Stretching luxuriously and stifling a yawn Jem contemplated the day ahead reluctant to emerge from her feather and down cocoon.
Three days.
Jem worried that it wouldn't be enough time to finalise everything for the party. So O.K., the caterer's booked, as is the band. All the invitations were out and many replies had been received via the hotmail address she had set up to avoid Ethan finding out about his party. She had done it so easily too. Ethan was right, she was computer literate, but then that wasn't unique, nor a clear pointer to her profession. How she asked herself, not for the first time, could she recall the intricate workings of a computer but not the intimate details of her life?
Lying in bed she continued her 'done' list - the alcohol, tick, the wine waiters and food servers, tick, parking, tick, event hire, tick, present, no tick. Dam.
All the time Ethan had been kept in the dark. Once or twice he had caught Darlene and herself deep in conversation only to see them guiltily break apart upon his approach. Hushed voices then became loud, the topic usually inane like the weather or the nights menu. A raised eyebrow was the only indication that he felt something was up but thankfully he deigned to let it pass.
The Sunday and Monday just gone had seen Ethan leave very early for work and come home late, ostensibly to attend to his neglected paperwork though this puzzled Darlene as she said he often worked from home. Perhaps it was more likely he left early and came home late to avoid her. His demeanour around her had been distant and cool in the evenings when he had finally come home. Strange then how he was happy the day before to 'waste' a whole day on cruising with her, she puzzled. His complete about face on that score was perplexing. It had continued after arriving home from the days cruise. What would she like to drink? What DVD would she like to watch? A brush of a thigh here, a fleeting touch from his hand there had kept Jem in a state of painful pleasure all evening. Her body came alive under his attentions and quivered with frustration. And it was probably frustration that kept her tossing and turning and made her wake up feeling like she'd been through a ringer. And yet he endorsed her decision to leave. Dam the man.
Still it had been a relief in those 2 days to breakfast with only the chattering of Chloe and the odd comment from Darlene to respond to. Proximity to the man and a settled stomach did not go hand in hand.