CHAPTER NINE

“Morning girls” Helen shouted to the members of her team who were in the office when she arrived on Monday morning. Smiling at the return greetings she walked into her office and dumped her bag and folders on her desk.

Thinking back on the previous night, she smiled at the fun her, Yvonne and Nikki had had at Edgar’s after Bob had left. There had been something .... more .... there last night than when it was just her and Yvonne having drinks, she just couldn’t put her finger on what it was. What she did know was that when the time came for them all to part she had felt an overwhelming urge to go with Nikki.

And to top the evening off when she had got home their had been an email waiting for her from her mystery friend.

Twirling her chair to face the window Helen pondered the changes in her life since her split with Shaun, acknowledging for the first time the good that had come from that tough time. ‘Maybe I should thank Shaun’ she thought ‘after all if it hadn’t been for him I would never have engaged in conversation with a total stranger on the internet, never have gone for this job and never met Nikki’. A cloud came over her face at that thought. Never met Nikki, why does that thought sadden me? Helen wondered.

“Helen? ..... Helen?” She heard from the doorway, and from the tone and pitch it was obviously not the first time it had been said.

“Karen .... sorry didn’t hear you there. Anything I can do for you?” she asked, letting her thoughts of Nikki float to the back of her mind.

“You looked like you were a thousand miles away” Karen smiled as she made her way into the room and sat opposite, taking in all of Helen’s features that she could see. In that moment it dawned on her how perfect she was for Nikki and she determined to get them together no matter what Nikki had said just the night before.

“Karen?” Now it was Helen’s turn to rouse the other woman from her thoughts.

“Sorry .... lots to do today, was just .... um .... thinking” Karen stuttered. “Um I just came to see how you were settling in? getting to know everyone ?”

“Yeah everything is fine. There all very nice” Helen said gesturing to the team just in the outer office, “Well most of them” she amended as Maxie Purvis came into view. “And Nikki’s been a great help” she smiled.

‘Aha’ Karen thought, ‘I knew it’ “That’s great” she said instead. “Another reason I came was I believe you had put your name forward for the Manchester conference.”

“Yeah I’m looking forward to it. I understand Dominic is running it?”

“Yeah he is and he’s getting nervous already about it ... bless him, it’s the first time he’s organised a conference on his own, I keep telling him he’ll be fine but I don’t think he’ll relax till we get back here the following Monday.”

Both women laughed and Helen added solicitously, “It’ll be fine, once he gets there he’ll wonder what all the fuss was about.”

“Yeah I keep telling him that. Anyway I just came to remind you that the conference is next Friday and you need to be at the hotel from the Thursday night for dinner at 8.00pm. It will be a full day Friday, followed by half a day Saturday, with the afternoon off to shop,” Karen said with a smile “then a big Gala Dinner on the Saturday night. That isn’t a problem for you is it?”

“No ... no that’s fine. I’m really looking forward to it” Helen answered while leaning forward to look at her date planner.

“Yeah so’s Nikki” Karen dropped into the conversation.

“Nikki’s going?” Helen asked trying not to seem too interested.

‘Ah yeah, she’s interested’ Karen thought as she stood to leave. “Yeah, another friendly face for Dominic. Well I have to get on got a meeting in personnel that I’m already late for. How about lunch with Nikki and I, say about 12.00 in the quad?” she asked not even waiting for an answer before leaving.

“Yeah sure, 12.00 it is.” she answered the door, already looking forward to lunch.

“Oh Nikki, glad I caught you. Still on for lunch today?” Karen asked as she bumped into her friend in the hallway moments later.

“Come on Karen when have I ever turned down a free lunch?” Nikki returned passing her friend.

“See you at 12.00 then, usual table?” Smiling when she realised that Nikki seemed to be in a hurry and was heading in the direction she had just come from, a direction that only led to one place.

“12.00 it is, see you there” Nikki called over her back.

Karen stood for a while and marvelled at her friend, before muttering to herself “boy has she got it bad”.

“Nikki cooeee!!” Julie J called after noticing her former boss stood in the doorway, wondering whether to come in or not.

“Hi Julie, how’s it going? Was just wondering if ... um .... Hel ... Lorna Rose was in today?” Nikki said from the doorway.

“Oh I’m sorry love it’s Lorna’s day off today, can I help?”

“No no that’s all right” Nikki answered already making her way out of the office.

“Mmmm should of known that there was no such thing as a free lunch!” Nikki muttered as she watched Helen walking over the quad to join her and Karen.

“Sorry Nikki what was that?” Karen asked innocently pretending not to notice that Helen was headed their way.

“Did you actually listen to me last night or did it just go in one ear and out the other?”

“Why Nikki whatever do you mean?” Karen asked innocently fluttering her eyelashes at her friend. Smiling at the mock scowl on Nikki’s face both women turned to greet Helen as she made it to their table.

