CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Rather than waiting for a bus, I decided to walk the three miles home.
Shaken by my horrible exchange with Xander, I needed time to process it all – and I’d still have plenty of time to get to work by noon.
As I walked, it seemed as if the sun – blazing in a clear, forget-me-not blue sky – was mocking me. I was so confused. It was such a beautiful day but sinister dark clouds were now hanging over me.
Knowing Xander as I’d thought I did, I would have been tempted to believe him when he denied being the man in the newspaper photo, who the police were seeking ‘to help with their enquiries’ – if it hadn’t been for the evidence of my own eyes. And not just my eyes, either. Lyndsay’s as well.
What on earth was I supposed to think?
My treatment at the hands of Loathsome Les probably wasn’t helping, of course. I’d trusted him with my heart and he’d trampled over it, as if it was nothing more than a discarded ciggy packet.
My trust in men had been at an all-time low. Then Xander had come along and changed my outlook. I’d begun to feel that maybe it would be possible to move on with him in confidence after my wedding disaster.
Our fledgling relationship had been going so well. But now, I didn’t know what to think.
Had it been a sham all along? Had Xander been showing me only his best side, to convince me we were good together? I could tell he really liked me. His kisses and the way he sometimes looked at me left me in no doubt that he cared about me. At least I knew that wasn’t a lie.
But was it possible he had a whole other shady life that he’d been keeping hidden from me?
I shook my head in bewilderment.
Xander a criminal ?
It just didn’t seem possible.
Except ... I couldn’t help thinking about the way he’d been carefully avoiding my eye when we were talking back there at the station.
I was no body language expert, but that smacked of guilt to me... as if Xander had something to hide...
*****
My mood lifted a little when I arrived at Magic of Dance.
At once, I was plucked out of my troubles and dropped into the lovely, friendly atmosphere of the Little Duckling Café, and Maddy – who’d opened up that morning – chatting away about the young girl Clara had employed to be my assistant. She’d be starting work the next day, apparently.
‘She’s called Esmerelda, would you believe? Esmerelda Brown. But she prefers the name Merry.’
‘Merry’s a lovely name.’
Maddy grinned. ‘I think I’d be changing my name, too, if my dear parents had dared to thrust a label like that on poor unsuspecting baby me! Esmerelda.’ She shook her head in wonder. ‘Phew! It doesn’t bear thinking about. I bet she was bullied at school.’
I nodded. ‘My friend Tammy was picked on at school for having blazing red hair. Kids can be so cruel.’
‘Clara says Merry’s quite shy but she’s hoping this job will bring her out of herself... give her some confidence.’ She smiled. ‘I have a feeling Clara was thinking about herself at Merry’s age when she hired her.’
‘Really?’ I looked at Maddy, intrigued.
She nodded. ‘Clara used to be painfully shy herself. She always says that walking into a dance studio for the first time revealed a whole new world of possibility to her. Dancing gave her the confidence she’d been lacking and everything changed for her after that.’
I smiled. ‘I can really see how that would happen. Dancing can be such great therapy.’
‘And great exercise as well. Have you tried Jaz’s Zumba classes yet?’
‘No. But they’re definitely on my list.’
Chatting to Maddy eased me into the day, and as I got to grips with the workings of the café in my little office next to the kitchen, I had a feeling I was going to really enjoy working there.
Hopefully, that was another area of my life that had now taken a turn for the better – after Dad emerging from his coma.
Now, I just had to work out what was true and what wasn’t about the Xander situation...