A Different Class - 7

Chapter 7

Bec woke late the next morning, and was having breakfast when Tara phoned inviting her out before their usual Sunday lunch. In their house share days, Sunday lunch in one pub or another had started accidentally, but had somehow become the tradition they rarely deviated from years later. By midday, the two girls were joined by Johnny, Lyle, and Smithy, all sat in the beer garden of a pub overlooking the river. Cold pints of various alcoholic drafts sat in front of them. It was a beautiful day, so why the hell not?

“So we thought we’d meet up early cos we’re concerned Bec.” Tara offered. “It seems so out of character.”

Bec shook her head confused, looking between the three faces, “what does?”

“This thing with Edward’s son. He’s so not what you go for…and after all his dad has said…” Tara looked uncomfortable as she spoke, glancing between the three boys and Bec, but she was encouraged by their nods of agreement.

Bec was sat her jaw dropped in amazement, she looked between the faces on her four friends, “you are joking? Right?” She couldn't verbalise the pain that she was feeling at that exact moment. This was what the Americans termed an intervention, and as far as she knew those occasions only occurred when someone was going seriously off the rails. All Rebecca had done was date a nice man a few times!

“Look,” Johnny began, “he just doesn’t seem genuine. It’s not right for you. He's not right for you!”

She shook her head trying to find some glimpse of reality, around her people milled around minding their own business, life was still going on. It was just hers that had come to a crashing halt. “I can’t quite believe this! You’re supposed to be my friends! What are you saying? That poor old orphan Annie is too lowly to venture in his circles, that he’s taking the piss out of me? Fucking hell! I had no idea this was how you saw me!”

She stood up and grabbed her bag as Tara started to protest, “we didn’t mean that!”

“No? Well I think you did!” The pain was immense, she had to get away, breathe, put some distance between them and her. 

“You just don’t seem to have anything in common….” Lyle offered, trying to justify their concerns. 

“If I was shagging. I don't know...a bus driver, you’d say nothing. Hell you'd probably not bat an eyelid if I was sleeping with a married man, but because I’m dating a man who’s got a title, and wealth then he must be using me!” She shook her head again, trying to block out the pain of this betrayal. “Well I’m as good as him, I had credentials like his……and I haven’t even slept with him…..so how could he be using me? God who needs friends!”

She ran out into the road and dived in front of a taxi, rattling off her address before she could relax. She was too angry for tears, to hurt for shouting, if anything she was numb. Searching in her pocket she eventually found her phone, and called Nate. 

“Hey!” he answered brightly. “I was just thinking about you!”

She instantly smiled, it was so comforting just hearing his voice, “All good I hope?”

He chuckled wickedly, “very!”

“I haven’t eaten, do you want to meet for lunch? Or are you still tied up?”

He laughed, "I was up at the crack of dawn, put my time in as early as possible. I'll be leaving the conference in about two minutes. You have impecable timing. I did think Sunday lunch was a sacred zone?"

"Traditions are made to be broken!"

Despite having a million questions in his head, Nate ignored them and calmly suggested a pub that he knew did a great lunch.

He was sat at a small table with a bottle of red wine and two glasses, and she was relieved to see his face light up as she crossed the room. Standing he kissed her briefly, yet with promise.

“You ok? You sounded upset on the phone!”

She shrugged, “I argued with the guys, I really needed to get away…..and you are the perfect tonic!”

Waggling his eyebrow in what he hoped was a menacing fashion, he laughed, “How little you know me!”

She glanced around the room as he filled her glass, “it’s nice here. Do you come here a lot?”

Nate had been there no more than a dozen times, but the reputation of the food preceded it, everyone was talking about the place. But she didn't need to know that, “not all the time, but the food is good, and it’s got a certain ambience, don’t you think?”

She smiled, “it has. How was your morning? I’ve compromised you now, you said you were busy…”

“Since meeting you I’ve been realising there’s more to life than work…..something I have failed to notice in the past!”

“I’m not sure whether that’s good or bad?”

He reached across the table to squeeze her hand, “definitely a good thing, I’m thirty next birthday, and my life is flashing by without me even noticing…..I have some living to do I think!”

She nodded “that sounds good!” then she glanced at the menu. “What do you recommend?”

“It’s all good, and as it’s Sunday I’m going with tradition! Roast beef! Hence the presumption over the wine.” 

Rebecca was a sucker for perfect roast beef and she felt herself melt into the seat at the thought, her anser of “Me too!” sounded like a moan of pleasure and Nate was still chuckling after they'd ordered.

They ate in comfortable silence, food that good didn't deserve to be disturbed, and only brief conversations dragged them away from it. It was so good, that they even opted for a stodgy dessert of bread and butter pudding and custard. Both courses were exquisite, and they both flopped back into their seats afterwards, satiated.

