Can I call you now?
Yes!! she typed.
And then she got –
I’m dialing. But Vee, there’s someone here with me who really wants to talk to you first. Are you ready?
The phone rang a few seconds later. After a brief moment of hesitation, Vera pressed her index finger to the green ‘accept’ button.
‘Hello?’
‘Hello, Vera.’ There was an emotional, female voice on the phone. She didn’t know the voice at all.
‘Who … is it?’ asked Vera anxiously.
‘It’s Emma.’
CHAPTER 38
Vera felt queasy. She took a deep breath and held the phone firmly to her ear.
‘Emma, is this really you?’ she whispered in shock.
‘Yes!’
It was clear how emotional this moment was for both of them. After years of being pen pals, this was the first time they’d heard each other’s voices.
‘Emma … I just can’t believe this is happening! It’s incredible to finally hear your voice! How are you?’ she exclaimed.
‘I’m fine! Well, getting there anyway. After the shock of seeing Tony, and hearing the whole story. If only I’d known what had happened to you!’
Tony was with Emma! But how was it even possible that he’d found her ? And why did he go all the way to Australia if he quit his work?
‘It’s crazy, I know! But Emma, why is Tony there? How did he find you?’
‘Easily. He saw my address on the letter, in your apartment. And when he arrived in Australia, he came to find me. He just knocked at the door and introduced himself.’
‘Knocked at the door?’ Vera repeated Emma’s words. ‘But … why?’
‘He wanted to know what really happened. I told him that I had no idea about your accident, and that if you were really going to pull a trick like that on him, then I would have known. You would have told me.’
It was true. Vera always told Emma all her secrets, and the fact that she was writing them down meant that she always described them in more detail, and with more emotion - which made Emma the person who knew her better than anyone else – even Shane. She smiled to herself.
‘And he came all the way to Sydney to ask you that?’
‘He already had a ticket. He was coming over for work, for the exhibition. But Vera, I think I’ll let him explain that to you,’ laughed Emma. ‘Would you like to talk to him now?’
This was the moment that Vera Smith had been waiting for. They could now resolve all the doubt. The slate could be wiped clean. There was no room for further speculation of who’d done or said what and why. They both knew what had happened. Surely, this was all that was needed for them to get together again. A brand new start was awaiting, surely?
‘Please, put him on,’ Vera said, holding the handset in her trembling hands.
After a short moment, she heard Tony’s voice.
‘Hello?’
‘Tony…’ she whispered.
‘I don’t know what to say Vee, except for …’ His voice cracked. ‘I love you and I just want to be with you. I want to hold you in my arms as soon as possible.’
Vera sat crying quietly, listening to him, thinking about the journey they’d both been on in the last few months.
‘Me too,’ she said through the tears. ‘When Lucy told me about you quitting work, I just couldn’t believe that you’d do that - sacrifice your big break to be with me.’
‘I realized what was really important. You. Us.’
‘Tony?’ Vera paused. ‘I want everything to get back to normal. You and me, exactly as we were before our break up.’ She couldn’t quite believe that all this was happening.
‘I disagree,’ Tony replied firmly. ‘We can’t just go back to how things were. We shouldn’t.’
‘Why?’ she asked him, slightly worried. ‘Nothing needs to change!’
‘I beg to differ. A couple of things need changing actually. The very first thing is me moving into your apartment when I return to London. And then we take things from there. But first …’ He paused. ‘We’ll have a little holiday.’
Vera couldn’t believe what she was hearing - she was so happy, she could barely sit on the chair. And then it dawned on her.
‘A holiday?’ she asked. ‘Where?’
‘Here, in Australia. I’ll take you around and show you the places I remember from my childhood. We can travel for the next few weeks. I don’t suppose you have better plans for Christmas, do you?’ he laughed. ‘We’ll see New Year before anyone we know back in England. And of course,’ he added, ‘you’ll meet Emma and her family.’
It was too good to be true … apart from one single detail: Vera was petrified of flying. In a split second, she recalled the flight to Nice, where arrangements had to be made for her to get off the plane after it had left its gate. But could she let her irrational fear stop her from seeing the love of her life, and meeting the friend she’d never seen in the flesh?
Vera didn’t think for too long; for once she was ready to take a plunge.
‘I’m coming to meet you in Australia. I’m coming tomorrow!’
Waiting for the Qantas flight to Sydney at Heathrow’s Terminal 3, Vera opened the computer placed on her lap. She was about to browse the internet and relax before the long journey. Tony and she had already spoken six times since their conversation yesterday. They couldn’t stop telling each other how much they wanted to see one another, and how much they couldn’t wait for that moment in Australia when she’d walk through the arrivals gate.
Vera smiled to herself. In about an hour, she was going to board a massive Airbus 380 plane, and set off halfway across the world, first to Dubai and then on to Sydney. She was a little scared, but defiant - nothing was going to get in the way of she and Tony now. She turned her head to look at the flight message board. The flight to Dubai was still at a ‘checking in’ status.
But then, in the corner of her eye, she noticed a fellow traveler reading A Fair Affair. Vera instantly thought about Suzy, and the proposal for the new book she still hadn’t sent. And just like that, an idea popped into her head. She logged on to her email and typed in Suzy’s address, adding the subject: Proposal for new book: Vera Smith; Before We Met.
And after thinking briefly about the synopsis, she proceeded to write …
After the break up with the boyfriend who was meant to be ‘the one’, thirty-one-year old writer (blank) is hit by a car, which results in her memory loss. When she wakes up in a hospital, her memory doesn’t stretch any further than the age of seventeen. She doesn’t recognize her friends, is no longer aware that she’d just split up with the love of her life, or that she’d written a book that goes on to become a bestseller. But as her fans learn of her accident, and her faith that she’ll regain her memory, she learns to live a new life. But will a chance meeting with her beloved ex on a train give them a second opportunity to pursue a love even stronger than the one they shared before they supposedly ‘just met’?
Vera giggled as she pressed ‘send’. How about that for a book! By the time she reached Sydney, half of it would be written! She closed her eyes, thinking about a suitable name for her main character. She wanted to make the name more personal this time. And then she recalled that chick-lit authors would often choose the names of the leading ladies in their books by using their mother’s middle and maiden name. Patricia’s middle name was Madeleine, and her maiden name was Cardell. Vera instantly knew it worked. She had a story, a title, and a name. All she needed now was to get on board the plane and to start writing.
CHAPTER 39
“New York : airborne 17.06
La Coruna : airborne 17.22
Dubai: taxied at 17.32 (no unusual activity observed on the runway)”
A few words from Madeleine…
Thank you for buying and reading my first novel. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it, as much as I enjoyed writing it.
I would very much appreciate you leaving a review on th
e product page. You can click on a link below to do so:
Before We Met on amazon.co.uk
Before We Met on amazon.com
Thank you so much!
Madeleine x
Before We Met: What Happens When You Fall For The Same Man Twice But Don't Even Know It Page 20