Three Thousand Miles - Forever, (book #3 of Three Thousand Miles, Series) (13 page)

Dam its cold, I think as I step out the building and into the bitter street of
London. The air is freezing and my fingers are numb as I quickly push the
unlock button of my car keys. I jump into the car and I instantly switch on the
engine. My body begins to shake from the icy temperature and I quickly make
my adjustments with car heater. The front window of the car is frozen solid
and I need to wait as it thaws out. As I wait – freezing my ass off, I switch on
the radio to listen to my favourite breakfast show. I smile as today the topic of
discussion is the new reality show that I have become addicted to - Made in
Chelsea. The show is set in London’s Chelsea area – hence the name of the
show. Anyway, it’s about a group of friends who are from high society. It
showcases every inch of their lives, from their recent dates to their vacations
and parties. I only discovered the show when I was left alone in our house
whilst Adrian was away on a business trip. I was instantly drawn to show and
after I watched the first episode, I ran out and bought the complete series on
DVD. I stayed cooped up in my pyjamas for 24 hours, watching their lives
unfold. I adore the show and I absolutely love the characters especially, Ollie.
He is my favourite in so many ways. I love his sense of humour and his brutal
honesty. I turn the volume up high as I listen into the talk-show host’s thoughts
on my Chelsea friends. I laugh as they are talking about the recent love triangle
involving Spencer and Louise.

The window is clear and I fasten my seatbelt as I push my foot down onto the
gas pedal. I push too hard – as always. Although I have had this car for over
two months now, I am still getting used to it. It’s a lot different to my little Mini
Cooper and I feel that it’s way too flash. I manoeuvre my way through the
London traffic in my white Mercedes SLK, with the heat on full power and the
radio turned up fully. As I stop at the traffic lights, I stare out into the city that I
know call home. So far my time has been great here, but I am missing my
friends and my family. I try to stay in touch as much as possible via Skype and
face-time but nothing compares to the real thing. Adrian has promised me that
we will take a trip to New York soon and I am going to hold him to that
promise until I lose my breath. Sophie is now in her fifth month of pregnancy
and totally showing – by the way. James and Sophie have now moved in
together and they have decided not to get married – despite their family’s
protests. They feel that there is no need to get married, just because they are
going to have a baby and if you ask me, I think that it’s a very brave thing for
them to do. Why should they rush into getting married? I am sure that their
baby will be loved just the same as if they were a married couple.

Katharine and Jeff are still going strong – as far as I know. I haven’t heard from
Katharine in so long it’s as if we aren’t friends anymore. She doesn’t call nor
does she drop by to visit. Adrian obviously still sees Jeff at work, but he never
asks us to meet up with them so Adrian doesn’t ask either. I am not sure what I
did to offend her, but she must be mad at me when she hasn’t spoke to me in
so long. I don’t know what her problem is and if I am honest, I don’t really
want to know. Why should I be the one to make the first move when I am not
the one who has the problem? If Katharine wants to act like a grown up and
tell me what is bothering her then she knows where to find me.

It didn’t take long for Adrian and me to find the perfect house. We arrived in
London on a Monday and by the following Tuesday wehad moved into our
new house in Belgravia. Before we landed in London, Adrian had already
selected five houses for me to choose from. All I had to do was view each one
and then make my decision. The house that I chose is spectacular. It’s located
in Chester Square and its massive with 6 bedrooms, 3 receptions rooms, 5
bathrooms and an amazing roof terrace. The house is too large for us, but
when I saw it I couldn’t picture us living anywhere else. Although I was
instantly drawn to the house I wasn’t sure if Adrian would feel the same way,
so before I got too carried away with picking out furniture, I made sure that
Adrian would come to the house and view it with me. I was relieved when he
seemed to love the house as much as I did and I was so impressed when he
bought it right there on the spot. In the days that followed I had been to every
furniture store, every home decorating store and basically anyplace that sold
home interiors, in London. I was surprisingly impressed when Adrian didn’t
want anything to do with choosing our home interiors, he left everything to me
and I was glad that he did. Adrian has the need to control everything so I was
very happy when I was the one in control. I decided to go for a neutral, white
and brown theme. I picked out a white fabric sofa and dark brown tables to fill
the lounge. Our kitchen is modern and is also dark wood. Our walls are pure
white to match our staircase and our dining table is dark brown with white
leather chairs. We have a huge skylight in our kitchen which looks up to the
roof terrace and the view it has of the night-sky is to die for. We have a large
bathroom with a whirlpool bathtub and our bedroom is furnished in French
shabby chic. Our king-size bed is white and we have the highest thread count
sheets that money can buy. I have a closet full of new dresses, shoes and
handbags. Adrian provides me with a wonderful lifestyle and I am grateful for
that and I know how privileged we are to have things that we do, but if I lost all
the material things and if I was left with nothing but Adrian then I would be
richer than the queen. All we need is love and anything else we get is just a
bonus. All of the money could be gone tomorrow and I wouldn’t care, as long
as I have Adrian’s love then I will be rich for the rest of my life.

