An Unexpected Gift

by Lily Zante

  Caitlin turned around and leant against the worktop, folding her arms across her chest.

  “I like mine singed all over.”

  Ignoring the sausage saga, Kerrie continued. “But you said he and his wife weren’t so friendly to each other.”

  Caitlin remembered that day. Daniel and his wife had barely spoken to one another.

  “Maybe they had a tiff on that day Kerrie, who knows!”

  But a part of her did wonder what kept Daniel coming back and meeting with her and phoning her. Of course, there was that small matter about the kiss. Even now, she couldn’t be sure whether it had really happened or if it was just her imagination and wishful thinking. They had carried on as if nothing had happened. And it had been just a light peck. And she had been the one who had instigated it. She wouldn’t mention a word of that little episode to Kerrie. Nor that they were holding hands today. Their feelings for each other were difficult to define. She wasn’t sure what she wanted and it bothered her to be drawn towards him only to pull back when she remembered Marisa.

  “Kerrie,” said Caitlin slowly. She wondered whether to tell Kerrie about the silent phone calls. Thinking better of it, she decided not to and instead she said, “Let’s just leave this topic, it’s getting boring.” She was tired. It wasn’t even very late but it had been a long day. The phone calls were setting her on edge and she dreaded her phone ringing. She would finish her sausage and mash supper and then go to bed.

  “Okay, I won’t bring it up again. Not tonight anyway.” Kerrie knew when to shut up.

  She could see that Caitlin was starting to look tired and wan again. It wasn’t surprising.

  Getting over the attack wasn’t going to be instant. She would still have flashbacks of that awful night and Kerrie knew her friend hadn’t been sleeping too well. She wondered if Carl had started to harass her again. She saw Caitlin texting away and thought better than to ask her now. Maybe tomorrow. She got up and cleared the table, putting her dishes into the dishwasher whilst Caitlin stood by the oven waiting for her sausages to singe.

  “I bought some cheesecake for us. Thought it might cheer you up,” she said lightly to Caitlin.

  Caitlin looked up mid-texting, “Cheer me up? So you don’t want any?” With no sign of guilt on her face Kerrie helped herself to a slice of blueberry cheesecake and collapsed on a sofa in front of the TV.

  Caitlin was preoccupied with her phone. Daniel had texted back his goodnight and she replied. A few seconds later another text came through. “Do you want to meet up for a quick drink tomorrow?”

  She hesitated, not quite sure what to reply. It was obvious, she did want to meet him. She looked forward to seeing him. But she didn’t feel right seeing a married man and although they were just friends, she wondered why he would want to meet up with her again tomorrow when he had just seen her a few hours ago. She stared out of the window, her finger thumb poised on her phone, wondering what to reply when another text came through. “There is something I need to tell you.”

  Why didn’t you tell me today?

  She was curious about what he could possibly want to tell her so quickly after their last meeting. Or perhaps it was something he had wanted to tell her earlier but hadn’t followed through with. In either case, his text had her hooked. She was beginning to find it hard to fight her attraction to him. What confused her even more was why he would be even remotely interested in spending time with someone like her, when he was married to someone like Marisa?

  “Okay,” she replied, typing quickly before she changed her mind and made an excuse. Then she added, “Six o’clock, Jude's Wine bar, Holborn good 4u?”

  “Perfect. C u @ 6 tmrw”

  “Goodnight”

  “Goodnight Caitlin”

  She had a contented smile on her face and her eyes flashed at the thought of meeting Daniel tomorrow. But the smile was quickly wiped off as she removed her charred sausages from the oven.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Daniel was frantic with worry. His blue eyes darkened and the muscles on his face tightened.

  He tried Caitlin’s number over and over again but it always went to voicemail. This wasn’t like her. She was always on time. He didn’t like the sound of this. First the excrement, then the slashed tires and now no Caitlin. He knew Carl was mixed up in all this somehow. The thought of Summers made his stomach churn.

