He laughed. ‘Well spotted.’
‘I thought… I just wasn’t expecting you… so early,’ I said, my voice muffled, my head buried in his shoulder.
‘Ah well, there you go. I’m full of surprises.’
I eased myself away from him and looked up into his eyes. ‘Stephen, you know, I don’t think—’ I began, in unpremeditated fashion, before being suddenly interrupted by Sophie’s ringtone, commanding me to answer the phone and, it seemed, to pull myself together. Stephen smiled.
‘I’ve really got to change this one – and soon,’ I said to him, extracting my phone from my pocket and beckoning him to come inside and follow me through to the kitchen. I looked at the screen. It was, of course, Jon. ‘I just have to take this call.’ I made an apologetic face. ‘I’ll be two seconds.’ Stephen nodded and sat down at the kitchen table. I answered the phone. ‘Hello.’
‘Hello, Alice.’
‘Hello,’ I repeated, wishing I didn’t have an audience.
Jon laughed. ‘Well, I would say hello again, but I think I should probably try to move the conversation on a little.
‘Yes,’ I said.
There was a pause. ‘Is everything OK?’ he asked. ‘Is this not a good time to call?’
‘No, no, it’s fine,’ I said. ‘Stephen’s just arrived, though, so I just don’t want to be rude by chatting for too long.’ Stephen smiled and waved a hand at me to indicate that I shouldn’t worry.
‘Oh, I see,’ said Jon. ‘I was just wondering if we could arrange a—’
‘Yes, tomorrow,’ I said, quickly turning my back on Stephen and flicking the switch on the kettle.
‘Er…’ Jon sounded surprised or hesitant, I couldn’t tell which.
‘Or not,’ I continued hastily. ‘I don’t mind.’
He laughed again. ‘No, no,’ he said, ‘tomorrow’s great.’
‘Brill,’ I said.
‘You sound… busy,’ he said. ‘Let’s sort out the details by text.’
‘Yes.’
‘OK.’ There was a second pause. ‘Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, then, Alice. Bye.’
‘Bye.’
I hung up the phone and, feeling slightly flustered, kept my back to Stephen whilst opening one of the wall cupboards.
‘Sorry about that,’ I said. ‘Tea or coffee?’
He didn’t reply, instead I felt his arms slip around my waist as he kissed my neck. ‘I was rather hoping you might add “or me” to that list of possibilities,’ he said, gently turning me round.
‘Hmm…’ I said, kissing him lightly on the lips and then holding up my grubby hands and gesturing towards my muddy attire. ‘I think it might be an idea to save me for later.’
He looked down at me, smiled and then kissed my forehead. ‘Maybe you’re right,’ he said. ‘We have lots of time and besides,’ he added, gesturing towards the flowers on the table, ‘they could do with a vase and I,’ he kissed me again, this time on the cheek, ‘could murder a coffee.’
* * *
Five hours, one walk through Leigh Woods and a considerable amount of grooming later, and we were sitting in the tiny Cotham restaurant which was one of my favourite places to eat. I had mentioned it, fleetingly, a week earlier, and Stephen had noted it down and made the booking. It was the kind of thoughtful gesture which I knew I should value.
‘Here’s to moving on,’ he said, toasting me with a glass of the Pinot Grigio the waiter had just deposited on our table.
‘So, you’ve sold, then?’ I asked, clinking my glass against his.
‘Well, I’m as confident as you ever can be about these things.’ He leaned back in his chair. ‘Something could still go wrong but there are only three of us in the chain, which is good.’
I nodded. ‘And apart from the sale, how is everything else in Solihull?’
‘There’s nothing except the sale in Solihull,’ he said, sipping his wine.
‘There must be some things about it you’ll miss,’ I said, slightly taken aback. ‘No happy memories? No nostalgia?’
I shook my head. ‘You always make change sound like such an exciting thing. It doesn’t frighten you at all, does it?’
