Chapter 16
Sixteen
“ Y our brother’s aren’t all going to corner me and warn me off, are they?” asked Jon as they headed towards her flat to pack up her belongings.
Steph laughed at his apparent nervousness but reassured him. “No. They’ll probably be more inclined to tell you loads of embarrassing stories about me, unless you tell them you have a wife and then they’ll kick seven shades out of you.”
“I look forward to it then.” He laughed with a little less nervousness as they pulled up outside the flat.
“You really don’t have to do this?”
“But I want to, so come on.”
He got out of the car as a large white van pulled up with a 4X4 following. Eight men appeared at the kerbside, all smiling and hugging Steph in turn. Jon stood nearby and was relieved to see that one of the men was Roger, Steph’s dad.
He shook Jon’s hand and with a smile in the direction of his children said, “Give them a few minutes and I’ll introduce you to them all.”
Steph smiled broadly when she turned to see her dad and Jon chatting together. Heading towards them she hugged her dad. “Hello, Daddy. I wasn’t expecting you today.”
“I only had one job last week, so I got it all finished by lunchtime yesterday and I thought I could come and supervise this lot.” He rolled his eyes and gestured towards the row of large imposing figures looking at Jon now.
“They’ll need some supervising.” Steph laughed as Roger nodded.
“Right you lot, this is Steph’s boyfriend, Jon.”
They all looked at him and nodded or smiled. Jon thought that if he was the sort to be intimidated he would be quaking in his boots now, but fortunately he wasn’t, although the shortest of the seven was about five feet eleven and a couple looked almost as broad as they were tall.
Steph moved so that she was standing in the middle of them and pointed to each one in turn to introduce them. “My brother-in-laws, Josh and Nigel, my brothers Eddie, Paul, Joe, Dylan and Jason.”
Led by her oldest brother, Eddie, they all shook hands with Jon before Jason said, “Come on then, sis, I have a seriously hot date tonight so let’s get this show on the road.”
“You have a hot date every Saturday night, Jason.” She squealed as he picked her up and ran up the stairs to the front door with her hanging over his shoulder.
“Here we go,” said Eddie with a serious shake of his head at the juvenile behaviour of his two youngest siblings.
“If you two are going to mess about you will both have to stay at Stephanie’s new flat,” chastised Roger.
Jason dropped her to the ground and as they both looked down at the others from the doorstep Jon felt he was getting an insight to the little girl Steph had once been. Her and Jason looked contrite, like naughty children and sounded even more like it as they said in unison, “Sorry, Dad.”
“It’s going to be a long day,” muttered Joe as the others climbed the steps laughing.
Steph had packed most of her loose belongings and as the furniture was loaded into the van the boxed items were put into the back of the 4X4, then her clothes were put into the back of Jon’s car.
“Right, if we all go back to Steph’s with this lot we’ll leave her there to unpack and to wait for Jessica and Tricia,” said Roger, but left the room before anyone had the chance to answer.
“Jessica and Tricia?” asked Jon trying to remember if he knew who they were.
“My sisters,” explained Steph.
“I am getting the whole family today, darling.” Jon sounded a little apprehensive.
“Yeah, sorry about that.” Instinctively, she dropped her head on his shoulder prompting him to drape an arm around her waist.
“No problem.” He kissed her gently on the top of her head.
“Pass the sick bucket,” cried Dylan as he witnessed the exchange.
“Leave her alone,” said Eddie firmly.
Joe grimaced as he observed them. “It is slightly vomit inducing, Stephie, but preferable to that prat Simon.”
“Who Dad reckons is giving you grief now,” chipped in Paul.
“He’s being a bit of a prat and hassling me,” replied Steph calmly, not needing her brothers and brothers-in-law to decide they needed to have a word with him.
“He’s being a pain in the arse and becoming a nuisance,” corrected Jon.
“Although he hasn’t been in touch for a few days,” Steph added now, hoping to fully neutralise any potential interest or annoyance from her brothers.
