He got off the sofa, âOh come on, please Helen donât be so silly it really will be a great bashâ.
Her eyes watched the television as she replied, âChris Iâve known you for seven years, Iâve been married to you for five of those years and in all that time I have never liked those two prats that you call friends, they are childish, pathetic and stupid, they play stupid pranks and the way they want to look at every porn site they can find, and make jokes about women makes me sick, their filthy little pervertsâ.
He sat on the arm of the settee, âLook there will be other people there, you donât have to bother yourself with them, I have to go and I want you there with me, please Helen, just for me, Iâll buy you a new dress, special you know just for the occasionâ.
She looked up, âI get to choose it, buy it and you pay for the whole trip in to townâ.
He shrugged his shoulders, âO K if thatâs what it takes, itâs a dealâ, she went back to watching the programme.
Danny and Phil worked in the office two floors above Chris, all three were in the office canteen, âWe going to do it then, like we saidâ, Phil looked anxiously at the other two, âGo on say yes, Iâve bought themâ, he opened a bag to show three beard disguises, Danny picked one out, âHey there not bad, bloody good in fact, why not, you up for it Chrisâ?
Chris took it, âIf it makes you two happy and you want to wear them at the party then as you say why not, Iâll have to get ready here, the old mans got me working through till eight, Helen will have to go by Taxi, but Iâll give her a laugh this beard should surprise her and Iâve bought some great new designer gearâ.
Helen looked at herself in the mirror, oh yes she thought, this is the business, she admired herself and her new out-fit, black figure hugging dress, the hem short on one side showed a lot of thigh as the other side dipped to her calf. Nicely cut neckline to show just enough of her sumptuous cleavage, a little strap slid over her left shoulder all finished off with high black ankle strapped shoes and dark stockings.
She didnât need to go to the hairdressers with a sweep of a comb and a carefully placed clip her auburn waves cascaded around her face and down to her shoulders, she smiled to herself, twenty six and still got that carnival queen look that won you so many beauty pageants.
The phone rang down stairs, by the time she got to it the answer machine had taken over, âHy sweetheart, got to work late, get a taxi to Philâs be there as soon as possible, love youâ.
Shit, bloody typical, hereâs me done up to look great and now Iâve got to get a taxi to that stupid party that I donât even want to go to.
She lit a cigarette, got the phone book and rang, first taxi available will be in two hours, she booked it and sat, then stood and went to the wall cabinet and poured herself a scotch and soda, and then she sat again.
Her enthusiasm for the party made her stand and visit the cabinet five times in the two hours she wanted.
The taxi arrived at Philâs about eight fifteen, she was as she hoped noticed by all the men and did everything to avoid bumping in to Phil and Danny by talking to the others, she was well in to the scotch as she put another cigarette in her mouth, a lighter flicked in front of her.
She followed the arm up to see two tall men admiring her she guessed in their early fortyâs who immediately started to monopolize her.
They got her more drink and flattered her, asked after her husband, all small talk. Then another drink and the conversation got round to how boring the party was, how silly the people were and how there was a great party not ten miles down the road, at the Barrington-Thomasâs.
Helen giggled, âNot that big old rambling house on the Tuxford roadâ, they smiled at each other then back at the slightly drunk very attractive woman and said, âThatâs the oneâ.
She carried on giggling, âWouldnât it be awful of me to go thereâ, they started to goad her, âHow awful do we feel, it will be really stupendous, plenty of good drink and enough room to danceâ, the other one jumped in, âAnd full of better class people than this, the way you look isnât that what your worthâ?
Helen emptied the glass stubbed out her cigarette, âYes Iâm worth it; shall we go dancingâ? She picked her coat up, said goodnight to the only friend she knew, Trudy Carnell and staggered her way to their car.
The car pulled quickly away from Philâs. The two men in the front and Helen in the back, one man opened the glove box and handed a cigarette to her, âMoroccan tobacco, tastes really goodâ, she took it and he lit it, she inhaled and then coughed, âOhooo thatâs strongâ.
He turned to her, âSlowly, inhale and hold, then slowly let it outâ, she did as he said and relaxed back in to the leather seat.
Chris finally got away from the office at eight fifty. After donning his false beard and new clothes he headed for Philâs.
He first searched out Phil and Danny to see them in their beards, all looked like triplets, which was the idea, then he grabbed a drink and looked for Helen.
The car moved up the gravel drive and stopped amongst the other cars, the two men were out and at the back door; a silently bemused Helen stumbled out of the back seat. The two men walked ether side of her, keeping her straight as they went in through the front door.
The rooms were dimly lit, someone took her coat and handbag as they went in to the big lounge, a drink was put in her hand as she started to sway to the soft gentle music.
Chris searched the house for Helen, rang home and got in to a bit of a panic until he bumped in to Trudy Carnell who told him that Helen had gone off to another party with a couple of men, she remembered something about the Tuxford road but that was about all, Chris downed another large gin and tonic and went to his car.