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Then it hits me like a bolt out of the blue. I could go away. Perhaps I wasn’t just bullshitting Paul. Perhaps it was my subconscious leaping in to suggest what I really need. I could leave all this hassle behind. Why not? There’s not a massive surplus in my savings account, but there is some money put away for a rainy day. And this feels like a rainy day to me.
I chew at my fingernail. I could, I suppose, get a cheap deal to Majorca or Ibiza or somewhere like that. All safe places that I’ve been to before. Or I could go wild and step out into the wild. I glance down at Mrs Silverton’s brochure and my lips curl into a smile. I could actually go to the place I told my ex I was going to. Africa.
Chapter Nineteen
‘You’re doing what?’ Nina looks at me, horrified.
‘I’m going to Africa. On safari.’
We’ve slipped out of work for fifteen minutes and are having a quick coffee in the Costa across the road from Cutting Edge.
‘Fuck me,’ Nina says, shaking her head. ‘Who put that crazy idea into your head? Is this something to do with seeing Paul?’
‘Sort of,’ I admit. I didn’t get the chance yesterday to tell Nina about his announcement. I turned my phone off last night to thwart unwanted callers, so I didn’t get her dozen texts asking me to ring her. ‘He’s getting married, Nina. They’re expecting a baby.’
‘Bloody hell.’
‘I had to tell him something good that was happening in my life.’
‘So you said that you were going to Africa?’
‘Yes.’ My cheeks are glowing pink as I confess. I fail to mention the lie regarding Lewis or the fact that he came to my house again last night.
‘You could have told him something better,’ she muses as she toys with the froth on her cappuccino.
‘Like what?’
‘Like you were shagging George Clooney or something.’
‘It had to be something believable.’
‘And you going to Africa is any more believable?’
‘Mrs Silverton’s just come back from there. She was raving about it. Yesterday, she brought the brochure in for me to have a look at.’
‘We could have gone to Spain for a few days or something. Just me and you.’
‘Kelly wouldn’t let us have the time off together in the run-up to Christmas. She wasn’t that happy about me going on my own, but I’ve got to take the holiday or I’ll lose it. So she had no choice but to let me book it.’ Just as well, as a few clicks on the internet last night and I’d got everything in place. ‘I’ll phone all my clients this afternoon and, if they want to, move their appointments to you.’
‘You can’t go to Africa on your own,’ Nina whines.
‘I’m not going on my own,’ I reason. ‘It’s a group holiday. There are going to be five of us.’
‘You might hate them all.’
‘I might,’ I agree. ‘But it’s only for a week.’ I didn’t want to risk Kelly’s complete wrath by booking two weeks off at the busiest time of year. Plus, I thought it better not to completely empty the Johnson coffers by going for any longer.
‘Gerry’s going to Thailand for a stag weekend,’ my friend complains. ‘This would have been my chance to get back at him. What’s good for the goose . . .’
‘To Thailand for a weekend?’
‘Tell me about it.’ Nina rolls her eyes. ‘I can’t imagine what he’s going to do there.’
I can. All too well.
‘When we got married, it was a couple of pints down at the local pub with a few mates the night before the wedding,’ she continues. ‘Now, the send-off is a major event in itself. Costs as much as the bloody wedding!’ Nina sips her coffee. ‘The bride is going to the Seychelles for a week with ten of her girlfriends. Something so lavish used to be the honeymoon. I don’t really know her, so I wasn’t invited. More’s the pity.’
There’s no way that her dear husband would have let her go anyway, despite what he might be getting up to himself.
‘Gerry went to school with the groom so he’s got the perfect excuse to clear off and have some fun.’
‘Come to Africa.’
Nina snorts. ‘Not likely.’
‘Why?’
‘What do I want to go to Africa for?’
‘The scenery is stunning. The wildlife looks amazing. From Mrs Silverton’s pictures, it looks as if you can get right up close to it.’
‘Lovely.’ Nina doesn’t look like she thinks it’s lovely. ‘Wildlife.’ She puffs out a disgruntled breath. ‘You can see all that in a zoo.’
