Chapter 3

Things seem better in the morning; they awake entwined as normal and are making love before either remembers the coldness between them of the previous night.

After showering and breakfast David sinks himself into his work, Olivia readies herself for her shopping trip.

Several hours later David stretches and pushes his paperwork aside. He is happy with his initial planning and convinced if everything would go smoothly as it does on paper, his changes could be implemented in three weeks, of course nothing will, but the worst case he could see would be a little over five weeks. That meant in seven weeks time he should be able to work a normal week. Seven weeks and he would be able to properly show Olivia around, maybe take a week off and show her some touristy things, a couple of days in London, maybe a drive to Scotland, Wales or the lakes.

"Where was she? Surely she can't still be shopping." He thinks as he glances at the time.

He goes to find his phone and as he is checking it he hears a diesel engine pull up outside. Shortly afterwards the front door bursts open and Olivia bursts in.

"Hello darling, I've has a great time we went to the mall and a few bars." ... She launches into a full description of her time as she pours herself a vodka and coke...

David sits with her and listens. Her speech is rapid and incessant; she has obviously had more than a few drinks. She tells him about the shops, the bars, how many people tried to chat her up, how different it all was. He has trouble following the things she is telling him and fails to notice, is that aside from their names, she tells him little about her companions or seemed to change subject whenever she has to mention one.

Three vodkas later, she passes out on the sofa.

He looks at her and tries to make her comfortable. Then checks through his work again, before pouring himself a Jamesons and relaxing for the rest of the evening.

The following day he is up early and allows his wife a lie in. He goes for a run, two of the neighbourhood women wave as he passes their houses, a third waves on his way back. He returns the waves with one of his own accompanied by a friendly smile. Later, after she is up, he mentions this, which prompts her to tell him a little more of her exploits from the day before, but not much. She does mention that she may be joining them again the following week.

Monday morning he begins his work, after giving a brief summery of the things he had already seen. Then to get an idea of the people he would be working with, he began to interview each employee to get a better idea of them and their individual jobs, how they see their responsibilities within the company, how they see the company and any aspirations they may have.

One thing soon becomes apparent to him. The workers expected a hatchet man, nearly half expect him to sack them in the restructuring he is in charge of, although the exact opposite is true, he is expecting to employ more people per shift, but no matter how many times he tells the employees none believe him.

On the contrary, not only is he pleased about the calibre of the workforce, he also highlights a few people that could benefit from the new positions his restructuring should implement.

On Friday, he and Olivia join Martin and his wife Noreen, for dinner. Martin had met Noreen after David had left England so this will be the first time David has met her, all she knows about him is that he is very good at his job and was a "bit of a rogue", before he left. David and Martin spent the evening discussing work. Noreen attempts to keep Olivia entertained, but the best they manage is strained, polite conversation, because of this, the evening ends earlier than the men had wanted.

"That woman is so boring." Olivia says as soon as they are in the taxi.

David confirms their destination with the driver before answering her.

"She probably thinks the same about you."

"What do you mean, I'm not boring, all I got out of her was Martin is this, Martin is that."

"That's probably because she couldn't get any idea of what you would like to talk about, whenever I heard her talking about anything else all I heard was you shutting down the conversation."

"That's rubbish and you know it."

"Really, I heard her ask about music, instead of telling her about the gigs we have been to; you just said you didn't think it was that important."

"I didn't want to boast, we get to see all the big bands in California."

"I thought I had cured you of thinking America is the centre of the universe. Since I have been gone, they have seen Rammstein four times, ACDC, Queens of the stone age, Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper and that's just a few that I remember him telling me about, they wanted us to go with them later this year to see Fleetwood Mac."

"Really, I didn't know, she did ask me if I wanted to go to the gym with her."

"Well why not? Then maybe next time you see her you can try talking, you've always been okay back in the states."

"But I don't know her and she's so British, it's different you know."

Letting one of his pet hates slide he counters. "You seemed to have a good time last Saturday and you didn't know any of them."

"That was different; it was more relaxed, not so formal."

"Well what did you talk about with them?"

"Not much mostly jokes and stuff, you know just having a laugh together."

The taxi pulls up outside their house; David pays the driver as Olivia gets out.

Olivia has decided that is the end of the conversation and she pours them both a drink when they get in and changes the subject, with romance on her mind. Alternately sucking on her drink and then his mouth.

BlackThornKönigin Plastics UK is not like the Californian factory, which runs 24 hrs a day seven days a week, instead they work a forty-hour week, three shift system. Friday nights and Saturday mornings, are overtime.

David had arranged to meet a contractor to finalise the details of moving some of the machines and workstations and so heads into work for ten o'clock.

