bear with a sore head. So much so, that Karen gave me an ultimatum. The choice was to go back to Margate with her or face the consequences. The “consequences” were left hanging like the Sword of Damocles, and I was under no illusion what it meant.
Therefore, I made a decision that would shape the rest of my life. The divorce, when it came through, left me with just the clothes I was wearing and a thousand pounds in the bank.
Karen cleaned me out to the extent that I would once again have to start from scratch. Luckily, with no children involved and given the nature of our young ages – I was only thirty-five now – my lawyer successfully argued maintenance was a cross I should not be burdened with. I was just thankful the presiding judge agreed.
It had been a year since my break up with Caroline and every evening I would sit in Marcel’s, willing her to come breezing through the door. I’d heard nothing from her and in some way I was thinking it was perhaps a good thing. My constantly questioning Marcel did not help matters either, since he had not seen her.
As the years rolled by, Caroline started to fade from my mind. I’d not been involved with another woman because I knew no one could match up to my true love. Business was the only joy I had in my life and by the time I was forty Ridgeley’s had offered me a directorship.
I was now back in Margate looking out for new opportunities that were opening up around the globe. Australia was on our horizon and within a few visits we had opened up an office over there. My trips to France were still quite customary and I always made a point of visiting Marcel’s on the anniversary of that fateful evening with Caroline. Call it sentiment, but my heart still held a special place for a woman I had truly adored.
Marcel was only too eager to fill me in on the latest news. When it came to Caroline he just went quiet and sadly shook his head. He knew how much she meant to me and whenever her name came up, which it always did in my conversations with Marcel, he would bring over a bottle of my favourite claret to ease my sorrow.
By the time of our seventh anniversary, Ridgeley’s had made me Deputy CEO of their company. It was at this time that I decided I would make one last visit to Marcel’s before moving on with my life. Marcel had been a good friend to me and I just wanted to thank him for all the good times before I relocated to Australia. Ridgeley’s had unearthed a huge market over there and I had been offered the chance to head it up.
Sitting at that same table, as I had done all those years ago, self-pitying thoughts were fizzing through my brain. I didn’t know what it was, but I could see Caroline walking towards me as if it was yesterday.
The only problem was, it was today and the apparition walking towards me was as real as they come. She must have seen my astonishment, because she just gave me a kindly smile, and said: “Hello, David. I had a feeling I might find you here. You always were a stickler for dates, weren’t you?”
Marcel, who was serving behind the counter, looked like he had seen a ghost as he rushed over to greet Caroline. “Mademoiselle, welcome back to Marcel’s, I’ll bring another bottle of claret at once.”
“Just the one, Marcel. The last time we got involved like this, David ended up breaking my heart.”
After I had regained what senses were left, I rose and gave Caroline a kiss on the cheek. “Welcome back,” I managed to mumble, while pulling out a chair for her to sit on. “I must say, I never expected to see you again.”
“Never say never, David. Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to, before I tell you my story!”
Caroline was very attentive while I explained about my divorce from Karen and my current position with Ridgeley’s. When I mentioned Australia, a flicker of emotion fleetingly crossed her face. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I was destined to find out.
Caroline went on to explain that Maurice had recently passed away and left her a small fortune. She also mentioned that he had suddenly changed his way towards her when a life-changing episode had occurred. As I was about to ask what it was, I got my answer!
Walking towards us was a chauffeur in a smart uniform accompanied by a small girl carrying a teddy bear. She could have only been six years old at the most. “Mummy, mummy,” she said. “Can we go home now, I’ve been waiting in the car for ever.”
“I’m so sorry, Mrs Mortimer,” the chauffeur interjected, “Madeleine got the jump on me before I could catch her.”
“Must take after her father,” Caroline replied, while smiling at Madeleine.
The look on Madeleine’s face, when she saw me, was like Father Christmas had come early. She delved into a small purse she was carrying and extracted a small picture.
Walking sheepishly over to me, she placed it on the table and said: “That’s you and my mummy together.” It certainly was because it had been taken underneath the Eiffel Tower when Caroline and I were seeing each other.
The next words she came out with, undeniably left me in need of that second bottle of claret. “When mummy gave me this picture, she told me to never lose it.”
“Why was that, Madeleine?” I said, taking the bait, hook, line and sinker.
“Because she told me that’s my daddy!”
“Out of the mouths of babes comes the truth,” started ringing in my head. Caroline then compounded everything, by saying: “Say goodnight to your father, Madeleine. I’m sure you’ll be seeing him again soon.”
When Madeleine had left, Caroline just gave me a look as if to say: “Over to you, Mr. Cole!”
It took me a few long seconds to compose myself, and large mouthful of claret, before I managed: “If there’s any way you can forgive me, I would be eternally grateful.”
“We’ll start slowly this time, David Cole. You’re going to have to do a lot of bowing and scraping before you win me over again!”
Well, as you can probably gather, Australia went out the window. How I managed to get back my old job in Paris, was down to a lot of pleading and a big slice of the truth. In the end, Ridgeley’s were quite sympathetic and allowed me my wish.
If there is one piece of advice I would pass on, it would be this: “Just remember, when it comes to ‘An Affair of the Heart’ you are never guaranteed the outcome.”
Chris Forward 25th of July 2016
An Affair of the Heart Page 2
