Keeping Juliette Company

by Sarah Picson

  ‘Yes, not bad. My boss wants me to take on some more work, we’ve got a new project —'

  ‘That’s nice, how was your chat with Ellie outside?’

  Robert rolled his eyes and leaned up against the kitchen counter.

  ‘What happened to you trying to be less interfering?’

  ‘Yes, I’m working on it, but you can’t expect me to live on gossip from my bridge club alone, can you? The most interesting thing to happen this week was Iris getting a parking ticket.’

  Moira puffed out her cheeks and folded her arms.

  ‘That’s unfortunate, is Iris going to appeal?’ asked Robert, trying to keep a straight face.

  ‘I honestly don’t care, Robert. So, you and Ellie?’

  Robert took a sharp breath in through his nose

  ‘I asked her to the cinema.’

  ‘Did you now?’ she said, her eyes glittering.

  ‘Am I doing the right thing?’

  ‘Robert, I’ve seen you smile more since we moved here than I have in all the years I’ve known you.’

  ‘What about Abi?’ he said, anxiety clawing at his insides. ‘What will she think?’

  ‘It’s one trip to the cinema. See how it goes. Besides, Abi’s growing up, she’ll understand.’

  Robert nodded, trying to convince himself of her words and then he remembered Ellie’s comment about Abi being distracted.

  ‘I think I’ll go and have a chat with Abi about her birthday. I want to do something special this year.’

  ‘That’s a good idea,’ Moira said, beaming at him with a row of straight teeth. ‘And I think it was a good idea to ask Ellie out as well.’

  ‘I haven’t really asked her out.’

  ‘Yes, you have, Robert. Now, go and speak to Abi.’

  ‘Only if you promise to stop grinning like a Cheshire cat!’ he retorted.

  ‘I can’t promise anything,’ Moira sang, as she shooed him out of the kitchen with a tea towel.

  He took the stairs two at a time and as usual, Abi’s door was firmly shut. As he lifted his hand to knock, he heard Abi’s voice and something about her tone made him pause. Robert couldn’t make out what was being said but Abi’s voice sounded strained, she seemed to be pleading.

  The phone call ended abruptly and he waited a few seconds before knocking.

  ‘Come in.’

  She was sat upright on her bed. Her face as white as chalk against her ebony hair. Robert perched on the end of her bed.

  ‘Hey.’

  ‘Hey,’ she replied, her eyes watery and red.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said, flinging her phone onto her bedside table.

  ‘Everything okay with your friends?’

  ‘Dad! What is it?’

  He took a deep breath.

  ‘I thought we could do something fun for your birthday. What do you think?’

  He had expected a bit of interest, some enthusiasm, he’d been used to a chattier Abi since she’d made some friends, but today she seemed to have sunk in on herself again. She shrugged.

  ‘I don’t care.’

  ‘Come on, it’s your birthday. What do you want to do?’

  ‘I…’ she paused, before shaking her head.

  ‘What?’

  ‘No, it’s a silly idea.’

  ‘Abigail, tell me!’

  ‘I’d like to visit the seaside,’ she said. ‘We haven’t been on holiday for years.’

  Robert’s stomach twisted as he realised how right she was. He didn’t even know why they hadn’t taken a holiday. It had just been one of the many things they’d stopped doing after the accident.

  ‘No, we haven’t, have we?’

  ‘I know you probably won’t have the time, you’re always busy at work,’ Abi said.

  ‘Hey, I took a day off in half-term; I brought home almost all of the bakery, if you remember?’ he said, with a grin.

  ‘Oh, yeh,’ she said, biting her lip.

  ‘I think a holiday is a great idea. Do you want to do something with these new friends of yours as well? A party?’

  Abi’s face became rigid.

  ‘A party? I’m not a kid, Dad.’

  ‘I know that, Abi.’

  She grabbed her pillow and squeezed it.

  ‘Can I borrow some money?’ she asked.

  Robert’s eyes narrowed.

  ‘I let you have some money a few days ago.’

  ‘I need some more.’

  ‘I’ve been giving you a lot of money recently. How much do you want this time?’

  ‘Fifty pounds,’ she mumbled.

