Changing Perspectives

by Jen Silver

  †

  Her father had chosen the restaurant over her mother’s protests that it was far too expensive.

  “Money is no object where my two favourite ladies are concerned. And we have something extra to celebrate tonight.” He gave Camila’s arm an affectionate squeeze as they followed the waiter to their table.

  “Dad, please.”

  He wasn’t ready to let the subject go. The two pints of bitter he’d consumed in the pub had mellowed him considerably. When they were finally sitting down, he continued, “What’s wrong with this Dani? Is he some sort of criminal? Is that why you don’t want to talk about him?”

  Camila glanced at her mother for support but she was looking at her expectantly as well.

  “Oh my! This is a popular place. Your bosses are here.” Her father smiled and waved. “I’ll go over and say hello. If the wine waiter shows up, order a bottle of Fleurie.”

  Camila turned in her seat as he got up and walked past a few tables to where she could see Carl and Eric and the back of another man. Her heart lurched. Only it wasn’t a man, was it? She knew the back of that head, and the profile when it turned to observe her father’s approach was undeniably Dani’s.

  Eric stood to greet him and she watched as they shook hands and her father acknowledged Carl. Watching as Eric introduced Dani, Camila held her breath. Dani nodded and got up. Clearly she was being invited to come over to their table. Camila caught the look of concern on Carl’s face as her father made his way back with Dani in tow. This was too much. How did Dani even know the Redmonds?

  “Well, well. Seems we’re in luck, Margaret. Let me introduce Dani, our girl’s secret lover.”

  Dani smiled. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs Callaghan.”

  “Do you work for Redmond too?” her mother asked.

  “No. I have an advertising agency. We recently did some television ads for them.”

  Camila saw her father’s face transform with shock as something clicked for him. She stood abruptly. “I need to powder my nose.”

  She made her way out to the lobby not quite at a run.

  †

  Dani watched Camila’s rapid exit with concern. Mrs Callaghan was looking puzzled but Mr Callaghan was obviously putting two and two together rapidly and reaching the right answer.

  “Lovely to meet you both. I’ll just go and make sure she’s all right.” Dani strode out of the room and thought she would find Camila in the ladies’, although going in dressed as she was wouldn’t do. Fortunately, she found her huddled by the telephone booth, shoulders heaving.

  Words seemed inadequate, so she just embraced Camila and held her. When her breathing calmed, Camila pulled back and looked into her eyes.

  “How do you know Carl and Eric?”

  “Carl and I were at art college together, but after the first year, he got into computers and then he met Eric.”

  “What do you mean?” Camila’s eyes darkened as the truth hit her. “They’re not brothers,” she stated in a flat tone.

  “No.” Dani held on to her, wanting so much to kiss her. “Look, it’s not my story to tell. But it was a different time. Maybe in the early eighties they would have come out. Then the AIDS crisis hit and the business they’d so carefully built would have come crashing down if their influential backers knew.”

  “But neither of them has AIDS.”

  “Doesn’t matter whether they do or not. In spite of the good work by Princess Diana, people still think all gay men are infected and you can catch it just by being in the same room.”

  “Things are changing.”

  “Yes, but slowly. Look at you. Afraid to come out to your parents. Although I think that cat is well and truly out of the bag now.”

  Camila’s eyes were still brimming with tears. Dani brushed her hair away from her face and leaned down to kiss her. Their lips met and Dani lost herself in the softness of exploring her lover’s mouth with her tongue. After a few minutes they broke apart, needing to breathe.

  “Come home with me,” Dani whispered. “You have a promise to deliver on.”

  “I can’t. I’m going to have to talk to them. But they’re leaving in the morning.”

  “Please don’t keep me waiting too long.”

  Camila gave her a tentative smile. “I better get back. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Dani released her and watched her go back into the restaurant. She turned and went into the gents’ toilets. Checking her face in the mirror, she reluctantly wiped the traces of Camila’s lipstick off her mouth.