“Do you have to go back to work?”

He shook his head, “there’s a work colleagues party tonight, I was only going to show my face….I didn’t think you’d want to spend a Sunday evening with 'my type'!.” He looked a little embarrassed.

“If they’re your friends then I want to meet them, I really do. I’m sure you weren’t overly thrilled at meeting my friends last night.”

He nodded, “It was fine, we’re all different. But not TOO different!”

She contemplated his luke warm response to her friends, and added to their less than warm reception and wanted to cry, “saying that, I’m wearing jeans and flip flops hardly party gear! Maybe I should just leave you to it!”  

Nate shook his head, “that sounds perfect for a summer party.”

The second she walked into the restaurant on Nate's arm, Rebecca knew it was a mistake. She recognised a few faces as his work colleagues from that awful night at the wine bar when they'd been laughing... Without exception everyone was dressed on the smart side of casual. Even Nat’s combats and polo shirt, though casual, outclassed her ensemble. 

She clung to Nate's arm nervously, hating the fact that she was already on the back foot. Defensive and nervous. The thought of embarrassing him and not only herself warred in her mind and she felt sick.

Nate on the other hand was comfortable, confident, striding through the gathering with purpose, acknowledging people who waved and smiled. Deeper in the room, he located drinks for them, then circulated the restaurant that had been entirely taken over for the evening by this group, introducing her to work colleagues and friends. Despite the introductions, no specific conversations were directed at her, and she felt even more of an outsider. She'd never been a wall flower happy to sit back, but here in this place, with this group of people she had no basic things in common. So she had no idea how to strike up a conversation. Added to that, everyone seemed to worship Nathaniel Groves, Robbie Williams would have had less attention and devotion if he'd walked into the room stark naked.

During a particularly lengthy discussion about share portfolios, she spotted the ladies bathroom, and excused herself to “freshen-up”. Locking herself in a cubicle, she took out her phone to see twenty text messages and as many missed calls, all from her friends. Ignoring them she put it back in her pocket, not able to deal with that, or with them now, this evening had it's own hurdles that she had to negotiate first. She was about to open the door when two rather loud girls burst in to the room laughing. Taking a deep breath, she made to open the cubicle door when she froze.

A haughty voice snarled, “did you see the shoes? I mean why would you even wear those to the supermarket? God he really is trying to make you jealous Cat!”

Another female voice huffed, “as if I’d be jealous of some piece of gutter grime! Doesn’t she realise that everyone agreed with Sir Ed’s opinion?!”

Rebecca couldn't pretend they weren't talking about her, but she was determined not to sit and listen to a second more, she unlocked the door. Both faces swung to the cubicle, and both looked horrified as they saw the subject of their gossip standing there. 

Quick thinking, the one who wasn’t Cat said, “Thank God that’s free! I’m desperate!” and barged past Bec. Before she realised what was happening, Cat had taken the empty adjacent cubicle.

Fuming, Bec glared at Cat, then made her way back to the party. It was busy, and she couldn't easily see Nate anywhere, despite scanning the room. So taking a glass of wine from a tray that was being offered around the room, she followed the signs to the garden, a small tiled courtyard with several picnic benches and an impressive looking barbeque.

It was quiet out there, and the evening was still warm. She was about to make her way to a bench when a voice stopped her.

“Hey!”

Bec snapped around to see Cat and her accomplice stood in the doorway.

The other girl spoke, “Glad to see you’ve realised you're neither welcome nor appropriate for this party.”

Swallowing the anger and embarrassment, Bec had two options, fight or flight...she'd not run from anyone like them in the past, “I’m sure I don’t know what you are talking about!”

Cat laughed haughtily, “Nat always swore when we split up that he’d make me pay. He joked about a commoner but I never believed him!”

Eyes wide Bec couldn't believe her ears, “Excuse me? Did you just call me a commoner? have we zoomed back to Victorian times? How dare you judge me!”

The two girls laughed, cackling like a pair of old witches, “listen to her!” The other girl commented before Cat dealt a killer blow.

“I’m sure you think he thinks you’re special, and I’m sure he’s told you how wonderful you are, but if he really wanted you in his life he’d have told the birthday girl he was bringing you, he'd be taking you to my brother's wedding in two weeks AND he'd have taken you to his flat, but he hasn't shown you any of his life. He’s a private man and he only takes a select few into his World…..he hasn’t with you though, has he?”

Bec felt the blood drain from her and felt as though her legs were going to give way under her. Her fears were being vocalised by this young, rude woman and she had no defence to it. Her weak spot hadn't been discovered, it had been excavated by experts. 