He works with Derek Pratt 'til well into the afternoon and together they decide on a plan to cause the least upheaval to people and production. Derek agrees he and his team would be on site in two weeks time ready to begin moving things, David in turn agreed that he would make the necessary preparations, designated areas cleared and machines ready to be moved.

After Derek leaves, David walks around the premises checking the doors are all locked, at the last door he set the alarms and leaves, locking that door behind him.

The agreement with Derek means that for him at least, there will be little to do outside of office hours for the next fortnight, he decides to call his wife to suggest going out somewhere possibly with a view for a day trip tomorrow.

Three times, he calls, before she answers.

"Hey sweetie." She answers, immediately he can hear she has been drinking.

David glances at his watch, 17:12. Ignoring the sound of drunkenness in the background, he says. "Hi babe, get your glad rags on we're going out."

"I'm already out, having fun. I don't want to go to another of your boring friends houses. You go on your own; I'm fine where I am."

David's mind reeled; never had he gotten such a response from her.

"And you are where exactly?"

"In a bar, somewhere, not sure where exactly."

"Well find out, I have been working my arse off since we got here and I would like some fun, and I would like to have it with you."

"Oh, umm, hang on I'll ask."

He hears her ask someone and then several women cackling, one says. "Tell him we're at the Beehive."

He hears her reply. "I know we are not in there, I can't tell him that."

"Hang on Stella's being stupid, I'll find out."

He listens as she picks her way through, what sounds like a crowded bar and ask someone the question.

"The House martin." She tells him.

"Okay, stay there and I will join you."

"No, I'll come home soon."

"Okay, see you soon." He replies and hangs up.

The House martin is fairly new, it had opened up about twelve years ago. It had been built, as part of the estate he is now living on, bordering the housing and another industrial park, with a McDoggles, and a Chinese and a Mexican restaurant.

Her attitude bothered him; he decides to go there for a pint, if she had gone, fine. If not, he will see the people she is with.

He parks his car outside the pub locking it as he heads to the entrance.

It is busy as he had anticipated, he picks his way through the throng to the bar looking for her as he moves. Getting a beer he continues to look around, it takes him a few minutes to find her.

She is in what used to be the poolroom; the only tables in there now, were for eating.

Olivia is sitting with four women and three men; they are obviously a little drunk and having a good time. Three of the women are sitting together, Olivia is sitting between two of the men the third man sitting between one of the men and the other women.

David stands by the doorway watching the group for a few minutes; it is obvious the men's attention is primarily on his wife. One of the women, the one he had seen naked on her doorstep, exuded jealousy, the other three seemed resigned to the interaction between his wife and the men.

Taking a sip of his beer, he casually walks over to them.

He stands by them saying nothing until he is noticed. One of the men, the biggest and loudest of the group, the one that seems to be more intent at the task of chatting Olivia up, stands and says with aggression. "Is there something you want mate?"

"Only my wife mate."David replies emphasising the word mate.

The man's face flushes briefly with anger. "Oh, you must be Livvy's hubby, I've been wanting to meet you and have a chat." He extends his arm, ready to shake David's hand.

David ignores it, his hand clenching his glass tighter. A few times in his life, he had met people that caused a feeling of instant dislike in him. Some of those times, he had gotten over that feeling, and learned that he should have not ignored it. He knew this was not one of those times, this time he would not ignore it, this man was not to be trusted.

"I can't say the same." David replies flatly, then looking down at his wife. "You coming babe?"

"Not as well as she would if you left her here." Mr big sniggers, the others join his mirth.

Olivia's face colours and she stands accepting David's extended hand and walks into his embrace.

Turning back to her companions, she says with a slight slur. "Got to be going, duty calls."

David does not wait for a reply from them, gripping his wife's waist firmly he presses her to move, as they go through the door to the main bar he hears mocking laughter come from the group, he pauses briefly before continuing through the bar and exiting the pub.

"Did you buy much?"

"Huh?"

"Your shopping trip, what did you buy?"

"Oh, we didn't go shopping, just went to the bar for lunch."

"Was it good?"

"Huh?"

"Your food, was it any good?"

Her eyes dart down. "We hadn't got around to eating, we hadn't been there long. Why are you being like this?"

"Perhaps I don't like being referred to as, duty."

David unlocks the car; she stands by the door waiting for him to open it. He shakes his head; to him, the idea of opening a car door for a woman is ridiculous, one of those strange American customs that he had never adopted comfortably. Olivia is standing by the drivers' door; she smiles as he reaches to open it. "You're not driving; you get in the other side." His voice carries an edge, she looks at him slightly confused as he moves between her and the car and gets in.

She stares at him in disbelief for a few seconds, then noticing the steering wheel she stomps angrily around the car and gets in.

