by Lisa Hobman
When they had climbed down from the stage, Greg put his guitar down and scooped Mallory up in a bear hug. He kissed her head and both cheeks. She gazed up into his sparkling, intense brown eyes and for a moment she was lost. He leaned down close to her face and kissed her chastely on the lips, never taking his eyes off hers.
Her heart pounded against his and they were so close she felt sure he could feel it. She desperately wanted to kiss him back but shook her head and looked away. He seemed to have got the point and released his grip on her.
He cleared his throat. ‘You were amazing up there, do you know that?’ he said, running his hands through his hair as if to occupy them somehow. ‘You’re a bloody good singer. You’ve been holding out on me, you sly lassie.’ He laughed.
‘I have to admit it felt pretty amazing too,’ she confessed, her heart still galloping, but the adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins was beginning to calm.
Greg got up and did a few more numbers throughout the night and he was wonderful. He even slotted in a rendition of Hozier’s ‘Take Me to Church’, which the audience loved.
But Mallory was hounded by confusion about her feelings for him again. The pounding of her heart wasn’t just down to the rush of being on stage and she knew it. The fact it skipped a beat or two when he was so close was playing on her mind. He made eye contact with her periodically throughout his songs, making heat rise in her face. And he performed Buzzcock’s ‘Ever Fallen in Love’ with a grin on his face and his eyes locked on her whilst he sang. The temperature of her cheeks soared yet again.
During the journey home Greg attempted to make small talk, but as always, he was better at communicating through song so the conversation melted into an awkward silence. Eventually, they parked outside her house.
He turned off the engine and swivelled in his seat to face her. ‘Thank you for a wonderful night.’
‘Thank you for making me confront my fears. I loved singing tonight.’
‘We’ll have to do it again soon, eh?’ he suggested hopefully.
Narrowing her eyes, she replied, ‘Hmm, we’ll see about that.’ She wasn’t sure if she wanted it to become a habit considering how nervous she had been.
With an intensity to his dark eyes he reached for her hand. ‘Can I ask you something, Mallory?’
She broke away from his gaze and pulled her hand away. ‘I’m not sure that’s a good idea.’
‘I’m going to ask anyway. I think I’ll be able to tell the real answer by your body language.’
She turned to him again, trying to plead with her eyes. ‘Greg, don’t, okay? We’ve had a lovely evening please don’t spoil it.’
‘Mallory, can you look me in the eye and tell me honestly that you don’t want to be more than friends?’ His gaze was filled with hope.
She sighed. ‘Greg, you lied about being married. It doesn’t matter how I feel. You broke the trust we had, even if it was a lie by omission. It’ll take a long time to get that back. I would always be wondering if there was more to come.’ Her heart rate increased yet again and she swallowed in a bid to dislodge the lump of emotion tightening her throat. Why couldn’t she keep her emotions in check around him?
His eyes became glassy again and his voice strained. ‘Mallory, you know I don’t love her. I still love you. It’s been you since the first day we met.’ He took her hand in his again. ‘I know you feel something for me. I know you do. Why deny it?’
She tried hard to be annoyed, but it was so difficult when he looked at her that way. ‘Greg, stop. I’m not going there again. It doesn’t matter how I feel.’
‘Just let me kiss you. It’ll all melt away; all your doubt.’ He leaned towards her and slipped his hand into her hair.
A betraying tear escaped her eye. ‘I can’t,’ she whispered. She removed her hand from his grasp, pulled herself away and climbed out of the car, closing the door behind her.
*
Greg was friendly at the pub and as time went on, he seemed to become more resigned to how things were between them. Mallory’s heart broke a little each time she saw him, but felt that at least things would be more straightforward. Greg’s song choices became more generic and Mallory simply stopped looking for the hidden meanings and messages that he used to send in the hope that her heart would change. He even stopped making eye contact with her when he sang. A line had been drawn in the sand. It was over… for good.
Greg had started to play at a variety of other venues following being signed up to the entertainment agency Class Act Talent and, as a result, his bar work at the pub became less and less.
