by Jill Mansell
“Arthur, I’m so sorry.” Majella’s heart was thudding. “When did this happen?”
“Just ten minutes ago. Don’t get upset. It’s not your fault.” Arthur was a kind man.
“Thanks for telling me,” said Majella. She wasn’t upset; she was furious.
Having hurriedly left the house, she spotted her daughter twenty minutes later, dawdling along the esplanade. Each time India paused to browse in a shop window, Majella’s breath caught in her throat. If she entered the shop, should she race in after her to ensure no pilfering occurred? But she couldn’t handcuff herself to her daughter 24/7. Why was India doing it, though? It made no sense at all.
After discreetly following her for a few minutes more, still wondering what on earth could be going on, Majella saw her turn away from the shops and head for the steps that led down to the beach. She watched from a distance, taking in the droop of her daughter’s shoulders and her air of…what? Defeat? Unhappiness? More to the point, was it unhappiness at having been caught and told off by Arthur, or as a result of something else?
On the dry, silvery sand, India sat down and pulled a plastic bottle of Coke from her bag. She took a couple of big swigs, then gazed out to sea. From the top of the steps, it occurred to Majella that her daughter would normally take out her phone within seconds and be glued to it, but this didn’t happen. She was thinking too hard about something to want the distraction of a phone.
It also occurred to her to wonder if there was rum in that bottle of Coke.
As she approached, India turned. “You’d make a terrible secret agent. I saw you ages ago, lurking outside the flower shop.”
“What’s going on, India?”
“Nothing.”
“Arthur came to see me.”
“Of course he did. I didn’t mean to do it. It was an accident. I just wasn’t thinking.”
“Arthur’s run that shop for the last thirty years. He’s had enough practice to be able to tell the difference.”
“Better call the police, then. Chuck me in a cell and throw away the key. After all, it was an entire packet of chewing gum costing sixty-five whole pence.”
Majella’s fury had abated; the tone might be defiant, but there was genuine pain in her daughter’s eyes and she was trembling. “Oh, sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” India hugged her knees, shaking her head and continuing to gaze out to sea.
“You’ve known Arthur your whole life. How could you steal from him? He’s the loveliest man.”
Tears brimmed in India’s eyes.
“I’m thirsty.” Majella nudged the plastic bottle of Coke. “Can I have a swig?” She unscrewed the lid and sniffed the contents.
“I’m not a secret drinker, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Majella took a swallow anyway. It was just Coke. “Whatever the problem is, you can tell me. We can sort it out.”
Another shake of the head. “Are you on drugs?”
“No.”
“Pregnant?”
“No.”
“Boyfriend trouble? Problems at school? You haven’t been yourself lately. Is it the exams you’re worried about?” Majella was running out of options. “Are you being bullied?”
“None of those. It’s nothing.” A tear overflowed and ran down India’s cheek as she said it. “I’m fine.”
Majella felt her own throat tighten with emotion. “Does Violet know what’s going on?”
India briefly closed her eyes and shook her head.
“Well, if you won’t tell me, will you at least talk to her about it?”
Another shake. “No. Mum, please, don’t ask me again. I’ll be OK.”
* * *
A text pinged up on Seth’s phone on Thursday afternoon as he was heading back to Bristol following a long meeting in Bath. Pulling over, he saw that it was from Majella: Just took a call from someone in the office—says she’s a friend of your mum’s and needs to speak to you. I said you’d call her back. Her name’s Shelley and here’s her number…
He braced himself and rang the number Majella had sent him.
“Seth? Darling, I swear to God your mother’s driving me to distraction. I’ve been calling and leaving messages since yesterday, and again I’m just not getting any reply. Does she just hate me, is that it?”
“She’s gone to a spa retreat,” Seth explained. “Some detox place in the Cotswolds where they confiscate your phone on arrival. She’s booked herself in for the next ten days, if there isn’t a mass breakout before then. It’s all yoga and meditation and drinking liquidized grass, apparently, so that could happen.”
