“Can we go for a walk when we’ve finished our coffee?” Brooke asked. “I get a little stir crazy being cooped up all day.”
“Sure, I guess we could do that.” A walk would be nice. It was a little chilly, sure, but some fresh air would definitely blow away the cobwebs. “I don’t have a coat though,” she suddenly realised.
“I’m sure one of mine would fit.”
~FI~
Catherine felt a little out of sorts all bundled up in Brooke’s winter coat. The younger woman had insisted on a hat and scarf too, and it was a sensory overload. Every time she breathed in through her nose, she caught that faint fragrance of something that was truly just Brooke. Like the delicate scent of apples in a blossoming orchard, it permeated the material and clung to Catherine, holding her hostage to it. The only thing she was grateful for was that it hid the permanent blush.
“So, Catherine, remind me about you?” Brooke asked as they strolled along the street outside. They’d taken a left out of the flat and were heading up towards the local park. It was not somewhere Catherine had been before; in fact, this entire part of town wasn’t somewhere Catherine would usually frequent. As they had exited the building, she couldn’t help the surreptitious glance over to where her car was parked; it was still there.
She pulled the scarf lower and away from her mouth in order to speak. “Oh, well uh…I like penguins.”
Remembering the pyjamas, Brooke chuckled. “Why’s that then?”
“I don’t know, they’re cute I suppose. A lot like me in…”
“Well you are cute, yeah.” Brooke couldn’t help but cut her off and flirt a little. There was something about Catherine that made that so easy to do, even if she was a little standoffish at times.
Catherine chuckled. “I meant, they’re loyal creatures, they often mate with the same penguin each season. They’re homey creatures too, preferring to stay where they know. Oh, I don’t know,” she laughed. “I just love the way they waddle.”
Brooke grinned. “You should laugh more, it suits you.”
Catherine raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that I don’t?”
“That’s true. You got me there.” Brooke continued to giggle as they walked on. “Thank you.” She spoke sincerely and stopped walking. “For doing this, I mean.”
“It’s only a walk. Does me good to get out; I missed my yoga class this week.”
“No, I mean for all of it, staying with me. I’m sure I’ll be fine if you have something better to do.”
Something better to do than spend my time with you, Catherine thought. “No, there isn’t anything better to do. I’ll stick around till Saturday morning and then…Amber can take over.” The thought of Brooke with someone else struck like a dagger. It was her own fault. She chose this path, didn’t she? It was her choice to end things, to back away from any possibility of it happening again.
It had taken almost two years to find herself again and move forward as the confident woman that she now was. She wouldn’t, couldn’t, undo that on the whim of one night of passion with a woman that made her feel like a goddess. But it wasn’t just one night, was it? Oh god, I was an idiot, wasn’t I? And now it’s too late.
They walked on some more in a comfortable silence. The sun was already low in the sky, shining off of puddles from an earlier shower. It was the kind of day when lovers strolled together arm in arm or hand in hand, and Catherine fought the urge to do just that. She could easily use Brooke’s injury as the excuse, but what would be the point? Brooke had Amber. A scruffy dog ran past at speed, chasing after a ball, its owner trying to calm down the other pup that jumped excitedly by her side. They nodded a polite hello as they passed and continued up the slight incline that lead further into the trees.
“I love coming up here and just strolling around,” Brooke said, breaking the comfortable silence.
“Yes, it’s very relaxing,” Catherine replied, smiling at the red nose and pink cheeks on Brooke’s face. She could almost see what she would have looked like as a child. “I like the beach. Sometimes I’ll just jump into the car and take a drive down to the coast. All that sea air, maybe we can…” She stopped herself mid-sentence as she realised what she was doing. She was being ridiculous.
“I’d like that,” Brooke said, smiling at her. “If that was an invitation to go with you?” They stopped at a little café and lined up for hot drinks.
“Uh, yes.” She felt a little stupid, like when she was a teenager asking a boy on a date. Changing the subject, she asked, “How’s your head?”
