The Numbers Game

This novel is
entirely a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents portrayed
in it either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or
locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights
reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior permission from the author, except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews

Copyright © 2012
Frances Vidakovic

Frances
Vidakovic asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

It is always
a question of quality over quantity

If there was one thing
in life that Serena didn’t appreciate it was stupid clichés.

The ones that drove
her craziest were the ones about love. ‘
Better to have loved and lost than
never have loved at all’
made her question whether she was the only sane
girl around (for breaking dysfunctional romances off in a heartbeat). ‘
Love
is blind’
made her wonder why others couldn’t keep their eyes wide open.
And the bitchy “
All’s fair in love and war
” made her want to pin a white
flag to her head.

So how is
it then that she, Serena Adams, a savvy and intelligent young woman, fell prey
to the biggest cliché ever, the one that had women cringing all round the world
when they heard it breathed out loud?    

“
I
never saw it coming…”

Except the
truth was Serena
didn’t
see it coming. Honestly she didn’t. Sure, had
she analyzed the available data she might have predicted the coming storm. But
she wasn’t that type of girl. She instead depended on fortune-tellers for that
kind of random information.

Contrary
to popular opinion, Serena took psychics a lot more seriously than others
gave them credit for. For one could dissect their own life and come up with lots
of interesting insights, like boyfriend mustn’t be happy if he is going out
every night but only when the clairvoyant says:
trust me, your relationship
will be kaput before the month is out
does one actually sweep out all the evidence
from beneath the rug and investigate it over again.

            God only knows
how long Serena had been trotting over the clues. 

She went
to see the fortune-teller not long after succumbing to the “Gosh I’m almost thirty”
dejection. Serena had succumbed to this melancholy two years ahead of time, yet
figured why not? At least by the time her thirtieth birthday rolled around
she’d have come to terms with the fact and would maybe – fingers crossed - be
rather excited about going over the hill. Or was that being over the hill?

The point
was Serena had high hopes the fortune-teller would be able to put the sparkle
back in her eye. She needed something to look forward to…Surely there were
plenty of grand things on her horizon─ an exciting new promotion, a
whirlwind voyage, or at the very least a marriage proposal.

            Serena decided
to take her best friend Tabitha along with her to the event. Okay, so she sort
of forced her to come. Tabitha was forever talking about doing things, but
never really accomplishing anything so a fresh burst of anticipation would do
both of them the world of good. At first Tabitha was a bit resistant (“you have
got to be kidding me” were her exact words) but once Serena offered to pay, her
friend jumped at the chance.

On the way
over Tabitha immediately started formulating a list of questions to ask Mystic
Maria. Like when was she finally going to meet the man of her dreams? Where would
she be and what should she be wearing? On her own to-quiz-on-list, Serena
hadn’t even touched upon the subject of her boyfriend Markie. That’s because
her relationship with Markie was as stable and predictable as loyal dog. Why
waste time putting forth questions she already knew the answers to when she
could be sucking dry information about all her future social and professional
rewards?

But it
just so happened that the meteoric cow didn’t see any social and professional
rewards. All she saw was a relationship breakdown flashing in neon lights.

“You got
husband?” the handkerchief-wearing woman asked as soon as Serena had seated.
The room was dark so Serena couldn’t pick out whether this was just
introductory friendly banter or something stemming from a vision from inside
her crystal ball.

“Nope,”
Serena replied, though really the ring-free fingers should have made the fact
self-evident. “Just a boyfriend.”

“How long
together?” Mystic Maria asked next, wrinkling her nose.

            “Almost
five years. Why, do you see something there?”  Serena wondered whether it was
possible the connections Markie was always bragging about might eventually
bring her success in the artistry field. Her own makeup range perhaps? An
innovative skincare line?

“Ooh, yes
I see plenty,” Mystic Marie answered, shaking her head, “and none of it is
good.”

“What do
you mean none of it is good?” This information was seriously confusing to
Serena.

“For
starters the two of you are going to break up.”

“Excuse me?”
Now this really was crazy. This witch was talking about
her and
Markie
,
the epitome of coupledom; they were who as meant-to-be-together as Ginger
Rogers and Fred Astaire.