  He paced up and down outside the busy pavement. Kingsway was always a buzzing place, with constant traffic on the roads and a regular charge of people on the pavements. He was annoyed with himself for not having the numbers of any of Caitlin’s friends or family to call. Why would he?

  It was 6pm and he was waiting for her outside Jude’s winebar just as they had arranged last night. There was nobody he could contact to see if she was alright.

  He slammed the flip top of his phone down again. The excitement of meeting Caitlin had quickly turned to fear and worry. Now it was almost half past six and Daniel was at a loss for what to do.

  It was just as well that he had reported the slashed tires to the police yesterday. In the police report he had mentioned his concerns and his suspicions about Carl Summers being the culprit. He would call DCI Osborn. Something had happened to Caitlin and he needed to find her fast.

  “Hi Daniel!” a breathless and red-faced Caitlin tapped him on the arm from behind.

  He had been so fraught with worry in dialing her number that he hadn’t even seen or heard her approach. He turned sharply towards her, registered her face and then his features relaxed with relief. His muscles softened and he grabbed her, holding her close to him. “I’ve been worried sick about you!” he said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

  Caitlin looked at him with surprise. “What’s happened? What are you talking about?” she asked, as they faced each other. He still didn’t release his hold on her even though he saw that she was fine.

  She was here and she was in one piece. Nothing had happened to her. That was all that mattered.

  “What’s going on Daniel?” she repeated, a tinge of worry creeping into her voice. She noted his dark countenance and put it down to him having to wait so long. “Sorry I tried to phone but there was no signal. The Central line was stuck in the station for ages. We could barely breathe towards the end.” He closed his eyes in relief. The Central line was notorious for having many problems, especially during peak times.

  “Sorry,” she said again in a small voice.

  Daniel pinned her with his piercing blue eyes before letting out a huge sigh. “I thought something might have happened to you.”

  She was anxious to hear what it was that he needed to tell her. She looked at him apologetically. “Come on, let’s go in.”

  They sat at the same table they had sat on the last time they had met in this very place.

  The same plastic flower was on display in the same black stone vase. She ordered a glass of wine and he ordered a beer.

  Caitlin looked at him dreamily. We’ve got to stop meeting like this. Because each time I see you, it gets harder to stop thinking about you.

  He seemed caught up in his thoughts and sat quietly. She waited until the waitress bought their drinks before she said. “So what was it that you wanted to tell me?”

  He wondered, now that she was here, whether telling her about his suspicions that Carl was behind the dog excrement and damage to his car, was worth it. For all he knew, he might even be wrong and then he would worry her needlessly.

  Caitlin waited patiently. Now he had her full attention because he clearly had something to tell her but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Things between them were getting more familiar. Part of her wondered if this was what he wanted to discuss.

  “Daniel,” she said softly. “What’s the matter?” He put his hand around the bottle of beer, wiping the condensation off it with his thumb. His cool blue eyes examined hers. Last night he knew only one thing; that he wanted to see her again. He wanted to see her everyday if he could. An
d now that she was here, he didn’t want to talk about Carl and the attack or the police. He just wanted to spend time with her. But she needed answers. So he sat back in his chair and said, “I don’t want you to be afraid but I think there are some things you need to be aware of.”

  Caitlin felt anxious, wondering what bad news he was going to give her. Had the police been unable to pin anything on Carl?

  Daniel took a swig of his beer before carrying on. “Yesterday, someone pushed dog excrement through my letterbox.”

  Caitlin’s face visibly crumpled in disgust. Daniel continued, “They also slashed all the tires on my car.”

  “No!” said Caitlin in disgust. “I’m sorry Daniel. Who would do such a thing?” She stared at his calm face. If he was perturbed by these events, he was handling it very well. Thoughts were flying fast and furious through Caitlin’s head. Who would target Daniel and his wife in such a way?

  But he hadn’t finished yet. “At first I thought it might be my ex-wife,” he waited for this piece of news to sink in. And as soon as he said it, he knew that it would have an impact on Caitlin, “but now I’m not so sure that Marisa is behind these, these…..crimes.”

