‘I have something for you,’ said Rebecca putting one of the boxes on the table and opening up the top, ‘and I thought there was no time like the present!’
Brenda gave a little gasp and what Rebecca decided almost counted as a squeal as she looked at the mass of fabric swatches, paint charts and wallpaper samples inside.
‘Rebecca, where on earth...?’
Rebecca laughed. ‘I mentioned our renovation project to Annie and she of course has a contact for everything and everyone and the next thing I knew I had this provided by a local interior firm. Anything that we like in here they can provide and if they want us to do the design as well - they will.’
Rebecca saw the slight shadow cross Brenda's face and she continued gently.
‘But of course I told them we were doing the design and planning ourselves.’
After the initial shock of having Rebecca come to the rescue, Brenda had thrown herself into the saving of Parklands with an energy and enthusiasm that took even Rebecca by surprise. She was spilling over with ideas and a determination to make them work and she was thoroughly enjoying being able to finally spend a little money on the ancient décor.
‘Oh look at this!’ She pulled out a soft apple green check with a tiny pink rose. ‘This would look absolutely beautiful on the chairs in the reading room and this...’ out came a yellow and blue regency stripe, ‘this is exactly what Dotty was saying she would love in her room. Oh Rebecca, thank you!’
Dotty had been told she could stay at Parklands indefinitely due to a fund now set up to help some of the original residents. The old lady had cried and cried much to the concern of everyone until they realised they were tears of happiness and relief and since then she had been unable to stop laughing. Gwen was so proud of her daughter that she beamed from ear to ear and the already happy atmosphere at Parklands had improved even more.
There hadn't been a moment since she signed the paper that Rebecca had regretted her decision and both she and Brenda were working long and hard to make their dreams for the lovely old house a reality.
Rebecca left Brenda exploring the contents of the boxes, said her goodbyes and returned to the 4X4. Daniel had been right, it was a good car to have. She still had the little Fiat and if she was heading into town she would leave the Range Rover on the driveway. But with Parklands now a part of her everyday life it was exactly the car she needed.
She turned in the direction of home, winding down the window again to take advantage of the summer air. The weather had been glorious for the last month and Rebecca had finally managed to live out her fantasy of taking her morning coffee and croissant in the courtyard with the smell of her herb garden filling the air.
It had been an eventful and fulfilling few weeks. The children had both finally visited. Sarah had come first. Rebecca had collected her in the Fiat and taken her on a tour of the house. And although Rebecca had described her beautiful new home to her daughter in detail Sarah's mouth had hung open in wonder as Rebecca took her from one room to another finishing in the kitchen where Daniel was opening a bottle of champagne.
‘I can't believe it,’ she had whispered, taking a glass from her father and sinking onto the raspberry settee, ‘I just can't believe it!’
Rebecca had laughed. ‘It's true my darling, quite true.’
They had wandered around the garden, Sarah squealing in delight at the tennis court hidden behind the trees and making plans for a tennis party in the summer. Finally they came to rest in the courtyard with the sun dappling through the trees. Daniel had fired up the huge BBQ and they spent the rest of the afternoon chatting and planning for a future that included millions in the bank.
Daniel had wanted to confess all to the children, had wanted to get Toby and Sarah together and tell them the whole story. But Rebecca had refused. She felt so bitter and angry, not at Daniel having the affair, she had recovered remarkably quickly from that news, but from the frustration of losing five years of her life. No confession could bring that back and no amount of 'sorry' could alter the fact that Daniel's lies had taken those years away from her. She didn't want the children to feel the same and she told Daniel firmly that he would have to live with his guilt. He wasn't going to make himself feel better at their expense. So Daniel had kept quiet and if Sarah had wondered at the change in her father she said nothing.
Eventually Toby had visited as well, He had taken the move to Darlington hardest of all and his relationship with his father had never really recovered. He had never been back to Darlington for more than a couple of days since he had left for Bristol but the lure of Leeds was different and he finally agreed to join Sarah and his parents for a weekend.
Knowing about a lottery win was one thing, seeing a lottery win was a step further and like Sarah he had wandered round the house in shock, examined the cars on the driveway in a daze and shook his head in disbelief as he took in all the new signs of wealth. He had been as cool as ever towards his father and Daniel kept to his word and said nothing. No excuses about why he had taken them away from the life they had loved, no reason as to why he had been such an overbearing unpleasant man for the last five years. Rebecca had caught the regret in his eyes more than once but she stood firm. Daniel would have to rebuild the relationship with his children without revealing that the cracks could have been avoided.
