The Seafront Tea Rooms (26 page)

Charlie x

She pressed Send, and sat back in her seat.

There was one more person she wanted to tell. If they were still together, she knew Euan would have shared her excitement. She could picture his face, the warm smile crinkling his eyes, his delight at her achieving something she’d been working towards for so long. What she wanted now, more than anything, was to be with him, to celebrate together.

‘I hear congratulations are in order.’

Charlie looked up on hearing the familiar voice – husky with the trace of a London accent. There he was – the same tanned skin and dark hair, easy confidence and dressed-down look. The man she’d once imagined spending her future with, only for him to leave her broken-hearted.

‘Ben,’ she said. She’d played out this moment in her mind a dozen times. When she was up in Scarborough, feeling confident and strong, she’d thought through what she would say when she came back to the office and saw him again. The cool reaction, the witty, sarcastic put-downs. But now he was here, leaning over the divider on her desk into Charlie’s workspace, so close they were almost touching – her heart raced. She felt small, as she had in the days after she heard the news that he had cheated on her. Her smart, considered reactions deserted her.

‘Editor, eh.’ He smiled, showing perfect white teeth. ‘Well done, Charlie.’

‘Thanks,’ she answered, grateful that it had come out sounding controlled and calm, even though that wasn’t at all how she felt.

‘Seriously, Charlie. You deserve it.’

The words were there, just out of reach.
Yes, I do deserve it. And it has sod all to do with you. I’ve managed this in spite of you. You’ve got no right to be here, trying to share my success.

‘Thanks,’ she said again.

‘How was the time off?’ he asked brightly. ‘Jess said something about your sister. Everything OK with Pippa?’

The familiarity in his tone grated on her – he had no right to ask about her life. He’d lost that when they broke up. He wasn’t her friend. He wasn’t anything to her now. The way he made her feel, the way he’d always made her feel, was the opposite of how she’d felt with Euan. She wished Ben would just disappear.

‘It was fine,’ she said. ‘Pippa’s fine.’

‘Great, glad to hear it.’ He straightened. ‘Well, it’s nice to see you again, Charlie. You look much better – the break must have done you good.’

40

Wednesday 8 October

‘A letter,’ Leo said, running to the mat that the small package had just plopped down on to. He picked it up and passed it to Kat. It was addressed to the two of them. ‘It might be a present for us.’ She smiled. Since her dad had come back from his travels, letters with handwriting on the front were few and far between, and she was curious about who this one might be from.

‘Open it, open it!’ Leo said, hopping up and down on the spot.

‘OK, hold your horses,’ she said, ruffling his hair. She still hadn’t quite got used to having him around again – she loved it so much that she even forgave him the six o’clock in the morning bouncing on the end of her bed. With him there, her flat was a home again.

‘What horses?’ he screwed up his eyes, confused.

‘It means wait a minute, hold up, be patient,’ she laughed, ripping open the envelope, full of curiosity. ‘All those things you never do.’

‘What is it?’

‘Let’s see.’ Inside the package was a smaller envelope holding two tickets. She pulled them out and smiled broadly when she saw what it was – entry to the Sealife Centre. Who would have sent her these? Her puzzlement turned to delight. It must have been Jake, trying to make amends. Leo would be thrilled.

She scanned the letter. Apparently admission to the Sealife Centre wasn’t the only treat in store. They were both invited to a VIP meeting with dolphins.

She looked at Leo, his brown eyes dancing with excitement. ‘Mum! Tell me.’

‘It’s a surprise,’ Kat said. ‘You’ll have to wait until the weekend to find out.’

That afternoon, Kat and Leo walked around Morrisons, and Kat took groceries off the shelves and loaded them into the trolley in a daze. Packets of oats, and multi-packs of juice. She sifted through the vouchers in her wallet to make sure she would be able to make use of some of them.

She’d make the phone call when she got home. She wouldn’t allow herself to be swayed by Jake’s gesture – of course not. Leo’s welfare was too important for that. But the thought behind it, the fact that Jake had taken the trouble to find out what Leo dreamed of doing, and had saved to be able to provide it – that meant something, didn’t it?

Back at the flat, Leo played on his xylophone and Kat took her phone into the kitchen, pressing speed dial 1.

‘Hi, Jake.’

‘Hi there,’ he said, sounding pleased to hear from her. ‘Everything OK?’