  †

  Returning to the restaurant, Dani glanced at the Callaghans as she walked past their table. Camila was speaking in a low voice, holding her parents’ attention.

  Dani found Carl sitting alone, the debris of their main course cleared away.

  “Where’s Eric?”

  “Phone call. He left a message at the club to say he could be contacted here.”

  “Doesn’t he ever stop?”

  “No.” Carl twirled his dessert spoon around. “Is she okay?”

  “I hope so. It didn’t take Dad long to catch on.”

  “Are you serious about Camila, Dani? I don’t want to see her get hurt.”

  Dani smiled at him. “I think that’s the conversation I’ll be having with her father at some point. But, yes, I am.”

  “Is she okay with…you know?” Carl made a swishing motion with his arm.

  “Early days yet, but I think she’s getting there.”

  Carl looked like he wanted to continue the conversation, but Eric returned before he could say anything else.

  “How do you feel about a trip to Strasbourg?” he asked his partner as he sat down.

  “Strasbourg?” Carl perked up like a retriever on a scent. “No way! They’re interested?”

  “Yep.” Eric looked at Dani. “We may have cracked the European contract we’ve been after. I’m sorry, but it’s going to impact on your love life. I’ll need Camila to go with Carl. I’d go myself but I’m meeting the Americans on Monday.”

  “But she will have Sunday off, won’t she?”

  “Sorry, mate. The way the flights work, they’ll have to travel tomorrow.”

  Dani slumped in her seat. “Why can’t you go? She can meet the Americans.” Even as she spoke the words, Dani knew she sounded pathetic.

  “Camila’s laid the groundwork. She knows the ins and outs of the project better than either of us. As I told you before, she’s absolutely ace at negotiation.”

  “When are you going to tell her? It looks like she’s having a serious chat with her parents.”

  “I’ve left a message on her answerphone. If you had plans for tomorrow, she’s not going to like it any more than you, but there isn’t any other option.” Eric’s tone was apologetic, but she could see the light of conquest dancing in his eyes. “So have you ordered dessert, Carl?”

  “Of course. Crème brûlée for you and an irish coffee for Dani.”

  “What about you?”

  “Watching my waistline. I’ll have a spoonful of yours.”

  “Nothing wrong with your waistline.” Eric eyed him flirtatiously.

  “Give it a rest, guys, please.” Dani glared at them. “Seeing as you’ve just put a spoke in my love life.”

  “Come on, Dani. It’s only a few days. She will be all yours on Tuesday evening. If this deal comes off, I’ll tell her to take some time off.”

  “Like that will work.” Carl sniffed. “She hasn’t had a proper holiday in three years.”

  Dani fought the urge to turn and look at Camila’s table. The next half hour passed in excruciating slowness, as she felt malevolent eyes boring into the back of her head. When their desserts came, she drank the irish coffee as quickly as she could without burning her mouth and willed Eric and Carl not to linger over their crème brûlée.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The conversation with her parents during dinner had been uncomfortable. Her father kept looking over at the table where Dani
sat with the Redmonds.

  “I don’t understand,” had become her mother’s refrain. “If you’re going out with someone who looks like a man, why don’t you go out with a real man?”

  “I’m not attracted to men.”

  “But you’re going out with someone who is dressed like a man.”

  “She doesn’t dress like that all the time.”

  Camila had relaxed slightly once the other three had gone. Dani glanced back at the door and caught her eye. They shared a brief smile, although Dani’s expression looked more like a grimace.

  Thinking that she would see Dani the next day had sustained her throughout the meal and on the way home in the taxi. Only a few more hours and her parents would be headed back to France.

  “You’ve got a message,” her father said as soon as the door of the flat closed behind them. “Probably from your boyfriend.”

