Sixes and Sevens

Chapter 24

Aidan and Samantha rolled out of bed. Julie had arrived.

"You get dressed," Sam said going into the bathroom and getting a bathrobe. "I'll go and let her in," she said with a devilish grin.

Aidan didn't feel very humorous, but saw her determination and agreed, and Sam left the bedroom for the flat door.

She undid the snib and opened the door. Standing in the doorway, her stance was not lost on Julie: this was the reversal of the last time they met. Then it was Julie blocking the doorway in the selfsame short bathrobe.

"What the fuck?" escaped Julie's gaping, flabbergasted mouth. "Samantha? What...?"

As she took in the short bathrobe and Sam's lack of makeup and her dishevelled hair, it was obvious to Julie what the 'what' was and she stuttered to a stop.

"Hello Julie," Sam said, without a smile. "I think Aidan is expecting you. Go through."

Sam stood aside to allow Julie entrance, and the latter strode into the flat and straight to the living room. Aidan was sitting in an armchair. He did not get up.

"OK, Aidan," Julie barked. "What's going on? This some game you're playing? What's

she

doing here?"

"Sit down Julie," Aidan said, his face registering no emotion, remaining neutral.

It halted her tirade or any other questions she might have had, but she did not sit down, choosing to stand instead with her hand on her hip and a glowering face. The emotions tumbled over one another: her worst nightmare had arrived, Samantha.

Julie felt mortally afraid she had lost him, then hope surged that this Canadian interloper would be going home again soon and her departure would drop Aidan in it again, and this brought outrage that the visitor should so easily get Aidan to betray her at the very moment Julie should have been moving in with him.

Her thoughts ran on: the bitch was so calm, so confident in her abhorrently perfect looks, so much of which was on display in that bathrobe, that she had found it so easy to slide into Aidan's bed again. Poor Aidan didn't have a chance, but Julie would be there long after the bitch had gone back home.

It reignited her rage at Sam for interfering in their happy lives - and she knew their life

was

happy - and at Aidan for being so spineless as to fall for her all too obvious charms yet again. Julie smouldered.

"Well?" she asked, her aggression clear.

Aidan looked at her. He saw her anger, fear and distress, but was certain that there was nothing he could do about it.

"Well, Julie," he said evenly. "What's going on, and what's Sam doing here? That's what you want to know isn't it?"

He sucked in a noisy breath. He spoke slowly as if explaining something to a small child.

"So-o-o. What's going on, Julie, is that Sam has come to visit me. And the reason she has come to visit me, is that I went to London yesterday to visit

her

and missed her. And I went to visit

her

because I found out

yesterday

that a while ago, last

October

to be precise,

she

came to visit

me

. And that time

she

missed

me

, and I think you know why I never knew of her visit.

"Now when I went down to London yesterday, a woman neighbour and friend of Sam's said she was not at home, but after I told her who I was, she

told Sam as soon as she could

that I had been there! So Sam immediately came here today.

"The question you can answer, Julie, is why did I not know that Sam had been here asking for me

months ago

, until Vicky told me

yesterday

? Why was I

not told then

? Why. Did. You. Not. Tell. Me?" he said quietly, but slowly emphasising each word.

"I'll sit down now," Julie said, and did so. "I thought it was for the best," she said. She looked uncomfortable.

"You thought it-"

"You asked; I'm telling you." Her voice and demeanour took on an urgency. "Look Aidan, think back to the first time you met Samantha. Everyone could see you fell for her hard. She used you, Aidan, she used you for a whole month before going home to her long term boyfriend without a backward glance, as soon as her passport came through.

"You remember how heartbroken you were, how angry? You were devastated and you refused to have anything to do with her. You wouldn't answer her emails, hell, you wouldn't even

read

them!

"Gradually you healed, you let me into your life again and you were happy, Aidan. You were, don't deny it."

He nodded: he had to, it was the truth.

She was continuing. "We were both getting nicely settled and then out of the blue,

she

turns up on the doorstep. She gives me her card and I find she's working in London for a Canadian company. What was I to do? How long would she be here for? A year? Six months? Then she'd be off again back to her boyfriend, and you'd be back deep in depression.

"So I decided to forget about her. I did it for your own good, Aidan." She looked at him with a look he could only interpret as hopeful. It irked him.

"No, Julie."

"Eh?"

