by Carol Wyer
She smoothed away a stray hair, plastered a smile on her face and threw open the door. Alex lifted both hands up, a submissive gesture.
‘I’m so sorry. I’ve just received a call from the police station. Somebody’s broken into the warehouse near Dad’s farm, where we store all the building supplies and equipment, and made off with some of it. I’ve got to go over there, make a statement, work out what’s missing, and then deal with the insurance and source replacement tools and machines which we’ll need tomorrow. Bastards have definitely taken the cement mixer and goodness knows what else.’
Her heart dropped like a stone. ‘Oh no!’ Her reaction wasn’t only at the awful news of him losing expensive building materials but at the thought of the afternoon being ruined. She’d had hopes, albeit distant ones, that they would have become closer over lunch and wine and an afternoon together. His eyes were stony with anger at the theft but his expression was one of sorrow at letting her down.
‘I’m truly sorry—’ he began.
She stopped him with a headshake. ‘No. I understand. It was only a spot of lunch. We can do it another time.’
‘Yes. Thanks. I’d better go. I thought I’d let you know first. I hope you didn’t go to too much trouble.’
‘Not at all. You get off. I hope you haven’t had too much stolen.’
‘Me too. It’s devilishly expensive kit. See you soon.’ He turned on his heel. Ronnie gazed forlornly after him, a present of a chewed sock in his mouth. Chloe looked down at her dog.
‘Don’t suppose you fancy a nice chicken dinner, do you?’
* * *
She’d wasted the afternoon away in a lethargic stupor, watching a drama series that hadn’t really held her attention whilst consuming the entire contents of the bottle of wine she’d hoped to share with Alex and simultaneously digging out and scoffing the centre of her apple pie with a tablespoon, before filling it with custard and finishing it all. Ronnie had polished off more than half the chicken and by four p.m. she decided she’d wallowed long enough in self-pity and taken him for a walk.
There was no sign of Alex’s Land Rover on his drive. He’d been out all afternoon – a full six hours. As Chloe walked past his house, she wondered for a brief moment if he’d made up the burglary, then immediately berated herself for even thinking such a thing. He wouldn’t have let her down with some ludicrous excuse. The robbery had happened and poor Alex was still dealing with the aftermath. She needed to get a grip on her emotions and feelings of self-doubt.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Eleanor was on the line.
‘Mum and Dad have gone home and Fairfax wants to play Bananagrams. I wondered if you fancied joining us. He’s a total cheat unless a third party is keeping an eye on him. Bring Ronnie too.’
Chloe had little idea what the game entailed, but given she had nothing to look forward to back home she agreed to wander across.
Eleanor greeted her as soon as she rang their bell, as if she’d been lying in wait by the front door. She didn’t seem her usual self, with her blue hair tied back rather than styled and her face drawn. She rushed them both into the sitting room where Fairfax, sat on a chair next to a low table, was shaking a yellow banana-shaped bag.
‘How are you?’
‘I’m fine.’
‘I was so concerned when you got knocked out.’
‘As you can see, nothing to worry about.’ She was about to ask about William but Eleanor spoke first.
‘Can I get you a drink? Wine, gin, tea, juice, or if you want to be on a health kick like us, sparkling water.’
‘Water’s fine. I need to rehydrate. We’ve been on a long walk.’
Eleanor nipped off to fetch it and Chloe dropped onto the floor next to the table where Fairfax was placing small square tiles face down.
‘Take a seat.’
‘I’m okay on the floor, thanks.’
‘Sure?’ He leaned in in a conspiratorial fashion. ‘We aren’t really on any health kick. Eleanor got sloshed at lunchtime and woke up from her nap with a dry mouth and a blinding headache. I’m just keeping her company. Glad you came over. She’s a bit down today.’
‘Everything okay?’ Chloe asked.
‘She’s been working too hard and worrying too much. Thought a game would cheer her up. Ronnie, don’t eat the letter tiles.’ He rubbed Ronnie’s snout, affectionately. ‘Don’t want you leaving little messages around the house tomorrow.’
