Take a Chance on Me (21 page)

She picked up her wine glass. Her hand trembled. Wine spilt on to her table. Charlie watched the blood-red stain spread out in front of her and wondered if she really was up to the challenge.

‘
I
don't believe it
,' said Mercedes, stuffing a chocolate biscuit into her mouth with relish. She licked her fingers. Charlie, sat on the stool in her friend's kitchen, was adamant. She had raced around with the news, keen to see Mercedes' reaction and unable to wait for her shift at the hospital to divulge it.

‘It's true. Gordon's car was still parked outside when I left today, and just as I was getting into my Golf, the front door opened, revealing Gordon, wearing a pink dressing gown. He collected the milk from Peggy's doorstep and waved at me!'

‘Well, I never. How long has it been since they started seeing each other?'

‘Ten days.'

‘So, she didn't put out on the first date then?' said Mercedes with a snigger.

‘Don't be wicked. I'm not sure if they have sex and I don't want to know.'

‘Don't be such a prude. Of course they're having sex. You don't stop having sex because you're old,' she stated. ‘Only nuns, and hospital radio presenters who seem to be scared of having a relationship, abstain from sex,' she added.

Charlie snorted. ‘I'm not scared of having a relationship. I can't seem to find anyone to have one with, that's all.'

‘I handed you Liam on a plate.'

‘I told you he was too young for me.'

‘You idiot. He was a total beefcake and he had the hots for you.'

‘No he didn't. Someone thought he had the hots for some girl though. He put a message up on his Facebook page the other day ranting about the ratbag who broke into his car, slashed his diving suits and ruined his diving equipment. They left a note too. He put up a photo of it. It said,
This should stop you flirting with other people's girlfriends
. He says he's no idea who the lunatic is and why he's left the note. He thinks someone has got him mixed up with another diving instructor. Poor Liam. I feel sorry for him. He was always so nice to me.'

‘See, you had an opportunity and you blew it. He was obviously a total stud. That's horrible about the break-in though. Diving equipment is pricey.'

‘So were the repairs to his car. He's very miffed about the whole affair. I didn't think he was a flirt or a cheat. He was genuinely kind especially when…' Charlie stopped herself but too late.

‘Go on,' urged Mercedes. ‘When what? You're hiding something.'

‘No. It's nothing,' said Charlie, attempting to avoid Mercedes' intense gaze.

‘Tell me immediately, or I vill set zee dog on you!' she said.

‘It's nothing.'

‘I can tell by your face it's not nothing. Do you want me to shine a light on you and torture you, or are you going to tell your best friend what happened?'

Charlie took a deep breath. ‘I was a bit frightened about doing the open dive and he managed to take my mind off it. He coaxed me down. That's all.'

Mercedes stared at her friend. ‘There's something else. Spill the beans. You don't keep stuff from me. We trust each other.'

Mercedes was right. Over the last few years they had become very close. Mercedes knew all about her life with Gavin and Amy and had done so much to help her find her way again.

‘You'll laugh when I tell you,' Charlie paused. ‘I had a bad experience with a shark when I was very young and I'm a bit scared of sharks. In fact, I'm pretty terrified of them. I also hate swimming or water.'

‘Oh my goodness! Why didn't you tell me about this? I'd never have made you go through with the challenge. Oh Lord! I've been making jokes too about sharks. What happened to make you so scared of them?'

Charlie explained the incident in the dinghy. It was the first time she had voiced the events that occurred when she was a child to anyone, even Alistair didn't know what had happened.

Mercedes sat in silence. When Charlie finished, she drew up to her and patted her on the hand. ‘You should've told me. I would've understood. We'll pull the challenge. It's no big deal. I can come up with something else.'

‘No, don't pull the challenge. If I've learned one thing from you, it's to face up to seemingly insurmountable challenges. You're the bravest person in the world. Not only have you overcome your physical problems but also the mental ones that accompanied your injuries. I can remember the frightened woman who'd given up on life – the one who blubbed in hospital, with good reason – the one whose life had been destroyed. She picked herself up and not only learned to lead a normal life again but stayed amazingly cheerful. You laugh at everything and never let what happened to you get you down. If you can deal with all the shit that was thrown your way, I can get over some daft incident that happened years ago.'

