Chapter 4 Anna—Pencil skirts and heartbreak
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Anna hissed at Rosa and Mel. They were sitting in Rosa’s mother’s car outside Mason’s office building. Rosa had insisted on taking her mom’s car in case Mason recognized her distinctive little hatchback.
“Just putting your mind at ease and playing out Mel’s romance novel fantasies,” Rosa assured her.
Mason had been supposed to meet her for lunch that day, as they did every Friday, but claimed he had a meeting.
Given dance classes were over for the day, Rosa and Mel had urged Anna to engage in some light stalking to check Mason’s story.
As they sat awaiting an appearance from Mason, Anna’s mind drifted to three years ago, when she met Mason at a careers expo.
Madame Celeste had insisted on setting up a stand at the expo because apparently the school had a strong performing arts program.
That was debatable, but it did lead Anna to Mason, who was manning the StaffWare group stall.
The attraction was immediate, mutual, and scorching.
Mason was charming and funny. He made her feel special, like she was the only woman in the world.
She’d had a six-month relationship before Mason, which had ended amicably when they both decided they were better off as friends.
Years later, here she sat in a car with two wannabe Nancy Drews. She twisted the ring on her finger, suddenly feeling a bit guilty and overdramatic for letting things come to this.
“Guys, I think I’m wrong. We should just—”
“Shut up! There he is!” Rosa squawked.
They all shuffled down in their seats, feeling like the most obvious stalkers in the world. Ahead of them, Mason strolled down the street alone. He seemed determined, not glancing at the cafes and takeout spots he passed. Maybe he just knew exactly what he wanted for lunch.
Rosa started the car, waiting until he was almost out of sight before she took off. He turned down a laneway, and Rosa parked the car at the end of the laneway.
“This is a tow zone Rosa,” Anna warned.
“I’ll pay the ticket,” Mel rushed. “This is how it happens. We follow him in and he’s eating with some haughty bitch who looks down on Anna.”
“I’m not getting Mom’s car towed,” Rosa stated flatly. “Get your asses out and follow him at a distance. I’m going to find a proper park. I’ll meet you in the laneway, out of sight of course.”
Mel and Anna left the car, creeping up the laneway, their efforts not to be suspicious resulting in them looking extra suspicious.
“I’ve forgotten how to walk normally, Anna. How should I walk?” Mel puffed, clearly forgetting how to breathe properly too.
“Just walk. He’s gone in so we don’t need to be nervous,” Anna assured her.
When they reached the window, they saw Mason standing at the counter talking to the hostess. She waved her hand toward the back of the restaurant, leaving Mason to find his table.
Anna’s eyes blurred as he sat down at a table with an attractive brunette. She looked to be in her late 20s or early 30s. It was difficult to see her fully with her seated, but she looked to be slim and athletic.
“It could just be work.” Mel looked at her sympathetically. “He did say he had a meeting.”
The woman rose. Yes, she was slim and athletic. Ah, sweet relief. She was wearing a wedding ring. Anna immediately felt foolish. She felt even more foolish when she recognized the woman.
“Quick, tell me. I ran here and I have a stitch. What’s happening?” Rosa appeared beside them.
“You’re a professional dancer and you have a stitch after a short jog?
Anyway, I think I’m an idiot,” Anna laughed.
“That’s April, the accounts manager. I met her at the Christmas party.
I don’t really know her story but she’s wearing a wedding ring.
Okay ladies, enough drama for today. I’m just gonna sit Mason down tonight and clear everything—”
She stopped talking. Rosa and Mel stood on each side of her, grateful for the cover of the ferns they hid behind.
Mason had kissed April. On the lips. In a cozy, dark restaurant.
They rubbed noses and April looked up at him adoringly.
She was a tall woman, at least 5’10”. Glamorous looking and very put together.
A neat black pencil skirt showed off her athletic frame and a tight red blouse skimmed her trim stomach and elegant neck.
“She looks expensive,” Mel commented.
“She looks like a fucking bitch,” Rosa fumed. “Want me to go in and throat punch her? Mel, you take care of the douche and I’ll deal with the slut.”
“No. No one do anything.” Anna’s voice was broken and soft. “I want to know more. I need to know more, and he’s obviously been lying to me for some time. I want to know why.”
They continued to watch the couple inside.
Mason had reached over and taken her hands in his.
April laughed and tilted her head endearingly to the side, smiling at something he’d said.
The sight of her laughing broke something in Anna, almost more deeply than the kiss had.
She knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end of his charm.
Charm he hadn’t used on her for some time.
April was now the target of his sweet words and gentle jokes.
She had his attention, while Anna was the one washing the skid marks out of his jocks and the sweat stains from his shirts.
