3. The Plan
3
The Plan
Bridget
A melia dabs the tears away from her eyes.
“That’s so sweet,” Miranda sighs.
“I know, right?” I wipe my own eyes dry. I’ve read the letter over and over since the solicitor gave it to me yesterday and I know exactly what crazy thing she wants me to do. But a sense of responsibility is holding me back.
“So, what are you going to spend it on?” Fi asks.
“Don’t know,” I shrug nonchalantly.
“Yes, you do. You have an idea! It’s written all over your face,” Lizzie points at me excitedly whilst refilling her Prosecco glass.
“I think we’re spending too much time together,” I joke but there’s no way to hide my idea from the girls. In any case, I’ll need their support to think this all through and decide if it’s reckless and idiotic or just what Ruth wanted.
“Come on, tell us,” Amelia begs and slides onto the floor to sit closer to me. Lizzie uses the moment to steal the chair but Amelia is too excited to notice or react to it.
“I… I always wanted to take a road trip through Italy,” I whisper. Silence. Four pairs of eyes are staring at me.
“You don’t drive,” Lizzie declares. She has always been the pragmatic one of the group; or the one that says it as it is even if you don’t really want to hear it.
“I know. But I can hire a driver,” I giggle nervously. The fact that they’re not immediately excited does raise some doubts in me. “Too crazy?”
“No!” Miranda tries to assure me, “I’m just not sure how happy I am for you to head off into the sunset with a stranger. He could be a serial killer, or something.” She shrugs.
I burst out laughing, “I’m not going to hire someone from the street. I’ll go through some agency.”
“Still,” she mumbles. The others are very quiet too.
“You do realise you get into a strangers car every time you call an Uber?” I challenge her.
“Oh, yes, but you don’t spend nights with the Uber driver… I hope,” Lizzie giggles. Are they all against it?
“I won’t spend the night with this driver either. We’ll have two hotel rooms. I can afford it. I did some rough costings.” I was overthinking last night and then started to plan out the whole thing. I hold out a piece of paper to Lizzie where I’ve dotted down rough numbers based on internet research. With a large amount of contingency and a generous fee for the driver, it should come to around sixty thousand pounds leaving me a healthy amount to make some pragmatic decisions for my future.
“Wow, where did you get all the costs from?” Lizzie asks as she looks down at the list.
2x Hotel rooms @ approx. ￡200 a night x 32 Nights = ￡12,400 Used Car = ￡15,000 Spending Money ￡220 per day x 32 days = ￡8,000 Driver ￡300 per day x 32 = ￡9,600 Per diems for Driver ￡100 x 32 = ￡3,200 Contingency = ￡11,800 ______________________________ Total ￡60,000
“Internet,” I shrug.
“Wait, you’ll be hiring the driver from the UK?” Fi peeks over Lizzie’s shoulder.
“Yes, of course. I want it to be a proper road trip starting right from my doorstep. And it’s cheaper if I buy a car and then sell it again. What I’ll lose in value is a lot less than hiring a car for a whole month.”
“You know what? You need to do this,” Miranda says and gives me a hug. “I’m going to be worried, yes. But I can see how much this means to you.”
“I… I always wanted to study art history and visiting places like Florence or Rome would be a dream for me. The only holiday William ever took us on was to Benidorm. Not much art there.” I take a sip of my Prosecco. “But then I also think it’s a lot of money to blow on a trip. I could put it in a savings account—”
“No! You heard Ruth. You need to do something crazy,” Fi interrupts me.
“And what about Bella?” When I say her name my little kitty looks up from the window seat where she’s lying watching the birds in the garden.
“She can stay with us. Smutty will love it,” Amelia claps enthusiastically. Suddenly they all seem to be on board with the idea.
“A minute ago, you all were worried—”
“Yes, but I’ve a plan,” Amelia winks.
“What?” I eye her suspiciously. What could she possibly have cooked up?
“I know a driver for you,” she giggles.
“Oh, fucking hell, that’s genius!” Lizzie chimes in. Miranda and Fi look as confused as I am.
“Who?” Miranda asks.
“Omar,” Lizzie and Amelia say in chorus.
“Who’s Omar?” Miranda asks before I can. The fact that she doesn’t know confuses me even more. She and Amelia have known each other forever, so he can’t be one of their friends.
“Omar is Ben and Coop’s company driver,” Lizzie smirks.
“They don’t really need him anymore but they’re hesitant to let him go because he’s about to finish his degree and they don’t want to leave him in the lurch. He’s finished the course and is just waiting for confirmation to come through before he starts looking for a job. He should find out if he’s passed before Christmas. It’s perfect.” Amelia giggles.
“I can’t take their driver away.” I protest.
“Sure you can. He mainly just sits around. Leave it with us. I’ll speak with Ben and Lizzie with Coop and he’ll be yours.”
“I don’t know him.” I object.
“Neither do you know any drivers from other companies,” Lizzie counters. She’s got me there. Why am I fighting this? Oh, I know why. It’s the butterflies I suddenly have in my tummy. It no longer is wishful thinking but I’m actually making concrete plans. I want this so much but it’s also scary as fuck.
“Well… I can interview him?” I say stubbornly.
“Ha, what are you going to ask him? Can you drive?” Miranda giggles.
