Before We Met: What Happens When You Fall For The Same Man Twice But Don't Even Know It

by Madeleine Cardell

‘Did you not hear what I said?’ she hurled. ‘I could get you fired!’ She turned around to face him with her hands on her hips.

  Liam walked over to meet her where she stood.

  ‘You won’t though,’ he said quietly.

  ‘You wanna bet?’ Meredith tried her best to act like someone not to be messed with. But Liam wasn’t fooled.

  ‘And what exactly would you tell your boyfriend?’ he teased. ‘That you fired me because I asked if you were happy?’

  ‘Unlike you, I wouldn’t have to explain myself to Arnaud,’ she said. ‘And your cockiness is really starting to get on my nerves.’

  ‘I don’t think that’s the case at all.’ Liam moved closer. ‘I actually think that you like me.’

  As he said it, he touched her hair and then pushed it behind her left ear. Meredith stood still, she wanted to move but she couldn’t. They stood looking at each other in silence, before he took her hand, pulled her in, and kissed her passionately.”

  Vera closed the book and put it on the side table next to her. As her hangover was still bad, she got up and went to the bathroom to drink some ice-cold tap water. Every time she read an excerpt of A Fair Affair, a particular thought would enter her mind: that she somehow had a connection to Meredith. If she could only establish what that connection was, it might bring on other memories, and maybe the feeling of emptiness and missing someone would go away. Liam, the gardener from the book, suggested Meredith should go to Kew Gardens. Surely that couldn’t be a random choice of a place? Suddenly Vera thought that she must have put it in the book for a reason, and wondered if she should also visit the Royal Botanical Gardens. She hoped that it might provide a clue …

  And so she decided to go tomorrow, but at this present moment, crept back under the duvet to read some more.

  CHAPTER 20

  The following morning Vera took the over-ground train from West Hampstead to Richmond. The October morning was cloudy, but mild. She decided to wear her new pointy heels, black leggings, one of her cashmere jumpers, a furry gilet and the black floppy hat with the large brim. As she walked down her street and followed the main road towards the station, she couldn’t help but notice how men and women were looking at her, and wondered if it had something to do with her new wardrobe.

  Fifty minutes later she entered the Royal Botanical Gardens and found herself inside the world’s largest collection of plants. From the online research the night before, and the prospectus she got with the ticket, Vera knew that there were over thirty thousand different plants here. But as she made her way into the garden, she realized that it was also home to several incredible buildings. There was the Nash Conservatory, originally designed for Buckingham Palace; the Orangery, and the Great Pagoda, erected as an imitation of the Chinese Tea. Vera went around Queen Charlotte’s Cottage and then crossed Sackler Bridge, which was made of granite and bronze. Then she took the treetop walkway route and admired a bird’s eye view of the trees and the rest of the complex.

  No pamphlet or online information could prepare her for the beauty of the plants, the intensity of their colors, and the variety of the shapes and sizes. But after an hour of walking, she sat down for a coffee in the Orangery, and pondered that although the gardens were stunning, coming here had proved no help in remembering anything from her past. After finishing her coffee, she walked around some more and then headed back for the train station.

  The train arrived immediately, and during the trip, Vera picked up a newspaper that had been abandoned on the seat next to her and started skipping through the pages. She read everything from politics to cookery, just to kill time. But after a couple of minutes, she got the unexplainable, yet intense, feeling that someone was staring at her. She raised her head slightly and looked to her left; no one was looking in her direction. Then she looked the other way; everyone too seemed busy reading or using their phones …

  She then looked ahead; there was a man sitting on the other side of the carriage. He was staring at her intensely with a peculiar, anxious expression on his face. He was young - barely in his thirties - slim, had longish blonde curls that fell across his forehead, and water-clear, blue eyes. Judging by his long legs - that stretched halfway through the middle of the carriage - he was rather tall. Vera thought he was very good-looking, but when she plucked up courage to reciprocate and look him in the eyes, instead of smiling back at her, his angst seemed to intensify. The eye contact made her feel uncomfortable, so she went back to reading her paper, and promised herself that she wouldn’t look at him again. Yet the whole time her head was down, she felt him staring at her with the same intensity. The train was heading into the tunnel now, and she was glad she would be getting off at the next stop. Shortly before the train pulled into West Hampstead, she got up, put the paper on the next seat, and headed for the carriage door. The train was almost about to stop, when she suddenly heard someone behind her say - ‘Are you really going to ignore me and just get off?’

