‘I’m sorry,’ I muttered. ‘I should not have said that. Sorry.’ I hurried across the room, my cheeks burning, ignoring Ruby calling my name. Dashing into the staff toilets, I locked myself in one of the two cubicles and slumped down on the seat with my head in my hands as anguished sobs shook my body.
I flushed my soggy tissues down the toilet and unlocked the door, reluctantly peering at my reflection in the mirror. What a sight! I grabbed some more loo roll from the cubicle and wet it, dabbing at my puffy eyes.
Making my way to the back of the building, I wandered around the gardens until I found Rhys near the bottom, emptying a sack of shingle round the base of a water feature.
As though aware of being watched, he turned round and smiled. ‘Hi, you.’
‘That’s looking good,’ I said.
‘It’s taken me all morning to get the damn thing to work, but I’m pleased with it.’ He tossed the empty sack and his gloves towards the base of his wheelbarrow and walked towards me. ‘I wasn’t sure if you’d still be speaking to me today.’
My heart raced as he took hold of both of my hands in his and fixed his eyes on mine. ‘I’m not speaking to Izzy,’ I said. ‘She’s definitely off my Christmas card list.’
Rhys laughed. ‘Somehow I suspect she was never on it in the first place.’
‘She wasn’t ill, was she?’
He shook his head. ‘The enormous takeaway pizza she rammed down her neck was a bit of a giveaway.’
I let go of his hands. ‘She ordered pizza? So why didn’t you come home?’
He wrinkled his nose. ‘I’d had a few drinks so I couldn’t drive.’
Rhys reached for my hands again but I snatched them away. ‘Thanks a lot. So I lay awake all night thinking Tony might…’ Damn! I lowered my eyes.
‘Tony? Has he been to the flat?’
I shook my head. ‘I had to go into town and I bumped into Maria. I didn’t plan to before you say anything about me interfering. I came out of Bay Books and she happened to be leaving work at the same time. We exchanged unpleasantries then Tony appeared, stirring things up.’
‘Between you and Maria?’
I lowered my eyes again.
‘Callie?’ Rhys gently lifted my chin so I had to make eye contact. ‘Complete honesty, remember?’
My shoulders sagged. ‘He made some comment about you and I splitting up and, when I said we hadn’t, he said I obviously liked the unfaithful type because he’d seen you looking cosy with another woman who matched Izzy’s description.’
Rhys hugged me, but frustration prevented me from hugging him back. After a moment, he let me go and tugged on my hand. ‘Come with me.’
Reluctantly, I followed him into his tool shed. He cleared some rubble sacks off an old wooden chair so I could sit down, then crouched by my side. ‘Start from the beginning.’
‘You didn’t believe him, did you?’ Rhys asked when I’d explained in full. ‘Callie?’
‘No, but I don’t trust Izzy. Can’t you see what she’s doing? Every time we’re together, she’s on the phone to you and you go running. I get that you have responsibilities to Megan, but you owe Izzy nothing.’
Rhys was silent and my heart thumped. I’d said too much and pushed him too far. He couldn’t shut Izzy out completely, but surely he could stand up to her from time to time instead of pandering to her every whim. Eventually he sighed. ‘You’re right. I’ll speak to her about it. I promise.’
‘Thank you. I’m not trying to be awkward about—’
‘I know.’ He kissed my hand. ‘It’s Izzy who’s being awkward. I’ll sort it.’
Ruffling his hair, I sighed. ‘Maybe you could leave it until after Christmas, eh? Knowing how she operates, I wouldn’t put it past her to cancel your Christmas morning with Megan if you say anything before then.’
He stood up and gently pulled me to my feet and kissed me. My heart raced at his touch, but my stomach rolled as though I was on a big dipper and I had a horrible feeling that this was far from over.
35
Shrieks of laughter from the residents’ lounge drew me out of the team leaders’ office on Friday afternoon. Small groups were set up around the lounge working on different tasks, some slotting the name cards I’d written into pinecones and others working on what looked like wedding favours. Another group including Iris and Ruby were creating buttonholes at the main table, surrounded by foliage, berries, and flowers. Bottles of champagne and sherry had been opened and, judging by the red cheeks and the volume of chatter, I suspected the bottles had already made several rounds.
