Wags To Riches, page 13
“Are you and Dave decorating this weekend Alex?” I ask her as she returns from the kitchen with two cups of tea.
“Yes – worse luck” Alex says with a grimace. “Believe me, I would much rather go round the shops with you, but Dave wants to make a start on the bedroom and I can’t leave him with all the wallpapering can I?”
“Oh I don’t know” I say smiling, “no - you can’t really. Looks like it’s just me and Gina shopping on Saturday then as Tony is taking Sharon to Madrid this weekend.”
“Blimey” Alex replies, “How the other half live eh?” I smile whilst thinking about the screaming row Sharon and Tony had had at the wedding. You don’t know the half of it mate I think to myself. I press ‘reply’ to Gina’s message and type:
Hi Gina! I’d love to go shopping on Sat. What time and where?
A moment later Gina replies:
Great! Meet U 10.00 near the clock.
How was Paris? I text back.
Gina replies with a single word:
Magic!
I smile and answer another call before glancing up at the clock. Only three hours to go before they let me out thank God.
* * * *
Later on, I’m sat across from Adam in his dining room, tucking into a delicious dinner. “Mmmmm - this is lovely” I say, “You are a really good cook Adam – this tuna steak is gorgeous. What kind of sauce is it in again?”
“It’s one of my own creations – it’s got sweet chilli and lime in” Adam replies. “I’m glad you like it”.
“Oh I do – it’s great. The potatoes are nice as well” I add, smiling as I take a sip of wine. I could get used to this. After dinner, we go through to the living room and snuggle up together on the sofa. Adam picks up the remote control for the DVD recorder and scrolled through the menu to a football highlights programme. “Is it okay if we watch this?” he asks. “Only I recorded this at the weekend and I haven’t had chance to watch it yet”.
“Okay” I say. Hopefully it won’t be on long.
“I promise you can watch Eastenders afterwards” he adds, winking at me as the programme starts. “Hey – this is from our match against Tanningworth!” he says grinning and sits forward as footage of him scoring a goal fills the TV screen. “OH – WHAT A GOAL!” he shouts and I laugh. Adam then plays the footage again, studying the screen intently. “See there - look Gail” he says, getting off the sofa and pointing at the screen, “If I’d have passed to Tony – there, look” he points to a figure on the screen, “I could have got into position earlier and scored earlier. Still, it was a bloody good goal”.
“It was a brilliant goal Adam” I reply, “but I think the best bit is after the goal myself,” I add, snuggling up to him again as he pauses the DVD and sits back down on the sofa. “This bit” I say and point towards the screen where a completely elated Adam is running round the edge of the pitch shouting at the fans, just before the rest of the team all jump on him and hug him. “I bet it’s a brilliant feeling isn’t it to score a goal?” I ask, looking up at him.
“It’s the best Gail – it’s the best feeling on earth,” Adam replies fervently.
“What – better than sex?” I ask grinning.
“Well I wouldn’t go that far” he replies and we both laugh.
“Gina texted me at work today – they got back from Paris all right” I say after a moment, reaching down to my handbag on the floor. I want to have a look at the mini statement I’d got from the ATM to see how much I’ve got to spend when I go shopping on Saturday.
“Yeah, Tim was at training this afternoon” Adam replies.
“Oh - of course he would have been,” I say, remembering what Gina had said at the wedding. “Anyway - she asked me if I wanted to go shopping with her this Saturday as you are playing away. Where are you playing?”
“We’re playing Kennington Rovers on Saturday – they are based in Birmingham so I should be back in time for dinner” Adam adds.
“Oh great!” I reply.
“It will be nice for you to go shopping with Gina Gail; it will do you good to treat yourself” Adam says.
“Yeah – trouble is though” I say frowning as I look at the mini statement and quickly worked out in my head what was left to go out of the bank, “I haven’t got a lot of money to spend. Still, it will be nice to have a look round anyway”.
“Oh Gail don’t be silly! I’ll give you some money. You can’t go shopping with hardly any money to spend! Here,” Adam says, reaching into his pocket and taking out his wallet. He pulls out a thick wad of notes and hands them to me. “Do you think that will be enough?”
