Mike's phone beeped just as he was parking his car. He glanced at the text. It was from Sandra. He felt a twinge of alarm. She wanted him to ring her. He put the phone on loudspeaker and looked around him. Sandra wanted him to put some money into her account and so he had decided to come to a branch of his bank on the other side of town. He didn't want to arouse suspicion by going to his usual branch where people knew him.
Sandra answered immediately, speaking to him in low, sultry tones.
'Darling I left my sunglasses in your car, they're very expensive ones, Gucci, when you've finished at the bank we could have lunch together and you could give them to me, I'm lost without them.'
For the first time Sandra's voice failed to give him a thrill, instead he was filled with panic.
'I'm not sure if I can today Sandra, Nell's calling us on Skype at lunchtime.'
There was a long silence and Mike could imagine Sandra pouting with irritation and trying to furrow her botoxed brow, but when she spoke it was with her usual seductive charm.
'Never mind darling, text me when you're free. You have got all my codes haven't you? Would you like me to read them out to you again?'
The bank was full and Mike joined the queue and stood looking out of the window.
He saw a cafè on the corner over the road that looked the sort of place he and Jackie would like.
The thought of Jackie filled him with alarm. He hadn't really thought about her much lately.
What would she do if she found out about Sandra? He'd got swept away by Sandra's infatuation for him, it was a new and exciting sensation for him to be so adored. He'd never doubted that Jackie loved him but she'd never been like Sandra.
Mike had never been popular with the girls growing up in Newcastle. He wasn't good at sport or handsome and was quiet and shy. He'd grown up in the shadow of his older brother Jonathan who always had a string of beautiful girl friends and was a top lawyer by the time he was thirty. Mike had become a doctor and specialised in Dermatology and got a job in a big London hospital. It was there that he met Jackie who was training to be a teacher and shared a flat with one of the nurses on his ward. Jackie was kind and caring and a great cook. Jonathan described her as 'good solid wife material', making it sound dull and boring. Jackie was his first and only girl friend. He remembered feeling so grateful that someone was interested in him and he asked her to marry him within a year. They'd had Nell two years after their wedding. She was easy-going and cheerful like Jackie and the three of them formed a happy family unit, quietly getting on with the business of their lives, working hard and taking care of each other and their families.
All this had changed last year. Nell went off to Australia for two years as part of her course as an architect, his parents went into a home, both with extreme memory loss and his brother Jonathan left his second wife for a beautiful Danish barrister. Mike had been asked to work in a clinic in Harley Street on a part time basis and it had seemed a good idea to prepare for his retirement from the hospital. His clients were all beautiful women seeking to be even more beautiful and afraid of growing old. They were very appreciative of his skills and he was constantly being asked out for lunch to admire the results of his work.
Mike had become unsettled and restless. Jackie was still teaching and didn't seem to notice that he had lost his appetite in the evening after his long lunches with wine. Without Nell around the house was quiet and he would go off to bed saying he was tired after the extra hours at the clinic.
Mike sighed heavily and the man in front turned round.
'It's busy this morning, but I'll be quick. I'm meeting my wife at the Cedar cafè.'
The man had a lovely Scottish accent and a very kind face.
Mike smiled at him and looked at his phone. There was a text from Sandra, full of kisses and then reminding him of the amount she wanted. Mike felt guilt creep all over him and somewhere deep inside he started to feel ashamed. He wished he was able to say he was meeting Jackie at the cafè.
Mike looked out of the window and his heart skipped a beat as he saw Jackie pushing her mother past in a wheelchair. She was leaning forward and seemed to be listening intently to what her mother was saying. A wave of tenderness and love swept over him and he had to pinch his nose as tears threatened to fall. How vulnerable they looked and how beautiful. In a flash of wisdom he saw that their gentle calm life together was based on a deep true love. She may have been the only woman he had made love to, before Sandra, but he now knew that she was the only one he wanted. Jackie was his friend and lover and though they might have been a bit distant lately, he wanted her back and to start again.
The Scottish man tapped him on the shoulder.
'I've finished mate, it's your turn.'
Mike went up to the counter and spoke through the glass.
'Sorry I've made a mistake, I've come to the wrong place.'
He ran back to the car and pulled out his phone.
'Sandra, I'm sorry, I need to see you, I've made a mistake, I'm very sorry.'
He was aware that he was gabbling, his words desperately trying to put right what he'd done wrong. There would be recriminations he was sure, and hurtful words, but Sandra would soon console herself, of that he was sure. It was Jackie that he was afraid of hurting beyond repair. He would have to tell her the truth and then he would have to convince her that he was sorry. It wouldn't be easy but he would do anything to have his old life back. Maybe he could take her to a spa and then in the Summer they could visit Nell in Australia. His phone rang, it was Jackie.
'Hi Mike, I've just taken mum to a new cafè on the west side of town, near her hairdressers. I think you'd like it. They do proper Italian coffee and Almond pastries.
I was thinking that I might book us a spa for half-term. What do you think?'
Mike drew in his breath.
Did he imagine it or was her voice different? She sounded almost afraid.
'Oh Jackie, I would love that. You have no idea how much.'
He paused and then said all in one breath,
'I love you.'
It sounded like she was crying as she replied. 'I love you too.'
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