"I said no. You didn't do it for me, you did it for yourself, and in any case, what right have you to decide what's good for me? You lied to her and you lied to me: you deceived me. You knew I would have wanted to see her again - you just said you knew how I felt about her, and you decided to stop that."

"No, I wanted-"

"You wanted to keep me from her and her from me. You knew she was in London and working there. What right had you to interfere? Am I some sad little boy who needs protection? How dare you take it on yourself to manipulate my life for your own ends!"

"Not true. I thought she'd mess up your life like she did before! And I'm right, she will."

"Julie, it's

my

life. Perhaps I

want

to mess it up. Perhaps Sam's worth it. You didn't think of that, did you? You and I weren't living together when she came here last October. You were house sitting, but you told her we were together. That was a lie. At that time I made it clear that you were not moving in. Hell, you were only going to move in today!"

There was silence as the tense of the last sentence hit home. Julie slumped in her seat and looked imploringly at Aidan.

"Please Aidan, don't do this to me!" and tears started in her eyes.

"Julie, you've brought this on yourself. If you'd told me Sam had been here, we wouldn't be in this position now."

"But Aidan, can't you see? She'll not be here long, then she'll be off home again and you'll be all alone again. She's got someone at home."

"Sorry Julie." Sam's voice came from behind Julie as, now dressed in sweater and tight jeans, Sam entered the room. "You're wrong, honey. There's no boyfriend in Vancouver: that idea came from my mother, and it led to this mix up. The man she thought was my boyfriend is just an old school friend. There's never been anything between us. The reason I was eager to get home was that mistakenly I thought my parents couldn't manage without me. They can. They're coming over here soon to visit with me."

"But-? "

"And you're wrong about my job as well. I'm here for the long haul. My company will renew my visa as often as maybe. I'm now in charge of the whole of the French Section, and it's a permanent position. There've been hints of more promotion here in England, so even if there were no Aidan, I wouldn't be going anywhere."

If it were possible for Julie to sag any further she would have done so. She shrugged. Then there was a wry half-smile through her defeated tears. "I don't suppose the distance from London to Manchester is going to put you or Aidan off, is it?"

"No!" Sam and Aidan said in chorus and smiled at each other.

"Oh, well," Julie sighed, "That's it then. I'd better be going."

She stood, and Aidan stood also.

"Funny isn't it?" Julie muttered. "I lose my temper. Do something stupid and selfish and it affects people I never knew existed. If I hadn't gone to Wales that time, you two would never have met, and you Aidan, and I suppose you too, Sam, wouldn't have suffered like you both have."

She gave another deep sigh. "I really am sorry, you know, really sorry."

Her sad state sucked all the anger and resentment out of Aidan, who hugged her, and Sam followed his example.

"Don't leave him again, will you?" Julie begged her as the two women hugged. "He was a basket case last time, and now I look back, I don't think he ever really got over you. You were always there in the background."

"I'm not leaving him unless he wants me to," Sam told Julie. "My job here is not going away, and, well, I hope-"

"For more," the other woman filled in for her. "We could become sisters-in-law, you know!"

Julie sucked in a breath and went back to Aidan, kissed him and preceded the pair to the door, down the stairs and as far as the door of the block. Here she delved into her pocket and took out the flat keys.

"Here," she said to Sam, "You'll need these." It was a touching gesture with an element of finality about it.

So saying she went to her car without looking back, and drove away.

It was a deflated pair who shut the block door and returned to the flat, arms around each other.

"I didn't enjoy that at all," said Aidan.

"No, I can see that. She was under a misunderstanding. I can see why she did what she did. She does love you, you know. Very much."

There was a pause, then she sighed, then smiled. "But I love you more!"

The woman was perfection, he thought, and hugged her tight, an action she reciprocated, pulling him round to her for a deep gentle kiss.

"Samantha Grogan, You've nothing on under your sweater," accused Aidan with a grin.

"Nor under my jeans!" she giggled, shoving her hand inside his chinos. "And you're not wearing pants under here either!" She ran her hand to the front of his chinos. "Is that for me?"

"It certainly is, but I'm afraid you've worn him out."

"No matter," Sam said. "We can still have a bit of fun."

They undid each other's clothes and walked naked back to the bedroom, where they climbed onto the bed and rapidly stroked all over each other but while Sam became excited, Aidan did not harden. However with skilful hands and mouth he soon had her moaning more and more urgently until she came and he took her into his arms. They lay together as her breathing slowed.

