A Change of Plan
On Saturday morning, Maggie found herself in the curious position of waking up in a hotel room completely alone.
It felt weird, to be without Flick. Over the past seven days and God knows how many European towns and cities, she’d got used to her being there – her stuff strewn all over, the wet towels on the bed, the sheer amount of time she took in the shower.
Seriously, you’d think a human being would dissolve in there.
Er, hello? Weren’t they supposed to be conserving water?
Maggie had never known anyone be in the bathroom that long.
Which seemed more than a tad hypocritical, considering Flick’s stance on the environment, which she was forever banging on about.
Honestly, you should’ve seen the fuss she made when she’d caught Maggie using a packet of facial cleansing wipes.
‘But it says they’re biodegradable,’ she’d protested weakly.
‘In about a million years,’ retorted Flick, morally brandishing a flannel.
Of course Flick had an answer, because she had an answer to everything.
Which is why she could be insufferable and infuriating.
Thing is, she could be equally wonderful, with her funny observations, wry sense of humour and tendency to overthink.
Maggie had never seen herself as a mother, having discovered quite early on that instead of the maternal urge everyone talked about, she just felt a deep panic whenever anyone thrust a newborn at her.
But being with Flick had made her think it might be rather nice to have a grown-up daughter.
That said, it was pretty fabulous being able to get in the bathroom.
After showering and getting dressed, she went down for breakfast. As expected, there was no sign of Flick or Rory.
No doubt, they were doing what most twenty-something couples do in hotel rooms. And it’s not getting up early to make the continental buffet, thought Maggie, trying to decide between all the delicious-looking pastries, then thinking sod it and piling them all onto her plate.
Finding an empty table, she sat down and pulled out her phone.
Rory’s surprise arrival had thrown all their plans out of the window and, with Flick otherwise engaged, Maggie was now on her own for the day.
Which meant the onus was on her to try and find Him; only of course, she didn’t need to find Him.
She didn’t need to head down to the port where the cruise ships dock to scan the crowds for disembarking passengers, or spend all day in the searing heat scouring the island for possible sightings.
Because she knew exactly where he was going to be: come 5 p.m. he was going to be waiting for her in a bar in town.
Her stomach flipped and she stared again at his texts.
If she was hoping she’d feel pleased, triumphant even, at this major coup, she was mistaken.
Anxiety churned. It was still hard to believe that it was actually happening.
That in a few hours they’d be face to face for the first time since he disappeared over six months ago.
Since he stole her life. Broke her heart.
Detonated a bomb in her world. Left her in the wreckage, dazed and confused and trying to pick up the pieces.
Now here she was in Spain, about to see him again, and she was filled with trepidation. And there was something else. Some emotion harder to identify. Excitement? Relief? Curiosity?
Love?
Her stomach flipped again and Maggie took a gulp of coffee, determined to block out that thought.
Each time her resolve wavered, she tried to bolster it with caffeine.
It was natural to have misgivings. To be worried that she was doing the right thing.
After everything that had happened, who wouldn’t be?
In her texts she’d played along, letting him think she was falling for his lies.
But she was the one who was lying now, pretending to trust him.
But there was no point panicking and getting cold feet now.
Better still to focus on Flick’s reaction afterwards, when she would be able to tell her that he’d agreed to the interview she so desperately wanted.
She’d be so pleased, she wouldn’t care about the deception.
Because that was now a big part of agreeing to meet him.
It wasn’t just about being able to confront him and ask him: why?
Why her? All the deception, the lies, he faked everything, was any of it ever real?
The way he’d looked at her, the things he’d said, she thought she’d found love, that they had something special.
Losing all the money was terrible, but the emotional impact was in many ways so much worse than the financial loss.
Something which she couldn’t get the police officer to understand.
It was also about persuading him to agree to talk to Flick.
Convince him somehow. Maggie was determined.
Before, when she’d turned up at her caravan, she’d just been this random young reporter.
A local hack trying to get a story. And Maggie hadn’t come on this trip because of her; she’d come on this trip because she’d got nothing to lose.
But Flick did have something to lose. She’d staked a lot on this, both personally and professionally.
This could be the big break she was looking for.
And now, having grown close, Maggie wanted to give it to her.
She cared about Flick and despite her conviction that everyone wanted to tell their side of the story, Maggie wasn’t so sure. Better that she spoke to him first.
‘More coffee?’
‘Um, yes, please.’
As the waiter topped up her coffee Maggie took a bite of her pastry.
‘Bueno, huh?’
Seeing him gesturing towards the pile on her plate, she reddened.
‘Mmm, yes,’ she mumbled through a mouthful of delicious puff pastry crumbs. ‘Muy bueno.’
He smiled then and she smiled back. A moment of mutual pastry gratification, and something about that brief encounter cheered Maggie up.
She’d been so fixated on her meeting at five, she hadn’t given much thought to anything else, but now it dawned on her that it meant she was freed up to do whatever she wanted to that day.
She could sit by the pool. Head to the beach.
Even go shopping, though their winnings were rapidly dwindling and she’d never been much of a shopper.
Sitting back in her seat, Maggie turned to gaze out of the large windows, at the sunshine and blue skies and palm trees beyond, and thought about the whole day stretching ahead. Or better still, she could do her favourite thing in the whole world.
Go look at some art.