He hung his head. ‘I’m sorry, Kim. So many times I’ve tried to tell you the truth. The day I came in to tell you that she’d died and ask if you’d do the flowers for the funeral, you were so chuffed that you’d got some yellow roses in, and we talked about Justine as if she was still here and … this is going to sound strange but it was nice to be able to talk about her. Everyone around me was either devastated by her death or so awkward they avoided the subject.’
‘It’s okay,’ said Kim at last.
‘But it’s not,’ said Adrian. ‘I feel awful that I’ve deceived you. The longer it went on, somehow the harder it was to explain. Hayley was devastated at losing her mum. It was such a shock.’
‘Do you mind me asking what happened?’
‘Heart attack.’ Somehow Kim knew that was what he was going to say. ‘Justine went off to work as normal and I got a phone call from her boss when I was having my lunch. The lift had been busy, she was late for a meeting and she’d run up three flights of stairs. She walked into the meeting room and collapsed and that was it. The post-mortem said it was a genetic condition.’
‘Same as Vince,’ she said in a low voice. Her lips were dry and she felt a little nauseous. It wasn’t Adrian’s revelation; it was the thought of having to share her own that was making her feel queasy. Now Adrian had shared his secret she could no longer keep hers hidden.
‘And there you were, facing your grief at losing Vince whereas I was pretending—’
‘No,’ said Kim, interrupting abruptly. ‘Let me stop you there. If it’s confession time I’ve got something I need to share.’ She felt a sheen of sweat come over her in a wave and this time it definitely wasn’t a hot flush. She pulled the balled-up letter from her pocket and handed it to Adrian.
‘What’s this?’
‘A letter, read it.’ She couldn’t watch him. She returned her gaze to Justine’s headstone. Justine – who she asked after every week. The woman who she had pictured in her mind many times. The lucky wife who had a husband who brought her flowers every week, without fail. Justine who according to the headstone was a ‘much-loved wife to Adrian and mother to Hayley, taken too soon’.
‘It’s from Vince?’ asked Adrian. Kim nodded and swallowed hard. ‘Your Vince? He’s alive?’
‘Sadly, yes,’ said Kim. ‘Despite how much I’d like to murder him.’ She hoped that didn’t sound insensitive.
‘But … I don’t understand,’ said Adrian.
Kim had nothing to lose. She faced him. ‘Do you fancy fish and chips and a bottle of wine?’ she asked. Adrian deserved a proper explanation and she could definitely do with the company.
‘Why not?’ said Adrian, handing back the crumpled letter.
There had been further protests from Curtis but Ruby had waved them all away. She wanted to help. A truck through the front of your house was a bit of a shock and she knew she wouldn’t want to spend the night alone in a hotel room if it had happened to her.
‘We’ll need to get a taxi as I can’t drive after the wine,’ she explained as they walked out of the station. ‘Bugger it. I’ll need to get a cab back in the morning to pick my car up from the station too.’ The wine wasn’t feeling like quite such a good idea now.
‘Or I could drive. I only had one glass and that was over three hours ago. I have comprehensive insurance that covers me to drive another vehicle with the driver’s permission.’
‘Cool,’ said Ruby, handing him a stuffed pineapple with her car keys jangling from its crown. Ruby paid her parking ticket and led the way to her bright yellow Kia. It was a happy colour and also easy to spot in a car park, although with only a handful of vehicles left it wasn’t hard to locate. Curtis squeezed in behind the steering wheel and adjusted the seat until he was almost sitting in the back.
‘Can you provide directions?’ he asked, adjusting the rear-view mirror.
‘So we don’t argue over the best route I’ll let the sat nav do it.’ Ruby hit home on the screen and it sprang into life. ‘No wheel-spinning or doughnuts, got it?’
Curtis frowned. ‘You’re joking, aren’t you?’
‘You might be a demon behind the wheel for all I know,’ she said.
He laughed. ‘You’re right. I might be.’
He started the engine and ‘Super Trouper’ blared out. Ruby hastily killed the stereo. Curtis was grinning at her. ‘What? I like ABBA, okay?’
‘Yes. I like them too.’
