by Sherri Bryan
Olivia shifted uncomfortably. “I read your interview in the newspaper.” She looked around the kitchen, focusing on anything but the man sitting opposite her. “And I know this is going to sound ridiculous, especially after all these years, but I want to apologise.”
Gordon raised a spindly eyebrow and leaned forward in his chair, a hand cupped around his ear. “What was that?” he snapped. “I could have sworn you said you’d come to apologise.” He kept the small smile that was hovering about his lips at bay, as if he had no intention of making this too easy for the woman who’d caused him so much pain.
Olivia swallowed. “Yes, that’s what I said. I’ve come to apologise. She looked down at her feet. “I had no idea what you’d been through until I saw the newspaper. I’ve hardly even given you a thought since… since it happened. I’m so sorry. And I want to say thank you for what you did for me—the therapy was a huge help. If someone had thrown me through a window… well, let’s just say I wouldn’t have been so forgiving.”
Gordon cocked his head and rubbed at his bony chin. “Ah, yes, forgiveness.” His voice mellowed and he reached over and laid his hand on hers. “Now there’s the key.”
Olivia looked at him and gulped. Even though Gordon had said in the newspaper interview that he’d made peace with her in his heart, she’d half-expected an argument. But he just sat calmly in his chair, the corners of his pale eyes crinkled in a smile.
He chuckled. “I fooled you good and proper with my grumpy old man routine, didn’t I? I don’t have much to laugh about these days, so I make my own fun whenever I can.” He spread his hands and smiled. “Look, I could have held a grudge against you and felt bitter about what you’d done. Goodness knows, I had enough to feel bitter about. I couldn’t work for a long time after the accident, you know.”
Olivia dropped her head into her hands. “I’m really sorr…” she began to say, but Gordon wagged an index finger to shush her.
“Did you know that I walked to the hospital that evening? I didn’t have my car because I thought I’d be having a glass or two of wine with my meal. I had shards of glass all over me, a fractured hip and a shattered kneecap, but I couldn’t feel a thing because I was in shock; it was the adrenaline, see? That’s what the nurses told me before they called the police. They were so desperate for me to bring charges against you. But I knew if I made the wrong decision, it wouldn’t just affect the rest of your life, it’d affect mine too.
“I knew the police would do their own investigation but, believe it or not, I just couldn’t bring myself to see someone with your talent locked up. I know it sounds strange, but I was relieved when they told me they didn’t have enough evidence to convict you. They pushed and pushed for me to press charges but I told them I wanted your punishment to be on my terms.” He settled a cushion in the small of his back and let out a sigh of relief. “Aah, that’s better. Now, where was I? Oh yes… the anger management therapy. You know, Olivia, without that, God only knows where you were headed. I hope what happened at least made you realise how close you’d come to ruining your career.”
Olivia nodded. “It did. But I still don’t understand why you’ve never held a grudge against me.”
Gordon smiled again. “Because resentment is bad for the soul. I could have brought charges against you and then still sat here for the rest of my days, bitter about what you’d done to me: Your life and mine would have been ruined. I couldn’t see the point of that, so forgiveness was the only way. Your life carried on and so did mine. I got a compensation payout from The Old Barn, and you carried on with your career. I won, you won.”
“It said in the newspaper that your wife left you,” said Olivia.
Gordon flinched, as if the pain of the memory was still fresh. He nodded. “Yes, that was a difficult time. We were so in love until…” He sighed. “I’m not going to go over everything again - you obviously read about it in the paper - but after she left, I was very down.” He winced as he crossed his legs, lifting one over the other. “By the way, you know an apology is only worth its salt if it’s sincere, don’t you?” He drummed his fingers against his knee. “Is it sincere?”
Olivia blushed. “Yes, it is. If I’m honest, a little part of me hoped that apologising would make me feel better about myself, but mostly, I just wanted to apologise because I wanted you to know how sorry I am for what I did. It’s not often I say I’m sorry, but I truly am.”