“Keep us posted,” said Eddie, more to Jon than her Steph thought.
Steph was at her new flat surrounded by boxes and misplaced furniture and wondered where to begin when her oldest sister, Tricia, said, “Steph, you appear to have too much furniture.”
“I know. This was a show home so it came complete with furniture. I didn’t have any white goods so I was grateful for it being furnished,” she told her sister.
“But why do you need two beds and sofas?” Tricia asked.
“I don’t, but I may keep the bed that’s here and it’s big enough to fit both sofas in.” Steph’s smile quickly became a grin as she recalled her first encounter with the sofa already in place.
“So what’s the story with the very sexy boyfriend?” asked Tricia as Jessica arrived.
“Who has a sexy boyfriend?”
“Steph,” said Tricia as Steph hugged her sisters who looked hungry for gossip.
The furniture was all in place and she had managed to get her clothes all hung up or folded and put away before the takeaway food arrived.
Roger, Steph, Jon and Eddie finished arguing about who was paying for it when Jason said, “Thank God for that. I need to eat and run though sis, hot date and all that.” He grinned as Roger shook his head.
“Just be careful, son. We don’t want any accidents turning up in nine months, do we?” he said seriously to his youngest son.
“And you probably won’t want your dick to swell to the size of a baby’s arm and drop off, so keep it covered,” added Eddie making the others laugh.
“I’m not stupid,” protested Jason.
“No, but we’ve seen some of the mingers you’ve shagged in the past,” teased Nigel.
“That’s enough,” said Roger, slightly uncomfortably. “What must Jon think of us all?”
Much the same as you’d all think of him if you knew that he had a wife and I was just the shag piece thought Steph.
“Don’t stop torturing and tormenting siblings on my account,” he said seriously, but with a smile.
“We should all have lunch together next Sunday,” said Roger. “Janice wouldn’t mind,” he added and Jon noticed that all eight of the other man’s children physically bristled at the mention of Janice’s name, but none of them said anything.
“Dad, she may not mind, but none of us have a table big enough to accommodate everyone,” said Joe seriously.
“Then let’s go out, what about that posh restaurant in town that opened a few months ago, near the big leisure complex,” suggested Roger. “What’s it called? Janice’s niece went a couple of weeks ago with that hotshot boyfriend of hers,” he mused as they all raised their eyebrows at one another. “Swingers!” shouted Roger suddenly making them laugh.
“Daddy, Swingers is a very different place!” laughed Steph as Jon put him out of his misery.
“Stringers, Roger. It’s called Stringers.”
“Yeah that’s it, what do you all think?” Roger asked surveying the room.
“It’s a bit pricey,” said Josh. “We may not get a table for months.”
“I have some contacts there. I could make a couple of calls and see if I can get you in and negotiate a group discount, plus my contact owes me a favour. How many of you would there be?” asked Jon.
“I’d appreciate that. There would be me and Janice, my eight and their other halves, then we have nine grandchildren, so . . .” he said as if adding them up.
“Twenty-seven,” said Steph immediately.
“And that’s why my sister is the accountant.” Jason laughed.
“So what is it you do?” asked Tricia of Jon making Steph nervous.
“I run my own company, but we trade across all fields,” he said thinking it was an honest answer if not thorough.
“I see,” replied Tricia exchanging a glance with Jess.
“Well, if you have fleet vehicles and you’re looking for service or replacement vehicles, give me a call.” Eddie was already retrieving a business card from his wallet to hand to Jon as Steph shook her head. “What’s your problem sis? Business is business.”
“Quite right. I don’t deal with vehicles, but I will pass it on and ask them to contact you when the contract’s up for tender. Although I think Steph could be in the running for a new car.”
That seemed to take Eddie by surprise. “You had enough of yours then, Steph?”
“No, but Jon thinks I should get rid of anything that allows Simon to identify me or locate me,” she explained.
