It had been about three months since she had left the big house. She had settled well into her new Townhouse near the Brighton Village. It was only a couple of years old and was one of four. It was quite large with four bedrooms, which was far in excess of Noella's personal needs, but she had chosen something this size, so that if the day ever came that Damien lost his spell over the kids, they could easily move in with her. This idea gave her hope.
The townhouse also had a large family/kitchen area, a lovely sitting and dining area and alfresco BBQ area, complete with spa. There were also three car parks in the underground garage.
It hadn't been cheap, but Noella thought it was well worth it. Even though Damien had managed to help himself to a fair chunk of Noella's fortune, she would still be considered independently wealthy by most people.
She still worked at the law practice, but she had cut it down to only two days a week and worked more for the interest and social interaction than the money. She wanted to enjoy being a lady of leisure and it also made being available for the kids easier. The two oldest came and spent a night with her a least once a week and she had Emily for a full weekend every fortnight and regularly picked her up from school. Her relationship with her family was still hanging in there, although Damien's unabashed bribery still held sway over them.
The week after she moved into the townhouse she treated herself to a makeover. She thought new house needs a "new" Noella! It had started with a new haircut and colour which made her feel younger and sexier. This was followed by a week long assault on the shops! With Suzie and Jodie in tow, they shopped until they dropped. They hit all the major shopping strips and malls in Melbourne. Jodie and Suzie would hunt for the best clothes in each shop and Noella would stand in the change room and try each outfit on. They were quite a team. At the end of each day they would end up Noella's townhouse ,where she parade the days purchases over a glass of champagne, which they felt they thoroughly deserved.
The score at the end of the week, the score was: 2 suits, 8 new dresses, 5 skirts, 11 blouses, 4 pairs of jeans, 3 jumpers, enough lingerie for 3 weeks wear and 30 pairs of shoes! Yes Noella had thought she had overdone it on the shoes, but everywhere they went she saw another pair she just had to have. It did mean she spent nearly $10000 on shoes, but there was no Damien to complain about the cost anymore. Anyway she did deserve them and they did look fabulous.
After winding up the shopping on Friday morning Jodie and Suzie came back for lunch to christen the townhouse good and proper and celebrate the end of "shopping week", which had been great fun. Much time was spent much time in the spa, and Noella felt a little embarrassed by the number of champagne bottles deposited in her re-cycling bin. Jodie and Suze also expended a lot of effort her telling she had to get out and explore the talent, now that was she free of the shackles of her marriage to Damien. It had become a bit annoying, but it did start her thinking. It had been along time since she had been with a man other than Damien and for the last 10 years sex had been infrequent and ordinary. The thought of exploring opportunities with another man made her feel both nervous and excited.
Anyway she was sort of getting out on Saturday. She had been invited to a wedding for her cousin's daughter. The invitation had said "and friend", but she had decided to take the solo option. Late on Friday Suzie and Jodie had spent 2 hours with her working through all the options her new wardrobe provided, finally deciding on striking Jone of New York dress, which had an exotic pattern of blues, yellows and blacks, matched with a pair of Jimmy Choo black sky scraper pumps, matching clutch and a little blue jacket to go over if it got cool.
"You know what Ella?" began Suzie as Noella turned in front of her dressing room mirror, examining their final selection from every possible angle.
"What Suze?"
"I've got to say you look hot!'
"No way." Laughed Noella a little embarrassed.
"Oh you do!" Agreed Jodie. "Do you think there might be some hunks at the wedding?"
"I'm not going to this wedding looking for a hunk." answered Noella somewhat testily.
"Well you never know."
As she stood in front of the mirror, Noella had to agree that she looked pretty good and she felt very happy. After the separation she had engaged a personal trainer and the results were there to see. Slim waste, tight butt and a little bit of cleavage. She smiled to herself and felt a small burst of confidence that had been missing for sometime.
The wedding ceremony for Veronica and Paul had been in a lovely public garden a couple of suburbs away. It was a nice ceremony, as far as weddings go, but Noella's appetite for marriage had somewhat wained and she hoped theirs had a better outcome than hers. She stood at the back trying to avoid attention, although she did get a couple of nods of acknowledgement here and there.
The wedding reception was at a huge yacht club down by the bay. The room was beautifully laid out. There were ornate decorations with stunning flower arrangements on each of the tables, creating an amazing effect. The table plan told Noella she was on table 19, up near the back of the room. She quickly found her place and it soon became obvious that she was on the "strays" table, along with partners of the bridal partners and anybody else who was "solo" for the day.
Once everybody was seated they all politely introduced themselves, although Noella immediately forgot all the names. Except for Tom. He was a kind of cute looking young guy. Probably in his mid- twenties. A young boy really. But he smiled at Noella and she smiled back.
The wedding reception was the same as all the others she had attended. Soup. Then chicken or beef. Speeches of which Noella took little interest, all interlaced by some dance brackets. The music in this case, being supplied by a DJ who played a good mix of pop and retro.
Noella mingled a little bit, saying hi to her cousin and other relatives, but all in all she remained pretty detached. Finally the bridal waltz arrived and everybody at the table paired up and made for the dance floor. This left Noella and Tom as the only ones still at the table. Tom turned to Noella.
"Would you like to dance?'"
"Sure. Why not?'' she replied.
He put out his arm for to her join him.
Manners! How nice!