Instinctively, Brooke reached up and touched the tender spot on the back of her head that had stitches, kept warm beneath her woollen hat. “It feels better now that the painkillers have kicked in.”
“Good, and your hand?”
“Feels sore still when I move it.” Brooke ordered hot chocolate and moved along the line.
“You were very brave to do what you did.”
“What did I do?”
Catherine winced a little. She had seen the CCTV while Brooke had been taken to hospital and watched it again in slow motion with the police. It was a ferocious body slam to the floor. “Well, you managed to put yourself between the exit and a hulking great man intent on stealing a dummy laptop.”
Brooke laughed. “Really? It wasn’t even real?”
Catherine shook her head, still smiling. “I am afraid not. But he didn’t know that, and neither did you, obviously. You raced to the doors and got there just before he did, and then he just kept running at you, he didn’t even bother to try and dodge you.” She shuddered at the memory. She had been in the cafeteria when she heard the alarm go off. Naturally, she had looked over the balustrade and watched in horror as it all unfolded. “He was at least twice your size, and he grabbed you around the waist and rugby-tackled you to the ground. I heard the crack as your head hit the floor.”
“You saw it happen?”
“Twice. I was upstairs in the cafeteria. I’d just taken a seat by the railing when I heard the commotion downstairs. Just as I stood up to see what all the noise was about, I saw him take you down. And then obviously, I was there while the police watched the CCTV.”
“Wow, can I watch it?”
Catherine recoiled in horror. “Why would you want to do that?” Brooke shrugged and they continued on.
The trees were bare, their leaves long since shed. Occasionally one or two leaves held on, grasping to the branch for as long as they could withstand the harsh cold breeze that whipped up as the afternoon began to move towards the evening. The sky was darkening with every step.
“You look cold.” Concern etched across Brooke’s features as she glanced towards her friend. Catherine shivered, but not just because she was cold. From the moment she had set eyes on Brooke across the floor of Art, she had felt the delicious shiver of arousal. It was still there, regardless of how much she tried to ignore it.
“Yes, a little.” Now that the sun was setting behind the trees, it was becoming colder. That was the trouble with winter, and why she preferred the summer: 4 p.m. and it was virtually dark.
“Let’s head back. I feel a little tired anyway. It’s been nice though, just hanging out.”
Catherine would be a liar if she said anything else. So, she just nodded her agreement and smiled.
~FI~
The flat was warm and cosy as Brooke opened the door and led the way inside. She could hear the familiar noise from the kitchen and knew that Robin was in there cooking something.
Catherine was the first to shed her jacket and scarf, and she headed into the kitchen, following the aroma of what she had to admit smelled delicious. What she didn’t expect to find was a table laid for two, including candles.
“Hello,” she said cautiously as she examined the scene. One brow rose as her eyes made contact with the chef.
“Hi,” Robin said without looking over at the woman her sister had been infatuated with for more than a month.
“Something smells…ni
ce. I’ll get out of your way so you can enjoy dinner with Brooke.”
Robin placed her dish inside the oven and closed the door. Looking up now, she rolled her eyes. “Mrs Khan is cooking for me, she’s picking me up in 15 minutes,” she said, glancing at her watch. “This is for Brooke and you, I only came back to pick up some stuff I need for tomorrow.” She moved past Catherine and checked the hallway. Brooke wasn’t there. “She doesn’t remember you being a complete cow to her, so now you have the chance to make things right. Give her a chance,” she pleaded in a half-whisper, half-hiss. “She liked you, all she wanted was a chance, and don’t give me that crap about work, cos she told me that wasn’t true. She read the SOP.”
“I thought you wanted me to pretend nothing ever happened?” Catherine whispered back. “You don’t even like me.”
Robin checked over her shoulder again. “If she liked you, then there must be someone nice inside that she saw…even if the rest of us don’t,” she added with a sneer.
