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Thea managed to nod her head, a sob escaping.
Gracie nodded. ‘I thought so.’ She put a reassuring arm around her shoulders and steered her back into the flat, closing the door behind her with her foot. Let’s start with a nice, sweet cup of tea. How about it?’
Thea nodded her head. Gracie followed Thea into her flat and immediately spotted the glass vase shattered on the floor, the beautiful roses swimming in a puddle of water.
‘Did he get you those flowers?’
Thea shook her head, realising what it must look like. ‘No, they weren’t from him. I bought them myself. I think he texted me, and left me a voice message, so I threw my bag with the phone inside. I didn’t expect to smash my lovely vase.’ She started to cry again.
Gracie rushed over. ‘Now, now. Let me put the kettle on and you can tell me all about it. I’m sure when you’ve talked to someone about it, it’s not going to seem half as bad as you think it is.’
Thea stared after her as Gracie walked into the kitchen, thinking that she’d given anything for that to be true. Unfortunately, it was every bit as bad as it seemed.
‘That bastard!’
Thea sipped her tea, not surprised by Gracie’s reaction when she told her what had happened that afternoon – although she’d never heard Gracie swear before. She heaved a sigh. The sweet tea had helped, but only to the extent that she was no longer lying on the floor, sobbing her heart out. That was not to say she wasn’t stillfeelinglike sobbing her heart out, though.
She sat down on the sofa and tucked her legs under her. ‘Now I know why we never really talked about moving in together.’ She didn’t add that she hadn’t been entirely sure that moving in with Miles was what she’d wanted anyway. Cohabiting hadn’t exactly worked out with her last boyfriend. When he had moved in, her little flat had no longer felt like her own; no longer tidy and ordered, with everything in its place. So, she hadn’t exactly pushed Miles on the subject of his work or his personal life.
Now she knew that if she had asked him, he would have had to refuse. ‘I can’t believe he had a young family all along. I’m the other woman. He said he loved me and that he’d leave her.’
Gracie interrupted her monologue. ‘Honey, that’s what they all say.’ She patted Thea’s hand. ‘Listen to me. I’m the voice of experience.’
Thea remembered Gracie saying that she’d throw a party when she got the decree nisi through. She knew why that was; after nearly forty years of marriage, Gracie’s husband had left her for a younger woman who worked in the same building.
‘I don’t want to be the other woman. And I don’t want to break up a family.’
Gracie’s eyes shifted to the sideboard. ‘How about I get a broom and sweep that up?’
‘No, that’s my fault.’
Gracie patted her hand again, and smiled. ‘I insist.’
Thea heaved a sigh. ‘All right. There’s a dustpan, brush and broom in the little cupboard in the kitchen.’ She watched her good friend and neighbour disappear into the kitchen and come out with the dustpan and brush, the broom, and an old carrier bag and newspaper. Thea finished her tea while Gracie swept up.
‘There – all done. I’d hate to think what might have happened if you’d actually aimed your bag at something.’
Thea turned around in her seat, frowning until she caught sight of Gracie’s broad grin. At a time like this, she was still making jokes. Trust Gracie to make her smile.
‘There, now – that’s much better. I know it hurts right now, very much, but no man is worth putting your life on hold for, or worth not moving on from, I’ll tell you that.’
‘Tell that to my mum,’ blurted Thea.
Gracie cocked her head to one side and regarded her a long moment. ‘Your dad disappeared years ago, didn’t he?’
Thea had always been aware that Gracie knew about her father’s disappearance. But what Gracie didn’t know was that Thea’s mum and dad had been in love. When Thea was older, her mum had told her there had been no reason for him to leave – he had not been involved with anyone else, and neither had Thea’s mum. Apparently, they had been the perfect little family: Thea, her sister, Jenna, and their mum and dad. It was a situation that was worlds away from the one she found herself in with Miles.
‘Thea, I knew Miles wasn’t right for you.’
Thea finished her tea and leaned forward to put it on the coffee table. ‘After dinner yesterday, when you said you didn’t like him – you weren’t really joking, were you?’
Gracie put a consoling hand on her arm. ‘There was something about him I couldn’t put my finger on.’
Thea sighed. ‘Edward said something.’
‘About Miles?’
Thea nodded. ‘He said,are you sure he is right for you? He said something else too. That he didn’t think Miles came across as some high-flying executive who jets off to places like Hong Kong. He said it was a daft thought, and to ignore it.’ Thea’s bottom lip quivered.