He squeezed my hand. ‘Why should it?’ he asked. ‘You know, I think you assume that any change is going to be a sudden jolt to your existence. But it doesn’t have to be like that, especially if it’s a change of choice.’ He paused, let go of my hand and picked up his drink. ‘It’s all about managing the transition; making it as smooth as possible, and leaving yourself as little opportunity as possible for looking back over your shoulder.’ He looked at me and grinned. ‘I know, I know. I’m getting heavy again. So let’s just say that I have a few loose ends to tie-up and that I’m very ready to go. And, of course, I’m looking forward to being able to see you more,’ he said. ‘A lot more.’
‘Yes,’ I smiled, envying him his clear-sighted determination. He came, he saw, he conquered, and all in the most delightful, affably charming way imaginable.
‘But anyway,’ he continued, ‘enough about me. You haven’t told me much about the Cotswolds.’
‘Oh, well,’ I said, ‘Hilary was, of course, the big news.’
‘She sounds great.’
‘She is,’ I agreed. ‘Dad is so happy at the moment. It’s lovely to see.’
‘No other weekend news of note, then?’
‘No, not really, other than those phone calls.’
He replaced his glass on the table and looked puzzled. ‘What phone calls?’
‘I thought I’d told you,’ I said frowning. ‘I’ve had some weird phone calls; silent ones.’
He shook his head. ‘You haven’t mentioned them. That doesn’t sound good. Have you blocked the number?’
‘There was no number to block. But don’t worry,’ I attempted a reassuring smile, ‘it’s probably just an automated call.’
‘But that’s not what you think?’ he asked.
‘Well…’ I hesitated, ‘I thought I could hear someone on the line in a couple of the calls. But there haven’t been many and I haven’t had one today.’ I reached into my bag and took out my phone. ‘Ooh no, actually, I have. Look.’ I turned the screen towards him to show him the notification of a call received since arriving at the restaurant. ‘Let’s listen.’
‘OK,’ he said.
I positioned the phone on the table between us, put it on hands-free and played the voicemail. There was no message; however, this time I heard a soft, but very definite, sigh.
‘There! Did you hear that?’ I asked. ‘I wonder if it’s a child.’
He shook his head. ‘I didn’t hear anything. You’re probably right about being on someone’s marketing list.’
‘You didn’t hear a sigh?’ I asked, feeling disappointed. ‘Why don’t we listen again?’
He picked up the phone and handed it to me. ‘I don’t want you worrying about this,’ he said. ‘I’m going to call a friend of mine who works for EE and see if there’s a way of blocking calls from unknown numbers. I’m sure there is. Let’s look to the solution, rather than dwelling on the problem. And, in the meantime,’ he picked up his menu and grinned boyishly, ‘let’s order.’
‘Good idea,’ I said, smiling and replacing my phone in my bag. ‘I’m starving.’
* * *
Dinner was delicious, if, in my case, a little alcohol-heavy. Stephen stopped drinking after just half a glass of wine, saying he had drunk quite a lot the previous evening. But he encouraged me to keep going. I managed a couple of glasses but then refused any more. ‘I’ll never get up tomorrow,’ I protested, when he tried to top up my glass as we waited for the bill. ‘Let’s just head home.’
‘Ah, well, about that…’ he said, lowering his head slightly and lookin
g up at me guiltily. ‘Sorry, Alice. I have a confession to make.’
‘Hmm?’ I offered him a slightly tipsy smile and touched his nose with my forefinger. ‘What,’ I said, tapping his nose lightly with each word, ‘is… it? What… have… you… done?’
He took hold of my hand and kissed it. ‘Well, I haven’t been entirely honest with you about today.’
‘No?’
‘No,’ he said, kissing my hand for a second time. ‘As you know, I was originally coming to Bristol this evening because I had a meeting here tomorrow. But that was cancelled on Friday and I now have a meeting in Leicester tomorrow. And it’s an 8am start. So…’
I understood. ‘So you’re heading back this evening.’
He nodded. ‘And I’m sorry. I would have told you yesterday but I wanted to see you so much and I was afraid you might tell me not to make the journey. And, as I say, I wanted to see you.’ He reached across the table, touched my cheek and smiled. ‘Actually, it felt like more like a need than a want,’ he said softly.