  ‘Fifty pounds?’

  ‘It’s for me to do something with my friends on my birthday,’ she said, her voice quivering.

  Robert leaned back and scrutinized his daughter.

  ‘I’ll give you thirty pounds.’

  ‘That’s not enough,’ she cried.

  ‘I gave you forty pounds at the weekend, where has that gone?’

  ‘I went out with my friends.’

  ‘I’ll give you thirty pounds,’ he said, pulling out his wallet and putting the notes on her bedside table. ‘That should be enough.’

  Abi rolled over to face the wall.

  ‘Whatever.’

  ‘Has something happened?’ Robert asked.

  He glared at his daughter’s back, willing her to turn around and talk to him, but it didn’t take him long to realise that this wasn’t going to happen. With a heavy heart, he walked away, leaving her curled up in a ball on her bed.

  Chapter 23

  Ellie bustled into Jenny’s house with a bag of groceries in each hand. She bounced about the kitchen putting the shopping away, while trying to decide what to wear to the cinema that evening.

  She’d been taken aback by Robert’s invitation and had considered saying no; there were plenty of reasons why she shouldn’t go, but the look of apprehension shining from his face as he’d waited for her answer had made it impossible to refuse him. After all, it was just a courteous gesture to thank her for helping Abi with her maths and now she needed to get her stomach to agree with her head, as her insides knotted up in a frenzy of nerves.

  Once she’d finished in the kitchen, she sprinted upstairs to get changed into black trousers, tapered at the ankle and a pale pink cardigan. Pulling a brush through her hair until it was silky soft, she examined herself in front of the mirror, hands clenched by her side to stop them fluttering.

  The silence of the house twanged at Ellie’s nerves. She wished Jenny would come home and tell her she looked good and prattle on about her date, which Ellie kept insisting wasn’t a date at all.

  Her phone rang, breaking the silence.

  ‘Hello?’

  The line was quiet for a second, before an indignant voice jumped into her ear.

  ‘Ellie? It’s Cath.’

  Ellie grimaced.

  ‘Hi Cath.’

  ‘Listen, I’ve just called Dom, for like the tenth time about the dresses, but he hasn’t got a clue what’s going on. He told me to call you.’

  Ellie’s face creased into a frown.

  ‘He did?’

  ‘Yeh, he said you’ve been really stressed lately and you’ve let things slide, so I should help you out. Let’s go to Ambleton on Saturday to look at some dresses.’

  ‘Ambleton? But Cath —’

  ‘I’ve checked with Moll, she’s free too.’

  ‘Wait, Cath, hasn’t Dominic told you?’

  ‘Told me what?’

  A sudden pounding at the front door made Ellie’s heart jump into her throat and she almost dropped the phone.

  ‘Was that your door?’ Cath asked. ‘I’ve got to go too. Pick me up at ten on Saturday, okay?’

  The line went dead. Ellie screwed her face up and stared at her phone, before making her way downstairs.

  Opening Jenny’s front door, Ellie inhaled sharply. Dominic stood before her lighting a cigarette. She fastened her arms in front of her chest.

>   ‘I thought you’d be here,’ he said, puffing out a long drag of smoke.

  ‘Dominic,’ Ellie said, in a business-like tone. ‘You got my message then. We need to talk about the cottage and how we move on.’ His expression didn’t change. He licked his lips and thrust the cigarette into his mouth again, sucking hard. ‘I’ve been thinking about it and I’m happy to pay my share of the rent for a few months until I find my own place. I don’t know what you’re planning to do, but —’

  ‘Do?’ he said, arching an eyebrow.

  ‘Yes, I mean can you afford to pay the rent on the cottage on your own?’

  ‘I don’t have to pay it on my own. We recently renewed the tenancy agreement for the next two years as joint tenants.’

  ‘Yes, but —’

  ‘I like living there.’

  Ellie clenched her jaw at the enormity of his words.

  ‘Dominic, be reasonable. I can’t afford to pay my half of the rent on the cottage for the next two years and rent a flat.’

  Dominic shrugged.

  ‘Is that right?’

  ‘You know we can’t possibly live there together any more. What’s the point of dragging this out?’

