30 Days Hath September

1st September 2013
Cathy woke.  Her tongue was stuck to the top of her mouth.  A cold wet thudding hangover was pounding at her temple.  “Thank God it’s Sunday” she groaned, and rolled over in bed to check the time.  11.45am the clock blinked back at her.  Dam, she would have to get up soon and collect the kids.  They were starting back at school tomorrow and she still had pencil cases and new lunch boxes to find.  Cathy wondered if she was ever going to be one of those mums who had the school uniforms, books and bags ready for the new term ready, the day after the kids got their holidays from the current school term.  Ok, well that was probably a bit extreme, but Cathy knew she should be a bit more organised.  Stop leaving things till the last minute, she admonished herself.  Yes, it was only two pencil cases, and two lunch boxes, but going from previous experience, Cathy knew that this task could take all day if she wasn’t careful.  Depending on the availability of school accessories in the first shop they went to, she could end up having to spend the day in Dundrum Shopping Centre.
Taking a lunge out of bed, Cathy headed for the shower.  Working her thick blond hair into a lather of shampoo always made her feel like it was the universes way of giving her a fresh start every morning.  A blank canvas, if you will, to draw and create on it whatever way she chooses.  Some days she created beautiful masterpieces of art, akin to Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine chapel.  Sometimes she created crap, splashes of colour pulled together in no specific rhyme or reason, and in the end everything turned to a muddy brown splodge.  But mostly, Cathy created a nice simple pencil drawing on her canvas, a cartoon, which held the ease carefree attitude to life she had chosen to lead.
After kicking Gary out to touch, Cathy’s canvases were black and gray, with a few spots of children colour.  It had been so hard dealing with his betrayal, his adultering, his cheating, his strong forceful manner, his lying.  The list went on and on like a bad song, scratching at her memory.  After getting through the first few weeks in a daze of negative emotions Cathy had realised she could do one of two things.  One: continue on paining a dull lifeless canvas for the rest of her days, or Two: get out, cop on, and start living her life again.  She chose the latter.  Cathy had two children who were hurt and confused about the sudden change in their cosy family life.  It broke Cathy’s heart trying to comfort them in any meaningful way, cursing GARY to hell for what he had to do all of them.  What he had done to her children.  Cathy could see that jack and Millie were hurt enough, without having to watch their mother dig herself into a black hole, and wallow in it.  One day, after dropping the children to school, Cathy drove to the beach.  It being mid November and mid morning, the small pebble bay was thankfully deserted.
Cathy took a deep breath into her lungs and let it out in a long agonising scream.  She did it again, and again.  She screamed while the tears rolled down her face, her hands clenched tightly by her side.  She roared into the wind, willing it to take her pain away.  Cathy screamed and cried until her eyes stung and her throat was raw, and then she insisted on screaming a bit more.  Just for good measure. 
Staring out toward the grey sea, Cathy swore to the seagulls that were circling above her.  She was done with the dark.  These would be the last tears shed over that bastard.  She banished the demons to the wind.  She forgave herself for all the rotten things she had thought about herself.  Punishing herself while trying to understand and excuse why Gary had treated her so badly.  “It’s over”, she yelled at the seagulls, which were swooping down to collect her sorrow and take it away.  That chapter of her life was written and now she was choosing to firmly close the book.  From now on, it was Cathy and her children.  Cathy’s hopes and Cathy’s dreams.  Her worries and sorrows. Her strengths and weaknesses.  She had positive and negatives, rights and wrongs, for her to do with whatever she wanted.  Right there that morning Cathy started running. 
Cathy dressed quickly after her shower, and pulled her damp blond hair into a loose knot on top of her head.  After fixing her eyes with some mascara, she slid pale lip-gloss across her full lips.
Pouting at herself in the bedroom mirror, she told herself she would have to do, and grabbed the jacket which she had thrown on the chair the previous night.
Driving into town, Cathy enjoyed the light traffic of a Sunday afternoon.  She was collecting the children from the pub where Gary worked as a bar manager.  Usually Cathy didn’t like the children being in the pub, but as this was a family run establishment, at this time on a Sunday the place was usually full of parents with their kids, enjoying a carvery for lunch.
