The Fund. Jeff Edwards
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a compact and closely inspected her make-up. Not satisfied with the image in her mirror she applied more foundation to repair an almost invisible imperfection.
Toby glanced up from his paper. ‘Put your tongue back in, Fred. She’s married.’
‘It doesn’t cost anything to look. I wonder what else she’s got in that purse of hers?’
‘Definitely not War and Peace,’ said Brian. ‘I doubt if she’s read a book in her entire life.’
‘You’re being a little bit hard on her aren’t you?’ asked Fred. ‘She could be a very intelligent person.’
‘Married to someone like that?’ said Brian. ‘I doubt it. Our friend over there wouldn’t want anyone around that could possibly out-think him.’
Soh continued to talk on the phone, ignoring his wife.
Mrs Soh seemed to have finished the repair to her make-up and now was looking around at the other passengers and the expanse of sea beyond with a totally bored expression. Finding nothing to interest her, Mrs Soh said a few words to her husband, who was completely distracted by his phone conversation, and slowly made her way toward the duty free store.
Fred said to his companions, ‘She’s off to buy a novel.’
‘Bullshit,’ said Toby under his breath.
‘I heard that. I’ll bet she is.’
Toby smiled. ‘A fiver says she buys nothing more intellectual than a lipstick.’
Fred was quickly on his feet. ‘You’re on!’
Brian and Toby watched him make his way after the stunning Mrs Soh.
‘It’ll be worth a fiver to get him out of our hair for a while. He’s smitten by the woman,’ said Toby as he reached for his phone. ‘While we wait to find out the result of our bet I’ll ring Suzie and see if she wants anything from the duty free.’
The store had an open front and Fred had no trouble spotting Mrs Soh, but he was a little disappointed to find that she was rummaging through the racks of souvenir t-shirts.
As he approached he noticed that the shirts were in child sizes. ‘You’re either buying that for someone else or you’re thinking of going on a very drastic diet.’
Mrs Soh looked up and laughed at his silly joke. ‘You’re very funny.
Of course I’m buying it for someone else. It’s for my daughter Sunny.’
‘You’re much too young to be a mother.’
‘My Sunny is one. I miss her a lot. I wish I was home with her right now.’
‘You must have been just out of high school when you had her.’
‘Almost,’ she laughed.
She selected a tiny shirt and then moved on to the display cabinet showing Australian opal necklaces and other pieces of jewellery. Fred realised that she was a woman that loved to be complimented and followed after her.
‘Oh! They’re beautiful!’ she exclaimed as her eyes fell on a pair of large white opals made into earrings.
‘Almost as pretty as you.’
Mrs Soh blushed and smiled at the same time. ‘They’re my birth stone. I’m named Opal too.’
‘Ah! So you’re Mrs Opal Soh. In that case I should introduce myself as well. My name is Fred Marks and I am an accountant,’ he said, holding out his hand.
‘What are you doing?!’ came an angry voice.
Opal Soh’s mouth formed a frightened ‘O’ as her husband strode to her side. She cringed visibly as he took her by the upper arm.
‘I was simply making conversation with your wife. She was telling me all about your daughter.’
Soh ignored Fred completely. ‘Go back to your seat,’ he ordered.
Opal Soh returned the t-shirt to the rack and head hung low, returned to her seat.
Soh watched her go and then fixed Fred with a steely glare but said nothing. He turned to follow his wife and was soon engrossed in yet another call while his wife stared silently out to the horizon.
Fred returned to his seat while trying not to glance in the couple’s direction.
‘That went well,’ said Fred dejectedly.
Toby looked up from his paper. ‘Well? Was it War and Peace, or Revlon?’
‘Neither. It was going to be a shirt for her daughter Sunny. That is until her husband came along.’
‘Crashed your party did he?’
‘He’s a very warm chap. Not!’
‘Well, you will mess around with married women. What did you expect?’ said Brian.
‘Her name is Opal by the way,’ offered Fred. ‘Named after the gemstone.’
‘Not unlike the rocks inside your head,’ said Toby as he settled down to work on the paper’s crossword puzzle.
‘Shut up and give me the finance section,’ said Fred. He needed something to distract him from looking at the couple across the room.
* * *
The ferry arrived in Jersey at the scheduled time and they were soon heading towards their hotel in St Clair. Fred was giving Brian directions from a map in his lap and they were soon hopelessly lost.
‘Will you get that woman out of your mind and concentrate on what you’re doing,’ admonished Toby before sticking his head out the window and asking a passing pedestrian for directions.
The local woman soon had them going the right way.
‘It’s a good thing that our meeting at the bank is not until tomorrow. It’ll take Fred that long to get us there,’ commented Brian good-naturedly.
Fred slunk back into his seat and refused to take part in the rest of their conversation. He couldn’t get the unhappy Opal Soh out of his mind.
When they eventually found their hotel they were surprised to find that the Sohs were at the reception desk before them. Fred listened in and noted that they were checking into one of the hotel’s most luxurious suites.
Being made to stand in line also allowed him one more opportunity to admire the rear end of the delectable Mrs Opal Soh.
Toby dug him in the ribs with his elbow. ‘Will you stop drooling!’ he laughed, ‘You’re making the floor wet.’
The Sohs completed their check-in and were escorted to the elevator along with their luggage.
Fred and his companions stepped forward to take their place at the desk and were in time to overhear one receptionist comment to another. ‘So, we have the marvellous Mr Soh with us again and of course he has Mrs Soh with him.’
‘Except this Mrs Soh is definitely not the same Mrs Soh as last time,’ giggled the other.
‘Or the one the time before that.’
‘I think this one might be the real thing,’ said the first girl. ‘This one is wearing a wedding ring. The others didn’t.’
Fred looked at his friends with a worried look on his face.
Brian held up his hand. ‘No, Fred! Don’t even consider it. I can hear your mind clanking over from here.’
‘But she should know!’ Fred hissed.
‘It’s none of our business. Now sign in!’ said Brian sternly to his friend.
With no wives accompanying them, the three men booked into three separate single rooms and then made their way upstairs to settle in.
After