Gordon rewarded her with a smile that reached all the way up to his crinkly eyes. “Well that’s all that counts, then. And I’m sorry for what you must be going through at home. I’ve been keeping up with what’s going on in the news and, even though I haven’t been a fan of Roman Haley since what happened between us, it was still a shock to hear of his passing.”
“Something happened between you and Roman?” asked Olivia with a frown.
Gordon hesitated before dismissing the comment as if it wasn’t important. “It was such a long time ago. I shouldn’t have said anything, but sometimes I forget that a lot of people don’t know about it. I don’t suppose it’ll do any harm to tell you, though.” He scratched his head and adjusted his cushion again.
“After I was injured, I had to take a break from my job at the newspaper. As you know, it was a long recuperation and I was away for months, but I wasn’t worried, because my boss told me my job would be waiting for me when I was well enough to go back to work.
“When I did, though, I found out that Roman had left The Old Barn, and my job had been given to him. Apparently, he’d wanted a change of career and when he heard that the newspaper didn’t have a restaurant critic, he went to see my boss and persuaded him that he was the ideal person to step in and take over.”
Ava stared, wide-eyed, at Charlotte as she poured the tea. “Oh, good heavens! Do you remember the story Harry told us?”
Charlotte nodded. “We heard that Roman left his job as a chef to become a restaurant critic, Gordon, but we had no idea it was your job he’d taken. That must have been awful.”
For the first time since Gordon had been talking, Charlotte was sure she saw a glimmer of anger in his eyes, but it passed so quickly, she wondered if she’d been mistaken. “How can you be so calm after everything that’s happened to you?”
Gordon smiled. “Like I said: Forgiveness. Although I don’t mind admitting, it wasn’t easy with Roman. After the accident, and Melanie leaving me, the one thing that kept me going was the thought of going back to work, but he denied me even that pleasure.” He frowned, and rubbed a thumb across the deep furrow between his brows. “I heard from a lot of people that he knew damn well that job should have been mine, but he didn’t care. Roman was only interested in furthering his career, and he wasn’t bothered who he stepped on to get to where he wanted to be.”
He let out a long sigh. “If I’m totally honest, I couldn’t have done the job anyway. I couldn’t drive, it was difficult for me to sit down for long periods of time, and a couple of other long-term injuries which I won’t bore you with, all made the job impossible for me. I wanted the decision to give it up to be mine, though, not to have someone else make it for me.” He gazed out of the window and gripped the arms of his chair, his knuckles turning white, as he stared, trance-like, straight ahead.
“Are you alright?” asked Charlotte, warily.
Gordon loosened his grip and relaxed. “Sorry. I was lost in my thoughts for a moment.”
“Can I ask you something?” said Olivia.
“Of course. You can ask me anything.”
“Why didn’t you mention anything about what happened with Roman in the newspaper interview?”
“Because they wanted to talk about you. And I don’t like to dwell on it.” No other reasons.” Gordon managed a smile. “Out of interest, do you have any theories on what happened to him?”
Olivia shrugged. “I wish I did. If I knew, I’d be off the hook and I could go back to work, but it’s a complete mystery.”
“I can’t believe the police
really think you had anything to do with Roman’s death,” said Gordon. “I mean, you’re a grizzly old bear, but I doubt you’re the person they’re looking for. Lots of top chefs react to situations with aggression but, in my opinion, it’s the passion they feel about the job that makes them do it, not because they’re murderers.”
“I don’t think they really think I’m guilty,” said Olivia, with a shrug. “But I did hate his guts, and he did open a culinary school in my hometown out of complete spite, so I suppose I can’t be surprised to be a suspect; especially with my track record.” She half-smiled and ran her fingers through her spiky bleached hair.
“Well, if I can do anything to help,” said Gordon, “if I can speak up for you, or whatever, you know where to find me. I don’t think you’re a bad person, Olivia, but you’re a complex character. A genius often has an edge of madness, you know, but that’s all some people see. If they just took the trouble to look past it, they’d find the real person.”
