Page 36 of Last Dance, Second Chance

Jessica laughed. “Don’t worry. I know what you meant.” She couldn’t stop herself giving Nathan a flirtatious wink before leaving the room.

* * *

What Jessica discovered over the next few days was that kissing Nathan at the barbecue had changed her relationship with him, but not in the way she’d thought it would. Acknowledging they were attracted to one another meant that they both felt free to show it, safe in the knowledge that they knew their flirtation wouldn’t lead anywhere. This probably wasn’t the best of ideas, but Jessica loved spending time with Nathan, and doing so made her feel good about herself at a time when she would have been pretty low without him around. It was nice to be desired even when she was hobbling around on crutches.

However, she could tell there was a definite change in mood when Nathan came home at lunchtime on Thursday to walk the dogs.

“Is today the day?” she asked, as he sat silently eating the lentil salad she’d made them.

“Yep. As of four o’clock this afternoon, I am officially divorced.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thanks. And I’m sorry I’m not better company,” he said. “I guess I’m just feeling a bit bleurgh.”

“Completely understandable. Do you want to go out this evening and we’ll see if we can’t cheer you up?”

“I’d rather stay in, if you don’t mind.”

“Would you also rather I made myself scarce so you can brood by yourself?”

“No.” Jessica was pleased to see that she’d managed to raise a very small smile from him. “I’d like to hang out with you, if that’s all right, and if you’re not sick of the sight of my miserable face.”

“That is absolutely all right. Why don’t I make us a curry and we could watch a film or something?”

“You’d give up a night of Fable II for me?”

“I would,” Jessica stated solemnly. “But if you did want to play for a bit...”

* * *

Once Nathan had left to go back to work, Jessica put plan ‘Cheer Nathan Up’ into action. She found a rucksack in the cupboard under the stairs which she shrugged on.

“I’ll be back soon, guys,” she told Monty and Dennis. “Look after the place while I’m gone.”

She’d walk to the supermarket and pick up the ingredients to make Nathan his special dinner. If her foot was aching a lot, she’d take a taxi back.

Jessica was walking along the main road through Bowerbridge, marvelling at how many of the shops she remembered from her childhood were still in business when she spotted a familiar tiny, straight-backed figure with a neat chestnut bob walking towards her.

“Madame Penny!” Jessica called out.

The figure looked up. “Jessica Stone! Well, I never. How lovely to see you. And please call me Diana,” said her old ballet teacher, her face lighting up at the sight of her former pupil. “But what have you done to your foot?”

“I broke it soon after I arrived here to visit Mum and Dad.”

“How long until it’s fully healed?” asked Diana kindly, immediately understanding what the injury meant for Jessica.

Out of nowhere, tears sprang into Jessica’s eyes and she found she was crying. She wiped them away, frustratedly. She’d been doing such a good job of holding her emotions in check and focusing on her recovery.

“Oh, you poor darling,” said Diana, immediately putting her arms around her. “I was on my way to the dance studio, but I don’t have a class for nearly an hour. Why don’t you come with me and we can have a chat and a cup of tea?”

Jessica nodded her head, looking around to check there was no one watching her. She had never been the sort of person to burst into tears in the middle of the street! But then she’d had a huge disappointment and a lot of worry about her foot. Being with Nathan had taken her mind off her predicament brilliantly, but it hadn’t changed the fact that her beloved career was very definitely in jeopardy.

She walked alongside Diana for the short distance to the dance studio — a building Jessica must have spent hundreds if not thousands of hours in when she was a child, but which she hadn’t stepped foot in for about fifteen years.

Tears still stained her cheeks, but she smiled as she passed through the familiar double doors and into the large hall. The same piano stood in the corner, with probably the same CD player on top.

“Do you mind if I use the loo?” she asked, wanting to have a chance to wipe her eyes.

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