‘Really?’ She wasn’t sure if he was joking.
‘Yes. It reminds me of being a child.’
‘Me too. My mum played ABBA all the time.’ She switched it back on but lowered the volume.
It felt a bit odd having someone else drive her car but it wasn’t far and Curtis was a sedate driver. When the sat nav announced they were arriving at their destination, he indicated and pulled over outside a closed store. He stared out of the window. ‘Greggs?’
‘Ah, no. I’m a bit further up.’
‘But home on your satellite navigation system is set to Greggs?’ he queried.
‘Sometimes I stop here on my way home. I really like their sausage rolls … anyway. Bit further up, before that road on the right.’
Curtis was quiet as he followed her up the stairs to the door of her flat. She wanted a chance to check it was presentable because she’d left in a bit of a hurry.
‘Hang on a sec,’ said Ruby, putting the key in the lock.
‘Okay.’ Curtis looked around the hallway.
‘You can read the fire safety certificate if you like?’ She pointed to a corkboard before slipping into the flat. She hit the light switch.
An outfit she’d tried on was strewn across the sofa and another one was on her bed. She quickly bundled them up and shoved them in her wardrobe. She grabbed the mouthguard she wore at night to stop her grinding her teeth and popped it in her pocket. She straightened the cushions on the small sofa as she passed. It was fine.
‘Come in,’ she said, opening the door. Curtis pulled his attention away from the fire safety certificate, which he appeared to actually be reading.
‘Thank you.’ He stepped cautiously inside.
‘I’ll do a quick guided tour. This is the living room cum dining room cum kitchen,’ she said, splaying out her arms. She opened the door next to her. ‘This is the bathroom. Well, it’s a wet room really.’ Curtis peered into the tiny space. ‘Spare bedroom.’ She opened the door to a small empty room and the one she had been hoping to decorate as a nursery. She nudged the paint tester pots to one side. ‘And this is my bedroom.’ She took a step to the right of the kitchen units and pointed through the open door.
‘Right. Thanks again, Ruby. This is very kind of you.’
She filled up the kettle. ‘My pleasure. Do you want a drink of anything? I say anything but I’ve only got hot chocolate, orange juice and some energy drinks. I don’t drink tea or coffee.’
‘Water will be fine, thank you.’ Curtis looked around and then took a seat on the sofa. ‘You own a cat,’ he said, tipping his head at the cat flap and nearby food bowls.
‘No. He’s not mine.’
‘You stole a cat?’
‘No, he belongs to the flat next door but he comes and goes as he pleases.’ She pondered their relationship for a moment. ‘Basically, he likes to eat here, sleep with me and then he clears off. Pretty much like most men I know.’
Curtis was giving her a very odd look. ‘I see.’
‘It’s a sort of time-share arrangement.’ She handed him a glass of water. ‘The flap was there when I moved in and I wasn’t about to buy a new door. I tried locking it but he just spent all night rattling it, so it was easier to let him in. It’s not great coming home to an empty place after Mum …’
An awkward silence dominated the small room. Ruby couldn’t say any more for fear of choking on her words as an unexpected surge of emotion squeezed her throat.
‘I’m interested in the list you talked about. The one that wasn’t written down and yet you
expected to have achieved everything on it before you were forty.’
She gave him a look. He sounded like he was being sarcastic but his expression told her otherwise. ‘It’s just a phrase. Something people say. But there were a few things I kind of thought I would have done and I haven’t.’
‘I wasn’t criticising. I mean I don’t have a list at all. Real or figurative. So, you’re doing better than me.’ They exchanged weak smiles. ‘I mean I have detailed financial projections for the next five years but that’s not the same thing.’
‘Buying this flat was on my list,’ she said, feeling rather proud. It was thanks to her mother’s life insurance that she’d been able to afford it, but she’d put the money to good use and she was proud of herself for not spending it all on holidays, clothes and Greggs sausage rolls.
‘It’s not a rental?’ He looked beyond surprised.
‘No, it’s all mine. Every brick,’ she said proudly. ‘We can’t all live in a mansion with butlers.’ She handed him his glass of water.
