Changing Places

by Colette Caddle

  Chapter 34

  Anna dragged herself into the office, thanking God it was Friday. Since that dreadful day of her attack, she had avoided Charlie like the plague. He had got more persistent as time went on and she’d resorted to erasing his texts without even reading them. She didn’t trust herself with him and if she read his messages or took his calls, she knew that she’d probably end up agreeing to see him. That would be disastrous. She and Liam talked briefly every day, but any time he’d suggested having ‘that chat’ she’d fobbed him off. Ironic, really. She’d tried to get him talking for months and now when he was ready to do just that, she couldn’t handle it. Feelings of guilt consumed her and she didn’t think she could even look him in the eye.

  She had, of course, had to call over to see Josie but she managed to spend the evening concentrating all her attention on her mother-in-law. When it was time for her to go, she hurried out to the car, imagining Tara Brady’s eyes on her. Of course, for her benefit, Anna should have kissed Liam long and hard at the garden gate but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She felt dirty, sick and cheap.

  The only consolation was that she hadn’t actually had sex with Charlie. But she couldn’t take any credit for that. If Paul Brennan hadn’t appeared on the scene she would have gone the whole way, without even a thought for Liam. And the reason she was avoiding Charlie was because she still wasn’t sure she could trust herself alone with him. The attraction between them was palpable. How that left her marriage or her commitment to Liam was another matter. She just knew she couldn’t cope with either man at the moment.

  Today she was going to do her first viewing since her attack and she had to psych herself up for that. Val had begged her to leave it for another few days but Anna knew that Mark’s patience was wearing thin and she was afraid he’d start thinking she wasn’t up to the job any more.

  ‘I’ll come with you,’ he’d offered when she’d told him that she was going out today, but she refused with what she hoped was a confident smile.

  ‘There’s no need, Mark. Val has called this couple a few times and they are genuine buyers. I’ll be fine.’

  ‘Bring your mobile and call us if you have any problems, any problems at all,’ he’d said, patting her arm awkwardly.

  ‘I will, thanks.’ But Anna was determined to stand on her own two feet.

  She was just getting ready to leave when the phone rang and Val held it out to her. ‘It’s your sister.’

  ‘Oh.’ Anna sat back down to take the call. She hadn’t talked to Rachel all week although her sister had called a few times. ‘Hi, Rache.’

  ‘Anna, hi, is everything okay? Haven’t you got my messages?’

  ‘Yeah, sorry, Rache, it’s just been a bit mad here.’

  ‘How’s Josie?’

  ‘Getting around a lot better now.’

  ‘So is Liam coming home?’

  ‘Er, probably not. Look, Rache, I’m late for an appointment.’

  ‘Okay, okay.’ Rachel sounded irritable. ‘I was just calling to invite you to tea tomorrow – and Liam too of course if he’s home.’

  ‘I’m not sure . . .’

  ‘Alex has been asking for you. I thought it would be a nice surprise for him.’

  ‘Okay, then, Rache, I’ll be there.’

  ‘About five, okay?’

  ‘Yes, five is fine, see you then.’

  Anna hung up with a sigh. She would much prefer to spend tomorrow in bed but she had promised Alex at the airport that she would see him soon. Anyway, playing Power Rangers or cards with her nephew might be the very distraction she needed at the moment.

  Val walked back into the room as she was pulling her jacket on. ‘Will you be okay, love?’ she asked, her eyes full of concern.

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ Anna assured her. ‘I should be back in an hour or so.’

  ‘Call me when you’re on your way,’ Val urged.

  ‘I will.’

  Anna hurried out to her car and drove the short distance to the new estate by the sea. The property for sale was in a busy road, littered with bikes, prams and skateboards, and there were two mums having a chat at a gate nearby. Anna started to relax. It was a total contrast to the afternoon at Beech Wood and she felt her confidence returning. She wouldn’t let that animal stop her doing the job she loved. She glanced up as a red Opel Corsa rounded the corner and pulled up across the road. A young girl got out from behind the wheel and waved to her before going to help an older woman from the passenger seat.

  ‘Anna?’ she asked as they crossed the road.

  Anna held out her hand and smiled. ‘That’s right. You must be Delia Cross?’