  Vera turned around. The man, who had been staring at her, was standing behind her. He seemed anxious, maybe even annoyed. The train stopped and the door of the carriage opened. Ignoring his question, Vera stepped out onto the platform hoping to get away, but he left the train behind her. She turned around and wondered who he was and what he wanted. So she decided to confront him.

  ‘Why have you followed me out of the train? she asked quietly.

  He didn’t answer; he just continued to stare at her.

  ‘Do we know each other?’ she asked, tentatively.

  ‘You’re asking me if we know each other?’ he replied in utter disbelief.

  ‘Do we?’ she repeated the question. ‘Only, if we do, please tell me. I had an accident a few weeks ago and I don’t remember much …’

  ‘You had an accident?’ He suddenly looked extremely concerned.

  ‘You still haven’t answered my question,’ Vera said, determined to get him to respond.

  ‘I thought you were someone I knew …’ he replied, after a moment of hesitation, ‘but you’re not. Anyway, what’s your name?’

  For a spilt second Vera contemplated if she should give him her name, or even speak to him any longer. She didn’t know him, but despite the weirdness of the situation, she felt strangely drawn to him.

  ‘It’s Vera,’ she said, and couldn’t help but smile. ‘What’s yours?’

  But he seemed to be so taken aback by her reply that he stammered - ‘It’s-it’s … I-I … Anthony,’ he finally replied.

  ‘You’re confused about your name? Have you had an accident too?’ Vera laughed out loud.

  ‘No’ He smiled for the first time. ‘Truth is, I was lost for words,’ he answered.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘It’s not every day I get to see you on a train.’

  Vera blushed. There was something in the eyes of this handsome stranger that moved her. She could have stood here and stared into them forever. But since he had made a mistake and took her for someone else, it was no doubt time to say their goodbyes.

  ‘I have to go,’ she said quietly, still smiling. ‘It was nice to meet you Anthony. You never know, we might meet again.’ She turned around and headed for the exit sign.

  ‘Wait!’ He stopped her by gently holding her arm. ‘Since I already got off the train, I’d love to have a coffee with you. Please, I won’t take no for an answer.’

  His persistence was flattering. Vera looked at his beautiful face, and couldn’t refuse.

  ‘There’s a coffee shop just outside the station, we could go there? she suggested.

  He nodded, and said, ‘I’d love to go there with you.’

  And they started walking towards the exit.

  ‘So, do you know this area well?’ she asked, as they were walking up.

  ‘As a matter of fact, yes,’ he said. ‘I’ve spent some time here in the past.’ He turned his head to observe her reaction, but unaffected, Vera just carried on walking.

  ‘It’s a great neighborhood,’ she com
mented. ‘Did you used to live here?’

  ‘No, not me,’ he answered after a moment. ‘Someone I used to know did.’

  PART III

  CHAPTER 21

  The next day, Vera and Shane went for a late supper at a Mediterranean restaurant in West Hampstead. Before Vera’s accident, one of the most amazing things about their friendship was that they never failed to find things to talk about or laugh at together, and it seemed that even now, when Vera could barely remember her late teens, and was just getting to know Shane again, it was still the case. As they enjoyed their salad leaves and halloumi, washed down with a fruity Chardonnay, they eagerly discussed the events of last week.