I look at the money and then him, completely flabbergasted. “Adam! You can’t give me all this!” I protest, “There must be four hundred quid here!” Even as I say it a little voice inside my head is thinking Wow! I could get tons of new stuff with this!
“Yes I can” Adam says firmly, “Now make sure you buy lots of nice things to wear. You don’t have to pay me the money back either” he adds, putting his wallet back in his jeans pocket. “It’s a gift”.
“Are you sure?” I ask, feeling slightly troubled and delighted at the same time.
“Yes of course! If you look good then we both benefit,” he says, smiling his sexy lopsided smile at me.
“How do you mean?” I hardly dare ask.
“Well, you feel good and I’ve got a seriously hot looking woman to enjoy looking at!” he says laughing as my mouth falls open.
“Adam! You are outrageous!” I say blushing.
“I know - but it’s true though isn’t it?” Adam says smiling at the look of shock on my face. “Now come here and give me a kiss”.
* * * *
Early Saturday morning after a nice breakfast of two croissants with jam and coffee, I’m stood in front of my wardrobe at home in my underwear, looking through all my clothes. I have no idea at all what to wear. No doubt Gina will be looking gorgeous in some gorgeous designer outfit and I’ll be stood next to her feeling like a bloody ugly little troll. I look through the hangers and finally decide on jeans, boots and my black slash necked jumper. It’s really cold again, so I put my electric blue furry coat on and go to get the bus into town. I glance at my watch as I walk to the bus stop. Adam will have left by now. Hope he wins today.
The bus arrives bang on time for once and I get into town early, so I buy a newspaper and decide to have a coffee before going to wait for Gina. I find a café, order a latte and go to sit down. I take a couple of sips of coffee. It’s lovely – just the thing on a cold Saturday morning. I open the newspaper and read the first few pages before taking another sip of coffee and turning the page and almost spitting the coffee out.
There, on page seven, is a large photograph of me and Adam walking along, hand in hand on a busy London street! Oh my God! When did they take that? I feel suddenly exposed, almost naked. Look at me - I look awful! I’m never wearing that jumper again – I didn’t realise I looked that fat in it. Then I see the words printed at the top of the page. Oh, - just look at that! I close my eyes for a second in complete disbelief. The headline reads:
‘Adam and his new love – will this one last?’
What do they mean – will this one last? There is also a small paragraph at the side of the picture:
‘Adam Finchley, star striker for Grandmere United, is currently said to be besotted with another stunning girl! Her name is Gail Auden, who is 26 and works for a plastics company. A source close to the couple said when they recently attended the celebrity wedding of fellow soccer ace Tim Winters and model Gina Armstrong-Jones, that they couldn’t keep their hands off each other and seemed to be really in love!’
“Who the bloody hell said that?” I wonder aloud as I lift my head and then hastily look down as a few people in the café turn to stare at me. At the bottom of the paragraph I read ‘For Louise Timmings comment, see Page 11’. Timmings – Timmings – I know that name from somewhere. I turn hastily to page 11, my heart beating fast. The top of the page shows a picture of a nasty looking woman and underneath it the caption:
‘Tell it like it is Timmings – Always an Honest Voice’.
I think I’ll be the judge of that.
Underneath the headline ‘Adam and Gail – Is It For Real?’ I read that -apparently:
‘Adam is well known for having an eye for the ladies and the ladies are well known for having a soft spot for Adam, our readers recently having voted him one of the ten sexiest men in England. But Adam’s reputation as a ladies’ man may be all about to change, however with the arrival of Gail Auden on the scene – a refreshingly down-to-earth, if somewhat curvy girl’.
Somewhat curvy? What is that supposed to mean? Cheeky cow!
‘Gail is understandably coy about her new flame and didn’t give much away when I contacted her recently…’
Ah – so that’s where I know the name Timmings. Should have told her to bugger off.
