Wishful Thinking (a journey that will change lives forever) (15 page)

“Why later?” Mark replied huskily, keeping the accent going, and then – taking her completely by surprise – he put an arm around her waist, and deftly pulled her beneath him.  He lowered his mouth to hers, the smell of coffee still fresh and warm on his breath. “And who needs a bed?”

Dara giggled and kissed him back.

Louise was barely home after that fabulous weekend in Marbella when, incredibly, Sam phoned.  She was unpacking her weekend bag on Monday evening when her mobile rang, and she grinned with delight when she recognised his friendly tone at the other end of the line.

“Remember me?” he asked.

“I think so,” Louise sat down at the edge of the bed, her palms sweating with nerves, her heart thumping in anticipation.  He phoned!

“So, was it a good weekend?” he enquired.  “Worth missing a date with a handsome bloke like myself?”

Hearing this, Louise practically danced around the room with delight.   She couldn’t believe he was so interested!  Did being skinny really make that much of a difference?  Yes, she looked a hell of a lot better than she had a year ago, but there was no getting away from the fact that she was still pretty ordinary and unexceptional-looking, by anyone’s standards.  Still, maybe it was true what they said about beauty being in the eye of the beholder and all that.  Maybe Sam wasn’t interested in her because of her looks. Maybe he just liked her personality.

“It
was
a great weekend,” she replied, trying to keep her tone measured and slightly aloof, but failing miserably.  

“And the other bit?”

“What other – ?”

“The bit about it being worth missing a date with me,” he repeated mischievously.

“I don’t know that yet, do I?” she replied, her own forthrightness shocking even herself, “Seeing as I haven’t actually
been
on a date with you.”

“Yet,” he finished. 

“Yet.”

“So how about it, then?” he went on, and Louise mentally hugged herself. “Do you fancy doing something tomorrow night?”

“Oh, that would be nice but . . .” Louise paused, debating the matter.

On the one hand, she was
dying
to go out with him.  It had been ages since she’d been on a date – a proper date – not counting the dopes that Fiona tried to palm off on her while actively hunting their typically good-looking mates – and for once, this was someone who had approached
her
.  It would be madness to say no. Yet, at the same time, shouldn’t she play it cool, like the others always did?  Coming over like an eager beaver wasn’t such a good idea. 

“I don’t want to push it or anything,” Sam was saying, sounding embarrassed now, “it’s just . . . well, we got on so well the other night, and I’d really like to see you again.”

“Oh . . . I’d like to, Sam. It’s just I think I might have something on tomorrow night – hang on a minute there while I check . . .” She laid the receiver down. Oh, God, that sounded stupid! As if she wouldn’t be sure if she had something on tomorrow night or not!

Oh, what should she do? There was also the fact that she was just back from a hectic weekend away and had spent so much she’d planned on living like a monk for the rest of the month. But she couldn’t say anything like that to Sam.  The other night, he’d been led
to believe she was a sophisticated, self-sufficient woman of the world, someone for whom drinking champagne at the Four Seasons was par for the course.  What would he think if he learned that she had barely enough to survive on for the rest of the month?  No, better say nothing about the money situation, and try and put him off a bit. For once, she’d play the interested but I’m-oh-so-very-busy card.  Not the dying-to-but-I’m-actually-broke card.

She picked up the receiver again. “Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“Um, I’d love to go out with you this week, ” she began, trying to affect a nonchalant tone, “but I’m afraid I already have something else on.”

“All
week
?” 

He sounded suitably surprised – or was it impressed? Louise certainly hoped so.

“Yes, I’m meeting friends for dinner tomorrow night, and then – then there’s this autumn fashion event in Harvey Nichols on Wednesday night,” she blustered, one of the many flyers she’d picked up with the post on her way in catching her eye. “Ten percent off all designer items,” she recited authoritatively.

“Designer … oh, you mean you’re going shopping?”