  ‘Is that all you called me about?’ he asked, turning to go.

  ‘Dominic, please.’

  His chest seemed to swell as he fixed her with a steady gaze.

  ‘You’ve chosen to move out of our home. Not me. It’s not my problem you’re acting all crazy and hormonal.’

  ‘You think I’m hormonal?’

  ‘I know women are complicated, I can handle that, but this has been going on for too long now. I proposed to you. What gives you the right to walk away, just like that?’

  A heaviness pressed down on her shoulders.

  ‘Cath just called me about the dresses, why haven’t you told her we’ve broken up?’ Ellie asked, in a low voice. Dominic stamped his cigarette out on the wall and let it drop to the ground. ‘We’re not getting married, Dominic. This isn’t working.’

  A brief flare of rage lit up his face, before he teased it into a grin, which didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  ‘Ellie, can’t we fix this?’

  ‘Fix it? You don’t have a clue what’s broken.’

  ‘We can sort this out, I know we can.’

  ‘I’m not marrying you, Dominic. You need to move on.’

  He smirked, as if he hadn’t heard her, his appraising eyes travelling up and down her body.

  ‘You look sexy tonight,’ he said, in such a soft voice, she almost didn’t hear him. ‘Going out?’

  Ellie felt an unexpected stab of guilt. Only a few weeks ago, she’d been engaged to Dominic and tonight she was going out with another man. Her eyes dropped to the ground and she fiddled with a loose thread on the sleeve of her cardigan.

  ‘That’s none of your business.’

  ‘Isn’t it?’ he asked, a glint in his eye.

  ‘No. It isn’t.’

  ‘How about I take you out for a drink? I bet we’d have fun.’

  ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ she said, stepping back into the house. ‘Goodbye Dominic.’

  The last thing Ellie saw as she closed the door was his face puckered up in irritation. She waited until she heard his receding footsteps, before letting out a long breath.

  Dominic wasn’t going to make their break-up easy. With a hand on the wall to steady herself, she decided that she’d call the estate agent tomorrow and see what could be done about her tenancy agreement.

  With a glance at her watch, she pushed herself away from the wall and rolled her spine up straight and tall; she wasn’t going to allow Dominic to ruin her evening.

  ~

  Ellie arrived at the cinema ten minutes early, her nerves still frayed from her conversation with Dominic, but when she saw that Robert had arrived even earlier than her, all thoughts of Dominic evaporated.

  She slowed her pace and watched him wandering the foyer: tall, broad and impossibly handsome, in a steel-grey suit and white shirt. Ellie’s heart began to beat a frenetic rhythm when his face brightened as he spotted her and his long legs carried him across the foyer in a few strides. She hoped her knees wouldn’t buckle beneath her.

  Robert leaned in and placed the lightest of kisses on her cheek. He’d never been so close and Ellie inhaled deeply; he smelled like a fresh, autumn morning.

  ‘Hi,’ said Robert.

  ‘Hi.’

  A strange bout of shyness attacked her. Random words swirled round her mind but she was at a loss in which order to speak them. It seemed to afflict Robert too, as he concentrated on moving his coat from one hand to the other.

  ‘You look nice,’ he murmured.

  ‘Oh, thank you. You too.’

  Robert’s eyes darted around the foyer.

  ‘Would you like some popcorn? A drink?’

  ‘Let me get something,’ Ellie insisted. ‘You bought the tickets.’

  ‘No, I won’t hear of it,’ he said, holding his hand up in protest. ‘You’re doing me a favour by being here, I can’t remember the last time I went to the cinema and it’s nice to finally have a friend in Thistleby to go with.’

  Ellie felt some of the nervous energy drain out of her as Robert confirmed that they were just here as friends. As she tried to keep the smile from slipping off her face, having a drink was suddenly the only thing she could think about.

  ‘I’ll have a glass of wine, please,’ she said.

  Robert ordered two glasses of wine at the bar and they drifted through to their screen with a sparse group of people. Their seats were large and comfy and Ellie sank back into hers.

  The cinema plunged into darkness as dramatic, sweeping music introduced the film and before she knew it, Ellie was caught up in the beauty and elegance of a film she’d seen several times, but somehow on the big screen it became even more special.