“She’s mad!” Shelley gave a shriek of laughter. “Why would anyone want to do that to themselves? Anyway, so what d’you think I should do, because I wanted to tell her that Matteo died and if she felt like sending flowers to the funeral I’ve got the address? His sister messaged me yesterday morning to let me know, but it’s not going to be a big flashy ceremony, so Christina wouldn’t want to fly over for it anyway. Family only, his sister said.”
Seth digested the news, so casually imparted, in silence. So that was it, then. The man who was probably his father was now dead. Because in all honesty, with his dark hair and dark eyes, the odds were that he was indeed Matteo’s son.
“Hello? Hello? Are you still there, darling?”
“Yes, still here.” He took a deep breath. “Thanks for telling me. Look, if you text me the details, I’ll get in touch with the spa and find a way to let Mum know.”
* * *
Lainey was busy washing the cars on the driveway when she became aware that she was being watched. Across the road, a thin woman of maybe forty was hovering, peering in through the gates.
Seeing that she’d been noticed, the woman made her approach. “Hello, I’m looking for someone and I think this could be where they live…”
“He’s asleep at the moment,” said Lainey, because Richard had been out for a long lunch with an old director friend and was now snoring gently on his favorite chaise longue in the back garden with his hat tilted over his face.
“It’s not a he,” said the woman. “I’m looking for someone called Majella.”
“Oh, sorry!” Not another member of the fan club, then. “Yes, this is the right house, but I’m afraid she’s out with a client at the moment. You can leave a message with me if you like, and I’ll make sure she gets it.”
The woman said, “Actually, you might be able to help. Do you work for Majella?”
“Yes.” Lainey was trying to guess what this could be about. She hoped it wasn’t something to do with India, about whom Majella was increasingly concerned. Please don’t let it be more shoplifting.
“Did you break into a house in Bude the other week?”
“Well, yes.” Wrong-footed, Lainey added, “But not in a burglar-y way.”
“You were looking for some lost passports,” said the woman, “and my ex-husband found them lying in the road.”
“Yes! You mean Dan’s your ex-husband? He was a star!” Lainey exclaimed. “Completely saved the day. I got the passports down to Southampton with minutes to spare. Is he here with you?”
“No, I came down on my own—Oh, good grief.” Staring over Lainey’s shoulder, the woman did a double take. “Is that…?”
“Lainey?” Richard called from the side of the house. “Got a bit of a headache, can’t think why. Could you be an angel and bring me out a couple of aspirin with a cup of tea?”
“Of course. Give me two minutes.”
“Who’s that?” He pointed at the stranger. “Not another long-lost daughter, I hope.”
“Blimey,” said Dan’s ex-wife when Richard had returned to the back garden. “Dan did mention there was an old chap here who looked a bit like Richard Myles. He didn’t realize it was him.”
Lainey dropped the car-cleaning sponge into the bucket of soapy water. “Come on inside. He’ll be grumpy if I don’t make him his cup of tea. We’ll have one too.”
Once Richard’s tray had been delivered to him, they sat down together at the kitchen table. “So why are you here?” Lainey asked.
Dan’s wife, whom she now knew was called Sara, said, “Well, I hope this doesn’t sound a bit weird, but when Dan dropped Majella back here, she was all excited about meeting some amazing new guy her friend had matched her up with.” She hesitated, looked embarrassed. “And I…well, I kind of wondered how it went.”
“Total disaster. He was awful,” Lainey said promptly. “Awful and a drug dealer.”
“Oh no, that’s terrible! Well,” Sara amended, “terrible for her at the time, but probably good in the long run.” She paused again to stir her tea, then said in a rush, “The thing is, I think Dan really likes Majella.”
Wow. Was this a Fatal Attraction scenario? Proceeding with caution, Lainey said, “And…is that a problem?”