They had spent the weekend as a family for the first time in years, chatting late into the evening and enjoying a family meal around the kitchen table. Daniel had been subdued but pleasant and Rebecca could feel the curiosity burning in both her children but she smiled her way through their visit and hugged them both tightly to her, relishing the feel of having her family restored.
Rebecca had told the children she would take them into Leeds on Sunday evening, drop Sarah at her flat and take Toby to the train station. As they gathered in the kitchen before leaving she had sat them down at the table and discussed finances. She’d already told them that their student loans would be paid in full. She had already started paying a monthly allowance into their accounts for which they had both declared their undying thanks and gratefully resigned the jobs they had been holding down to pay their way through the term.
But now she placed a set of papers in front of each of her children and gently explained about the trusts she had set up, the money that they would receive on their birthdays.
Daniel had said nothing and Rebecca thought that she could still detect the disapproval in his eyes but he had smiled and nodded as in tears both of his children flung their arms around their mother and thanked her over and over again. And if anyone had noticed that Daniel wasn't part of the conversation they had said nothing. And if Daniel had felt isolated as they all wept and hugged, he had said nothing.
Eventually Toby had leapt to his feet and said that he was going to miss his train if they didn’t get moving at which Rebecca had smiled and taken them both by the hand to the large garage where she had opened the door and showed them the two cars that were waiting for them. More tears followed, more laughter, more hugging and this time Daniel was slightly more animated as he joined them in exploring the interior, lifting the bonnet so he and Toby could examine the engine.
Eventually Toby and Sarah had left. Toby had decided it was too late to set off to Bristol and he was going to spend the night with Sarah in Leeds and leave the next morning. Laughing at their good fortune and grinning at the prospect of a night in the Student Union Bar with their new found wealth, Toby and Sarah had waved goodbye and set off down the long driveway. Rebecca had stayed in the doorway for a while, shivering slightly at the slight wind that had picked up and staring into the distance still able to feel the excitement of her children.
She had smiled, this was what she had expected from winning the lottery and she had finally had the moment, albeit several months late.
And the moment had continued when the following week she had invited Helen, Emma and their families to Sunday lunch. She had asked Annie to join them too and the afternoon had
come straight from her daydreams as her friends sat at the huge wooden table, drinking wine, laughing, chatting and putting the world to rights with the smell of roast beef filling the air and a feeling of happiness and goodwill filling every corner of the room.
Daniel hadn't joined them. He had suggested that he might play golf that day and Rebecca had agreed. Meeting her old friends with her new knowledge was something that she could handle better without Daniel being present and Daniel had no desire to be the object of everyone's contempt for the afternoon. When the afternoon had finished and everyone had finally gone, shouting their goodbyes as they drove away, Rebecca had flung open the kitchen doors and wandered into the courtyard with a glass of wine. She trailed her fingers through the mint and the basil and inhaled their aromas before lifting her face to examine the full moon rising in the sky. This was perfection.
Rebecca arrived back from Parklands, parking the 4X4 next to the Fiat and sat in the car for a moment before taking a deep breath and climbing out. Daniel was in the kitchen. He was staring out of the window, his hands thrust deeply into his pocket.
‘Hello.’
He turned in her direction.
‘I was waiting for you.’
Rebecca nodded. ‘Sorry, I just had so much to do, I had...’
She trailed off. For a long moment they just stared at each other, Daniel eventually breaking the silence.
‘Right, well. Okay then.’
He walked slowly into the hallway, Rebecca following him.
It had been after the Sunday lunch with Helen and Emma that she had asked him to leave. He had started to argue and then stopped. He started to plead and then stopped. In the end he had simply nodded. His shoulders had drooped and his face suddenly aged.
She had known all along that they couldn't survive the events of the last few months. But part of her, the part that still felt guilt when she thought of how badly she had behaved, decided that she ought to at least allow some time to pass. Give her battered emotions some time to recover. But it had made no difference.
‘I need to start again Daniel - you have to understand I can't forgive and I can't forget but I can start again and it has to be without you.’
He had given in without a fight.
Rebecca offered to sell the house and split what money was left but Daniel had refused. She offered to set him up in business somewhere and he refused. He wanted to walk away empty handed and she refused and it took several hours of talking before Daniel agreed to take one million pounds and the sale of their Darlington house. He had decided not to return to Darlington which annoyed Rebecca although she couldn't quite say why. She didn't ask where he planned on going, she found that she has very little interest. It was over.