  Not long into the film, Ellie stole a glance at Robert. He was still, his eyes concentrating on the screen and his arm parallel to hers on the armrest, his hand inches away from hers. She wiggled her little finger; she could easily just stretch it across and touch him. As if he’d heard her thoughts, Robert’s head turned and he caught her looking at him. She smiled and looked back to the screen, forcing herself to focus on the rest of the film.

  ~

  Before she knew it, the film had ended and they were outside, the bright light from the cinema illuminating them on the pavement.

  ‘I really enjoyed that,’ Ellie said. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I did too,’ Robert replied.

  Ellie glanced down at her feet. With only thin tights underneath her trousers, the cold was creeping up her legs, but she wasn’t sure she wanted the evening to end yet. She opened her mouth to suggest another drink, but Robert spoke first.

  ‘Can I walk you to your car?’ he asked.

  Her heart plummeted.

  ‘You don’t need to do that,’ she said, staring down at her shoes.

  ‘I’d like to.’

  ‘Really, it’s fine.’

  ‘Please.’

  She flicked her eyes up to find him gazing intently at her and she let out a soft sigh.

  ‘Okay, sure. It’s just down here.’

  Lifting the collar of her coat, Ellie set off at a brisk pace. Her heels clipping the pavement, as all around them dark shops and cafés sat silent and empty.

  ‘How have you been finding Abi’s behaviour at school?’ Robert asked, catching her up easily.

  ‘Abi is always well behaved in class. Why?’

  ‘I don’t know. Something isn’t right, but she won’t open up to me. I thought she was doing well recently but she seems to have gone right back to square one. She’s still asking me for money, but won’t tell me what it’s for.’

  Ellie considered his words as she rubbed her hands together.

  ‘I have noticed that she’s become friendly with a certain group of children at school, which surprised me.’

  ‘Oh, yes?’
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br />   ‘It’s just, they aren’t children I thought Abi would naturally gravitate towards.’ Robert narrowed his eyes into a frown that seemed to demand a more detailed answer. ‘I’ve come to know Abi fairly well,’ Ellie explained. ‘She’s thoughtful and sensitive, but this group of friends are loud and extrovert. They have a tendency to gossip and a few of them have been in trouble for bullying quieter members of the class.’

  ‘Really?’ Robert said, his frown deepening. ‘Leonie? Travis? Are these the children you mean? I wish I could remember the other names.’

  Ellie stopped, disappointed they’d reached her car so quickly.

  ‘I can’t say any more,’ she said.

  ‘I understand,’ Robert replied, with a nod. ‘But it proves I’m not imagining things. I’ve met these new friends of hers and there’s something about them. They’re not like Abi’s old friends at all.’

  He pushed his glasses up onto his head so that they sat nestled in his hair and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

  ‘Parenting seems hard,’ she said.

  ‘It is. I hope I’m not making too much of a mess of it,’ he said, concentrating on the ground and kicking his foot at something Ellie couldn’t see.

  ‘From what I can tell, you’re a wonderful dad.’

  Robert’s head snapped up.

  ‘Thank you.’

  His soft, brown eyes seemed so much larger without his glasses on, like deep, velvety pools that burned with such intensity that Ellie felt a heat scorch through her.

  ‘I’ll keep an eye on Abi at school for you,’ she muttered, caught up in Robert’s wide-eyed gaze.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said, his voice husky and thick.

  ‘I guess I’d better be going then. Thanks again for inviting me tonight.’

  Ellie told herself to turn around and get her car keys out of her handbag, but her fingers were unresponsive and her feet seemed to be glued to the pavement. It was as if she was waiting for something.

  And she didn’t have to wait long. In a swift movement, Robert grabbed her hand in his and looped his other arm around her waist. Before she knew it, he was pulling her up to him, as if she were as light as a feather. Ellie felt a fiery blaze rip through her and she melted into his arms, rising up onto her tiptoes to meet him as his soft lips found hers with an urgency that took her breath away.

  He smelled lightly of sweet wine as he crushed her closer to him. A ripple of desire shivered through her and she pressed herself against his body, a heavy ache awakening within her.