Chapter Nine
Jessica opened the door and stamped her icy boots on the mat. ‘Hello,’ she called rather crossly. Jessie! Nobody called her that. Not even her parents.
‘Hi, dear. Just in here.’
‘What happened to you two? You abandoned me and left me behind at the Christmas tree farm.’
Her mum shook her head and laughed. ‘Away you go. You were having a grand old time with Reuben. We saw you laughing together and you wouldn’t have appreciated it if we broke up the party. We knew he would give you a lift home. Did you get a tree for your brother?’
‘Yes,’ Jessica said and shrugged.
‘Are you not going to help him decorate it?’
She shook her head vehemently and huffed. ‘I think he can manage it himself.’ She clocked her mum raising an eyebrow at her dad.
‘You can help us if you’d like, Jess.’
Her phone buzzed again and she pulled it from her pocket in irritation. ‘Um, yes, okay in a minute. I just need to go upstairs and deal with this.’ She pointed at her phone. ‘It’s a work thing,’ she muttered.
‘Oh, okay, dear. Alexa play Christmas songs,’ ordered her mum loudly.
Within seconds the sound of Wham’s “Last Christmas” filled the room and Jessica wanted to scream.
As she walked up the stairs, she felt the well of tears rising.
She was annoyed at herself for breaking her vow and momentarily letting the magic of Christmas find its way back into her life.
Her mum was right — this morning with Reuben had been fun and she was reminded of her old self when she used to always be positive and see the sparkles in life.
She had obviously hit a raw nerve when she asked how married life was.
She shouldn’t have been so nosy. But as she closed her bedroom door, the tears started to slide down her cheeks.
For it wasn’t Reuben who had upset her. It was the text message she’d received. Her phone buzzed again.
Please call me. I just want to talk.
Why wouldn’t they just leave her alone? It didn’t matter how many times she ignored them, the texts and pleading messages still kept coming.
But there was nothing else Jessica could add to what she had already said.
She switched off her phone and threw it on the bed then curled up on the seat by the window, watching the fading light dance across the garden which was still covered in frost. She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.
She was home for a rest and the fewer people she saw the better, and that included Reuben, no matter how much fun he was.
Especially when she had asked him specifically not to call her Jessie and he still had.
He’s an arse, she thought crossly. And he’s married she reminded herself.
A married arse. Which made him exactly the same player he had been at school because there had been moments when she had felt like he was definitely flirting with her.
Was she the only one who saw Reuben for what he was?
Jessica soon became mesmerised watching the birds hop around the lawn, leaning forward to get a better view. She had no idea how long she was sitting there but a gentle knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.
‘Hi, darling,’ said her mum. ‘I thought you might like a cup of tea and one of the first batch of mince pies. I’ve made it with Granny’s recipe.
’ The light in the room was gloomy now and her mum reached across to turn on the lamp.
‘It gets dark so quickly,’ she said. Setting the tray down on the desk, she walked over and squeezed Jessica on the shoulder.
‘Thanks, Mum,’ she said brightly. ‘Sorry if I was grumpy earlier.’
‘You don’t need to apologise, my love. It’s fine. This is a strange time for you being back home. I get it.’ She sat down on the edge of the bed. ‘How did you get on with Reuben?’
‘Fine.’ She gave a small smile. ‘Until he started calling me Jessie again,’ she said tightly.
Her mum chuckled. ‘I’m sure he does it just to wind you up.’
‘Well, it certainly works.’
There was a silence for a moment.
Jessica tilted her head. ‘What’s the story with Reuben and his wife?’
She didn’t reply straight away and a look of concern flitted across her face. ‘Have you asked him about it?’
Jessica nodded. ‘Yes, I just asked him how married life was and he said it was complicated. I didn’t want to ask anything else in case he thought I was prying.’
Her mum reached forward and touched her hand. ‘She lives in Dubai. I’m sure he will tell you about it when he’s ready. In the same way that people won’t ask you about what’s happened in London as they don’t want to be intrusive.’
‘I told you work has been crazy.’
‘Remember that I’m your mum and I know you, love. And I know that whatever is going on isn’t just about work.’ She tilted her head, her eyes full of concern. ‘And I can tell you’ve been crying,’ she said gently.
Her mum had a fair point, and as she sat there, curled up in the chair, she tentatively began to share. Biting her lip, she took a deep breath. ‘You’re right. Of course you are. You always are. It’s not just about work, Mum. It’s everything.’
Catriona nodded and waited for her to go on.
‘This time last year I thought I was in love . . . I was in love,’ she said sadly, rubbing away another tear that slid down her cheek.
‘This was when we were in Australia?’
Jessica nodded. ‘Remember those photos that I sent you from New York? That work trip I was on?’
Her mum nodded. ‘Yes, I do,’ she said softly. ‘We were in Australia and you were having a magical time in New York. Was this where this special person lived?’
‘No, he lived in Boston mostly but he travelled a lot with work to New York and to London — that’s where we met.’ Her mind wandered to those amazing early days and she was quiet for a few moments as she thought about Tim.
Her mum coughed softly, pulling her from her thoughts. ‘You’re miles away, love.’
‘Sorry. I was just thinking,’ she said, dragging her mind away from the memories she had carefully collated and stored away.
‘What happened then to this new man of yours?’
‘Tim. His name was Tim,’ she said quietly.
Her mum nodded. ‘And I’m assuming he is no longer on the scene, hence your broken heart?’
Jessica looked at her mum in the soft bedroom light, her face full of concern. If only she knew what a loaded question that was. ‘No, he’s no longer around,’ she said quietly.
Her mum tipped her head to one side. ‘What happened, love? Was it a really bad break-up?’
Jessica gulped, scarcely believing that she was going to have to say the words out loud. ‘Tim is dead.’