  Camila ignored the sarcasm in his tone and shrugged out of her jacket. She set her bag on the floor and pressed the button to listen to the message. Her parents continued into the living room. Camila leant against the wall and closed her eyes. Eric’s voice came through loud and clear. He sounded excited. But his words did nothing to excite her.

  A week or two ago, going to Strasbourg to close out the deal would have brought a smile to her face. Now she could only think of Dani’s disappointment and her own unfulfilled fantasies.

  She told her parents she needed to prepare for the unexpected business trip and went into her bedroom, closing the door. After the evening’s events, she craved her privacy more than ever.

  Those few minutes of holding on to Dani had felt wonderful. In spite of the turmoil in her mind, her body had responded automatically to her lover’s closeness. Their kiss had intensified that feeling and it had been a wrench to pull herself away, with the added difficulty of trying to explain to her parents that this was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

  She picked out the clothes she would wear in the morning and repacked her travel bag, checking that her passport was there. Eric would look after providing the currency they needed although she had some French francs left over from her last trip to her parents’ house at Christmas.

  As she reached into her handbag to retrieve her purse, her hand met the unresisting contours of a paperback. She took it out and carefully removed it from the Silver Moon branded bag. The image on the front cover set her pulse racing again. Camila placed it face down on her bedside table.

  From the sounds outside her room, she could tell that her parents had retired to their bedroom. She ventured out and went into the bathroom to retrieve the toiletries bag she stowed in the cupboard there for her frequent trips abroad. Satisfied that everything was ready for the next day’s journey, she finished her own bedtime preparations and crawled under the duvet.

  Camila opened the book and started to read.

  †

  Not wanting to go home, Dani had gone on to a club with Carl and Eric. They danced together while she fended off the attentions of several good-looking young men who tried to tempt her onto the dance floor. Having drunk more than she really wanted to by the time they left at two in the morning, she fell into bed with her clothes on and didn’t wake until ten.

  The shower helped to ease some of the hangover. She stuffed the suit into a bag to take to the dry cleaners on Monday and went downstairs to make a strong pot of coffee. The light blinking on her answerphone caught her eye, so she stopped in the hallway to listen to the message.

  Camila sounded tired as she told Dani she would be back on Tuesday. Their plane was landing at five, so she would come straight to Dani’s house. Dani caught her breath as the last words filtered into her mind: “I keep my promises.”

  She walked into the kitchen feeling more alive than two minutes earlier. Dani was still smiling when the doorbell rang before she had finished her first cup of coffee.

  Opening the door to her brother, she was about to berate him in a few choice words about disturbing her at this hour on a Sunday morning, then saw he had company. Two little faces peered up at her from behind his legs.

  “Morning, sis,” he said cheerfully. “May we come in? It’s a bit wet out here.”

  Dani hadn’t noticed it was raining, but the umbrella he was holding should have been a clue.

  “Sure.” She stood aside as he collapsed the brolly and ushered the two little girls into the house.

  “We were going to go to Kew Gardens, but the rain caught us out. You don’t mind, do you?”

  Considering she had never met her nieces and hadn’t seen her brother for a long time prior to his arriving unexpectedly in her office the other night, she could only shrug.

  “Why should I mind? Coffee’s on if you want some. But I don’t have anything suitable for these two, other than water.”

  “That’s okay. We came prepared for a picnic.” He slipped the heavily laden rucksack off his back. “So let me introduce you. The taller one is Lucy, and this little troublemaker is Holly. Meet your Auntie Dani.”

  Dani smiled at the two girls. Holly had one arm wrapped around Brian’s leg and one small fist shoved in her mouth. Dani wasn’t good with children’s ages but she guessed Lucy was about six and Holly maybe four. Lucy was giving her a puzzled look.

  “Mummy says you’re a peevert.”

  “Really.” She waved off Brian’s shushing to his daughter. “And what do you think that means?”

  “That you pee a lot.”