‘I do wish her well but can’t help but wonder if a leopard can change its spots…’
Well – thank you for that Louise. I’m angry now. She doesn’t even know us and already she’s written us off! I look at my watch. It’s two minutes to ten. I’d better go. I quickly finish my coffee and leave the café, still annoyed. I get to the clock and hurry up to Gina who is waiting for me, looking like she’s just stepped out of the pages of Vogue in a purple suede jacket, jeans and high heeled boots. “Parking!” she exclaims, shaking her dark shiny hair everywhere, “Took me ages to find a space!” She kisses me on both cheeks. “Are you all right?” she asks, looking at me concerned.
“Oh – I’m just pissed off about this” I say and show Gina the newspaper. Gina looks at the article and then at me sympathetically.
“What can I do?” I say, “It’s such a load of rubbish!”
“I know it is Gail,” Gina says soothingly, “but there’s nothing you can do. You can either drive yourself crazy worrying what they are all saying about you and Adam or just ignore them and get on with life.”
“Is this what it’s like though when you go out with someone like Adam?” I ask indignantly, “People write crap about you in the newspapers? Is it going to be like this all the time?”
Gina smiles at me. “No of course not,” she says soothingly. “It’s bound to be a shock for you -you’re not used to it. I’ve had years of this – speculation about my weight, about mine and Tim’s relationship – whether I’m going to have a baby – whether I’ve had a boob job - all sorts. Like I say,” she says, shrugging her shoulders, “it goes with the territory. Adam’s a good looking, wealthy guy who plays football for a living - people are bound to be interested in him - what he’s doing and who his girlfriend is. And as for that thing about being curvy – well, she’s just jealous anyway!”
I smile ruefully back. “It’s easy for you to say Gina –look at you - you are so skinny!” I reply as we walk up to Moreton’s, a very swanky department store.
“Oh if only!” Gina protests laughing as she steps into the revolving door. I follow her in and we are stood in the bright and pristine cosmetics hall. “Darling, I simply must get another pot of Plasmolux” Gina says and walks over to the Decruima counter.
“Another pot of what?” I ask as Gina picks up a large tub of what looks like face cream.
“Decruima’s Age Defying Plasmolux darling – it is the best thing to delay the signs of ageing” Gina replies, looking at the counter, “Oooh – look Gail there’s a refillable tub there with a 9 carat gold lid – I’ll get that” and I try not to physically flinch as Gina spends two hundred and fifty pounds on a pot of moisturiser. “It’s better than Botox for getting rid of wrinkles Gail” Gina says as she puts her credit card back in her bag.
“I haven’t tried either Gina, so I wouldn’t know” I say.
“Well get some, honestly – you won’t know what you did without it” she replies firmly. “Your skin will feel absolutely fantastic”.
“Okay - you’ve sold it to me” I say and purchase an albeit much smaller pot at the princely sum of thirty-five pounds.
“Promise me you’ll try it tonight before you go to bed” Gina says.
“Okay” I reply as we go over to another cosmetics counter. I’m still trying to get my head round Gina spending two hundred and fifty pounds on a moisturiser. Gosh – fancy being able to do that and not have a coronary when the credit card bill comes. I shake my head in disbelief.
“This is nice Gail” Gina says, picking out a lip gloss in a shimmery pink colour. “That colour would suit you”.
“Oh that is nice” I say admiring it, “I’ve just bought that moisturiser though”.
Gina rolls her eyes. “Gail – it is okay to treat yourself you know” she says. “Go on – live a little!” The words Adam had said to me before he gave me the money flit across my mind -‘Do you good to treat yourself.’ It would be nice actually to treat myself. I think I deserve it.
“Okay – I’ll get it” I say.
“Good!” Gina says. “And when you’ve paid for that, we’ll go and look at some clothes”.
****
“I really like that bikini I’ve bought Gina” I say as I sip my coffee, “but God knows where or when I’m going to wear it”. We’ve decided to take a break from spending and have a spot of lunch.
“Oh I’m sure it will come in when you and Adam go on holiday” Gina says brightly, using her complimentary biscuit to stir her cappuccino and then taking a bite. “Besides – you couldn’t not buy it at that price can you?”
