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The sun sank into a red sky which promised more good weather tomorrow. The palm trees gently swayed in the evening breeze. It had been a perfect day, one when people fall in love or flirt with the idea of happy ever after. Rene placed her cocktail on the bamboo table and felt the coolness of the glass beneath her fingers, as the warm evening air caressed her bare shoulders. Her smart evening attire made her feel feminine and cherished. This was a long, long way from the reality of a life where no-one took the time to smell the roses. This week, Rene would smell those roses, and certainly get intoxicated by their odor if life permitted.

Back at the office, the girls would be rushing around as usual. The only difference now was that they would have to do Rene's work as well. It was only a fleeting thought, but upon rising the next morning, Rene's mind wandered back to the world of cubicles and computer screens. Somehow it all seemed very surreal. How could you spend your whole life sitting behind a screen? People did, and of course she would continue to do so when she got home, though for the moment, she was on vacation, and the thought slipped away as she made her way to the restaurant for breakfast.

Blake was good looking. You could see the girls on the corner table ogling him as if he was on the menu. Rene smiled wryly. She too would love to be sat at his table, though was too old and wise to let it show too much. He was suave and sophisticated, his Cartier watch shining against the bronzed skin of his wrist, then contrasted again the whiteness and purity of cotton in a stark and classic white. He was a gentleman, the kind women dream about but who never cross a lady's path. It was as if the fantasy was richer than the reality, and Rene liked it that way. It was safe.

Against the soft sea sounds and the distant laughter of lovers, Rene was happy. The beach stretched out for miles, white sand against blue skies. Here, the warm air caressed her body, and the sun warmed her skin. She didn't have to think of Alex. Alex was supposed to be here. He was supposed to be her husband though at the last minute, he had not turned up at the church. She was supposed to be broken hearted, though the advice of girlfriends to take that flight to this tropical paradise has been the best advice she had taken for years. Somehow it didn't matter any more. Nothing was going to change Alex's mind and she wasn't even sure she wanted to any more.

Wherever Rene

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