Chapter 2

The two weeks disappeared all too quickly and on the Monday evening I found myself on the flight back to Heathrow. I wondered if Amanda would be there to meet me, I still wasn't sure what her motives were. We landed on time and, jet lagged and tired, I made my way to the baggage claim and then through customs and immigration. As I left the immigration desk I could see Amanda standing at the barrier, waving. I was about to wave back when I saw another face that I knew, Christine. She was standing at the barrier holding a card, like people do when they are meeting someone they don't know. It just said 'Tony Loftus'.

Fucking hell, back to reality.

I walked towards Amanda but my face must have given things away and, as I pulled her in for a kiss, I said, "She is here." I was glad Amanda was there, what bloke wouldn't be, and she had had time to reflect on events and still wanted to be around me. I have to honest, that did a lot for my pride.

I didn't have to explain who 'she' was as, by now, Christine was standing by us, and exclaimed loudly "What the fuck is she doing here?" while pointing at Amanda.

Everyone looked round, and it was obvious from the looks of other passengers that they expected a cat fight to break out.

Amanda answered the question, "Picking my boyfriend up from the airport?"

Christine carried on screeching at me, "How long have you been shagging her?"

I replied, "Since I found out you were shagging lover boy."

Amanda added, "We both had doubts about our spouses and in our quest to find out the truth, we met. We both have high sex drives and neither of us wanted sloppy seconds off our spouses so it started out as expediency but I hope it may lead to more."

Amanda looked at me expectantly. I just nodded and took the opportunity to start walking with her towards the exit and the railway station. Christine walked by me and said, "I won't give up. I want you back. I'm sorry, I love you, please." I think she realised that she wasn't going to get anywhere and left, visibly upset.

As we walked to the Heathrow Express platform Amanda said, "I don't mind if you want to have a go at patching things up with Christine. I know we started out as friends with benefits and I don't want to force you to do something that you don't want to."

I held her hand as we walked and said, "I've already told Christine that I don't want to get back with her, I could never trust her again, and that would eat away at both of us. I don't know if you and I will stay the course, after all we don't know a lot about each other, but I would like to give it a try."

Amanda smiled, kissed me and said, "I hoped you would choose me. I saw her there but she didn't see me waiting."

We got back to Northampton late and Amanda said, "Your place or mine?"

"Mine as there'll be post and that to deal with."

We got back to my house at eleven pm. As soon as we walked in and shut the door Amanda put her arms around me and gave me a full on kiss. She said, "I wanted to do that at the airport but I thought it might inflame the situation with Christine so I held back." I started groping her and there was soon a tent in my pants in spite of my tiredness. We ended up making love on the hall floor.

Amanda stayed the night with me. She put me to bed as I was now almost sleep walking and then joined me. When I woke up the next morning, after an undisturbed night's sleep, the bed was empty but I could hear noises emanating from the kitchen and, before long, Amanda appeared, nude and carrying tea and toast. It was seven o'clock.

We sat in bed and I asked Amanda how James was reacting to her demands. She told me that his solicitors had advised him to settle with her and she had been offered a lump sum payment. It was about 25% of the value of his assets, around £2,000,000. "I am tempted. I know I could get more by going to court but I will have the grief of washing our dirty linen in public," she added. I asked about the house in Preston Garden and she said that was included as well.

She asked me what I thought and I said that two million sounded like a lot of money to me and a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

I sorted out my work for the next few weeks and, after lunch, we went over to Preston Gardens. We sat down in her living room and she asked me about my trip to Canada. We then started to talk about my work and Amanda said, "You won't need to work when I get my settlement, with that and my Grandfather's money, and the income from your place if you let it out, we will be well off."

I couldn't see myself not working and said, "What would I do all day?"

"Make love to me."

I looked at her and smiled, it would certainly be fun. But I thought about the long term and didn't say anything, I could see myself getting bored.

Over the next few weeks we alternated between mine and Amanda's houses and I had to admit it was difficult, the things we both needed always seemed to be at the other house. The two divorces were progressing, Amanda had agreed to the offer from James, and I had written confirmation that Christine was going to accept my offer. I set about raising a small mortgage on my house to pay her the thirty thousand, I didn't want to empty my savings out.

