The Friendship Affair

Not all long lasting marriages are happy. But what do you do if divorce is not an option?

University friends, Stephanie and Nick, meet again after twenty years. But life has not been easy or simple for either of them. Will this friendship affair stand a chance against reality?  

CHAPTER 5

Stephanie knew she was running late, but had warned Nick of the possibility earlier in the day. The meeting had taken longer than usual since the client had misplaced an invoice she had needed to calculate the VAT.

She rushed forward a few steps, then stopped to consult her tablet for his directions.

Five minutes later, she stopped again, this time, to admire the view.

Like the week before, she couldn't believe this place existed.

A tiny cottage, hidden from view in the fairy garden. She had passed several people on the main path.

“For a secret, this place was popular,” she muttered to herself.

Only when she reached the fifth bench situated on the left-hand side of the path did she pause to look around. Once she was sure she was alone, she quickly stepped off the path and slipped into the trees behind the bench.

The trees and bushes were denser, but it wasn't too difficult to find the overgrown footpath.

He was waiting at the entrance.

“Glad you made it.”

She ran a hand through her hair, pulling out a few leaves that were caught in her curls.

“Me too.”

He waved a hand to his left. “Shall we?”

They walked a few meters away from the cottage into a small clearing.

“A picnic?”

“Had to offer you at least something to drink in this heat. Make yourself comfortable.”

While the pencil skirt wasn't exactly suited for casual wear, she managed to sit down on the blanket without making a fool of herself. Of course, holding his hand had helped. That was after she almost let go when she felt an electric current sizzle up her arm.

She only relaxed when it appeared that he hadn't noticed.

After making himself comfortable, he reached into a cooler camouflaged as a backpack and pulled out a bottle with two long stemmed glasses.

Her eyebrows rose. “Are we celebrating something?”

The bottle opened with a pshh.

“Yep,” he replied as he poured and handed her the first glass.

Bubbles tickled her nose when she smelled it.

“Sparkling apple juice. How appropriate.”

He grinned. “Can't have you drinking during working hours now, can I?”

He touched his glass to hers. “I ended it with Danielle.”

She took a sip of the refreshing juice. It was better than anything she had had before. Or maybe it was the surroundings.

“Why? I thought you kissed and made up after the previous time.”

He reached into the backpack and pulled out a prepackaged platter with cheeses and an assortment of crackers beautifully arranged around slices of apples and pears.

Waiting until she had helped herself, he leaned back against a tree trunk.

“I found someone better to spend my time with.”

Nick's words followed her the rest of the week.
When she was updating the books for her clients, or doing the laundry or shopping, it was as if he was haunting her. Not in a bad way, but somehow his presence was everywhere.
When she called the hospital, a sense of guilty relief enveloped her, when the nurse reported that “he was not having a good day”. Those good days were becoming less and less frequent.
She sighed after thanking the woman.
In the beginning, she naively thought that he would remember her and be the man she had married. Now she called first. It was painful to see him as lifeless as a dummy, or so aggressive that she often feared he would hurt her.
Shaking her head to let go of the depressing thoughts, Stephanie poured herself some iced tea and got back to work.

~ Read Ch 1  Ch 2  Ch 3 Ch 4 

~ Next week: Chapter 6

Book Feature: 4 Novellas by Stevie Turner

1. Lily (Historical/ Paranormal)

 Lily is 92 and failing in health.  Her family tells her she is going on a little holiday, and although she finds herself still on her beloved Isle of Wight, to her horror she is now living permanently in a residential home at the mercy of Bridie, the ‘horrible’ one. 

To make what is left of her life happier she thinks about years gone by, and once again wonders about the strange disappearance of her 14 year old sister Violet in 1897.  However, every cloud has a silver lining, and amidst the daily horror of her life she is delighted to find out that somebody at the home can shed new light on the mystery.

Buy Link  http://bookShow.me/B018TA6NPS

2.  The Noise Effect:   (Women's Fiction/ Suspense)

 What lengths would you go to in order to ensure a peaceful existence?  Newlyweds Eve and Leigh Chandler are thrilled to be given a council house on a recently built estate after living with Eve’s parents for a year, and are eager to get to know their new neighbours.  Eve quickly forms a friendship with Tessa Patterson at number 16, but things turn sour when Mark Denny moves into number 18 with his two teenage sons.