He held out a hand, which Olivia stared at for an age before gulping and grabbing it with her two. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.”
“You don’t have to thank me.” Gordon leaned forward in his chair and clutched his knee, wincing until the pain passed. “Sorry, it just creeps up on me sometimes.”
“Look, I want to do something for you,” said Olivia suddenly. “How would you and your sister like to come to St. Eves and spend a couple of nights at The President Hotel? I’ll book your travel, adjoining rooms with a sea view, and all your meals will be included, plus use of all the facilities. There’s a fantastic spa where you can get a massage, or a sauna, or you can use the hot tub. It might help with your aches and pains. It’d all be on me, of course. I won’t be there, but I can book everything for you if you give me some dates that would suit. All you have to do is turn up and relax. How does that sound?”
Gordon batted away the offer with a bony hand. “Don’t be silly. It’s not necessary for you to do that.”
“I know it’s not necessary, but I want to do it,” said Olivia. “It doesn’t even begin to make up for what you’ve been through but, please, let me do something for you. Please?”
Gordon looked at her pleading eyes, then nodded. “Well, that’s very generous, and I’d be delighted to accept. It’ll be nice to have a change of scene for a couple of days. I’ll tell Lara when she gets here later. Thank you.”
Olivia heaved a sigh of relief. “No, thank you.”
Gordon smiled. “No thanks necessary. As I said, forgiveness really is the only way.”
____________
“D’you know, I wish I’d done this years ago,” said Olivia, with a carefree spring in her heavy steps as she, Charlotte, and Ava walked down the garden path to the car. “Even though I’m the prime suspect in a murder investigation, I feel bloody brilliant!”
“Well, if Gordon can forgive you after what you did to him, I take my hat off to him,” said Charlotte, sliding into her seat. “There’s not many who would.”
“Did you notice that wonderful smell, by the way?” said Ava. “It was like citrus and freshly-cut grass.”
Charlotte nodded. “It was gorgeous, wasn’t it? Really unusual. I wish I’d asked him what it was.”
“Shall I go back and find out?” said Olivia. “It’ll only take a minute. I’ll…”
“Oi! Floyd-Martin!” An angry voice blared out from further up the street. “I don’t believe it. You’ve got a damn nerve, showing your face around here.”
They all looked in the direction of the voice to see a furious-looking middle-aged woman with mad, bushy red hair striding towards the car.
“Who on earth is that?” asked Ava, craning her neck forward from the back seat for a better view. “Oh dear, she looks awfully common. I hope she’s not going to rob us.” She zipped up her handbag and locked the back doors, testing them to make sure they were definitely shut. “She looks jolly cross. Maybe she’s looking for a fight?”
“Ava! For heaven’s sake!” Charlotte caught her eye in the interior mirror. “Just because we’re not in the most exclusive of areas, doesn’t mean the locals spend their days looking for someone to rob or wrestle.” She shook her head and rubbed her back. “Do you know who she is, Olivia?”
Olivia shrugged. “I’ve no idea, but judging by the look on her face, I’d say she’s not very pleased to see me. She certainly seems to know who I am, though.” She squared her shoulders and crossed her arms as the woman drew closer.
Two feet shorter than the Amazonian chef, the feisty woman stopped just inches away, with her hands on her hips, and glared at Olivia, her eyes boring into her like lasers.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Olivia returned the hostility. “Last I heard, this is still a free country, and I can go wherever I like. What’s it got to do with you, anyway? And who are you?”
“I’m Lara Buckingham, Gordon’s sister,” said the woman, her blue eyes flashing. “That’s what it’s got to do with me. Now, I’ll ask you again, what are you doing here?”
“Oh.” Olivia scratched her head. “I’ve been to see Gordon. I wanted to speak to him.”
“Did you now? What did you want to speak to him about?”
“I think you should ask him,” said Olivia.
Lara kicked her hard on the shin. “I’m asking you!”
