Read Online Minnie Chase Makes a Mistake by Helen MacArthur - Free Book Online Page A

the world. 
    She sat back into the seat and breathed deeply. Jackson and his damn euphemisms. Despite her agitated state, she smiled.
    Whizzing along the freeway in her taxi, Minnie found herself trapped in the company of yet another talkative man, the driver. Minnie only half-listened as she tried to take in all the unfamiliar sights. There was no sign of the famous San Franciscan fog. Indeed, the sun was shining brightly making the water in the bay sparkle and dance. It was a glorious golden-washed scene that highlighted striking coastal architecture while a warm wind hurried the clouds in the opposite direction. Minnie stared hard out the car window and wondered for the zillionth time how she would find Greene. 
     
    Minnie called Angie from the taxi. The time difference put London ahead and although it would be nearly 11.15 pm Angie had told Minnie that she would wait up.
    Angie picked up the phone to a chorus of deafening barks in the background. Minnie pitied the poor neighbours.
    Minnie held the phone away from her ear. ‘Angie, it’s me. I’ve arrived.’
    ‘Minnie, is that you?’
    ‘Yes!’
    ‘Can you speak up?’ hollered Angie. ‘Whenever the phone goes it sets the animals off.’
    ‘I’ve arrived. I’m fine. I’m in a taxi.’
    ‘Good. When are you coming home?’
    ‘Soon. Promise.’
    Minnie shouted quickly, ‘Did James George call round at the house looking for me?’
    ‘No. Has he called you?’
    ‘Well, no… he wouldn’t…’ Minnie faltered. ‘He’s giving me space.’
    ‘Does he even know you’re in San Francisco?’ questioned Angie above the background noise.
    ‘No.’
    ‘Leave it like that,’ commanded Angie. ‘Until we talk about how to deal with him.’
    ‘Okay, I’ll call you tomorrow afternoon – your time,’ said Minnie, trying not to shout directly into the driver’s ear.
    ‘Call me any time. I don’t mind.’
    The end of the phone call left Minnie feeling lonelier than ever. She missed Angie. She saw her nearly every other day back home. 
    Minnie chewed the inside of her cheek as she thought about James George. She checked her phone for the hundredth time. He hadn’t called or left a message. He hadn’t contacted Angie. He hadn’t come looking for her. He had made no effort to find her and apologise or beg for forgiveness. He hadn’t asked her to come home, hadn’t asked her to meet him somewhere neutral. Nothing. This left a desperate ache deep inside her. Minnie had believed that James George was her soul mate. She had loved him unconditionally. But when she needed him the most he had withdrawn into total silence and this had hurt her as much as the betrayal.
    She never thought she would ever think this, but looking for Greene would be a welcome distraction. 
    Minnie decided to go motel over hotel very mindful that she had lost her job and that the title deeds to her apartment were in James George’s name.
    A quick search on her phone and a consultation with the helpful cab driver helped her reach a decision. She found a place on Columbus Avenue, near the San Francisco Art Institute. The driver pointed out Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown and the Golden Gate Bridge. He was an enthusiastic tour guide clearly proud of his home city. Minnie was instructed to order clam chowder at the diner across the road from the motel – a place that also did great fresh-baked sourdough bread. She wondered if food would help to fill that ever-increasing empty space inside her.
    She tipped the driver generously and heaved her suitcase towards the motel. Now she had a room for the night and a short walk to the diner across the road. She stood on the pavement and attempted to get her bearings, noting a pyramid-shaped building as a landmark. Despite the summer wind gently warming her, a deep chill suddenly ran right through her heart.
     
    Minnie checked in and unpacked. James George was the love of her life and yet he hadn’t even found a second to send her a text