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‘Why are you calling me at work?’
‘We need to talk, Max.’ She hates this phrase. It’s bandied about so much; someone needs to come up with another way to say it.
‘I’m at work, Alice.’
‘I’m booking a hotel room for tonight. So we can talk properly. Away from my place. There’s too much…history here. We need somewhere neutral.’
‘I can’t. I’ve got too much work on. You know how busy I am.’
She’s about to protest, to try to coerce him into it, when he changes his mind. ‘But you’re right. We do need to talk.’ He sighs heavily. She hates when he does this. He’s always frustrated with her.
‘So you’ll meet me there, then?’
There’s a long pause. ‘Okay. At around five. I can’t get out any earlier than that.’
‘I’ll book somewhere now and let you know where.’ Alice tries to keep the excitement from her voice.
‘Okay.’ He hangs up without saying goodbye.
At three o’clock, Alice makes her way to the River Walk Hotel. She’s booked this one partly to annoy Max, because it’s so close to his home. Yet he hadn’t protested when she’d messaged him to let him know.
She’s decided to walk. It’s cold, of course, but the sky is cloudless and she needs this thinking time to go through everything. To make sure she gets everything right. What she has to do is clear in her mind now. She won’t let herself back out.
And by the time she walks into the lobby of the River Walk, she’s ready.
The woman at the reception desk smiles at her. ‘Hi. Are you checking in?’ she asks. She has smooth brown skin and shiny dark hair. Perfectly shaped eyebrows. She looks like a woman who takes care of herself. Alice considers presenting her with a business card, but then she remembers she doesn’t have any on her.
‘Yeah, just one night,’ Alice says. ‘My name’s Alice Hughes.’
‘Ah, my niece is called Alice. Lovely name.’ The woman smiles, and Alice glances at her name badge. Sue Leone.
Sue taps on the computer and prints out a sheet. ‘Here you go.’ She passes it to Alice. ‘This is your receipt.’ She takes a card from behind the desk, slotting it into a small paper wallet. ‘And this is your key card. You’re on the first floor – room twelve. There are no rooms on the ground floor, just the gym and restaurant. Dinner is from five p.m. – all the details are on the back of the card.’ She turns it over to show Alice, as if she wouldn’t be able to find it for herself.
‘Thanks.’ Alice takes the card.
‘You’re welcome.’ Sue smiles. ‘Have a lovely stay.’
Upstairs in the room, Alice flops down on the bed, spreading her arms out. She loves the feel of clean sheets. She sits up and opens her gym bag, pulling out a small bottle of Evian – the only thing she’s brought with her. Alice doesn’t drink coffee, and onlyhas one cup of tea in the mornings. Taylor always laughs at her. ‘You fill your body with water all day – no caffeine – but if you go out in the evening you can drink me, or anyone else, under the table.’
She smiles to think of his words now. She misses Taylor. Despite how he’s been acting lately, he’s one of the good ones. But he hasn’t spoken to her for months, not since she refused to end things with Max. She gets why he doesn’t like it. Max hasn’t been a good man at work. But Alice can’t let that be her concern. She let Taylor have the photo – surely she’s done her part?
Anyway, she’s finally doing what Taylor wants – she’s putting an end to all this. And she’s going to tell Max’s wife what he’s been doing – it’s not fair for her to be oblivious. Alice has to do this for her own sanity. Max will hate her, and won’t want anything to do with her, but at least she will be free. It was a bit like that song by Selena Gomez. Alice needs to lose Max in order to love herself. She hums it now as she sends a message to Taylor, letting him know that she’s ending her relationship. She presses send, then lies back down and waits, closing her eyes.
All that matters now is the truth.
At five o’clock, there’s a knock on the door. Alice jumps up and checks her reflection in the mirror. Her clothes have to be just right for this. Relaxed and casual. Showing Max that she’s not dressing up for him, not trying to keep him interested. And her make-up is minimal – just a dab of tinted lip balm. She looks fresh. Younger without a mask of foundation covering her skin.
Happy that everything is just as she wants it to be, Alice answers the door. And finds herself staring at Sarah Brooks.
‘What are?—?’
‘Max isn’t coming,’ the nurse says, striding in and closing the door. She smiles at Alice, and her skin wrinkles. ‘But you and I are going to have a chat.’
This is all wrong. This isn’t how tonight was supposed to work out. Max is supposed to be here so Alice can tell him that it’s over. That she wants nothing more to do with him because she’s come to her senses. But he’s sent his friend instead. A despicable woman who’s abusing her position as a nurse. Alice shudders.
‘Get out,’ she says.
‘Don’t you want a resolution to all this? One that works for all of us? I’m not here to argue with you or upset you. I just want to talk.’ Her voice is pleasant, and Alice decides she should hear her out. What’s she got to lose?
