In Focus (2009) (12 page)

She’d need to spend her lunch break flat hunting for herself and Ghita again. She’d tried several letting agencies now, with no success. It reminded her of last time, how long she’d looked before she found their current flats.

Surely if she kept looking, wasn’t too fussy, she’d find somewhere they could afford? Even if they had to share a flat at first.

Seven

Beth rang her mother at home early on Saturday morning, and to her astonishment, Nat picked up the call.

‘Why are you—?’ No, she had no right to ask that. She compromised with, ‘Is Mum all right?’

‘She is now, but she had a bit of bother last night.’ His voice went faint as he spoke to someone nearby, but Beth could make out the words. ‘No, Linda, she needs to know.’

‘What do I need to know?’ she demanded.

‘Your mother was mugged yesterday lunchtime in the public car park on her way back to the office. She wasn’t hurt physically, but it was all a bit of a shock. He got her handbag and keys, so I stayed in the spare bedroom last night. We’re having all the locks changed today and some window locks installed.’

‘I’ll come straight round.’

‘There’s no need. I have everything in hand. Here she is.’

A moment later her mother came on. ‘I’m fine, Beth, truly I am. I just got knocked over, not bashed. It was a bit of a shock, though, and it’s a nuisance having to cancel the credit card. I’m going to have to get a new driving licence, too.’

‘I want to come and see you, make sure you’re all right. You can stay with me if you’re nervous of being on your own.’

‘I’ll be just fine, especially after the locks are changed. No one’s going to drive me out of my home.’ Her voice softened. ‘Anyway, Nat’s been wonderful.’

It occurred to Beth suddenly that this incident might bring Linda and her employer together. She’d suspected for a while that Nat was fond of her mother, but her mother kept saying when pressed that she was too settled in her ways to change them for a man. Which was ridiculous when Linda looked ten years younger than her age and was in better health these days than she had been thirty years ago. ‘Well, if you’re sure you’re all right . . .’

‘Of course I am.’

‘Phone if I can do anything.’

‘Yes, darling. Oh, just a minute. How did your date go?’

‘Fine.’

‘Are you seeing him again?’

‘I doubt it.’

‘Oh, Beth, what went wrong this time? You keep pushing men away and you’re too young to stay single.’

‘Listen who’s talking. You’ve been pushing Nat away for ages.’

There was dead silence, then, ‘I have to go now. Bye.’

Linda slammed the phone down and glared at it.

‘What did she say to upset you?’

She looked at Nat and blushed. It was one thing to keep him at arm’s length in the office, but here in her home, where the fringe of silver hair round his bald patch was sticking up at all angles and he was barefoot, with his shirt open down the front showing a body that didn’t have a beer belly and was still pretty good for a man of his age, well, everything felt different. This was just too intimate.

She saw Nat look at her with eyes narrowed. ‘It was nothing,’ she insisted.

His wry expression said he didn’t believe that.

‘How about some breakfast?’ she asked to forestall any more questions.

He grinned. ‘You know I’m always ready for a good meal.’

‘Yes, and you never seem to put on an extra inch, whatever you eat, which is so unfair. Bacon and eggs do you?’

‘Bring them on. And how about a bowl of cereal and a few pieces of toast as well?’

He followed her into the kitchen, sitting at the breakfast bar, his presence so marked she got flustered and cut her finger when she was dealing with the bacon.

‘Here. Let me.’ He took the knife out of her hand. ‘The mugging upset you more than you’re admitting, Linda.’

And heaven help her, she blushed again. ‘It’s not that. Beth – um, reminded me of something.’

He looked at her shrewdly. ‘You always get that expression on your face when you’re telling fibs, even to someone on the phone.’ He put one finger on her lips. ‘Shh. If you don’t want to tell me, that’s all right, but don’t lie to me, Linda. We’ve been friends too long for that, don’t you think?’