“Ah, hence the new flat and phone.” Joe nodded to himself as if he had just been given the answer to a question he’d asked.
“You know where I am if you want to trade it in, sis,” said Eddie before turning to Jon. “Thanks, for looking out for Steph.” Finally he asked Jason, “Do you need a lift back, Jay?”
Jason leapt to his feet. “Please bro.” In the blink of an eye Steph’s youngest brother was kissing her before heading to the door, followed by Roger, Eddie, Paul, Jess and Josh.
It was another hour when the others left, after Jon had promised Roger that he wouldn’t forget to contact Stringers that he was now calling Stingers.
As Steph closed the door behind them she looked at Jon. “Sorry. I am so, so sorry for subjecting you to my crazy family. If you want me to tell them we have separated and we can confine things to behind closed doors that’s fine.”
“Don’t be silly,” he told her with a smile. “There are a lot of them, but they are not crazy, well, Jason maybe, and you, obviously, but I don’t want to confine us to anywhere.” He kissed her gently on the lips.
She allowed herself to soften and mould against his embrace, stretching her arms up to wrap them around his neck.
Running her fingers through the hair curling into his neck she heard him sigh.
“I would love to pursue this further, darling, but I have to go.”
“Go?” she asked with a mixture of surprise, shock and disappointment. “I was rather hoping we could make a night of it, especially as you’ve been away all week.”
“I really would love to, but I have to go home,” he said without further explanation.
She considered her options; say nothing or push for more information. Why did he have to go home? Which home? His flat or wherever Mrs Brooker lived? When would he be back? When would she see him again? She decided not to be the needy jealous mistress so went with the first option.
“Okay, but I’ll miss you,” she said, stretching back up to kiss him again.
“I will see you at Charlie and Lindsay’s tomorrow, but it might be a good idea to arrive separately and if you want to we could pick this up tomorrow night,” he suggested cautiously.
“I would like that.”
“Good.” With a single gentle kiss to her nose he continued, “But darling, I really do have to go now.” He gave her a final kiss before picking up his keys, phone and wallet, then left.
Steph had just pulled up outside Charlie and Lindsay’s house after a restless night’s sleep when her phone alerted her to a message. She pulled out her phone and hoped it wasn’t Lindsay again to tell her that today was cancelled; she had already called that morning to say that it would just be her, Charlie, Steph and Jon as everyone else had been forced to cancel for one reason or another. She looked at her phone and smiled as she realised her message was from Jon.
Hi darling, am going to have to stand you up this afternoon but will be with you later tonight if you still want to meet. I really missed you last night and this morning. Jon x
She sighed as she speculated on his reasons for his non show that afternoon and then replied with a short and concise reply.
Ok. I missed you too. Am I playing discretion game today if your name comes up? Steph x
May be wise to, but can think of other games I would rather play with you. Jon x
She smiled to herself at the thought of being able to spend the night with him tonight, but then also wondered if he had spent last night with Lucy and huffed heavily as she began to imagine just what their evening had involved. That coupled with the fact that she had not heard from him since he’d left her the previous night made her uncomfortable.
As she walked up the path towards her friend’s front door, she heard a familiar voice.
“Steph, we need to talk.”
She turned and came face to face with Simon.
“What are you doing here?” she asked warily.
“I’m not stalking you, I promise. I saw you at the supermarket, or at least your car leaving the car park, so I followed you,” he admitted honestly.
“But you’re not stalking me?” she asked ironically and realised that Jon had been right about the benefit of changing her car.
“Yeah, it sounds a bit creepy, doesn’t it?” he asked, awkward when he heard just how stalkerish his words actually sounded.
She laughed in spite of herself and the situation. “Just a bit.”
“Can we talk, please?” he asked calmly.
“I don’t think we have anything to say, not to each other anyway,” she told him frankly.
“I have some things I need to say to you. Please,” he almost pleaded making her soften to his request.
“Okay.”
Suddenly Charlie appeared on the doorstep, “You alright, Steph?” He stared, an expression of abject confusion spreading across his face at the sight of her and Simon together.