I smiled at his thoughtful concealment of the truth and at his willingness to undertake a lengthy round trip just to take me to dinner. And I was grateful to discover that three glasses of Pinot Grigio were enough to lessen any sense of disappointment I might otherwise have felt at his early departure. As it was, I found myself very much looking forward to the pleasant walk home, to the goodnight snog, and, best of all, to pulling my duvet up under my chin and going to sleep. I was, I realised, shattered.
Chapter 37
‘So your dad and Hilary pretended that they had just bumped into each other accidentally?’ Sophie screwed her features into an incredulous ball. She had wasted no time in demanding an immediate account of my weekend the moment I had arrived at the office that morning, and she now sat staring at me in bemusement as I concluded my summary.
I nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘Bumped into each other accidentally in the Cotswolds?’ she clarified.
I continued to nod. ‘Yes.’
‘In a pub which was miles from where she was staying? Which she had decided to visit on a whim?’
‘Yes and… yes,’ I said.
‘God, I love your dad,’ she said, her face now relaxing into a smile. ‘He’s such value for money.’
I smiled. ‘I know.’
‘It is a very good story,’ said David, from the armchair in which he sat next to Sophie’s desk. ‘And, you know, I can actually understand their reasoning to an extent.’
Sophie turned to him. ‘And is the fact that you, Captain Harebrain, think their plan was a reasonable one supposed to carry some weight with somebody somewhere?’
‘I am simply saying,’ said David, ‘that I can see why, to them, leading Alice gently into a realisation of their relationship, rather than declaring it to her outright, might have seemed like a good idea.’
‘OK, well, thank you for your input and now shhhhh.’ Sophie reached across, placed a finger briefly on his lips and then returned her attention to me.
‘And did you,’ she asked, ‘at any time explain to Hilary that you hadn’t been at all fooled by the ruse?’
I pondered the point. ‘I don’t think I did. Dad knows, of course. But no, I didn’t say anything to Hilary and I’m pretty sure he didn’t.’
‘That’s even better,’ grinned Sophie, ‘because now Hilary’s gone away thinking that either she’s a better liar than Mata Hari…’
‘Or that I’m really dim.’ I concluded the point for her.
She clicked her fingers. ‘Got it in one!’
‘I’m certain she wouldn’t think Alice lacking in intelligence,’ said David.
‘Me too, actually.’ Sophie smiled at David. ‘You’ve just redeemed yourself there.’
He smiled, sighed and then hoisted himself out of the armchair. ‘Well, I’m just delighted the pair of you had such a lovely trip,’ he said. ‘And now, I must move on with Monday.’
‘Yes,’ I said, looking at the pile of mail on my desk. ‘It’s me to log-in, isn’t it?’
David paused by my desk en route to his office. ‘If you’re a little tired after your weekend, I’m more than happy to do the log-in today.’
‘You’re going to make somebody a lovely secretary one day, David,’ said Sophie.
He ignored her. ‘I actually find it quite relaxing.’
‘Thank you, David,’ I said, stealing a quick glance at Sophie who was now sitting in a despairing attitude, head in hands, ‘but I’m feeling well-rested and raring to go this morning.’
He smiled. ‘Well, that’s super to hear and I feel much the same.’
‘I don’t,’ muttered Sophie.
David walked through the open doorway of his office. ‘What a surprise,’ he said quietly, but audibly, before closing the door with an equally understated but definite click.
I looked at Sophie and she smiled broadly. ‘He’s getting so cheeky,’ she said. ‘Doubly happy I invited him to the book group dinner now.’
‘Aw, did you?’ I said. ‘And I assume he can come?’
She nodded, looking pleased. ‘He didn’t even ask the date.’
‘Really?’ I said, feeling surprised. David usually liked to plan ahead – and a very long way ahead at that.
‘I know,’ said Sophie. ‘It threw me a bit too. He just said yes, right away, and to let him know the date.’
‘But he’s usually so booked-up with Ascot and Queens and Wimbledon and Henley and goodness knows what.’ I thought for a moment. ‘You don’t think it’s because Romy is coming, do you?’
