Liz arrived back at the Manning house and restocked the pantry. She still had several hours before Roger came home. She tidied up then applied some of Maureen’s moisturiser to her skin. She still looked very sunburnt but the heat was no longer radiating from her. She wondered if she would end up blistering or would the skin just peel?
When Roger arrived home he found ‘Maureen’ lying just in her underwear on the couch watching TV. Liz played up how much her skin was stinging and pretended her pain was “Peaking”. As she hoped, Roger offered to massage lotion all over her body.
Roger was puzzled by the extremes Maureen went through to look good. He remembered her doing facials and getting waxed previously but this was the first time she had applied rejuvenating chemical all over her body. He hoped she knew what she was doing. It certainly looked painful. The burning seemed quite severe. It reminded him of the time that Maureen had been laid up for days after forgetting to put sunscreen on herself when they had a beachside holiday on the Victorian coast.
Interestingly she must have been wearing a swimsuit when Liz had applied the cream to her. The outline of her costume was really evident. The white skin under the costume was a stark contrast to her other skin. It seemed that Liz had done a rather amateurish job. Roger knew better than to say anything though.
Liz thoroughly enjoyed Roger giving her a massage. She also got a night off cooking dinner.
…….
Maureen or 'Lily' slowly worked her way down the main street. She saw a few of her acquaintances but no-one recognised her. She did actually find several dresses that she thought might do for Spain and took note of them. She would also need to replenish her underwear so needed to stretch her budget.
It was interesting the way Maureen was treated by some of the shop assistants. They took one look at her and directed her to their clearance tables. She felt a bit like Julia Roberts in the movie ‘Pretty Woman’. They obviously did not think she could spend 100’s of dollars on a dress. The only problem was that Maureen would no longer be ‘Lily’ when she actually bought anything and hence would be unrecognisable so she wouldn't have the satisfaction Julia Robert's character ended up getting. Being a Friday, it was late night shopping so Lily took her time.
It was 7 pm by the time she was shopped out and she was starting to feel hungry. That was when she noticed a nemesis of hers Julia Glasson, all dressed up, parking her car. Julia was a snob of a woman who had two boys the same ages as Simon and Andrew. Their rivalry had stemmed from a time when Simon was selected in a cricket team ahead of one of Julia’s boys. That was the only apparent cause of 6 years of anguish for Maureen as she had found herself ostracised from the social group of school mothers of which Julia was the unappointed head.
Maureen watched as Julia strode into the bar of the Omega Hotel, a notorious pickup spot on a Friday night. She remembered Liz had been coaxed along once by a friend and had subsequently described to Maureen “What a meat market it is” as far as Maureen was aware Liz had never been back.
Maureen recalled some gossip about Julia she had recently heard. Julia’s husband had left her for his personal assistant and now she spotted Julia heading into the Omega.
Maureen’s curiosity got the better of her. She had never been inside this hotel and would not have dreamed of entering in her own body, unless she was with Roger. But she wasn’t in her own body. She could go in there as ‘Lily’ and be totally anonymous. ‘Lily’ followed Julia into the building.
……..
Back at the Manning house Liz was getting a second soothing massage from Roger after having a cold shower. Roger was good with his hands and Maureen’s cream cooled her nicely. She didn’t mind that they did not have sex. She really was a little sore.
……….
Julia took a seat by herself at the bar while ‘Lily’ moved past to a table in the corner of the room. She picked up a menu thinking she may as well have dinner here.
There were already plenty of other people in the room, both male and female. The men were mostly in suits and the women dressed up. Maureen felt herself quite underdressed in her ‘Lily’ guise. She settled in to just watch how a meat market operated.
Julia was not alone for long. An older well dressed man approached her but Maureen was too far away to hear the conversation. What was clear was that Julia sent the man away. Minutes later a second man approached Julia, also well dressed. This man looked younger than Julia’s other would-be suitor. He was maybe 50 compared to the other man maybe being in his mid 60’s. The younger man seemed quite short. Julia flashed this man a smile and seemingly accepted his offer. He got the attention of the barman.
Maureen was a bit frustrated that she could not hear. She quickly selected an item off the menu and went to the bar to order. She stood close enough to Julia to hear as the man bought drinks for two.
“A bloody Mary as ordered” the man announced as he sat down beside Julia. “I’m Tim”
“Julia” Maureen’s nemesis replied.
“Lovely to meet you Julia. Do you live around here?”
Maureen’s sticky-beaking was interrupted by the barman “May I help you?”
“Oh yes. Could I order a Caesar salad and a champagne?” Maureen knew Ginny enjoyed champagne and she now had Ginny’s taste buds.
The barman punched her meal order into the computer then placed an order number on the bar before locating a nearly empty bottle of champagne. “Sorry there is not enough left in this bottle. I’ll fetch another. I won’t be a minute” He hurried off into a back room.
Maureen returned her attention to Julia. The woman was talking “….. separated. I’ve lived around here for 10 years. Yourself?”
“Here on business. I live in Melbourne. I’m here with a colleague” The man glanced Maureen’s way. Julia also looked past Maureen, who realised the colleague must be behind her.
The barman returned “Here we are. Sorry for the delay. That will be $27.50”
Maureen went to grab the cash from the handbag of Liz’s she had borrowed.
“I’ll pay for that” said a deep voice over Maureen’s shoulder. Before Maureen could object the barman had taken a card from the man and swiped it.
Maureen turned to confront the man. “I can’t accept…”
She was cut off “I insist. We have settled a deal today and me and my colleague are here to celebrate. Isn’t that right Tim? It’s much nicer to celebrate with female company”