You Got It Wrong - Part Four

Chapter Four

                “You want me to help?”

Theo looked at Tara, Sadie’s sister and sighed, “do I want you to? No. Do I need you to? No. I can look after Melody for the rest of my life, but your sister is in a mess, she needs help. I am not that man anymore, but I’m hoping you will be.”

                “Why do you care?” Tara was scowling at him.

He shrugged, “I don’t, not about her really. Not anymore, but I care about Melody, she deserves better. This is her last chance, I’m seeing my lawyer later, I’m GOING to have custody of my daughter, but I believe that she deserves some form of a mother. Do you disagree?”

Tara sighed, “I haven’t seen her for a while.”

                “Well she was drunk, mid afternoon when she was supposed to have Melody. Work that one out.” He ran his hands through her hair, “I know you hate me, I know you blame me for her being as she is. But you need to get past that if you guys want to see Melody. I’m not joking Tara, I mean this.”

The older woman finally looked a little embarrassed, “but...”

He held up his hand and silenced her, “you’ve always hated me, and I had no desire to call you, but this is your one chance. I’m now going to get my daughter, so if you don’t mind...” He directed to the door and whilst she was flustered for a moment, she held her head high and marched out of his office.

No sooner had she left than Monica his secretary burst in.

                “Theo sorry to burst in, but they’re calling every two minutes from the Lion Street project, apparently problems only you can solve.” She handed him a telephone number, “they won’t stop calling.”

He grimaced, “I’ve got to pick Melody up...”

Monica was no childminder, she didn’t have children because she didn’t want them, but she smiled, “bring her here if you need to. But only for half hour max.”

He grinned, “you are awesome!”

She held up a quietening hand, “anymore false love and I’ll say no, you hear?”

Looking at the telephone number, Theo sank to his chair and rested his elbows on his desk, the world kept turning, and that almost surprised him he was so wrapped up in his own trauma.

He’d only recently been able to move into the office from the building site he was about to call, he’d started a business renovating properties in his early twenties; a guilt payment precipitated that from his grandfather. But it had been hard work and belligerence that had seen it grow into the business it was now. He had three huge construction projects currently happening in London and was about to meet with his architect friend Richard to discuss a few more. Finally after all those years of working hard, ten years of graft, he was starting to reap the rewards. At the expense of your marriage, a voice echoed, and it was right, he had neglected his new wife in the months and years after their wedding, but it was only at attempt to make as much money as she was spending. Though he failed at that dismally. The marriage and plugging the gaps.

He groaned, no one was ever totally innocent in life, but he’d always done right by his daughter, that was how he managed to sleep at night.

                “I am never drinking again Nina Willoughby, do you hear me?”

Nina was drinking coffee in Amelia’s kitchen when the voice echoed shakily down the stairs. She chuckled as a rather pale almost green version of Lilah emerged from the hallway.

                “You want coffee?”

She shook her head, “got any Resolve or paracetamol at least?”

As Nina stood to search the cupboards Lilah shook her head, “how the hell do you manage to drink as much as we did and not have a hangover?”

Nina tossed her some painkillers and shrugged, “you know me. Would never drink if I felt as rough as you the next day. Anyway, stick to grain; it’s the grapes that kill you!” And that was always true in her eyes, whisky, beer nothing flawed her, but a few glasses of wine - she'd suffer the next day.

Lilah groaned, “something’s killing me, slowly and surely, I know that much.”

It had been a great night for the headache though; they’d had dinner in a small restaurant they often went to, an Italian off a side street in SoHo. Then they’d moved to various pubs, laughing, talking, flirting, drinking, until they ended up in a club, Lilah dancing on a table, Nina giggling in the corner. It was a night to remember, and just what they both needed, because now Nina was on a deadline to create the rings that she’d promised.

An hour later after a carb heavy breakfast, coffee and a shower, Lilah had a rejuvenation, “come on Missy, shopping!”

With a groan, Nina followed her out into the unknown.

