Goodbye to the Past Part 5 - The Savage Angels
Caitlin and Anji's double-act starts Bonnie's party with a bang. All characters engaging in sexual activity are well over the age of consent (even those who are pretending not to be!)
Chapter One
It was their first meeting since Bonnie and Frank had got back from Miami. Bonnie was all agog to hear about Caitlin's adventures whilst she had been away. She was especially dying to hear about Anjali, Caitlin's new girlfriend, but first there was the more mundane matter of Caitlin's first visit home since she had started working for them.
Bonnie glanced around Caitlin's small apartment. "So a few personal touches at last!" She picked up a small framed photo of two young girls grinning at the camera hugging a big yellow bear in a red jacket. The slightly taller of the two had an unruly mop of floppy black hair and a wide, gap-toothed grin.
Caitlin smiled. "Me and my sister Siobhan at EuroDisney. I was eleven, Shiv was nine. Only decent holiday we ever had. At least Dad couldn't get drunk." She pointed to her bedroom. "Pooh's in there. Well, the little version anyway." She sighed. "Not much I wanted to bring back really..."
Bonnie put an arm around her before they flopped into Caitlin's two little rocking chairs. "So how'd it go, kid?"
Caitlin ran a hand across her face. "Well as I expected. I think the nicest thing she said was, 'Will ye look at the state of this, Dermot...' when I first went in."
Bonnie laughed. "And what did the great Irish sage say?"
She was greeted with a rueful smile. "I think he thought she meant the favourite in the 2.45 at Ascot on the Racing Channel!"
It was all on a whim. She had been out with Anji for the second time the night before and the girl had said how supportive her folks were of her and her sisters. She decided to go back home and pick up a few things - personal effects. Bonnie had been on at her for weeks to put a bit of herself into her apartment. It would also act as a gauge as to whether or not she'd keep in contact.
She knew the answer to that question the minute her mother opened the door. She stood there, hands on her hips, chin jutting out. "Well - will ya look at what the cat dragged in." It barely got any better and she thought the woman may check her rucksack on the way out.
"Why could ye not have been like yer sister, eh? Lovely little babby, nice husband..."
It was hardly worth a response. She hoped Siobhan would realise one day the prison she had built for herself, but it was probably a forlorn hope.
When she'd had enough - which wasn't long - she went upstairs and gazed around her tiny room. Almost twenty four years, many of them sharing with Siobhan. How the hell was she still sane? She gathered up a handful of things and stuffed them in her bag.
She was about to leave without saying another word, but after their reaction to her return, decided to give them a little going away present. She stuck her head in the living room door, repulsed by the fug of smoke. She decided to tell all but was going to drip-feed it to them. "I've got my things. I'm off to meet my partner at Waterloo."
Her mother looked up from her gossip magazine. "Oh, so it's yer 'partner' now is it? Not poor old 'boyfriend' Steven who ye left in the lurch in a right old state." Every word was emphasized for maximum effect in her usual way; the fact that Steven had dumped Caitlin suitably altered to help make her point . "So are we going to be seeing him then, this new 'partner' o'yours?"
Caitlin shook her head. "Probably for the best if you didn't, Ma. Don't think you'd approve. See, my new 'partner' is Anglo-Indian."
Her mother's face was a picture. She was just about to explode and say something nasty when Caitlin said the 'Terrible F-word'. "Before you start, shut the fuck up, Mother dear. I don't want to hear any more of your small minded bigotry." Her mother was mouthing like a beached fish. "I'm done here. Knew it was futile coming back. Utterly fucking pointless. Sorry to have shamed you all these years. Never fucking good enough was I?"
She had thought before she went down to Guildford that she would break down if something like this happened, but in the end she just felt a huge sense of relief. She took a final look at the still-life in front of her. The faded, stuffy living room, the jaded little couple sitting opposite each other, faces like thunder, cigarettes smouldering in their fingers. The horses running silently round a track somewhere in Ireland or England on the TV.
Same as it ever was.
She was about to close the door when she threw them her final hand grenade.
"Oh, sorry Ma - forgot to correct a wrong assumption. Not only is my partner Indian, but you got the gender wrong. And before her, I fucked my boss. Oh and also my bosses' husband. Catch the little nuances there or were they too fucking subtle for you? Just in case - I'm bisexual and proud of it. Bye Ma, Da!"
Bonnie's face was almost as much a picture as her mother's had been. "Oh babes, what did she say?"
Caitlin sat back and took a sip of wine. It was only eleven thirty, but they hadn't seen each other for a week, so who was counting? "Didn't stop to find out. It would be racist, sexist, tiny-minded, bigoted and not very pleasant at all. Just like the woman herself. I left feeling very proud of myself. If I got that reaction I must be doing something right!"
"Way to go darlin'! You sure took a torch to those bridges, huh?"