  His words hit so unexpectedly that for a moment Caitlin wasn’t sure if she heard right.

  “Your ex-wife?” She asked in amazement. She was still holding her glass of wine in mid-air.

  Daniel nodded his head.

  Caitlin placed her wine glass down on the table, her hand shaking a little. “What happened?” She wondered if she should instead have said “I’m sorry,” but from his smooth exterior he didn’t seem to be too upset by it. She listened to him patiently, not daring to interrupt. And as he spoke, everything he said more or less tied in with how he had been acting with her whenever he met her. He rarely mentioned his wife. Even when they spoke about the attack and Carl, he never mentioned Marisa or what her feelings had been when he had been attacked. And remembering the day she had visited him at home, suddenly it all fell into place.

  He spoke quickly, as if reciting the details which no longer held any special place in his heart. It was as though he wanted to tell his story once and never speak of it again.

  “So you see, when she finally left the house, only this last week, and I found the feces and the car damaged, I immediately thought it might be her. But I know, despite all her faults, Marisa isn’t the type of person to go to such great lengths. Besides, towards the end we had both fallen out of love with each other. She wants nothing more to do with me and vice versa. The Marisa I know wouldn’t waste her time and energy defacing anything that I own. And she wouldn’t have the wherewithal to get anyone else to do this for her either. I know I’m not painting her in too good a light, but there you have it.”

  Caitlin stared back at him in silence. It was all slowly starting to make sense to her now. Daniel’s behavior. All this time, on the few occasions she had met up with him, she wondered what his wife would think. And the reality of it was that Daniel was as lonely as she was.

  He liked her company and he had sought her out.

  She didn’t know what to say to him. Yet she could see by the look on his face that he was evaluating her response. Phew, that’s a relief to know, didn’t seem to cut it right now. Now that she knew he was single again, once the whole court case with Carl was out of the way, maybe they could find a way of getting together. This thought bought her some sense of relief.

  Then she understood why he had been so worried when she hadn’t turned up on time today. “You thought Carl had done something to me?” she asked him, shifting uncomfortably in her chair.

  “Yes. When you showed up late just now, I thought he might have done something stupid.”

  She flicked the loose strands of hair that had fallen onto her face back behind her ears. She couldn’t find the right response to give him about his separation from Marisa, even though she had the distinct feeling that what she thought about it mattered to him. “I can’t believe the police still haven’t found any evidence to tie him to the attack yet.”

  “I’ve asked a friend of mine to get the word out to Summers to keep away from you.”

  Caitlin caught her breath. He had been doing things in the background to ensure her safety?

  “Who do you know?”

  “A friend. I called in a favor. Someone high up in rank. He’ll take care of it.”

  “He’s not going to do anything dodgy is he? Or get you or himself in trouble Daniel?”

  “No Caitlin, nothing like that.” He moved forward and placed his elbow on the table. Caitlin had her fingers around the base of the wine glass and Daniel reached out and stroked her fingers. She looked up at him and entwined her fingers in his. His blue Paul Newman eyes were fixed on her, keeping her riveted in her chair so that all she could do was sit there and gaze back at him.

  They sat in silence for a few minutes. The undefined parameters of their friendship were shifting again. She thought that now might be as good a time as any to tell him about the silent phone calls. “He’s been phoning me again,” she began. His ears perked up at this.

  “He calls, I’m certain it’s Carl. And when I answer, there’s silence. But I know he’s there. Then I hang up.”

  “How many times?”

  “About four or five.”

  “When did this start up again Caitlin?”

  “A few days ago.”