The harshness of Robin’s word stung, but Catherine had to concede maybe there was some truth there. “She’s seeing somebody else,” she found herself confiding. Her shoulders sagged and she leaned back against the countertop. “So, thank you, but all of this is wasted on me.”
Robin’s face scrunched up. Brooke hadn’t mentioned meeting anyone else. She had been mooning over Catherine for ages. She didn’t say anything, but Robin knew her well enough to know when Brooke was over someone or still brooding, and she was definitely brooding. But more interestingly, Catherine hadn’t said she wasn’t interested.
“Right, you’re just giving up then?”
“What?”
“I said, that’s it then? Seriously, she’s seeing someone else? No way. And if she is then it’s nothing to worry about, because she’s so into you…well she would be if she bloody well remembered.” She stopped talking abruptly when they heard footsteps shuffling down the hallway. Brooke stepped into the room and found the pair of them standing in an awkward silence. “Hi Brooke, how ya feeling?” Robin said quickly.
“Yeah, okay thanks. Starving though.”
“That’s good.” Her phone buzzed and she picked it up to read the message. “Right, Shepard’s pie is in the oven. Needs another 25 minutes. Salad in the fridge. That’s Mrs Khan outside, I’m eating with them tonight and tomorrow, but I’ll be back Saturday morning.” She kissed Brooke’s cheek before turning and adding, “Bye Catherine.”
In an instant she was gone, leaving a perplexed Brooke and an embarrassed Catherine facing one another over a candlelit table for two.
“I’ll get the kettle on.”
~FI~
Catherine had her feet tucked up underneath herself, her left arm leaning on the arm of the chair as she watched something on the television. Brooke, though, was more fascinated with watching her than anything the TV could offer.
Dinner had been awkward and left her feeling confused. Somewhere in her mind she knew the answers, but it just didn’t register yet as a cognitive thought. She was going to have to have words with Robin, try and find out why it was that she thought a candlelit dinner was appropriate. So far, whenever she had seen Robin and Catherine together, she had detected just a hint of dislike from her sister. She wanted to know why, and why the sudden turnaround in cooking for them.
“I’m sorry about dinner,” she finally said after mulling it over for 20 minutes. “I don’t know where Robin got the idea that there was anything romantic between us.” She chuckled. Not that she wouldn’t mind. Catherine was just her type; she hadn’t forgotten that much. And the more time she spent with her, the more she wanted to get to know her. But then she would remind herself about Amber and get all confused about her feelings again.
“It’s fine. I’m sure she just got me mixed up with Amber,” Catherine said with a quick smile that disappeared as she turned back to the TV.
“Yeah,” Brooke replied, sounding anything but convinced. This whole Amber thing was confusing too. For someone she was supposedly dating, she hadn’t been that heavy on the communication. Other than the initial texts to see if she was okay and to check about Saturday, there had been radio silence. She hadn’t even visited, or sent flowers. Nothing. But then she surmised that she had only known her for a matter of days, so maybe she was expecting too much.
Physically, she was feeling much better already. She hadn’t even needed Catherine’s help to go to the toilet, having made the wiser choice of elasticated waisted joggers as her preferred attire. Now though, she considered how she actually missed that close contact. She liked Catherine’s hands on her, the warmth of her body pressing against her as she helped her move around. It was nice.
“You don’t sound too convinced.” Catherine’s words brought Brooke from her thoughts.
“Oh, well I guess…I dunno, I’ve only lost a few weeks’ memories. They just seem to have been quite important: meeting Amber, starting work, new friendships building.” She smiled at Catherine. “But I can’t help feeling like there is something else. Something important that I should know.”
“I am sure it will come back to you, though maybe by then it won’t matter.” She could only hope that was the truth of it.
“Yes, you could be right.” A half-smile graced Brooke’s face. “What are we watching?” she asked, turning her attention back to the TV.
“A period drama…I’m not really watching it, if you wanted to switch over.”
