount of work you do!’

‘I know, but
all that goes to savings.’

‘Okey dokey
then. See you tomorrow or in the week. Don’t work too hard!’

‘Defo. Have a
good one. I won’t. See you.’

‘See you
Dee!’

David threw the
phone away in disgust onto a pile of tarpaulin sheets in the corner
of the garage that broke the phone’s fall. Lots of things were
raging through his mind. The first being that the amazing woman he
met last night was the same woman that one of his friends was meant
to meet for a date! The second, while David was going along with
no-one, Simon moved on from someone as stunning as Sally to another
girl in the blink of an eye!

It annoyed him
a lot that Simon could move on from one to another without giving a
serious consideration to the feelings of someone as lovely as
Sally. ‘What the hell are you moaning at?! If he has moved on
already, and it sounds like he likes this Michelle, then it leaves
the road open for you!’ This thought, expressed out loud, put a
small smile back on his face. ‘Excellent! Now that you have thought
about it rationally instead of getting angry it turns out that
there is probably no reason to get angry in the first place!’

David hummed a
happy tune as he walked the few steps to retrieve his old phone. It
had switched off but he pressed the on button and it flashed back
into life. ‘Nokias!’ he again exclaimed out loud. ‘You can do
anything, anything to them and they still work! Now to call in some
favours!’

Happy that so
far he had got the Mini into the best condition that he could, he
sat down on the garage floor, leaning his back against one of the
walls, and flicked through the phone book on his mobile until he
came to the person he wanted to call. He pressed the green button
and listened to the ringing until it was answered.

‘Hello?’

‘Hello Brian.
It is David from Gladstone Garage. How are you?’

‘Oh, hello
Dave, I’m good. And yourself?’

‘Getting by.
You still at work?’

‘Yep, just
finishing off. What can I help you with?’

‘Remember that
big favour you owe me?’

‘You’re
joking?! On a Saturday?!’

‘Sorry, I know,
but I really need your help.’

‘Go on then.
I’m all ears.’ David explained the situation to him, again missing
out any word about Sally. ‘And where, exactly, at this time on a
Saturday, do you expect me to land my hands on a full set of
windows for a Mini?!’

‘Come one
Brian, don’t give me that, you are the man are you not?’

‘Bloody hell
Dave, I am good but, ah, bloody hell. Give me an hour. We have got
a few Minis in the scrap yard but I have no idea what condition the
windows are in. Give me an hour and I will call you back and let
you know what I can find.’

‘You are the
man!’

‘Yeah, I am.
Bear this in mind though, this cancels out my favour and puts you
in debt to me!’

‘Not a problem.
If you can do this then I will do anything you ask of me for all
eternity!’

‘I’m sure you
will. My wife is going to kill me. Fancy calling me up at this time
on a Saturday. Give me an hour.’

‘Sounds good
Brian, speak soon.’

Brian did not
reply but David could hear him cursing him as he hung up the phone.
He chuckled to himself for a few moments until he stood up and
decided to put the hour to good use by washing and polishing the
car while he had all the equipment there to do the job quickly. He
worked until the car was practically sparkling and it was then that
he looked at the clock on his phone and saw that Brian had now
passed his allotted hour. He was reaching for his mobile when he
heard a horn blow. He looked towards the entrance of the garage and
there, driving a large flatbed truck with a stack of windows
strapped to the back of it, was Brian. He saw David and he trundled
the truck over to him where he stopped it and jumped down out of
the cab.

‘You are truly
a miracle worker!’

‘Tell that to
the wife. This is going to result in me getting a call from the
solicitors on Monday. She is not a happy camper!’

‘Sorry, but a
favour is a favour is it not?’

‘Tell that to
the wife! She thinks I am with some fancy woman! Here you are.
Seriously, phone her, you’ll find her under “T”.’ He passed David
his mobile. ‘Try to resurrect my marriage why I unload the
windows.’

David took the
phone and pressed the appropriate buttons to find the entry
labelled “The wife” in Brian’s phone book. He walked away from
Brian and the truck, out of ear shot, and for the first time that
day, he told the woman he had met only once the full story. By the
end of it she totally understood why he needed her husband’s help
so badly. What woman is not touched by a tale of romance and trying
to win a lady’s heart?

David swore her
to secrecy before he walked back and passed the phone back to
Brian. He spoke to her for a few more minutes until he turned to
where David waited. ‘I don’t know what the hell you said to her,
she wouldn’t tell me, but she was like a little kitten and told me
to stay here for as long as I was needed! She’s not spoken to me
like that for twenty years!’

‘Oh well, guess
I must have a way with the women! Glad she said you can stay as
long as you are needed. How are you at fitting windows?’

‘You what?! You
want me to help you bloody fit them as well?!’

‘Yeah, that
would be nice.’

‘Nice?! I’ll
give you bloody nice! This had better be for a good cause!’

‘Trust me, it
is.’

‘Who managed to
get all their windows smashed on a Mini?!’

‘I can’t tell
you, but she is worth it.’

‘She? Well, why
didn’t you just say? We’ll have these fitted in no time!’

‘Excellent!
Let’s get to it then!’

‘Yes boss!’