“Well that’s true” I say. I just didn’t plan on buying a teal coloured string bikini today – it’s not the usual thing I would buy on a shopping trip – normally it’s a new top and a CD or something. It is gorgeous though.
“Now – what shall we have to eat?” Gina asks, picking up the menu. “They do lovely pastries in here” she says as she leans across the table. “I know we shouldn’t really, but their lemon meringue is to die for” she whispers.
“Well – we’ll have two large slices of that then” I say firmly, “and a bowl of chips each” and Gina laughs. After the waitress has taken the order, I look at the many bags resting on the floor around us. “You don’t think that pink suede miniskirt I’ve bought is too short do you?” I ask Gina.
“No – not at all” Gina asserts. “There’s nothing wrong with showing a bit of leg you know darling! It doesn’t mean you are a hussy!”
“Oh I know” I reply, “it’s just a bit shorter than what I’d normally wear that’s all”. Well – quite a lot shorter actually. “I didn’t think I’d quite got the legs to wear something like that” I say.
“Gail – it looks great, honestly” Gina says, “You must stop putting yourself down!”
I smile. “I know” I reply. “I can’t believe how much stuff I’ve bought today” I continue, “Bikini, two tops, bra and knickers set, that pink skirt, pair of jeans...”
“Don’t forget those gorgeous leopard skin heels” Gina interjects,
“Pair of heels – thank you Gina - and a dress. Oh and the moisturiser and lip gloss”. In a few hours I have bought the same amount of clothes than what I would normally buy over a few months.
“And I’ve got two skirts, pair of trousers, moisturiser, scarf and two tops – that’s quite good going” Gina says, looking through her shopping as she spoke. “It’s going to be fun carrying all this lot to the car!”
“Where have you parked darling?” Gina asks as we make our way through town.
“Oh I can’t drive” I say, “I was just going to get a taxi back to Adam’s. I thought it would be nice to be there when he comes home from the match”.
“Oh let me give you a lift - you can’t wait for a taxi with all that lot” Gina says.
“That would be great thanks” I reply gratefully and we start to stagger up the stairs in the multi-storey car park.
“Why can’t we use the lift Gina?” I ask after a few minutes as we trudge slowly up yet another flight of rotten stairs. I don’t know how Gina is managing these stairs in those heels – I really don’t. My feet are killing me and my boots have a much lower heel than hers.
“This is giving us a good aerobic workout” Gina says, stopping for a second to catch her breath, “It will help burn off that lemon meringue”.
“Oh good” I say dryly, panting slightly. “I’m so glad you parked right at the top Gina” I add and she laughs. Finally, we get to the top floor and stand for a few seconds getting our breath back.
“That’s my car there,” Gina says proudly, pointing to a bay where a smart looking black Porsche Cayenne Turbo was parked. “Tim bought it me for my birthday”.
“Oh right” I say, “Run out of bath salts had they?” I ask jokingly and Gina laughs.
We get in the car and Gina drives us to Adam’s. She drives like a maniac! Does everybody drive like this in this world? After a near miss on a roundabout and a particularly hair raising corner that Gina decided to take at 40mph instead of 20, we finally arrive outside the gates to Adam’s house. I get out to punch the security code in, my legs trembling and then reluctantly get back in. Gina drives down to the house and pulls up outside the front door.
“Here we are!” she says brightly, “I’ll just open the boot for you darling. Do you need a hand with your bags?”
“No- I’ll be fine thanks” I say as I fumble in my handbag for my keys.
“Well - see you soon Gail!” Gina says, getting out of the car and enveloping me in a heavily perfumed hug, “I’ll give you a ring and hopefully next time Sharon can come out with us as well”.
“That would be great,” I say. And I’ll get a taxi home instead. “Thanks for today – I’ve had a really good time”.
“Yes – I have too, it‘s been great!” she replies and gets back into the car, “And don’t worry about the newspapers Gail!” she calls and waves as she heads off down the drive. Hmmm – that’s easy for you to say I think. You’re used to this. And the article wasn’t about you and Tim. I take the paper out of my bag and put it on the table to ask Adam about it later, before carrying all my bags upstairs.
