In Focus (2009) Page 9

  He snapped his fingers and the waiter who’d been hovering came forward. ‘The bill, please. We’re leaving.’

  She sat motionless in sheer astonishment, then realized her mouth was open and stood up. She held her head high as she walked out, trying not to show how bitterly disappointed she was by Edward’s reaction.

  When the taxi arrived, she barred his way into it. ‘I can go home on my own, if that’s how you feel. It’s stupid for you to come with me anyway. My place must be at least half an hour from yours.’

  ‘I took you out and I’ll damned well return you safely to your flat.’

  He looked so fierce she slid into the vehicle without further protest. But they sat as far away from each other as they could.

  At the flats, she didn’t wait for him to open the car door, but got out and ran for the entrance, zapping the lock and trying to shut the door in his face.

  He came after her and held it open. She stared up at his angry face.

  ‘If you’ve something to write on, I’ll give you Pete’s office number,’ he said in a tight, fierce voice.

  ‘Thank you.’ She fumbled in her handbag and found an old shopping receipt.

  When he’d written the number he turned away, but she grabbed his arm. ‘Just for the record, I did not accept your invitation for tonight in order to get Pete’s phone number. I didn’t even know I’d need it then. Something cropped up after I’d agreed, something very important.’

  He stared at her, his face expressionless, then nodded, stepped backwards and returned to the taxi.

  She watched it pull away, then went up to her flat, feeling bitterly disappointed. Things never went right when she met a guy. Maybe it would be better to stick with male friends like Daniel and her girl friends. Less heartache that way.

  Heartache? She tossed her head at the mere idea. She wasn’t breaking her heart over Edward Newbury, a guy she’d met twice by chance and dated once. She was a capable businesswoman and she didn’t need romance in her life.

  She put the receipt with the phone number written on it on the kitchen surface, weighting it down with her phone index. She hoped this would be worth losing Edward’s goodwill for. What if her brother didn’t want to know them? How would her mother feel then? How would Beth feel?

  Relationships were far too complicated and she wasn’t good at them, as she’d well and truly proved with her daughter, and just proved again with Edward.

  Jo got home from work to find that Ghita had prepared them a meal. They did this for each other sometimes. It was all very pleasant. The two little boys were watching the Wiggles on TV, jumping up and dancing sometimes, laughing and singing tunelessly with the music.

  They fed and bathed the boys first, moving from one flat to the other, then put them to bed together, which led to a lot of giggling.

  After that Ghita served the meal, wonderful food, several plates of it. Nothing expensive but lovingly prepared and delicious.

  ‘I can’t eat any more,’ Jo said at last. ‘You could open a restaurant, you’re such a good cook.’

  ‘I’d like to do that, but where would I get the money? Or the courage?’ She laughed softly at herself.

  There was a knock on the door.

  Ghita froze. ‘No one ever comes here at night.’

  ‘Shall I answer it?’

  ‘No. Don’t do anything. They’ll go away.’

  ‘They can see someone is at home and hear the TV.’ Jo didn’t wait, but went to open the door.

  A man stood there, his black hair grizzled at the temples, his eyes dark and fierce.

  There was a gasp from behind Jo. ‘Father!’

  ‘Can I come in?’

  ‘Yes, of course.’

  He took off his shoes and came inside.

  Jo went to stand beside Ghita, feeling her friend trembling. She scowled at the visitor.

  He not only came inside, but went to look in the bedroom, then investigated the small kitchen, before coming back to his daughter. ‘No man in your life?’

  She shook her head. ‘No. There never was and hasn’t been – since. This is my neighbour, Jo. Our sons play together.’

  He went back to stare into the bedroom at the two little boys lying peacefully among a pile of soft toys. ‘Kaleel looks like your brother did as a child,’ he muttered.

  He stood there looking at the boys for so long, Jo was able to whisper, ‘Do you want me to leave?’

  ‘No. Please stay.’

