Damaged Goods by Diane McNab - HTML preview

A few days after that Jane actually invited Martin for drinks at her home. She realised this was totally out of character for her and wondered what she was letting herself in for. She had considered asking him for dinner but she would have had to entail Madge for her help in that matter and decided it was a safer bet just to have a drink or two and say goodnight.

Martin arrived and Jane said “Voila this is where I live, trust me I don't honour many people with my small abode.”

Martin walked in and was astounded at how beautiful the place was, even exclaiming “God do you have an interior designer?”

“Yes I do, he is my Brother” announced Jane proudly.

They didn't quite make it to the bedroom before getting rid of each others clothes, both quite caught up in the moment.

“Can you stay?” asked Jane.

“No, not tonight, but we can arrange something soon if you want to?”

“Let me know when you are available” said Jane.

Their affair went in to full throttle. Jane would often ask Michael to clear a window for her here and there and even a full weekend at the end of November, being the magazines busiest time.

Michael acquiesced to all her demands, after all it was his job, but deep down his concern for Jane was extreme. He decided to take matters in to his own hands and rang Zac and asked if it was ok for him to drop in for a chat.

He arrived at Zac and Alex's with an excitable Louie jumping up and down on him.

Both of them said “It's great to see you Michael, its been a long time, come in, come in, make yourself comfortable.”

Michael came straight to the point. “I am worried about Jane.”

Immediately alarm bells went off in Zac's head and he almost shouted “Is she sick?”

“Yeah, I think so” answered Michael “sick in love.”

“Happens to the best of us” Alex laughed.

“He is a Doctor, her Plastic Surgeon, married and with children. I have an awful feeling that this is all going in a bad direction. She would be horrified if she knew I was sharing this with you guys but I didn't know where else to go. I love Jane and it is killing me that she is walking down a really rocky road” said Michael.

“Jesus” said Zac looking pale “I would have thought she would know better. After all what she has been through and also knowing how I feel about the past for that matter. How can she negate all that as if it has never happened. What the hell is she thinking?”

“Calm down Zac, no-one knows any other persons inner psyche. The fact that she even went to a Plastic Surgeon at her age shows her lack of true belief in her herself. Even though she has risen in her career to greater heights than a woman twice her age she obviously felt there was an area missing in her life” said Alex.

“My God” thought Michael “Alex has more insight in to peoples feelings than the three of us put together.”

“We should go over to Jane's now, lay our cards on the table” declared Zac. Michael felt sick to his stomach.

“We are not going over there now Zac. I think the three of us should make a plan on how to approach this” said Alex.

Alex of all people called a meeting at Summer's place.

“Dearly beloved we are gathered here to help save someone's butt!”

Summer and Madge looked at each other in trepidation.

“We need to help someone that has perhaps lost their way and might require a little push in the right direction.” Alex said all this with his hands raised up and for the first time in his life enjoying making a spectacle of himself.

“For goodness sake Alex you are not a Pastor, we are not in a church, just let's get down to the problem before you decide to do any hail Mary's” shouted Zac.

With that the boys, Zac, Alex and Michael, explained the situation.

Madge stated “Well that's a toilet that needs a good clean.”

Summer hesitantly spoke “What if this Doctor, whatever his name is, has an understanding with his Wife. I mean perhaps they live separate lives, it does happen you know.”

Really Mum, really?” asked Zac sharply “And what if they have a Sister they have never known about for years. Because sitting on my side of the fence it took a lot of adjusting to accept that.”

“Well in Jane's case that is not a scenario that will ever happen” Summer answered lamely.

“So fine Mum, go ahead and stuff up what could be a perfectly good home simply for lust. The man has two children and they are probably wondering why their Dad isn't around at all times.”

“Is that fair, is that fair?” asked Zac banging the table to prove a point.

“I always wondered why Dad never came to Father's Day or any event at all at my school. I used to look for him hoping one day he would show up but he never did. Now I know he was the renowned Dr. Collins and could never show his face and admit to having a child with another woman while his Wife suffered in her ivory tower.”

Madge interrupted before Zac could go any further. “You have said more than enough Zac Dawson. I think the best thing we can do is call it a night. We can all get back together when things have cooled down.”

After they left Summer said “Oh God I think Zac hates me.”

“First of all” Madge said “I don't thing the word hate is in Zac's vocabulary and secondly he is just venting his feelings from being left in the dark for so long. If anything I think he is just plain angry his Sister is putting herself in to the same situation you were in for years.”

