Amanda’s cheekiness answering his phone to Charlie had set off a chain of events back in London that Simon found amusing. Charlie had always been the charismatic one in the friendship, ever since university. That’s why Simon was surprised when Anika had first shown interest in him instead.
Simon wasn’t as handsome as Charlie but he was tall and he was cleverer with numbers. The business idea had been his but Charlie had the connections with the cool crowd in society circles. The boys who wanted to get richer faster.
When Simon had left university early to focus on the business with Charlie, his mother was horrified. But when he started to bring home more money than she had ever seen as a university professor, she had to admit his idea had worked. Then Anika came into his life at twenty-five and he bought an apartment upon her advice along the Riverwalk in London. It was Charlie who suggested that he buy it through the business, something about it being a tax write-off, and Simon did it because he wanted to be with Anika and because it meant he didn’t have to live with his mother anymore.
Anika had finally called him recently but he didn’t take the call. What would he say? And he didn’t want to hear any excuses about her cheating. Anika had always had an excuse for her poor behaviour, even when she was clearly in the wrong.
She’s Charlie’s problem now,he thought as he lay on his bed scrolling through the photos on his phone. Photos of his former life, but what was the life he was living now?
Trying to learn how to garden, earning a minimal wage and living in what was ostensibly a shed that had been done up to accommodate a person living there short-term.
It wasn’t an ideal situation so why did he wake up happy to start the day? He went to bed thinking about the garden and woke up wondering what had happened overnight. Were the seeds sprouting? Would the wisteria survive Frank’s pruning? What was Amanda planning for the day?
As the sun rose, Simon was in the garden with a cup of tea in the old tin mug from the cupboard under the sink.
A year ago he would have been on his way to the office. He laughed to himself, thinking about how important he thought he was back then. Whenever anyone asked him how he was, he would answer that he was busy.
Busy isn’t a state of mind, he thought, it’s a trap.
His phone rang and he saw it was his mother. She would never usually ring this early unless it was about something urgent, so he answered.
‘Finally you’ve decided to speak to you mother,’ she said.
‘What’s happened? Why are you calling so early?’ He put his tea down on a low wall.
‘Nothing’s happened but I thought I would try you earlier in the day since you avoid me at every other time of the day.’
‘I’m not avoiding you, Mother,’ he said. He remained still as he watched a roe deer with a new fawn stagger across the grass at the fence line near Diana’s house. The baby tottered behind its mother, who was warily making her way to the forest behind them.
‘You are – you’re avoiding everything and Charlie said you have an American assistant? What are you doing?’
Simon rolled his eyes at the phone. ‘She’s not my assistant, she’s my friend – and why are you talking to Charlie, Mother. Do you have no loyalty?’
His mother snorted. ‘Of course I have loyalty. I can’t stand Charlie; always thought he was a little pretend aristocrat with his airs and graces. He was so desperate to be inTatleror marry someone with a title it was ridiculous.’
‘So why were you speaking with him?’ asked Simon. ‘You know you’re a gossip, Mum.’
‘I’m not,’ she stated.
‘You study history, Mum – much of which is hearsay and gossip.’
‘No, it’s facts, and we can deduce the stories from the facts. And the fact in this case is that Charlie rang me to ask about the American, as he was concerned and wondered where you were working.’
‘I bet he was,’ Simon muttered. ‘I’m fine, Mum. I’m working and I’m enjoying myself. It’s nice to have a break for a while.’
‘That’s good. I’m glad you’re feeling better.’ She paused. ‘Anika also called me,’ she added.
‘Christ, Mum, why didn’t you just have them over for dinner?’
Sometimes his mother was so frustrating it made him want to scream. Did she not understand that her decision to speak to the people who broke his heart was disloyal?
‘She and Charlie broke up.’
Simon sat down on the wall next to his mug of tea. ‘What?’
‘Yes, apparently she made a mistake,’ his mother said.
‘Which part? Cheating or lying or the choice of the bloke?’