  Delia nodded. ‘Yes, and this is my mum, Celia. Tommy couldn’t come so I roped Mum in instead.’

  Anna suppressed a smile as she shook the other woman’s hand. Celia and Delia! ‘Let’s go in.’

  Delia fell in love with the property almost immediately, and though Celia was more cautious, she agreed that the house had a lot of promise. ‘You’d need to change the bathroom suite,’ she told her daughter.

  ‘And the kitchen,’ Delia said. ‘But this house is way under our budget so we could afford to.’

  Anna led them out into the back garden. ‘If you wanted to extend at any stage, planning permission shouldn’t be a problem.’ She pointed at two other houses further down that had extensions. ‘They’ve set a precedent so it should be easy for you to do the same.’

  ‘Oh, we could have a conservatory.’ Delia rubbed her hands together, her eyes twinkling.

  Celia rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t get too carried away, love. We still have some other properties to look at.’ She directed this at Anna.

  ‘No problem,’ Anna assured her.

  ‘Could I bring Tommy back to see it over the weekend?’ Delia asked, ignoring her mother’s disapproving look.

  ‘I’d have to check with the vendors but we could probably set something up for tomorrow. I would have to give them some notice,’ she warned.

  ‘I’ll talk to Tommy this afternoon and call you then.’

  ‘That’s fine.’ Anna led them back outside and locked the hall door.

  ‘It’s a lovely area, isn’t it, Mum?’

  ‘Very nice,’ Celia agreed, ‘but I still think you should see the other properties.’

  ‘Okay, Mum, come on. But I’m telling you this is the one. I’ll call you later, Anna.’

  Anna smiled at them both. ‘I’ll look forward to it.’

  Back in her car, she heaved a sigh of relief. The viewing couldn’t have gone better. As soon as she’d got into her spiel, she’d felt fine. She called Val and told her the good news.

  ‘Oh, I’m so glad, Anna. I was worried about you.’

  ‘No need, and as I’m ahead of schedule and it’s such a nice day, I’m going to drop over to the property on Redfern Road and take the outside photos.’

  ‘Shall I call them and let them know you’re coming? If they’re in, you could get the measurements done at the same time?’

  ‘Good idea.’

  ‘Right, I’ll call you back in a minute.’

  Anna drove out of the estate, down through the village and out the other side. She was only a minute’s drive from Redfern Road and Val hadn’t called back. Glancing at the fuel gauge, Anna decided to get petrol while she was waiting. She was just twisting the petrol cap back on when her mobile rang. Without looking at the display, she pressed the button and jammed it against her ear. ‘Hi, Val,’ she said as she went inside to pay.

  ‘It’s not Val.’

  She closed her eyes as she recognized Charlie’s voice. ‘I’m afraid I’m in a meeting, Charlie, can I get back to you?’

  ‘No, you’re not. You’re getting petrol and I’m sitting across the road watching you.’

  Anna whirled around and saw Charlie sitting on his motorbike. ‘Meet me down at the entrance to the park,’ he told her.

  ‘I can’t, I’m on my way to a client,’ she hissed, as she went into the shop
and shoved a 50 Euro note at the attendant.

  ‘I won’t keep you long,’ Charlie promised. ‘It’s your choice. You can meet me or I can follow you back to the office and come in. I think Mark would be very surprised that you didn’t want to talk to your knight in shining armour.’

  Anna sighed as she took her change and came back out to the car. ‘Five minutes, Charlie,’ she said, meeting his eyes as she got into her car.

  ‘Great.’ Charlie roared off down the road and Anna followed him more slowly.

  When she pulled in beside him, Charlie had already removed his helmet and was climbing off his bike. She got out of the car, realizing that it would be a mistake to let him get in beside her.

  Charlie grinned knowingly. ‘What’s the matter, Anna, don’t you trust yourself?’

  Before she could answer, Anna’s mobile rang. This time it was Val.

  ‘I’m afraid you can’t take those photos after all, love,’ she told Anna. ‘They have a skip in the driveway today, they’re doing a good clear-out. It should be collected before noon tomorrow so you can do it then or leave it until Monday.’

  ‘Oh, right. Thanks, Val.’