‘Callie, darling!’ Ruby cried, waving me over. ‘Look what I’ve been making.’ She held up a bunch of mistletoe and berries tied together with red gingham ribbon.
‘Very beautiful.’
‘May I?’ she asked, waving it in front of me.
‘Of course.’ I bent forward so she could give me a kiss on the cheek.
‘Are you excited?’ I asked Iris.
‘Oh, my dear, I’m beside myself. When I married Walter, it was so different. We both wore our Sunday best and we had a few sandwiches and a pork pie in the church hall with family and a few close friends. It was how it was done back then.’ She swept her arm round the room taking in the various creative groups. ‘I might have gone a bit over the top but William never married and I never had the big party so we thought, what the heck, let’s splurge. We don’t know how long we have left so let’s spend our money and enjoy ourselves.’
‘You do right, Iris. Can’t take it with you when you’re gone, can you?’
I left them to it and made my way back to the office. I’d only been in there about ten minutes when there was a light tap on the open door. I looked up expecting either a resident or one of my colleagues but did a double-take when I saw Rhys, brow furrowed, looking more anxious than I’d ever seen him. Oh crap. Izzy? Megan? Both?
‘I can come back later if you’re busy,’ he said.
‘No. Come in. Shut the door. I’m guessing this isn’t a social call.’
Rhys sat down on the other side of the desk. ‘I’m really sorry to do this, especially so close to Christmas.’
My breath caught in my throat and tears stung in my eyes. Oh my God! He was going to dump me. At work. On Christmas Eve’s Eve. No!
‘Bad news?’ I asked. ‘Obviously it’s bad news with an expression like that.’
He nodded. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t want to do this. Not yet, anyway. I thought maybe after Christmas but…’ He rubbed the back of his neck as though he was building up to delivering a crushing blow.
Stay strong. Don’t cry. Don’t crumble.
‘… but they’ve already booked the table and there’s no stopping my dad when he’s made his mind up. I could probably tell them you’re ill or you’ve been called into work if you want to give it a miss, but I’m going to have to go myself which screws up our plans yet again.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Dinner with my parents. Tonight.’
‘What?’ I wasn’t dumped? I felt dizzy with relief as I slumped back in the chair.
‘They’re coming over to Whitsborough Bay to drop off presents and take us out for dinner. Mum mentioned the idea a couple of weeks ago, but I didn’t realise it was a definite arrangement. Apparently it was. As I said, I can probably wangle you a get-out-of-jail-free card, although I could do with you by my side to…’ He stopped and frowned. ‘Why are you crying?’
I put my hands up to my cheeks and wiped at my tears.
‘I know the prospect of dinner with my dad isn’t the stuff of dreams, but I wasn’t expecting tears.’
‘I thought you were going to dump me,’ I whispered.
‘Why would I do something stupid like that?’ He stood up and came round to my side of the desk so that he could hug me. ‘Is this because of Izzy?’
‘I don’t know. Probably.’
‘I’m not about to dump you and if I was, which I’m not, I certainly wouldn�
��t do it at work two days before Christmas. What do you take me for? I’d do it by text on Christmas Day instead.’
I laughed, sending snot bubbles down my nose and onto his overalls.
‘I have to say, Cal, you’ve never looked sexier, and I think I’m rocking the snot-daubed gardener look.’ I giggled again as I grabbed a tissue from the box on the desk, wiped him down, and blew my nose.
‘Shall I tell Mum it’ll just be me?’ Rhys asked when we’d both stopped laughing.
‘No. I’ll be there to hold your hand, although I can’t promise I’ll be able to hold my tongue if he has a go at you again. Or my job. Or Ruby.’
‘Hopefully he’ll be on his best behaviour. At least he can’t throw us out of the restaurant. He’ll probably try, though.’
When Rhys left, I sat back in the chair and thought about Ruby’s wish to see her son. Would the meal be a good time to broach the subject again? I’d asked Ruby about the letter a couple of days ago but she said she’d decided to leave it until the New Year, not wanting Ed to add an accusation of ruining Christmas to his list of reasons to hate her. Could I do the legwork for her instead? Was I brave enough?