‘That’s an old joke,’ said Eleanor, returning with Chloe’s drink.
‘Old but still funny,’ Fairfax replied. ‘Like me.’
She gave a wan smile that accentuated lines around her eyes. She definitely had been overdoing it. She patted Chloe on the shoulder lightly. ‘Really glad nothing serious happened.’
‘I took my eye off Neats, that’s all,’ said Chloe and once again opened her mouth to ask about William, but this time was prevented from speaking by Fairfax whose face had become serious.
‘Enough about yesterday. All’s well and everyone had a great time. You did, didn’t you, Chloe?’
‘Yes. It was hilarious.’
‘See, Eleanor. You can stop worrying about it all now and concentrate instead on beating your old man at Bananagrams.’ Fairfax placed the last tile on the table, rubbed his hands together and looked directly at Chloe. ‘Ready?’
‘Actually, I’ve never played this game before,’ she confessed.
‘Oh goody. A newbie. You’ve missed out. It’s brilliant,’ said Fairfax. He lifted a tile to reveal the letter A.
‘Looks like Scrabble.’
‘You have to make word grids but that’s where the similarity ends. The rules are simple.’ He explained the procedure and demonstrated how to make a grid, what to do if she needed new tiles and how to change an unwanted letter.
Eleanor took up her position on the floor, opposite Chloe. ‘Thanks for coming over. It’s okay with two but better with more people playing. I rang Alex but he’s not in.’
‘His dad’s premises got burgled and he had to go and sort out missing stuff. The cement mixer was stolen.’
Fairfax pulled a face. ‘I bet he had some valuable gear stored there. If he’s lost all his equipment, it’ll put them behind schedule. They’re due to return to work tomorrow, aren’t they?’
‘That’s the plan.’
Fairfax shook his head. ‘Bloody shame. Hope it hasn’t messed up things too badly for him. He’s a nice bloke and he works really hard. I like living near him. Dead handy too if anything goes wrong or there’s a snagging issue. He can sort it. I’ll miss him when he leaves. Right. Have you got the hang of this game then, Chloe?’
Chloe blinked. She’d been thinking how much nicer it would be if Alex stayed too. She brushed away such thoughts. ‘I think so.’
Fairfax put the tiles out afresh and they each took the same number of tiles. Eleanor called, ‘Split!’ and the game began.
* * *
After Fairfax trounced both women three times, Eleanor put an end to proceedings. She pressed hard on her temples. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t shift this headache. I’m going to have to call it an evening.’
Chloe stood up. ‘I ought to go. It’s been lovely. Thanks for showing me how to play it.’
‘I voted for a Bananagrams contest for the singletons but Eleanor shot that idea down. She said it’s not interesting enough. People want to do things they haven’t experienced before and not games they could play at home with friends. See that’s why she’s the brains behind the business and I sort out the website and ride shotgun.’ He pretended to draw and fire a pistol then chuckled.
There’d been no opportunity for her to bring up William’s name and ask what he’d been doing at Weston Hall. The game had been fast and furious and required all her concentration. It was little wonder it had worsened Eleanor’s headache. There’d be other opportunities when Eleanor wasn’t feeling ill. Besides, Chloe didn’t want to admit William had been the reason for her losing concentration and bein
g felled during the bout. Eleanor had obviously taken Chloe’s tumble badly enough and for her to know that she had unwittingly been responsible for the distraction that had caused it wouldn’t be helpful. At least now Chloe didn’t feel so down-in-the-dumps. One thing was for certain, Fairfax was superb at keeping people entertained.
She wished them goodnight and stumbled out into the dark once more. Ronnie snuffled on ahead, leaving her trailing behind using the torch app on her phone to guide her. It was almost eight p.m. and looking across at Alex’s place, she couldn’t make out any sign of life. He couldn’t possibly be at the police station or sorting out stolen goods at this hour, could he? She swung her light in the direction of the house, allowing it to sweep across the driveway and pick up his Land Rover. She paused and screwed up her eyes. There was something parked on his driveway. Her mouth dropped open in disbelief. It wasn’t his vehicle. It was a motorbike. Had he lied to get out of lunch with her? She ran the beam as far as it would stretch. It was definitely a bike. Alex was at home with Jacqueline.