My face is now burning from the hot air that is blowing from the vents of the
car. As I shut off the air, my phone begins to ring through the Bluetooth of the
car. I look over to the little screen, which is positioned in centre of the
dashboard and I see that it’s Adrian who is calling me. I quickly push the
answer button that’s on the steering wheel and I greet my husband.
“Hey doll,”
I gush and Adrian is quick to respond.

“I have a… meeting… I can’t get out of it… I hope you understand?”
My heart is
racing again and I don’t know how to respond. This is the second time this
week that Adrian has had to cancel our plans and I am scared that he is
keeping something from me. I know how angry he gets when I question him on
his business, so I am holding back on asking him. My fears about Adrian have
been rather frequent recently as he has been in regular contact with Zara. She
calls him almost every day and Adrian always takes the calls outside. I don’t
know what she is saying to him and I have no way of finding out. Adrian
doesn’t know that I know that Zara is calling him, he always says its business
but one day I checked his phone whilst he was in the shower and I saw three
calls from Zara. My heart sank and I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know what to do
or say so I just put it to the back of my head. They must be discussing William
and the matter of the paternity test. Adrian has still not found out if the child is
his and I vividly remember him telling me that Zara wanted him to spend some
time with her and William. I guess my biggest fear is that he is meeting with
her in secret and that he is lying to me about it. Or I might just be paranoid and
he does actually have to work.

“I understand you wouldn’t cancel our plans unless it was necessary. I guess I
will see you at dinner, then?”
My voice is clam as I accept his cancelations. He
takes a few moments to respond and when he does heassures me that he
loves me – now my paranoia has returned.

I hang up his call and I try to shake off my worries. I make myself believe that
my imagination has gotten carried away with me and that Adrian is being
honest with me. I need to convince myself that’s how it is; if I don’t then I will
go crazy wondering if my new husband is lying to me.

I am nearing my destination and I begin to get excited as I enter the parking lot
of the orphanage. I pull into a parking space and I switch off the engine. I stare
out at the building and I feel nervous as today ismy first day working here.
When I had finished decorating the house, I realised that I had nothing to
occupy my days. I would wake up alone as Adrian never seems to sleep, and
then I would shower, make breakfast and kiss him before he went away to
work and that has been my day, every day for the last four months. My
evenings were spent in the same way every night, dinner, movie and bed with
Adrian – for a few hours at least. The only time we go out is on a Friday when
we have a boring even to attend. I never see Michael except for on Sundays
when we have family night at Charles and Tabatha’s. I needed to break free
from my routine, so I manned up and told Adrian that things needed to
change. He tried to reassure me that what I had was all that I needed and that
things didn’t need to change. However, I stood firm until Adrian agreed to let
me get a job and I was happy when he suggested that I go and help Janet out
at the orphanage. He knows that helping children is a passion of mine, so
Adrian talked to Janet and she agreed to give me job. I was overjoyed when
Adrian told me the news and I couldn’t wait to get started, but now that I am
here I am beginning to feel nervous.

