Amazing Grace

Chapter 11

Grace walked through her front door and was leapt upon by four big brown paws and a big sloppy lick. ‘Ew, Becks! You are such a monster.’ She laughed as he practically wrestled her to the ground because he was so excited to see her. She giggled. ‘Come on, sausage, let’s go and have a nice long walk’.

Not far from Grace’s house, there was a stunning forest, where the world and his wife walked their dogs. From the moment she got Becks, Grace had had to learn about a whole new doggy code of conduct: that when you have a dog it’s OK to stop, chat and pass the time of day with people you’ve never seen before. This was something that rarely happened if you went for a walk on your own. Luckily, Becks was a friendly soul and the perfect ice-breaker, and walking around her village had introduced her to so many people that she might not otherwise have ever crossed paths with.

She was still in her little happy bubble, thinking about seeing Vinnie on the following Wednesday and wondering if it actually was a ‘date’ and who the mysterious lady in the picture was, when her phone rang. Her heart sank when she saw it was Mark. She wondered which Mark it would be today.

‘Need a word!’ he said in his normal abrupt and patronising manner. Oh OK, it was that Mark today. Being a head teacher made him think that he could speak to everyone like he spoke to the parents and children at the high school he worked at.

‘Hi, Mark, what can I do for you?’ said Grace. She had given up asking how he was a long time ago because a) he normally went into a long story about how tired he was all the time because he had such a busy job and she wouldn’t understand, and b) she didn’t actually care how he was.

He had changed so much since becoming a head teacher. It was almost like the power had gone to his head. She remembered the days when he was such good company, caring and compassionate, when as a teacher he worried about the pupils he taught, always putting Grace first, as well as work. That was the Mark that she’d fallen head-over-heels in love with. When life with Mark was good, it felt like it was all she’d ever wanted and more, but when it was bad, it was horrid.

She was jolted back to the present.

‘It’s my weekend to have Archie next weekend but something’s come up and I need to go abroad instead to help someone out with something.’

‘And…?’ She waited for him to ask her if once again he could swap dates when something more important than his son came up.

‘You need to have Archie because I won’t be here, obviously,’ he replied.

‘Do you mean, would I mind altering my arrangements to accommodate you?’ she asked.

‘Well, I can’t have him so you’ll have to.’

She was used to his brusque manner and the way he spoke to her when he was in one of his moods.

‘OK, that’s fine,’ she replied, her first thought being, Yay! I get to spend more time with my boy! She couldn’t understand what could be more important to a parent than spending time with their child, which was why she found it so tough that her relationship with Mark had not worked out, meaning that they had to share their son.

She sometimes felt that Mark had only ever gone for shared custody so that he wouldn’t lose face at school and damage his reputation as head teacher, rather than because he wanted to spend time with Archie. Although when he was in one of his good moods, he was the perfect dad, treating Archie to new football boots just because he wanted to. But when he was in one of his supercilious moods, he would keep pointing out to Grace that he had a ‘very important job’ and that she wouldn’t possibly understand as she only had her fluffy little job in an office.

Her ‘fluffy little job in an office’, along with the pittance of maintenance that Mark paid her each month, was what paid the bills and kept a roof over her and Archie’s head, but Mark couldn’t seem to understand that. Not to mention the fact that she loved her job! Estate agents often got a bad rap, but Grace could honestly say that she only had her clients’ best interests at heart and loved nothing more than finding someone their forever home.

‘Good, that’s sorted then!’ he said and ended the call.

‘Thanks, Grace,’ she mouthed to herself sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

Despite Mark’s attitude, she brightened up as she thought about what she’d organise for her and Archie to do the following weekend.

Her phone rang again. Oh no, what have I done now? She immediately thought, expecting it to be Mark again, and was really pleased to hear Monica say, ‘Hey, babes, how was the coffee shop? Is it suitable for the busy people’s slimming club?’

‘Oh, Mon,’ she said in a dreamy voice. ‘You’ll never guess who was there?’

‘Donald Trump?’

‘You are ridiculous!’

‘Lady Gaga?’

‘Not even close.’

‘OK, last guess. Prince Harry?’

‘Remember Fit Bloke – the landscaper? Well, it’s only his sister’s café. I’d completely forgotten that he’d said she owned one.’

‘And…?’

‘Well, he saw me and asked me to join him. I was there for over two hours. It was just… well, just lovely.’

‘Gracie’s i-in lur-ve! Gracie’s i-in lur-ve!’ Monica sang.

‘Oh, you’re so childish!’ Grace laughed.

‘Yep, I sure am. But you love it! So, are you seeing him again?’ Monica asked.

‘I am actually, we’re going out for a dinner on Wednesday night,’ Grace replied.

‘OMG, you are so going to get a seeing to on Wednesday. You’d best dust the cobwebs off your lady garden, Mrs. As they say at the fair, “Buckle up, baby, this could be the best ride of your life!”’

Grace’s heart dropped to the floor. It had been so long since she’d even found a man that she fancied, she hadn’t even thought about going that one step further until she went out with Tommy. She shivered at the thought of what might have happened if she’d gone back to his hotel room and then found out he was married. Mortifying. And really! How could she possibly let someone who wasn’t Mark see her body naked? She was so conscious of the fact that she’d put on weight that she didn’t even look at herself in the mirror any more. And she didn’t think she’d shaved her legs for six months. Even Archie had started commenting on her legs looking like a hairy monkey. Despite everything that Monica had done on the outside, she still felt old, fat, frumpy and unattractive on the inside.

‘Oh crap, Mon, I hadn’t even given that a thought! I’m going to have to call him at once and cancel. I can’t possibly go through that.’

‘You will do no such thing! You will be well prepared, de-fuzzed, sparkling and beautiful and you are gonna knock his socks off!’

‘It’s not his socks I’m worried about.’ She sighed. And then she remembered the picture in his wallet. Maybe she might be worrying for no reason. Maybe this wasn’t a date after all.