Chapter Twenty
Lisa checked her bag for her ticket and passport. So as not to waste a moment of their weekend, she and Felicity were setting off on the Friday. They had decided to taxi to Gatwick and then fly to Geneva airport, hiring a car from there to take them the final leg of the journey. Pete, Nathan and the children were going to drive down together to meet them so they’d have enoughvehicle space for everyone when it came to going out during the week. The plan was that at the end of the week Flick would return with her family, and Nathan would fly back with Lisa. They had worked it all out perfectly, and Lisa had been looking forward to the trip for months.
But after her evening with Nathan, which resulted in her lying to escape the atmosphere between them, she felt likecalling the holiday off. Telling him she needed to go back to her mum’s for items she’d forgotten and that it was probably easier for the taxi to pick her up from there was a return to her old form.Why face a situation when you can run from it?But she had been tired, frustrated at herself for unthinkingly hurting Nathan and, if she was honest, preferred to avoid confrontation after her yearswith Ben.
Felicity was beyond excited about the trip; she had bought Globetrotting Percy Pig sweets from M&S for them to share in the taxi, and was playing Robbie Williams’s greatest hits on her phone – her and Lisa’s favourite from their teenage years – at a volume Lisa found a bit much considering she had hardly slept. Lisa attempted to put on a smile and asked how Pete and the childrenwere. When Felicity explained how they had waved her off with homemade French flags and had learnt to say ‘au revoir’ and ‘bon voyage’, Lisa knew she had to get herself together. She couldn’t let her issues with Nathan spoil their trip. Clearing the air, or at least apologising, suddenly felt essential.
‘Flick, can we do a quick stop off at Nathan’s? I need to just run in. I won’t be long.’
Felicity asked the taxi driver if they had time, before looking back at Lisa. ‘Have you forgotten something?’
‘Not really. I just need to see Nathan. I promise to be quick.’
‘You two, seriously! You’ll only be apart for the weekend.’
‘I know, I just really need to. Is that OK?’ Lisa felt gripped by the urgent need to sort the situation before she got on the plane.
When theyreached Nathan’s, Lisa was undoing her seatbelt before the driver had a chance to stop the car. She leaned over and hugged her friend. ‘Thanks for this. I won’t be long.’
She went inside and up the stairs as fast as her pregnant state would allow. Reaching the top floor, more out of breath than she would have liked, Lisa unlocked the door and went inside, calling Nathan’s name. There was noanswer. Feeling deflated, she looked around. His breakfast things were in the sink, but his bed was made, and he wasn’t in the bathroom.
Noticing Uno lying in the centre of his wooden cat bridge – one of the gadgets she was reviewing forPaws About Townmagazine – Lisa beckoned him. Uno looked at her, torn between his comfortable position and the possibility of some fuss or, even better, somefood. The bridge was clearly proving a hit, and she hoped her report on it would go down as well with her editor as the one on the dog lead had. She had also reviewed a less successful ‘Dirty Doggy Bag’ she had attempted to zip Jack in after a muddy walk and had received a Pet Cam she had yet to fathom how to use. The payment for the articles so far had been enough for her to enjoy a spendingspree at Mothercare.
Eventually, Uno slunk across the wooden slats of the rope bridge that stretched between two shelves, and thudded down at her feet. Lisa picked him up, rewarding him by rubbing around his ears and generally making a fuss of him. Feeling the cat in her arms made her feel connected to Nathan. ‘Where is he, Uno?’
Lisa thought about writing a note, but apologising in anote wouldn’t clear the air in the way speaking to him face-to-face would; it felt only one step better than sending a text, which she had already discounted.
Giving Uno a few treats before saying goodbye, Lisa left. She knew she had to put on a smile and throw herself into her weekend with Felicity. Her friend deserved that. This weekend was about them – the holiday they had always plannedbut not taken as teenagers. Deciding that phoning Nathan was as near as she could get to speaking to him in person, Lisa took out her phone and pressed to call him before setting off down the stairs. As she passed Sam’s door, she couldn’t help but notice it was slightly ajar. She didn’t know if it had been that way as she’d gone up the stairs; she’d been too intent on getting to Nathan’s to look.But it wasn’t only the door being ajar that was drawing her attention now, it was the fact she could hear a phone ringing, and she was pretty sure it was Nathan’s ringtone.
She stopped at the door. Edging closer, she pushed it slightly, increasing the gap as she strained to listen. Looking at her phone, Lisa pressed to end the call. The ringing stopped. She held her breath. The only audiblesounds were the rush of blood at her ears and the thud of her own heartbeat. She pressed to call again, wondering, hoping that it was a coincidence. The ringing started once more. She quickly ended the call.
Of course, there were many reasons why Nathan could be in Sam’s flat: he was technically her landlord, they were friends and …and what? Lisa felt there was something she was missing.The thought had been nagging at the back of her mind for some time, and it frustrated her. She didn’t like to think Nathan and Sam were sharing a secret she wasn’t party to. Not because she didn’t trust Nathan, but because Sam’s behaviour and the things she said made Lisa question her motives. She had no real reason, but her instincts told her not to trust her. The timing for Nathan to be in Sam’sflat wasn’t great either. Lisa didn’t want to have to speak to him in front of Sam, and if she were honest, she didn’t like the fact he was there, that morning, after they’d had a disagreement. The idea caused jealousy to twist her stomach into knots and claw at her rational thoughts.