There’s something comfortable about settling into a relationship, when you no longer feel the need to be perfect and beautiful all the time.
The “front” disappears, leaving you with the security of being yourself and feeling truly loved for your good and your bad points.
You can leave the pimple uncovered at home.
You can admit your feet smell after a hard day.
But it's not fair if your special someone sees all those sides of you when you're unknowingly competing with the new someone who's only showing their perfect side. Their ungrumpy side. To Mason, April never had morning breath. She never fell asleep on the sofa with her tummy hanging out. She never cut her toenails or scrubbed a toilet with her hair in a messy bun. She was an elegant woman who provided sparkling, flirtatious company at dinner, wore beautiful clothes every time he saw her and had her face made up permanently. Had she seen him with a hangover? Had she slept next to him while he snored unattractively and loved him anyway? Perfect April had never walked into the toilet after him and had to hold her nose. She hadn’t heard him carrying on like a teenage boy when he played online games. Cheaters never saw the ugly parts of life. The real parts of life. They saw the sides they wanted to present because it was their unlucky partners at home that dealt with the coarser parts of them. And wasn’t that the kicker? She dealt with the good, bad, ugly, and smelly, yet it was April who received the charm and the spoiling. Not the woman who truly loved him for him. They walked back to the car in silence. Anna burst into tears as Mel sat beside her in the backseat. Rosa sat in the driver’s seat, her face set in fury.
Mel rubbed Anna’s back, offering soothing words.
“We’ll sort this out, Anna. Come home with me tonight. Tell him I’m upset about something, and I need you with me. He leaves Sunday night, so just stay with me and say I’ve had a breakdown and you can’t possibly leave me.”
“I’m gonna fucking kill him,” Rosa seethed. “Fuck this Nancy Drew, romance novel shit. Let’s just go with an old-fashioned beatdown. Keep it simple. Old school.”
Anna didn’t speak. She sobbed openly. Everything hurt.
Her stomach. Her head. Why did it hurt to breathe?
Her wedding. Her future. Was April separated from her husband?
Anna couldn’t even remember the other woman’s husband.
He hadn’t been at the Christmas party. Maybe they weren’t together and the only betrayed partner was her.
Stupid April. That stupid pencil skirt. No doubt she bent over a lot at the office.
Oh dear, I dropped my pen. Let me just bend over in front of you so you can check out my ass.
Bitch. Oh, goodness. I seem to have spilled water on my top.
Wow, let me just fan my top away from my body.
Oops, can you see down my top Mason? How careless of me.
Mel and Rosa stared at her, waiting for some kind of direction. Their faces were full of sympathy, and well, a lot of rage in Rosa’s case.
It was Mel who filled the silence.
“I wish this wasn’t a romance novel, Anna.
I wish he hadn’t done this, but he did. So let’s see it out.
Come back to mine for the weekend. We’ll go get your bag now when he’s at work.
You text him about my ‘breakdown’ and we’ll spend the weekend figuring this out.
You can cry, you can rage, you can punch Rosa for therapy—”
“What the fuck?! Whatever. If you want to do that to me, you can. But I think it would be more fun to egg Mason’s car at the airport car park,” Rosa offered.
______________________
An hour later, when she’d gained control of her breathing and they’d been to her house to collect some clothes, they returned to the dance school to take care of the admin before closing for the day.
Well, Mel and Rosa looked after the admin while Anna lay on the sofa in the office rubbing her temples and crying softly.
Anna: Hey, something’s come up. Mel’s dealing with some stuff right now so I’m going to spend tonight with her. Maybe even tomorrow. She’s struggling.
Mason: Oh shit. Hope she’s okay. Anything serious? Let me know if you need anything. I’ll see you before I leave on Sunday, right?
Anna: Yeah, maybe. I can’t leave her like this though. How did your meeting go? Missed you at lunch today.
Mason: Went as well as can be expected. Robert is pretty hardass about his software, so the meeting went for ages. He’s at least 70 so I don’t know why he’s insisting on being point guy for a deal he clearly doesn’t understand.
Anna: Okay. Will keep you in loop.
Well, there it was. A confirmed lie. A confirmed kiss.
A confirmed heartbreak. Unless this elderly Robert who didn’t understand software identified as a woman in her late 20s who wore expensive pencil skirts and slutty lipstick, Mason outright lied to her.
She also noted that he didn’t ask anything more about Mel.
Fuck. Why? They were so happy. But obviously not. How can you be happy with someone and profess to love them and then go out and kiss Slutface McSlutsky?
She shared the texts with Mel and a furious yet deadly calm Rosa, who declared it was time for a change of venue.