  ‘No problem. See you later.’

  ‘I have to go,’ Anna told Charlie, when she’d rung off.

  ‘Liar.’ He settled back against the bonnet of her car. ‘Val has a very loud voice. It sounds to me like you have plenty of time.’

  ‘I’ve a mountain of work waiting for me back at the office.’

  ‘Then the sooner you talk to me, the sooner you can get back to it.’

  Anna tossed her phone back into the car and went to perch on the low wall nearby. ‘What do you want, Charlie?’

  ‘You know what I want,’ he murmured.

  ‘That night was a mistake. I was upset and I was drunk . . .’

  ‘And you wanted me,’ he finished.

  ‘So, what if I did? That’s just sex, Charlie. It doesn’t mean anything.’

  ‘You’re lying again.’

  ‘Please,’ she begged. ‘Just leave me alone.’ She looked around nervously as a car drove past. ‘I can’t stay here – anyone might see me.’

  ‘We’re not doing anything,’ he said, crossing his arms. ‘Yet.’

  ‘Oh, and what did you have in mind? A roll in the grass?’

  He threw back his head and laughed. ‘I’m game if you are, but after that rain last night, it might be a bit damp.’

  Anna had to smile.

  ‘That’s better,’ he murmured. ‘Now – how are you?’

  She nodded. ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘That’s great. How’s your mother-in-law?’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘And your husband?’

  Anna looked away. ‘He was waiting for me when I got home that night.’

  ‘What? But I thought he was staying with his mother.’

  ‘He was – he is – but he’d called over to see me. He’d been waiting ages.’ Anna closed her eyes as she remembered the expression on Liam’s face.

  ‘What did you tell him?’

  ‘The truth – well, some of it. I told him about the attack and that you’d discovered me in the filling station and brought me for a pizza.’

  ‘And?’

  She shrugged. ‘He was upset about the attack and that I hadn’t called him.’

  ‘So, it’s okay then.’

  ‘You mean we got away with it?’

  ‘We didn’t do a whole lot,’ he reminded her.

  Anna studied her hands. She wasn’t going to admit to him that she was guilty as hell in her head. They may not have gone the whole way, but she’d wanted to. Just then, he came to sit beside her, very close but not actually touching. Anna could feel his breath on her cheek and smell his cologne. Desire rose up in her and she had to steel herself not to turn her head and kiss him.

  ‘You want me as much as I want you,’ he said, his mouth close to her ear.

  ‘I’m married,’ Anna said, moving away.

  ‘Not happily.’

  ‘What would you know?’ she retorted.

  ‘Don’t deny it, Anna.’

  ‘We’re going through a bad patch,’ she admitted, ‘but we’ll be okay.’

  ‘Really?’ Charlie tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear and she shuddered at his touch.

  ‘Really.’ Anna stood up and went back to her car. ‘Please leave me alone, Charlie. My marriage won’t have a chance if you don’t.’

  ‘Maybe it’s already over,’ he suggested. ‘Maybe it’s time you both moved on.’

  ‘How can you say that? You don’t know anything about us!’

  ‘I know that you’re here with me.’

  ‘Yes, but now I’m leaving.’ And before he could say another word, Anna slid behind the wheel, shut her door and drove away.

  When she got back into the office Anna threw herself into her work, making it clear to Val that she had no time to chat. Val, to her credit, left her alone, but put a strong cup of coffee and two chocolate biscuits by her elbow and patted her shoulder. Anna smiled her thanks and went back to work. She was in the middle of trying to write some creative prose about a particularly nondescript house when Jill phoned. Unlike Rachel, Jill knew all about the attack. She also knew that Anna was showing a property today.

  ‘How did it go?’ she asked.

  For a moment, Anna thought she meant her meeting with Charlie and then realized what her cousin was talking about. ‘No problem, Jill.’

  ‘Great, I’m glad. Listen, I won’t keep you, I know you’re busy but I wanted to organize a night out with you and Rachel. I have some news.’

  ‘Well, I’m going over to Rachel’s for tea tomorrow. Why don’t you come too and we could go for a pint after Alex goes to bed?’

  ‘That’s perfect. I’ve a few things to do tomorrow but I should be with you by about seven. Byee!’