Caitlin smiled. "Well and truly burned. Another piece of my wall crumbles! Talking of which..." She got up and held out a hand to Bonnie, nodding back towards her bedroom. "Come on, Pooh won't mind!"
Bonnie got up slowly. "Will Anjali, though?"
Caitlin turned. "Without you, there'd be no Anjali."
Much later as they lay under the benevolent gaze of Winnie-the-Pooh and a motley assortment of small stuffed animals, Bonnie stirred. "So, now we've chilled and mellowed a little, tell me about your new squeeze. Sounds divine!"
For the next half hour Caitlin regaled her with the tale of their chance meeting and the long sexy weekend that ensued. By the end, the older woman was purring. "Oh to be young again, eh? Sounds like you two are made for each other. You asked her yet? About The Party?"
The Party. It seemed to have acquired capital letters of its own accord. A legend before it had even happened.
Caitlin hesitated. "Not yet, Bonnie. It's too early. Don't want to scare her off. I thought I'd already done that the second time we met."
"Fact you met her a third time says you didn't."
"Give me time - we're meeting again on Saturday. Says she'll definitely pull us a good shag this time. Could be the time to broach it if she does."
"So your relationship is open then?"
"Looks like it. She knows about you. Wouldn't bother me if she did it with someone else. The way I'm turning out, I'd be a bit of a hypocrite if I complained about anyone else, eh?"
"Frank? Skye? Tell her about either of them?"
"One of the above."
"Reaction?"
"Lucky bitch."
"I'll take it that was Skye then. So come on, tell me all about the second meeting. What went wrong?"
"Not exactly wrong. Just got off to a bit of a scary start."
-0-0-0-0-0-
Caitlin had been so nervous waiting for Anji. As with the first time, she was early at Harvey's wine-bar, sitting at a table on the riverside sipping Coke. Anji's words were echoing in her head as she sat. "Better fucking turn up!"
As the clock slipped well past five thirty, she was thinking the same words herself. She had nearly finished her drink and the waitress kept hovering. She lost count of how many anxious glances she'd had at her watch. Her mother's voice - "Ye'll wear the bloody face off the thing..."
As she glanced down for the hundredth time, her mother's harsh Dublin accent was replaced by something softer and breathier. "Sorry, so busy in the gym. Had to wait for a shower."
Anjali Mithra flopped down in the seat opposite her, radiating warmth from the shower, her lovely brown skin glowing, glossy black hair held back from her face in a ponytail.
She looked so beautiful, Caitlin almost cried in relief. "Hey great to see you - thought maybe..." She glanced at her watch and left the rest unsaid. "Glad you got here."
Anji looked down, unable to meet her loving gaze. "Nearly didn't. If I'd had your number I'd have probably blown you out." She was wringing her hands. As she glanced up, the waitress came over. Anji stood up fumbling in her bag for some coins. "Sorry, changed our minds. Will that cover the Coke?"
The girl nodded and scooped up the money.
Caitlin stood, her hand out to Anji. Heart hammering and expecting the worst, she was about to say something when Anji smiled. "Glad I didn't have your number." She pointed down the Thames. "Lovely night for a walk - shall we?"
She threw her gym bag over her shoulder and held her arm out. Caitlin linked it and they began to walk along the riverbank in silence. Caitlin still didn't know which way this was going. Did she just want to ditch her somewhere a little less public?
In the end, she realized that Anji wanted to do something a little less public, but it wasn't to ditch her.
They reached a small jetty jutting out into the Thames. Anji pulled Caitlin on to it and eyes wide, almost jumped on the girl. Caitlin staggered back into the railings under Anji's onslaught as their mouths met. Anji was utterly feral and she could feel her long fingers digging into her back as she devoured her.
Somewhere in the distance they heard a stern voice. "Disgusting!" They broke apart to see a middle aged couple staring at them from the Thames Path. The woman, a hard-faced matron, shuddered at them in disgust, her face a mask of hatred. As she dragged her husband after her, he turned and smiled at the girls, giving them a surreptitious thumbs-up and a nod.
They both gave him a shy little wave which made him smile all the more.
"Made his day then!" Anji sounded breathless.
"You've made mine too, Anji. For a horrible few minutes I thought we wuzz history!" Caitlin put her forehead against Anji's. "Did you really mean it about blowing me out?"
Anji nodded. "Been thinking about it non-stop since the euphoria of the weekend died down. Was it right? How did I really feel? I was so confused, that yes- if I'd had a way of letting you know earlier, I'd have probably done it."
Caitlin put an arm round her. "Glad you didn't!"
"Me too." Anji snuggled into her, uncaring that their little spot was not as private as she had thought and people were passing on the busy Thames Path. They were getting more looks and more than the odd envious glances from a group of young lads as they wandered by, unable to take their eyes off them. "As soon as I saw you sitting there, I knew I'd been an idiot for even thinking it." She grinned at Caitlin. "I think I overpaid for your Coke!"