Chapter 34
TARA
Jed and I went to Pilates as usual on Tuesday evening and he came back to The Chocolate Pot afterwards where I told him all about my visit from Krystal.
‘Do you think your mum and dad will want to see Leanne now?’ he asked.
‘It’ll be the excuse Mum’s been looking for and I don’t think Dad’ll be able to resist the lure of a grandchild.
Lure. Listen to me! I just don’t believe her, Jed.
Or maybe it’s her intentions I don’t believe.
Not about money? With Leanne, it’s always about money and what better way to turn the money tap back on than to produce a baby? ’
‘You think she got pregnant deliberately?’
‘I wouldn’t put it past her.’
‘When will you tell them?’
‘I’m going to see if they can come tomorrow before The Friendship Pod starts.’
I wanted to give them the news in person and I’d have skipped Pilates tonight but they’d been invited to the opening night of a new restaurant in Whitby and had been so looking forward to it.
It was probably a blessing as it gave me time to take the emotion out of the news and prepare myself to respond calmly when they decided to meet her, which they absolutely would want to do.
It wasn’t ideal timing for me having that conversation tomorrow, but Jed and Carly would both be at The Friendship Pod and we’d also enlisted Skye from Bay Trade because we’d reverted to the original plan of Jed leading an art class.
Jed’s dad had enjoyed taking Aaron to swimming club last Wednesday, helped by bumping into an old friend whose granddaughter attended.
They’d sat together in the viewing gallery having a good old chat so he’d offered to do every Wednesday to see Aaron’s progress and catch up with his friend.
After Jed left for the evening, I went online and did some more digging into Krystal.
I found a website devoted to her story – a more detailed version of what she’d shared with me earlier.
She was now a yoga instructor who worked in various projects supporting adults with addiction issues by getting them to embrace a healthier lifestyle and the great outdoors.
An area of land on her smallholding included allotments where they could grow their own food and learn about living off the land.
She organised beach cleans and walks for various levels of fitness, ran yoga classes and generally lived a wholesome, healthy lifestyle.
Her website made it clear that, while God guided her, she never pushed her beliefs onto others.
If someone was curious, she was open to questions and conversations, but conversion was not why she did what she did – it was because she wanted to help others through offering understanding, empathy and support from a place of personal experience.
The more I read, the more I liked Krystal and, if things had been different, we might even be friends.
I still didn’t trust Leanne. If Krystal had stayed in touch with her for all these years – or even if they’d reconnected several years back – I might feel differently, but her coming back into Krystal’s life recently felt a little too convenient and my gut told me it was another con.
I hoped for my parents’ sake that I was wrong but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wasn’t.
‘I can’t believe they’re not here yet,’ I said to Carly as she helped me in the kitchen while Jed and Skye set up the drawing materials upstairs. I’d asked them to come for six o’clock and it was now gone half past.
‘I’d suggest stuck in traffic but not at this time. Car trouble perhaps?’
‘At this rate I’m going to have to dump them upstairs, drop the bombshell and come straight down.’
I hadn’t given them any indication of what I wanted to talk to them about, but they had known the timings were tight.
Five minutes later, they finally arrived full of apologies.
As they had to pass through Little Sandby en route to the café, they’d decided to leave a little earlier and stop by Whispering Winds to drink in the views.
Once there, they’d got carried away with renovation plans and completely lost track of time.
I led them upstairs and straight into the lounge.
‘You look stressed,’ Mum said. ‘I know we’re late and that’s really bad of us when you have something on tonight. We don’t mind relaxing up here while you run your event and we can talk afterwards.’
‘Normally I’d say yes but I can’t keep this in any longer. It’s about Leanne…’
‘Pregnant?’ Dad shook his head after I’d given them a brief overview. ‘And I’m Lady Gaga.’
‘Tim!’ Mum exclaimed.
‘Oh, come on, Kirsten. This is Leanne we’re talking about. She can’t stand babies – says they’re screaming, vomiting money pits. From being a tiny tot, she’s been vocal about never wanting them.’
‘Women can change their views on that. I know plenty of women who’ve sworn they don’t want children but they’ve changed their mind as they’ve got older. We’re not all tied to the opinions we have in our twenties.’
‘Absolutely! But Leanne is not one of those women. Pregnant!’ He chuckled.
‘Got to hand it to her – she’s gone for the jugular here, although I have to say, I’m surprised it’s taken her until now to present a fake pregnancy.
Probably ruled it out because she knew we knew how she feels about kids and would never fall for it. ’
Mum glared at him. ‘Why are you so adamant it’s fake?’
‘Because it’s Leanne. She lies. It’s her thing.’
‘Tim Sanderson, when did you become so cynical? Nobody would be devious enough to make up a pregnancy.’
‘Nobody except Leanne. She is devious and she’s proved it time and time again.’
I hung my head, hating that Leanne was causing them to bicker again.
‘It’ll be all about money, as usual,’ Dad added. ‘If we agreed to meet her, how long would it be before she mentions the must-have pram and the cot and the—’
‘Stop it!’ My head snapped up at Mum’s sharp tone.
Dad looked shocked too. Mum looked from Dad to me and back to Dad.
‘Yes. I’ve got doubts, but what if she’s telling the truth?
What if we refuse to see her and miss the chance of having a relationship with our only grandchild? Could you live with that?’
Dad slowly shook his head and they both looked at me.
‘What do you think, Tara?’ Mum asked.
‘I’ve got to go downstairs but the quick response is that I wholeheartedly believe that Krystal is a changed woman but my gut tells me that Leanne isn’t.