  ‘Aren’t you going to tell me—’ Anna asked, but Jill had already hung up. She’d just have to wait until tomorrow to find out Jill’s news. Maybe there was a new man in her life or, better still, maybe Andy was back on the scene. Anna felt relieved that the spotlight would be on Jill and not her. She didn’t want to talk about Liam and she certainly didn’t want Jill asking any awkward questions about Charlie.

  Anna had told Jill that Charlie had taken her out on Monday, just in case it ever came up in a future conversation with Liam. Jill hadn’t said much but she’d given Anna a funny look. Anna had prattled on about the attack and Jill had let it go. Anna didn’t want to revisit the subject. Jill was too sharp and Anna was way too vulnerable. She’d have to sip mineral water tomorrow night. A few glasses of wine and she would probably spill the beans. She could just imagine her sister’s face.

  ‘Anna? A word please?’

  She jumped as Mark stuck his head out of his office. ‘Coming.’

  Chapter 35

  The sound of Alex chattering excitedly down in the kitchen woke Rachel early the following morning. She opened one eye and groaned as she saw it was only eight o’clock. She had been awake half the night, as usual, and was hoping that she could at least have a lie-in. Still, now that she was awake she might as well go down for a cup of tea. When she walked into the kitchen, Gary was making a pile of sandwiches and Alex was stuffing toys into his schoolbag. ‘Hi, Mum. We’re going camping!’

  ‘You are?’ Rachel looked from her son to his father.

  ‘We’re going up to Cavan fishing with Gus and his little lad. They have a cabin up there so we’ll probably stay the night.’

  Alex hopped around the kitchen, his eyes shining. ‘It’s going to be a real adventure!’

  ‘When was this decided?’ Rachel said, her mouth turning down in disapproval. Alex will catch his death sleeping in some damp, draughty cabin.’

  ‘He’ll be fine,’ Gary assured her. ‘Gus called last night and asked us did we want to come along, Rache. I thought you’d be glad of the break.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘Alex is looking forward t
o it, aren’t you, buddy?’

  ‘Yeah. Oh please, Mum, say I can go. Pleaaaase?’ He wound himself around her leg, and stared up at her.

  Rachel smiled. ‘Well, okay then, but I want you to bring a change of clothes.’

  ‘Already packed.’ Gary nodded towards the holdall by the door. ‘I was just going to make a flask of soup and then we’re ready to go.’

  ‘I’ll do it.’ Rachel reached into a cupboard and pulled out two Thermos. ‘How about I make some coffee for you?’

  ‘Thanks.’ Gary smiled at her and Rachel smiled back.

  ‘I had asked Anna over for tea this evening.’

  ‘Well, she can still come, can’t she? You two can have a nice girls’ night in.’

  ‘Mmnn, I suppose. When will you be back?’

  ‘Lunchtime tomorrow, I should think. Is that okay?’

  ‘Fine.’

  Gary finished the sandwiches, parcelled them up in tinfoil and put them in the holdall. Rachel filled the flasks and gave them to him and then went to make up a first-aid pack. He stood patiently while she put Band-Aids, antiseptic cream, Paracetamol capsules and Calpol sachets into a bag.

  ‘I don’t think I’ve got anything for diarrhoea or constipation,’ Rachel murmured.

  ‘We’re only going for one night, Rache!’

  ‘Still, you never know. What about pyjamas? And extra socks, have you got extra socks for Alex?’

  ‘Muuuum!’ Alex protested. ‘We’ve got to go.’

  ‘You get your coats on and I’ll finish packing your bag,’ she told them.

  ‘Yes, Mum.’

  ‘Come on, Alex.’ Gary steered his son out of the kitchen. ‘We’ll get the fishing gear sorted.’

  When she was alone, Rachel pulled the bag apart and sighed at the clothes Gary had packed. And he’d forgotten Alex’s toothbrush! Going upstairs she pulled out vests, socks and heavy sweaters for both her husband and her son. Then she gathered together the basic toiletries that they’d need and hurried back down to cram the much larger bundle into the bag. She zipped it up with difficulty and could imagine Gary’s reaction when he picked it up. ‘All ready,’ she said as they came back in.