Page 7 of The Runaway Wives

‘Thank you. You do still want to go away, don’t you?’ Dee asked. ‘Because it’s fine if you’ve decided against it and want to go back and talk things through with Geoff.’

They’d found a lovely little cottage in the small village of Port Telwyn in Cornwall. There’d apparently been a last-minute cancellation so they had booked it for the week. However, Dee was more than happy to go by herself if Babs had thought better of it this morning. She really hoped her best friend and Geoff would make up.

Babs nodded then groaned again. ‘You bet I do. I forgot about it for a minute.’ She took the glass Dee was offering her, popped two painkillers out of the blister pack, swallowed them and downed the glass of water. ‘These will soon kick in and I’ll be right as rain. I need to go to the loo though.’ She flung back the thin duvet and raced out to the bathroom a couple of doors down.

‘I’ll make us scrambled eggs on toast then we can be on our way. We have to collect the keys for the cottage before five, and it’s almost eleven already,’ Dee shouted as she headed down the stairs. It was about a two and a half hour’s drive from Bristol, but the weekend traffic was likely to be heavy.

‘Give me quarter of an hour to shower and get dressed,’ Babs shouted back.

Dee was putting the bread in the toaster when Babs came down, showered, dressed in bright red trousers and a red and yellow top, just over fifteen minutes later. She sniffed appreciatively. ‘Oh, I love the smell of fresh coffee.’

‘Me too. The scrambled eggs are in the microwave and it’s about to ping,’ Dee told her. ‘Sit down and help yourself.’

Babs walked over to the kitchen table which was laid with a cafetière of coffee and a jug of orange juice, two mugs, two glasses, two plates and cutlery. ‘Very nice, I feel like I’m in a hotel.’

The toast popped up out of the toaster at the same time the microwave pinged.

‘Let me help.’ Babs went over to the microwave and took out the jug of perfectly cooked scrambled egg. ‘This looks delicious.’

Dee looked up from buttering the toast and smiled. ‘It’s the easiest and least messy way of doing it, I find.’

‘True. But one minute too long and it’s like rubber, and my timing isn’t always so great,’ Babs said. ‘Want it spooned onto your plate or onto your toast?’

Dee placed a piece of buttered toast on each plate. ‘On the toast, please.’ She cut up the other two slices of buttered toast and put them in the toast rack then they both sat down to eat just as Babs’ mobile rang.

Babs peered at the screen then pursed her lips as she dismissed the call. ‘Geoff,’ she replied to Dee’s enquiring glance. ‘Well, I’m not answering it, let him sweat for a bit.’ She picked up her knife and fork and tucked into her breakfast.

Dee watched her thoughtfully. ‘Maybe you should, he might be apologising.’

‘So he should be!’ A text pinged in and Babs looked down at the screen. ‘Geoff again. No doubt begging me to come home.’

‘Read it, it might be important,’ Dee told her.

Babs sighed, put down her knife, swiped the screen and opened the message. A look of outrage crossed her face. ‘He wants me home. Not to apologise, but because he’s got the estate agent coming back this morning to take photos and do the floor plan.’ She dug fiercely into her toast with her knife. ‘He’s got no chance.’ She looked up at Dee. ‘Well going away for a bit will show him that I’m serious, and give him chance to miss me. Let him see what it’s like living by himself, because if he insists on moving to Spain, he’ll be going alone.’

Dee nodded sympathetically. ‘I must say I’m surprised at his attitude, it’s very heavy-handed of him.’

‘Geoff might come across as easy-going, but as you know he’s got a real stubborn streak and it’s got worse since he retired.’ Babs jutted out her chin defiantly. ‘Well, so have I. And this is one battle he isn’t going to win!’

‘Are you sure you have everything you need in your case? We’ll be away for a week,’ Dee reminded her.

Babs nodded her head. ‘I’ve got plenty and I don’t want to go back to the house, I don’t want to see Geoff right now. Not after how he’s treated me.’ She cut another bit out of her toast and chewed it. ‘Do you know what he said to me when I told him I was coming to yours last night? He said, “you’re overreacting as usual”.’ She looked outraged. ‘As if it’s perfectly reasonable for him to decide to sell our home, and book flights to Spain so we can view properties, without even talking to me about it first.’ She scooped up the last of her scrambled egg with her fork. ‘I’ll be damned if I let him get away with this. He can stew.’

Dee agreed Geoff was being very selfish. Which was totally out of character. Whereas, Nigel was always selfish and him forgetting her birthday or going off with his mates for a week was totallyincharacter.

‘Have you heard from Nige?’ Babs asked, as if reading her mind.

‘He sent me a text wishing me happy birthday and apologising. And he’s transferred five hundred pounds to my bank account so I can treat myself.’ Dee glanced up at the clock on the kitchen wall. ‘He’ll be in Portugal now, too busy enjoying himself with his golfing friends to worry about me.’

‘Men! All they care about is what they want!’ Babs reached for some toast from the rack. ‘They don’t deserve us.’

* * *

They were about to leave when Annabel video-called Dee, and little Hallie sang ‘Happy Birthday’, almost word perfect. Tears sprung to Dee’s eyes as she listened to her adorable little granddaughter.

‘Thank you, darling,’ she said, blowing a kiss to Hallie who blew a kiss back.

‘Is Dad taking you out to dinner?’ Annabel asked.

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