Cathy found a parking space in the car park at the back of the pub and made her way in to the lounge.  She couldn’t wait to see her children.  Gary, she could do without!  She missed Millie & jack when they were with Gary.  Even though Millie’s’ constant yapping and the inevitable arguments the twins always ended up in almost drove her crazy sometimes, when they were not around she felt a terrible loneliness.  It was like her left arm was missing.  Cathy had looked after them every day since they were born, nearly 6 years ago, and she still found it hard to deal with their absence, both when they went to school and when they were with Gary.
She spotted the twins sitting together on one side of a corner booth.  Gary sat opposite them, looking confused.  They were having lunch of chicken nuggets and chips, a fact that Cathy was relieved to see, as it meant she wouldn’t have to cook a full dinner later.  Beans on toast for tea would do!
Gary was taking advantage of the beef carvery, and as Cathy neared the table, the delicious aroma of the food it her. 
Scooting in beside the children, Cathy gathered them into a bear hug, and kissed the tops of both little heads. “Mammy!  You’re here! Shrieked Millie, “we are just having our lunch and telling daddy about how it’s ok for people to have two houses and two homes.  Not everyone in our class has two houses, but some do, and that’s ok. Right?!”  “Yep, it sure is,” Cathy reassured Millie, and gave jack a quick wink.  “Your lunch looks delicious, so eat it all up quickly before we go” said Cathy, automatically going into mammy mode by cutting the chicken a little smaller on each plate, making it easier for them to eat. 
“Hi Cathy,” Gary greeted her. “How’s things?”
“Great” Cathy replied, not really wanting to get into any conversation with Gary, but then realising she had two sets of little eyes watching her; she made an effort to be civil. 
“That carvery looks nice today”, Cathy indicated toward Gary’s half eaten dinner, and then embarrassed herself with a loud grumble from her still empty stomach.  She hadn’t been able to face anything before she left the house, but now her senses were taking over.  Gary saw the almost drooling look on Cathy’s face and quickly suggested for her to have some lunch before they had to go.  Usually, she would do any anything to avoid having to spend even an extra second in her ex-husbands company, but today she was hung over, and due her period, and so badly in need of some stodgy food to fill her up.
Gary went to the bar to order her food, and returned with a jug of ice cold water and a clean glass.  “Here, you look like you could use some of this”.  He poured a glass and slid it across the table to her, the professional bar man that he was.  Always ready to satisfy his customers needs.  Unfortunately for Cathy, Gary never stopped at satisfying their drinking needs, but took it on himself to look after their sexual needs too.
A lounge boy came over with Cathy’s food and as she looked up to pay him, she saw someone looking at her from behind the bar.  The man looked right into her head, with such a smouldering look; she squirmed before tearing her eyes away.  Glancing at Gary, she wondered who this guy was.  He was hot, and he had obviously been checking her out.  Cathy looked back over to the bar, and took in all that she could see of this guy from his position behind the bar.  Tall, dark and handsome.  What a cliché.  But he was.  His dark brown hair was long enough to curl over the collar of his pristine white shirt.  Even at a distance Cathy could see the chocolate colour of his eyes, framed by long black lashes.  He looked fit, strong, and totally yummy.  He was leaning forward talking to a regular customer, but kept looking back over to where Cathy sat with Gary and the children. 
Cathy tore her eyes away, when he grinned at her, feeling embarrassed to have been caught staring.  “Who is the tall guy behind the bar?” she asked Gary as casually as she could.  “Who, Sam?” Gary replied, looking over in his direction, but Sam had disappeared.  “He’s been here a while”.
“I don’t recognise him”, Cathy mused, “I thought I knew all the staff here?” “Oh he’s not staff” Gary smirked, “he’s the boss”.
“What?” Cathy looked back over to the bar to see if they were talking about the same person.  “He couldn’t be the boss.  He’s too young”, AND HOT, Cathy added silently.