"It's good manners to open a door for a lady." She snapped as she buckled her seatbelt.

"A lady doesn't go out with men she's not married to and get drunk, especially in the afternoon." He says sarcastically.

"I didn't go out with them, they met us there."

"If you say so, what do I know? I'm just your husband."

"Perhaps you should act like you're married to me not your freaking job." She screamed at him.

David does not reply, his knuckles turn white as he grips the steering wheel tighter.

"See, you're not denying it, you're gone for all hours, sucking up to that boring boss of yours, or are they right you've met up with one of your old floozies."

Still David refuses to reply, he drives them home and gets out of the car, Olivia does not move until he had opened the door of the house.

He walks inside, noticing the alarm had not been set, he thinks about pouring himself a whiskey but decides alcohol is not a good idea and he puts the coffee maker on.

Olivia follows him in and pours herself a strong vodka and coke, before joining David in the kitchen to get some ice.

David gently takes the glass from her hand and pours the contents down the sink.

"You bastard, I wanted that."

David looks at her, his face showing his disgust and anger at her behaviour.

"Sit down." He bellows.

She looks at him in shock and obeys. This was the first time he had raised his voice in her presence since they had met.

He says no more and turns back to the coffee machine as it pumps hot water through the filter.

Recovering from his vocal order Olivia begins to shout again. "Who do y..."

"Silence." He shouts, cutting her off. He gathers two cups and pours coffee into both, giving her one he sits opposite her and speaks forcefully. "Now you will listen to me."

She opens her mouth to speak again but he holds up his hand and again she obeys.

"In the car you made some unwarranted and frankly ridiculous accusations. First, I am not married to my job. We agreed that, for the first two months here, I would put everything, every hour I could into getting my work settled, so we could enjoy living here. The important words here are two months and we agreed. You hit me with that accusation and we have been here almost exactly two weeks and three days, other than that, I refuse to try and justify any of my work issues."

He did not shout, he spoke gently without inflection.

"Secondly you accuse me of meeting up with some old floozy of mine and carrying on behind your back. Now I am somewhat shocked at this myself, but there is no one here that I have spoken to that I knew before I left, other than Martin and Dip, from the Indian the other night. There is also the assumption that any of my old girlfriends were floozies, I can assure you that neither of them were."

"Now, these accusations of yours obviously were not your idea, so they must have come from those twats you were with."

She opens her mouth ready to speak again, and again he holds up his hand.

"Before you deny it, or worse, try and defend them, don't forget I heard them telling you to tell me you were at the Beehive and something you don't know is that I watched your little party for a good ten minutes before I walked over to you. You mentioned good manners earlier, tell me is it good manners to make the remark that wanker said to me, to spend his time chatting you up in front of his wife? Why the hell didn't she say something, what's her name Claire? Now you may speak."

"Claire's not Ted's wife, Stella is, Claire's husband was not there, and yes you're correct, that was not good manners, the joke about the Beehive was just that, a joke."

"Would you like to tell me why you told me you were going shopping and instead go for an afternoon piss up?"

"I don't know it just happened that way." She is no longer slurring her words noticeably, as had been the case when they left the pub.

"What else, just happened that way?"

"Nothing, not even any dancing. Just talking, well joking around."

"Really! You expect me to believe that was all just joking around, you have never so much as had a conversation with these people."

"Of course I have, but mostly mundane stuff, like what's around here, how long they've been married and such."

"You missed out where they told you I'm not treating you as my wife and how I'm seeing all these floozies from my past, tell me in these mundane conversations, how did I become the subject matter and how did they manage to persuade you of these things, when I know, you know me better than that."

"I don't know, a joke that got out of hand I think. It sort of started when Ted joined us last week and he was asking how you had reacted to seeing Claire that first time."

"Go on."

"Well Claire and he suggested it got you aroused and you would want to see it, her again, that you would want to uh, do her as Ted put it, and I said no, you're not like that."

"Carry on."

"Well uh, Claire said she had seen you and she was willing if we were."

"What?"

"They're swingers, the four couples I've been spending time with."

"And they want you, us to join in with their, what do they call it? Lifestyle."

"Yes." She hung her head in shame at the admission.

"Not interested, No way Hosea. Not on your fucking Nellie." For the first time since he started talking his voice rose. "I would like you to stop having anything to do with them, at least stay away from the men especially that prick whassisname Ted?"

"But they're my only friends here and..." She left her words hanging.

"And what? Is this some fucked up way of telling me you are interested? Buggar me. And you had the audacity to accuse me of failing as a husband, well if that's what you want you can fuck off right now because I don't want to be married to someone that fucks other blokes."