“God no! Not at all! I want him to be happy. That’s why I’m here. Every time he mentions her, I see his face change. It kind of lights up. So I told him he should come over here and ask her out, but he won’t do it in case he’s gotten it all wrong and she’s not interested. But honestly, he’s a lovely man… If you could just persuade her to give him a chance, I promise she wouldn’t regret it.”
“Shall I tell you something?” Lainey broke into the broad smile she’d been working so hard to suppress. “Ever since that day, Majella’s been kicking herself for not getting Dan’s number. She didn’t have any way of tracking him down; all she knew was that he lived in Exeter. Hearing you saying this is just…brilliant.”
And now they were both grinning at each other like idiots, unable to control themselves.
“If we tell them we’ve fixed them up, they might refuse to go along with it. I know what Majella’s like. She’ll be too scared in case it all goes wrong.”
“Same with Dan. The more something matters to him, the more terrified he gets.”
“We need to come up with a plan,” said Lainey.
“We’re like a pair of fairy godmothers,” said Sara, “and we’re going to do this.” Triumphantly, she took a cookie out of the tin and waved it like a wand. “Honestly, I thought I might be a bit mad coming here today. But now I’m so glad I did.”
Chapter 41
“Oh no, please no.” Majella knew she had to be firm, stand her ground. “Don’t try to make me change my mind, because it’s not going to happen. I said no more blind dates and I meant it.” Honestly, why wouldn’t people believe her?
“But this one isn’t from a dating app.” Lainey had her wide-eyed, earnestly persuasive face on. “And it isn’t really blind, because I’ve seen him and you know you can trust me.”
“I thought I could trust my friend Judi, and look how well that turned out.” With a shudder, Majella said, “She thought I’d get on like a house on fire with her cokehead cousin. I mean, what was she even thinking?”
“Well, I’m way better at matching people up than Judi. And I promise you’ll like this one. As soon as we got chatting, I knew he’d be perfect for you. Honestly, it was like love at first sight by proxy—when you meet him, you’ll be so glad I did this.”
Majella shook her head. “I’m not going to meet him and I can’t believe you thought this was a good idea. How could you set me up without even asking me first? It’s just wrong.”
“It’s called being spontaneous,” Lainey exclaimed. “It’s called seizing the moment, rather than doing nothing and letting a brilliant opportunity slip by. Didn’t I tell you I’d sort you out and find you a man?” Her eyebrows disappeared up beneath her bangs, and Majella’s spirits sank at the realization that she had clearly set her heart on this hideous meeting going ahead.
“And where did you find him?”
“On Mariscombe Beach! I was throwing the Frisbee for Ernie and Glenda, and I accidentally clonked him on the back of the head, but he was really nice about it, and we got talking about mad accidents and dogs, and he thought Ernie and Glenda were brilliant—and they loved him too, by the way—and then we chatted about St. Carys, how I’d happened to find my way here and how much I loved working for you…I mean, we ended up talking for ages,” Lainey rattled on, “and the whole time I just kept thinking how perfect you two would be for each other. And then remember when you met Dan and you couldn’t ask him for his number because you were too shy and it would’ve been too embarrassing if he’d said no?”
There it was, the awful recurring pang of disappointment and regret. Dan, whom she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about and who, she was now certain, had been her perfect man. Majella nodded sadly. “Yes.”
“Well, it’s a lot easier to ask someone out on a date with somebody else. So I told him all about you and said would he like to meet you, and he was completely up for it!”
“And I still don’t want to go.”
“Look, I can’t force you. But if you don’t meet him, I really think you’ll be missing out. He’ll be waiting for you outside Paddy’s Café at midday tomorrow. All you have to do is have a quick cup of coffee with him. Ten minutes, tops. Then if you want to leave, you can, and I hereby promise never to set you up on a date again.” Lainey shrugged. “So how about that for an offer you can’t refuse?”
