Orange Blossom Days Page 8

  CHAPTER NINE

  SALLY-ANN / CAL / LENORA

  Sally-Ann tapped closed her emails and turned off her iPad. She’d completely focused on work for the last hour, now she was going to take a trip to the furniture shop Jutta Sauer had recommended. It was imperative to keep busy. It meant she didn’t have to think about her marital problems.

  She hadn’t heard Cal leaving earlier. She’d fallen into an exhausted sleep in the early hours and it had been after nine when she’d woken. His luggage was gone and so was he. She’d ordered a room service breakfast – croissants and fresh fruit – and had eaten it on the balcony, deliberately emptying her mind of tumultuous emotions. Her thoughts had turned to her children and she’d felt a fierce longing to hold and cuddle them.

  They would have to learn the truth at some stage, that they were going to have a new stepsister or brother. Savannah might be happy with the news, Sally-Ann thought ruefully. She was always asking Sally-Ann to have a baby. Madison would be gutted. She was her daddy’s pet; she wouldn’t want to share his affections with anyone.

  Was Cal already in bed with his little filly? she wondered sourly. What an asshole he was not to see a chick on the make. Sally-Ann simply could not bring herself to believe that this Lenora gal had got pregnant by mistake.

  Cal’s insistence that he did not want a divorce seemed real. Clearly he hadn’t expected to become a father again. He’d be getting plenty of grief from his new woman when she found out that he wasn’t divorcing Sally-Ann. Good enough for him, she scowled, running a brush through her hair and adding a slick of lipstick to her mouth.

  She travelled down in the elevator to the basement car park and glanced at the directions Jutta had given her. The furniture shop was east of Marbella in the direction of Las Chapas, where Felipe Perez had built a block of apartments that Cal had bought into.

  Felipe was a high flier for sure, Sally-Ann reflected. But unlike her savvy husband, she wasn’t quite sure if the other man knew where his limit was. They were a strange couple, the Perez’s. He so lively and full of enthusiasm. She so cool and reserved. They were still in love though, she thought enviously, remembering the sideways glances and the way Felipe caressed his wife’s arm as they sat side by side at the dinner table the previous night.

  It was a while since she’d lain in a man’s arms. She was lonely, and horny, Sally-Ann acknowledged glumly, gunning the engine of the hire car and taking the ramp at speed.

  ‘And did you ask her about getting a divorce, Cal?’ Lenora probed anxiously, lying in a graceful pose on the enormous bed, waiting for her lover to get undressed.

  ‘She wouldn’t hear of it, Lenora. Under no circumstances does Sally-Ann want a divorce. I tried my best.’ Cal undid his belt and unzipped his jeans.

  ‘And you definitely told her I was pregnant?’ Lenora sat up in dismay, her cloud of chestnut hair tumbling around her shoulders.

  ‘Yup!’ Cal stepped out of his Calvin Klein Y-fronts. Lenora was momentarily distracted as she gazed at the impressive sight in front of her.

  ‘So what are we going to do?’ she demanded as Cal pulled her into his arms.

  ‘This,’ he said, bending his mouth to hers and silencing her with a kiss.

  ‘But Cal,’ she said a little while later when they parted to breathe, ‘you have to persuade her to agree. You want to be with me and the baby, don’t you?’

  ‘Of course I do, sweet honeypie. I’ll keep asking, now forget about divorces and all that stuff and let’s do what we do best,’ he murmured, sliding his hands down over her hips and pulling her in against him.

  Later, as Cal lay beside her, asleep, Lenora stared at the ceiling. She’d not enjoyed their lovemaking as much as usual. Whoever said sex for women was all in the head was right, she admitted miserably. Her head was all over the place.

  Was Cal lying to her?

  Was he just using her for sex?

  Had he really pressed Sally-Ann for a divorce?

  What would Lenora do if he left her?

  Was she going to end up a single mother?

  Would it do any good for her to talk to Sally-Ann? Lenora wondered.

  She’d have to get her hands on Sally-Ann’s phone number. That shouldn’t be too difficult over the next few days. She would ring Cal’s wife and ask her why would she want to stay with a man who was clearly not in love with her anymore, and try and shame her into a divorce.

  It might work. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, Lenora decided as a sudden wave of nausea washed over her and she had to breathe deeply to stop herself from being sick.

