47. Perception
47
PERCEPTION
The following day, Tayla pulled up outside her parents’ condo to find Valentina waiting for her, dressed in her school uniform. Her smile lit up Tayla’s afternoon, and she jumped out of the car to engulf the younger woman in a hug. Valentina belonged to Mitch’s world. A world Tayla missed and longed for.
“Hi, you.” Tayla stepped back. “I thought you’d finished school for the year?”
“I had my last exam this afternoon. English.”
“How was it?”
Valentina scrunched up her face. “Not good. I’m a creative, not a nerdy academic, but I think I did enough to pass.”
Tayla fished in her bag for her keys and opened the door. “Come in. Mum and Dad are at my sister’s, so I’m house-sitting.”
“Yes, so Mitch said.” Valentina followed her inside and dumped her backpack beside the sofa. As her judgmental eye flicked around the space, Tayla had to suppress a grin. “But I call bullshit.”
“Do you now?” Tayla moved to the sink and poured two glasses of water from the filter. She passed one across the island.
Valentina drained the glass and held it out for a refill. “Look, I get it. Boys, they’re so freaking complicated. Always wanting to play lead guitar and expecting us to play bass. But you and Mitch, you make loving look like it’s meant to be, and I don’t see that often. I need you to succeed because if you guys blow it, what chance do the rest of us have?” Valentina’s eyes misted with tears.
“Hey, come here.” Tayla opened her arms, and Valentina gave her a half-hearted hug. “What brought this on?”
“I was at the loft yesterday, and when I looked in the closet, your stuff was still gone. It made me sad.”
“Don’t be sad, sweetie. We’ll work it out.” She took a pack of tissues from her bag and handed it to Valentina.
“So, what did he do? And don’t say he cheated with Prue, because that’s not who he is.”
Valentina was right. Some men cheated, no matter what. Others, only if the opportunity arose, but many men wouldn’t dream of cheating. Tayla now believed that Mitch was in the third category. “We just need some space, that’s all.”
“No, you don’t. You need to be honest with each other.”
“It’s not that simple. Time is not only a great healer; it also helps to put things in perspective. It clears the mist.”
“I get that, but Mitch is like a father to me. He’s not really old enough to be my father, but he treats me with respect. He even pays my school fees at Immaculate Heart. Bought my uniform and everything. Did he tell you that?”
“He didn’t, no.”
“See, that’s what I mean. What’s wrong with you guys? Why don’t you communicate? I was expelled from my last school. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be running around with boys in cars and working in some fast-food joint.”
Tayla smiled. With Valentina’s creativity and free spirit, she couldn’t imagine her flipping burgers for a living. “First, there’s nothing wrong with working in a fast-food joint. Second, talking of food, are you hungry?”
“Always. ”
“Why don’t you text your mum and ask if you can stay for dinner? I’ll drop you home later. Or we could go out.”
Valentina narrowed her eyes. “First,” she mimicked Tayla, “I’m in my school uniform, duh. Second, I don’t have the money for dinner out. And third, Mum’s working until nine, so she might not get the text until her break.”
“Okay, well, text her anyway while I find you something to wear. And don’t worry about money. Norman’s paying.”
“Norman?” Valentina frowned. “Isn’t he that dead guy?”
Tayla chuckled. Norman may have passed into the spirit world, but he’d be forever alive in her heart. “Only in body. He may even help with that sewing machine you’re saving up for.”
“Really?” She stepped up to Tayla and hugged her, then pulled back. “When we first met, I thought you were stuck up. But you’re kind of neat when you relax a little.”
“Thank you. I think.”
“Can I wear those wide-leg striped pants and the black off-the-shoulder top?”
Tayla chuckled. “Sure.”
Mitch: I have a bedtime story for you.
Tayla: Describe its plot in one word.
Mitch: Perception.
Tayla: Sounds interesting. Sweet dreams xx
Mitch: Don’t go. What have you been doing today?
Tayla: Valentina and I went out for dinner. It was great. I met her mum when I dropped her off. She’s lovely.
Mitch: Yes, she is.
Tayla: What about you? How was your day?
Mitch: Kind of lonely to tell you the truth .
Mitch opened the sliding door and settled himself in her chair, the novel in question on the side table. Staring at his phone, he wondered if she’d text back. He’d told Tayla to take her time. And while he understood her reasons for pulling back, the longer she stayed away, the more he questioned her need to do so. Granted, Hayden had betrayed her, but infidelity wasn’t part of Mitch’s nature—never had been—and he hoped he’d made that clear.
The memory of their last time together surfaced. How confident she’d seemed when he reached for her. And when he’d arrived in Queenstown to an overcast afternoon, he’d wished she was there. To share the sight of the snow-capped peaks, to smell that fresh mountain air, and to make love to in his hotel room overlooking the lake.
Mitch: I miss you. More and more each day.
He imagined holding her, kissing her until she moaned his name. Tayla had only to ask, and he’d jump in his truck, race into town, and take her in his arms.
But she never asked.
Tayla: I miss you too. But thank you.
Mitch: For?
Tayla: Giving me breathing room. You’re a good man. Night xx