‘He’s gorgeous, but it won’t go anywhere.’ Not now she’d pushed him back to his wife by making him think she was a different woman entirely. But maybe it was for the best. Kids and a stepmother didn’t mix, that was for sure.
And with that thought in mind, she threw herself into her work at the store for the rest of the afternoon and rode the wave of customer requests until it was closing time and she’d have to go and meet Teresa.
18
CHINATOWN, NEW YORK CITY
Cleo saw Teresa the moment she arrived at the restaurant. Her stepmother must’ve got here early, and it gave Cleo a sense of satisfaction that she still kept the woman on her toes after all these years. Then again, it also made her feel guilty that she’d never made much of an effort herself.
‘I’ll have a beer, please,’ Cleo told the waiter. Teresa was already nursing a glass of red wine.
‘How’s the sightseeing going?’ Cleo unwound her scarf from around her neck. She took off her woolly hat and hung her coat on the back of her chair. Hopefully New York City and all the attractions, landmarks, and amazing places would give them plenty to talk about tonight, and she had the perfect excuse to leave later with Kaisha managing her first knitting workshop. Cleo trusted Kaisha, but she still wanted to go to the store after the workshop finished and make sure everything had gone smoothly, answer any queries Kaisha had.
‘It’s fabulous.’ Teresa was beaming, her cheeks still flushed from the Manhattan winter air as the waiter delivered Cleo’s beer to the table. ‘I can’t believe I’m finally here, it’s a city I’ve wanted to see my whole life. I’ve been to the Empire State Building, we saw Ground Zero, strolled around Central Park, and even crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. I’m visiting all these locations I’ve only ever seen in the films. I bet you think I’m silly, you must be used to it, but I never travelled much.’
Cleo was taken aback by how much Teresa was talking and it dawned on her now that she didn’t know much about Teresa’s life pre the Jones family. ‘What did you do before you met Dad?’
‘I was married.’ She took a swig of red wine.
‘You were married before?’
‘Yes, and to a man who wasn’t very nice. Not very nice at all.’ She looked directly at Cleo and as nervous as she’d seemed at first, she didn’t look away this time. ‘But then I met your dad and he was, still is, the kindest, gentlest man I’ve ever known.’
Cleo gulped at the frank confession. What with Dylan and the forced confession about the reason behind her split with Aaron, and now Teresa’s honesty, this was definitely a night that required alcohol. She took a definite sip of beer.
‘Shall we order?’ Teresa picked up a menu and Cleo followed suit.
By the time their main meal arrived – egg fried rice to share with a side of dumplings, a chicken in oyster sauce dish, and a sizzling beef dish – they’d got on to the subject of the store in the Cotswolds.
‘I learnt a lot working there,’ said Cleo, ‘and the Cotswolds are beautiful.’
‘Your dad and I had a mini break in Castle Combe a couple of months ago and I’ll never tire of all that Cotswold stone, the quaint cottages around, and the fresh open air.’
‘I miss it sometimes,’ Cleo admitted.
‘What, with all this excitement around you?’ Teresa gestured to outside the window of the restaurant where the city was illuminated in all its splendour.
‘I love it here, but sometimes I feel torn.’
‘That’s bound to happen.’
‘How are Uncle Sid and Auntie Faith?’
‘They’re good. We caught up with them in Castle Combe, had dinner out. You know they’re contemplating retiring?’
‘What? Surely not, they’re still too young, aren’t they?’
‘They’re talking about travelling, seeing a bit of the world together before it’s too late. I think seeing how much his brother suffered when he lost your mum has made Sid value those close to him. He wants to enjoy life before it’s too late.’
Cleo hadn’t been aware of it at the time, but in the years following her mother’s death she’d come to realise how much her dad’s brother, Uncle Sid, along with her Auntie Faith, had been there for her dad and for her, in the wings, picking them both up when their lives threatened to completely fall apart.
Teresa’s chopsticks hovered in the air, grasping a piece of chicken and green pepper. ‘Your dad went to the cemetery last week, washed the headstone, and laid more flowers.’
Her mother was a topic she’d never discussed with Teresa. Not ever. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to start now.
‘He’s done it every month since your mum died, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.’
Cleo felt sure the chopsticks would snap in her grip. Talking about her mum like this with Teresa was new, it was uncomfortable. She grabbed the waiter’s attention and ordered another beer without bothering to ask Teresa whether she wanted anything.
