He lifts his reddened face at the camera. ‘Let me stop you there. Can we talk about what has been going on because when I checked the other day, everything was great. You’d managed to silence the naysayers; the Rocco Reid drama had calmed down and the wedding reception looked stunning. Once again, I find myself reaching for those stomach settlers as some YouTuber has posted a shocking video of you and Pete yelling at each other.’
‘Oh God,’ I cry, placing my face in my hands. ‘This is all my fault.’
‘Alice,’ snaps Frankie. ‘When are you going to learn to control your emotions?’
I shake my head.
‘Did you know she was filming in the café?’
I nod. ‘She asked me if she could film.’
Frankie lets out what can only be described as a deafening howl. ‘Alice, the next time a YouTuber comes into my café, take your arguments outside. Even Mum saw the clip and she said, “It’s like watching a soap opera, Frankie.” I had to remind her that I own that bloody café and I don’t expect to see you and Pete auditioning forEastenders.’
He takes a drink of water and I want the ground to open and swallow me whole.
‘Tell me what’s been going on,’ Frankie says, after calming down.
Taking a deep breath, I tell him everything; how Noah and I have learnt to work together, how I ran my promotion, how I turned around the Donna and Jon situation and how Noah and I have grown close. I also tell him about Dad, Pete, and the rumours.
Frankie’s silent for a few moments and then turns to whisper something to his mum in the background. Rose comes into view. Nausea swirls around in my belly as Frankie gets up to put his arm over her shoulders. He lets her have his chair. My guilt at causing him stress over The Little Love Café gets so tight I can hardly breathe.
Rose smiles. ‘Hello, Alice.’
‘Hey, Rose.’ It’s so nice to see her. ‘How’s life with Frankie nursing you?’
‘He’s brilliant, Alice. I am so glad he was able to come out here and support me. Your YouTube clip caused much debate here.’ Her smile fades. ‘I watched the clip and Pete said some hurtful things. I shouldn’t be the one telling you about the rumours as your father should be doing this. It will upset you, Alice, and I’m sorry.’
Fighting the urge to shout about how everyone should stop treating me like a child I regain my composure.
‘I’m sorry about keeping this from you.’ She takes a deep breath. ‘I want you to know that the reason I didn’t say anything was that I never believed what your dad claimed. One of the reasons why I moved back to Sydney was because of your father.’
‘What?’ I notice Frankie is standing behind Rose.
She takes a sip of water. ‘I didn’t believe Brian. Julie was my best mate. I knew her years before she met Brian. I knew my best mate more than he did. She wouldnothave had an affair with Dave Coombes.’
‘An affair with Noah’s Dad – what?’ My shoulders and neck feel like someone has inserted a rod of iron inside them.
‘Your father started to overthink the rumours after your mum died.’ Rose takes a sip of water. ‘People said it was grief playing with his mind. He found some photos of your mum and Dave Coombes sat together during a hike. They looked close and then at the wedding reception he got drunk and confronted him. To Dave’s credit, he denied it. I moved to Sydney because I couldn’t believe what Brian was saying. It hurt me that he believed all that gossip, so I decided to move away.’
‘Really?’
Rose nods her head. ‘Brian and I have been mates for years. He’s a good man but I think he’s wrong.’
My response shoots out without a second thought. ‘Mum wouldn’t have had an affair with Dave Coombes. She loved Dad; I know she did.’ My childhood memories are of her cuddled up to Dad on the sofa, she and Dad watching her belovedStar Trekvideos and coming into the kitchen to see her kissing Dad. My heart is hammering away inside my chest.
‘Alice, look at me,’ urges Rose. ‘Your mum and Dave Coombes having an affair was a ridiculous rumour. She and Dave were close, but your mum would never have cheated on your father. If she had, I would have had a stern word with her. Believe me. I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of that.’
‘Why did Dad believe the rumour then?’
Rose sighs. ‘Your mum loved hiking and she did loads of things with the hiking club. She was always out with them on a Saturday.’
‘I remember watching her pull on her boots when I was younger,’ I say. ‘She used to make me laugh by saying they were stinky. Every Saturday Dad and I would wave her off.’
Rose smiles.
‘Even as a child I could feel Mum’s excitement on the morning of one of her walks. She’d be laughing as Dad poured her tea into a flask and would always moan about how she had packed her rucksack.’
Rose leans closer to the screen. ‘Dave Coombes joined the hiking club, and they became friends. He was lonely and needed someone to listen to. Noah’s mum left him for his best mate and it really cut him up. I think he’d had a battle with booze and hiking was his way of dealing with that.’