Mercedes looked down. ‘Some days I'm not brave or funny. Recently I keep wanting to cry and scream at the same time. I threw a saucepan across the kitchen the other day for no good reason other than I felt like it. I scared Bentley and then I felt horrible. I get fed up always having to make an effort. Everything is difficult and some days it can be frustrating, but as you know, life is short – sometimes much shorter than you'd like, so we should grab every opportunity. There are days when I loathe this wheelchair with every fibre of my being but it's been thanks to you, Ryan, my family, friends and dear little Bentley that I've come to terms with it all. This is who I am. For whatever reason, I ended up like this and I can cope. When it gets hard, I think of all the people in my life. I'm blessed to know them and I have lots to look forward to. So do you. I don't want you to do something that will petrify you or harm you, but if you can overcome this, you'll feel fantastic. I do, every time I achieve something. However, if you want change your mind about doing the challenge, I'll understand.'

Charlie held her friend's hand tightly. ‘I'll do it and we'll save the radio station. It's not for me. It's for everyone who enjoys working there and for all of those who feel better for listening while they're in hospital. If it hadn't been for that station, we'd never have met.'

‘Enough of this sloppy stuff. Shall I break open the wine?'

Charlie giggled. ‘Tea's fine. I don't want to get too blotto. I need a clear head for the dive tomorrow.'

Mercedes manoeuvred her chair so she could fetch the milk from the fridge. Bentley was asleep, tired from playing ball in the park. His legs suddenly shot out and he made whimpering noises.

‘Oh bless him,' said Mercedes. ‘He's having a little doggy dream. I wonder what he dreams about. Maybe he's chasing his ball, or a cat.'

‘Or chasing after you in your chair. No wonder he's pooped. I've never seen a small dog run so fast trying to keep up with its owner.'

‘It gives us both a workout,' replied Mercedes, looking down at Bentley. ‘Got to live up to my name. I'm thinking of getting a Mercedes-AMG C 63 badge for my wheelchair.' She laughed. ‘Isn't he adorable?'

Bentley snuffled and turned over in his bed where he continued to snore gently.

‘So, do you think Gordon's a goer or do you think he has a large supply of Viagra?'

‘Mercedes! I don't even want to think about that,' Charlie replied, a smile playing on her face in spite of her comment.

‘You know,' scoffed Mercedes, pouring the tea, ‘you should really consider joining a convent.'

C
harlie arrived
in plenty of time for her dive. It was taking place after the aquarium shut to the general public and only the divers and their friends would be allowed in. Mercedes had arranged for Charlie to meet Heather Lock, the journalist from the
Evening Gazette
for an interview ahead of the dive.

They waited by the entrance to the aquarium. Charlie spent the time trying to stop her hands from shaking. Mercedes was attempting to do a wheelie in her chair and take Charlie's mind off the event. Charlie had barely spoken all trip, in spite of Mercedes' best efforts.

‘What time is it?' asked Charlie.

‘This is the fifth time you've asked me,' said Mercedes, giving up on her wheelie. ‘It's a minute later than the last time you asked me. Hang on, there's a car pulling into the car park right now. I bet that's her. I'll go off and powder my nose inside while she conducts the interview. I also need to phone Sean. Good luck. Hope she's nice.'

Charlie read the notice by the entrance for the twentieth time. She still had no idea what it said. ‘Breathe,' she told herself.

A man strode towards her from the car park. He carried a notepad. Charlie groaned.

‘Before you say a word. I didn't plan this. I didn't even know I was going to do this story until a few hours ago. Heather had to go off last minute to interview a politician who's suspected of having an affair, and I was called in. I didn't want to come and I knew it would annoy you, but they had no one else. Besides, I figured if I didn't come, no one else would write about it and then you wouldn't get the publicity you need. And deserve,' he added.

Charlie glared at Jake. ‘Okay. I'll speak to you but let's keep this professional.'