"Three times and I've only been here three hours," she said between breaths.

"Making up for all that lost time," he said as his hand swept over her stomach and stroked her breasts. "You're sticky," he said.

"So are you," she countered, though it was not strictly true. "Let's shower and eat. I'm hungry."

So they showered together, washing each other and kissing often, but by unspoken consent did not attempt a third congress. In any case, Aidan could not have risen to the occasion!

Sam defrosted and heated some croissants while Aidan made coffee and they ate at the table which had recently seen their first carnal reunion (after wiping it down).

They ate, glancing at each other and smiling wanly but saying little, watching each other over the rim of their coffee cups.

"Samantha," he said eventually as he finished his second croissant.

"Yes. Honey?" She answered him enquiringly: he used her full name.

"You remember what we were saying before Julie arrived, about needing to find a way to be together?"

"Yes, honey. You're surely right, we do. But we've been together again for only three hours after, how long? I'd say, about a year and a half." She paused as Aidan seemed lost in thought. Then she said, "I thought I heard you saying something about not letting us part ever again?"

"Yes I did and I meant it."

"Sounded uncannily like a proposal to me." She grinned at him.

"I suppose it did. Perhaps it was," he grinned back. She punched his shoulder.

"Hmm. If you want something done, do it yourself," she sighed rolling her eyes. "Aidan Redmond, in the interests of not letting us part ever again, will you marry me?"

"It's Valentine's Day, 14th February," he said after a brief pause. "So, after one year, four months and thirteen days, apart, I agree we should - get married, that is."

"You sure you don't know how many hours, minutes and seconds? D'you think that would make a difference to your answer?"

"Give me a minute to work it out..." he grinned and closed his eyes as if to concentrate.

"

No!

" Sam shouted, laughing. "Don't bother! Please! About a year and a half is close enough, though it seems much longer."

"And I feel as if you've already been here for ages!" Aidan rejoined. "But you're right. Sam I love you so very much, please will you marry me?"

"Aidan! I already proposed and I thought you accepted." Sam said in exasperation.

"You asked if I'd marry you. Yes I will. But will you marry me?"

Sam sighed. "Pedant! Yes I will marry you."

"There, that wasn't so hard was it?" Aidan said, needling her for fun.

She leant over the table and kissed him hard. "Well, we've made love three times and said goodbye to Julie, all in three hours," said Sam, sitting back and exhaling loudly. "We haven't wasted any time picking up where we left off, have we? We've sure packed a lot in the time. So I think that bodes well for the future. Anything else you want to do this afternoon?"

"Go and choose a ring?" Aidan asked, and Sam's eyes lit up.

"Oh yeah! Good idea!"

"Then we need to talk about where we go from here. We also need to do a food shop. Let's do the ring thing first."

So they went into the City and there ensued some minor disagreements. Aidan saw her eyes light up at the sight of a Sapphire ring with diamonds either side, but she asserted that it was too expensive. She was right in the sense that it was expensive, but Aidan wanted her to have it.

"You'll only get engaged once," he said. "At least I hope so!" and gained a gentle slap on his arm. "Please," he added, "let me do this."

So she gave in and got the ring she really wanted. She insisted on buying him a man's ring which also sported a sapphire and four small diamonds, so the rings matched. He had never worn jewellery before, but her pleading expression was too much for him and he caved in. The jeweller suggested they go for a coffee somewhere, while he adjusted the rings for size.

They also ordered wedding rings.

"I want a plain gold band," she said. "The traditional vows are stark and simple, and I want the ring to reflect that. It will never come off that finger, and will always remind me.

Aidan found himself in complete agreement. They bought a matching pair of 18 carat gold bands which would be ready the following week.

Sam tucked her arm in his and the two would keep smiling at each other at the thought of this sudden and early step forward in their relationship. They did a food shop in the city and then in a small café, they drank the first of their coffees in grinning silence. They idly talked about a wedding and where it would be possible to hold it. Aidan's grin came from the thought she'd never looked more beautiful. She glowed. Then his face became more serious. Sam's grin came from relief and the expectation of an engagement ring.

"Sam, how are we going manage this - to be together? You work in London."

