“Seriously, Dawn. You would move in here?” Dawn nodded.
“Yes, it would get me away from a cheat who doesn’t want me. The worst part is I would give him what he wants, me out of the picture so he’s free to screw that bitch!” I sat and looked at the floor, unsure of how or what to say or do. I didn’t need the money from the sale of the house, I already had more than I could spend. Now would probably be a good time to let Dawn know how well off I was, without rubbing her nose in it.
“Okay, Dawn. Let’s say we didn’t need to sell this place, and you move in here.” I looked at Dawn, her attention was fixed on me. “If we don’t sell the house and you move in, how will you pay the bills?”
“I know Pete, I can’t afford to, it’s just a dream. One I wish there was a way of making it come true. I doubt I would find any work close to here, I am certainly not commuting to London every day.”
I sat and looked around the room, I could see Dawn watching my every move. I knew the job Dawn was laid off from, if she found another job she wouldn’t be able to work from home. Her skills meant she had to be in the office every day.
“Is there any type of work you can do from home?”
Dawn thought and shook her head. “Probably not, everything I am qualified for means working in an office.” We sat in silence for a few minutes, Dawn stood up and looked at me. “I’m going to turn in for the night, I’m exhausted.” I watched as my sister slowly walked upstairs. I hated seeing her like this. I sat for a further few minutes, I had an idea that was turning into a plan. Given that Dawn was so tired it could wait until after breakfast. Dawn was lying on her side, I could hear her sniffling. I lay on my back, I usually did this if I laid down to think. Minutes later Dawn turned over and cuddled into me, her arm was lying across my stomach.
“Goodnight Pete.” Dawn sniffled. I lay there staring at the ceiling. “Goodnight Dawn.” I could hear Dawn snoring lightly after several minutes.
I woke in the morning still lying on my back, Dawn was still cuddled into me. Needing to pee, I moved, Dawn stirred. “What time is it?” She asked, trying not to yawn at the same time.
“7am. When we are showered and dressed I’m taking you out for breakfast.” I headed to the bathroom. Dawn stared at me and smiled when I walked back into the bedroom, I had a towel wrapped around my waist.
“Not bad.” Dawn smiled then left to take her shower. I was sitting downstairs waiting for Dawn, I sent a text message to a client. Dawn emerged dressed in jeans and a sweater.
“Where are you taking me for breakfast?”
“You’ll see. Come on, let’s go.” Dawn followed me out to the car. As we drove into town my phone rang, I used the car’s built-in system to answer the call. It was a client asking if I could spare some time to help them out.
“How long will you need me for?” I asked.
“Three days, maybe four at most. We could really use your help, Pete.” I looked across at Dawn, she shrugged as if to say okay. “No problem, I’ll set off later and see you this afternoon.”
“Thanks Pete.” The client cut the call.
“Sorry Dawn, I have to go for a few days. I’ll get back as quickly as I can.”
Dawn put her hand on mine. “It can’t be helped, Pete. I’ll carry on with whatever I can manage.”
Dawn and I sat in the small restaurant, we drank coffee as we waited for our food. Dawn was unusually quiet, I wondered if she was mildly depressed. Over the last few days I had noticed Dawn wasn’t her usual chatty self, taking into account all that had happened, I shouldn’t have been surprised. We Left the restaurant, Dawn waited as I dashed over to an ATM. Our next stop was the supermarket. I needed to make sure Dawn had food in the house while I was away.
Back at the house I helped Dawn carry a few bags of groceries indoors, I grabbed my overnight bag. “You have my number, call me if anything, and I mean anything crops up.” Dawn nodded, she looked at me funny as I passed her some cash. “In case you need any money, while I’m away.”
“I’ve got some money, Pete.”
“Well, you’ve got more now.” I kissed Dawn on the cheek and assured her I would be back as quickly as I could. Dawn looked sad as I started the car and pulled away. I wondered if she knew how I felt about her? Did she feel the same way about me? Who was I kidding, I thought to myself. I drove on to the ring road and floored the accelerator, at a time like this I was glad I had purchased the estate version of an Audi A6. I had a lot to do in a few days. I just hope Dawn was okay at the end of it all.