“Yes, fine thanks. I’ll be in shortly, there are just a few things Simon and I need to discuss.”
Charlie nodded suspiciously but closed the door again as she gestured back towards her car, “We can talk in the car if you want to.”
He smiled and nodded before following her back to her car where they sat for a couple of minutes before either of them spoke.
“So . . .” Steph eventually said, desperate for him to say whatever he needed to for them both to move on.
“So, I’m sorry for everything, for cheating on you and being a prat about everything. Really.” He sounded very sincere.
“Apology accepted,” she simply replied and went to open her car door.
“What are you doing? Don’t you want to say anything?”
“Not really. I accept your apology and I would like you to move on with your life and leave me alone,” she told him and really meant it, but was perplexed by the expression of irritation or confusion, whatever it was on his face. What else had he been expecting from this?
“Is that it? I come here and I apologise for my wrongdoing and that’s the best you have?” His voice was slightly raised, emphasising his anger.
“I don’t know what else you want me to say. I was a good girlfriend to you and you treated me badly, but it’s over and done with, so there is no point in going over it again.”
“There were faults on both sides,” he protested.
“I am sure there were, but I never cheated on you or tried to put you down. I never went out of my way to embarrass you or to ostracise you from your friends and I certainly didn’t get the person I was having an affair with pregnant.” She wanted to spit the words at him, let him see how angry and hurt she was, had been, but she didn’t. She spoke with an eerie calmness but smiled on the inside as she saw the look of shock and horror on his face. “What? Nothing to say any more?”
“I don’t know what to say. I didn’t realise you knew, but you drove me away and if I had been satisfied by you I would never have looked elsewhere, but we have both learnt from that and we can move forward now . . .”
“No, Simon, no moving forward. Not together anyway. I really am sorry, but it’s over. You have a child to think of and I am so over you.” Steph attempted to get out of her car again feeling that there really wasn’t anything left to say.
“No!” he shouted as he grabbed her arm tightly. “The kid may not be mine and if it is we can work together to get access or custody and we’ll be better this time. Or we could have a baby of our own, we could get married,” he said angrily as he squeezed her arm tighter still.
Steph’s eyes felt as though they were drying out they were so wide. If this was Simon’s idea of a reconciliation pitch or God forbid a proposal he was more deluded than she’d given him credit for and she’d been more than generous in her assessment of his delusions.
“Simon, please, you are hurting me,” she told him, unsuccessfully trying to free herself from his grip.
“Tell me we can try again!” His face moved towards hers menacingly while his raised voice became a bellow.
“No, we can’t. I don’t want to. I don’t love you. I’m not even sure that I even like you anymore,” she admitted as he let her go and stared at her wildly, spooking her as she realised she had no clue what he might do next.
“You’ve changed.” The accusation in his voice was laced with venom. She couldn’t dispute his words. She had changed and she was happy with that. “You really are a prize bitch, aren’t you?”
He raised a hand towards her giving a very clear indication of what he was likely to do next. She saw the movement of his hand and raised her own arms to block any blow that may be directed at her but was more shocked when he grabbed them and bound them together in his larger hand. Steph suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable and a little afraid. She tried to pull away, out of his grip making him smile as he realised that he literally had the upper hand.
“Please, Simon, you’re scaring me.” She hoped to tap into his conscience because although he had never been what you’d call a gentleman, he did have a conscience and wasn’t a bully, was he? Now was not the time to be questioning his attributes and her knowledge of the angry man before her.
When he laughed at her pleading, Steph wondered what had happened to the man she barely recognised because he wasn’t the Simon she first met, not really. With panic and fear coursing through her veins until all she could hear was the rushing of her own blood in her ears, she pulled away from him again, but this time managed to pull her herself free.
Due to the amount of force she was using, she ended up punching herself in the face making her cry out as her nose and eye took the full force of her movement. “Fuck!” she cried out as pain resonated in her brain and she realised she was bleeding from the back of her head where it had smashed into her window.