I wish, Louise groaned silently.  “Yes.  Well, it is an
event
,” she informed him gravely, as if these things really deserved to be taken seriously.

“I see.”

Now he sounded a bit put out, and Louise wondered if she’d taken things too far.  It was all very well trying to maintain a cool distance, but at the same time she didn’t want to come across as some airhead fashionista either.

“Oh, I probably won’t buy much,” she added quickly. “It’s just an excuse for a night out with the girls to be honest.”

“You and your friends do go out a lot, don’t you?” he said, sounding disappointed. 

Wow, he must be really interested!  Louise laughed gaily, thinking of their most recent exploits.  Clothes shopping on Monday, cocktails and clubbing on Thursday, and sunbathing in Marbella at the weekend. It
did
sound good, didn’t it? “Well, you’re only here for a good time, not for a long time!” she replied, borrowing Fiona’s oft-used phrase – generally when she was trying to convince Louise to buy yet another expensive outfit, or go out on another night on the town.

Yes, yes, this was good.  She really did come across like someone with a bubbly, carefree attitude to life, someone with lots of friends and a whirlwind social life – in short, someone definitely worth getting to know.

“That’s one way of looking at it,” Sam replied.

“And then of course, I have Gemma’s wedding at the weekend so …” She trailed off, as if having such a busy social calendar could be
so
tiring. She giggled happily, thoroughly enjoying her inspired performance.  By next week, he’d be
dying
to go out with her.

But on the other end of the line, Sam remained oddly silent.  Oh dear, had she overplayed it?  Had she come across as
too
fun-loving?

“Look, why don’t we arrange something for next weekend?” she suggested quickly.

“Are you sure? You don’t want to check your diary first?” he replied, and this time Louise thought she could definitely detect a tinge of irritation in there.

“No, it should be fine,” she replied, meaning it. Of course it would be fine, any weekend would be fine, as she had vowed she wouldn’t be putting her nose outside the door until
wages day! But that would be a long time yet, and in fairness she couldn’t put her life on hold until then. Not when a very good-looking and totally charming man was showing such an interest in her.

“OK, well, I’ll give you a call sometime next week, then,” he said, sounding much more like his initial friendly self.  “Enjoy your friend’s wedding.”

“I will,” she said, having visions of herself stuffing her face at the meal – the only decent one she was likely to get in the next few weeks, let alone days.

******

That Wednesday afternoon, Louise showed up for her appointment with her solicitor James Cahill.

“So, how have you been?” he asked, when the two were comfortably ensconced in his office.

Louise found she was never really sure how to answer that question – especially when asked by him.  She was feeling great these days, and apart from the odd twinge in her back now and then, she couldn’t really say there was anything wrong with her.

Which made her feel doubly guilty about what she was doing, she thought, biting her lip.  Then, just as quickly, she remembered the rapidly increasing loan sitting in the bank waiting to be paid, the massively maxed-out credit card, and the overdraft that just kept on giving.  It hadn’t just been her spending habits that had got her finances in this state.

“Not too bad,” she replied, her expression noncommittal.

“You’re sure? Any back pain at all?”

She shrugged. “A few twinges now and again, but nothing serious.”

“I see.” For some reason Cahill didn’t sound very happy. 

He seemed to expect Louise to tell him she was crippled. Yes, the doctors had agreed that as a result of the accident, she would forever suffer from chronic back-pain but luckily for her, this pain wasn’t continuous.  Still, when it hit, it hit very badly and there were times when she could barely move.  According to the doctors, this would gradually worsen with age, and it was likely she would suffer for the rest of her life.

“Well, I’ve been looking over the file, and we really do have a very strong case,” the solicitor went on.  “Dr Cunningham’s injury report is comprehensive and very convincing, and I would be confident that we should get a decent judgement come October.”

Louise sat up. “So, you have an actual date for the hearing, then?”

“We certainly do.”

