2
Nasty Habits
Stretching out her legs, Dani felt something against her calf. She sleepily opened her eyes to see what was obstructing her much-needed stretch. Sat cross-legged, perched on the edge of her bed, was Sophie. Sophie was staring at her with large blue eyes.
“Hi, angel,” yawned Dani. She’d decided to have a nap after unpacking. Her head still fuzzy after her deep sleep, Dani tried to focus on Sophie. In the dim afternoon light, she noticed Sophie was holding something. Dani propped herself up on her elbows to get a better look.
“I brought you my lamp. You don’t have one.” Sophie looked down at the lamp she was holding. Dani sat up as her head started to clear.
“Thank you, Sophie. Are you sure I can borrow it?”
Sophie nodded and scrambled closer. “It’s a Snow White lamp,” Sophie explained proudly.
Dani knew this was a real honour; Snow White was Sophie’s favourite heroine. “I know. Isn’t it your favourite?”
Sophie nodded, “You can borrow it until you get one. Mummy said you’re sad so this will cheer you up.”
Dani’s heart burst at the sight of her beautiful angelic face and her blonde curly hair. “Shall I plug it in? It is getting dark in here.”
Sophie nodded and got down from the bed and placed the lamp on the bedside table. Dani rubbed her face, reached over for the plug and pushed it into the socket. Sophie then switched it on and the small lamp gave a warm hue to the darkening room. Dani looked at her watch; it was nearly four.
“Thank you, Sophie, that’s much better. Here, get under the covers. It’s chilly.” Sophie scrambled up onto the bed and Dani enveloped her in the quilt as they snuggled face to face. “You know, in Greenland, where the Eskimos live, where it’s freezing, they give Eskimo kisses.”
“What are Eskimo kisses?” asked Sophie.
“They rub their noses together.” Sophie giggled. “Like this.” Dani pulled Sophie closer and rubbed her nose. Sophie giggled again and Dani hugged her tightly. Sophie was just so perfect, she thought. “Are you going to dress up for Halloween?”
“Yes, we’re going to a party. I’m going to be a witch and Ollie’s going to be a vampire.”
“Ooh, scary!” Dani mock-shivered, to Sophie’s delight. They were distracted by the door opening and they both pushed themselves up to see who had entered the room. Ollie peeped his head around the door and smiled shyly.
“Hi, there. Are you back from school?”
“Yes.” He edged in, hovering nervously at the door. He was the image of Adam, big for his age and his face kind and gentle, the only difference was that he had Chloe’s colouring, brown hair and hazel eyes, which sparkled behind his glasses.
“Come here, darling, and get in the covers.”
He beamed and ran up to the bed and scooted inside. His eyes rested on the lamp and he frowned.
“Dani just gave me an Eskimo kiss.”
Ollie gave a puzzled look at Dani, and she explained to him what that meant. Then she bent down to him and rubbed her nose against his and he blushed.
“Come on, we’d better get you ready for your party. Where’s Mummy?”
“She’s in the kitchen finishing off the fairy cakes we’re taking.”
“Let me wash my face and we can go down.”
By the time Dani entered the kitchen, Chloe was packing the fairy cakes into a plastic container.
“Sleep well?” she asked.
“Amazingly, yes. What time are you going to the party?”
“In an hour.”
“Where’s Rosie?”
“She’s having her nap, otherwise she’ll be grizzly at the party. I need to go and wake her up, actually. And I have to dress her up.”
“What’s she going as?” smirked Dani.
“A pumpkin.”
“Oh no, how cute! She’ll look adorable. What do you need me to do?”
“Um, can you sort out these two with their dinner? I’d rather they ate properly before we go.”
“Sure.”
At five fifteen, Ollie, Sophie and Rosie were ready, all dressed up and each holding their trick or treat bags.
Chloe bundled them in the car, also dressed as a witch.
Dani waved them off and went back into the empty house, closing the door behind her.
She still felt groggy from her lack of sleep.
She needed coffee. Dani ran up to her room to bring down her coffee machine.
As she entered, she noticed on the far bedside table a lamp in the shape of Dr Who’s Tardis.
Ollie must have put it there. Dani’s eyes filled with tears.
After all the pain and upset she’d suffered over the last twenty hours, these two amazing children had managed to make her feel loved. Her heart ached at the thought of them.
Dani poured her coffee and sat down at the kitchen table, looking at her phone.