The gloating face almost made Bec lash out, and the voice, the words...she wanted to curl up in a ball and shout louder than them, block out all thought/words. “He hasn’t! I’m right! See he’s just using you to make me jealous. Go home and save yourself more embarrassment!”

But she'd had worse, Bec had been in more foster homes than most, she'd been looked down on by worse than these, and she'd come through it all, there was no one out there better than her, no one who could talk down to her like that, so she snarled, squaring up to the two girls. “You’re right about one thing, I am from a different world to you, and in MY world, it doesn't matter what your background or social standing is, manners are free, they cost nothing, and to be quite honest I don’t know anyone who’d be as rude to a stranger as you two witches! So please, turn around and find someone else to pick on, because I'm not about to be bullied by you both. And,” she would have laughed to herself if it wasn't such a horrible situation, "if you keep prodding a snake, one day they'll bite....AND I'VE BITTEN LESS!" As she shouted the last word she leapt towards them snarling in their faces, and it was fair to say they shit themselves.

“Well said!” came a strange male voice, “Now why don’t you two nasty bitches get back into the party and leave this lady alone? Before you poo your pants?”

Rebecca turned to see a tall man, at least six two, with collar length dark hair. He was unshaven, and his pinstripe shirt was open to the mid chest, his jeans torn, but as she glanced down Bec smiled, he too was wearing flip-flops!

The two girls recovered from their fright, and both almost spat at him as they turned on their heel and dashed back in to the building,

He stepped towards her, "You ok? Those two are the nastiest people you could ever meet…..I wish I could blame it on their education!” He laughed. “But I can’t! It’s their breeding!”

Rebecca couldn't help but stare at this knight in shining armour, mouth wide open. Shaking her head, she managed to mutter a response, “I would’ve dealt with them without resorting to violence…”

He squeezed her shoulder, “Shame! But I’m sure you would have. I just hate bullies! I’m Patrick by the way!”

Suddenly she clicked, this was Nate's best friend, taking the hand he offered she shook it firmly.

“But you, on the other hand need no introduction, you are the bane of old Eddie’s life…..another reason for me to put you on a pedestal, I LOVED watching every minute of you humiliating the old bugger. And it hasn't come a moment too soon, this section of society is filled with ingrates, over indulged and ignorant people...but there are some good ones!”

“Like Nate?” she asked hopefully a smile gracing her face.

He slid an arm around her shoulders, “he is one of the greatest men in the World, he sometimes gets bogged down with a sense of responsibility and duty, but pure Nate, on his own, away from all that is someone I would trust with my life.”

“Strong words!” she announced, looking up at him.

“Hopefully strong enough to undo the poison spouted by those two cows?” He waggled his eyebrow in a menacing manner and she couldn't help but laugh.

She shrugged, “I was dreading this moment, I knew it'd be like this. But Nate was so positive, enthusiastic...but I wonder why I’m here...” she gestured around. “None of this is me…I’m a flipping orphan who needed government handouts to get through university...”

Patrick grabbed her arm and pulled her back to face him, “If that's the case then it was against all odds! I’d rather have twenty people who’ve achieved something on their own merit around me than two hundred like those lot in there! They've not achieved anything on their own, most of them occupy useless jobs and supplement their income with handouts from Daddy. I hate them all.”

“So why do you come to these parties?”

He laughed, “I ask myself that question all the time...maybe I need the same reassurances and the same advantages as all the people in there and I'm talking bullshit…maybe I don't belong anywhere else....yet? Or maybe it’s so that I never forget where I could end up? Who knows!”

She laughed, “Thank you for looking out for me, Nate speaks highly of you Patrick, and unlike the others in there, I’m really glad to meet you.”

Enveloping her in a bear hug he whispered, “about time my best mate saw the light of day, you’re going to be good for him.”

As they broke apart form the momentary embrace, they almost simultaneously they spotted Nate standing in the doorway to the restaurant, watching them both intently.

“Hey Nate!” Patrick waved. “You’ve got a feisty one here!! I love her!”

“So I can see!” he said through gritted teeth.

Rebecca could see the cogs turning in his mind, he was adding two and two to make five, shaking her head, she approached him “don’t even think it!” But his bewildered face told her he thought that she was flirting or worse with his best friend.

Turning to Patrick she said, “sorry, but this is the final straw!” 

Without a further word, she ran through the door shoulder barging him out of the way. Out in the street she struggled to find a taxi, desperate to get away from this place, wanting an end to this day. She'd woken so optimistic, but by seven pm she was alone, alienated from everyone. Feeling tears well, she started to walk as fast as she could away from the restaurant.