She nodded, feeling her cheeks heating up even more, and went back to the cooking. How was she to stay calm with Nat there all day supervising the installation of the new locks? It was easier to keep her distance at the office, much easier, but here he was so large and male that he made her little house look too frilly and fussy, made her feel . . . soft and feminine.

It had been comforting to have him there during the night, and she was enjoying making breakfast for him, having someone to talk to.

Life was so complicated – or did people just make it complicated? Should she simply accept that he was here and enjoy his company? She did enjoy it, very much.

Edward went to play golf on the Sunday morning, but kept messing up even the simplest of shots.

‘You’re not on form today. Got woman trouble?’ his regular partner asked with a grin.

‘No.’ He sliced the next shot into some bushes.

‘She must be rather special to put
you
off your game.’

‘I’ve got a lot on my mind.’ Edward took a great deal of care with his next few shots, but his friend’s words had hit home. After spending a few hours with her, he had hoped Beth might become special. Well, he’d been attracted the very first time he met her, who knew why? He certainly didn’t understand it. But as she was the first woman who’d affected him like that for years, it seemed stupid not to . . . to follow up.

She’d assured him that the need for her to speak to Pete had cropped up
after
they’d agreed to go out for a meal. Why hadn’t he believed her at the time? Why had he got so angry? He pictured her face, the direct way she looked at the world, and smiled involuntarily. She didn’t seem like a liar.

Why would she need to see his cousin so urgently, though? She’d said it was personal, not business. What personal connection could she possibly have with Pete? His cousin had many faults, but Edward was pretty sure Pete hadn’t messed around with other women since he got married. He’d seen him knocking back come-ons more than once, usually with a wry remark about being an old married man. The truth was, Pete was married to his career, was very ambitious and loved being a celebrity. He was scornful of celebrities who thrived on scandals.

For once, Edward was glad when the golf round ended. He excused himself from lunching with his friends, sat in his car tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, then gave in to temptation and drove round to Beth’s. He owed her an apology and after that they’d see.

But she wasn’t at home. Or if she was, she didn’t answer the doorbell.

Had she gone out with another man? It was no business of his if she had, but still, he hoped she hadn’t.

Beth went into work on the Sunday morning, because you could get a lot done when there was no one around and no phones were ringing. She tried to settle to checking the accounts but her thoughts kept coming back to what her daughter had said.

Had her ex really not replied to Jo’s emails? It seemed out of character. Shane had been as upset as she was when their daughter ran away. Their shared anxiety had taken most of the animosity out of their relationship, though it was obvious his new wife had resented them being friendly again.

Perhaps the emails had gone astray. Yes, that must be it. Only . . . Jo had said she’d sent three emails and that they’d been marked as read. Next time she saw Jo, she’d suggest giving Shane another chance and would offer to act as intermediary. A personal approach was so much better than an email.

When Beth got home she found a message on her answering machine. She looked at the blinking light and wondered whether to bother listening to it now. She didn’t want anything to spoil her calm, satisfied mood after several hours of productive work.

It was half-past two but felt later. She was going to clean the flat, make a proper meal, then have an early night and read in bed.

She walked past the phone then sighed and went back to listen to the message. If she didn’t know what it was about, she’d only worry that it might be her mother or some crisis connected with work.

‘Beth, it’s me, Edward. I came round just before lunch, but you weren’t in. I wanted to apologize for being so suspicious on Friday night. I really enjoyed our time together. I’m not going out today, so please ring me.’

She was surprised by that, she had to admit. From what Edward had said in his message, the coolness which had ended their evening together had upset him. Well, it had upset her, too. But if she rang him, he’d invite her out again, and who knew where that might lead? Did she want a relationship with anyone? Did she have enough spare energy to cope with that sort of thing? No, she didn’t. She had enough on her plate with Jo and little Mikey at the moment, not to mention work.

An hour later, after cleaning her bathroom and kitchen in a furious burst of activity, she sat down and tried to relax. But she couldn’t banish Edward from her mind or persuade herself that she didn’t want to speak to him. Putting down her cup of herbal tea, she sighed and picked up the phone.

