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‘Ha-ha, is it that obvious? Yes. In short, the woman I had just proposed to, and who had accepted my proposal, decided she would be happier dating my best mate.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Ex best mate.’
‘Oh, sorry to hear that. That must have been a really tough time for you.’ Heather touched his forearm.
Gus nodded slowly. ‘To stay it wasn’t the best couple of years of my life would be an understatement. Still, these things happen, don’t they?’
‘They sure do.’
‘How about you then? What brings you to Penworth Bay?’
‘Umm, well, that might involve an ex too.’ Heather laughed, her voice hollow.
‘Oh, yes?’
‘Yes. His name is Jordan, we’d been together seven years and then he got offered his dream job last year. The only catch being it was in Dubai.’
‘Let me guess, he finished with you so he could take the job?’ Gus took a sip of his drink.
‘Nope.’
Raising his eyebrows, he looked across at her. ‘You finished with him so he could go to Dubai guilt-free?’
‘Again, no.’ Turning, she looked out across the ocean. ‘We stayed together, and he went to Dubai. He was going to settle there while I built up my business and then, eventually, I’d fly out to join him. And it was working. Or so I thought, anyway.’ She cleared her throat. ‘And then about a month ago, he left me a voicemail telling me he didn’t think it was working anymore.’
‘Sorry.’
Heather shrugged. ‘The worst thing was that there was another woman chatting and laughing in the background. He was just making excuses because he’d met someone else.’
‘That’s a really cowardly thing to do. Not to even tell you the truth.’
She smiled. A short quick smile. ‘I didn’t think of it like that before, but, yes, I guess it was.’
‘Huh, look at us. Messed up from past relationships.’ Gus nudged her shoulder gently with his and chuckled.
‘Yes, what a pair.’ She smiled sadly.
‘Although, my heart was broken a long time ago and I’d say it’s pretty much healed now.’ He shrugged.
‘Good for you!’ Heather laughed. ‘No, seriously. That’s a good thing. I sometimes think I’ll never forgive Jordan for finishing with me the way he did, especially being as we were talking about our future together just a week before he finished it. That’s what I can’t understand. Nothing had changed.’ She shifted position on the pebbles. ‘He’d even told me about some new apartments he wanted to go and look at for when I moved over. I guess the phone calls had been getting less frequent, but themessages hadn’t. we’d still been messaging each other. Every day.’
‘I wonder if they find it easier to pretend everything’s okay up until the moment the other partner discovers they’re having an affair, they admit it, or they make another excuse to end the relationship.’
‘That would make sense.’ Maybe that’s what Jordan had done. Maybe he’d continued the pretence until the guilt had become too much. ‘I don’t know. Part of me hates him for what he’s done, you know, stringing me along all this time.’ She scoffed. ‘Although, of course I don’t know how long he has been stringing me along. I don’t know how long he’s been seeing someone else behind my back.’ She took a deep breath. ‘But part of me just wants to move on, forget him, focus on the future. Which is why I chose to come here, to the bay. It’s almost the furthest I could have come away from my hometown. I just needed the space away from family and friends to give myself time to think.’
‘I definitely understand that.’ Gus chuckled.
‘I thought you might. Especially after what you’ve just told me.’ Heather grinned. It felt good to talk about what had happened, to tell Gus how Jordan had treated her. She didn’t feel judged. He didn’t make her feel as though she should have known things would turn out like this. He had just listened. He had understood.
‘Are you okay?’ Frowning, he looked at her.
‘Yes, I am. Thank you for not judging.’ She took a long sip of her latte.
‘Why would I judge?’
‘Because I should have known things would turn out like this. Because all long-distance relationships fail. Because why would he wait for me.’ She shrugged. ‘I can normally see it on people’s face. When I tell them about the voicemail he left me, peopleusually get this knowing look, as though what else would I have expected to have happened.’
‘I don’t think anyone can predict how someone else’s relationship is going to turn out. Relationships are difficult enough to understand when they’re your own.’
‘Yes, I guess you’re right.’ Drinking the last of her latte, Heather rolled her shoulders back and stood up. ‘Right, I guess I’d better head back now. Thanks for the talk.’
