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TheDaily Trumpetwould like to apologise to Sir Melvyn Powdery-Hall for an unfortunate error in a profile piece we ran in May in which we referred to Sir Melvyn as a retired city wanker. We did of course mean that Sir Melvyn was a retired city banker. Sir Melvyn would also like us to point out that he retired from wanking in 2000 and not 2020 as stated.
Chapter 50
The next morning Sabrina sat in Marielle’s lounge, an untouched mug of coffee in front of her. Teddy had wanted to be there when she rang Will Barrett, and though he didn’t say so, if her folks were any less than ecstatic about her getting in contact, he would do everything in his power to keep her here.
He noticed her hand was shaking when she tapped the number into Marielle’s phone, making a mistake the first time. She put it on loudspeaker so Teddy and Marielle could hear.
The phone connected after two rings.
‘Hello,’ she said. ‘This is… Polly.’ It sounded wrong, as if she were lying.
‘Polly? Oh my god, Polly.’ A male voice, familiar to her, a kind voice, thrown into shock. The young man she remembered. A blur of questions:Where are you? Are you okay? Where have you been?Relief coursing down the line like a tidal wave.
Another voice now, older, less effusive but in the same state of disbelief.
‘Polly, it’s Chris. We’ve been worried sick about you, love…’
Chris. She saw him in her head as if his voice had lifted him out of a fog. Tall, handsome, short sandy hair.
Teddy asked Sabrina if he might take over because she didn’t know what to say. He introduced himself and delivered a potted history of the past weeks, that she’d been mugged and in hospital and that her memory was lost but was slowly returning. He didn’t say that he was falling fast for her and that he had lately discovered he was at his happiest when she was around him.
‘What do you mean her memory’s lost?’ Chris asked, incredulity in his voice. ‘Polly, can’t you remember me? We’ve been together over eight years.’
‘Yes, of course, but there are a few gaps.’ Which was putting it mildly.
‘Can you remember why you took off?’
‘No, I can’t remember that.’
‘Can you remember the day you left?’
‘I can’t remember that at all.’
At the other end of the phone, Chris puffed out his cheeks.Well, that was handy.He wished he could forget it as well.
‘It was just a daft misunderstanding, love. We’ve been out of our heads with worry. We drew a blank with every avenue we looked down trying to find you. We’d just started to up the ante.’
Will gave his father a look.
‘It’ll be good to get home,’ said Sabrina, hoping she sounded more convincing than she felt.
‘Aw, it’ll be smashing to have you home. You still on speaker? If so, can you give us an address, Mr Bontempi?’ Chris went on. ‘We’ll be setting off soon as we can to pick her up. I can’t believe it. Thank you… so much for everything you’ve done for her.’
Teddy looked at Sabrina and mouthed the words at her, ‘Is that what you want?’
And she nodded and forced out a smile that she hoped would convince him that it was.
Chris put down the phone. His first thought, though he wouldn’t even have admitted this to his son, was a palpable sense of relief that he wouldn’t have to go to the police station now, as they’d intended to that morning, and admit that his partner had gone missing six weeks ago and he’d just decided to report it. He couldn’t have scripted this better. Polly was coming home so all would go back to blessed normality, she couldn’t remember that she’d been planning to leave him, and he wouldn’t end up on one of those Sky crime documentaries.
But he did let Will into his second thought.
‘What was she doing at the bloody seaside? She must have had some sort of a breakdown.’
‘It was a special place for her, Dad. I read about it in her creative writing file,’ Will answered. ‘Maybe she went there hoping to be happy again because her brain must have been ready for blowing up.’
‘I know how she feels. My brain blew up when I got your Auntie Camay’s bill for that sodding wedding,’ Chris grumbled. ‘I knew she hadn’t left me for another man. I don’t think she was leaving me at all, you know. I’ve thought about it and I think she was just bluffing, wanting to make me sit up and notice her. I know I work too many hours and she must have felt neglected. But I was hoping the wedding would prove how much I appreciate her.’
‘Don’t you meanlove?’ asked Will.