  A lot had happened since they’d last seen each other. Shane had finally taken the position of a supervisor at Titanium Airways, and was now flying as head of cabin crew. As promised, the company awarded him with a pay rise and a very generous bonus scheme. Then he went home to Ireland to spend some time with his mum and share the good news with her. While Shane was abroad, Vera had seen her book finally published in print, and she’d met a handsome stranger who had deliberately followed her out of the train, and with whom she had a coffee that same afternoon. And when she thought about the events that had brought her and Anthony together, the picture of his handsome face came back to her and it instantly made her smile.

  Ready to share the news, she waited for Shane to finish his story, but then he leaned towards her, and with a facial expression that suggested he was about to reveal big news, he said, ‘I’ve met someone.’ Then picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and looked at her, anticipating what reaction his admission was going to get. But Vera didn’t respond immediately, so he continued, ‘Well technically I already knew him,’ he added, ‘and you know him too, or knew him too. I didn’t want to say anything so soon, but I just can’t keep it to myself!’

  His face beamed with joy. Vera smiled and took his hand.

  ‘I’m so happy for you, but what do you mean by I ‘knew him’? Who is he?’ she asked.

  Shane put his wine glass on the table and moved his chair closer to hers.

  ‘It’s Milan!’ He was so excited he could barely contain himself. ‘You know, the waiter from Corey’s at Old Broad Street. I fancied him for ages! He remembered you.’ Vera looked detached and serious. She was desperately trying to remember someone called Milan, but the name wasn’t ringing any bells. ‘Vera, are you listening, babe?’

  After staring at him in silence, she snapped out of her ponderings.

  ‘Yes! I am listening!’ she said suddenly. ‘I was just trying to focus on the name, but it doesn’t ring any bells, I’m sorry,’ she added, with an apologetic expression on her face. Then she seized the moment of silence, and said, ‘I met someone too!’

  ‘What?’ Shane jumped in his chair, and his hand hit the plate. The fork resting on the plate got catapulted into the air and headed down towards the floor, landing with some spectacular noise. The rest of the diners stopped and looked round. Shane bent down and quickly picked up the fork from the ground, ignoring the sudden interest.

  ‘Why on earth didn’t you say anything earlier?’ he said. ‘We’ve been here for two hours!’

  ‘Probably for the same reason you didn’t.’ She brushed her fingers through her hair and pushed it backwards. ‘I wasn’t sure what to say, to be honest,’ she explained, leaning towards him. ‘You know, I’ve only just met this person, so it could go either way …’ She paused. ‘But you know when you get a strong feeling that it could actually be the start of something special …? You understand what I mean?’

  ‘Destiny meeting!’ shouted Shane excitedly. The rest of people turned around and looked at them again. Shane and Vera looked at each other and giggled – to the clear disapproval of others. ‘I can’t believe it’s happened to both of us at the same time!’ he whispered.

  ‘I know!’ said Vera, still trying to control her laughing. ‘Except …’ she added, calming down, ‘unlike you and Milan, Anthony and I have never met before.’

  When Shane heard the name ‘Anthony’, the expression on his face suddenly changed, and Vera noticed that he looked horribly worried.

  ‘Oh yeah …’ he said carefully. ‘So … where did you meet?’ He stuck his hand in the air to order another bottle of wine, anxious about what he’d hear next.

  ‘We met on a train. Well, we saw each other on the train,’ she corrected herself quickly,’ ‘and then he got off to talk to me, thinking I was someone else, and we ended up going for a coffee.’

  ‘What does Anthony do?’ he asked, just as the waiter arrived with another bottle of wine.

  ‘He’s a joiner.’

  Shane suddenly looked relieved.

  ‘So, he asked you out straight away then?’

  ‘Yes!’ Vera said excitedly. ‘And he asked me to dinner tomorrow night.’

  Shane handed her a re-filled glass and she took a sip of wine.

  ‘Fast mover. So where will you go? And more importantly, what will you wear?’

  ‘We’re meeting at Westminster Bridge,’ she said dreamily. ‘Well, technically at Westminster Station, and then we’ll cross the bridge and go to a restaurant on the South Bank. And I was thinking …’ she stopped for a second, looking for his approval, ‘that I’d wear the lace mini dress with the long boots, and use my Chanel bag.’