"Hmm." She paused in thought, losing her radiant smile in the process. Then, "Look, I'm earning a lot, and you must be comfortable as well. It takes about two hours by train, and about a hundred pounds if we travel peak Friday and Sunday. We can even afford that. I come up here one weekend, and you come to me the next. If either of us can get off early on Friday it'll be much cheaper. When the better weather comes, we can drive if we want to save money. We could even meet in a hotel half way between!"

"But that situation is far from perfect, isn't it? We'll only be together at weekends."

"If we were together all the time, we'd be working during the week, so we'd be apart for most of each day. And some of my appointments for interpreting are in the evenings until quite late - you know - dinners, receptions and the like."

"Yes, but together we'd be at home with each other every evening and we'd sleep together every night. And no long journey twice every weekend."

"I don't like it either," she said. "But we've little choice if we want to be together at all."

They both lapsed into silence.

Then "Oh hell!" exclaimed Aidan. "We've been here an hour!"

They made haste back to the jeweller before it shut. They received their rings and placed them on each other's fingers, then kissed, at which the jeweller's staff applauded and wished them well. On the way home to Aidan's flat there was many a glance at the rings and many a smile at each other.

Once home, and the food put away, Aidan dug out some crumpets and toasted them under the grill while Sam made some tea. They buttered the side of the crumpets with the holes, letting the butter sink in ,and enjoyed biting into them making the butter run down their chins to be scooped up by a finger and popped into their mouths.

"Crumpets in the afternoon are the best," averred Samantha, as her tongue licked lasciviously round her lips. "What a great invention!"

Aidan grunted his agreement, and his appreciation of her sensual tongue, being busy trying to keep his own face clean.

After a visit to the bathroom for both to clean up, and a refill of tea, they settled on the sofa, and cuddled together, while some jazz played on the radio.

Then came a phone call. It was Vicky. Aidan put it on speaker.

"Well?" She urged him. "How did it go?"

He grinned at Sam. "How did what go?" he asked innocently.

"Samantha! How did it go?" He could tell Vicky was leaning forward eagerly, as she did when excited.

"How did you know Sam-"

"I drove her from the station to your place, numbskull!" she shouted. "Now give! What happened?"

By this time, Sam was having trouble keeping her laughter quiet.

"We had a discussion," said Aidan doggedly, "and got everything clear, then Julie arrived and we three had a discussion and got everything clear, and then Julie left, then we had a discussion about going into town and got everything-"

"What on earth for?" Vicky shouted with exasperation. "You must have done some shopping on Thursday before you went South!"

"Had to go together to town," Sam intervened, deadpan. "It's where the jewellers are."

There was a puzzled silence. Then they could almost hear the smile spreading over Vicky's face. She giggled and then squealed. "You're engaged! God, that was quick work. You weren't letting her go again were you?" she laughed. "Oh, I'm so happy for you! Don't go out, we're coming round."

With that she disconnected. Aidan and Sam burst out laughing.

"You are awful!" Sam said giggling. "We'd better get something together to drink."

Aidan found some sparkling wine left over from Christmas, and four glasses while Sam put out some peanuts and cashews.

"Best we can do at short notice," Sam said, already firmly in hostess mode.

Then the bell went, and on Aidan opening the door Vicky rushed in, followed by a bemused Brendan. While Vicky enthused over the ring, Brendan shook Aidan's hand.

"Congratulations," he said. "Quick work, but with a girl like Sam you need to stake your claim fast! It's a wonder there isn't a queue of men stretching round the block! Shame you don't have a ring as well."

"Wrong!" Aidan said smiling. "She insisted." He showed the ring to Brendan.

"O-o-o-o-oh" Brendan exclaimed, causing the girls to look round at him.

"Nearest I could get to a squeal!" he said blandly. Aidan giggled.

The girls scowled at his mockery, and returned to gabbling at one another.

"Drinks!" said Aidan handing out the glasses of sparking wine.

Vicky immediately proposed a toast to the happy couple, wishing them a long life together.

"You two have been at sixes and sevens ever since you met - Sam has to go back to Canada," Vicky proclaimed. "Then there's the mix-up over the non-existent boyfriend. Aidan, you tell Sam never to contact you, then Sam you get a job in London but don't tell Aidan because he told you not to. Julie doesn't tell Aidan when you came to see him. Aidan you go to London and miss Sam, because she was going out with someone else...