  Mr Haddad closed the door of the bedroom and studied Ghita. ‘You look well.’

  ‘I am well.’

  ‘How do you live?’

  ‘Social security, and I look after Jo’s boy when she’s at work to earn a little extra money. Will you take a cup of coffee?’

  ‘Not this time.’

  Jo’s heart went out to her friend, who was looking white and shaken.

  The father came across, hesitated, then placed one hand on Ghita’s shoulder for a moment. ‘It’s not right that a man doesn’t know his own grandson, however the child was created. Next time, I shall bring your mother. She weeps for you. And – we have decided to forgive you.’

  Jo was furious and couldn’t hold the anger back. ‘Why do you have to forgive her? She didn’t ask to be attacked and raped. Ghita is the most gentle person I’ve ever met. She’d never, ever encourage a man to behave like that.’

  He looked angry for a moment then his expression grew thoughtful. ‘You have a loyal friend here, daughter.’

  ‘Jo is like a sister to me now,’ Ghita said.

  ‘Hmm. Give me your phone number so that your mother can phone you to arrange a time.’

  He went without kissing his daughter or saying goodbye to Jo.

  When the door was locked behind him, Ghita collapsed on the couch in tears.

  ‘The brute!’ Jo said angrily. ‘Who does he think he is to blame you and forgive you?’

  ‘He’s my father. That’s how it is with us. Fathers are gods in their own homes. But I don’t care what he says as long as I can see my family again. I’ve missed my mother so much, and my older brother specially.’ She sobbed some more, with her friend patting her on the back.

  Eventually she managed to stop and smiled mistily at Jo. ‘But you’re my family too, now. Thank you for defending me.’

  Jo nodded, but the encounter had annoyed her. Ghita had been so pathetically grateful, and yet her father had still checked for himself that there was no man living with her before he proceeded any further. On the other hand, it had obviously been difficult for him to come and see her, but he’d done it, going against his upbringing, from what Ghita had told her.

  Jo’s father hadn’t even replied to her emails. Too busy with his new young wife and children, probably.

  Her mother had wanted her, though, had replied instantly and had wept over her today. The tears had reassured her in a back-to-front way.

  When Ghita had calmed down, Jo took her sleeping son home and lay in her narrow bed next to his, thinking about life, how strange it was, how hard to do the right thing.

  What did she want from the future? She didn’t know. She’d been too busy surviving to think far ahead. She wanted to look after Mikey, of course, and give him a decent life, but what were her dreams for herself? She couldn’t live only for him.

  She smiled in the darkness, allowing herself a dream or two. She’d like to live somewhere better than this place, that was sure, and have a more interesting job than working in the local supermarket. The other women there were very friendly, though, and that made a big difference to any job.

  She had to tread carefully now and not stuff things up with her mother. She was going to try hard to find a new flat without asking for her mother’s help. If she could move out of this place before she invited her mother round to see Mikey, she’d not feel so ashamed of where she lived.

  Staring at the lighted numbers of her bedside clock-radio, she was surprised to find it was after midnight. Pushing her worries to one side
, she started breathing deeply, trying to form pretty cloud images in her mind, an old trick of hers. If she didn’t get some sleep she’d be dead on her feet at work.

  She’d need to spend her lunch break flat hunting for herself and Ghita again. She’d tried several letting agencies now, with no success. It reminded her of last time, how long she’d looked before she found their current flats.

  Surely if she kept looking, wasn’t too fussy, she’d find somewhere they could afford? Even if they had to share a flat at first.

  Seven

  Beth rang her mother at home early on Saturday morning, and to her astonishment, Nat picked up the call.

  ‘Why are you—?’ No, she had no right to ask that. She compromised with, ‘Is Mum all right?’

  ‘She is now, but she had a bit of bother last night.’ His voice went faint as he spoke to someone nearby, but Beth could make out the words. ‘No, Linda, she needs to know.’

  ‘What do I need to know?’ she demanded.