Knocking on the door, she waited. When there was no response, she walked inside. It was small – kitchen, bathroom,lounge and one bedroom. A glance from the hallway told her nobody was there. Although it was Nathan’s building and his furnishings, she knew she was trespassing, but being driven by an overwhelming desire to know why Nathan’s phone was inside, she couldn’t bring herself to leave. Not yet.
Sam and Alex hadn’t brought many belongings with them, but there were personal touches evident all around:Lego, discarded trainers, an Xbox and games, a vase of flowers, washing drying on an airer – including underwear, which made Lisa wish her maternity briefs had been chosen for sex appeal as opposed to comfort – and the musky scent of Sam.
Lisa felt every nerve telling her she should leave, that she was going to be caught any minute. But now she’d crossed the threshold and was as far as thelounge, curiosity was drawing her deeper into Sam’s world. About to ring Nathan’s phone again, Lisa spotted it on the table by the window. She walked over and picked it up. The movement caused the screen to light up, revealing notifications registering her missed calls and a picture of her and Nathan, taken in France at Christmas. Seeing Nathan’s face made her feel as guilty as if he were in theroom catching her in the act of snooping. She cleared the notifications and put the phone down.
Guilt seeping into her nerves, she realised how visible she was in the window and dived back behind the curtain. Peering round to see if anyone had seen her, Lisa noticed two figures playing tennis on the courts opposite. It was Nathan and Alex. She hadn’t noticed them as she’d got out of the car;they’d been hidden by the line of trees. But she could see them now, laughing and running around.So where’s Sam?
Aware that Sam could be en route to her flat caused Lisa to panic. Now that her common sense had returned and was screaming for her to leave, she ducked back out of sight of the window and headed for the door, her breathing rapid. In her haste her foot caught in the handle of asmall grey rucksack she hadn’t noticed next to the sofa.Bugger!Bending to free herself and pick up the items that had scattered from it, Lisa swore again. Her chances of not being caught were diminishing with every second that passed.
Lisa stuffed the items back in the bag – pens, tissues, Sam’s driving licence, a bottle of Victoria’s Secret’s perfume called Sexy Sparkle,of course, a halffull and now extremely fizzy bottle of Coke, and a hairbrush.How orderly could they have been?Sweeping her hand under the sofa, Lisa checked for anything she had missed. Feeling a small cube, she pulled it out. As it came in to view, her breath hitched and her vision beyond anything but the blue box, indented with a silver inlay square, blurred as she focused on it intently. She had seen itbefore, not for almost twelve years, but she recognised it. How could she not?
Her hands shaking, Lisa opened the lid. It squeaked before clicking and lodging into place – open like a clam holding a precious pearl. There, inside was the ring. Her ring. Or at least it would have been her ring if she had said yes. Having not seen it since her prom night, Lisa stared at it. It was beautiful.She had no idea if the gems were real, but the six-prong centre stone flanked by smaller side stones looked like diamonds and glistened in the light as her hand trembled. Seeing the ring now, Lisa wondered why she had ever found the sight of it so terrifying. Her heart thudded as an image of Nathan holding it out to her came to mind. She blinked, attempting to force herself to stay in the moment anddecide what to do.
Although she had wondered, she had never asked Nathan what had happened to the ring. And now here it was. Lisa didn’t know if it had come from Sam’s bag and fallen on the floor or if it had been lying there lost under the sofa. How, when or why that might have happened in either case baffled her.Why would Sam have my … Nathan’s ring?Her phone vibrating in her hand madeher jump, and she almost dropped it. Lisa looked to see a message from Felicity telling her to get a move on. Realising that had been her intention before she discovered the ring, she snapped the box closed and glanced around the room. Nathan’s phone was hopefully as she had found it. She put the bag on the floor in the vicinity of where it had been, clutched the blue box containing the ring in herhand, and left, leaving the door slightly ajar as she went.
As Lisa attempted to run down the stairs towards the front door, she could feel a tightening in her stomach.Braxton Hicks!She placed her hand over her firm bump; her skin felt taut. She breathed in and out, focusing on pushing on down the stairs despite the quickening in her muscles.
Once at the door she hurried back to thetaxi. Felicity leaned across and opened the door.
‘What is it? You look awful.’
‘I’m fine. Let’s just go.’ Lisa nodded to the driver, who was awaiting confirmation that he could pull away.
‘What happened? You look like you’ve committed a murder.’
Lisa noticed the driver turn his eyes to her in the mirror. Lisa clenched her teeth as she reached and put her seatbelt on. The tensionin her stomach started to ease, and she hissed, ‘Of course I haven’t.’ She felt the ring box in her pocket.Theft perhaps? Surely,it can’t be stealing if it was always meant to be mine, can it?