“You mean like me and Grayson?” asked Summer.

“Exactly what I mean” replied Madge. “Did it never bother you that he had a Wife and Child? I imagine when the two of you got together Jane would have been very young.”

“The only way I can answer that is that have never compartmentalised things in my life and put them in to boxes. Gray proclaimed Alice was happy with her lot and I accepted that to be the truth. Perhaps I should have delved deeper but it is far too late for that now” said Jane sadly.

“Yes well when it comes to matters of the heart things can get a little complicated” said Madge.

The next day Zac rang Summer apologising for shouting at her.

Summer had dwelt on the situation overnight and had a new perspective on the events.

“Thank you for calling Sweetheart, I am so glad you did.”

“I understand your feelings come from a deep concern for your Sister and that you are worried she is making a huge mistake but in fact none of us have the right to interfere. Jane has to find her own way in life and make her own choices, whether they be good or bad. This may possibly end up being a painful experience for Jane and if it is then that is when you need to be around to pick up the pieces and put her back on her feet.”

“I want to add that your Dad told me he had an arrangement between him and Alice, divorce never being an option. I chose to believe him. If that makes me sound naive so be it but the fact that he could come and go whenever it pleased him seemed to compound the fact.”

“When Gray told me Alice had committed suicide I was horrified. It crushed me to the very core thinking that a person could feel so low that they would take their own life, particularly leaving a Daughter behind. Your Dad explained she had been rather unstable for several years and it made me wonder if that was why he had stayed with her. Perhaps to help her cope with her problems. That was something I actually admired him for. On hindsight I feel quite differently on the matter now.”

Zac started to talk but Summer interrupted.

“I just want to say something else Zac. I did love your Father and accepted the boundaries I was confined to. However, I was never aware that affected your upbringing and I am truly sorry for my shortcomings and not noticing that. Please forgive me.”

“There is nothing to forgive Mum and thanks for sharing that, I really appreciate it, and I just want to say that I did over react. Alex threw a cold compress at me when we got home” said Zac laughing.

“Love that man” laughed Summer.

Michael arrived at the office to find Jane in the foulest temper he had every known her to be in.

“Michael” she shouted “Have you seen the layout of the inner spread. It looks like someone has thrown a blanket over a table and added a candle for good measure!”

“The style is ambience.” Michael answered “Turn to the next page and you will gather tips on how to achieve that in your own home.”

“Well it looks like a lot of bullshit to me” barked Jane.

“Well your Brother manages to do it to an excellent degree.”

“Then he should have covered this not some half wit who has probably smoked half a bong before laying it out.”

“Little touchy today. How about I get you a nice latte?” asked Michael.

“I don't want a latte I just want to fix the problem which is impossible to do as it has already gone to press” declared Jane bursting in to tears.

Michael shut the door and said “Okay tell me what is really going on and I am not leaving until you speak to me.”

Jane sighed and said “Martin and I had an argument and considering we never argue it was a big thing.”

“And the issue was..............?” asked Michael.

“I asked him to find time to come over so we could dress a Xmas tree and his answer was a resounding no. It is silly really. The last time I ever dressed a tree was with my Mother and that was so many moons ago. For the first time I was considering actually putting a Xmas tree in my own home and just wanted him to spend time with me doing it. I mean I realise it is Xmas and he needs to be with his family but all I was asking for was a few hours so we could deck the halls with holly. Is that too much to ask?”

Michael decided to answer honestly saying “Perhaps it is too much to ask when someone has a Wife and Children!”

“You are no help” said Jane with her mascara running.

“Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind” Michael said knowing that his answer would not help in any shape or form.

Two days later Michael declared to Jane “grab your bag, you and I are going Christmas shopping.”

“What now, you are crazy it is Friday night” said Jane.

“Yes it is and all the shops are open until 9.00pm. We can do a lot of damage in that amount time and with all your woes I know you haven't even considered what you are taking to Summer's for gifts on Xmas day.”

Jane agreed and grabbed her bag.

Two hours later they arrived at Jane's place with so many parcels they had to put them through the front door before entering themselves.

“Well that was fun, now the serious part is wrapping them all” said Michael.

That's when Jane noticed the beautiful Christmas tree in the corner of her lounge. The lights were symmetrically placed and there were gorgeous ornaments hanging of the branches.

Jane gasped saying “Oh Michael, it is divine. Thank, thank you. When did you manage to do all this?”

Michael beamed at her and said “Merry Christmas Jane.”