“You are
joking right?” Serena smiled. She was trying to work out whether it was
acceptable to play April Fools’ Day jokes in the early February.

“No, no,
the ball never jokes.”

“So when
exactly will our unbreakable relationship terminate?” Serena asked, eyeing
Mystic Marie suspiciously.

She had decided
then that she might as well go along with this funny little prediction. After
all there had to be other good stuff on her horizon. Mystic Marie couldn’t
seriously think Serena was going to pay good money to hear just this rubbish.

“By end of
month, if not sooner.”

“Oh
really”. Serena remained unconvinced. “And just what did you mean by “for
starters” we will break up? You make it sound as if there’s something more to
it.”

Mystic
Maria smiled at her slyly.

“That’s
because there is.”

Of course
Mystic Maria didn’t tell Serena what that special something was. Instead she
escorted the two friends to the door, with a million questions still weighing
on Serena’s shoulders.

“It’s a
joke, right?” Serena asked Tabitha.

“It has to
be,” Tabitha replied matter-of-factly. “Anyone who knows the two of you knows
you and Markie are inseparable. It’s quite sickening how loved up you guys are really.”

“That’s
what I thought. But still…” Serena bit her lip. “Why did she have to go and
plant that seed of doubt?”

            It didn’t
help either that Tabitha got news of an upcoming love affair and surprise windfall.
But she forced herself to put it out of her mind and when she got home and
found Markie, her Mr. Perfect, slaving away over a pot on the kitchen stove it
made Serena feel better. Ah now that’s what she liked to see: an attractive man
with his top off AND making his girlfriend her favorite meal, spaghetti
marinara with a dash of coriander if her nose correctly discerned.

“Gosh,
what did I do to deserve such lavish treatment on a Monday night?” Serena asked
Markie, planting a kiss on his lower shoulder. She would’ve liked to graze it
sexily against his neck but given that it was high up in the clouds (like most necks
belonging to six foot four tall men), she needed a few more inches to get
there.

“I thought
I’d make it up to you, for spending so much time away with the boys on the
weekend.”

“Oh.”
Serena paused, dropping her pink leather bag onto the granite bench top. The
pause contained a mixture of shock and then gratitude. “But I didn’t mind.”

            Really she
didn’t. Unlike most psycho-jealous women, Serena had felt a sense of relief
when Markie announced he was hitting the town with the boys on Friday night.
Finally a chance to strip the face of heavy make-up, shed the body of figure
hugging clothes and plant herself in front of the TV with some fresh magazines
and chocolate for company. Ever since the silly Christmas season, their lives
had been as full on as the sports channel on cable TV. Party here, dinner or
opening there, it had felt like heaven to hang up her laurels for one night.

“Yeah I
know you didn’t. But I wanted to make sure I wiped the incident completely from
your mind.”

            The
incident Markie was speaking of pertained to Saturday night, the one night when
Serena
did
have something planned. For the both of them, that is. Because
one doesn’t usually buy two tickets to a drive-in cinema on their own, you see.
Serena had phoned up earlier in the week and put the tickets on her credit card
which was a very considerate thing to do in The World According To Serena but
you’d have thought otherwise from the look on Markie’s face.
Oh damn, I’ve already
planned another night out with the boys.
He had frowned.
You’re going to
kill me right?

            But Markie
was wrong actually. If he wanted another night off his leash, Serena was more
than happy to accommodate. She wanted to spend more time with Tabitha anyway
and dependable Tabitha would definitely go for the drive-in scenario as long as
she had a bottomless supply of sweets at her disposal. Oh and one mustn’t
forget about potential talk about Rick too. One could get Tabitha rolling
through the streets naked if it involved talking about Rick at the same time.

            Just for
the record Rick was Markie’s best friend. And apparently for two best friends
to go out with another pair of BFF, well that would be a fabulous thing or so believed
Tabitha who had shared this vision with her at least a million times. Okay so
maybe she did deserve this meal, Serena sighed.

“Just take
a seat and I’ll get dinner served in five. For starters though tell me all
about your reputable fortune teller’s predictions.” Markie’s smile widened
considerably at the word reputable.