“That’s Sam O’Keeffe, son of Michael O’Keeffe.  Part of the O’Keeffe family....who own the O’Keeffe Empire, and all who sails in her.  They own this place, and a few more to go with it.  Pubs and Clubs, that’s their tipple and it did them well over the years.” Gary filled her in.
“But how come I’ve never seen this guy before?  Was he recently released from prison or something”?  Cathy felt it possible he had been put away for crimes against passion.  Jesus, where was this coming from?  Cathy felt herself flush at the thought. 
“He just came back from abroad, Ibiza I think, and the Balearic islands.  He’s been there for the past few years.  He has taken on the area managers’ job for the pub chain, and this and two clubs on the street, are on his patch”.
Cathy finished eating, checking that the children had enough and were happy with the colouring book Gary had brought.
She looked back over towards the bar, and caught a brief of Sam, as he disappeared into the back room.  I shouldn’t be checking him out, Cathy thought.  He’s my ex-husbands boss.  The ex-husband I’m sitting here with, having lunch with for the first time since we split.  The ex-husband who I’m having the longest conversation with in a year, and it’s about another man.  Another Sexy man.  A man whose eyes, even from here, were melting into her.  A man who body looked like he could hold up to a marathon session in the bedroom and a man, who really was so out of her league.  If Gary was right about Sams family and pedigree, Cathy imagined he had women literally falling at his feet, throwing themselves at him, and generally had the pick of the bunch. 
No, she wasn’t interested in heartbreak, but it’s always nice to appreciate the dessert menu, even if you are on a diet.  Sam O’Keeffe was defiantly dessert.  The chocolate kind!!!

Dragging her thoughts out of the gutter and back to the table, Cathy told Gary that she had wanted to enrol the twins in a local drama and dance class after school.  She felt it would help with jacks confidence and social skills, and Millie would be right at home having a stage to perform on.  “Sounds good”, said Gary, “when does it start?”
“That’s the thing, its starts next week.  I’m a bit short on money for the term fee’s, and was wondering if you could help out at all?”  Cathy hated having to ask Gary directly for money, but when the money was for the kids, it made it easier.
“Of course, No problem”, Gary said easily, as if money was never an issue for him.  He earned a good wage, and had looked after them comfortably when they had been a family.  Since the split, Gary still paid the mortgage, and deposited a set amount into Cathy’s account each month for the kids.  It wasn’t a fortune, and sometimes things were tight from week to week, but Cathy got there.  Sometimes, Cathy took in ironing from a local B&B, just sheets and duvet covers, and this gave her a few extra Euros to have a bit of breathing space.  She rarely had much left over at the end of any week for any of the usual niceties, but she tried to make sure the children didn’t go without.  “It’s just with the kids going back to school this week and everything.  It’s just a bit tight this month.  You know, two of everything, and that includes term fees for any extra activities.”  Cathy felt the need to explain that she used the money Gary gave her responsibly.  She didn’t flit it away on nights out with the girls, or beauty weekends away when Gary had the kids.  If he had noticed that she was taking better care of herself, he hadn’t said anything, but all of the money was spent on essential things like bills, food, clothes, except for the odd bottle of wine on a Friday night, which usually lasted till Sunday.
Last night’s drinks were a result of Byron and Annabel dragging her out, and plying her with cocktails in celebration of making it through the past year, and coming out the other side of the wringer in once piece.
“It’s not a problem Cathy”, how much do you need?” Gary prompted her.  She told him the amount half the fees would be.  “I’ll have it by the end of the week for you” Gary promised, and then looking at this watch, he checked around to see if he could stretch another 5 minutes before the start of his shift behind the bar. 
