"How can you doubt me, Morty-darling?" Dina smiled at him as she rubbed her body against his.
He paddled away from her. "I heard what happened the other day. You got caught with that tart. I told you if you kept on seeing her it was over. What makes you think I didn't mean it."
"But Mort. Baby. I love only you. You know that. Didn't we just share some amazing passion? I know you turned me down before, but haven't I proved that you're the man for me?"
"You were caught kissing another woman. I'm not willing to share my partner with anyone."
Dina climbed out of the tub. She pulled a box from underneath the towel.
"If you want me exclusively, Morty-boy - then you need to do it properly. Marry me. And I will be true to you forever."
Mort stood before her, and looked down on Dina. "You're no better than her. You knew her husband was there, but still you kissed her. You're an avaricious, calculating, manipulative bitch. And it's over."
"But Mort. I love you. And you love me."
"I don't want anything more to do with you. Don't call me. Don't visit me. It's over."
Mort pulled on his clothes, and walked out of her life.
"Damn! What am I going to tell Nina now? We were so close too!" Then Dina thought of the broken-hearted Zoe, currently in the spare room, after crying herself to sleep. "Damn. What am I going to do with her?"
The next few days, Dina and Nina looked after and comforted Zoe. But both girls felt she was cramping their style.
For the first time in months, Nina stayed at home reading, instead of bring the latest boyfriend home. Dina left the paper out on the coffee table, open on Rooms to Let, and Positions Vacant.
It didn't help that Dina was starting to feel queasy in the mornings either. She was praying that it was food poisoning and not anything else.
Zoe moped around the house in her pajamas and spent most of her time sleeping.
By the end of the week, Dina had had enough.
She rang the Phoenix house. "Jimmy. Do you want to lose your wife?"
"I have already lost her. And why the Will Wright are you ringing me?" He went to hang up.
"Blast it Jimmy. If you saw what she's like now, you'd know that she still is yours. I can't fight that. Do you want to work it out or not?"
He hung up.
"OK." she thought, "Better put Phase 2 of Getting Zoe out of my house put into motion."
"Zoe Darling. It's time for the rest of your make-over." Dina pulled the blankets off the bed. "Put on some clothes, we're going down-town."
"I'd really rather not." Zoe responded dully. "I don't think I can afford to now."
"And here I thought I was telling you. Not asking you." Dina grabbed her hand and pulled her out of bed.
Four hours later, with hair extensions, and new makeup, Zoe looked like a different woman.
"Look at yourself now." Dina pointed her towards the mirror. "What do you look like?"
Zoe stared at herself, "I look great?" She gave Dina a hug "Thanks Dina."
Dina took Zoe home, and into the hot-tub. She carefully undressed Zoe, and whispered compliments as she did. Then Dina climbed into the hot-tub and invited Zoe to join her.
Dina kissed and touched her, Zoe hugging her back, but when Dina looked at Zoe's face, tears were streaming down her cheeks.
"Damn," thought Dina, "She's too fragile to send home yet."
Dina continued to feel queasy, and finally she could ignore it no longer - she went to the doctor, and got tested. It was positive. She was pregnant.
"What am I going to do?" Dina raged through the house. Nina just laughed at her. Zoe smiled a half-smile.
"What you're going to do is have a baby."
"I don't want a baby! This is all Mort's fault. I should have insisted the old fruit used protection. What am I going to do with a baby?"
"Serves you right!" Nina snickered, "You should have made sure you had the ring, before giving him the sugar."
"This is going to change your life too you know!" Dina bit back.
"Don't tell me you're going to keep it?" Nina looked at her aghast.
"How else am I going to get maintenance from the old man? You tell me that?" Dina snarled.
Zoe looked at both of them with shock. "But. Don't you want the baby? After all - it will be your flesh and blood too."
"Are you kidding Zoe?" Dina laughed hysterically, "Why would I ever want a baby? Nasty mewling, puking, screaming things - you put milk in one end, and get urine out the other. They take away all your fun."
"No." said Zoe. She thought about Matthew and Mark. "They don't."
Not too many days longer, and Dina had her baby. It was a home birth, and never had a woman screamed as loud as Dina.
As soon as she got her figure back, Dina and Nina and Zoe could see that things had changed. Dina couldn't put her child down, and was always cooing and talking to her.
"Zoe. I'm sorry if this sounds heartless. I need the spare room for the baby. It's time for you to go." Zoe just nodded. "Yes it is. I miss my family."
When Zoe rang the door bell, she wondered if the door would be slammed in her face. She looked at the small suitcase that was everything that she had in the world. All given to her by Dina. She had nothing of her own.
Jimmy looked at her, as he held the door open, but said nothing.
"I've got nowhere to go."
"You can't stay here." Jimmy replied. He noticed the new haircut and the sadness in her eyes.
"I miss the boys. I miss you. And I have nowhere to go. Tell me what to do Jimmy."
"What you do is no business of mine. You can't stay here. You gave that up when you kissed Dina."
"Do you hate me?" Zoe looked at her feet, and wondered what she would do next.
Jimmy gave a deep sigh. "No. I don't hate you. I just don't trust you. You've hurt me and you've hurt the boys. You kissed her."
"Yes. I kissed her. I had an affair. And I miss you and I miss my boys. I want it back the way it was when we first married. But it will never be like that again." She turned away. "I'm sorry. I was wrong to come here."
Jimmy watched her walk up the path. "Wait!" he called out. "Where are you going?"
"I don't know." Zoe's eyes were filled with tears. She was surprised to see that Jimmy's were too.
Jimmy picked up her bag, and walked back into the house with it.
"Stay here then. You're right it will never be the same again." Jimmy looked at her, and felt a weight on his chest. "But that doesn't mean we can't have something different. We could be friends again. I could try that."
Zoe almost sobbed aloud, "Friends? Oh Jimmy - I'd like that. I've hated being apart from you."
"But I mean, just friends. The boys need you back in their lives. They need their mother. But I'm not sure I can ever forgive you for betraying us."
"I'm willing to accept that. If you're willing to have me back in the home."
"Yes. OK. You can stay."
BHIS: He couldn't admit it to himself, but from the moment she showed up, he wanted to fall in love with her again. He really is an old softie.
"Tomorrow we'll do up the kid's playroom as a bedroom for you. Tonight you can take Matthew's bed, and he can sleep with me."
"OK."
The boys came home from school, and when they saw their mother there - they were nervous and stood back.
"Boys." said Jimmy. "Your mum and I are working things out. She's back to stay."
"For good?" they both chimed and looked at Zoe hopefully.
"For good." Zoe nodded. "I'm sorry that I was away from you for so long. It will never happen again."
They looked at their dad, and he nodded. "We're both very sorry that she was away from you. I'll make sure it never happens again."
Zoe looked at him wondering what he meant. But she had little time to wonder - with a glad cry Matthew and Mark threw themselves at her and hugged and kissed her, until all three of them were crying with happiness.
Jimmy watched on, and felt a tiny flicker of happiness himself.
That night, Zoe slept on the kids bunk bed, and had her first real sleep in weeks.
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