  Sally-Ann watched the young Spanish banker in his smart navy suit and crisp white shirt as he patiently explained a point, for the third time, to the retired English couple who were opening a euro account to receive their sterling pension payments from the UK.

  He reminded her of a younger version of Cal, she decided, noticing his long tanned fingers and the clean cut of his jawline. His hair, inky black, curled a little just to the collar of his shirt and for a moment she had an image of herself running her hands through it.

  Hell and damnation! she thought, amused. Y’all need a man, for sure, Ms Sally. The banker caught her eye and her smile and gave her a tiny wink. Sally-Ann winked back, enjoying the brief flirtation.

  The woman at the next desk became free and beckoned to her, to Sally-Ann’s disappointment. Now that she’d made the connection with Señor Dishy, she would have liked to conduct her business with him.

  Sally-Ann had her Spanish account set up and was ready to leave while the young woman’s colleague was still explaining to his elderly clients about rates going down as well as up.

  He gave her a broad smile when she passed his desk and she noted approvingly his gleaming white teeth, so attractive against his tan. She smiled back and nodded and felt a little more light-hearted.

  Y’all still got something, she told herself, swinging her car keys and deciding to have a coffee at one of the pavement coffee bars that lined the street. She ordered a latte and a custard pastry and was licking the sticky goo off her finger when she heard a man say, ‘Hola.’

  It was the young banker. Sally-Ann wiped her mouth with her napkin. ‘Hola yourself.’ She was taken aback.

  ‘May I?’ He indicated the other chair at her round white table.

  ‘Of course.’ She nodded. ‘Are you on a lunch break?’

  ‘No. We close the branch at two-thirty today.’ He sat and stretched out his long legs and waved at a waiter.

  ‘Nice short hours,’ Sally-Ann remarked, sipping her latte.

  ‘This is España,’ he grinned. ‘And you are American?’ His brown eyes glinted with good humour.

  ‘Texan,’ she corrected, laughing.

  ‘Is Texas not in the US?’ He looked puzzled.

  ‘It sure is, honey, but us Texas folk are proud of being from Texas.’

  ‘I see,’ he smiled. ‘Sebastian Mendoza.’ He held out his hand.

  ‘Sally-Ann Connolly Cooper,’ she reciprocated, liking his firm handshake.

  ‘Would you care for another coffee?’ he asked politely when the waiter came to take his order.

  ‘Why not? I’m not on a schedule,’ she agreed, enjoying the chance to have some human interaction, seeing as she’d been practically abandoned by Cal.

  ‘So you are on holidays?’ Sebastian sat back in his chair.

  ‘No, not quite, it’s a working vacation, sort of.’

  ‘And what do you work at?’ he enquired, loosening his tie. Sally-Ann gave him a brief outline of the reasons for her trip to Spain and they chatted easily about web design, holding accounts, and the cultural differences between Europe and America and she was surprised to see that they had been talking for over half an hour.

  ‘I must go. I have an appointment. So nice talking to you, Sebastian.’

  ‘Gracias, Sally-Ann, it was my pleasure also. Don’t work too hard.’ He stood up and shook her hand.

  ‘Don’t worry, I won’t,’ she sm
iled. A nice guy, she thought, and surprisingly easy to talk to. She figured he was in his late twenties. She could give him ten years at least. Cal wouldn’t care if she had a fling with him, or anyone, she thought ruefully.

  Her marriage was an empty, hollow sham of a thing. She was married in name only and had been for a long time. It was time to face reality. Was this what she wanted in her life?

  Sally-Ann weighed the pros and cons of keeping the status quo while she drove to La Joya. Did she really want the hassle of a divorce? Wasn’t it easier to stay as she was? Easier for the girls too?

  The gardener was waiting for her and they decided the best position for the pergola, Sally-Ann visualizing how the roof terrace would look with cane furniture and a patio table. It would be a tranquil haven.

  She walked back outside when he’d left, enjoying the refreshing breeze. Her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number. It was an American cell. ‘Hello?’

  ‘Is this Sally-Ann?’ a female voice with a faint midwestern twang asked.

  ‘It surely is. To whom am I speaking?’ Sally-Ann would have expected a business caller to use her full name. She heard the young woman take a deep breath.

  ‘Um, I’m Lenora, I know Cal has told you about me, and that I’m pregnant,’ the voice said, breathlessly, a touch nervously.