Mallory missed him. But when she did see him he regaled her with tales of the other venues. It sounded like he was having fun. She listened with enthusiasm and even suggested songs for his set list and he made notes, finally admitting that it would be easier if he had an iPod.
He was attracting a lot of attention from the opposite sex too. Women were slipping him their numbers on a regular basis. But why wouldn’t they? He was, after all, gorgeous.
‘Aye, they loved me over by Fort William. I got handed three phone numbers! Can you believe these women? It’s like I’m some celebrity. I still can’t believe it.’ He laughed, shaking his head as they washed glasses at the end of one shift.
‘Well, you must be doing something right.’ Mallory tried to sound happy despite the ache in her chest.
‘I just feel like a piece of meat,’ he joked dramatically. ‘They only want me for my body. Never mind my talent.’ He played the camp act well, making Mallory giggle.
She flicked him with a towel. ‘You should be so lucky.’
‘You’ll have to come along with me to one of the other places sometime.’
She forced a laugh. ‘What? To watch women fawn all over you? No thanks.’
Greg shrugged. ‘Your loss,’ he simply stated and walked out the back.
*
One night in late October came the inevitable and dreaded news that he had met a woman he liked. Mallory’s warring internal feelings rose again. Of course, she wanted him to be happy and she had resigned herself to the fact that it wouldn’t be with her, but now that it was happening she hated the way it knotted her insides.
The new woman was called Kate and Greg said they had flirted a little when he had played one of the venues through his new agent. He described her as a curvy brunette and said she was the daughter of one of the venue owners and that she was training to be a nurse. He hadn’t taken her out yet, but was considering asking. Mallory listened as he told her all about Kate and her heart sank. She kept reminding herself that after he had kept things from her she and Greg could have no future. But what irked her most was that he had told Kate straight off about his marriage. Apparently, he had learned from that mistake.
‘She’s really nice. I really like her and think you would too. I just don’t know whether I should take the plunge, you know?’
‘Well, maybe you should just go for it,’ she offered without enthusiasm or emotion.
Scratching his beard, he thought for a moment. ‘Aye, maybe I will…’
*
Sam’s birthday was looming and knowing how difficult she would find it, Mallory hopped on a train to visit Yorkshire. The drive was too stressful and the train afforded her time to sketch designs and read. Ruby stayed with Ron this time as he adored the little dog and Ruby apparently felt the same. And even though escaping to Yorkshire was easy she knew deep down it was the coward’s way out.
When October twenty-fifth finally arrived Josie and Brad made sure to keep Mallory occupied. They spent the day in York visiting the dungeon and taking an open-top bus ride in the freezing cold. Mallory appreciated so much that they had made the day fun and when they arrived home Brad ordered a takeaway and produced a bottle of champagne to accompany their Indian food.
‘We got you a little something to remember Sam by,’ Josie informed her once the meal was finished.
‘Yeah, it was Josie’s idea to get this
so you can blame her.’ Brad nudged his girlfriend.
Brad disappeared into the kitchen and returned moments later with a huge tub that contained a tree.
Mallory scrunched her brow. ‘What on earth is that?’
Josie cleared her throat and wiped at her eyes. ‘Erm… it’s a… erm… Maple tree, Mally. We thought you could plant it in your lovely garden up there in Scotland.’
Mallory’s lip trembled and she grappled the pair into a bear hug. It was such a wonderful sentiment and she was lost for words.
‘Yeah, daft bat forgot you were on the train,’ Brad laughed, trying to lighten the mood even though it was clear from his voice that he was emotional too.
Mallory wiped at her eyes and gazed at the sapling. ‘It’s the best gift ever. Sam would’ve loved it and I can’t wait to plant it.’
Whilst she was in Yorkshire she caught the train into the city just because she could and she covered for Josie in the shop, enjoying being back on the frontline again. It was like old times and it felt comfortable. The thought of opening the second shop at Easdale began to dance around her head again. So many things to think about and so little will to face them.