I know I’m biased and I’m trying hard to put that aside but, for me, it doesn’t feel right.
Either Leanne isn’t pregnant or she is and she’s insincere about it.
I’m sorry. I know that’s not what you want to hear, Mum. ’
‘All I ever want to hear is the truth,’ she said, smiling weakly at me. ‘And I know we always get that from you. You go and do what you need to do. We’ll make a cup of tea and give Hercules a fuss and see you when you’re done.’
How guilty did I feel now? Mum was hurting and I’d made it worse. And what if Dad and I were both wrong? What if it was as Krystal had described – that falling pregnant had changed everything for Leanne? But even if it had, it didn’t change how I felt about her.
As I walked through the door to the café, my heart lifted at spotting Colin.
‘You came!’ I said, making a beeline for him. I’d seen him this morning but he’d been unsure about coming, saying that he rarely ventured out on an evening once he’d got settled at home.
‘I stayed in town after work because, if I’d gone home, I’d have never made it out again. I’ve always wanted to draw so the art class drew me in.’
‘And the scones didn’t?’ I teased.
‘No offence but I don’t actually like scones. As you’ve probably gleaned from my regular order, I’ve got a sweet tooth.’
‘No offence taken. It’s why we’re mixing up the sessions to appeal to different people. I’m glad you came.’
There were seventeen attendees this time – nine from last week and eight newbies.
It was a shame that five from last time hadn’t returned but there could be many reasons for that and I couldn’t take any dropouts as a failure.
I’d focus on the attendees as a success and feel particularly pleased that the two women I’d seen exchanging phone numbers last week had returned together.
I’d seen Jed working in his studio before but I’d never seen him in teaching mode and it was fascinating to observe.
He was incredibly calm and explained everything so well that I wanted to join in myself.
Having Skye there was really helpful as seventeen would have been a big group for Jed to support on his own.
They took a break after forty-five minutes and came downstairs for refreshments. I couldn’t resist meddling with Colin and Anastasia, using their jobs in retail as an excuse to introduce them.
‘I spotted you shooting Cupid’s arrow,’ Carly said as we loaded the dishwasher together when the class resumed. ‘And I think it might have hit its target.’
I grinned at her. ‘It had to be done. I think they’re perfect for each other. There was a definite spark when they were talking.’
‘I agree. Nicely played, Ms Porter.’
‘Thank you kindly.’
All too soon, the class was over. The feedback was extremely positive with most attendees saying they’d come to future meetings and several saying they’d love to attend a course run by Jed.
‘What do you think about running courses?’ Skye asked Jed as we cleared away.
‘I have to say, I’ve loved tonight. I’ve only taught my kids before and I liked having a bigger audience so I’m not averse to it, but there’s a lot of family stuff going on at the moment so it’s not something I could consider now.’
‘You’re an amazing teacher,’ Skye said, ‘so I hope that chance does come up somewhere down the line. In the meantime, you’ve inspired me to pick up my paintbrushes again so thank you for including me in this.’
‘Had Skye stopped painting?’ I asked Jed after Carly and Skye left.
‘Yes. Her jewellery was selling well but her paintings weren’t shifting so she got a bit despondent with the art and focused her attention on what was making her some money.
I’m glad she’s feeling inspired again. I’ll be interested to see what she produces.
If her style complements mine and Anastasia’s I might stock some of her paintings in the gallery too. ’
‘I hope you get a chance to run some courses when things settle,’ I said, slipping my arms round his waist and gazing up at him. ‘I might have to enrol myself. I like you in sexy tutor mode.’
His eyes sparkled as he laughed. ‘Sexy tutor? Really?’
‘Oh, yeah! Very sexy.’ I melted into a kiss.
‘I wish I could say let’s continue this upstairs,’ I said, reluctantly pulling away. ‘But my parents are waiting for me and hopefully still speaking to each other. It was tense earlier.’
Jed didn’t want to slope off without saying hello to Mum and Dad so I briefly outlined their reactions as I led him up to the flat, keen for him to be prepared in case there was an atmosphere.
Fortunately, I found them sitting close together on the sofa with Hercules sprawled across their laps, laughing at a reality TV show involving naked people. I didn’t like to ask what it was.
‘I won’t stay long as I know you’ve got things to discuss,’ Jed said as Dad pressed mute on the remote control.
‘You don’t have to leave,’ Mum said. ‘This involves Tara so it involves you too.’
It transpired that, after I left, they’d had a heart-to-heart and had both concluded that they were going to meet Leanne but they were going to ask her for proof that she was pregnant.
The scan photo wasn’t sufficient as it could be someone else’s or even faked so they were going to invite Leanne to attend a private scan at their expense and see for themselves.
If she refused, it would likely indicate a lie.
If she acted offended by the request for proof, they’d remind her of all the times she’d let them down before.
And if it turned out she was pregnant, they’d take it from there.
‘We don’t want to get into a conversation with her on the phone,’ Dad said. ‘Would you mind contacting Krystal and setting up a meeting for us? Your mum has a hospital appointment tomorrow so we’ll go to Claybridge and meet her in the Judge and Quill at noon on Friday.’
‘The Judge and Quill?’ I asked. ‘Is that a real pub?’
Mum rolled her eyes. ‘It is. Your dad’s sick sense of humour.’
I couldn’t help laughing. ‘Okay, I’ll make the arrangements.’ I wasn’t happy about it but I thought they were being very fair in the way they were handling it. Only time would tell whether Leanne was out to dupe them again.