‘What would that have to do with it?’ asked Sophie, placing an elbow on the desk and resting her chin on her hand.
‘Well, when I told him a while ago who was going, he did seem very interested in her.’
‘Really? I didn’t know they’d even met.’
‘Yes, just briefly once or twice, when she’s popped into the office with Miriam. Maybe you’ve not been around.’ I picked up a pencil and began to tap it thoughtfully on my lower lip. ‘I think they’d actually make a really lovely couple, you know, because she’s so gentle and refined and—’
‘Northern?’ interrupted Sophie.
‘I was going to say ethereal, actually. And besides, being born in Northampton doesn’t make you northern. ’
‘OK.’ She shrugged and turned to her screen. ‘Anyway, are you bringing Stephen?’
I shook my head. ‘He can’t make it,’ I said.
She looked over her shoulder at me. ‘Oh no.’
I sighed. ‘He’s abroad on business. But it’s OK. I’m going to text Hugh later. I think he might actually be quite chuffed to be invited and I think Abs would love it.’
‘I think so too,’ Sophie agreed. ‘But it’s still a bit,’ she made a sad face, ‘about Stephen, though.’
‘It is a bit,’ I agreed, taking the first envelope from the pile of waiting mail.
I opened it and turned to my screen to log it in, realising as I did so that Sophie was still staring at me.
‘What is it?’ I asked.
She gave up any pretence of work and swivelled her chair to face me. ‘How are things with you and Jon?’ Her face was serious.
I laughed. ‘Gosh, you’re to the point.’
‘What can I tell you?’ She held her hands out, palms upwards, and shrugged. ‘It’s a gift. And besides, don’t think I haven’t noticed that you haven’t so much as uttered his name in days.’ She leaned towards me, resting her chin on her hand once again. ‘And it’s such a little name,’ she said. ‘Tiny.’
‘As usual, I haven’t got a clue what you’re on about,’ I smiled. ‘But things are fine with Jon.’ I looked again at the sheet of paper in my hand before binning it as junk mail. ‘I’m meeting him for a drink tonight, as a matter of fact,’ I added, looking at her.
She sat up and smiled. ‘Well, that’s great,’ she said.
‘It will be nice,’ I said, with affected nonchalance, reaching for and opening the next env
elope. ‘You can come if you like.’
‘Thanks, but I can’t.’
‘Why? What are you up to?’ I asked, consigning a second piece of junk mail to the waste paper basket, rapidly followed by a third.
She didn’t answer and I looked up, to find her still smiling. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
‘I just think it’s nice that you and Jon are sorting things out,’ she said. ‘I didn’t like the idea of you being upset with each other.’
‘Me neither,’ I admitted.
‘Right,’ she turned to her screen once more, ‘well, I’d better get on with this. And you,’ without turning around, she extended her right arm towards me and pointed downwards, ‘better start going through that bin of yours.’
I looked at the bin. ‘Why?’
‘Because you have just thrown away two cheques and an invoice from Riley Bathrooms. I don’t know, Alice Waites,’ she shook her head in a theatrically despairing manner, ‘it’s as if your mind is simply elsewhere this morning.’
Chapter 38
Jon’s offices were situated on the top floor of a converted church, just off Whiteladies Road. For reasons I couldn’t quite fathom, Synergy Solutions Ltd was accessible only via a basement entrance, located at the bottom of a long flight of external steps, which then necessitated climbing four internal flights of stairs to reach the office. On each occasion I met Jon straight from work, I entered the basement intending to question Geraldine, his longstanding PA, regarding this design anomaly. However, by the time I reached the top of the building, I was always tricked into forgetfulness by mild fatigue and Geraldine’s motherly offers of tea and biscuits. And this evening was no different.
‘Can I get you a cup of tea and some biscuits, Alice?’ she asked, the moment I entered the office. I looked around, realising that she was the only member of Jon’s four staff still at her desk.
‘No thanks,’ I said, ‘I’m OK and besides,’ I gestured at the clock on the wall, which was showing just after six, ‘shouldn’t you have gone by now? You haven’t been waiting just to buzz me in, have you?’