‘Hello?’

He sounded so wary she almost put it down again then told herself not to be such a coward. ‘Edward?’

His voice grew instantly warmer. ‘Beth. I’m so glad you rang.’

‘You – um, left a message.’

‘I wanted to apologize for being so suspicious on Friday.’

‘I don’t blame you, and if it wasn’t important, I’d not have dreamed of presuming on our friendship by asking you. But I couldn’t find any other way to contact your cousin except by a fan email address, and this is too important for that.’

‘You still can’t tell me what it’s about?’

She was tempted. Very. But no, this was for Pete’s ears alone. ‘I’m sorry. It’s not my secret, you see.’

‘All right. What have you been doing today? Something nice?’

‘Working.’

‘On a Sunday?’

‘And cleaning my flat.’

‘Busman’s holiday.’

He still thought she was a cleaner, she realized, but as she opened her mouth to say she’d been working at the office, he spoke.

‘When can I see you again, Beth?’

She hesitated. ‘I don’t know.’

‘I really enjoyed our time together. Didn’t you? Until I spoiled it, that is.’

Generous of him to take all the blame. And heaven help her, she couldn’t tell him that she hadn’t enjoyed herself, because she did want to see him again. ‘So did I.’

‘Let’s go out on Thursday.’

‘Look, I do want to see you again, but I’ve got a couple of crises with my family at the moment and I really need to sort those out before I do anything else. Can we wait a couple of weeks and then . . . we can do something together?’

Silence.

She hardly dared to breathe, worrying he’d give up on her after such a lukewarm response. ‘Is that all right with you, Edward?’

‘You’re not trying to let me down easily? If you don’t want to go out with me, tell me straight out.’

‘I’m telling you the absolute truth. Look, I can tell you about one of the things that’s come up. It’s my daughter. I’ve not seen her for five years, ever since she ran away as a teenager, except for a few emails to let me know she’s alive. And now she’s back in my life again. We met for the first time in years. And she has a son.’

His voice softened. ‘That
is
a major change. Are you happy about it?’

‘Yes, over the moon.’ She laughed softly. ‘You may not want to date a grandmother, though.’

He echoed her laughter, real amusement in his voice. ‘I never have before, but there’s always a first time. Two weeks?’

‘Give or take. I’ll ring you.’

‘Promise.’

‘I promise.’

As she put the phone down she smiled. She really liked Edward, had enjoyed his company very much. Well, they were both rather quiet, private people, she’d guess. He sounded tired of the hectic life of being Pete Newbury’s manager.

Why she’d confided in him about Jo today, she couldn’t work out, though. That wasn’t at all like her. But he’d seemed to understand how important getting to know her daughter again was to her. And her grandson. She smiled. She had a grandson!

The following day, Beth went into the office early to make sure the week got off to a good start. At half past nine she went out to reception.

‘No calls till I tell you, Sandy. I’ve got something important to sort out.’

She found the piece of paper with Pete Newbury’s office number on it and took a minute to steady herself before ringing the number.

A bright young voice answered her. ‘Pete Newbury’s office. How may I help you?’

‘Could I speak to Pete, please?’

‘Who’s speaking?’

‘My name’s Beth Harding. Pete doesn’t know me, but I have some rather important information about his – um, his childhood.’

‘Could you give me more details?’

‘I’m afraid not. It’s personal.’

‘Mr Newbury is a very busy man and he can’t answer every query. That’s why I’m here. I’d be very happy to help you if you’ll tell me what it’s about.’

‘I can’t. It’s extremely personal and private. Believe me, he won’t want anyone else to know this.’

There was silence at the other end then the bright young voice became sharper.

‘How did you get this number, Ms Harding? It isn’t publicly available.’

Beth didn’t want to involve Edward. ‘A mutual friend gave it to me.’

‘I must ask you not to pass it on to anyone else. I’ll give you the number for the PR firm that’s handling our calls. Perhaps you’ll be able to tell them what this is about. Do you have something to write with?’