Chapter 12
That evening, Freya decided they were going to attempt the Mayleaf Round Robin. That meant having something at all of Mayleaf’s eateries. Although Mayleaf was a small town, it had a Chinese takeaway, a diner, a barbecue restaurant, a hot dog stand near Sam and Jolie’s store and a pizza parlour.
‘We really shouldn’t even be considering this, Freya. We had four courses at lunch time,’ Nicholas reminded her as they walked towards the Chinese takeaway.
The temperature had dropped a good few degrees and the clear, star-filled sky was a sign of a frost to come. At the moment, it was actually too cold for snow.
‘I know, but I thought about this. I decided if we have really small, tiny, little portions at each place, it would probably be less filling than ordering one huge main course at Casey’s,’ Freya replied.
‘I’m not entirely sure that logic works but I’m willing to give it a go.’ He pushed open the door of the Chinese.
‘Hey, Bruce, how are you?’ Freya greeted the owner of the takeaway.
Bruce stood no more than five feet tall. It meant he had to stand on a box to see over the counter to serve people. He had thinning, dark hair, a big smile and always had a pencil tucked behind his ear. Freya had never seen him use it.
‘Freya and Nick, good evening to you both.’ Bruce smiled, bowed, then leapt on to his box so he could see them properly.
‘Hi, Bruce, how you doing? How’s Li?’ Nicholas asked. Li was Bruce’s wife.
‘She is fine. In the kitchen, where a good woman should always be,’ he answered with a wry smile.
‘God, Bruce, you really know how to hit the spot, don’t you! If I thought you really meant that and if I knew I could get spring rolls like yours somewhere else, I would boycott your place,’ Freya told him.
‘You are lucky man, Nick, lucky man.’ He laughed as he picked up his order book.
‘I know,’ Nicholas replied, looking to Freya.
‘Right, we’ll have a portion of spring rolls and some satay chicken. Oh and some sweet and sour pork and chuck in some prawn crackers,’ Freya ordered.
‘Hey, I thought we were only having small, tiny portions.’
‘We are. I’m ordering breakfast for the next couple of days.’ She grinned.
‘It will be ’bout fifteen minutes.’
‘Great, we’ll call back,’ Freya said.
‘Call back? Where are we going?’
‘To Sam and Jolie’s to get a bottle of wine to go with our Chinese. I thought we could eat in the gazebo. We’ve wrapped up toasty. It isn’t the four courses under here; I’ve got three layers under this jacket.’
Twenty minutes later, they were sat cross-legged in the gazebo in the town square, tucking into the Chinese food and sharing a straw to drink the bottle of white wine they’d bought.
‘You would have thought Sam and Jolie would’ve stocked up on plastic glasses by now. This has to be the fourth or fifth occasion we’ve drunk wine through a straw,’ Freya remarked as she took her turn with the bottle.
‘I’m more surprised you don’t carry some in your bag, along with the two cameras and the Blu Tack.’
‘And didn’t the Blu Tack come in handy when the hem of your trousers unravelled that time.’
‘Bottle please. It’s definitely my turn.’ He held his hand out for the wine.
Freya took a bite of her spring roll and watched Nicholas as he sucked on the straw. She was trying to wait for exactly the right moment to bring up Jonny. But she knew better than anyone that right moments never came. You had to face things head on and just get it out there.
‘Nick,’ she began.
‘Yeah.’
‘There’s something I have to tell you.’
‘Oh? Am I going to need to suck a bit harder on this straw to soften the blow?’
‘Possibly.’
‘Go on,’ he urged.
‘You remember I told you about Jonathan, the boy I went out with when I was seventeen.’
‘Of course I remember. You were in love with him. You told him who you were and took him to meet your folks and they welcomed him with open arms, only for your father to pay him money to leave you alone,’ Nicholas recounted.
‘Yes, you obviously don’t have a problem with your memory. That was about the size of it.’ She let out a nervous sigh. She didn’t know why she was nervous. There was nothing to this, absolutely nothing.
‘What about him?’
‘Well, I met him. Yesterday. He lives here now, in America.’ She’d said it quick before she backed out.
‘He’s Jonny.’ He put the bottle of wine down and sat up straight.
‘Yes. He’s Jonny,’ she admitted.
‘So, he isn’t the Jonny Sasha’s dating? That’s a different Jonny, is it?’
‘Yes. Well, actually Sasha isn’t exactly dating anyone called Jonny.’ Her face was red and she couldn’t look at Nicholas. She sounded like an infant lying and trying to cover it up very unsuccessfully.
And what was the big deal anyway? Nothing was going on.
