Page 111 of Mistaken Impression

“No. She broke up with me.”

He shakes his head. “She did?”

“Yes. She denied talking to the press, even though the producers had announced they were going to keep the show going… with Ella taking over my role.”

“In which case…”

“I know.” I hold up my hand and stare down at my cup for a moment before looking back at him. “She denied it, Henry. All of it. And then she made it clear we were over, and… she left.”

Memories flit through my mind… the tears on her cheeks, her calling me ‘Blake’, like she hated me… the sound of her footsteps on the stairs. I didn’t want her to go. I wanted her to stay and talk; to work things out… somehow. But my feetwouldn’t move, and I guess that was when I realised… love isn’t always enough.

“What are you going to do now?” Henry’s voice brings me back to the here and now.

“I don’t know. I’ll have to do something, though. My bank balance took a hit, what with having to pay a month’s rent in lieu of notice on my apartment… and booking a last-minute flight during Thanksgiving week.”

“Hmm… the timing could have been better.”

“I know. But I couldn’t hang around over there any longer.”

Once Ella had gone, I sat in my apartment for a while, just staring into space, until my phone rang. It was Delilah, and I knew I’d have to take the call. She wanted to know what had happened, so I explained, telling her everything.

“Forget about gunning for her,” I said firmly as I finished my story.

“Your career’s over.” It sounded like she was still thinking of trying something.

“I don’t care about my career,” I yelled down the phone at her.

“Okay… okay.” She paused for a second. “What are you gonna do now?”

“Go home.” I hadn’t even thought about it, but the idea flashed into my head, and it made perfect sense.

“To England?”

“Yes. There’s nothing left for me here.”

“She really got to you, didn’t she?”

“Yes, she did.”

“Well… stay in touch.”

Her words held so little conviction, and she didn’t even try to persuade me to stay, so I wondered if she was glad to see the back of me. My departure meant she could wash her hands of me… publicly, at least. She could distance herself from anynegative publicity surrounding the show and my role in it, and get on with representing more profitable clients.

Once the decision was made, it only took me a couple of days to organise everything, and even though I know I could have taken more time, or waited to see if something else came up over there, I didn’t want to.

The adventure was over…

“Do you want to come and see the flat?” Henry says, and I look up to see he’s smiling at me.

“Okay, but before I do, and while we’re speaking of what I’m going to do and my lack of funds, I should probably warn you, I won’t be able to pay you very much rent for the time being.”

He leans across the table, his hand on my arm. “You don’t have to pay me any rent at all. And you can stay here for as long as you want. You know that.”

“Thank you, Henry.”

He gets up. “Come on, then…”

I follow him to the front of the house, where I left my cases, and carry them outside and down to the basement. Henry pauses by the door, the key in his hand.

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