Chapter 10: Next Week

IT TURNED OUT to be one of the better parties that Frank had been to for some time on Saturday night. When he thought about it, though, he figured that it was probably the influence of the past two days that had put him in such high spirits. Even his friends commented on how good it was to see him happy again.

One thing he had discovered in the past year - now there was no one to nag him about drinking too much or talking boring things about work or politics or even sport for that matter. He had brought along a good bottle of red wine, but he knew his host would offer him some of his best Scotch, which he really enjoyed.

By the time he had a glass of the wine, which his host of course shared with others, he was feeling no pain, but he certainly was a long way from being drunk.

There were a couple of unattached ladies there and both had come on to him in a subtle but unmistakable way. Fortunately, he thought, thanks to Sandy his immediate need for sexual relief had been taken care of. But, nevertheless, he enjoyed their company. In fact he enjoyed the whole night.

When the party drew to a close, he was effusive in his thanks to his hosts, telling them what a great night it had been.

Sunday was a day to sleep in, recharge the batteries after the past few days of excessive eating, drinking and generally just enjoying himself.

He basically did nothing but read the Sunday papers and eat, restricting his liquid intake to coffee and water for the day, as he always tried to have an alcohol free day each week. Didn't always succeed, however.

This also meant he had lots of time to think about the four women, or more correctly three women and one girl that he had to choose between. Each had strong points and definite attraction, but also some not so strong. But, he guessed, that was always the case. No one is perfect, except me of course, he laughed to himself.

The more he thought about it though he could see some problems with Helen, being mistaken for his daughter and raising some eyebrows when people found out he was sleeping with her. He wasn't even certain that the age of consent would permit him to sleep with her everywhere. He'd have to check that.

He also was a bit concerned about the communication problems he might have with Beth, although she certainly had some strong points.

On the other hand, Sharon seemed a bit conservative and he wasn't sure how enjoyable their nights might be, although she certainly appeared to be a very pleasant, mature young lady, probably more appropriate for his age.

Then there was the super sexy, confident, lawyer to be - Sandy. She had a lot going for her and he wasn't certain what, if any, her weak spots were.

Over all a pretty nice dilemma, he thought.

Monday, however, he was back in the office, catching up on the things he hadn't done having taken a few days leave. But he made time to make an important phone call to Katherine. He told her about Friday night, telling her he was still undecided, but fairly certain that he wouldn't be taking Helen as his travelling companion, as she was just too young, even though surprisingly mature for her age. But he still had a second date for that Friday night with her.

Frank also asked Katherine to ring Beth and let her know, as gently as possible that she was a very close third as far as he was concerned and that he was taking two others out this weekend (even if it was a bit of a lie), but was expecting at least one of them to fall through and would she be upset if he rang her next week for a date, because she had impressed him or something like that. Katherine agreed that she would string her along for at least a week and asked him to ring her next Monday and let her know what he wanted her to do.

Next he rang Bon Ricardo Restaurant and was able to make a reservation for two at 8pm for the coming Thursday.

As soon as he could get away from the office it was only to spend time with his accountant and investment advisor, something he never thought he would have to worry about.

There were a number of significant decisions to be made regarding future investments and Frank was determined to get things set up so that for the next fifteen months, he would be able to ignore the pressure of financial business while he was overseas. He wanted his investment portfolio to be a solid combination of secure and mainly low risk investments, with just a few speculative stocks. Most importantly, he wanted to be able to forget about it for the next fifteen months, so he instructed his advisor accordingly, leaving it to him to ensure that he could easily live of the proceeds.

That evening, although he was late home, he rang Sharon, apologising for the late hour and asking her if she was still right for Thursday night. Frank made arrangements to pick her up at 7pm, but warned her that, as he was coming directly from the airport, he could be there anywhere from 6:30 to 7:30 knowing the Capital Shuttle service from Canberra to Sydney, hoping that this would be alright with her.

Sharon assured him that it wouldn't be a problem and that she would be ready whenever he got there and if he was early they could have a drink at her place, which he thought was a rather nice offer.

Tuesday was the day he made a big decision - he resigned. He had to give a couple of weeks notice, but told them he would be away on Friday. He then booked a flight to Sydney on Thursday afternoon, figuring he would just leave early. After all, what could they do - sack him?

Somehow, once he had made his decision, his shoulders seemed lighter, but at the same time, he was amazed at how busy he was. There were just so many things he wanted to finalise before he left his job. That was, he realised, because he was a rather conscientious officer.

Wednesday seemed never ending with all the lose ends he was being asked to tie up as far as his job was concerned, but at least he didn't have to worry about being involved in selecting his replacement. His boss had sought his advice and agreed with his suggestion as to who should act in his position in the interim until someone was recruited to fill his job permanently, which was the department head's responsibility.

When he got home late that night, he packed a weekender bag to take to work with him the next morning. He had decided to drive to the airport and leave his car there as he would be coming back on Sunday and three nights parking was cheaper than two cabs and far more convenient. You couldn't rely on taxis at Canberra Airport, he had frequently found from bitter experience.

He rang the hotel and made a reservation for his preferred suite. He already had preferred status there and had let them know that he would be using their services quite a bit over the coming weeks, not just the suite, but the restaurant as well.

Finally, he arranged for the limousine to pick him up at Sydney Airport at 6pm, naturally telling them what flight he was on in case it was delayed. He booked it for the rest of evening, or at least until 11pm, he told them.

At last Thursday arrived, but the day seemed to drag. He was actually looking forward to his forthcoming three dates. Just before he caught the plane, he rang Sandy and confirmed that he would pick her up at 11am on Saturday, which suited her.

"Bring some study material and a change of clothes then you can stay over if that's OK" he told her, which she happily agreed to, especially as she had already told him she couldn't swim because she was having her monthly cycle, so he knew that sex was not on the agenda, or at least she hoped he did. That he still wanted her to sleep over made her feel real good and look forward to the date even more.

Fortunately, for once, the plane was on time, the limousine was waiting for him and the traffic was remarkable flowing.

As a result, he arrived for his date with Sharon at 6:24pm precisely. Nevertheless, she was ready and waiting for him. He had, however, had the foresight to ask the chauffeur to have a bottle of French Champagne and two flute glasses in the car's fridge, so was able to invite her to join him in the limousine for a drink, rather expect her to invite him in.

Frank realised that they had an hour and a half to kill before his dinner reservation, but with a bottle of fine champagne and a comfortable limousine to drive in, he asked the chauffeur to take them on a scenic drive, leaving it to him to get them to the restaurant by five to eight.