 The Dennys enjoy playing their music loud enough for the whole street to hear.  Leigh and Eve, both normally easy-going and placid, complain to the council after being driven to distraction by noise emanating from the house next door.  However, this only serves to make them a sitting target for Mark Denny’s anger, causing Eve to discover a previously hidden side of her new husband that she was totally unaware of.

Buy Link  http://bookShow.me/B018TA6NPS

3.  The Pilates Class:  (Humorous)

 The Pilates Class is a quick read, and a humorous look at the lives and loves of several different characters attending a Pilates exercise class for the first time. 

Roger is a down-to-earth builder type, Judy is the harassed single mother of four teenage boys, and Thelma is a librarian who usually looks as though she's been sitting on a wasps’ nest for most of her life.  Neville is on the lookout for a woman (any woman will do), and Julian just wants to be young again.  Edie is the wrong side of 70, and Roz is a size zero fitness queen.

These characters, together with one very overweight Alice, all meet up for the first time at their local Pilates class.  Petra, the class instructor, has no idea what she has let herself in for!

Buy Link  http://bookShow.me/B018TA6NPS

4.  Cruising Danger:  (Thriller / Suspense)

 When Pauline Edmunds agrees to accompany her friend Shirley on a Caribbean cruise, she is disappointed to be left alone almost at the start when Shirley starts a holiday romance with Joe Collins, a guitarist in a band working on board the ship.  However, Pauline does not like the look of Joe, and tries to dissuade Shirley from continuing the affair.  When Shirley suddenly cannot be found one morning, Pauline suspects that Joe may have something to do with her friend’s disappearance and she starts to investigate deeper, opening up a whole can of worms amidst a background of Caribbean scenery and sunshine.

About the Author 

Website: http://www.stevie-turner-author.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Stevie-Turner-432183066899400/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevieTurner6

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7172051.Stevie_Turner

WordPress: https://steviet3.wordpress.com/

The Friendship Affair

Not all long lasting marriages are happy. But what do you do if divorce is not an option?

University friends, Stephanie and Nick, meet again after twenty years. But life has not been easy or simple for either of them. Will this friendship affair stand a chance against reality?

CHAPTER 4

“Hi Annie, have you been waiting long?”

Two bright red spots appeared on Stephanie's cheeks. “I happened to be in the vicinity to see a client.”

He sat. “Did you change your appointment to another day?”

Both knew Nick didn't need to elaborate on who the appointment would have been with.

She waited until the waiter, a young woman today, delivered his coffee, before replying. “I broke it off. Last week. After our talk, I realised that he was getting involved.”

She looked down at her hand resting on a picture of the lunch special. “I couldn't let it go on any longer.”

“Are you okay with that?”

She shrugged, turned the page on the menu and then turned it back. In the end, she pushed it away. “If you wonder about my emotional state, there is no need. I will find something else to help me forget for a few hours. Maybe join a book club. I saw a notice at the library—”

He took her hand. “Talk to me. We are still friends, aren't we?”

She nodded. They were friends. She could feel that.

He pointed to the door. “Let's get out of here and go for a walk. What do you say?”

He dropped a few bills on the table, and ignoring her protest, took her hand in his and led her to the door.

“There is a park close by,” he said and promptly turned right.

Two blocks down they entered the park and took the path to the left.

“It's like a fairy world,” she whispered turning around and around. Small twinkling lights were hanging from almost every tree. Next to the path were statues of gnomes and fairies. Even a dragon made its presence known.

“It is a local secret,” he said standing a few steps away watching her face.

“How do you know about it?” she asked when she joined him, still glancing here and there not to miss anything.

He laughed softly.

She stopped and stared.

He had a lovely way of laughing. Warm and sincere. “My Dad built this place when I was about nine years old. He was the city parks' landscaper. When the city wanted to build another exercise park, you know the kind with obstacle courses and jogging paths, the residents went up in arms. The city relented and brought my dad in to redesign the area. It placated the locals, and it has been a green area ever since.”

“It is beautiful. I think the kids must love this place.”

He nodded with a smile. “Mine sure did, when they were still children.”

She shared a grin with him. “Teenagers?”

“The youngest. She will finish high school this year. The boys are working already.”

She turned in a circle once more. “I would love to live in a place like this.”

“Quiet. Peaceful. Inspiring.”

She shared a sad smile with him. “Yeah. If only....”

Stephanie stopped and shook her head. This was her escape time. Reality wasn't going anywhere.

He waved her closer. “Come with me, I want to show you something.”