  ‘Yes, my husband shot that scud missile at me yesterday,’ Sally-Ann said coldly. She was stunned. How dare Cal give his other woman her cell number? How damn dare he?

  ‘Yes, er . . . well, I know he’s asked you for a divorce and you’ve refused—’

  ‘Excuse me?’ Sally-Ann’s voice rose a pitch.

  ‘You’ve refused him a divorce even though I’m pregnant with his child.’ The hostility in Lenora’s voice crackled down the line. ‘Why would you want to stay married to him?’

  ‘Now y’all listen to me,’ Sally-Ann did not even try to disguise her fury. ‘Firstly I do not appreciate you having the goddam cheek to ring me on my cell. I do not appreciate my husband giving you my number. I do not appreciate your attitude, missy. May I remind you that I am married to Cal and am the mother of his two legitimate children. And let me tell you in no uncertain terms, Cal Cooper was the one who wouldn’t hear of a divorce, not me. So lady you have a problem there, because I will be divorcin’ that rattlesnake so quick it will make his eyes water. He’s all yours honey. You’re both welcome to each other. And finally under no circumstances do I evah want to heah ya little hoe’s voice again at the end of ma phone. Do y’all hear me?’ Sally-Ann ranted, her Southern accent becoming even more pronounced in her fury, before hanging up.

  How dare that little bitch ring her and how dare Cal give her Sally-Ann’s number, and blatantly lie about the divorce. She dialled his number, roiling with fury.

  ‘Yup, Sally-Ann, what’s the problem?’ Cal sounded surprisingly calm.

  ‘I don’t have a problem, mister . . . you do. How dare you give that little floozy of yours my cell numb—’

  ‘Hey, whoa there! I didn’t give anyone your cell number—’

  ‘So what’s she ringing me for askin’ me why I wouldn’t divorce you when she’s expectin’ an’ all?’ Sally-Ann demanded.

  ‘She did what?’ The shock in his voice told her he wasn’t lying. But it didn’t matter anymore.

  ‘Y’all heard, Cal. And let me tell ya, I’ve had enough of this sham. I’m done. Lawyer up, buddy, ’cos you and I are gettin’ a divorce!’

  She was damned if she was going to enable her husband’s crappy behaviour. Cal had some nerve, telling that girl that she wouldn’t divorce him when it was he that was adamantly opposed to divorcing. Ha! Well let him weasel his way out of that, she thought sourly. Now that Lenora knew the truth he had nowhere to run.

  ‘You had no damned business ringing my wife. You had no damned business sneaking through my phone to get her number.’ Cal was so angry he wanted to throw his suitcase at the huge mirror and watch it smash into smithereens.

  ‘You lied to me, Cal,’ Lenora yelled. ‘You said she didn’t want to divorce and all the time it was you that didn’t want one. I’m gonna have your child and you told me you wanted us to be together.’

  ‘Look, hog tyin’ me is not the way to make me want to stay with you, Lenora. And sneaking behind my back isn’t either. Now pack up, we’re leaving. I’ve had enough of Europe, and your tantrums aren’t helping. I’m getting the concierge to get us the hell out of Paris on the first flight available—’

  ‘But we were supposed to be having a romantic few days here,’ Lenora protested, horrified.

  ‘Well you damn well made sure that’s not going to happen, didn’t you honey? Pack up your duds, we’re going home.’ Cal picked up the phone and rang down to the concierge, turning his back on Lenora.

  Reluctantly she went to the wardrobe and took out the designer suitcase, part of a travel set Cal had bought her. Did ‘going home’ mean they were going to be together, or was he going to dump her?

  Seeing the implacable set of his back against her, Lenora decided that right now keeping silent was the best policy.

  ‘I’ll ring you back shortly, Monsieur Cooper,’ the concierge said politely after Cal made his request for the earliest flight he could get from Charles de Gaulle to Houston, first class and preferably non stop.

  He could strangle Lenora. She’d really landed him in a load of cow shit. He did not want a divorce. He did not want a second marriage and the possessive way she was behaving, right now he didn’t want to spend eleven hours on a flight to the States with her, let alone the rest of his life.

  Cal picked up his cell. He needed to make an appointment with his lawyer. Sally-Ann’s tone had left him in no doubt that she was going for a divorce. He wanted to make sure she didn’t take him to the cleaners. If a battle was what his wife wanted, a battle was what she would get.