After boarding the train to make her journey home to Scotland, Mallory secured the huge tub and the sapling it contained in the luggage rack. Once seated, she got chatting to an elderly lady, quite out of the blue. The lady enquired as to her marital status, as old folks tend to, and when the train broke down due to an engine fault, she found herself telling this complete stranger all about Sam and Greg. It felt good to talk to someone who just listened without preconceived ideas and without any prejudice.
The lady, who introduced herself as Edith, spoke candidly, reminding her of her Aunt Sylvia. ‘You know, my dear, after the Second World War things were tough. We had little money back then but we were so relieved to have peace. I loved my husband-to-be so dearly. Geoffrey was such a handsome fellow – a bit older than me, but I couldn’t wait to be his wife. But then war broke out again, this time in Korea and he was called up to serve his country and my heart broke. It’s a war that people don’t really think of any more but my Geoffrey was killed in action the first week out. I couldn’t believe it. I never thought I’d ever love anyone again. But it just goes to show that love doesn’t follow strict timings.’
‘What goes to show, Edith? What happened?’ Mallory asked enthusiastically.
‘Well, there were all these “yanks” as we called them, still in the UK after the Second World War. Many of them chose not to go home. Stanley was one of the “overpaid and over here” lot.’ Edith chuckled at her memory. ‘He was handsome, sure enough. But I was grieving for my Geoffrey. The trouble was, Stanley fell head over heels for me and was determined to make me do the same.’
‘What did he do?’ Mallory was intrigued by the romance of the story.
‘Oh… he gave me extra rations for my family… he brought me silk stockings and chocolate when they were virtually impossible to get hold of… he picked flowers for me.’ She smiled fondly. ‘He was a true gentleman and slowly but surely I realised that life was too short to look backwards. I was never going to get Geoffrey back, but I had a chance at happiness again.’ She looked directly at Mallory, her eyes filled with sincerity. ‘If you love someone enough, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, dear. It doesn’t matter what’s in his past. If he truly loves you and no one else and you know that deep in your heart… well, I wouldn’t be sitting on a broken-down train chatting to some daft old lady. I’d be on my way to wherever he was.’ She squeezed Mallory’s hand and Mallory immediately realised that the story had come back to her and Greg.
Mallory’s eyes stung. ‘But… his wife… he lied.’
The old lady took a deep breath. ‘Now dear, I think seeing as I don’t know you, I can be brutally honest. The wife he has is what you youngsters these days call “emotional baggage”. He doesn’t love her. It sounds to me like he doesn’t even think about her long enough for her to become a concern for him and that’s why she never came up in conversation. What you need to decide is whether you’re prepared to accept that?’
The train jolted into life again and Mallory sat back, open-mouthed at the clarity that Edith had brought to her situation. The train pulled into the next station and Edith rose to alight the carriage.
‘Edith!’ Mallory was shaken from her thoughts. ‘What happened… to you and Stanley I mean? Did you get your happy ever after?’ Mallory was desperate to know.
Edith smiled warmly. ‘Dear, we were married for fifty-four years, blissfully happy until I lost him to the dreaded cancer.’ She shook her head. ‘I never regretted a single moment of “rushing into it” with him, dear. He was wonderful. Now see that you don’t miss that chance at happiness. Take care.’ And with that, Edith was gone like a fairy godmother.
Everything suddenly became clear. Mallory knew exactly what she needed to do and just had to pluck up the courage to do it. Another journey beyond her comfort zone was on the horizon, that one thing was certain.
*
Mallory arrived back in Scotland in time for the Halloween bash at the pub. Stella had texted and asked her to come in and help decorate the place with accessories for the party and she had cordially agreed to do so. She was so excited. She had done a lot of thinking about things whilst she was away, thanks to Edith and of course straight-talking Josie. She was looking forward to seeing Greg to ask for his forgiveness over how she had reacted and to ask if he wanted to give things another go.