~ Read Ch 1     Ch 2     Ch 3

~ Chapter 5: Next week

Linzé's Mischief: 31 Jan 2016

In memoriam: Leonora de Vries

My mother touched many people's lives in different ways. She came from a large family of eight children. She raised two children, whom she often referred to as a rugby team. Yeah, my brother and I well hell on wheels when we were kids. Probably because I am only a year and half older than him. It was funny putting it that way since none of us actually like rugby.

My mom was a cricket fan and could argue tactics and team selections with the best of them. She loved the shorter forms of the game, T-20 and 50 overs, and tolerated the classic 5-day version.

The longer version took too much time and she often said she had too many other things to do than sit in front of the television the whole day.

She loved her daily soap opera and we knew better than to call her during that time of the day. But, if you had a real problem she never minded if you did. I think my brother learned to cook in those time slots. If Mom hadn't helped, he might have burned down his place a time or six. Yep, a call in soapie time from him often was a real emergency.

She was odd in some ways. I remember that we lived in an area in South Africa where poisonous snakes were abundant. She hated snakes. And yet we often came home from school to find a twitching or dead snake at the back door of the house; she had killed it with a broomstick. If you have never done that, let me help you out - you have to get very close to a snake to kill it with a broomstick, trust me.

She wasn't a fan of camping, but had no objection if we went camping as long as the basics were available, ie. electricity and proper plumbing. I guess I got that one from Mom, because I am exactly the same. In some ways I am like her, and that is not a bad thing either.

On a more personal note, there were two things I really appreciated about my mother. She never felt that she was too old to learn - I taught her to do cross-stitch when she was in her early sixties, and she was very good at it. Sometimes I think she was better at it than I am.

The second thing, which I realised very early in my adult years, was that mother stopped treating me like a child when I left home. To many people, it might sound weird, but in my case it made a huge difference in our relationship. I was raised to think for myself, but living at home often created unnecessary fights because of it. As soon as I left home, our relationship underwent a radical change for which I was grateful and continued to be until her passing last week.

She lost a three-year battle with cancer on 28 January 2016. She was 74 years old.

Mom, you had a good innings and I will always miss you.

The Friendship Affair

Not all long lasting marriages are happy. But what do you do if divorce is not an option?

University friends, Stephanie and Nick, meet again after twenty years. But life has not been easy or simple for either of them. Will this friendship affair stand a chance against reality?

CHAPTER 3

“What happened?” Stephanie asked after they sat and ordered coffee. The region was gripped in a heat wave, but the coffee shop was blessedly cool, so coffee seemed okay.

Nick pulled a face and waited until the waiter had left. He glanced around, but the shop was not busy. Probably too early yet for the lunch crowd.

“Didn't come,” he replied quietly just in case. “She was pissed.”

She frowned. “You or her? Not coming, I mean.”

He shrugged. “Me. She did.”

Her frown deepened. “Why would that bother her?”

He snorted. “You have to ask?”

“Okay. The 'I am not sexy enough anymore' speech. Bitch.” Despite her words, her tone was just as quiet.

He nodded and for the first time looked at her. “You okay?”

It was her turn to avoid his gaze. “You're not the only one having a hard time.”

He took her hand. “That must have dented his ego.”

The electric heat from his hand surprised her. It took a moment to get her voice back. “Big time. I got fed up and left.”

She pulled her hand away. “What you are going to do?”

“Don't know. Break it off, I guess. You?”

She played with the empty sweetener packets. “Been thinking about it for weeks.”

“Same here. What an odd pair we are.”

Her lips twitched into some semblance of a smile.

“You guys want something else?”

They looked up at the waiter.

“Do you have time for a bite?”

Stephanie woke up her tablet and consulted her calendar. “Looks like I do.”

After ordering the quiche of the day for both of them, and more coffee, silence descended once more. It wasn't uncomfortable, so neither tried to fill it.

The coffee shop became noisier as they finished their meal.

When she tried to pay, he stayed her hand. “My turn.”

“Sorry. Habit.”

He waved it away. “See you next week?”

~Read Chapter 1     Chapter 2

~Chapter 4: Next week

The Friendship Affair

Not all long lasting marriages are happy. But what do you do if divorce is not an option?

University friends, Stephanie and Nick, meet again after twenty years. But life has not been easy or simple for either of them. Will this friendship affair stand a chance against reality?  

CHAPTER 2

Stephanie reached out and touched his hand for a moment.

“Are you happy?”