  ‘Your mother was mugged yesterday lunchtime in the public car park on her way back to the office. She wasn’t hurt physically, but it was all a bit of a shock. He got her handbag and keys, so I stayed in the spare bedroom last night. We’re having all the locks changed today and some window locks installed.’

  ‘I’ll come straight round.’

  ‘There’s no need. I have everything in hand. Here she is.’

  A moment later her mother came on. ‘I’m fine, Beth, truly I am. I just got knocked over, not bashed. It was a bit of a shock, though, and it’s a nuisance having to cancel the credit card. I’m going to have to get a new driving licence, too.’

  ‘I want to come and see you, make sure you’re all right. You can stay with me if you’re nervous of being on your own.’

  ‘I’ll be just fine, especially after the locks are changed. No one’s going to drive me out of my home.’ Her voice softened. ‘Anyway, Nat’s been wonderful.’

  It occurred to Beth suddenly that this incident might bring Linda and her employer together. She’d suspected for a while that Nat was fond of her mother, but her mother kept saying when pressed that she was too settled in her ways to change them for a man. Which was ridiculous when Linda looked ten years younger than her age and was in better health these days than she had been thirty years ago. ‘Well, if you’re sure you’re all right . . .’

  ‘Of course I am.’

  ‘Phone if I can do anything.’

  ‘Yes, darling. Oh, just a minute. How did your date go?’

  ‘Fine.’

  ‘Are you seeing him again?’

  ‘I doubt it.’

  ‘Oh, Beth, what went wrong this time? You keep pushing men away and you’re too young to stay single.’

  ‘Listen who’s talking. You’ve been pushing Nat away for ages.’

  There was dead silence, then, ‘I have to go now. Bye.’

  Linda slammed the phone down and glared at it.

  ‘What did she say to upset you?’

  She looked at Nat and blushed. It was one thing to keep him at arm’s length in the office, but here in her home, where the fringe of silver hair round his bald patch was sticking up at all angles and he was barefoot, with his shirt open down the front showing a body that didn’t have a beer belly and was still pretty good for a man of his age, well, everything felt different. This was just too intimate.

  She saw Nat look at her with eyes narrowed. ‘It was nothing,’ she insisted.

  His wry expression said he didn’t believe that.

  ‘How about some breakfast?’ she asked to forestall any more questions.

  He grinned. ‘You know I’m always ready for a good meal.’

  ‘Yes, and you never seem to put on an extra inch, whatever you eat, which is so unfair. Bacon and eggs do you?’

  ‘Bring them on. And how about a bowl of cereal and a few pieces of toast as well?’

  He followed her into the kitchen, sitting at the breakfast bar, his presence so marked she got flustered and cut her finger when she was dealing with the bacon.

  ‘Here. Let me.’ He took the knife out of her hand. ‘The mugging upset you more than you’re admitting, Linda.’

  And heaven help her, she blushed again. ‘It’s not that. Beth – um, reminded me of something.’

  He looked at her shrewdly. ‘You always get that expression on your face when you’re telling fibs, even to someone on the phone.’ He put one finger on her lips. ‘Shh. If you don’t want to tell me, that’s all right, but don’t lie to me, Linda. We’ve been friends too long for that, don’t you think?’

  She nodded, feeling her cheeks heating up even more, and went back to the cooking. How was she to stay calm with Nat there all day supervising the installation of the new locks? It was easier to keep her distance at the office, much easier, but here he was so large and male that he made her little house look too frilly and fussy, made her feel . . . soft and feminine.

  It had been comforting to have him there during the night, and she was enjoying making breakfast for him, having someone to talk to.

  Life was so complicated – or did people just make it complicated? Should she simply accept that he was here and enjoy his company? She did enjoy it, very much.

  Edward went to play golf on the Sunday morning, but kept messing up even the simplest of shots.

  ‘You’re not on form today. Got woman trouble?’ his regular partner asked with a grin.

  ‘No.’ He sliced the next shot into some bushes.