Fighting my way through the traffic on the roads around London was a pain in the arse, I was used to more rural roads in Yorkshire. I parked outside Dawn’s house as the evening drew in. There was a light on inside, at least Richard was home. I rang the bell and waited, Richard was dressed in shorts when he answered the door. I stepped inside without waiting for an invite.
“To what do I owe the pleasure, Pete?” Richard knew he wasn’t my favourite person. I was just about to answer and ask him a question when a woman walked down the stairs in her bra and panties. The colour drained from Richard’s face.
“You bastard!” I punched him on the jaw, and the woman screamed. “Who are you? What do you want?” She yelled at me, Richard struggled to his feet.
“I’m his brother-in-law, but not for much longer.” I stared at Richard, it was hard not to kick the shit out of him. “Dawn suspected you were cheating on her, now we know for sure.” I walked over to the woman and sniffed. “Miss Dior, I assume?” She nodded and sat on the stairs.
“Right, here is how things are going to shake down. I am going to take all of Dawn’s stuff with me tonight, while you pack it we can discuss the terms of the divorce.” Richard agreed and headed upstairs. As he packed Dawn’s clothes I laid out how the divorce would go.
“You file for the divorce. Dawn gets eighty percent of your savings and all her personal belongings, agreed?”
“Eighty percent is a bit high.” Richard looked unhappy at my suggestion. I thought about thumping him again, just because he deserved it.
“Okay, Dawn can file and force you to sell the house, she’ll probably end up with more.
“Alright, alright.” Richard flapped. “Eighty percent and her stuff. I want you to promise she won’t come after me for more.”
“You agree to my terms and you’ll never hear from or see Dawn again.” Richard agreed as he packed up my sister’s clothes, his fancy woman stood there in silence. She was nice, but not a patch on my sister.
Downstairs I watched as he packed Dawn’s CD’s and books into boxes. “If we have missed anything, I’ll be in touch. You have the address to send the divorce papers to, don’t try to be funny, we know how much is in your savings account!” Richard nodded and closed the door behind me, I put the last box into the car and headed off.
It was getting late, I could feel the tiredness kicking in. I found a cheap motel for the night, lucky for me there was a Burger King over the road. I fell asleep thinking of Dawn. After a breakfast that wasn’t the best i have ever eaten, i set off again. It was late afternoon when I pulled up outside my apartment. Inside I started to pack my stuff, knowing this would be my last night here. It suddenly hit me that if this all went wrong, I would be homeless for a few days. The next morning, I visited the letting agent and paid the penalty fee for getting out of the apartment early, just as well money wasn’t an issue. I thought again that was something I would have to come clean to Dawn about, she knew I had money, she didn’t know exactly how much.
Checking the time, I knew I could get back to our parent’s house before it got dark, thankfully the traffic was light. I called Dawn when I was about an hour away, I told her I finished quicker than I thought I would. Dawn seemed excited that I would be home, I just hoped she liked the surprise I had in store for her.
Dawn came running out as I parked up on the drive. “Thank god you’re back!”
“Why, what’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing, I was just getting lonely.”
“I was only gone for a few days.” I smiled.
“Come inside, dinner is almost ready.” Dawn smiled and walked indoors, I followed close behind. Emptying the car could wait a while. Over dinner Dawn asked how my work thing went?
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought. With some help from their tech guys we got it sorted.” I lied. We ate dinner and tidied up. I asked Dawn if she could give me a hand bringing some stuff in from the car.
Dawn looked confused as she saw all the boxes and bags in the car, I passed her the lighter stuff to her to carry inside. I carried the last box in and closed the door behind me. Dawn looked at the boxes and then looked at me.
“What is all this? Where did it come from?” Dawn asked.
“Take a look.” I pointed to a box I knew had her stuff inside.
Dawn rummaged in the box. “This is all my stuff. What’s going on Pete”
Come and sit down, I gestured to the couch. “As you can probably guess, I didn’t have to leave for work. There is some bad news though.” Dawn waited for me to continue. “You were right about Richard, he is cheating on you. I called around and his fancy woman was there in her underwear.” I could see the anger on Dawn’s face. “I got him to pack up your clothes and personal things, if there is anything missing let me know. Richard got a punch on the jaw for cheating on you.” That made Dawn smile. “He is going to file for a divorce, you get all your stuff and eighty percent of your savings, you have to promise not to go after him for any more money.” Dawn looked shocked.
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