Nick slowly shook his head. “Not really. Not that it would make a difference does it? It is not just my marriage.”
He leaned back and looked up at the ceiling of the coffee shop. It must have been one hell of a party; he wondered distractedly at the shoe prints.

He sat forward again and played with the teaspoon.

She could see he was not the same person she had met at university. They never had a relationship. It was funny, thinking about it now.

“Why did we never go out?”

He gave a short laugh. “I don't know. Maybe we are just meant to be friends.”

She smiled. “I know. We just never had that chemistry.”

“Yeah,” he replied, also smiling now.
Their smiles faded.

“Then again chemistry is overrated,” he muttered.

Thinking back at her own situation, she had no counter argument to offer. There were the general opinions she could mention, but it felt jaded, fake somehow, so she kept quiet.

They sat there staring at nothing for long minutes. It was both awkward and yet not. The world around them kept talking, drinking coffee, reading their mobile phones, typing away on their computers.

Was this what their lives had become?

“It is sad isn't it?”

She looked up when he spoke. There it was. The hopelessness of life sucking away at the happiness they were all supposed to find after uni.

Instead of replying she nodded in the general direction of the hotel where they ran into each other three days ago. “Does she make you happy?”

He waved to the waiter, and they ordered another round.

“How could she? How could anyone be happy with a few hours of forgetting every month?”

“Then why?”

He shrugged. “Why do you do it?”

She shrugged too. “Forgetting, is a good way to explain it. There is nothing else there for me. I doubt that he feels anything either.”

Their coffee came. He added sugar.

She tore open the packet of sweetener.

He played with the miniature milk jug.

She watched his fingers make the leftover milk bounce to the edges.

“How often?” he asked, avoiding her eyes.

She didn't need clarification. “Once a week. Sometimes more. You?”

“Standing arrangement. Twice a week.”

“Do you always go to a hotel?”

He shook his head. “No. She lives alone.”
He shrugged again. “Hotels can be risky. People start remembering your face.”

She nodded. “Yeah, he mentioned that.”

To her right a couple were holding hands and staring into each other's eyes. She didn't spot any rings. Still dating then.

“He's married.”

“Lots of lonely people out there.”

She stirred the coffee and patiently let the last drop fall from the teaspoon before putting it in the saucer.

“He loves fucking around. Thrill seeker I suppose.”

“Yeah, you get those too,” he replied before lifting his cup to take a sip.

Somewhere behind him, there were bursts of laughter. The kind sounding like students taking a break. It was loud, yet short. Almost too much.

“You want to take a walk?”

She waved her hand for the bill. “Can't. Have a meeting in half an hour.”

Holding her hand on the folder when he wanted to take it. Their eyes met.

For a moment, there was life in the battle of wills. It faded when her hand won.

“Next week?”

~Read Chapter 1

~Chapter 3: Next week

Linzé's Mischief: 17 Jan 2016

I have been lazy the past week. I should have finished the research for my story, Galen's Hope, but still have one more paper to read. Yeah, I am using academic research papers for a fictional story about a Gryphon. It is challenging to say the least. Not only is my main character not human, the research can only help me up to a point. Hopefully, I will pull my weight and get started on the writing this week.

At least, I have not done nothing. I have been uploading chapters of The Friendship Affair and working on another short story, an erotic series of three stories involving the same characters.

Project JOURNEY had its kick-off meeting yesterday and I was happy to see how everyone involved were ready to go. Some of the authors have already started writing, and I cannot wait to read their stories.

One of the authors also write erotic romance and we are thinking of doing a project together in this genre. It does not suit everyone's taste, so we will not have to same number of contributors as the JOURNEY anthology. Will let you know what we decide on that later.

Life is back to normal after the festive period. Work and writing and managing everything with all Francois' photographic responsibilities - yeah, we're back to the normal hectic schedule in this house.

We plan to go to Botswana again in May (not the same place as in 2014) and then I will be accompanying him to the PSSA conference in Langebaan in the Western Cape in August. Since it is being held at a resort on the South African west coast, it is going to be a great writing break for me.

I had an email from www.allaboutwritingcourses.com about an upcoming writer's retreat not far from my home, and am seriously contemplating going to that. I have done some of their writing courses and retreats before, and really enjoyed it.

Lots happening the past week, and these breaks may just be what I need to survive this year.

Oh, and I lost 1kg. Not much, but it did surprise me. Maybe it shouldn't have given all the steps my activity monitor recorded last week - over 38,000 of them!

Look out for the next chapter of The Friendship Affair on Tuesday and I will see you again next week.