Chapter Twenty-Four
Wishing he would let her help, Lisa watched Pete as he cleared up and loaded the dishwasher. She tried to think of something to say to fill the awkward silence, but Pete was a stranger to her, though she suspected he knew more about her than most other people she knew. Listening to the footsteps and mayhem upstairs, Lisa wished Flick had not insisted thatshe must have had enough of her ‘nutty tribe’ for one day and that she should stay downstairs, while she sorted the children for bed. It was a well-meaning gesture, but being amongst the children would have made her feel less out of place than sitting alone in the kitchen with Pete. She took a long drink of her wine.
‘Thanks so much for letting me stay for dinner.’
Pete cursedas a spoon in the sink sent a spout of water over his T-shirt. He wiped it, before turning to face Lisa. ‘You’re welcome. Flick’s happy to have you around, so…’
‘It’s so kind of her—’
‘She’s like that, you know, kind. Sometimes she’s too… forgiving.’
The not so subtle hint hit home. Lisa took another drink of wine and swallowed hard. It was clear Pete was not impressedby how Felicity was letting her back into her life. A small part of her felt indignant.What do you know?She was mine before she was yours, Pete Willis!‘We’ve shared a great deal, Flick and I—’
‘I know she used to talk about you a lot when we were first together, get excited over your calls, or the odd letter, get low when she didn’t hear from you, and then even when all that had stopped,there were times when I think she needed you. Like when her mum died.’
Ouch!
‘But we got through it, the two of us.’ The judgement in his eyes was clear.
‘I never knew about MrsF or I would have come. Honestly, Pete, she meant a lot to me too. And so does Flick.’
Pete scoffed.
‘Really, she does. I’ve let too much go, too much slip by. My life, with Ben,it didn’t leave room for anything else.’
Pete paused midway between the sink and dishwasher, and raised his eyebrows at Lisa.
‘I’m not trying to justify the past and I am not making excuses.’
‘Look, Lisa, Flick is really happy you are back and that’s great. I want her to be happy. Just don’t… don’t hurt her again. After her mum, she’s more fragile than she lets on. Losingsomeone else, it could knock her back again.’
Lisa nodded silently. Pete was all muscle and manual labour on the outside, but on the inside he clearly cared a great deal for Felicity. And Lisa knew that words and reassurances could not prove she was here to stay – only actions could do that.
Hearing Felicity’s footsteps on the stairs, Pete carried on loading the dishwasher andchanged the subject. ‘So have you got in touch with anyone else from the past since you’ve been home?’
‘Didn’t I tell you? Lisa is um… rediscovering Nathan Baker.’ Felicity laughed as she entered the room.
Lisa choked. ‘Hardly rediscovering; we’ve had a chat. We were friends once,’ again Lisa thought about saying goodbye to Nathan on her doorstep and pushed the feeling of thatkiss away, ‘we can be friends again.’
‘Friends, yes, that’s what you were.’ Felicity sniggered and picked up her wine.
‘OK, so maybe we were more than friends back then, but now, now we can only be friends; we are both grown-ups, so I’m sure we can manage that.’So long as we avoid doorstep goodbyes, and knee-weakening reminiscences – I can manage that.
‘Nathan Baker, isthat who you said? Is that who it was… from the prom?’
‘Yes, you remember, Pete. I told you that years ago.’ Felicity rolled her eyes at Lisa.
Pete shrugged.
‘He was Lisa’s teenage crush, her first—’
‘Flick!’ Lisa interrupted.
Pete closed the dishwasher and leaned on the kitchen counter looking thoughtful. ‘There’s a Nate Baker that comes in the bar.’
‘Bar?’ Lisa looked at Flick.
‘Pete’s a landscape gardener by day, but at night he works for a mate of his at Cin Cin.’