Amanda kept hinting at me moving into Preston Gardens permanently and on the Friday, when I got in, she showed me one of the spare rooms, it was now fitted out as an office. "So there is no excuse now, we can move your stuff over the weekend." I hired a van on the Saturday morning and, by tea time, I had most of the things I needed. The only thing I didn't have was a workshop, but as soon as I mentioned it to Amanda she said, "Oh I know, a sectional garage is being delivered Tuesday, a bit bigger than the one you use now. It will go at the side, behind the double garage, as it won't show there." So, on Monday, I went into the estate agent and put the wheels in motion to let my house out. I was pleasantly surprised at the rental income that I would obtain, apparently there was a shortage of family sized places at the moment.

When I got home Amanda said, "So we are now committed to each other, I love you, and I hope you love me." It had all happened quickly, but we seemed to be getting on well and Amanda was certainly an attentive partner. I suggested a few times that we should go out for a meal or a drink or something, but each time Amanda turned me down, she did it so subtly that I didn't mind. The novelty of our sexual explorations kept us busy most evenings anyway.

A couple of weeks went by and, yes, the sex was mind blowing but Amanda seemed to do nothing other than wait at home for me to get in from work and, to be honest, I felt smothered. Christine had tried to ring a few times, she now knew that Amanda and I were an item, but Amanda answered each time and told her that I wouldn't speak to her, which wasn't a lie. Then, one morning whilst sitting in an interminable meeting with a customer, a thought jumped into my head. She hadn't been on the rag since we had been fucking and that it was five weeks since I got back from Canada. Was she pregnant or did she suffer from women's problems? She hadn't said anything but I made up my mind to ask her later.

I got home about five and Amanda, as always, had a nice meal on the go. I just had time for a quick shower before we ate. We sat down and I asked Amanda if she was OK. "Yes fine," was the reply. I decided to tackle it head on and said, "It's just there's been no sign of any monthlies and it's over five weeks since I got back from Canada."

For once Amanda was silent. I looked at her and waited for a reply. After what seemed like an age she said quietly, "I am late, I think I may be pregnant." Now it was my turn to be quiet. She looked at me and said, "Say something."

I laughed quietly and said, "I suppose we have been going at it like rabbits, aren't you on the pill?"

"No, I have implants," was her reply

I knew nothing about implants but I thought that a visit to her GP was a good idea and said, "Shouldn't you see your GP or get a pregnancy test?"

That evening I thought the atmosphere was tense and I asked her if being pregnant worried her, she just said it didn't but I could she was tense. I tried to calm her down by saying, "I still love you even if you are pregnant." I had never mentioned the love word before, I think we were in lust, not love, but I wanted to make her feel better.

In bed that night the sex was much more tender, we made love, not just sex, and I began to think that maybe being pregnant was good for us. I had a meeting in London the next morning, and Amanda promised me she would go to the doctors in the morning.

At lunchtime I rang her and she seemed excited, "I am pregnant, the implants have failed for some reason and the doctor has removed them."

I didn't ask how far gone she was, I assumed about four weeks. Over the next few days Amanda seemed to relax a bit and I even got her to come out with me for a meal on Friday night. Everything seemed set fair. Even Christine had given up trying to contact me. Since the airport incident she had texted or e-mailed me nearly every day saying how sorry she was, and that she loved me - in other words the usual shit.

Saturday morning we went shopping as usual and everything was fine until we got to the checkout. Amanda seemed to go pale and, before I knew it, she had collapsed in a heap on the floor. The store help-desk called an ambulance and it wasn't long before Amanda and I were on the way to the hospital. She had come round after a few minutes but, in spite of her protestations that she was OK, I thought she should get checked out.

When we got there the nurse checked her over and took a small blood sample. In a few minutes she came back with a Mars bar and a smile. "Mrs Gawton, you're fine but your blood sugar is very low. Eat this and take it easy for a few hours, it often happens around the twelfth week of pregnancy." As I looked at her I could now see a slight swell to her belly.