‘Of course,' replied Jake. ‘I had no intention of doing otherwise. You okay?'

‘I'm fine,' she said.

‘You look pretty nervous. I can't blame you. I'd be nervous,' he said checking his pockets for a pen. ‘Ah, here it is. Shall we start, Miss Blundell?' He grinned at her. She felt a flicker of warmth in her stomach.
Traitor
. She ignored her body's responses instead adopting an icy attitude.

‘So, let's go through the whole
Challenge Charlie
idea. Maybe you could tell me how it all started.'

Charlie gave him the facts, aware that he kept looking into her eyes while still managing to take notes. She reminded herself that he was a cad and, gritting her teeth, she answered his questions.

‘One last thing, I received some background information for this interview,' he said, putting his pad into his jacket pocket and running his hand through his hair. ‘Was your maiden name Asquith by any chance?'

‘Yes, it was,' said Charlie, suddenly wary of this line of questioning.

‘Ah,' he said and nodded knowingly. ‘Then, that's perfect.'

‘Why? What are you up to?'

‘Nothing untoward. It's just that Heather was Googling about sharks and discovered some old news items. One was about a small girl called Charlotte Asquith who almost drowned when a shark leapt into a dinghy and I put two and two together.'

Charlie froze. There was a cough beside her.

‘Hi. I'm Mercedes. I'm the reason Charlie is here. You must be Heather. Funny, I had you down as a blonde in a tight black skirt.'

Jake laughed. ‘Yes, I'm Heather but you can call me by my nickname, Jake, and I'm afraid my legs let me down as far as skirts go. Hairy knees.'

‘I hear waxing can fix that,' Mercedes responded with an ever-widening smile. ‘We've met before, haven't we?'

‘You were gorging on ants and trying to make yourselves go blind by drinking absinthe, as I recall.'

‘I thought I recognised you. You were at Alton Towers, too. You were wearing that very same leather jacket and sat next to Charlie on the roller coaster ride. In fact, now I come to think about it, I think I've even noticed you in my local post office. Now, I must tell you, I'm sorry, but I'm a married woman. As gorgeous as you are, I have promised to stand by my man.'

Jake laughed. ‘I was visiting an ex-colleague from bygone days. It was his suggestion that we dined at Archipelago. Recently, I moved into a new house to be closer to my son's school. I guess it's in your neighbourhood if you've seen me about. I'm heart-broken that you won't consider me as potential sugar daddy material but I quite understand.' He waggled his eyebrows at Mercedes.

Charlie interrupted their conversation. ‘You know about the shark episode?'

Jake turned back to her. ‘Yes, but I haven't said anything to anyone. I expect it was traumatic for you. But it gives this story a whole new angle. It should make it more front page than back. I hope you don't mind if I include it.'

‘Do you?' asked Mercedes.

‘I don't know. Do I want people to know I'm scared witless of sharks? That I tremble, shake, can't breathe and almost wet myself with fear?'

‘You won't feel that way after today. You're about to prove that anyone can face a fear, no matter how big it is, and get over it,' Jake explained. ‘You're an example for others.'

‘Exactly my thoughts,' said Mercedes, looking up at Jake, a smile on her face.

‘Okay. I s'pose so. I don't know. I just want to get this over with.' Charlie shook her head to try and get some coherent thoughts in place. She was too worked up to even argue with him or tell him what a jerk he was. ‘Do it. I can't think about it at the moment. I've got to go to a meeting and get ready. I need to prepare myself.'

‘Of course you do. Go ahead. You'll be fine. Honestly, you will. I'll watch, if I may. There's a terrific wall-to-ceiling glass window. We can see everything from there. So we can both be with you, in a sense. Is that all right with you, Charlie?'

Mercedes was making strange faces and nodding like mad. She seemed to have taken a shine to Jake in spite of everything she knew about him.

‘Whatever,' mumbled Charlie.

Charlie left Mercedes talking to Jake in animated tones. She had no time to consider Jake, or the story he wanted to run. It was time to dive with the monsters.