“Oww!” Olivia doubled up and took a step back. “Are you mental, woman? You can’t just kick people when you feel like it, you know.”
“The same could be said for throwing people through windows,” Lara snapped back. “Or have you conveniently forgotten about that?”
“No, actually,” said Olivia, rubbing her leg. “That’s why I’m here. I came to apologise. And I spoke to Gordon about you both coming to St. Eves for a mini-break… all on me.”
Lara looked dumbstruck for a moment, then threw back her head and laughed. “Apologise? A mini-break? I think it’s a bit late for that, don’t you? Have you any idea of the hell he’s been through over the past years? Have you? No, of course you haven’t, because you couldn’t have cared less.” She put up a hand. “And don’t tell me you’ve turned over a new leaf, or you’ve seen the light, or whatever the damn reason is for you being here—your pathetic apology is about twenty-five years too late.”
She looked Olivia up and down with a sneer. “Did he tell you he had to stop working after the accident? He’s never been the same since he went through that window. God knows, I’ve wanted him to press charges and sue you for every penny, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He just wanted to forgive and forget. But that’s Gordon for you.” She stopped for breath and brushed an angry tear from her freckled cheek.
“You know what? Gordon may not live in the smartest house, in the best area, but he’s still too good for the likes of you. You’re not fit to breathe the same air he does. Now, why don’t you get lost? You’re not wanted around here. I wish they’d locked you up and thrown away the key, although you’d be better suited to where Roman Haley’s gone—and good riddance to him, too!” She turned on her heel and stomped up the garden path, jabbing her key at the lock. “And you know where you can shove your mini-break!” she shouted, before slamming the door behind her.
“Well, you can’t really blame her for feeling that way, dear,” said Ava, trying to lighten the atmosphere, as Olivia heaved herself into the car, her recent good mood having vanished. “You almost killed her brother, after all.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” snapped Olivia, resting her elbow on the window frame and avoiding eye contact. “Can we just get out of here and go back to St. Eves?”
____________
“Charlotte! How many times have we discussed this?” said Nathan, through a mouthful of toothpaste.
“Can you go and rinse, please? You’re making me feel nauseous.” Charlotte stroked Pippin and Panda as they crawled up the centre of the bed and curled up beside her.
“You know I’m grateful fo
r your input,” said Nathan, as he reappeared, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, “but I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you while you were out snooping around. You aren’t the police, you know.”
Charlotte gave him an incredulous look. “Yes, I know that, thank you, and I was not snooping around. I just took Olivia to see Gordon and happened to find out a few things while I was there. And Ava was with us, so in the unlikely event I’d gone into labour, she would have known what to do. But, honestly, Nathan, if I’d thought that was likely to happen, I would never have gone in the first place.”
Nathan’s eyes widened. “Ava was with you? Well, that’s just marvellous, isn’t it? The whole town probably knows what happened by now.” He put his hands on his hips and exhaled loudly.
“Will you please just come to bed?” said Charlotte, with a sigh that matched his.
The dogs jumped down and Nathan got under the duvet, propping himself up on an elbow. “So, what did you find out?” He grinned. “Or were you going to keep it to yourself?”
Charlotte settled herself against her pillows. “Well, I think Olivia’s apology went down well with Gordon, but not so much with his sister. I reckon she would have done Olivia some serious damage if she’d flown at her. Honestly, though, Gordon’s the most amazing guy. He’s so peaceful and full of forgiveness. He completely forgives Olivia for what she did, despite all the long-term side effects of the injuries he has to live with, and he even forgave Roman eventually, although he said that wasn’t easy.”
Nathan sat up. “Roman? What’s Gordon got to do with Roman?”
“I thought that might get your interest,” said Charlotte. “Well…”
She related the story Gordon had told them.
“So Gordon and Roman knew each other from years ago? And Roman used to work at The Old Barn with Olivia, but then he left, had a change of career, and swiped Gordon’s newspaper restaurant critic job from under his nose while he was on sick leave?”