‘No? You surprise me. Why didn’t you tell me, Freya?’
His expression was a mixture of angry and sad. Why hadn’t she told him straight away? Why had she kept it to herself?
‘Oh, I don’t know. It felt awkward and I didn’t want you to think what I thought you would think.’
‘And what did you think I would think?’
‘I don’t know. Maybe that I was hiding something from you, I suppose.’
‘Which you were. Are you saying you were too scared to tell me because you were worried about what I’d think?’
‘No. Yes. I don’t know what I thought. He’s just from my past. That horrible, awful past and I don’t want things from back then to be part of our future.’
‘Neither do I, but that shouldn’t mean you don’t tell me stuff. We’re about to get married. We should be able to share everything with each other.’ He got to his feet and picked his jacket up from the floor.
‘We do. I’ve told you everything, except this. And I’m telling you now. Nick, please, sit down. I’m sorry.’ She stood up and tried to take hold of his arm. He brushed it away.
‘Back in Corfu, we said no more secrets and I meant that.’ He folded his arms across his chest.
‘I meant it too. It was stupid not to tell you about Jonny, I realise that now. In fact, I realised it the minute I thought it was too late to mention it. Then, as time went on, I realised more and more how stupid it was. But, you know now.’ She sounded pathetic. There was no justification for it.
‘Well, what did he want? You haven’t really told me anything yet.’
‘Will you sit down and help me out with the sweet and sour pork?’ She gave him half a smile, wary of his reaction.
‘What did he want, Freya?’ Nicholas repeated, unmoved.
‘He wants to develop some land near Gatebrook and turn it into a community for the Every Day project. Housing, jobs, a school.’ She rattled it out fast.
Nicholas didn’t reply. He remained standing, his arms crossed, looking down at Freya.
‘He’s a property developer now. He owns the chain, Recuperation Inns, amongst other things. He’s changed so much – in appearance, in personality – I hardly recognised him.’
‘So, let me get this straight. This Jonny turns up… where? At your office? At our house? And he pledges millions of pounds to your charity. I don’t get it. Why would he do that?’
‘He told me he thought the project was a great idea. But I also think he was feeling a little guilty about how he treated me.’
‘I’m sorry, Freya. I don’t buy it.’
‘What d’you mean? He told me he made a bid on some land I’ve bought for the first centre in Chesterville and he found out I was behind the project.’
‘How?’
‘How what?’
‘How did he find out you were behind the project?’
‘I don’t know. He said he had contacts and…’
‘Whoa!’
‘He wants to support the charity.’
‘But what’s in it for him? If he’s turned into some big-shot hotel owner and property developer, why does he want to throw money at your charity?’
Freya could almost see the steam coming out of his ears. He didn’t get angry often, but when he did, it wasn’t pleasant.
‘Well, you could say the same about us. And anyway, why does anyone give to charity? Maybe to do something for someone else. Or get rid of some excess cash so the tax man doesn’t get it. Or perhaps they do it because it makes them feel good or look good to other people. I don’t know, maybe he wants to make himself feel better about building those ugly hotels all over the place.’
‘OK, let’s say his intentions are honourable. It doesn’t change the fact that you didn’t tell me about it. And I really want to know why.’
‘Nick, please sit back down. I’ve apologised. I should have told you. What else can I say?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Look, he wants to meet me for lunch tomorrow. Why don’t you come with me and then you can hear for yourself what he has to say.’
And then the awkwardness would be halved and she wouldn’t have to worry about keeping secrets.
‘So, you’re meeting him again. Well, I suppose I should be grateful you’ve mentioned it.’
‘Now you’re just being pathetic. And I really don’t see why all this is so important.’ She began to pack away the Chinese food. She’d deserved the dressing down for keeping her meeting with Jonathan from him, but how long was she going to have to pay for it?
‘Well, it was obviously important enough for you to hide it from me.’
‘For God’s sake! I didn’t hide it from you. If I was really hiding it from you, I wouldn’t be telling you now. Do you know something? Perhaps I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d react like this.’
‘What d’you mean?’
‘I knew you’d be jealous.’
That’s what all this was about. If this had been about anyone else offering the money, other than the boy she’d pledged to marry years ago, they wouldn’t even be having this conversation.
‘I’m not jealous.’
‘Well, you’re doing a pretty good impression of someone who is.’
‘And if I remember correctly, you made lying to people a full-time occupation not so long ago.’
The comment was well below the belt and she felt her temper erupt and take over. She slapped him, hard across the face and then stepped back in shock at what she’d done.
He took in a sharp breath and just looked back at her, unmoving.
She pushed past him, ran out of the gazebo and raced off up the road.