‘Yes.’ She turned to face the window. The late afternoon sunshine was glinting off the small windows at the top of the lighthouse. ‘I’m calling to say thank you. We got the package this afternoon.’

‘The package?’ Jake said, sounding confused.

‘Yes,’ Kat said. ‘The tickets. To the Sealife Centre?’

‘Is this a dig?’ Jake said, his voice taking on an edge. ‘I mean, I’m sorry that I can’t afford things like that, but I thought we said basics have to come first. I’m starting to save up —’

‘Oh,’ Kat said, her heart sinking. ‘Jake – sorry. It’s a misunderstanding. It wasn’t a dig at you. You’re right that we should be focusing on the bills and things first.’

‘Right. OK.’ His voice was brusque, distant. ‘Well, that was weird,’ he said.

‘Yes – sorry, I got confused. Let’s speak in the week.’

‘Sure. Give my love to the little man, won’t you?’

‘Of course.’

Kat hung up, feeling a little bruised from the interaction with Jake, as fraught as when they’d talked in Edinburgh.

So nothing had changed, after all.

In the living room, she looked at the tickets on the mantelpiece. If Jake hadn’t sent them, who had?

41

Saturday 11 October

The seahorses glided about the tank, bouncing and gracefully entwining their tails around the fronds of seaweed.

‘Do you know what’s special about them?’ Kat said, playing idly with her son’s hair.

‘They have magical tails?’

‘Yes. There is that. But there’s something else too…’

‘Horse faces?’

‘And that. It’s also that the daddy seahorses are the ones who carry the babies.’

‘Really?’ Leo said, his eyes widening. He peered closer, pressing his face up against the glass. ‘They all have fat tummies. Are they all having babies?’

‘I don’t think so,’ Kat laughed. ‘I think that’s just the way they look.’

‘Hi, Kat.’

Kat looked up and saw Adam standing beside them. Their eyes met. Her heart was racing, and she hoped desperately that it wasn’t obvious. She hadn’t seen him since the night they’d kissed, but as he smiled any awkwardness between them disappeared. It was good to see him again. His presence was calm and steady.

‘Hello there,’ she said.

‘How are you enjoying the visit?’ Adam asked them both.

‘We’re having a brilliant time, aren’t we, Leo?’

‘It’s the best day ever,’ he said.

Kat turned back to Adam. ‘It’s nice to see you. What brings you here?’

‘I had to see a man about a penguin. And I thought I’d come and say hi.’

Then the realisation dawned on Kat, and she wondered how she’d ever missed it. ‘It was you, wasn’t it?’ Kat said, narrowing her eyes playfully. ‘You were the one who sent us the tickets, weren’t you?’

‘Yes.’ Adam said. ‘I remembered you saying that Leo was into this kind of thing, and well – I do get the odd perk in my line of work.’

‘Thank you, Adam. It was very thoughtful of you. Leo’s been wanting to come for ages.’

‘You’re welcome.’ Their eyes met, and Kat felt drawn to him, just as she had the night of the party.

‘Have you got time to stop by the café afterwards?’ he asked.

She opened her mouth to make an excuse, but none came. Instead, she nodded.

‘Yes,’ Kat said, smiling. ‘Why not?’

An hour later, Kat and Adam were in the café, Leo off chatting to the woman at the counter about how he had met the dolphins in their pool.

‘We’ve had a very special day,’ Kat said to Adam. ‘Thank you again. The dolphin meet was just brilliant.’

‘I’m glad you enjoyed it,’ Adam said. ‘It’s fun to meet a boy like Leo who’s interested in the same things as me. I’m not sure quite what that says about my mental age…’ he laughed.

‘I spend so much time talking to Leo I sometimes forget how to have an adult conversation,’ Kat said. ‘And you know what – I rarely miss it.’

He nodded. ‘I know exactly what you mean. Zoe’s far more grown-up than me these days, though.’

‘How is she?’

‘Good,’ Adam said. ‘We’ve been talking about secondary schools. I can’t really get my head round where the time’s gone, but she’s going next year.’

‘Is there somewhere in particular she’s keen on?’

‘Up until quite recently she had her heart set on going to a boarding school.’

Kat raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m not judging, but…’

‘I know. I was surprised too. And that’s before we even go into how on earth I’d afford it. I told myself she was reading too much Mallory Towers, but I don’t know. Anyway, she’s gone off the idea all of a sudden. Which makes me wonder if what she was really interested in was escaping.’

