eyes
against the beauty around her.
James reached out and pulled her towards him. For a second
she wondered what on earth he was doing and then she realised all he wanted was
a word in her ear – literally.
‘Happy family, huh? We’ll go into the café first and make
ourselves conspicuous. Nice and chatty,’ he murmured, taking Jaden’s buggy and
striding towards the white building at the top of the cove. Once inside, he
pushed the buggy over to a corner table, leaving Amanda to go to the counter to
order.
‘Two coffees, please, and, ah… two fruit scones,’ Amanda
said to the girl, forcing a smile. ‘It’s a lovely day, isn’t it? We’re seeing
my husband off on the first leg of his walk. Wish I could go too, but the
baby’s a bit young.’
She gestured across the room to where James was sitting with
his back to them, playing a clapping game with Jaden. Infectious baby giggles
filled the café and several people chuckled.
The girl nodded sympathetically. ‘You’re quite right. Some
people do take kiddies with them, but if you ask me it isn’t worth the hassle
and in some parts it’s plain dangerous. Going far, is he?’
Amanda moved along the counter as she was joined by two
middle-aged women. Now that she had started, the lies came almost automatically,
because of course they weren’t real lies. If it had been Gareth over there with
Jaden, everything she was saying would have been true.
‘He’s aiming for Plymouth, but we’ll see how far he gets by
Friday. We live in St Ives so I can pick him up anywhere.’
She paid for the coffee and took the tray across to the
table. This was the bad bit. She had to sit here and drink bloody coffee and
act all normal and cosy.
They spent most of the time chatting to Jaden, who was in
good form, waving to the women at the counter. It was all Amanda could do to
force down her scone. She should never have ordered anything so complicated –
slapping butter on a fruit scone was the last thing she felt like doing.
Twenty minutes later they left the café, Jaden still waving
to all and sundry and James blowing his nose, covering his face with a large
hanky. Outside, the show continued, with Amanda buying a paper at the kiosk and
James pointing out various landmarks before hugging both Jaden and Amanda
fondly and setting off along the coastal path. Jaden played his part
magnificently, waving and shouting, ‘Bye-bye-bye!’
Tears running down her cheeks, Amanda waved too as James
disappeared round the corner – how crap this was. She was crying because her
life had turned into a horrible mess, but an observer would think the tears
were for her husband away on his tour. And now she had to hang around for
hours, her and her guilty conscience. The plan was to pick James up at
Mousehole, the next village along the path. This time he’d be wearing his own
clothes and Gareth would be gone. They would slink in and out of the place as
unobtrusively as possible.
At one o’clock James was safely back in the car. Relief made
Amanda positively light-headed. The plan had worked; they could go home. She
drove towards the anonymity of Penzance, glancing across at James, slumped in
the passenger seat. ‘Did you remember the phone?’
He slugged water from his bottle. ‘In the Atlantic, with the
rucksack. And the hat’s about three yards away from the edge of a steep drop
into the sea. Thank Christ that’s over. Bits of that path are bloody murder,
you know. I don’t know why more people don’t go over the edge. It’s up to you
now, Amanda. We shouldn’t see each other in the next week or two. Get rid of your
mobile in case you don’t manage to delete all traces of me from it. I’ll do the
same. We can both get prepaids and use them to contact each other. I’ll send
you an old-fashioned letter with my number, then you can call me.’
‘What about the baby?’ said Amanda, fear churning in her
gut. She would be on her own for weeks, her and her guilt –
against the beauty around her.
James reached out and pulled her towards him. For a second
she wondered what on earth he was doing and then she realised all he wanted was
a word in her ear – literally.
‘Happy family, huh? We’ll go into the café first and make
ourselves conspicuous. Nice and chatty,’ he murmured, taking Jaden’s buggy and
striding towards the white building at the top of the cove. Once inside, he
pushed the buggy over to a corner table, leaving Amanda to go to the counter to
order.
‘Two coffees, please, and, ah… two fruit scones,’ Amanda
said to the girl, forcing a smile. ‘It’s a lovely day, isn’t it? We’re seeing
my husband off on the first leg of his walk. Wish I could go too, but the
baby’s a bit young.’
She gestured across the room to where James was sitting with
his back to them, playing a clapping game with Jaden. Infectious baby giggles
filled the café and several people chuckled.
The girl nodded sympathetically. ‘You’re quite right. Some
people do take kiddies with them, but if you ask me it isn’t worth the hassle
and in some parts it’s plain dangerous. Going far, is he?’
Amanda moved along the counter as she was joined by two
middle-aged women. Now that she had started, the lies came almost automatically,
because of course they weren’t real lies. If it had been Gareth over there with
Jaden, everything she was saying would have been true.
‘He’s aiming for Plymouth, but we’ll see how far he gets by
Friday. We live in St Ives so I can pick him up anywhere.’
She paid for the coffee and took the tray across to the
table. This was the bad bit. She had to sit here and drink bloody coffee and
act all normal and cosy.
They spent most of the time chatting to Jaden, who was in
good form, waving to the women at the counter. It was all Amanda could do to
force down her scone. She should never have ordered anything so complicated –
slapping butter on a fruit scone was the last thing she felt like doing.
Twenty minutes later they left the café, Jaden still waving
to all and sundry and James blowing his nose, covering his face with a large
hanky. Outside, the show continued, with Amanda buying a paper at the kiosk and
James pointing out various landmarks before hugging both Jaden and Amanda
fondly and setting off along the coastal path. Jaden played his part
magnificently, waving and shouting, ‘Bye-bye-bye!’
Tears running down her cheeks, Amanda waved too as James
disappeared round the corner – how crap this was. She was crying because her
life had turned into a horrible mess, but an observer would think the tears
were for her husband away on his tour. And now she had to hang around for
hours, her and her guilty conscience. The plan was to pick James up at
Mousehole, the next village along the path. This time he’d be wearing his own
clothes and Gareth would be gone. They would slink in and out of the place as
unobtrusively as possible.
At one o’clock James was safely back in the car. Relief made
Amanda positively light-headed. The plan had worked; they could go home. She
drove towards the anonymity of Penzance, glancing across at James, slumped in
the passenger seat. ‘Did you remember the phone?’
He slugged water from his bottle. ‘In the Atlantic, with the
rucksack. And the hat’s about three yards away from the edge of a steep drop
into the sea. Thank Christ that’s over. Bits of that path are bloody murder,
you know. I don’t know why more people don’t go over the edge. It’s up to you
now, Amanda. We shouldn’t see each other in the next week or two. Get rid of your
mobile in case you don’t manage to delete all traces of me from it. I’ll do the
same. We can both get prepaids and use them to contact each other. I’ll send
you an old-fashioned letter with my number, then you can call me.’
‘What about the baby?’ said Amanda, fear churning in her
gut. She would be on her own for weeks, her and her guilt –
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