  This was what Daniel had been worried about, that Summers would be up to something. No doubt he knew that Ryedon had been charged. Summers wasn’t a stupid man, he would also know, Daniel was sure of it, that the police were onto him and knew that Summers was behind the attack on Caitlin. There would be no reason for him to lie down and take it all. Men like Summers fought back when provoked into a corner. It was only going to be a matter of time before the police found something on Summers, but he wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

  This was what worried Daniel the most. He also must have thought that Daniel and Caitlin were an item, if he had gone to the bother of damaging Daniel’s property. Which meant that at some point he had followed Daniel home. If the focus of his anger was Daniel, that would be alright. But this is what Daniel feared the most. The main object of Summers’ anger was Caitlin and what he had done to Daniel was only minor damage to property. It was stuff that didn’t really matter.

  What mattered to Daniel now was Caitlin and he was fearful for her life.

  “It’s just as well that I got my contact to have a few words with him. If the calls carry on, you let me know, Caitlin.”

  She nodded her head but wondered what on earth Daniel could possibly do about them.

  They finished their drinks and Daniel was mindful that Caitlin had to get home on time again.

  “It’s getting late again Caitlin.”

  “And it’s a Friday,” she responded swiftly. There was no reason to rush back home. He didn’t have Marisa at home. He was single, she was single.

  He looked at her then boldly asked, “So do you want to maybe grab something to eat?”

  Surely he couldn’t read her thoughts? “Would that be like a date then Daniel?” she asked, her soft brown eyes meeting his piercing blue ones.

  He didn’t have to think long. “Maybe we could spend the evening not talking about Summers or the attack or any other unpleasant things, huh?”

  This was sweet music to Caitlin’s ears. “Sounds good to me,” she replied.

  They quickly got their coats and headed out of the winebar, stopping outside it to decide where to go next. Caitlin looked at Daniel, so very tall and smart dressed up in his business suit. She tilted her head up to look at him. “How about you tell me what you do for a living and stuff like that then?”

  Smiling he said, “Like a proper date then?”

  The thought filled her with eager anticipation. Caitlin’s smile lifted upwards and outwards.

  Looking down at her he wanted to take her in his arms. He bent down and suddenly kissed her lightly across her ch
eek. As he pulled his head back she moved in towards him, tucking her head in under his chin and nestling against his warm chest. “Thank you Daniel,” she whispered lightly.

  “Thank you for what?” he asked.

  “For always being there,” she said.

  He cupped her chin gently with his hand and pulled it upwards, lifting her lips until they met his. And then he kissed her, gently at first but the long held longing gave way to passion that had been suppressed and was finally breaking free. They kissed intensely, unable to break away nor wanting to. And when at last they pulled away, it was with the knowledge that this was only the beginning. He wanted more, as did she, but they knew it could and would wait.

  They walked briskly, keeping up with the crowds that walked fast past them in both directions. “Where are we going Daniel?”

  “Dunno,” he said simply as they linked arms and walked down Kingsway, heading towards Covent Garden which was full of lots of restaurants.

  Feeling the cold night air hitting her face, Caitlin felt suddenly alive and happy again.

  “There’s a nice little French bistro opposite the Royal Opera House that I’ve never quite managed to go to yet.”

  “Then you shall go to that French Bistro tonight,” said Daniel in a mock fairy godmother voice.

  They stood at the corner of Kingsway, behind a huge crowd waiting for the traffic lights to change. The loud roar of vehicles charged past them then slowed down abruptly as the lights changed. Daniel and Caitlin headed down Queen Anne Street when Caitlin suddenly remembered that she needed to make a phone call.

  “I forgot. I need to call Kerrie and tell her I’ll be late.” She hit the speed dial and held the phone to her ear as she and Daniel walked quickly down the narrow road, caught up in the current of people all walking the same way, heading towards Covent Garden.

  As they crossed over again, Daniel glanced over his shoulder to check the oncoming cars while Caitlin was still busy on the phone.

  “I’ll tell you later,” she hissed. Kerrie could be so annoying. Not that Caitlin blamed her on this occasion. Although she hadn’t said it in so many words, she had managed to indicate, using their code language that she was out with Daniel for a meal. She knew Kerrie would be waiting up for her whatever time she got home.