‘And now?’

‘She’s so much more settled at home. I can’t explain it. It’s the little things. Séraphine makes sure we always sit down and eat meals together. Before she came, I’d grab a coffee in the mornings and Zoe would be eating her cereal, even with the best of intentions we’d only say a few words to each other some days. We make time for one another now.’

‘That’s good. So, now that she’s gone off the idea of boarding school, where are you thinking of?’

‘You know – and this is funny – she wants to go to Parkview Comp.’

Kat smiled at the memory of the school she, Adam and Euan had all gone to. ‘That is funny.’

‘Yes. Some of her friends are going there, which is really all she cares about.’

‘You’re pleased, aren’t you?’

‘I had some good times there. Didn’t you?’

Kat nodded. ‘I have some good memories.’

‘I know you were younger, but you always seemed the cool one.’ Adam smiled at the memory. ‘You had this aura. As if you didn’t need to follow what everyone else was doing.’

‘Ha!’ Kat laughed. ‘Well, I suppose I wasn’t in any of the cliques, but it wasn’t because I was cool. In fact, I spent most of my time feeling like an outsider. I spent all my time reading books. Still do.’

‘Well, you seem to have plenty of friends these days. I know Séraphine feels she’s found soulmates in you and Charlie.’

Kat smiled. ‘Yes. I feel the same. We’re going to see Charlie in London next weekend. It’ll be nice to catch up.’

‘That sounds fun.’

Kat turned to see Leo was skidding on the floor on his knees. ‘Leo, come on. Up.’ She hurried over to him and got him on his feet again.

‘We’ve lost a lot of trousers this way,’ she explained to Adam. ‘I think it’s time for us to go.’

‘Shop!’ Leo chimed in.

‘Yes, we can go to the shop first,’ she said, before turning back to Adam. ‘Thanks again.’

She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, closing her eyes for a moment as her cheek touched his, the trace of stubble, the faint smell of aftershave. It felt good, being close to him. She remembered how it had felt to kiss him, that night at the party, and she realised how much she wanted that to happen again.

As she pulled away, their eyes met.

‘See you soon… Maybe somewhere with more wine and less marine life,’ he said with a smile.

42

Thursday 16 October

In her living room, Charlie opened the box Letty had given her back at the tea rooms. It was too late to use anything in the feature, finished copies of the magazine were already in – but she was still curious. She wanted to have a look before sending it back, with a note of thanks. She took out a 1970s map of the town and smiled as she saw the locations that had become so familiar to her. The street with the old cinema on it, and Rosa’s, where she and Euan had drunk coffee together.

She delved back into the box and sifted through cards from customers thanking Letty’s parents, Julia and Leon, for their hospitality and the fine scones, as well as personal correspondence, invoices from suppliers, photocopies of the deeds.

She was distracted by a ping on her iPad as a new email appeared.

Her heart thudded in her chest as she saw Euan’s name, for the first time since they’d said goodbye to each other almost two weeks ago. She clicked to open it.

Hey Charlie,

I’ve been trying to forget what happened between the two of us – as you made it clear you wanted us to.

But the thing is – I can’t.

I can’t stop thinking about you. I know I felt a connection between us. That’s not something that happens often – at least not to me.

I don’t want to give up. I want to give this, us – whatever that is – a chance. Yes, there are a few miles (OK, quite a few miles) on a motorway between us. But that doesn’t mean we have to let this slip away.

I want to see you laugh again.

Euan x

Closing the message, she sat back on her sofa and let his words slowly sink in. He’d seen through her. He’d felt the same connection she had, and he hadn’t bought her attempt to brush their encounter off as nothing serious. He was brave, where she’d been cowardly. And she couldn’t help thinking that he was the one in the right.

The next day at work, Charlie dressed for her new role in a smart grey suit with an ivory-coloured blouse underneath. She spoke up in the meetings she’d often kept quiet in, and talked her new assistant through what she’d need help with. Jess was still in the editor’s office until the new year, but she’d already started to hand over to Charlie, and as far as the
Indulge
team was concerned, the switch had already happened. After lunch Charlie sat down at her desk and began brainstorming ideas for the next edition. As she worked, her thoughts about Euan could be pushed to one side. His email was still unanswered.