Chapter Thirty-Four
Reuben sat perched on a stool at the breakfast bar in the kitchen of his flat.
For the past hour or so he had been scrolling through various holiday sites and had now lost track of where he wanted to go.
He had about fifteen different tabs open on his laptop after clicking on various resorts in the Canary Islands which had looked okay in the pictures.
When he glanced out the window, all he could see was a thick bank of dense grey cloud and stark, bare trees.
Staring at pictures of bright blue skies, sandy beaches, lush palm trees and magenta flowers was far preferable.
But then when he had opened up reviews on Tripadvisor to get the realistic detail of the places he was looking at, he had quickly become overwhelmed and forgotten whether it was Lanzarote that held most appeal or Gran Canaria.
He closed the lid of his computer and stretched his hands above his head.
The reality was that he still wasn’t quite sure what to do.
There were only three days until Christmas.
He had to make a decision soon. Because if he was going, he would need to fly out either tomorrow or Christmas Eve.
And he had to go and see his dad and let Catriona know what his plans were.
He already felt bad that he hadn’t yet told her if he would be there or not, even though she said to leave it until the last minute.
He slipped off the stool and walked over to the window, looking out as he contemplated his options.
He could visit his dad in the care home and then come back to the flat for a dinner for one.
He could visit his dad and then go and spend the rest of Christmas Day with Murray’s family in Rowan Bay.
Which would mean seeing Jessica, who he wanted to avoid, given that he had now created an atmosphere between them.
Or he could escape to the sun. Which seemed the obvious and easiest choice.
But something in his gut told him it wasn’t necessarily the right choice.
His phone buzzed and he saw it was Belinda. ‘Hello.’
‘Hey, Reubs. It’s just me. How are you?’
‘Good,’ he said guardedly. ‘And you? What’s up?’
‘I was calling to say thanks for the employment advice.’
‘That’s okay.’
‘I’ve got myself a new job with another marketing company out here and I start after Christmas.’
‘That’s great news,’ he said, genuinely pleased for her.
‘And I’ve heard that the guy who sacked me has just been made redundant from his firm and is moving back to London.’
‘Right. How do you feel about that?’
She laughed bitterly. ‘Glad. Hopefully it’s karma.’
He nodded. ‘I hope it means you can move on with your life out there.’
‘It does. I’m just very relieved that I’ve got another job. I wanted to thank you for your help.’
‘I didn’t do anything,’ he said dismissively.
‘You did. You gave me some good advice.’
It was Jessica’s advice, not mine, he thought sadly. ‘I’m glad it helped.’
‘I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.’
‘Same to you.’
‘And Reuben . . .’
Reuben felt his stomach sink at what she might say next.
‘You deserve to be happy. I really do hope you have a good life.’
‘Thanks,’ he said softly. ‘And the same goes for you.’
’Okay, I’d better go before the girls think I’ve gone missing in action. We’re going out for dinner. After cocktails, of course.’ She giggled.
He shook his head, thinking how apt that was. He knew as soon as she had ended the call, she would be toasting the end of her marriage and making plans for a divorce party or some kind of celebration. Which he supposed was fair enough. It just wasn’t his style. ‘Bye, Belinda.’
‘Thanks, Reuben.’
He placed the phone on his worktop, feeling a bit restless.
He was relieved they were both in a place where they could move on and get the paperwork finalised.
But the last thing he wanted to do was go out and celebrate the end of his marriage.
He stood for a moment, wondering what to do.
Another workout at the gym didn’t appeal in the slightest and neither did going for an afternoon pint at the pub.
He was still in two minds as to which holiday he should book.
He thought about the case sitting in the hallway.
He had pulled it out from the cupboard although hadn’t yet started to pack.
If he was going to be heading to the airport in the next day or two then he had better get himself organised.
He still had a couple of presents to buy and would need to take his gifts out to his dad at the care home and then pop past Primrose Cottage with his presents for them.
Reuben grabbed his coat and wallet, and before he could change his mind, he was walking briskly to the nearby station to catch the next train into town.