Chapter 37
JED
To Tara
Been thinking about you all day. Spotted your parents leaving the café earlier. How did it go? Sending hugs x
No response.
I didn’t want to push it but, by the time we closed an hour later, I was worried. When I spotted Molly leaving, I dashed outside to catch her.
‘Is Tara okay?’ I asked.
Molly shook her head. ‘She’s got a headache. I think it was coming on all day cos she’s been really quiet and she went upstairs after her parents visited. I haven’t seen her since.’
‘Thanks, Molly. See you later.’
I returned to the gallery and kept half an eye on The Chocolate Pot, wondering if Tara might appear but the lights went off a little later and Maria and Sheila left together.
I whipped out my phone and rang Tara but it went straight to voicemail so I phoned my mum next and asked if she could do me a huge favour and take Aaron to swimming club.
‘Is everything all right?’ she asked.
‘I’m not sure. I think Tara might have had some bad news and I want to spend some time with her.’
‘Aw, I hope that’s not the case. Give her our love.’
I asked Mum to pass her phone to Aaron so I could explain the change of plans to him. Thankfully he didn’t have an issue with it. ‘Nanna hasn’t seen me swimming yet and I know she wants to.’
It struck me that Aaron had fallen straight back into calling my parents Nanna and Gramps and even Piper and Savannah called them that too and I’d thought nothing of it. But that Dad moniker – only said by him the once – still had me in a swirl.
Tara and I had exchanged keys a few weeks ago in case of emergencies.
It was the first time I’d used hers and I felt a little uncomfortable entering The Chocolate Pot without permission, but I considered this an emergency.
Locking the front door behind me, I headed up to her flat and knocked lightly on the door but there was no answer.
I knocked again, a bit louder, and waited a minute or so before inserting my key.
‘Tara?’ I called. ‘It’s only me.’
The flat was quiet and there was no sign of Tara or Hercules but, as I headed further inside, I spotted them on the bed.
Tara appeared to be asleep, her arms around Hercules.
Closer still, I could see she was wearing earbuds.
I stood over her for a moment, hoping she’d become aware of my presence and, when she didn’t, I gave her shoulder a gentle shake.
It probably wasn’t the right thing to do as she screamed and Hercules shot off the bed.
‘Sorry!’ I called, holding my hands up in a surrender position. ‘I couldn’t get hold of you. I was worried. How did it go?’
It felt like a superfluous question given her red eyes and the tissues strewn across the bed.
‘She’s pregnant,’ she said, her voice flat. ‘They believed her without getting proof so I told them…’ Her face crumpled and tears trickled down her cheeks, ‘…I told them I can’t see them…’
I gathered her in my arms and held her as her tears soaked into my T-shirt and her body heaved with sobs.
‘Are you going to tell your parents the full story?’ I asked a little later after Tara had given me the full details of her difficult afternoon.
‘How can I? I had my opportunity three months ago but I didn’t take it. If I tell them now, it’ll look like I’m being vindictive and trying to mess everything up for them and Leanne.’
‘They know you don’t have a vindictive bone in your body so I genuinely don’t think they’d see it that way.’
She twiddled with a loose thread on her cardigan. ‘Maybe not.’
‘Remember what we talked about on New Year’s Eve. None of this is your fault. Leanne’s the one who messed everything up and, if they’re going to let her wheedle her way back into their affections, don’t you owe it to them to give them the whole truth first? I think they’d want to know.’
‘I’m not sure. It’s difficult to talk about.’
‘I know it is, but a few minutes of courage might change your life. You’d be letting them see what Leanne’s truly capable of, why you quite rightly want nothing to do with her and why you don’t trust her no matter what Krystal says about her being a changed woman.
And if it’s too hard to say the words face to face, what about sending an email?
It’ll take longer than a few minutes but you could carefully construct exactly what you want to say without fear of emotion or embarrassment derailing you. ’
Tara steepled her hands against her mouth and nodded ever so slightly. ‘Email’s a good suggestion. I promise I’ll think about it.’
The words lacked conviction and it was heartbreaking to see her this way.
She was usually so strong and decisive. Even when she’d been feeling melancholy on New Year’s Eve, it had been nothing like this.
I was convinced she should tell Kirsten and Tim the truth for her own sake as well as theirs but it was Tara’s decision to make and if she didn’t want to tell them, I’d support her with that and with the changing family dynamics as a result of Leanne’s return to the fold.