His cases were packed and standing neatly by the front door and in silence he carried them out to the Mercedes and stacked them in the boot and on the back seat.
Putting in the last one he closed the door and turned in Rebecca's direction.
Rebecca bit her lip.
‘Daniel...’
He took a step towards her, a minute, hopeful step.
‘Thank you, Daniel.’
He stopped, nodded and turned back towards the car.
For a moment he stood staring at the driver's door, fiddling with the key in his hand and then turning he strode towards Rebecca, reaching out to wrap his arms around her and press his face into her hair.
‘I'm so sorry my darling, so very sorry.’
And then he was gone, the sound of his car wheels making their way down the driveway all that was left.
The air was still warm, pleasant, silent and Rebecca smiled. She decided that it was time for a coffee in the courtyard and turning around with a serene smile on her face she walked into her house and closed the door.
###
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Google Your Husband Back
Preview - Google Your Husband Back
When Kate’s husband announced that he was leaving her, she was only mildly surprised. He broke the news as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen and Kate was preoccupied with the large smudge of porridge she’d just noticed on her shoulder and the butter that was dribbling down her fingers. She’d just remembered that she was starting her new diet today, one that would shift the baby pouch still sitting on her midriff – and butter on her toast had not been part of the plan. In fact, there should be no toast at all, she was meant to start the day with half a grapefruit and some hot water with a slice of lemon. She looked at the toast, already half eaten and decided it was a shame to waste the rest. The diet could wait until tomorrow. As for the porridge, well the jumper could join the rest of Kate’s crusty tops in the washing machine. Porridge smeared shoulders seemed to be par for the course with a baby in the house.
‘Did you hear me Kate', asked Alex impatiently.
‘Yes, I heard. I thought it was next week?’
She wiped the runny butter from her fingers before deftly catching Millie’s cup as it flew towards the floor.
‘Next week?’
‘Yes, next week.’
She was confident that it was next week Alex was going away. She remembered because a few weeks before he’d been very grumpy, claiming she didn’t pay enough attention when he was talking about work and they’d had a brief but intense argument about just how much interest she should pay when he came home at the end of the day. Kate was of the opinion that having spent her day with a grouchy nine-month old baby, washing, cleaning, singing lullabies, playing with squeaky toys, washing some more and cleaning again - she deserved more than a re-run of Alex’s day. But she had accepted the rebuke, smiled apologetically at her husband and resolved to pay more attention in future. She had even taken to writing down snippets of information so she could have a quick read before he came home and remember to ask him how his meeting had gone or what his boss thought of his latest report.
So Kate was very confident that it was next week that Alex was going to spend four days in the North of England, looking at demographics showing why the population all seemed much happier living in the South of England.
Alex was staring at her and with a sigh Kate finished the toast, put the feeder cup back on Millie’s highchair and grabbed her cup of tea.
‘You said that you were going to Northumberland next week …Tuesday morning for a lunchtime start, meetings through until Thursday evening, round up Friday morning, lunch, arrival home Friday evening,’ she repeated parrot fashion.
Alex carried on staring.
‘You said,’ repeated Kate a little impatiently, ‘that you would definitely be back on the Friday evening but you would be away on the Saturday morning for…’ she paused. Actually she’d stopped listening at that point and wasn’t sure what Saturday had in store for her overworked husband. ‘Er, for something else. Anyway, it was Tuesday coming home Friday. I listened,’ she finished triumphantly.
There was a moment of silence. Millie was tipping her cup so that contents sprayed onto her hand and Kate was sipping her tea, watching Alex who stood in the doorway watching Kate.
‘Kate I – I - that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m leaving. I mean I’m actually leaving. You. I’m leaving you. Today, now. I’m… well I’m leaving.’
Kate stared at him.
‘What?’
He ran a hand through his hair, the floppy fringe that neither Kate nor gel had ever managed to control and she suddenly noticed how tired he looked. How absolu
tely drained of colour he was. She noticed how the groove between his eyebrows seemed to have deepened overnight. And she noticed the two large suitcases that stood by his feet. They were the suitcases they used when going on holiday, not the small one Alex always used when he had to spend a few days away with work.
‘What do you mean? Leaving to go where? Northumberland is next week. You said Northumberland was next week, I was listening!’
Did I Mention I Won The Lottery? Page 24