I open the car door and I rush out into the cold once again. I quickly make my
way over to the door and I push it open with one fluid motion. Warmth and
the smell of bacon hit me when I enter. I smile to myself and I my anxiety is
now slowly beginning to fade. I make my way over to the reception and there
is an older lady who is talking on the phone. I wait as she finishes her call and I
smile at her when she turns to face me. Her hair is short and grey and she is
rather plump with rosy red cheeks. She looks really friendly as she beams at
me.

“Now my love, what can I do for you?” She asks as she holds out her hand to
me. I can’t help but smile at this lady and I instantly shake her warm, fat hand.
“I am Alanna, I don’t know if Janet told you, but I am starting work here
today.”

“Oh of course, you are Mr Black’s wife. My sister has filled me in. Now come
with me dear, I will show you where to go.” The woman marches out from
behind the desk and then she begins to rapidly walk along the wide hallway.
She leads me to the same, dark oak door as last time and she pushes it open. I
walk into the room behind her and that’s when I seeJanet. She rushes over to
me and kisses me on the each cheek.

“I am fine and the children are great. They are all very excited about having
you come to work here. Especially Olivia, she never stops talking about you.”
My heart melts as I remember the little girl. Her beautiful face flashes into my
head and then a pang of guilt enters my heart. Olivia is an orphan with no
family, she is the same age as my little sister and I hate to think of what she
has been through. A lump gathers in my throat as I try to hide my emotion. I
quickly turn back to Janet.

“That’s sweet and I just want to thank you for giving me this opportunity. It
means the world to me and I can’t wait to get started.” Janet lets out her
deafening laugh and I jump from the sound. She laughs again at my reaction
and then she leads me into the dining room. As soon as I enter, I notice that all
the children are sitting down and eating their breakfast. The table is long and
has twelve seats each one occupied by a child. I scan their faces and I recognise
a few of them. The little dark haired boy who talked with Adrian for hours is
sitting at the head of the table, munching on his food. I stare harder at the kids
and that’s when I notice Olivia. She is sitting at the end of the table, her fair
hair is flowing freely and her deep brown eyes are sparkling. She smiles at me
and I instantly return her gesture. I feel drawn tothis little girl and I can’t wait
to get know her more.

“Children -attention!” Janet shouts. “Now, does everyone remember Miss
Alanna?” The children all turn and stare at me andmy face feels hot as I hope
that they don’t hate me.
“Hello Miss Alanna,”
they all say at the same time. I smile at them and then
Janet begins to talk again.

“Miss Alanna is going to be working here now, so I want all of you make her
feel welcome.” I blush again as the children maintain their stares. “Would you
like to say a few words?” Janet says to me. I clear my throat as I greet the
children.

“I would just like to say that I am really excited and happy that I am getting to
spend time with you wonderful children. I am really looking forward to getting
to know you better and I can’t wait for you try to my chocolate Whoopie pies.”
Their little faces light up at the sound of my treats and I beam as I am so
excited about working here.

The hours fly by in no time and I keep checking my watch, as I don’t want my
time with the children to end. I have met all of them now and I can honestly
say that I have fallen in love with every one of them. They are all so unique and
special in their own way. I have enjoyed playing with the younger children and
I have loved talking with older ones. The ages of the children average from
around three up to the age of twelve, so there is a mixture of different
interests between them. The younger boys and girls just want to play and eat
and most of them aren’t age for schooling yet, so that’s exactly what they do all day long. Janet home-schools the older children and I must that say she is
very good at it. She doesn’t take any nonsense from them as they do tend to
get a little distracted now and again. When I have chance to talk with the older
boys all they ask me about is Adrian. Where he is, if he is coming to visit and I
have noticed that every one of them has asked me about Adrian’s company. I
feel that the older boy’s look up to Adrian and that he is an important person
in their lives. I know that they are grateful for everything that Adrian does for
them. I feel that the children appreciate him and most of all they respect him.
They connect with him because he came from the sametype of background as
they do. Adrian lived in foster homes and he went through hell, but now he has
everything and I feel that the children want to aspire to that.