Page 53 of Amazing Grace

Mark texted her that evening, to see whether she’d considered his proposal. He was probably texting her while Lorraine was cooking dinner or something. The thought of having Archie with her all the time was like a carrot dangling over her head. He knew it and he was playing her. Grace couldn’t help feeling that she was being manipulated by him all over again and she ignored the message.

If and when Vinnie called her back, she didn’t really know what to say to him. She shouldn’t have kept the fact that Mark had attended the awards ceremony with her secret from him, but the only reason she hadn’t told him was because it wasn’t important to her. However, it had been too long now since it happened to bring it up with Vinnie without it sounding like a bigger deal than it was. She didn’t know what to do. She also needed to ask him about the text she had seen and other things, because it was really playing on her mind.

She tried to call him once more before bed but again it went to answerphone. Perhaps she’d buggered everything up already.

‘Vin, it’s me again. I wanted to explain everything to you. I know that you bumped into Mark and that he’s trying to cause trouble between us. Please, call me so we can talk. Please, Vinnie. I miss you.’

That night, Grace didn’t sleep a wink. Her mind was all over the place. She’d met someone wonderful and she hadn’t thought that was possible, so he deserved to know what she was thinking. But the trouble was, she didn’t really know what she was thinking herself. How could she explain anything to someone else when she didn’t understand herself? She thought perhaps that if she ignored the problem, it might just go away. Knowing that she had a busy couple of days coming up at work, she vowed just to get stuck in and try to forget all about it for a while.

* * *

But that was easier said than done and when she still hadn’t heard from Vinnie by the next morning, she was starting to panic. She couldn’t believe that Mark had managed to ruin what she and Vinnie had built together, but she also couldn’t believe that Vinnie wouldn’t even talk to her and let her explain.

She rang Ruth.

‘Oh, Gracie, what on earth has happened? Vincent has told me that he’s taken an emergency job in Hull and is going to be away for the week. I said that I knew he’d miss you and he said that you weren’t everything that you appeared to be. He sounded really cross. Has something happened?’

Grace explained it all to Ruth; that Mark had spun their night out into some sort of romantic date and Ruth sympathised, but told her she was a total idiot for not mentioning it to Vinnie at the time. Grace tried to explain that she hadn’t even wanted Mark to accompany her, and hadn’t really even had an option as he’d decidedforher, so she’d just blocked it out. That was the only reason she hadn’t told Vinnie. She had nothing to hide.

‘I just hope he finds it in his heart to listen and to forgive you, Grace, I really do. I could bash your blooming heads together. You are so perfect for each other but this has come between you. I’ll try to talk to him, but sometimes he’s so pig-headed that he won’t even listen to me. I can only try. I also know that Vinnie has something that he needs to share with you. I wish I could go into it, but it’s not my story to tell. He needs to tell you himself.’

Grace knew that she would miss him terribly during his week away but it had at least come at the perfect time, giving her some head space so that she could try to make sense of her thoughts and feelings. She’d never been happier than she was with Vinnie, yet there was something about him that she clearly didn’t know. She was torn – wanting to do the right thing for her son and her family.

Grace had always believed that a family should stick together, taking the cue from her own parents, who had been through hell and back but had always kept the family as a unit. She understood from certain things that her mum had said over the years that her father had never been an angel, and while she never knew exactly what he’d done, she knew that there was something in their life that had caused major turmoil. But her mum had insisted that they stay together for the sake of her family and it was that example that weighed heavy on her mind as she wrestled with what to do. Mark had always been good at manipulating her, making her believe that it was her duty to not think about her own feelings but put the feelings of others before herself. She was at a loss, held back by her sense of duty that she needed to put Archie first, even before her own happiness.

She knew that Vinnie was due back on Saturday night because before Mark’s revelation, they’d made arrangements to go to Ruth’s, so she decided to leave it at that for the time being and not bother him. She felt like her brain was going to explode if she kept trying to fathom out what she should do. She knew what she wanted to do in her heart, but her head kept pulling her another way.

* * *

On Tuesday afternoon, Grace went to visit her dad. When she arrived, Gladys was there and they all had a cuppa together. They were so excited about their cruise and showed Grace the brochure and went through the itinerary with her.

Her dad was also rather excited to show off his new mobility scooter, something else that was giving him a new lease of life.

‘How’s Mark?’ he asked. ‘I was so grateful for all his help with this scooter business. I could never have done it without him.’

Grace was shocked. Mark had visited her dad? He’d been helping him? Why had neither of them ever mentioned this before?

‘You never said he came to see you, Dad. Why would you not tell me that?’

‘To be honest, I thought you knew that he pops in for a cup of tea every now and again. He did so much research on the best type of scooter for me to get and then took me along to pick up the one that we’d chosen. I really don’t know why you can’t sort everything out with him. He’s a decent bloke and he’s Archie’s father. A boy needs his father around.’

Grace was stunned. It wasn’t like Mark to put someone else before himself, but perhaps he really had changed after all, like he said he had. Was he now proving himself to her, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before she found out from her dad that he’d done him a huge favour? She was more perplexed than ever.

Her dad went out to the toilet, shaking his head, and Gladys asked her if she was OK, saying she looked down-hearted.

‘Not really, Gladys. I’m so confused.’

‘I know I’m an old fuddy-duddy, darling, but if I can help in any way, do let me know. I’m a great listener.’

‘Thank you, Gladys, I really do appreciate that. Mark and I were not happy when we were together and he wants us to be a family again, but now I’ve met someone else who I really like and have the chance of a new but unsure future. So how do I choose?’

‘Is he only saying this now, because you have the chance of happiness with someone else though, Grace? I do know that in life, you have to do what makes your soul sing. And be with someone who always puts you first and loves you for what you are, and not for what they want you to be. And someone who makes you laugh. I met Mark the other day and he seemed to be charming, but his eyes are too close together for my liking. You should never trust a man whose eyes are too close together.’ She laughed.

‘Seriously though, you’re a lovely woman and a wonderful mum. And you deserve to be with someone who treats you like a million dollars all of the time, not just when it suits. And you need to be sure that he’s not just trying to spoil your happiness with your new man. That old chestnut, where he just doesn’t want anyone else to have you. But then what do I know? I’m just a silly old woman. Just remember that the person you choose is the person you’re going to grow old with. So decide wisely.’

Grace smiled and thanked her as her dad walked back into the room, and she realised that Gladys wasn’t the only person to have said this to her. She’d made up her mind.

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