  “Hm. No more than most people, I think. Anyway, there’s a bathroom just there, if you need to pee.” She looked at Holly. “Do you want to pee?” The little girl shook her head. “Okay, so if there is no peeing to be done at the moment, let’s all go into the living room.”

  The girls sat side by side on the sofa, looking around wide-eyed. Brian followed Dani into the kitchen. “Sorry about that.”

  “What are you really doing here? I’m not buying the Kew story.” She refilled her mug and poured one for Brian. “There’s milk in the fridge.”

  “I thought it was time the girls met their aunt.”

  “Even though I’m a ‘peevert’?” She took two glasses out of the cupboard. “Here. I’m guessing you’ve brought some juice for them.”

  “Yes, thanks. Is your girlfriend not here?”

  “Ah. That’s the real reason, isn’t it? Perving after my girlfriend.”

  “She did look rather nice. Too good for you, anyway.”

  “She’s away on business, so you’re out of luck.”

  They returned to the living room to find the two girls sitting quietly where they had left them. Dani wondered what else they’d been told about her. They looked like they were afraid to move. Brian pulled a bottle of lemonade out of his rucksack and poured a glass for each of them.

  “Can we have a biscuit, Daddy?” Lucy was obviously the more outgoing of the two, or maybe she just had the innate confidence of the firstborn.

  Brian smiled at her, reached into the bag, and brought out a pack of custard creams. Lucy shook her head at him. He reached in again and this time came up with a packet of Penguins.

  “Yes!” She ripped it open and spread the selection out on the coffee table, a row of vibrant-coloured bars. Lucy put her hand on the blue one, then seemed to remember she was in a strange house. She smiled at Dani. “Do you want a Penguin, Auntie Dani?”

  “I like the red ones. And just call me Dani, please.” She accepted the red-wrapped biscuit Lucy handed her. She gave a yellow one to her sister, a green one to Brian, and scooped up the blue one for herself.

  They all munched their chocolate-covered biscuits and sipped their drinks.

  “Do you like drawing?” Dani asked as it looked like it was her job to start a conversation. Both girls nodded.

  Dani walked through to the back of the house and retrieved some paper and colouring pencils. She placed them on the floor in front of the coffee table and sat on the floor herself.

  “Come on. Let’s see what you can do.�
�

  †

  An hour later, Brian was stretched out on the sofa asleep. Holly had lost her earlier inhibition and crawled onto Dani’s lap, watching as she sketched a picture.

  “That’s me,” she said, clearly delighted.

  “It is. Shall I do one of Daddy?”

  “Yes, please, Dani.”

  When she had opened the door to Brian and the girls, Dani hadn’t been happy to see them. But now she was glad. The unplanned visit was an ideal way to spend a Sunday morning and helped to keep thoughts of Camila at bay.

  The two girls had settled down to drawing quickly, but Holly got bored first. From what Dani could see, Lucy seemed to be creating a fairly complex picture. Holly’s effort was standard fare. An outline of a house and a blob at the top that was likely meant to be a sun.

  Dani bent her head and concentrated on bringing Brian’s features to life on the page. Drawn from memory, as she didn’t think he would thank her for depicting his face as he lay with his mouth open, letting out the occasional snuffle. She had joined in with the girls, giggling at the sight when he first fell asleep.

  Lucy looked up from her drawing. “I like being a peevert,” she announced.

  “I don’t think you should tell your mother that.”

  “Why not?”

  “She doesn’t approve of peeverts.”

  “Oh.” Lucy’s brow furrowed in the way it did when she was thinking. “Why can’t Daddy live with us anymore?”

  “I don’t know. Sometimes things just don’t work out.”

  “I wish he would come home.”

  “Why?” Dani watched her niece’s face closely.

  “He smells funny.”

  Dani thought all men smelt funny but she wasn’t going to tell Lucy that. “Who smells funny? Your dad?”

  “No. Mummy’s friend. He stays at our house some nights. I don’t like it when he kisses me.”