Chapter 35
Nell
Nell made her third strong coffee of the morning; it wasn’t even half past eight. Probably not a good idea, given that she was jumpy enough without the help of caffeine. But she’d been ready for ages, and it gave her something to do. The simple act of waiting for the machine to pour the espresso into her warmed mug, then frothing milk, served as a distraction. She looked at the time again. Only three minutes had elapsed since she’d last looked. She removed her mug from the coffee machine and walked through to the front room, where she could keep an eye on the drive. Her stomach was in knots. She hadn’t been this nervous since her first date with Olek years ago.
She flicked on the Christmas tree lights and while she sipped her coffee, she allowed her mind to wander back to the last first date she’d ever had. Olek had picked her up from her flat and taken her to the cinema to see a James Bond film. They’d arrived a bit early, so he’d bought her a drink in the bar before the film. She’d asked for Prosecco and then worried that he’d think she was being extravagant. He’d returned with their drinks, choosing a cola for himself, as he was driving. She’d reached for hers, but nerves had made her clumsy and she had managed to knock the whole thing over onto her skirt and his jeans. The glass smashed and they’d both got soaked. She’d jumped up to buy herself another, apologising profusely, only to catch his cola with the cuff of her jacket, and knocking that over too. She’d been mortified. There had been so much liquid and broken glass that they’d had to abandon their table altogether while scowling staff stomped over to clean up. After that, there hadn’t been enough time to buy more drinks, so after dabbing their wet clothes with napkins, they’d chosen snacks – salty popcorn for him, chocolate-covered peanuts for her – and gone straight into the theatre.
‘These were the only free seats together,’ he’d told her sheepishly, ushering her into the back row.
Would he try to kiss her during the film? she’d wondered; she hoped so. The thought had made her fluttery with anticipation, so much so that she’d opened her chocolate a little too vigorously, sending a shower of small chocolate balls into the air and clattering down under the row in front of them. ‘I’m not normally this clumsy,’ she’d said with a squeak, sinking deep into her seat with embarrassment.
By comparison, Olek had seemed completely calm and composed, he’d simply assured her it was no problem and risen from his seat. She wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d done a disappearing act at that point, but he’d returned moments later with another bag. No hint of first-date nerves there. Daniel Craig, playing James Bond, and whom both Merry and Nell had massive crushes on, didn’t come anywhere close to Olek. He was so handsome. She’d kept sneaking glances at him, and afterwards couldn’t remember any of the film. She did remember wondering how difficult it would be to learn Polish to impress him ( very difficult, it transpired; her vocabulary was still pitifully small). A real man , she remembered describing him as to Merry the next day. Ten years her senior and already with a son he adored and an ex-wife he tolerated, but for her that only added to his maturity. He was a proper adult, looking for a proper relationship.
‘Makes a change,’ Merry had quipped, not unreasonably. Nell’s taste up until that point was men with boyish looks and immature behaviour to match. Merry’s least favourite was the irrefutably pretty Jez, who spoke in a baby voice and liked to snuggle with his head in Nell’s lap.
‘You need a man, not a cat,’ Merry had said about him. Right as ever.
Invariably, the men she dated couldn’t drive either, so Nell would be the designated driver. Olek, on the other hand, had a car and a van, and had insisted on picking her up for their dates, seeing her home safely and even opening the car door for her. Even now, he would always offer to pick her up from wherever she was. He’d always cared, she thought, he’d always been so thoughtful.
And soon, his van – a different one these days – would be pulling up onto the drive of their home. Still thoughtful, still caring about her despite the tricky last few weeks.
She checked again; only five minutes to go before he was due. She should have one last nervous wee. The last thing she wanted was for their reunion to be marred by her bladder. She darted back to the kitchen to deposit her mug and ran upstairs to the bathroom.
Goodness knows what Irena had said to Olek yesterday, but it had worked. No more than an hour after her mother-in-law had left, she’d received a message from him inviting her to go to a spa with him. An invitation which had sent her spirits soaring; she’d accepted straight away, naturally.
She couldn’t wait to see him. She was never, ever going to let them spend this much time apart again. She’d taken their relationship for granted, she saw that now. Well, no more. Olek Dowmunt wasn’t going to know what had hit him. She caught sight of herself in the bathroom mirror and smiled at her reflection. For the first time in almost a month, her eyes were bright, her skin flushed, and her cheeks were almost aching from smiling in anticipation of his arrival.
