As Vera sat outside and lit her cigarette, she could hear the voices echoing from the pub lounge. She sighed deeply and thought about what had happened only moments before. She opened her purse and she found the Australian 10 dollar bill ripped in to two pieces.
At the time it had seemed funny to prove to Skippy that all paper money was easy to tear, but the repercussions just proved how unstable their relationship was. Vera sorely wanted this relationship to work, but it wasn’t going to be.
Her best friend Lucy had convinced her to use the internet to met someone new after her divorce, and Vera had felt so lucky when she first realised that her friendship with Skippy was growing in to something more. The natural step had been to meet, but the thousands of miles between them made it difficult to get to know each other properly. Skippy winning the newspaper competition to see the Ashes was a stroke of luck.
And now two weeks down the line their relationship was disintegrating before her eyes. Lucy was having more fun getting to know Skippy, and the tearing of the money had been her idea. Vera should have known that Lucy would jeopardise this relationship, as the reason Vera was divorced was because of her.
The shriek of laughter from the pub jarred at Vera as she realised it was Lucy. Vera peered through the stained glass window, and could make out Lucy draped all over Skippy, giggling manically. Vera turned back to the table outside and put the cigarettes back in to her bag. She knew that no-one would miss her if she left and walked slowly down the steps. A black cab roared towards her, the yellow light blinking brightly. She quickly flagged it down, but as she pulled open the door she heard someone shout out.
‘Vera!’ Her heart lifted, but didn’t want to turn round, in case she was wrong.
Skippy ran towards her, ‘Where are you going?’
‘I don’t feel very well, I want to go home. Sorry’. She turned back to the cab, and made to climb in. Skippy grabbed her arm.
‘Don’t go, Lucy is driving me mad. I don’t know why you are friends with her.’
‘I..I thought you was angry about the money’, Skippy laughed, and pulled her back from the cab and hugged her.
‘Don’t be mad, come on let’s get something to eat. You keep talking about kebabs and it’s about time I tried one.’
Vera smiled and linked her arm through his. She shut the cab door, mumbling an apology, and they slowly walked to the kebab shop.