“Ok thanks, that’s great Gary. But I’ll need it by Wednesday at the latest.  They start their first class after school on Wednesday and I need to have it paid by then.  I appreciate the help out.  It takes the pressure off.”  Cathy noticed Gary didn’t offer her any extra money, even though he knew she must be struggling.  “I think the drama and dance school will be great for the twins.  They need to start mixing with other kids outside school; they are very dependent on each other and even have the same friends in their class.  They need to mix a bit more.”  After the breakup of their parents, the children had clung to each other for comfort and familiarity in their suddenly changing world.  Amazing as children often are, they adjusted to their new family situation a lot quicker than Cathy had, but Cathy still worried.  The twins relied a lot on each other.  She dreaded the day when extravert Millie woke up and was interested in boys, while Jack, being the quieter of the two, might get left behind.  That was a few years away yet, but Cathy didn’t want them getting into any habits now that might make it hinder either of them in the future.  They loved each other.  They would always be each other’s twin, but they were also individuals and they needed to be treated as such. 

As they lounge boy returned to clear the table, Cathy gathered Millie and jack up to leave.  “I’ll walk you out to the car”, Gary offered, going over to collect the twin’s overnight bag from behind the bar when he had left it.
As Gary returned, Cathy saw Sam leaving the office and make his way over to where they stood.  “Hi Gary, sorry to interrupt.  Are you on today?” Sam asked, glancing at Cathy and the two children.
“Yes, I’m just finishing up her, and I’ll be around to help in a minute” Gary bristled slightly, then realised his boss wasn’t checking up on him, he was looking for an introduction.  “Oh sorry, yeah, - Sam this is Cathy, Cathy – Sam O’Keeffe,” Gary waved a hand between them both.
Sam reached out a hand to Cathy and took hers firmly in his grip.  Not sure if Gary could see the spark that flew when their hands touched, but she shook Sams hand once, then withdrew.
“Hi guys,” Sam waved over to Millie and Jack, as if he was already familiar with them.  “Thanks for the crisps yesterday Sam,” Millie grinned up at him, “They were yummy.” “Anytime little lady” Sam grinned back.  “How’s your knee today Jack? Is it better?” Sam enquired.  Jack gave Sam thumbs up as Cathy looked sharply at Gary, then bent down to inspect Jacks legs.  “I had a fall yesterday Mammy, my knee was bleeding the red stuff.  Sam got me a blue plaster form the kitchen and it fixed my broken leg.” Jack explained seriously.
“Good stuff little man” Sam ruffled his hair, and winked at him, as Millie giggled again.  It was obvious that the twins were used to him, and it got Cathy wondering just how much time Gary spend in the pub with them when they were with him.
“I’d better go” Cathy said quickly, eager to get away from the man who was sending shivers down her spine, and away from the other man who she wanted to kill with her bare hands, for being so irresponsible with her children.

“Nice to meet you Cathy” Sam offered.  Cathy paused and turned back as not to be rude.  “Nice to meet you too Sam.  Enjoy the rest of your day” she offered by way of closing the conversation, wanting to be out of the pub and into the fresh air.
Heading for the door with the children and Gary in tow, Cathy started to boil.  How many times had Gary brought the kids here, she wondered.  Enough that they knew the bar staff, by the look of it.  And the bar staff knew them – even the new, hot, sexy, area manager, who’s touch Cathy was trying desperately to forget.  Strapping the kids into their car seats, Cathy told Gary to call her about his days off next week.  They would need to work something out if he was taking them mid-week.  They would be back at school and Cathy needed to know if Gary was able for the early morning school runs. 
Cathy and the twins drove to Dundrum Shopping Centre.  Going first to Tesco for lunch boxes and then Eason’s for the pencil cases, Cathy felt she had a lucky escape with that particular shopping trip.  When they got home, they all got into their fluffy onezies, pulled the curtains closed, and snuggled up the sofa to watch a Disney DVD.  Cathy really didn’t pay much attention to the film she had already seen about seventeen times.  Instead she thought back to the man she met this afternoon.  Sam O’Keeffe – everything time she thought about him, her belly flipped.  She couldn’t get his face out of her mind.  The way he had looked at her and the way he looked.  He was charming.  Although, something told her he was also trouble, and with her usual stubborn resolution she decided to steer well clear of him.  She couldn’t get involved with a heartbreaker again.  She wouldn’t survive it.  Pulling her phone from her pocket, she Goggled Sam O’Keeffe’s name.  Yes, she knew it, trouble.  It was all there in black and white, TROUBLE.