Brooke shook her head and stretched out her legs on the sofa. “Nah, I don’t really watch TV much. I was thinking though, do you not have a boyfriend or someone you need to get home to?”
“My last boyfriend was five years ago. There’s nobody else to be home for,” Catherine answered. “I don’t even have a cat. Just me.”
Brooke nodded. “No one special on the horizon then?”
Catherine sighed; the irony. “I thought there was, not so long ago. I met someone who in a very short space of time turned my head, and I wanted to see where that led, but unfortunately circumstances meant that it wasn’t meant to be. It’s my own fault; fear I guess of the known.” She chanced a glance at Brooke. Did she know she was talking about her? Had she worked it out? Was her memory returning? No, she just sat there looking back, her face interested but impassive. “It was someone at work.”
Now Brooke’s face took on a look of real interest. “Oh, and that doesn’t…”
Catherine considered the options. She could carry on down the path she had chosen, come clean, or at the very least explain who she was and how she became this person. Maybe then, if Brooke ever did remember things, she might have a better understanding, be more forgiving. “A few years ago, I met someone at work and we had an affair that led to a relationship. Everything was wonderful, until the day that it suddenly wasn’t…we broke up, and life for me became unbearable. I became the subject of office gossip; terrible rumours went around. People stopped talking to me, taking sides. It got so bad that in the end I left and swore there and then that I would never get involved with anyone at work ever again.”
“Wow, that’s horrible. It’s a good thing you don’t work with people like that now. He clearly didn’t deserve you.” Brooke said. She grimaced as she tried to sit up, and Catherine jumped to her feet to help. Putting her arm around Brooke, she eased her upright. “But maybe this new guy isn’t like that either.”
Catherine didn’t amend the pronoun mistake; it didn’t matter. “They’re not, they’re the most considerate, gentle, and honest person I have met in a long time.”
“So, why not give it a chance. Take things slowly I guess, but why miss out on the chance of happiness if you could have it?”
“I should have…It’s too late now anyway. They’re seeing somebody else.”
Chapter Thirty
Friday morning brought with it a scattering of snow. It laid for all of an hour before it melted away, ready to be forgotten by lunch time.
Brooke grabbed her phone. She needed to speak with
Robin while she remembered.
“Is everything alright?” Robin asked, an urgency to her tone.
“Yeah, everything is fine. Catherine is looking after me.” She moved the curtain slightly and looked outside: dull and grey.
“Good, what do you want then?” she said in that way only teenagers could. An uninterested but friendly kind of way.
Brooke turned back to face her room, the bed unmade and clothes scattered. She hated the mess. “Just checking in. Dinner was nice, thank you. But no need for the candles next time, eh? It was a little awkward. Catherine isn’t my girlfriend.”
“She could be,” Robin pushed. She was still unsure of Catherine, but Jas had reminded her that Brooke liked her, and she wanted Brooke to be happy.
“No, she can’t. She’s kind of into someone else and anyway, she isn’t gay.”
Robin burst into laughter. It was actually ridiculous, and she wanted to bang both their heads together, except that would probably not be good for Brooke. They both thought the other was interested in someone else. Where they really this dense?
“What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing, sorry…go on.” They needed to work this out by themselves.
“So, what’s new with you? Mrs Khan fed up with you yet?”
This time, Robin chuckled. “No, she thinks I am great and said I can stay as long as I want. I think she wants to adopt me and fatten me up. Her food is amazing, she’s teaching me how to make authentic Indian curries. Last night I helped make chapatis.” She sounded happy, and that made Brooke smile. “So anyway, I’ll be home early in the morning to get changed, and then I’ll see you on Sunday I suppose.”
“I thought you were back tomorrow?”
“I…the school Christmas disco is in three weeks, Brooke, and I need a new dress. Which is why we agreed that I could work at Mr Khan’s store in the lead-up to Christmas.”
“Well, I don’t know about any of this, do I? I thought you were coming home on Saturday?”
The Meant to Be Collection Page 37