She turned away and blinked back a salty tear. She didn’t mind so much that he was with another woman; what hurt her most was the deception. William had lied to her, and on almost every occasion she had believed him because she’d wanted to believe him. Her faith in him hadn’t been justified and she was never going to go through a similar scenario again. If there was no trust in a relationship then it stood no chance. There would never be one for her and Alex.
Chapter Sixteen
Tuesday, 16th January
Monday had been a productive work day. Chloe’s fingers had clattered over keys and she’d written 5,000 words. The book was taking shape although she needed to work on the humorous angle a little more. She read out what she’d written to a disinterested Ronnie, making sure it sounded okay to her ears. She’d incorporated her experience of the Sumo wrestling day into the newest chapters and fleshed it out adding some riskier sections that were little more than pure fantasy. Laila now drove a Ducati bike – a shining red example – and was a siren that no man could resist.
There’d been no point in brooding over Alex. She wasn’t going to waste time on a man who was not only going to be leaving in a few months but who was willing to lie to her face. If anything, she felt disappointed. Her choice in men was proving to be poor.
‘Looks like I’m destined to live like a celibate forever more,’ she declared as she saved her manuscript with a click of a button and headed off to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. In spite of the setback with Alex, all was going well. The writer’s block had cleared and the singleton events were not only providing material for her book but had helped her surmount the feelings of anxiety she permanently carried.
Outside a weak sun was trying to pierce through a veiled sky. Days like this gave her hope. Spring would soon be upon them and she’d try and do something with the wilderness that was her garden. She picked up the sheet of A4 on which she’d been sketching at breakfast. Garden design wasn’t her forte. So far, she’d envisaged an avenue of cherry trees leading to a wild flower meadow that would attract all manner of bees, butterflies and insects during the warm months, but as for borders and planting she was at a loss. The garden would soon need attention and in reality she needed assistance. She pushed the paper to one side. She clearly hadn’t thought that side of things through when she had purchased the house. She’d somehow convinced herself Thomas would lay the garden to lawn, but of course, he hadn’t.
Turf would cost a fortune and grass seed would take far too long to germinate. Her cheeks puffed out. She’d clearly overlooked this fact in her haste to get away from Appletree and its memories.
‘Catch!’ She tossed Ronnie a biscuit and drank her tea. In the background, machines chugged and a lorry beeped noisily as it reversed up the main drive. She hadn’t been across to see Alex and ask how much of his machinery had been taken in the robbery. Judging by the sounds, not much. Earlier, deep drilling had shaken her house and made Ronnie bark. The site was a hive of activity and she’d taken to the fields away from the development to avoid passing the workmen.
She wandered back to the sitting room with her mug of tea in her hand and halted in her tracks. A massive spider was crawling across the floor. As much as she didn’t like the look of it, she’d never harm a spider and she certainly didn’t want Ronnie to spy it and attack it. The creature paused as if it had spotted her and hunkered down on the wooden floor. With its huge hairy legs and fat body, it was by far one of the largest she’d ever seen, and although she wasn’t terrified as such, she was wary of it and didn’t want to chase it only to lose it and then imagine it to be hiding somewhere in her home. She shivered at the thought of it suddenly dropping on her head. She couldn’t bear that scenario. She backed away slowly. The arachnid remained in position. She hastened to the kitchen, shut Ronnie in the utility room, tossed the contents of her mug down the sink and grabbed the A4 sketch of the garden. The spider was still in position. Chloe was convinced it was waiting to scarper off as soon as she approached it. With mug upturned in her hand she pounced on the spider, covering it with the now empty mug and simultaneously sliding the piece of A4 paper under the mug. It was a trick Nanny Olive had taught her. Her grandmother had brought her up to harm no living creature.