But before going to the pub, she had a couple of important things to do. After collecting Ruby from Ron she drove along the road to see a little shop in Easdale with a view to renting it. The village, with its whitewashed one-story buildings, had a nice community feel with a couple of restaurants and little shops where Le Petit Cadeau would fit in very well.
The place she viewed was perfect. The amount of space was just right and the owner had welcomed her interest. He gave her some figures to look through and she was going to peruse them to see if it could work out running the two shops concurrently. It was an exciting prospect and she couldn’t wait to tell Greg that she would be sticking around after all.
Once she returned home she changed into scruffy clothes and took the little sapling out into the back garden. Ruby followed close behind and helped dig the hole by the workshop where the maple tree would be situated.
After planting the young tree in the soil, she watered it and placed a large pebble with Sam’s name painted on over the newly settled dirt.
‘Sam, I want you to know that I didn’t mean to fall for someone so soon after losing you. It was never my intention to fall in love at all. But you taught me what real love is and so now I know how to recognise it when it happens. But I miss you. And that will never change. But I have to look to the future now. I have to live the life you wanted for us. I will always love you, Sam. And you’ll always be in my heart.’ She closed her eyes as a warm breeze caressed her face and she smiled.
*
After she showered and dressed in clean clothes, Mallory clipped Ruby’s lead to her collar and she set off for the pub with butterflies doing the Highland Fling in her stomach.
When she arrived at the pub Greg was already there. She grinned like a Cheshire cat when she saw him and had to restrain herself from running into his arms. She was about to shout a greeting to him where he stood behind the bar pinning up pumpkin streamers. But before she had a chance to speak and much to her dismay, a pretty dark-haired woman, presumably Kate, walked in from the back and slid her arms around him. Mallory’s heart sank. Oh. Ship = sailed, her subconscious mocked her.
Greg spotted her and waved. ‘Hey! You’re back matey! Welcome home!’
Oh, so we’re back to matey now. ‘Yup. Can’t seem to get rid of me, eh?’ she joked but Greg just frowned.
He took Kate’s hand and brought her over. ‘Kate, this is the very talented Mallory who made my chalkboard. Mallory this is my… erm… this is Kate
.’
Kate held out her hand. ‘Nice to finally meet you. I was admiring your signs in Colin’s shop. Greg’s right about your talent. They’re beautiful things.’
Mallory shook the proffered hand. ‘Good to meet you, Kate. And thank you. I’m glad you like them.’
Kate seemed very nice, but a little cagey around her although Mallory had no clue why. She tried hard to be cordial, but found it tricky considering that Kate kept on making romantic gestures towards Greg in Mallory’s direct eyeline. She was like a cat marking her territory, although Greg looked uncomfortable with it all.
Chapter Fifteen
On the Saturday night of October thirty first, Mallory pulled on tight black jeans over a fitted black all-in-one T-shirt body. She tied her wavy brown locks in a high ponytail and donned contact lenses and an eye mask. She drew on fake whiskers with eye pencil and attached a tail to her jeans that she had made from a fluffy black scarf. Ruby gave her an inquisitive sniff when she descended the stairs but Mallory gave her a chew stick and she got busy devouring it as her owner wrapped a warm coat around her and headed for the spooky pub.
Greg was there in his Dracula costume. She hated to admit it, but he made a rather sexy vampire. Kate came through from the back carrying a tray of sandwiches to pass around. She was dressed as Morticia from the Addams Family. Mallory smiled and said hello and on hearing her voice Greg swung around. She watched him do a wide-eyed double take and his mouth dropped open as he scanned her body. Mallory couldn’t help smiling to herself.
*
Greg took to the stage at eight and the atmosphere was electric. Many of the customers had dressed up in costume. Colin had a fake axe attached to his head so that it looked like it was embedded in his skull which Mallory found hilarious. Ron had even joined in, dressing in a suit and a very tall hat. When asked what he was dressed as, he indignantly informed people that he was an undertaker and couldn’t seem to understand why this wasn’t blatantly obvious.