It was the day of the reading of Aunt Marjorie's will. When I arrived at the solicitor's office I was shown through to the office of Nigel Pevensey who, I was informed, was the executor. I was shocked to see my ex, Naomi, sitting there with her new fella. She nodded to me and I nodded back, thinking "What the hell is she doing here?"
Apparently, it was just the three of us; Aunt Marjorie and her husband had been childless and although she had some surviving relatives on his side of the family, she had never got on with them. The solicitor, Mr Pevensey, began the reading of the will. When he got to the distribution of the estate my ears pricked up.
"The whole of my estate is left jointly to my nephew Robert Small and his wife Naomi Small subject to them still being married." At this point Mr Pevensey looked up from the will and looked across at us, "Would I be right in assuming that the proviso is no longer the case and that Mr and Mrs Small are no longer together?"
"Yes, that is correct," I asserted.
"Well then, let's read on," he said, "In the event that the marriage is no longer extant, the whole of my estate is bequeathed to my nephew Robert Small solely. I'm sorry for wasting your time Mrs Small..."
"It's Mrs Forshaw now," she interjected, followed by, "I can't believe your infidelity has cost me a share of.... how much is the estate exactly?"
"I'm sorry Mrs Forshaw but as you are no longer an heir to the estate, I'm afraid I can't divulge that information to you. Could I please ask you and your husband to leave the room whilst I advise Mr Small of his inheritance?"
Naomi got up with her husband; she was spitting feathers as she left the room. Once the door was closed, Mr Pevensey continued.
"So, Mr Small, as the sole beneficiary of the late Mrs Montague's will, it is my duty to inform you that the estate runs to Β£683,792 plus any accrued interest together with her property in Barcelona. You will, of course, need to pay the Capital Transfer Tax on your inheritance, but this can be paid out of the funds. Please provide me with your bank account details so that I can transfer the funds."
I sat there gobsmacked; motionless; I couldn't speak -- what had just happened? -- I had just gone from someone almost on the breadline to someone with wealth! Not to mention a holiday home in Spain!
Needless to say, I provided my bank details to Mr Pevensey and went home, via the off-licence, to toast my late Aunt Marjorie.
I got absolutely plastered that night. In fact, I fell asleep on the settee with the tele still on and was woken in the morning by the weather and traffic reports.
I so desperately wanted to tell Dawn of my good fortune and considered texting her but my attention was taken by a row from next door. There were raised voices followed by a scream and a slamming door. Moments later, there was a ring on my doorbell. I opened the door and was met by a fist connecting with my nose; I fell backwards and hit the floor hard. As I was about to get up, Dawn was upon me.
"Sorry, Bob," she said, "that old witch next door told him about us. He's got a bloody nerve though; during our row it came out that he's been screwing my sister, the cow, since I was six months pregnant and every time he's away on business he's screwing her! Why the hell he thinks he can screw my sister and I can't see you is beyond me! Oh God, you're bleeding -- let me clean that up for you."
Dawn accompanied me into the kitchen and wet a cloth under the tap before tending to my bleeding nose. It was at this point that I noticed Shannon standing in the doorway.
"Dawn," I said, "your daughter's over there."
Dawn looked up at Shannon and beckoned her in, telling her to sit in the living room and to watch something on the telly, before returning her attention to me.
"What a bloody mess," she said, "I'm sorry Bob, if I hadn't come on to you in the first place none of this would have happened."
I pulled her to me and kissed her. "Hush," I said, "you are the best thing that's happened to me in years and a bleeding nose is a small price to pay. What's happening? Has he moved out or are you going to try to make a go of it?"
"I wouldn't have him back now! Not after all those years of deceit! He couldn't get it up for me cos he'd worn it out shagging my sister! Why would I want him back?" she responded.
I stood and gave her a hug. "I'm glad the buffoon stopped paying attention to you. What about Shannon? Does she know everything?" I enquired.
"She overheard the row, so she must know what's been going on," said Dawn.
We went into the living room hand in hand to see how Shannon was. She was on the settee, her eyes looking red and watery -- I could understand; her parent's marriage had just fallen apart in front of her eyes. I felt for the poor kid and had a twinge of guilt for my part in the proceedings. Having said that, the marriage was doomed from the moment Dan began the affair with Dawn's sister, so I allowed that thought to ease my conscience. Dawn sat next to Shannon and put her arm around her, trying to assure her that everything would be alright. After what seemed like an eternity, but was only probably ten minutes or so, Dawn got up with Shannon and they left for their flat; Dawn saying that she would message me later.
I went to the bathroom to look at my face; I had a little bit of swelling but nothing that wouldn't clear up naturally. I went back to the living room and sat, pondering the events of the last couple of days. I had inherited a tidy sum and a property from my late Aunt and now been on the receiving end of a jealous husband's fist; overall, not a bad trade-off.
I decided that I would take a trip to the Spanish villa to look around the place and to reach a decision as to whether I wanted to keep it or sell it. Realising that it was almost the end of the school term, I wondered whether Dawn would care to join me and bring Shannon along; a Spanish break might help to cheer her up!
I heard my phone and went to the kitchen, where I had left it on charge. It was a message in a new WhatsApp group named "Three way shag". Ashley had set up the group and I was invited to join; obviously I accepted and read the opening message and a response from Taylor. It appeared that the coming Saturday was a date on which they were both available and they needed to know if I could make it. I checked my diary; nothing happening, so I messaged that Junior and I were both available. There was an almost instant response from Taylor, suggesting that we go for a stroll along the notorious "lovers' lane", just off the park where, not only did lovers go to make out but was notorious for peeping tom's and dogging. In for a penny, in for a pound, I thought and agreed to her suggestion -- now all we needed was to fix a time. It was agreed between the three of us that we would meet at the netball court at five p.m. and take it from there.