Page 61 of A Touch of Magic at the Comfort Food Café
Melody smiles at me, her eyes flickering over my appearance and faltering slightly. What the hell is she doing here? I know I have absolutely no right to feel any resentment towards this woman– this girl, actually, because she is still in her twenties and definitely young enough to be my daughter– and yet I kind of do. I kind of want to punch her on the nose, in fact. I won’t, because I’m a civilised human, but I really want to.
Once that initial rush of anger passes, I’m still left with questions. And sadness. A huge, great big smothering blanket of sadness. I’m such an idiot.
‘Hi Melody,’ I say, crossing my arms in front of me. This is my territory and I don’t like her being in it. ‘What do you want?’
She looks slightly taken aback by my less-than-welcoming attitude but recovers quickly. Melody, I remind myself, once backpacked around India on her own. She’s not going to be intimidated by a paint-spattered middle-aged woman who looks like she’s been dragged through a bush backwards, forwards and sideways.
‘Hi Sarah, I was wondering if you could help me? Help Aidan? He was supposed to be back by now, but his flight’s beendelayed, and I really have to get on the road. I don’t want to leave the dogs alone, and I know they’ll be fine with you…’
‘His flight?’ I repeat dumbly, having no clue what she’s going on about.
‘Yes. You know, from New York?’
I stare at her, feeling deeply confused. ‘You’d better come in.’
She follows me through, taking in the pretty living room and its organised clutter, heading over to the shelf that contains copies of all my books. She runs her fingers over them, and smiles as she says: ‘I didn’t want to come across as a fan girl that night in the pub, but I love your books! Carina Shaw kicks ass!’
‘Um… thank you. She does, doesn’t she? Could I get you a drink, or cake? I have a lot of cake…’
‘No, I’m fine, thanks. Anyway. I think he’s on the plane now, or somewhere he can’t see his messages at least. I have no clue when he’ll be back, but like I said, I need to be going. I should have left hours ago. Would you be able to pop over? I’ve got the keys with me?’
I sit down on the sofa with a bit of a thud, and look up at her. I have nothing to gain by pretending to be anything other than what I am. Bewildered.
‘Melody, I’m really sorry, but I don’t know what’s going on. I thought you were here staying with Aidan for… uh… well, you know…’
She frowns and sits in the chair opposite me, her eyes huge in surprise. ‘Gosh, no! Absolutely not! Not since he met you, Sarah, you’re all he’s been focused on. I’m here for the dogs. To look after them while he was in New York with his dad.’
‘With his dad?’ I echo, shaking my head. Melody bites her lip and looks at me thoughtfully.
‘Okay, I don’t know what’s going on here, Sarah. I thought you two were together. Or at the very least close. I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to him before he left. What’s the score?’
‘We were close. And we were together. And then we had a big fight, and I left, and then you turned up with your benefits…’
She throws her hands up in the air and laughs. ‘Now I’m even more lost! I turned up because he asked me to. His dad had a heart attack and he had to fly to New York to see him. The only benefit I brought was looking after the dogs. He’s not the kind of man who enjoys benefits with another woman when he’s into someone, and I’m not the kind of woman who sleeps with a man who is taken.’
I nod, struggling to process all of this, feeling slightly reprimanded. I remember his phone ringing several times that morning while we were fighting. And I know he tried to call me, also several times. Okay, the only message he left was one tense-sounding ‘please call me back’, which didn’t tempt me, but now I know he was probably upset. He has a difficult relationship with his dad, but he is still his dad. And I hadn’t exactly been open and loving towards him.
I feel a rush of regret, and a dreadful sinking feeling in my stomach. I wasn’t there for him when he needed me, and I jumped to all the wrong conclusions because of my own stupid insecurities. I didn’t give him the benefit of the doubt, not even a tiny bit– he paid the price because the other men in my life acted like jerks. Basically, I’ve been a terrible fool.
‘How is his father?’ I ask quietly.
‘He’s all right. It was only mild, more of a warning shot apparently, but his dad was desperate to see him. I think it was a bit of a wake-up call, and hopefully they might have sorted out some of their issues. Like I say, he’s on his way back. I assumed he’d been in touch, that you knew…’
I didn’t know. I didn’t call him back. I didn’t tell him that I love him, when perhaps he most needed to hear it. I saw this perfectly nice woman giving him a consoling hug, and I leapt into the abyss of doubt. It’s understandable that I was upset, butunforgivable that I never questioned what my anxious, battered brain told me.
If I’d called him back, then maybe he would have asked me to look after the dogs and Melody wouldn’t even have been here. I’ve made such a mess of things.
I shake my head and feel tears swim in my eyes. Melody is instantly by my side, holding my hand. I now feel even worse for all the mean things I’ve thought about her over the last few days.
‘Come on, it’s okay. It’ll be all right! He’s really, really into you!’
That sounds so like something one of my nieces would say that it makes me smile. ‘Maybe hewas…’
‘He still is. Have a little faith. One row won’t change all that. It was hectic, getting that call about his father, booking a flight, having to get to London. Then dealing with his family and that whole drama. I have no idea how that all went, but it can’t have been easy. But he’s on his way back, and you can see him soon and sort this all out.’
She wipes the tears from my cheeks with gentle thumbs, and I tremble a little with emotion. ‘You’re so nice, Melody.’
‘Why thank you, Sarah. Are you okay? Can I get you anything? Call a friend for you?’