Last night, she’d slept better than she had in almost two weeks. And now she was up early. She’d washed her hair and scrunch-dried it gently, so it was extra wavy. He’d never been able to resist her auburn curls. And she was wearing a bit of make-up. The truth was that she hadn’t loved herself enough recently to bother paying any attention to her appearance. Today, she wanted Olek to take one look at her and fall in love with her all over again. A scruffy bun and a blotchy face wouldn’t cut it.
Nell washed her hands, pulled out her phone and checked Olek’s text message from yesterday one more time.
Spa day booked for tomorrow at the Enchanted Spa, be ready to be picked up at 8:30. Make sure you take a swimsuit and a book, although you might not need that. This is a day for relaxation and chatting.
Relaxation and chatting ; precisely what they needed.
Just reading the message again made her stomach do a loop-the-loop. It didn’t sound like the sort of thing he’d normally say, but perhaps he’d copied and pasted it from an email. She’d replied to thank him and that she couldn’t wait. He hadn’t messaged again, but she didn’t mind; the fact that he’d organised this for them both was more than enough.
She sighed happily and went through to their bedroom. She’d always wanted to go to the Enchanted Spa. She and Merry had talked about it, but as they worked together, it was difficult to both have time off. Now, though, she’d be able to enjoy it for the first time with the man she loved.
A whole day together in luxurious, beautiful surroundings. So much better than being at home. They’d be able to talk about everything that had gone wrong between them. She’d tell him why she hadn’t told him the truth about the test results and how much she loved him and that nothing else mattered other than for them to be together. And that from now on, she’d never keep anything from him.
She checked her bag: swimsuit, toiletries, outfit for an exercise class (unlikely she’d do any exercise, but if he fancied going to the gym, she might be tempted), and good bra and knickers. He might not get to see them while they were there, but he would when they got home. She looked up at the bunch of mistletoe above their bed and grinned. She’d nearly put her back out hanging that up. At least it looked like the effort had been worth it. He was going to love it. Despite being a big burly man, he was a softie at heart and very romantic. This bed hadn’t seen much romance recently; she’d been too sad about not being able to have a baby with him, too worried about harbouring secrets. Still, she thought, today was a fresh start. By the time they came back tonight, she was confident that things would be back to normal. And she couldn’t wait.
At exactly half past eight, she heard the rumble of an engine pull up onto the drive. She pressed a hand to her chest. It was just as fluttery as it had been on that first date.
He was here.
Of course he was. Olek was always punctual, always reliable. He’d never once let her down in all the years they’d been together. He was still the man she’d married: loving, handsome, caring. She’d bruised his heart these past few weeks, and now he was giving her the chance to repair the damage. She could almost weep with relief. She couldn’t wait to hold him, feel his arms around her, press her face against his.
With fluttering fingers, she put on her coat, picked up her bag and flung open the front door, a sob already bubbling up in her throat.
But what she saw completely threw her. Olek’s van wasn’t on the drive. Instead, there was a car parked there. And sitting at the wheel wasn’t the man she’d longed to see, but Emily, looking rosy-cheeked and nervous.
Nell’s first thought was for Merry. She blinked away her tears of disappointment and dashed to the car as Emily climbed out, wearing jeans and a hoodie with paint splatters on the front of it. It looked as if she’d got dressed in a hurry. ‘What’s happened? Is Merry all right?’
‘Merry is fine.’ Emily said calmly. ‘Don’t worry. I’m here to pick you up, that’s all.’
‘What for?’ Nell shook her head, confused.
‘For your spa day,’ said Emily, frowning. ‘Didn’t Olek tell you?’
‘Yes, but …’ Nell stared at her. But Olek had said … No, this couldn’t be right.
She fumbled for her phone and read the message to herself. She felt her face flame with embarrassment. He hadn’t actually said he was coming. She felt like such a fool. She’d been so looking forward to spending the day with him that she’d read what she wanted to read.
‘Come on, hop in. All will be revealed,’ said Emily brightly.
Bewildered, Nell did as she was told. What on earth was going on? Where was Olek? If this was someone’s idea of a joke, she wasn’t finding it very funny.