‘Are you implying that I do?’
‘You clearly think this is below you.’ She was hurt and a bit cross. She was very proud of her little flat. ‘I’m mortgage-free.’ She crossed her arms and raised her chin as if in challenge.
‘I am very sorry if I have said something to offend you. Not my intention. It’s purely that I look at property for its resale value. What you have done with the interior is … lovely. Very you.’ He patted a bright orange cushion.
Ruby was a little mollified. She joined him on the sofa, tucking her feet underneath her and leaning back.
Curtis was watching her. He put down his glass of water and shuffled into what appeared to be a slightly more relaxed, although still quite stiff, seated position.
Ruby leaned to her right and checked her wall calendar. ‘Bum.’
‘Problem?’
‘We’ve got a big wedding tomorrow so we’re starting at six thirty.’ Ruby liked the overtime but she didn’t enjoy getting up early.
‘I need to check in at the police station in the morning. I wonder if you’d be kind enough to take me into work with you?’ he asked.
‘Sure.’ Curtis sat gingerly on the edge of the sofa and clutched his old laptop bag. ‘You can put your stuff in the bedroom if you’d like.’
‘I should take the sofa,’ he said.
‘Don’t be daft, you’re far too tall. It’s one night. I’ll be fine.’ She led the way and switched on the light. He followed her in and his gaze was pulled to the teddy bear that sat on a chair in the corner. She followed his stare.
When she’d changed outfits earlier, she’d also changed underwear and her teddy now appeared to be wearing her purple lace bra as earmuffs. ‘Bugger!’ She grabbed the bra and stuffed it in the dirty clothes bin. She turned around and grinned at Curtis. ‘I’ll get some clean sheets for you.’
‘No, really. It’s fine,’ he said, although a pulse in his jaw said otherwise as he put his bag on the floor. ‘I don’t want to put you to any trouble.’
‘Here, have a clean sheet and we’ll flip the duvet.’ She pulled open the drawer under the bed and took out sheets and her winter duvet – that would do for her. ‘Sleep tight. Mind the bed bugs don’t bite.’ Curtis’s eyes widened. She took one of the pillows from the bed and exited the room, not bothering to hide her grin.
Kim and Adrian were sitting in her small back garden having eaten fish and chips out of the wrappers and were on their second bottle of wine. Kim had unburdened herself of the secret she’d been keeping for seven long years and it felt amazing.
‘I can’t believe Vince is alive,’ said Adrian for about the fifth time.
‘Disappeared without a trace until I registered his car as stolen and then he got in touch pretty quick. Apparently he couldn’t say anything to my face because he didn’t want to hurt me. But it was okay to tell me over the phone that he’d moved to Mablethorpe with his acupuncturist. Funny really because I’d love to stick pins in him.’
‘But instead of telling people what actually happened you said Vince had died?’
‘Family and close friends know the truth. I’ve never actually told anyone that he died. I haven’t blatantly lied about it. I just didn’t correct their assumptions.’ Kim was beginning to feel awful. It turned out the relief of sharing the secret with someone was quite short-lived. She flopped back in her seat. ‘I felt such an idiot. He had this massive heart attack and was rushed to hospital.’ She saw Adrian swallow hard. ‘I’m sorry.’
He waved her words away. ‘It’s fine. But it’s very similar to Justine.’
‘I know. But Vince survived. And I went to see him every day in hospital. Then one day, after I’d visited, a book I’d ordered for him was delivered and there were a few minutes of visiting left. So I charged over to the hospital with it. When I walked onto his ward there was another woman at his bedside holding his hand.’
‘Crikey.’
‘And you know, I still didn’t twig. I introduced myself and rattled on about the book before the shocked looks on their faces registered. They both started talking over each other, a string of different excuses, and I finally cottoned on and well … I lost it a bit and walked out. I closed the shop for a few days. When Vince was discharged, he didn’t come home. And when someone asked me, I burst into tears and they assumed he’d died.’ She scratched her eyebrow. ‘I know it was wrong of me but it was easier that way. I felt bad because I didn’t want the sympathy but I also didn’t want to have to explain that I’d been living a lie. I’d lost my perfect husband.’