I glanced over at a cream envelope resting in front of the mailing tray to my right. I’d already done enough interfering. Practising writing the place cards had turned into writing ‘Ruby loves Teddy’, which had turned into writing a letter to Teddy telling him I was a friend of Ruby’s, that she was in good health and, if he was interested in knowing more about her, he should get in touch. It was short and factual, with no mention of Ed and no suggestion that Ruby still loved him, although maybe he’d pick that up if he read between the lines. I’d addressed it and placed a stamp on the envelope, but I’d chickened out of posting it. For the past couple of days, it had been resting by the mailing tray with a bright orange Post-it note stuck to it stating: DO NOT POST! I wanted to post it. I really did. But Ruby had made me promise not to make contact and I was still having the debate as to whether she really, truly, genuinely one hundred per cent meant that.
‘Sidney’s is that posh place on Ocean Ravine, yeah?’ I asked Rhys as I pushed hangers back and forth on the rail in my wardrobe after work.
‘Yes. I’m looking at the menu now. What’s seared fois gras with a Cabernet balsamic berry reduction?’
‘Buggered if I know. I hope they’ve got something normal on the menu like gammon and chips or we might be visiting the kebab shop on the way home.’ I tutted loudly. ‘I know this sounds like such a girly thing to say, but I genuinely have nothing to wear, or rather nothing suitable for somewhere posh like Sidney’s.’
Rhys wrapped his arms round me from behind and kissed my neck. ‘You look amazing in whatever you wear. Or in nothing at all.’ He pulled open the press-studs on my tabard and slipped his hand inside, brushing it over the lace on my bra.
I moaned softly as my body immediately responded to his touch. ‘What time do we need to meet them?’
‘Table’s booked for eight, and it’s only six now. Plenty of time to show you how sorry I am for what happened on Tuesday.’
‘It’ll take a pretty big apology.’
‘I think we can safely say it’s pretty big,’ Rhys said, laughing.
Amazing as it was, a spot of hot, frantic sex with Rhys had not resolved my wardrobe crisis. He packed me off to the shower telling me he had an idea but needed to go out for a bit. When I reappeared later, wrapped in a towel, Rhys was back and sitting on the bed with a carrier bag in front of him.
‘I might be able to solve your wardrobe crisis but it means getting some of your Christmas gifts early. Would you like them?’
I grinned. ‘If that’s okay with you.’
‘If it makes you happy, it’s more than okay with me.’ He handed me a gift and grimaced. ‘I can handle the most delicate of plants but give me some paper and Sellotape and, well, you can see for yourself.’ The paper was crumpled, there were rips in it, and scrunched up bits of Sellotape barely held the edges together.
‘No wonder you wanted me to wrap Megan’s presents for you.’
It was pointless me delicately peeling back the Sellotape so I ripped the paper open and removed the gift. ‘Oh, wow! It’s gorgeous.’ I held up a short, flared navy-blue dress covered in red hearts.
‘I know you don’t wear many dresses but I thought it was really you.’
‘It is. I love it. Thank you.’
‘That’s not all.’ He handed me a smaller yet equally battered package and a soft red fitted cardigan tumbled out.
‘It’s a perfect match,’ I said, holding the cardigan against the dress.
‘I’d like to take credit but the computer suggested they matched. I chose this one myself, though.’
He handed me a much smaller package this time. Inside was a glass heart-shaped necklace on a leather thong. The red heart seemed to have threads of silver and gold running through it. Silently, Rhys took it from me and fastened it around my neck. I looked down and gently stroked the glass.
‘I gave you my heart shortly after we met and it’s yours forever, but I’ve let you down lately and made you doubt how important you are to me. If you ever doubt me again, just look at this and know that my heart is – and always will be – yours.’
I didn’t care about annoying Ed by being late again as I dropped my towel and, this time, made love to Rhys slowly and tenderly. That tiny weeny seed of doubt that Tony had planted evaporated. Rhys loved me and only me and I wouldn’t let either of our exes do anything to jeopardise that.