“I—"
“No, you’re right, you should meet him. Let me speak with Ben and I can set up a meeting for you,” Amelia assures me.
“He might not even be interested.” I’m planning to be away for a whole month, and frankly, that poor lad has probably better things to do than carting a middle-aged housewife around Tuscany.
“True. But he doesn’t seem to have much of a life aside from studying,” Lizzie shrugs.
“He’s a student. He’ll definitely have a busier social life than me,” I laugh.
“He’s thirty-nine,” Amelia says through a mouthful of pizza.
“Now we’re talking. Is he hot?” Miranda giggles.
Lizzie fans herself, “Sizzling. Jet black hair, stubble, dark eyes and looks like a movie star in his suits.”
“Oh, are you going to make him wear a suit?” Miranda laughs and I can see the word “matchmaking” in all of their eyes.
“Woah, woah. He’s going to be my driver and nothing else and I couldn’t care less what he wears. Didn’t you just all worry about me eloping with some stranger?”
“Yes, but he’s not a stranger. We know him, we like him, we approve,” Amelia laughs.
“And Ruth said do something crazy,” Lizzie protests.
“Yes, but not with the guy I’m stuck with for the whole month. What I want from him is to drive me safely from here to Rome and back. Nothing else.” Now, if I happen to run into a nice Italian stallion or two... it’s been too long since I’ve had a dick in me. Why not have a few holiday flings?
Not that I'm going to tell the girls that. If they’re worried about stranger danger when it comes to the driver, they’d be even more anxious about my mission to find an Italian stallion to ride. They'd probably send me off with a chastity belt.
“Fine, your loss.” Lizzie takes another bite of her pizza.
“All I care is that you’re with someone we know and trust,” Amelia sighs with relief.
“I haven’t said yes yet. Neither have Ben, Cooper or Omar for that matter.” Despite my words I doubt there’s much chance of Ben or Coop saying no though. They’ll do everything for those two ladies. Omar, on the other hand, that poor man might have quite a lot to say to the fact that he’s just been volunteered for a month-long shift.
But if he says yes… oh my goodness gracious… I’ll be going on a road trip to Italy!
My list of places to visit is getting longer and longer. After the girls left I curled up on my bed and searched the internet for places to stay and see and things to do, Bella stretched out next to me purring like a motor.
I’ll miss her and I’m not sure how well she and Smutty will get on. I don’t share Amelia’s delusion that Smutty will be delighted to have another cat around. Bella and Smutty are both used to being the sole ruler over their kingdom and servants, and it’s to be seen whether they’re willing to share attention.
At least there are two looking after them. They can divide their attention with one giving Smutty all the loving—probably, Ben who’s developed a bromance with that black little furball—and Amelia can look after Bella.
“What do you think, kitty? One month hanging out with Amelia, Ben and Smutty?” I ask. Of course, she doesn’t reply; instead, she nips at my fingers, a clear sign that she wants more scratches behind her ear. She loves that.
Both Bella and I jump a little when my phone vibrates with an incoming message.
Amelia
Ben says he’ll speak with Omar and if he’s interested we can set up your interview.
There are the butterflies again.
Me
Any clue by how much the fee would be?
I based my calculations on some numbers I found on the internet, but Ben will have a better understanding. Amelia’s reply is almost instant.
Amelia
Ben said you’ll just have to pay his food, accommodation and he suggests ￡150 per day. That’s in addition to his salary which Ben and Coop will continue to pay.
Me
That’s not necessary!
Why would they have to pay for it if they’re not using him?
Amelia
No, he insists. This’ll mean Omar doesn’t have to go self-employed and lose out on benefits, pension and national insurance whilst he’s with you. Ben thinks Omar’s company would charge you an arm and a leg to hire him directly. If Ben keeps him on the books the company wouldn’t dare charge them more or cause any issues that Omar travels abroad with you. They can’t afford to upset them. So it’s easier to keep him on their books and you’ll just pay the difference directly to Omar.
Me
That sounds all very complicated.
Amelia
It’s not. Just leave it to Ben. All you need to know is that you should offer Omar ￡150 for the overtime/being available to you 24/7
Me
LOL 24/7, not really
Amelia
Well kind of. You know what I mean. He’ll be away from home for a whole month.
Me
Okay. I still think Ben should invoice me for what they are paying to Omar.
Amelia
No way. Consider it a belated birthday present.
Me
You gave me the brunch at the Shard as a birthday present.
They girls were way too generous with their presents but we had such a great day in London when I turned forty-four.
Amelia
This one is from Ben ??
I shake my head. I know Ben won’t blink twice at paying; his and Coop’s company is doing very well. So well in fact that both of them basically retired. Nevertheless, it’s a generous gesture.
I open a new document on my phone and start noting down interview questions but come up blank. The girls were right, what can you ask a driver really aside from their driving history?
No, there must be more. I’ll be spending a lot of time with that guy, I need to somehow make sure we are compatible. What if he likes… Jazz? For some reason that’s the only thing that comes to my mind that would be quite off-putting to me. Maybe I’m overthinking this a bit.
Given that he’s worked for Ben for quite some time and they all like him, I know he’s trustworthy. And surely that’s the most important thing.