  As Shane wondered about different outfits he could suggest for her, it dawned on him that tonight Vera seemed much more feminine than before. Even now, dressed remarkably low key in skinny jeans and a grey jumper, and wearing minimal make up, the effect was breathtaking. Every head in the restaurant had swiveled when she’d walked to the bathroom earlier … and he then wondered that maybe her inner beauty was the effect of this guy.

  ‘Perfect!’ he smiled at her. ‘But go to the hairdresser and tell them to curl and lift up your hair. You’ll look even more stunning.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Vera, surprised by the compliment. ‘But what about Milan?’ she asked. ‘How did you end up getting together?’

  ‘I was coming back from Dublin,’ he started, ‘and I was sitting at the front of the cabin. I knew a couple of girls working at the back, so I decided to get up and speak to them. When I walked up towards the end of the aircraft, I saw him in his seat, reading. Of course, I recognized him instantly so I stopped, and knowing he was from the Czech Republic, asked how it was that he was travelling from Ireland back to London. He told me he’d been visiting friends who had moved to Ireland some time ago. Then we started chatting, and to cut a long story short, by the time we landed, I had his phone number. I called him when I got home,’ he said excitedly. When the attention was focused on him, Shane was in his element - Vera had noticed that about him.

  ‘You said earlier that he remembered me?’ Vera was curious.

  ‘Yes! He asked if you were my girlfriend. Can you believe that after all this time of me giving off gay signals, he still asked me that?’

  Vera laughed out loud. ‘So what did you say?’

  ‘That of course you weren’t, but …’ He paused dramatically. ’I told him you were a famous author and that he should read A Fair Affair.

  Vera managed to calm herself down.

  ‘I doubt he would find it interesting. It’s chick-lit,’ she said, sipping more wine.

  ‘But of course he would, honey, why not? It’s bloody fabulous! Like you!’

  ‘Well, thank you. So tell me, what does Milan look like?’

  ‘You first …’ said Shane.

  ‘Well.’ Vera stared dreamily into space, with a gentle smile on her face. ‘Anthony is … he’s just … gorgeous!’ she said finally.

  ‘For a writer, you’re a woman of few words!’ Shane laughed. ‘Milan … well, he is freaking gorgeous too.’

  Both of them laughed loudly.

  ‘Would you like more wine?’ Shane asked, pointing at her almost empty glass.

  ‘Yes, please. Are you having more?’

  ‘One more and I’m d
one. Some of us have to work tomorrow morning. Besides, now that I’m a supervisor, I have to appear more serious. No more hangovers, you understand?’

  She didn’t, entirely, but it was indeed the last drink of the evening, and twenty minutes later Vera walked Shane to the station, watched him get on a train, and returned home.

  The next morning, she searched high and low for the telephone number of her landlord. More than ever she was interested in buying the place, and wondered what the chances were of making it reality. The only contact details she could find were written on the first page of the rental agreement: his name, address, and the name of a letting agent who seemed to have either gone out of business, or at the very least changed his phone number. She then tried her luck looking for the landlord online, but when that failed too, she decided she’d do what she did best - write to him, introducing herself and stating what her intentions were. After a brief period of thought-gathering, she sat at her desk and started typing at the computer.

  Dear Mr. De Fereitas

  My name is Vera Smith and I’m your tenant in the top apartment, 57 Lymington Road. I’m writing to you in regards to the property mentioned. I have recently come into some money and would be interested in buying the apartment from you. If you’d consider a quick sale, I could pay for the apartment in cash, so there would be no need to involve the banks or estate agents, which would greatly reduce the time of the completion process. If this is something that could be of any interest to you, please contact me directly on 07932 053 855 so we could discuss the details.

  Kind regards,

  Vera Smith

  She clicked ‘save’ and then switched on the printer. After she’d printed the letter, she folded the paper in three pieces and placed it in an envelope, which she then addressed by hand.

  Joao De Fereitas

  20 Cobblers Street

  Clapham