Twelve weeks! That was three weeks before we even met for the first time! I just looked at her and she started to cry. I left the hospital and called a cab, I couldn't face another lying, cheating bitch. Common sense also stepped in and I got him to take me to the agents who were handling the letting of my house. Fortunately I was able to withdraw it from the market though a couple were ready to sign up for a six months lease later that day. I told the agents that I would cover their out of pocket expenses and give them £200 compensation, the agents thought that this was reasonable, I also had their fees to settle as well.

So, by lunchtime I was back in my old house and feeling very sorry for myself. Amanda kept trying to ring my phone, she must have rung thirty times or more in the space of two hours and sent so many texts they filled the memory on my phone. I didn't read them.

In the end I decided the answer lay at the bottom of a whisky bottle and proceeded to empty it in order to look more closely at it! By three o'clock all my problems had faded away and I was passed out in the chair. It must have been two or three hours later when I came round to a banging on the front door. Amanda.

I felt like shit now. The pleasant drunken state had been replaced by that ghastly pre hangover stage when you just know that you are going to feel like shit whatever you do. I then saw a face at the window, it wasn't Amanda, it was Vanessa, James' half sister. She banged on the window again, and shouted, "Let me in! I need to speak to you."

I got up, the room spun and I grabbed hold of the chair. After an age of endless falling, I made my way to the front door very gingerly. I opened the door and she walked in saying, "You look like shit! Go and sit down, I'll make you a coffee."

I really didn't feel well and did as I was told. A few minutes later Vanessa appeared carrying two mugs. "I couldn't find any coffee so sweet tea will have to do. I begged some milk from next door."

I took the drink and sipped it. My stomach was now protesting at the treatment it had received earlier and I thought I was going to be sick but, after a few seconds, the nausea passed. Vanessa looked at me and said, "OK, I want your side of the story, Amanda is at my house. She's in a state and claims you abandoned her at the hospital. She was nearly hysterical but she also mentioned being pregnant."

So I told my story, starting a few days ago when I noticed that Amanda hadn't had a period for five weeks. I finished by telling her that, at the hospital, the nurse looked at her notes and said "Twelve weeks pregnant."

I also pointed out that I was in the process of divorcing one lying, cheating bitch and had no desire to get attached to another one. When I had finished Vanessa just said, "Oh," and was silent for a few seconds. She then continued, "I think I'd better go and have another chat with Amanda, she hasn't actually told me any lies, but she has left out some VERY important details. I take it the imminent arrival isn't yours?"

"No! Impossible!" I replied vehemently, even though it hurt my head. "We've only been seeing each other since I found out about Christine, that was less than eight weeks ago."

I looked at Vanessa and saw a woman of about Amanda's age but very different. She was plump and dressed conservatively, dowdy even. She had on a dark woollen knitted jumper and jeans, loose fitting - not tailored, and her hair was pulled back into a scrunchie.

She saw me looking at her and said, "That's right poor old dowdy, dumpy 'Nessa has to pick up the pieces yet again. But even after all the recent trouble, Dad still thinks the sun shines out of James' arse!"

I didn't answer.

Vannessa got up to leave and said, "I'll have a talk with Amanda and come back later. Get a shower and something to eat, the answer to your trouble can't be found at the bottom of a whisky bottle."

She let herself out. I must have dozed off because the next thing I remember is someone at the door again, but now it was dark.

It was Vanessa carrying two take away pizzas and a bottle of pop. I put the light on and she bustled in.

"Pepperoni, or ham and mushroom? I like either."

My head now hurt but at least the room had stopped spinning. "Pepperoni," I answered.

"OK," Vanessa began as we started on the pizzas, "I've had a 'discussion'," placing heavy emphasis on the word, "with Amanda and it appears that she hasn't used contraception since she married James. He obviously isn't the man he thinks he is!" and she laughed, a cynical laugh.

"Amanda now admits to having a brief fling in France while she was visiting her mother and pregnancy is the result. Obviously this opens a whole new front in her divorce but, to be honest, I don't care, they've treated me like shit and I've told Amanda to sling her hook. I'm also selling my share of the businesses. I'm sick of them all; Dad, James, the lot of them!"