CHAPTER ELEVEN
As soon as I woke the following morning, memories from the previous day started running through my head.
Thinking Caleb might be planning a surprise for my birthday .
. . the anti-climax as the day wore on when I didn’t hear from him .
. . and then his uplifting visit around midnight, presenting me with the gorgeous bracelet for my birthday .
. . but then the strange way he’d left, squeezing my hand and telling me to take care of myself.
Almost as if he might not see me again! Which was ridiculous, of course.
But then there were the phone calls he’d been receiving that seemed to unsettle him . . .
Who had phoned him so late last night? And why hadn’t he spoken to whoever it was?
Whatever was going on for him, he’d not only forgotten my birthday, but it had also clearly slipped his mind that we were supposed to be having dinner together the following night, and that was worrying.
I’d been the one asking to slow things down.
My stomach shifted uneasily. Maybe it was now Caleb who wanted to cool things a little? Yet he’d kissed me so passionately the night before. I felt so confused . . .
The bracelet was lying on my bedside table.
I picked it up, smiling wistfully at how perfect it was.
He couldn’t have chosen a lovelier gift for me, and that showed how much he cared.
He could have just gone out and bought chocolates and flowers, which would have been nice, of course.
But he had clearly spent time choosing something he thought I’d really like.
Was that really the action of a man who wanted to cool things between us?
*****
By the time the evening rolled around and I was getting ready to meet Caleb at a romantic little Italian restaurant in Guildford, I’d convinced myself that there was absolutely nothing to worry about.
All relationships went through peaks and troughs, but Caleb and I were rock solid. There had been no pretence in that passionate kiss. And why would he have given me such a beautiful birthday gift if his interest in me was waning?
I’d phoned him that morning but I’d been unable to reach him, so I’d sent a text, asking him if he was still okay to have dinner with me later. He’d texted straight back to say yes, of course, and what were the arrangements?
I had the feeling it had slipped his mind. But I pushed away my doubts and made up my mind that tonight was the night when we’d get back on track. We’d have lots of time to talk over dinner and I’d be able to find out then if it was just work that was making him seem distracted these days.
I did a happy twirl in front of the full-length mirror.
It was going to be the perfect evening.
I couldn’t stop admiring the gorgeous enamelled bracelet on my wrist. It looked lovely with my midnight blue dress. Silky, knee-length, the dress skimmed in all the right places and the navy diamante low-heeled sling-backs I’d bought specially for that night made me feel pretty and ultra-feminine.
My taxi to take me to the railway station would be arriving in five minutes. I would normally walk – the station was about half a mile out of Sunnybrook – but definitely not tonight in my new shoes!
Caleb had arranged to see Penny and Will in Guildford that afternoon, so we’d arranged that I would get the train in and he’d meet me at the station.
I checked my lippy one last time, grabbed my sparkly evening bag and went to fetch my winter coat, treading carefully in the gorgeous shoes. (I was so used to wearing flats and the last thing I wanted was to come a cropper just before my romantic dinner date.)
My phone buzzed with a text as I was standing in the living room window, watching out for the taxi.
It was Caleb.
So sorry. Held up at work. Should just be another twenty minutes and have phoned the restaurant to put the booking back. Will pick you up and we can leave the car at Sunnybrook station and travel in on the train together
Puzzled, I texted back:
You’re at the site office? Thought you were seeing your sister and Will this afternoon?
Something came up so I couldn’t make it. Are you still okay for dinner if we’re a little late?
Yes. Looking forward to it. Might splash out on a bottle of champagne to celebrate ‘us’!
There was a bit of a delay before he texted back. And then it was straight to the point:
See you in about forty minutes.
I stared at the message, feeling the tiniest prick of dread. He hadn’t even responded to the mention of champagne. Our text banter was usually brilliant. He must be rushing to finish whatever it was he was busy with.
I was slightly at a loose end after that, drifting around the flat in all my finery.
I figured it was too late to cancel the taxi, so – eager to see Caleb again – I decided to go over to Lockley Meadow and wait for him to finish what he was doing.
It was cosy in that site office, even on a chilly November night, with the heater pumping out warmth.
Caleb would have to collect his car from the station later or in the morning, which of course meant it would be best if he stayed at my flat overnight instead of travelling back to his house in Lockley Meadow.
I smiled to myself, feeling a delicious little leap of excitement. I doubted that Caleb would have any objections to spending the night at mine.
A minute later, I was speeding over to the building site in the taxi.
It was almost seven o’clock and the site was deserted except for two cars parked there. Caleb’s . . . and Amanda’s pale blue mini.