She cringed at the thought of the monster spider in her mug, and sliding her fingers carefully one by one under the paper so she could press the paper gently against the lip of the mug to seal the spider inside, she scurried to the back door. Once there she had a conundrum. She couldn’t let go of the paper or the spider would drop out and she couldn’t open the door because she was holding the mug with her other hand. Mild panic set in. If the spider escaped, heaven knew where it would end up. She hopped from one foot to the other, wanting the spider out of her house and life.
There was only one thing to do: release her hold of the mug and hope it remained balanced on the paper. She did so and tugged at the door which had swollen slightly and stuck in the frame.
‘Shit! Open up.’
She tugged again and the door flew open, causing her to step back and the mug to slide from the top of the A4 and crash to the floor with a clatter. Ronnie barked furiously. The spider, now free, raced for Chloe’s slipper. She screamed and raced outside, jumping up and down, fearing the spider was somewhere on her person.
‘You okay?’ Alex said.
‘Spider!’
‘Where?’
‘I don’t know. It was on my slipper – eek!’ Her arms flapped wildly as she spotted the spider racing up her sleeve towards her shoulder. ‘Alex!’
‘It’s okay. Stand still.’
Everything was a blur. Chloe did as she was told, eyes shut, face contorted. She couldn’t bear it if it got into her hair. She felt gentle brushing and then heard the words, ‘It’s gone.’
She opened her eyes. ‘Where is it?’
He held cupped hands out. ‘You want to see it?’
‘Please get rid of it. Don’t kill it.’
‘I’ll put it down over there. You want to make sure it’s gone?’
She followed him to the main driveway and observed him place the spider on the tarmac. It raced off in the opposite direction.
‘Oh, thank goodness.’
‘It was a whopper. A wolf spider, I’d guess. They usually try and hide indoors when it’s cold.’
Chloe squirmed in embarrassment. ‘I thought I had it but I dropped the mug and…’
‘It’s cool. Plenty of people don’t like spiders. Lucky I was here.’
‘Yes, thank you. I’m not too bad around them but I don’t like them on me.’
Now the spider had gone, she felt self-conscious. She didn’t want to ask about the break-in and cause him to lie again. ‘How come you’re here?’ she asked.
‘Came to apologise again for messing up Sunday lunch.’
She cursed. Now she would have to ask about the burglary. ‘Was it as bad as you thought?’
‘Worse.
I spent hours trying to organise replacement equipment so we could get back on the job yesterday. Had to drive to Stoke and convince a mate to loan us some machinery until we could buy some more. I spoke to the insurance company too and it’s all covered, but what a ball ache. I was out until late Sunday night. Didn’t even get any food in the end unless crisps and chocolate buttons count.’ He smiled.
She couldn’t return it. She’d seen Jacqueline’s motorbike that evening. He had returned and he’d probably eaten as well.
‘Ronnie scoffed your lunch.’ She hadn’t meant it to come out so coolly but it had.
He cocked his head. ‘You’re annoyed with me, aren’t you? I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want to mess you about.’
‘I’m not annoyed. I have to go. I’m really busy. Thanks for helping me with the spider.’
She spun on her heel. He reached out for her arm. ‘Chloe, what’s wrong?’
‘Nothing. I don’t know what you mean.’
His eyes searched her face for a clue. She wanted him to go away and leave her alone. She didn’t want to challenge him and she didn’t want to be told any more untruths.
‘Chloe, something’s up. Are you angry with me because I let you down last minute? Tell me.’
‘No.’
‘Then why are you freezing me out.’
‘I have work to do.’
He blocked her path. ‘Please explain what I am supposed to have done wrong.’
The look on his face persuaded her. He looked panicked. ‘You said you didn’t come home until night time but you did. You were at home at eight.’
‘I wasn’t.’
‘I saw a motorbike outside your house. Jacqueline’s bike.’
A furrow appeared between his eyes. ‘Jacqueline wasn’t there.’
‘Bye, Alex.’ She tried to walk to her house. His expression had changed. The eyes were shining again.