‘Does Ruby know the truth?’
Kim shook her head. ‘I found I liked to talk about all the good times rather than focusing on how it ended. So, like all the others I finished the story with “and he had a heart attack” and let her assume he’d died.’ Kim held her head in her hands. ‘I’m a bad person.’
Adrian leaned forward. ‘No, you’re not.’
Kim lifted a hand to look at him. ‘It’s only really Ruby I feel bad about. Other folk were probably only going to gossip anyway. When I gave Ruby a job, I figured she’d not stick around too long. Telling her what I told everyone else seemed fine then. But now …’
‘You’re quite close, you two, aren’t you?’
‘We are. Apart from the shop we have nowt in common but somehow we find enough to talk about for hours on end. We’re an odd couple.’
‘Whoever said we all have to be a perfect match?’
Something about the way he was looking at her made something fizz in her stomach. Probably just indigestion, she thought.
Ruby stirred and adjusted her mouthguard. The sofa wasn’t as comfy to sleep on as it was to sit on and watch TV. She was vaguely aware of a distant scratching sound. Then silence. She drifted back to sleep.
‘Argh!’ A half scream from the bedroom had her instantly awake and dashing across the room before her legs had been informed.
Ruby switched on the light and smiled, forgetting she had her blue mouthguard in. Curtis screamed again. ‘Whoops, thorry,’ she said, before popping out the guard.
‘Um, can you help?’ Curtis’s voice was muffled by the large cat lying over his head with the tail across his face, making him look like he was wearing a furry helmet.
‘There you are, Seymour,’ said Ruby, lifting the Siamese cat into her arms.
Curtis spat out a mouthful of cat fur and proceeded to try to wipe his tongue with his hand.
‘I told you I shared a cat.’
‘So I see,’ said Curtis as he and Seymour exchanged glares. Curtis blinked. ‘Is it me or has he got—’
‘Cross eyes. Yep.’
‘And he’s called See-More. Someone has a sense of humour.’
‘It’s quite common in Siamese cats apparently. Night,’ said Ruby, turning to leave.
‘Actually, it’s almost four thirty. We both need to have showers and breakfast and allow circa fifteen minutes to drive to the florist’s and find a parking space,
so we should probably be getting up soon anyway.’
The long explanation and the thought that she wasn’t getting any more sleep made her yawn. ‘I guess.’
‘Let me know when I can use the bathroom.’
Ruby nodded and left the room, feeling like she needed more sleep.
A shower woke her up a little bit and she busied herself with trying to be a good hostess and making breakfast for two. She even laid the little table and found a teabag at the back of the cupboard. It must have been there a while but she was fairly sure that tea didn’t go off.
‘Toast okay?’ she called.
‘Great, thanks,’ came the reply from inside the bathroom.
‘You want anything on it?’ She began searching her cupboards for something she could put on toast and wished she’d done that before offering.
The bathroom door opened and Curtis stepped furtively out. He clutched the small towel around his waist. Ruby suppressed a snigger at him trying to hide his modesty. She hadn’t thought about what Curtis’s body might look like – why would she? But now she knew. And apart from being rather on the paler side of white, it was lean, trim and lightly toned.
‘Marmite would be nice,’ he said.
‘Eurgh. That stuff is the devil’s bottom.’
‘Really? Where do you do your research?’ he asked.
‘It’s a fact.’ She stuck her head back in the cupboard. ‘I’ve got something called Christmas marmalade. I’m not sure what that means.’ She studied the label. ‘I think it’s just an excuse to add alcohol.’
‘Butter will be fine.’
‘Low-fat spread okay?’
‘Lovely,’ he said although she wasn’t sure he meant it. He scurried into the bedroom, the flash of the white towel like a rabbit’s tail as it runs away from danger.
After breakfast, Ruby finished drying her hair and returned to the kitchen, where she’d left Curtis washing up.
He was holding up the tea caddy and looking like he’d just discovered it was a portal to hell.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.
His expression was stony. ‘Drugs?’ His voice had that air of parental disappointment.
The Promise of Summer Page 9