The Girl Effect - second extract

Girls in Bali

Back at the hotel, after a swim in the pool, they lay on the loungers, chatting. It was very warm, humid, and afternoon clouds were building up in the sky.

She thought of getting up, going to her room to pick up her phone. 'Ally dearest, is there wifi in the hotel here? I want to check for any messages.'

Ally said there was but she didn't entirely trust hotel wifi. There's a shared office space nearby called Hubud, she explained, and she preferred to go there and use their wifi.

'Plus, it's more like an office, so if I need to do a lot of letters, or Skype or FaceTime someone, it's more reliable.'

Just so long as Ally knew what she was doing, Jessie was happy to tag along.She felt on top of the world again. Was there anyone she'd rather be with?

So they walked up the road past the ever-present dawn chorus. At the bend they crossed the road, dodging cars and bikes, heading down Jn Monkey Forest. Hubud was not far away, on the left. 

When Ally had said "office", she had assumed a big office building like in Perth city but this looked nothing like. It was a two-storey bamboo building and she followed Ally upstairs to the reception. She gasped. Inside was a magical work space, all done in bamboo, with casual chairs and tables all around. Some of them faced the window by the road, and across the road was the famous Monkey Forest... duh! ... and, hey wow, in the tree opposite were a group of monkeys sitting, chewing, seemingly looking back at her. Now this would count as a good place to work!

Behind her was a cafe area, and outdoor work spaces that seemed to include beanbags on a lawn. Yes, my kind of office, she thought. Evidently Ally was known here and had an account, for within a couple of minutes she was in, and they added Jessie's iPhone to the wifi.

'Let's go to the cafe and order some tea while we work.''Sounds like a tough life! Hey, first, can you AirDrop the photos to me, the ones you took this morning? Then I can post them on my TimeLine.'That done, tea ordered and received, they sat down to the serious business.*She looked nervously at her phone, understanding Ally's wisdom in getting her to leave it behind this morning. Maybe it was better in the olden days when people didn't have mobile phones.

They could go on holiday and be totally out of touch. That was a picture of bliss. Of course, she could switch her phone off but somehow, the knowledge that it could be switched on at any time would draw her.

She was just about addicted to her phone and normally would always be checking FaceBook and email at least. Her phone pinged with dozens of messages, emails and notifications. She hurried through most of them, her heart thumping. She hated getting bad news, or messages from people she didn't want to hear from and she was anticipating both right now.

Sure enough, an email from Paul. It was short and to the point. Actually, she couldn't recall ever getting an email from him, why would he when he could just talk to her, so she didn't know what his normal writing style would be.
He curtly advised her (advised seemed to be the right word, not told) that he had moved in with Sarah, who was apparently the girl he'd always been waiting for, and wanted to split their assets and put an end to their relationship. They weren't legally married, but having been together for seven years they had many shared assets that needed sorting out. He understood that she had gone to Bali with Ally (his mum must have told him that, which means that they were both in contact now) which he assumed meant that she had turned gay in a week, which must be a record, but given how good Jess was in bed, she might as well be gay and he hoped she would cooperate in splitting up.
She felt numb and her brain seemed to freeze for a minute or two. Is it what she wanted? She wasn't sure, it had all happened so fast. Your life can be turned upside down, completely, in a week. A man who said he loved you and would always be there for you, could just drop you and take up with some other woman, apparently. 'Bastard,' she said, a bit too loudly, as people looked round. Ally looked up and put a finger to her lips, saying 'there's a soundproof room upstairs for Skype calls if you feel the need to shout like that'.
'It's him, of course, only what I expected. He wants a divorce... apparently I'm a crap lover in bed so he says you can have me since I suppose I'm useless to men... well that sums it up anyway.'
Ally put her arm around her. She leaned on her shoulder, then she couldn't help it, she started shaking and crying. Ally turned to get hold of her better, put both arms around her and held her tightly, stroking the back of her hair, making soothing noises.
Ally always understood her. No need for words right now, she just needed to be in the arms of someone who loved her, so who else?
Presently she calmed down, pulled away, picked up a paper napkin and wiped her eyes, giving a watery smile to Ally.
'Well, I guess I'm all yours.'