“That’s good news.” In truth, it was terrifying. Louise was dreading the hearing, terrified of having to go through with the case. Recouping the cost of her medical bills would be lovely of course, but from day one she wasn’t happy about Cahill’s insistence on claiming for diminished earnings as a result of her injuries.  

She wasn’t a bricklayer, she’d told him, so it was most unlikely her back problems would affect her at work, wasn’t it?  And as long as she could sit comfortably at a desk, she should be fine.   

“So, there are no diminished earnings really,” she’d explained.

“But Louise, your first-choice career was Physical Education and because of that accident, you’re stuck working in an office,” Cahill argued.  “Think of what you’d be earning if you were working in your qualified field.  Without doubt there’s a case of diminished earnings here.  I think any judge in the country would agree with that.”

Louise bit her lip.  She didn’t like the idea, especially when everyone and anyone seemed to be suing people these days.  There were always stories in the papers about it. ‘
Soldier sues army for being too strict’
or ‘
Woman sues for distress because tomato soup is green’
or something.  And then there was that mad American one that sued the TV station for emotional damage when Janet Jackson exposed her breast at the MTV awards that time. It was all a bit mad really.

To Louise, it just didn’t seemed right.  OK, maybe an office dogsbody in ACS wasn’t the career she thought she’d have, but she had a job, didn’t she?  In fairness, wasn’t she lucky to be alive at all afterwards, let alone go running to the courts crying for compensation?  And it wasn’t as though the driver had intentionally knocked her down – it was an accident and accidents happened.  People couldn’t be constantly going around with the hand out, just because there were a few stones on what was supposed to be a sandy beach, could they? 

And there was no denying the notion that perhaps she’d been at fault too. The idea had crossed Louise’s mind more than once over the last couple of years.  Yes, she had the green pedestrian light and was free to walk, but maybe she should have given a quick look just to make sure nothing was coming.  But no, at the time, she was too busy day-dreaming about what Christmas presents she was going to buy.  So maybe she was just as much at fault as the driver was.

She explained all this to Cahill.

“For goodness’ sake, Louise, don’t ever say that in a courtroom!” Cahill admonished testily. “There is no question that you were anyway at fault.  The driver drove illegally through a red light, and he was way over the speed limit. Not to mention the fact that he had a few drinks in him at the time. Louise, the guy was an idiot who could have killed you!”

“But he didn’t kill me, that’s what I’m saying,” Louise argued. “And look, I have no problem with your asking him to pay my medical bills, because to be perfectly honest, that’s the only way they’ll ever be paid,” she grimaced ruefully, “but I’m just not comfortable with the earnings thing.”

“Trust me, Louise, our doctor’s report is irrefutable.  It’s almost impossible to calculate the damage that man did to you –
financially
,” he added, when Louise opened her mouth to protest that she was fine now.  “And it’s certainly much more than that miserable insurance payout.”

He made it all sound perfectly reasonable but still Louise couldn’t help feeling as though she was pulling a fast one.  Yes, the thought of having the loan for her medical bills paid off sounded fantastic because, with her measly wages, it wouldn’t be paid off anytime soon.  And of course in the meantime she had to live. 

So, eventually she’d relented.  Although to this day, she still felt guilty about the diminished earnings part of the suit.

Now, according the Cahill, the case should be all done and dusted by Christmas.

“Our office received confirmation early last week.  As I said, the case will be heard in the Four Courts in October.  The judge is a good man, can be a grumpy old sod at times, but fair.  I’ve also engaged an excellent barrister, Donal O’Toole, who should do a very good job for us.”

“Mr Cahill, are you absolutely sure we’re doing the right thing?” Louise asked again.  The thoughts of getting rid of all those loans by Christmas sounded fantastic but something deep down told her that this was all wrong.  She really didn’t like being part of this litigious, money-grabbing section of Irish society.  It just didn’t seem right.  Shouldn’t you just be happy with what you have?  OK, so she might get a good verdict, but what if it brought her nothing but bad luck?