Nina couldn’t describe how she felt at seeing her brother again. He was sat in the restaurant of a five star hotel on his phone as she observed him from a distance. She’d never been close to him, not even as kids, he was ten years older than her, but a world away in every other way. Their father had loved him, taking him everywhere with him, but he wasn’t half as affectionate with her. Growing up she’d resented that, and then when Imelda came along she presumed that the balance would sway that another female in the house would see her have an ally, but that didn’t work. Instead, she’d felt even more of an outcast.

Imelda was only five years older than her brother, and she should have spotted that things were different between them, should have seen the signs, but instead a couple of days before her eighteenth birthday she’d found them together, in bed. But it didn’t hurt Nina as much as it should, could...she’d already had her heart broken at the ruthless hands of her family and was already planning to leave as soon as her birthday arrived.

                “Nina!” Her brother’s voice called out and dragged her back to the here and now. He was smiling at her, he needed her and this was a whole new side of her brother.

She took a deep breath and walked into the restaurant, as she sat opposite him she ordered a beer from the waiter, ignoring James’ frown. Then looked up at him.

                “So you want more money?”

It had come as a huge surprise after her father passed away that he’d left her not only executor of his will, but also as trustee. He’d left specific instructions on how he wanted his wealth, his estate used, and she was holding it to the letter, it was the least she could do for the man who’d died alone, betrayed by his wife and son, and distant from his daughter. His whole estate was split into three parts, her, her brother and Imelda. Every time they took a chunk of cash from the estate, the accountants she worked with ring fenced a similar amount to her. Though she hadn’t touched any of it, it felt wrong. But earlier as she’d spoken to the men who managed the portfolio of shares, accounts and property they had warned her that there wasn’t a lot left outside of concrete properties, if her brother and Imelda squandered this money, then the reality if selling the central London house was a reality.

She smiled at James who was squirming, he hated the power that she had over the situation, but it made Nina smile inside, as much as she hated the lazy, presumptuous living of her step mother and brother, she knew that it galled them to come to her cap in hand begging for cash.

                “The accountants say this is the last, if this goes then you’ll have to sell the house, it’s worth a fortune, I mean it’s a great location, but once you have your thirds of that...there isn’t a great deal left.”

James squirmed again, “I’ve invested the last money, that’ll start paying out soon.”

She nodded, taking the beer from the waiter and draining half of it, “I’ve authorised twenty thousand with the accountants, if you contact them they’ll release it, I’ve put your remaining money into six instalments, you can take them any time, but once they’re gone, that’s it bar the house.”

James shrugged, embarrassed at the way she talked down to him, “that’s fine.”

She nodded, “and if there’s more than fifty thousand pounds of debt against the house...you lose that entirely.” Her father had been wise to their antics, her brother and Imelda would carry on regardless of bills and potentially lose everything, but by not signing the house over to them, it was in Nina’s name, they were nothing more than lodgers there.

That caused his eyes to snap up; he hadn’t read the small print, obviously. With a sickly grin, she stood and gave a curt nod, then left.

                “Ooohh, new shoes?”

Nina looked up from her task of setting up half a dozen easels in the activity room of the Residential Home when she heard the voice behind her. Looking back, she smiled at Cheryl her most regular attendee, then glanced down at the flower covered Converse that she’d bought in London.

                “Well spotted, a little treat for myself.”

Cheryl smiled, “nice to see something feminine, you area really pretty girl...”

                “But I don’t show it?” Nina finished the comment for her, “you sound like my late Gran. I’m comfy Cheryl, that’s all that matters.”

She glanced at her reflection in the mirror on the wall, her black spiky hair was feathered over one eye, her layered vests and denim shorts were practical for her work and for the warm weather. They weren’t glamorous or smart, but they were her style, what she wanted. Why did no one understand that?

Lilah insisted that she’d never “snag a man” dressed as she did. But what Lilah, Cheryl, her grandmother...and most of the male species failed to understand, was that she didn’t want a man who saw the external fripperies of life, if there was a man out there who was worthy of her, then he’d see past her lack of glamour and over femininity, to the true, real Nina Willoughby and want to spend every moment of their lives with her, being attracted to how she looked was destined for disaster, she knew that only too well.