Chapter 14: Chapter 14

*****

The front doors swish open and Ben strides in. “Hi, how’s my favourite girl?”

Calm down….

“Hi, Ben. I’m busy right now. Is it anything particular or just….”

“Just thought I’d drop by to see if you’re free for lunch?”

Should I?

Why not?

“I’m off at one. Is that good for you?”

“Great. I’ll come back then.”

He turns to leave but as he does so, the elevator doors open and Charlotte steps out into the lobby, followed by James. Both are carrying large bags. A fluorescent yellow hard-hat, the kind that might be worn on a building site, peeps from the top of Charlotte’s.

There is something about the way the two move. Although they walk with a distance between them, somehow James’ proprietorial attitude to Charlotte still radiates wide.

Ben’s eyes narrow as he sees them.

“Oh hello, Ben. I didn’t know you were around.” smiles Charlotte. “Are you here to see me for something?”

“No, I just called by to say hello to Kirstie,” he replies. His words are polite, but his eyes are on James and are not friendly.

James looks momentarily perplexed, then switches on a cool expression. “Hello, Ben. Charlotte and I just going out on-site.”

“Really?” Ben’s voice is also cool. “What’s happening on-site?”

“We’re getting the ground-works set out for the new retail complex.”

“So, what’s Charlotte got to do with that?”

James’ head tilts, lips pressed together. “Charlotte is, as you know, a trainee. She’s going to be spending time with the surveyors over the next few days to learn what their job involves…. I assume you don’t have a problem with that?”

Ben flushes. “No, of course not.”

“Good. We’ll be on our way, then.”

Ben’s eyes follow the pair to the door, James walks behind Charlotte, his hand resting in the small of her back, in that gesture of his.

Ben frowns. “I don’t like this you know. He behaves as though he’s the one married to her.”

What the hell do I say to that?

I opt for a change of subject. “I’ve got to get some work done now, Ben. See you at one?”

“Yeah….” He looks thoughtful. “Yeah, I’ll see you then.” And he leaves.

*****

Over lunch, Ben is moody and doesn’t speak. I try to start a conversation, but he’s not interested.

Bolting down my sandwich, I make my excuses and leave.

My day doesn’t improve. Mid-afternoon I get a phone call. It’s my sister, Erin, sobbing into the phone as I answer.

“Hey, Sis, what’s wrong?”

“He dumped me, Kirstie. I thought he was going to propose, but he dumped me instead.”

“Hey, slow down. Who’s dumped you? Rob?”

“Yes. He asked me out for a meal and said he wanted to talk to me. I thought he was going to ask me to marry him, but instead, he said he was seeing someone else.”

“Oh, Erin, I’m sorry. You really liked him didn’t you….”

“What does it take, Kirstie? What does it take? First, it was Dominic, then Ashley, and now Rob. I always think it’s going somewhere and then they all just vanish over the horizon with some other girl.”

*****

That evening, meeting Ben on the beach, he jogs up to me smiling, his mood obviously much improved, but his face falls as he draws close. “Something wrong?”

“I’m a bit upset by a phone call I got from my sister. Her fuckwit boyfriend’s just dumped her.”

He looks concerned. “Gee.… I’m sorry to hear that. How is she?”

“Not so good. The trouble is, she wears her heart on her sleeve, gets pushy too soon….”

OMG… What does this remind me of?

“…. and then she’s heartbroken when they finish with her.”

“Poor girl. Tell you what, why don’t we take her out this evening? Try to cheer her up a bit.”

He’s a decent guy. Why do I find him so….?

“Really? That’d be great. Are you sure you don’t mind? She’s probably going to be a bit weepy.”

“It’s fine,” he says. “I’m happy to help if I can. And it means that I get to meet your family.”

Oh, crap….

“Yes, I suppose it does.”

“I can never understand people you know.” he continues. “They start dating someone, lead them up the garden path with all sorts of expectations about where things are going and then just drop them. It’s a lousy thing to do, isn’t it?”

Double crap….

“Well, sometimes it just doesn’t work out, does it?” I say. “Often, you can’t tell if someone’s right for you until you’ve met them a few times….”

He shrugs. “Well, you can’t tell me it’s right.”

No, I don’t think I’d try to tell you what’s right and wrong. Your ideas are a bit fixed….

I’ve got to get out of this….