An Italian Dream
3
STELLA
Stella got back to an empty house too, not that she minded in the slightest. Jacob was at his dad’s and Chloe was at university, but she liked the space and time to herself, plus she knew she could have company if she wanted.
She dumped her bag at the bottom of the stairs, switched on the living room lights and closed the blinds. The kitchen was spotless, as she’d left it. She filled the kettle before deciding she wanted something stronger than a cup of tea. She poured a generous amount of Baileys into a glass and popped in a couple of ice cubes.
To say she was proud of her house and how hard she’d worked over the last few years to be able to afford it, was an understatement. It wasn’t detached or as big as Fern’s, but it was all hers. Selling the house she’d shared with Rhod had broken her heart. But becoming a single mum for a second time had made her more determined to make a success of herself. After her second divorce, she’d taken risks, swapping her comfortable marketing manager job for one in a fast-growing digital company that had quickly expanded internationally. She’d become laser focused on her ambitions and she’d achieved everything she set out to, enabling her to afford her three-bed semi on a nice road in Nailsea. She didn’t want to settle for nice any longer though. She didn’t need to. Everything was going to change; she was well aware of that.
She rattled the ice around the glass. She’d gone through all sorts of emotions over the past three months, and keeping the news to herself had been hard, but right. There were too many people who would try to lay a claim, too many people who would come crawling back, after their share of her riches. She was also aware of how the money would impact Chloe’s and Jacob’s lives. She loved them to bits and was immensely proud of the young adults they’d become, but she didn’t want to spoil them or for their outlook on life to dramatically change because of her new-found wealth. The weight of responsibility lay heavy on her shoulders.
After the initial thrill, the reality of winning all that money gave her palpitations. Keeping quiet about her win to friends and family had been tough, but it allowed her the time to process the enormity of it without people interfering. She could only imagine how everyone would chip in about how they thought she should spend her money. Chloe had already talked about moving house – to one with a pool. Stella could almost hear the ka-chings going off in Chloe’s head as she’d talked about buying clothes, going on holiday and paying off her student loan. Sure, Stella could be a little frivolous, but she needed to be cautious and careful and invest in their future. The win needed to impact Chloe and Jacob positively, that was Stella’s main concern.
She wasn’t sure how long Chloe would be able to keep a Lottery win a secret. Fern she could trust completely. She didn’t have to worry about her telling Paul. How Fern had stuck being married to Paul for so long, she had no idea. She bit her lip and stared out over the dark garden. Stella did know why, because Fern didn’t know anything about what Paul got up to, or if she did, she hid it well. She seemed content enough to make do with her lot. She’d compromised massively, perhaps to the extent of her own happiness over that of her family. Stella partly admired that, but at the same time, she felt sorry for her.
Two weeks in Capri, celebrating their birthdays, would be a highlight for them both, some real sunshine in their lives, a chance to reconnect with themselves and spend proper time together. Stella would often invite Fern out in Bristol with her work friends, but Fern would always say no, giving the excuse of clubbing not being her thing any longer. Stella understood that she was married, but there was no harm in living a little. And it wasn’t as if Paul didn’t go out partying.
Stella was aware of the differences in their lives; Fern had been married with kids for half her life now, while she was single yet again and making the most of the freedom. That was exactly what she had: freedom. Over the years, Fern’s life had become so… vanilla. Stella wanted to do everything she could to inject fun and sparkle back into it. A holiday would be good for them all. It was the least she could do to treat her best friend. Paul wouldn’t say no; he wouldn’t dare. And if he had an issue, then she’d have words. He wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. It was about time he did something nice for Fern.
Stella downed her Baileys and switched on her phone. She’d purposely left it off all weekend. Jacob was with his dad and at thirteen he really didn’t want her calling him before bed to wish him goodnight. There was a missed call from Thierri, a guy she’d seen out in town a few times now. They’d chatted, snogged a bit, swapped numbers and he’d been chasing her for a proper date. She also had messages from Rhod and her colleagues Annie and Louise. They were good friends, but she hadn’t known them for as long as she’d known Fern.
Not only had the spa weekend served the purpose of finally telling Fern about her Lottery win, but it had been good to spend quality time with her. They’d been friends for nearly three decades, their lives entwined in so many ways. They lived close to each other, and with the girls being a similar age and having gone to the same school they’d never drifted apart. Both she and Fern had strained relationships with their own families, which made their bond even stronger. They’d always been there for each other.
That thought left a bitter taste in her mouth, knowing what she’d done. Stella pushed away the troubling thought, stacked the empty Baileys glass in the dishwasher and switched off the kitchen light. It was too late to sit and watch crappy TV.
She lugged her bag upstairs and unpacked. The king-size bed looked welcoming but lonely. She didn’t necessarily want company, but with Jacob at his dad’s for an extra night and no school run to fit in before work in the morning, it didn’t have to be the usual early to bed Sunday evening. Thierri wasn’t exactly the drop-dead-gorgeous man she was perhaps hoping to stumble across in Capri, but he wasn’t bad-looking either. She had no doubt that, given the chance, he’d happily warm her bed. There was always the option of phone sex. She could close her eyes and listen to his sexy French voice, deep and lilting…
She pressed his number and let the phone ring.
* * *
Stella loved having the focus of a holiday and the joint birthdays to plan during the long dull days of January. Chloe was beyond excited and was adamant that it was fine to miss two weeks of university, saying, ‘It’s only my first year and I haven’t got many lectures anyway.’
Stella set up a WhatsApp group called Capri Baby! and broke the news about her Lottery win and the holiday to Amber and Ruby. She trusted Ruby more than she did Amber and Chloe – of the three girls, Ruby had always been the more serious, sensitive and studious.
It was no surprise when Ruby turned down the offer of the holiday because she was on a nursing placement, but Stella made her promise to come out for a few days for the birthday celebrations at the end of the two weeks.
As predicted by Fern, Amber jumped at the chance of an all-expenses-paid holiday – whether she could afford to take time off from her business degree or not, her focus at university was about having fun rather than working hard. Not that Stella blamed her in the slightest. She was certain that if things had worked out differently for Fern and she hadn’t discovered that she was pregnant after starting university, she would have behaved exactly the same.
Jacob was already spending the May half-term with his dad and Rhod was more than happy to have him for an extra week. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t argue when Stella offered to pay for their flights to join them at the end of the holiday. And when Fern asked Paul if he wanted to come to Capri with Ruby for the last few days, due to work commitments, and to Stella’s relief, he declined. For the best part of two weeks, Stella was going to get the girls-only holiday she craved. She couldn’t wait.