Amanda sometimes worked at weekends, letting people into the show house, but I was surprised to find her still here at this time on a Saturday night.
She must have stayed behind to help Caleb with whatever he was working on.
Feeling slightly as if I was intruding, I paid the taxi driver and hurried in the direction of the light glowing in the site office window.
I could see them sitting at Amanda’s desk, both of them on her side. Amanda was talking and Caleb was leaning sideways on the desk facing her, his cheek propped on his hand, listening to her.
When I walked into the office, they both turned towards the door, alarmed looks on their faces. Amanda gasped, ‘Oh, my God!’ and touched her chest. But she recovered herself quickly and smiled, lurching her chair back with a scraping sound. ‘Katja! Sorry, you surprised me there.’
Caleb stood up a second later. He’d also looked stunned by my arrival for a second, but his mouth moved swiftly into a smile. ‘I didn’t realise you were coming here.’
‘Obviously.’ I laughed to show I was joking and explained about the taxi.
He was nodding. ‘Yes, of course.’ He ran a hand through his hair and his eye fell on a piece of paper that was lying on the desk between them. Picking it up, he folded it in half and pushed it into his trouser pocket. Then he smiled up at me. ‘Let’s go, shall we?’
‘Are you sure? You look as if you’re busy.
’ I was gazing around at the files that were stacked in three piles on the floor.
Every drawer of the filing cabinet in the corner was open.
It was as if someone had been searching through it and had removed all the files in their haste to find what they were looking for.
Getting up, Caleb followed my gaze. ‘Oh . . . yes. We’re in a bit of a shambles here.’
‘I’ll tidy up the rest on Monday morning,’ said Amanda. ‘Just leave it for now.’
‘Are you sure?’ Caleb asked, looking worried.
‘Absolutely!’ Amanda beamed at us. ‘You need to just go and enjoy your evening. I’ll be out right after you.’
Caleb gave a curt nod and grabbed his coat from the back of the chair.
I followed him to the door.
‘Have a great night!’ called Amanda cheerily, looking up from the in-tray she was searching through.
‘Thank you.’ I smiled at her. Then my eyes landed on a smashed mug on her desk. It was one I’d bought for Caleb in the early days of our romance and it was now broken into half a dozen pieces. For some reason, I felt ridiculously sad looking at it.
‘Oh, dear. Yes, that lovely mug.’ Amanda began picking up the pieces, stacking them in a pile and leaving them on the edge of the desk.
‘I knocked it off as I was passing,’ said Caleb, shrugging into his coat.
‘I’ll have to buy you another one,’ I joked.
‘Right. Shall we go?’ He turned to Amanda. ‘Will you be all right? Getting home, I mean?’
‘Oh, yes. I’ll be fine.’ She gave him a bright smile. ‘Take care, both of you.’
He nodded slowly, and I caught the look of uncertainty that passed between them.
Feeling more and more confused by the strangely tense atmosphere, I turned away from them – and my eye alighted upon the framed photograph that sat on Caleb’s desk. It had toppled over and was now lying face-down.
I’d given him the photo of me as a joke, really.
We’d been arguing about whether having photos of your loved ones on your desk at work was showing off (look what a fabulous family life I have!) or whether it was actually a rather touching thing to do.
Caleb had remarked that in his experience, it was usually the guys who were having affairs that were most likely to display such photos, and I’d told him off for being too cynical.
I’d then framed a photo of myself and presented it to him as a joke, challenging him to be the man who could display a photo of his girlfriend while remaining true to her at the same time.
I hadn’t been at all serious.
But at the time, Caleb had smiled at the photo rather sheepishly and assured me that he would be the man who broke the mould. Then he’d set it up in a prime position on his desk.
Now, looking at it lying face-down, a chill ran through me at the symbolism. He could no longer see me . . . was it indicative of the way our relationship was going?
I was about to go over and set the photo upright – but Amanda got there first.
‘Don’t know how on earth that happened.’ She gave me a quick smile as she placed the photo in the corner of the desk at an angle, but I noticed the heightened colour in her cheeks. She seemed nervous, somehow . . .
‘Ready?’ asked Caleb, digging out his keys.
I nodded. ‘Ready.’
Caleb ushered me out and into his car, then he went back to lock up the office and he waited for Amanda to drive off before he slid into the driver’s seat beside me.
As we set off for the railway station, I gulped in the cold air, glad to be out of the stuffy office. It had felt stifling in there – and it wasn’t just the heat from the gas-powered radiator.
The atmosphere had felt strained, somehow, but I was determined not to let it spoil our evening . . .