36
‘Your dad is going to be so pissed off with us,’ I whispered, gripping onto Rhys’s hand as we walked towards Sidney’s, fifteen minutes late.
‘When isn’t my dad pissed off?’ he answered. ‘If I could turn back time, I wouldn’t change a thing.’ He stopped and kissed me so slowly and gently that my legs felt like they were made of liquid and I could melt into a pool right there on the pavement. I’d never felt so close to him as I had done in the last few hours, as though our relationship had just stepped up to a new level.
‘We’d better get inside,’ I said, even though I’d happily have climbed back into his van and headed home.
‘Whatever he says or does, remember that I take after Mum, not him.’
Sidney’s was small, with seating for about thirty diners. It was contemporary with white walls and lots of chrome. White flowers and swathes of ivy softened what could have been a clinical feel. The minimal acknowledgement to Christmas came from white fairy lights strung across the wooden beams on the ceiling and across a driftwood tree in the corner. Whoever made the design decisions clearly wasn’t a fan of colour.
A waiter smiled in welcome, but we could already see Ed and Jenny at a table for four. Jenny beamed at us and stood up ready for hugs, but Ed remained seated. He looked at his watch and raised his eyebrows. It was going to be a fun evening.
‘So good to see you both,’ Jenny gushed, hugging Rhys then me.
‘Timekeeping impeccable as always,’ Ed said.
‘Great to see you too,’ Rhys replied, defiantly holding out his hand to Ed.
For a heart-stopping moment, I thought Ed was going to refuse to shake it. I actually think he might have done if Jenny hadn’t cleared her throat in a way that clearly meant, ‘Shake your son’s hand or I will stab you with my salad fork, you wanker.’ Or at least I’d like to think that’s what it meant.
Our waiter held my chair out for me and I sat down gratefully, a sudden attack of nerves making me feel quite nauseous.
Ed seemed to remember his manners and acknowledged me with a stiff smile. ‘You look lovely this evening, Callie.’
‘Thank you. My outfit’s an early Christmas present from Rhys. He’s got brilliant taste.’
Ed simply raised his eyebrows. Pig.
‘That necklace is beautiful,’ Jenny said. ‘Is that from Rhys too? I’d love one like that myself.’
‘I bought you a ruby necklace on a gold chain,’ Ed said.
‘Why would you want something plastic on a piece of string instead?’
Callie nil: Ed two.
I felt my nails digging into my clenched fists and didn’t dare look at Rhys. Thankfully the waiter reappeared with menus and asked if we wanted any drinks. Yes. Wine. Lots of it! I hadn’t planned on drinking anything but I wasn’t sure I could face the evening without alcohol so gratefully accepted Jenny’s suggestion that we share a bottle of white.
The problem with having a bottle of wine in one of those posh silver ice buckets is that, every time a waiter passes, they top up your drink and you have no way of keeping track of how much you’ve had. At some point during our main course, I realised that we were on our second bottle and that I’d probably had the lion’s share of the first one because I was suddenly very, very drunk. And being drunk made me even more outspoken than normal, which meant that I couldn’t politely ignore any more of Ed’s thinly veiled insults.
‘A Christmas Eve wedding?’ Jenny said after I’d told her about Iris and William’s wedding the following day. ‘How romantic.’
‘Bloody inconvenient if you ask me,’ Ed said, shovelling a large chunk of rare steak into his mouth.
‘I didn’t ask you.’
Rhys squeezed my thigh under the table, as though to say, ‘leave it’.
‘I beg your pardon.’ Ed flashed his eyes at me.
Rhys squeezed my thigh again, a little harder this time, but I couldn’t help myself. ‘You said, “bloody inconvenient if you ask me,” and I said, “I didn’t ask you”. A wonderful lady who I care very much about is getting married tomorrow and I’m sure that the friends and family who care about her as much as I do see it as a double celebration instead of an inconvenience.’ Oh my goodness. I couldn’t seem to stop the words spilling out. ‘You’re not invited so it’s not inconveniencing you in any way, so why did you feel the need to share your unwelcome opinion?’
Making Wishes at Bay View Page 18