  ‘She must be rather special to put you off your game.’

  ‘I’ve got a lot on my mind.’ Edward took a great deal of care with his next few shots, but his friend’s words had hit home. After spending a few hours with her, he had hoped Beth might become special. Well, he’d been attracted the very first time he met her, who knew why? He certainly didn’t understand it. But as she was the first woman who’d affected him like that for years, it seemed stupid not to . . . to follow up.

  She’d assured him that the need for her to speak to Pete had cropped up after they’d agreed to go out for a meal. Why hadn’t he believed her at the time? Why had he got so angry? He pictured her face, the direct way she looked at the world, and smiled involuntarily. She didn’t seem like a liar.

  Why would she need to see his cousin so urgently, though? She’d said it was personal, not business. What personal connection could she possibly have with Pete? His cousin had many faults, but Edward was pretty sure Pete hadn’t messed around with other women since he got married. He’d seen him knocking back come-ons more than once, usually with a wry remark about being an old married man. The truth was, Pete was married to his career, was very ambitious and loved being a celebrity. He was scornful of celebrities who thrived on scandals.

  For once, Edward was glad when the golf round ended. He excused himself from lunching with his friends, sat in his car tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, then gave in to temptation and drove round to Beth’s. He owed her an apology and after that they’d see.

  But she wasn’t at home. Or if she was, she didn’t answer the doorbell.

  Had she gone out with another man? It was no business of his if she had, but still, he hoped she hadn’t.

  Beth went into work on the Sunday morning, because you could get a lot done when there was no one around and no phones were ringing. She tried to settle to checking the accounts but her thoughts kept coming back to what her daughter had said.

  Had her ex really not replied to Jo’s emails? It seemed out of character. Shane had been as upset as she was when their daughter ran away. Their shared anxiety had taken most of the animosity out of their relationship, though it was obvious his new wife had resented them being friendly again.

  Perhaps the emails had gone astray. Yes, that must be it. Only . . . Jo had said she’d sent three emails and that they’d been marked as read. Next time she saw Jo, she’d suggest giving Shane another chance and would offer to act as intermediary. A personal approach was so much better
than an email.

  When Beth got home she found a message on her answering machine. She looked at the blinking light and wondered whether to bother listening to it now. She didn’t want anything to spoil her calm, satisfied mood after several hours of productive work.

  It was half-past two but felt later. She was going to clean the flat, make a proper meal, then have an early night and read in bed.

  She walked past the phone then sighed and went back to listen to the message. If she didn’t know what it was about, she’d only worry that it might be her mother or some crisis connected with work.

  ‘Beth, it’s me, Edward. I came round just before lunch, but you weren’t in. I wanted to apologize for being so suspicious on Friday night. I really enjoyed our time together. I’m not going out today, so please ring me.’

  She was surprised by that, she had to admit. From what Edward had said in his message, the coolness which had ended their evening together had upset him. Well, it had upset her, too. But if she rang him, he’d invite her out again, and who knew where that might lead? Did she want a relationship with anyone? Did she have enough spare energy to cope with that sort of thing? No, she didn’t. She had enough on her plate with Jo and little Mikey at the moment, not to mention work.

  An hour later, after cleaning her bathroom and kitchen in a furious burst of activity, she sat down and tried to relax. But she couldn’t banish Edward from her mind or persuade herself that she didn’t want to speak to him. Putting down her cup of herbal tea, she sighed and picked up the phone.

  ‘Hello?’

  He sounded so wary she almost put it down again then told herself not to be such a coward. ‘Edward?’

  His voice grew instantly warmer. ‘Beth. I’m so glad you rang.’

  ‘You – um, left a message.’

  ‘I wanted to apologize for being so suspicious on Friday.’

  ‘I don’t blame you, and if it wasn’t important, I’d not have dreamed of presuming on our friendship by asking you. But I couldn’t find any other way to contact your cousin except by a fan email address, and this is too important for that.’