David laughed
at Brian’s joke and together they lifted the rear window and fitted
it quickly. They fitted the other windows equally quickly, while
laughing and telling each other jokes and amusing stories. Soon
they had the windows done and he departed as soon as it was
completed back home to his spouse. Later that night, with some
pillow talk, Brian got the full story out of his wife about why
David so urgently needed the help.

After Brian had
gone, David decided that enough was enough and that no matter how
hard he tried he could not get the car any better than it was now.
He wandered out of the garage into the yard and across to a small
flat bed van. Hopping onto the side of it he sat on the edge with
his legs hanging over the side and took his phone from his pocket.
He flicked through the phone book on his phone until he reached the
“Ss”. There, at the top was the new addition to his phone book, the
new addition to his life. The entry simply read Sally. He took a
few deep breaths and pressed the green button. It started
ringing.

Chapter 14

Sally spent all
morning and afternoon getting some shopping therapy. All the shops
recognized her when she entered them and they could tell from her
unhappy face that they could make a lot of sales to her that day.
She moved up and down the street, going from one exclusive shop to
another, trying on shoes, dresses, jeans and every type of clothing
that there was.

At lunch time
she called Alfred to come and collect her shopping because she
could not carry the bags she had accumulated anymore. When she saw
the Rolls-Royce depart she got a slight twinge of guilt as she
thought about how much money she had just spent. She knew her
father could afford it, and she knew that he would happily pay off
anything if it made her happy. Sally gave a resigned shrug of the
shoulders and for the third time that day she entered a Prada shop
to again try on a pair of shoes that had caught her eye.

At around three
she decided to have a break so she went to a little coffee shop
that she liked and took her usual table in the window. The waiter
knew her order and did not ask her. He discreetly got her a
cappuccino and a small slice of chocolate cake, leaving the bill on
a saucer by her side.

She sat staring
at the new apartments across the street that had been erected in
the last few months thinking how better it would be if the coffee
shop still had a river view. She was lost in her thoughts when she
noticed movement at the entrance to the apartment block.

Stood at the
door was a young man who she instantly recognized. It was her
intention to phone him later that day and she was half out of her
seat to go and speak to him until she noticed someone else coming
down the flight of stairs. For a moment she froze halfway up while
she glared at the young woman leaning affectionately towards the
man she was meant to meet for a date last night.

She slumped
back into her seat when the man opened his arms and accepted the
offered hug, and then she thought that she was going to cry when
she saw them engage in a deeply passionate kiss. The kiss lasted to
Sally for an eternity and she watched again as her best friend took
a step away from him, still holding his hand, and made him laugh
with whatever she said to him. He took a step and opened the glass
door and again they hugged and kissed while Sally’s jaw got more
and more clenched, while her knuckles got whiter and whiter as she
held the edge of the table top in a fierce grip.

Michelle
stepped through the door as Simon held it open and this time it was
Simon that had Michelle laughing with some kind of joke. Sally was
using all her will power not to run across the street and confront
them. Michelle leaned back in and pecked him on the lips and then
turned on her toes and walked down the street where she flagged
down a taxi. By the time she had stopped watching and glaring at
the back of her friend, Simon had returned back upstairs to which
ever apartment he had access to.

With a few deep
breaths Sally managed to compose herself and relaxed her grip on
the table. Leaning back in her chair she could not believe what she
had just seen. Her so called best friend kissing her date after
obviously spending a night with him! She spent some minutes trying
to calm down but she could not. Sally reached for her hand bag and
took out her mobile phone. She phoned her friend.

‘Hi Sally. How
are you?’

‘I’m okay. How
are you? Good night?’

‘Yeah, it was
good.’

‘I bet it
was.’

‘Yeah, it was.
What happened to you? I saw Simon out with all his friends. Did he
not turn up?’

‘No, I’m the
one that didn’t turn up. My car broke down.’

‘Oh, okay. I
spoke to him. He was wondering what happened to you. Did you not
call him?’

‘I couldn’t get
a signal where I broke down and by the time I did get one it was
too late. Where did you end up? Score with some hottie?’

‘No,
unfortunately not! You know me Sally; I was home and tucked up in
bed for one.’

‘Were you? Are
you sure?’

‘Of course I’m
sure.’

‘Oh, okay
then.’ Sally paused for a second. ‘Bloody hell Michelle! How long
have we known each other for? How long have we been best
friends?!’

‘Erm, a long
time. Why?’

‘Because I
thought that my best friend, someone who I have been friends with
all my life would not lie to me!’

‘Erm, I am not
lying.’

‘Michelle, I
can’t believe you have just said that! The sensible thing to have
done was to let me speak and then you would not have had to lie to
me about lying.’ There was a long silence between the two friends.
‘Anything to say?’

‘No, I am doing
as advised and keeping my mouth shut. Why do you think I am lying
to you?’

‘For some
reason, I don’t know why, but Simon has access to one of the new
apartments on Church Street, I presume you know the ones?’

‘I know the
apartments, yes.’

‘You know that
there is a coffee shop directly opposite the entrance to these
apartments?’

‘Of course I
do. We have been there many times. Just here please. How much is
that?’