  ‘Excuse me?’ A tanned woman in a floral sundress stood in front of Sally-Ann, who had gone down to the beachside restaurant for a restorative coffee.

  ‘Hi, can I help ya?’ Sally-Ann asked politely, wondering wildly if this was another of Cal’s women.

  ‘My name is Anna MacDonald, I’m your next door neighbour in La Joya and . . . erm . . . Well the thing is, I was on the balcony earlier and couldn’t help overhearing your phone conversation, and I don’t mean to intrude but I was just wondering if you were OK?’

  ‘Oh! Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry y’all had to hear that. I guess I had raised my voice an octave or two. I’m truly sorry.’ Sally-Ann was mortified.

  ‘Don’t worry about it in the slightest,’ said the other woman. ‘I’m not being nosey and I don’t want to intrude in a private matter, I just wanted to make sure you were OK, if you’re on your own.’

  ‘Well I guess I’m stunned to tell ya the truth,’ Sally-Ann replied. ‘And it’s very kind of you to be concerned. Again I apologize for interrupting the peace at La Joya with my marital difficulties.’ She gave a wry smile.

  ‘Oh not at all, I hope you don’t think I’m—’

  ‘Hello ladies, enjoying the sun? How nice to have the time to relax.’ Jutta Sauer walked briskly past their table with a tanned, well-dressed couple in tow.

  ‘Hi y’all,’ Sally-Ann said dispiritedly.

  ‘Hello, Jutta.’ Anna nodded as the tall, German woman swept past.

  ‘More lambs to the slaughter,’ Sally-Ann murmured acerbically and Anna laughed.

  ‘Are you one of her clients too?’

  ‘I am, though to be honest I sometimes feel she’s telling me what she wants, rather than the other way around.’

  ‘Yup, she’s bossy alright.’ Sally-Ann managed a smile.

  ‘But she’s good at what she does, I can’t deny it. We got some lovely pieces of furniture. Um . . . do you fancy a glass of wine? My husband’s playing golf and I’ve done as much as I can up in the apartment and I’m thirsty!’ Anna confessed. ‘But if you’d prefer to be by yourself I understand perfectly, of course,’ she added considerately.


  Sally-Ann felt some of the tension flow out of her body. A glass of chilled wine would be delicious, and kind company – and Anna was a kind woman, she felt – would be welcome, even if it was the company of a stranger. It would stave off the moment she dreaded, having to contact her lawyer and take the first step in the combat ahead.

  ‘A glass,’ she laughed. ‘Hell no, let’s have a bottle. My name is Sally-Ann Connolly Cooper, soon to lose the Cooper, and I’m delighted to meet you, if under somewhat embarrassing circumstances.’

  ‘Likewise, and forget the circumstances,’ Anna returned, signalling the waiter, and sitting down opposite Sally-Ann with a grin.

  I like her, thought Sally-Ann gratefully, glad that her new neighbour wasn’t that prickly Spanish man she’d encountered a couple of times. This was the weirdest day of her life for sure, and there was trouble ahead. But for now, she would drink her wine and look at the sea, while getting to know the woman who had overheard her tell her husband she was divorcing him. Anna was surprisingly easy to talk to, and Sally-Ann found herself confiding her troubles to her new and sympathetic neighbour. When Austen, Anna’s husband joined them and pressed her to have dinner with them later in their penthouse, she found herself agreeing. It was better than being on her own, she reflected back at her hotel, turning on her laptop to have a Skype session with her girls.

  ‘Mom, Mom, Savannah is being like real mean and she cheeked Grandma,’ Madison’s indignant face filled the screen.

  ‘You are a dirty little liar, Madison Connolly Cooper,’ yelled her twin.

  ‘No I’m not, you did, you told Grandma to—’

  ‘Girls! Girls, stop it or I’m shutting down the computer right this minute,’ Sally-Ann said sternly. It was always the same when she was away from home and tonight she wasn’t in the humour to pacify them.

  ‘Noooo Mommmm don’t do that,’ whined Madison. ‘Did you get me the flamenco dress and castanets you promised?’

  ‘Not yet, but I will.’

  ‘And did you get me—’

  ‘Girls, listen to yourselves. I’m ashamed of you,’ Sally-Ann said sternly. ‘What have I told you both before about asking for presents?’