“Hi Karen” Helen said to the tall blonde before turning to face Nikki completely. “Hello Nikki” she said softly. Both women continued to stare at each other, the bustling quad going quiet around them till they were the only people in the world.

Looking from one to the other Karen smile and thought to herself ‘This is going to be so easy’.

Coughing softly Karen pretended not to notice that the other two were jolted back to reality. “Shall we go buy our sandwiches I’m starving” she asked already making her way to the counter.

Helen smiled once more at Nikki before making her way after the blonde. Nikki just stood rooted to the spot, contemplating what had just happened.

CHAPTER TEN

“Anyone fancy going out tonight?” Karen asked around a mouthful of ham sandwich.

“I would but I’ve kinda made other plans” Helen answered, swallowing a bite of her own sandwich

“Ditto” Nikki answered, managing to look both disappointed and excited at the same time.

“Mmmm OK then another night”.

The trio continued to eat their sandwiches, occasionally making small talk to each other. Helen had just swallowed the last bite of her sandwich when her mobile went off. Looking at the display she breathed deeply before answering with a tiny bit of anger and a tiny bit of trepidation, “Shaun. What can I do for you?”, while getting up and walking away from the table to a quiet corner of the quad.

Nikki put down her sandwich and felt her shoulders slump just a little. ‘Shaun! who the hell was that? and why was she feeling like this anyway it wasn’t as if there was something going on between them they were just friends!’, Nikki berated herself.

Karen seeing the way Nikki reacted to Helen leaving, silently carried on eating her sandwich, her heart going out to her friend who was so obviously in turmoil.

“Shaun we have had this conversation before! I don’t want to see you! I don’t want to speak to you! I’d rather not even be in the same town as you! Stay out of my life!” Helen demanded with conviction before hanging up on her ex. She could feel the tears popping in her eyes, as they had so often done when Shaun had first gone, but willed them back, ‘she was NOT going to cry over that tosspot ever again’.

Hearing laughter she turned and looked over at where Karen and Nikki sat, Karen was sat chatting enthusiastically over something, probably Dominic, while Nikki just listened attentively. Helen could feel her breathing gradually get back to normal and the tenseness leave her shoulders just from the sight of her new friend, but when Nikki suddenly turned to look at her she felt a different type of tenseness permeate through her body.

Nikki could feel someone looking at her and so turned to find her observer. When her eyes met Helen’s, all noise went away and there was just them both in the world. She stayed there just looking at Helen gazing at her, before standing and making her way over to her. Helen took one step forward. They both stood there, close, looking into each others eyes. Without speaking Nikki raised her right hand and tucked a strand of Helen’s hair behind her ear. The tip of Helen’s tongue darted out to touch her lips, Nikki watched it avidly, unconsciously mirroring the action. Leaning in slowly Nikki briefly touched her lips to Helen’s, leant back before bowing in once again to kiss Helen with more passion.

“Nikki? Nikki?” Karen shook her friends arm to get her out of her trance. “Nikki your drooling” Karen laughed at her friend, before handing her a cup of tea and sitting in the arm chair and flicking channels with the remote while the adverts were on.

“I’m sorry, I must have fallen asleep” Nikki mumbled while sitting up more to take a sip of her tea. Her dream fading into memory, she smiled at what had become a regular occurrence lately when she closed her eyes. “What time is it?” she asked while trying to find a clock.

“8.30pm. You’ve missed the first part of The Bill, but it’s been a good episode so far ......” Karen stopped, it was useless, she was talking to an empty room, Nikki and got up and left.

Rushing into her den she switched on her computer and waited for it to load up, before logging onto the server and heading straight for Yahoo.

Karen came to the door to see where Nikki had rushed off to, seeing her sat at the terminal she just rolled her eyes and went back to the lounge.

Getting rid of all the rubbish pop-ups she nearly got rid of a message by mistake.

H : Hello Mystery

M : Hi H, hope I haven’t kept you waiting too long.

H : Just got here myself. Long day?.

M : No not really, just work things.

H : What is it you do?

and so it went for the next four hours, Nikki asking H questions while answering H’s questions and generally getting to know her new friend. They discussed movies, theatre and favourite books. By the end Nikki knew everything from H’s favourite colour to what she got for her 10th birthday. Eventually Nikki had to say goodnight, she had had a long day and although she wanted to stay chatting with H forever she just couldn’t keep her eyes open any more. Ten minutes later Nikki logged off after saying goodnight to H and organising another night when they were both free to talk again.

Taking her cup into the kitchen, she rinsed it through and put it to drain. Walking back through to the living room making sure everything was secure, she picked up her file on the conference coming up, flicked through it and put it in her briefcase for the next day. Smiling she remembered Karen telling her that Helen was going to be going also. Whistling under her breath Nikki made her way up to bed thinking of her two new friends.