She hadn’t switched it on since she’d arrived at Chloe’s.
Reluctantly, she pressed in her PIN and waited for it to connect to the network.
One by one, the messages beeped through.
Twenty-three. Jez was being relentless. Dani stared at the phone, wrestling with herself as to whether she should read them.
She knew he’d try anything to get her to go back to him.
What she wasn’t sure about was his motive.
Was it her he wanted back, or his manager?
The bar ran like clockwork while she was managing it.
Jez was much more into the public relations side of the business, the image and playing his role.
He was brilliant at it, but the day-to-day running of the bar he found tedious.
Dani had always been the organised one, from ordering and negotiating supplies, to staff rotas, and to private parties and events.
Dani huffed. She wondered now about his ‘public relations’ with other women.
Well tough shit! Trust was the most important thing for Dani.
She could never be with someone that she couldn’t trust, regardless of how much she loved him.
Dani looked back at the phone and deleted all the messages.
Whatever he had to say was too little, too late.
Dani’s stomach rumbled. She hadn’t eaten since morning.
She stood up and made her way over to the stove, where Chloe had left spaghetti and bolognaise sauce out for her and Adam, for when they got home.
She was craving nicotine and her thoughts flitted to her discarded cigarette packet in the glove compartment.
Dani took a deep breath and decided to substitute her craving for the next best thing – something sweet.
Dani paced over to the fridge and opened it.
Scanning down the shelves, her eyes fell on a foil-covered pie dish.
She pulled it out, then opened up the foil.
To her delight, it was half an apple pie.
She placed it on the counter and served herself a large portion, then popped it into the microwave just to take the chill off.
Dani much preferred to eat desserts rather than savoury food.
She loved other food too, but desserts were her weakness.
She opened up the freezer and pulled out a tub of Ben & Jerry’s Karamel Sutra ice cream, and scooped a generous dollop on the warmed pie.
Heaven in a bowl, she thought. She took a big spoonful and savoured the taste.
Scrumptious. Chloe knew how to bake a mean apple pie.
Dani was jolted out of her dessert-induced trance by the front door opening. Adam was home from work. She heard him drop his keys on the console table in the hallway and hang up his coat in the closet. He paced through to the kitchen and grinned as he saw Dani licking her spoon.
“I hope you left some for me,” he joked.
“Good job you came now, otherwise I might have finished it all.” Adam sat next to her. “Shall I get you something to eat? Chloe’s taken the kids to a Halloween party.”
Adam twisted his mouth, then rubbed his eyes, “I need a drink first. Do you want one?”
“Do I ever!”
Adam snorted, “What do you want?”
“Tequila, if you have it. Otherwise brandy.”
“I think we still have a bottle in the bar from when you were last here.” Adam got up and headed into the lounge. He came back grinning, with a half-full bottle of Jose Cuervo and two heavy crystal tumblers. He poured the amber liquid into the glasses and slid back into his chair.
“Cheers.” Adam lifted his glass and eyed Dani.
“Cheers.” They both took a sip and Dani relished the warmth in her throat.
“So, are you gonna tell me what that asshole did?”
Dani almost choked at his unexpected question. Adam raised an eyebrow as Dani recomposed herself. “He cheated on me.”
Adam’s eyes turned icy. “And you just walked out on him?”
Dani nodded as she pursed her lips.
“Good. You’re way too good for him.”
Dani stared wide-eyed at him.
“What? Chloe thinks the same too. He was a prize douche bag. I tolerated him because of you.”
“Douche bag?”
“Wanker, then!” he sneered.
Dani laughed at her brother-in-law’s accurate description, then sighed.
“Yeah, maybe. But it still hurts. I feel like an idiot. It means I have to start again, all over, from scratch.” Dani took a deep drink from her glass.
“What about the house?” Adam watched as Dani frowned.
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
“I’ll take care of it. I’ll get it valued and ask him to cough up half, or we can sell it and split the profits.
” He paused a moment, gauging her reaction, his blue eyes magnified by his glasses as his gaze swept over her face.
Dani looked into her glass, unable to look up at him.
She knew he was right but she wasn’t ready to deal with the logistics of separating herself from Jez.
This time yesterday, she had been in bed with him and now she was over two hundred miles away, sitting and talking about how to extract herself from him, mentally, emotionally and physically. It felt far too soon and way too real.