Page 19 of Then She Vanished

He grabbed a bottle of champagne from under the table. She gave him a toothy smile: it wasn’t just any champagne, it was Dom Pérignon. No supermarket brand for this meal. Eric was so sweet he made her heart melt.

‘To my standard? It smells wonderful, besides, just you cooking for me means so much.’

‘Right, I want to propose a toast.’

As the cork popped, Ruth let out a tiny shriek of excitement. ‘A toast. How exciting.’ She knew he was also excited about her divorce coming through. He carefully filled two flutes and passed one to her. As she sipped, the bubbles tickled her nose and made her giggle like she was twenty again.

‘Yes, my love. A toast to us. It’s been a whole three months, and they have been the best of my life, which is why I’ve made this meal. You know I love you with all my heart.’ He paused.

‘To love.’ They clinked glasses. ‘Can I try this lovely food now? The smell is making my mouth water.’

He nodded. ‘Yes, I hope it’s okay.’ He waited for her to try it, nervousness etched across his face.

She popped a bit of everything onto one forkful, and the moment it hit her taste buds she was in heaven.

‘This isamazing. Now I know you can cook this well, the job is yours.’

She started telling him about her day; about the match and the players, about some woman who had complained that her kids kept getting verrucas.

‘I don’t know which bit of “we disinfect the floors all the time,” she didn’t understand. They’re probably not washing their floors or towels at home. Anyway, she went off on one, screaming and shouting that she was going to complain to the manager, then she cancelled her membership. People!’

Again, the strange woman outside came to the forefront of her mind. Her long mac and the child standing next to her. Whowas she? Ruth went to tell Eric about her but changed her mind. The woman was probably just waiting for someone.

Eric laughed as he finished his champagne and the last of his meal. ‘It’s been a long day for you. Nothing eventful happened at home. I had to pop to the shop and put a few orders in, then I came here to cook.’ He placed his napkin on the table. ‘But, I hope you’ll remember this day forever, and not because of some woman screaming about verrucas.’

She scrunched her brow. ‘I’m never going to forget this meal. You know…’ A tear formed in the corner of one of her eyes. ‘No one has ever cooked for me like this before.’

‘Good, because I want to spoil you like mad. There’s more.’

‘More? Oh, Eric, you’ve done enough.’ She struggled to contain her emotions. ‘I am so happy and silly.’ She wiped the trailing happy tear away.

He stood and cleared his throat, then he instructed the smart speaker to play ‘Endless Love’.

‘You’re my first love. I know we found each other late in life, but I have never felt like this, Ruth. I thought I’d loved before, but now I know I haven’t. This is the real thing for me, and I hope it is for you too.’ He began fiddling in his pocket, going red in the face as his hand got stuck, then he fell to one knee beside her. ‘Ruth, will you marry me? I love you more than anything or anyone in this whole world.’

Tears began to fill both her eyes this time. This was her chance to start again. She’d never forget her loss, but she deserved happiness.

Maybe they could pool their assets; sell both of their houses and move into their very own home. She wanted to move away, to start again with Eric. Most of all, she loved him. That was all that mattered.

‘Don’t keep me waiting. Besides, I might not be able to get up soon. You know I have an arthritic knee.’

‘Yes.’ As he stood, she flung her arms around him. ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,’ she kept saying between kisses. Her gaze landed on the chess strategy book that sat on a pile of other books on the dresser. She pulled away. ‘How did that get there?’

Eric looked back. ‘The books?’

She nodded. ‘The chess book.’

‘I forgot to put those back in your cupboard when I was looking for the napkins. Sorry.’ He paused and scrunched his brow as he looked at the books. ‘I didn’t know you liked playing chess.’

She thought she’d given Gary all his things but she must have missed the chess book. It wasn’t hers. ‘I don’t.’

The doorbell rang. ‘Who could that be at this time?’ Eric walked towards the front door and peered through the spyhole. ‘It’s Gary.’

Her stomach dropped. She hated that he’d moved into the house opposite after they split their assets. She got the house and he got all the money, which amounted to enough to buy his own house. He could have gone anywhere, but he chose the house on the opposite side of the road, where he could see through her front windows all day long. That was another reason to sell up and go.

She snatched up the chess book and placed it on the sideboard before opening the front door. ‘What do you want?’ He’d been drinking, she could tell, and she knew it was because he would also have received his decree absolute in the post.

‘You’ve left your bin out. It looks unsightly. Oh, and that dirty snake’s car has a flat tyre, someone probably slashed it.’

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