“Steph, I’m sorry . . .” Simon stretched out towards her.
“Leave me alone. Don’t you dare touch me ever again,” she screamed as she scrambled out of the car, almost falling onto the street with tears running down her face whilst the wetness she felt to the back of her head suggested the blood flow was increasing.
She had one hand holding her nose, cheek bone and eye while the other was becoming more and more saturated by the bleeding gash on the back of her head.
Suddenly, Charlie appeared. “Steph, what the bloody hell has happened?”
Simon looked across at them and began to protest, “It’s not like it looks. I didn’t do anything!”
“Of course not because it’s never your fault, is it? I should put you on your arse right now, but Steph is a bigger concern. Although, I don’t reckon Eddie and the others will be quite so understanding,” said Charlie with an arm around Steph’s shoulders now.
“Oh, screw you all!” shouted Simon as Lindsay appeared now.
“Bloody hell, what’s going on here?”
Simon was driving off in his own car and Charlie was leading Steph back towards the house.
He sat her in the kitchen and winced as he looked at the open wound to the back of her head. “Steph, that really is going to need stitches or glue, which means a trip to A&E,” said Charlie as he dried her tears with a tissue that Lindsay had passed him.
“I am so sorry for spoiling your afternoon.” Fresh tears were about to fall.
“Don’t worry, we can rearrange for in the week.” Lindsay was obviously concerned for her friend more than her wedding photos. “But let’s get you sorted, that’s the priority. That bloody idiot Simon really has gone too far now. Should I call the police?”
“No, please!” protested Steph, panic already on the increase at the thought of the police becoming involved. “It’s really not as bad as it seems and it wasn’t entirely Simon’s fault,” she told them thinking that was quite accurate.
“I think you should, but if you don’t want to I can’t force you to. However, what I will force you to do is to go to the hospital to get checked out and stitched. Lindsay will follow us in your car,” Charlie said insistently, already helping Steph stand with her head covered by a clean tea towel.
A&E seemed very quiet meaning Charlie and Steph were quickly shown to a cubicle where they were seen by a nurse and a doctor who agreed that the gash would need to be glued, but aside from some bruising to her face and the threat of a black eye she was fine.
They sat waiting for Lindsay to appear and for someone to come and sort Steph’s head when Charlie asked, “Should I call your dad?” She shook her head. “Or one of your brothers, or sisters, or Jon?”
She stared at him and considered playing coy but chose not to. “No thanks.”
“He will find out and be arsy about not being told you know.” Charlie smiled at her warmly.
“I will tell him, but not yet. How do you know that Jon would have any interest in my wellbeing?” she asked curiously.
“Because he is my best friend and when he came back from Geneva last Thursday night we met up and he confessed all,” revealed Charlie.
“I see.” Steph wondered why he hadn’t told her that he was back in the country, but then she remembered that he had called her and she had been more than a little offhand with him.
“He can be a strange one, Steph. He has some strange ideas about things, about doing the right thing, even when the right thing is ridiculous and the furthest thing from right for him, but he likes you, really likes you and he will do his nut when he finds out about Simon today. Please let me call him or we will both be in the shit.”
“Okay, but not yet. Once I’m sorted and can get out of here. Does Lindsay know about me and Jon?” she asked curiously.
“God no! She would have you married off with a couple of kids!” Laughed Charlie.
Steph laughed, but then sadly said, “That would be difficult as someone has already bagged the job of his wife.”
“You really need to talk to him about her, or at least let him talk,” said Charlie seriously. “I know that it can’t be easy for you, none of it, but there will come a point when you both need to address the elephant in the room. Burying your head in the sand is not going to help, quite the opposite.”
“I’d rather not think about her or discuss her and me and my head enjoy the view from the sand,” she replied, hoping to dismiss Charlie’s concerns and words when Lindsay appeared with a nurse, the doctor and the glue.