This was her special skill, persuading people to do things they didn’t want to do.
Feeling resentful and hopelessly outmaneuvered, Majella said, “I don’t even know what he looks like.”
“He looks…friendly and kind and nice.”
“I meant, how would I recognize him?”
“No worries.” Lainey was triumphant. “I’ll walk down with you.”
* * *
That had been yesterday. Now it was today. As she and Lainey made their way along the curving esplanade, the jitters rose like a cloud of locusts inside Majella’s rib cage and she wished more than ever that she had stood her ground.
The church bells began to chime; it was twelve o’clock exactly. Feeling like Cinderella in reverse, Majella muttered, “If I don’t like the look of him, I’m not even going to sit down. I’ll be turning around and going straight back home.”
“Fine,” said Lainey. “But I think you’ll like the look of him.”
“I feel sick.”
“No you don’t. Just relax. It’ll be fun.”
“One cup of coffee, that’s all. And no spying on us from a distance. It’s going to be bad enough as it is without worrying about you sneaking around corners, watching us like monkeys in a zoo.”
“No spying, I promise.”
They rounded the curve and there was Paddy’s Café. Scanning the tables outside, Majella saw only one man on his own, but he was ancient. Which meant her date was either late, or sitting inside, or not coming. Torn between relief and outrage, she said, “If he’s stood me up…”
Then the words died in her throat and her ears began to buzz, because there, seated at a table for four along with a laughing brunette woman and two young girls, was Dan.
Dan.
Oh goodness, it really was him, here with his family, his wife and daughters, and it was so wonderful to see him again, but also completely awful.
“What’s wrong?” said Lainey, because Majella had stopped dead in her tracks.
She unstuck her tongue from the roof of her mouth. “It’s…him.”
“Who?”
“Look. With the woman and the girls. Dan.”
“Wow, so it is. Fantastic!”
At that moment, a tall man emerged from inside the café, carrying a coffee and heading for an empty table. Majella said fearfully, “Is that him? Is that the one I’m supposed to be meeting? Oh God, I can’t do it now, how can I sit there and talk to a stranger in front of Dan,
there’s no way I could—”
“He’s seen us! Come on!” Clutching Majella’s arm, Lainey called out, “Hellooo!” and dragged her along the pavement. Majella was simultaneously mortified by the awfulness of the situation and awash with adrenaline because Dan was now less than twenty meters away. Although he and his supposedly ex-wife were looking so relaxed in each other’s company that she was probably about to find out that he was still happily married to her after all.
“You’ll have to tell the other one I can’t do it.” She was doing her best to dig her heels in. The man was now looking over at them, and at closer quarters, he bore a startling resemblance to a horse.
“Hey, remember what I told you? Relax,” said Lainey. “I wouldn’t choose someone you didn’t like.”
Except she’d evidently chosen someone with a really long face and enormous yellow teeth. Perspiration prickled at the back of Majella’s neck as she pretended not to have noticed Dan and his family. But to her surprise, Lainey steered her right past the horse-faced man and said cheerfully, “Well, it took a bit of persuading, but I got her here in the end! Now, shall we leave them to it?”
And within a minute, she found herself seated opposite Dan at an otherwise unoccupied table littered with half-finished soft drinks. Lainey, Dan’s ex-wife, and the two girls had disappeared together in the direction of the beach.
“Well,” Dan said at last. “Looks like we’ve been set up.”
“I’m confused.” Majella’s hands were trembling. “I don’t know how this has happened.”
He paused, meeting her gaze. “When your friend said it took a bit of persuading to get you here, was that because you knew you were going to see me?”
“What? No! I didn’t want to come here because Lainey told me she’d fixed me up with a stranger! I thought it was him.” Furtively Majella indicated the man on his own, reading a paper, over to their left.
“He looks like a donkey,” Dan murmured.
“I know.” So many questions were bubbling up. “Are you really divorced?”