Chapter 47
47
The journey from Truro to London reminded me why train travel was not my favourite mode of transport. Just the eleven station stops, with passengers getting on and off, was enough to stress out the most seasoned traveller. But sitting cooped up in a packed carriage for four and a half hours, trying to keep my eye on my overnight case and wondering whether I should leave it to go to the loo or not, had not helped my anxiety. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had to go further than Truro but I did remember why I liked to stay in my part of the world. Just imagine if I did manage to fix things between me and Dennis, and had to do this regularly! Could I cope? Would I want to? It surely would test our commitment to each other and show us whether true love really does conquer all.
As the train pulled into Paddington Station, my heart was pounding and I started to feel stressed again when all the bodies stood up, racing each other to alight onto the platform. I was already totally fed up with travelling and worrying about my case not bashing into anyone and was desperate for a decent cup of tea. As the flow of passengers went from one way to all ways, I felt like a duck out of water. People were crossing my path without any notice or apology; my ankles had been rammed several times with other people’s luggage and one man swung his rucksack round without even checking there was anyone behind him, very nearly smacking me in the face. Being quite short, I already felt quite claustrophobic, with everyone else taller than me and being in a packed station was really pushing me out of my comfort zone.
I decided that instead of trying to navigate the tubes and then the streets to the hotel I’d booked myself into, not too far from Canada Square, I would treat myself to a cab and made my way towards where the signs were indicating, to find a queue of about forty people in front of me.
‘Excuse me?’ I tapped the shoulder of the man in front. ‘Does the queue go down quite quickly, do you know?’
He looked at me and babbled quick frantic words in a foreign language, possibly French.
I smiled, not having a clue of what he said and for some reason muttered my thanks.
Twenty minutes later, I was finally at the front of the queue and peered in through the window of the cab, citing the address to the driver.
‘Hop in, love. Won’t take too long.’
I heaved a sigh of relief knowing that the end of my journey for today was not too far away and glad that I decided to stop overnight and then go to find Dennis tomorrow. We’d waited this long, another day wouldn’t matter, and it might be better for me to turn up looking fresh-faced anyway, and not like I’d been dragged through a hedge backwards.
‘First time in London, love?’ the driver asked.
‘That obvious, hey?’ I laughed.
‘It’s that rabbit in the headlights look. Here on business or pleasure?’
I sighed.
‘Pleasure hopefully. I’m hoping to surprise someone. If it all works out.’
‘Ah, that’s nice. Not enough surprises in life. My wife now, she’s constantly surprising me. Says it’s the way to keep a marriage alive.’ His eyes connected with mine through the mirror.
‘I’ll bear that in mind.’
‘Yeah, just as I think we’re getting into a bit of a rut, she does something mad.’
‘Have you been married long?’
‘Thirty-five years.’
‘Wow. That’s an achievement.’
‘It is these days. She’s wonderful and I wouldn’t swap her for the world. I don’t deserve her really. Punching way above my weight, my friends said when we first got together, and that it would never last. But I love her just as much now as I did the moment I saw her in the school playground. It’s now four children and seven grandchildren later.’
‘Wow. What a lovely story.’
‘True love for you. And I tell her I love her and appreciate her every single day. I hope the person you’ve come to surprise appreciates you, darlin’. Don’t be wasting time now on someone who doesn’t love you equally as much as you love them. Sorry, I’m wittering on. My wife is always telling me not to dish out advice unless I’m asked. I’ll shut up now. Leave you to your thoughts.’
‘It’s lovely to talk to someone, to be honest. I feel like I’ve landed in a very anonymous city.’
‘Yeah, that’s London for you. Not everyone, but most keep themselves very much to themselves. Have you come far?’
We chatted about my journey and life in Driftwood Bay and he told me that he proposed to his wife in Cornwall and had wonderful memories there.
The journey took no time at all and before long we arrived at my hotel.
‘Good luck with everything, darlin’. Just be brave and I hope everything turns out well for you.’
I thanked him and gave him a huge tip. The receptionist at the hotel was equally as lovely and explained how to get to my room. She offered to reserve me a table in the restaurant that night, but I didn’t fancy dining alone somewhere I didn’t know and said I’d grab some room service instead. As I kicked off my shoes and walked across to look out from the window of my room, the lights of high-rise office blocks reflected in the vast expanse of water as raindrops started to fall. It still looked incredibly pretty though, even if I felt like a very small person in the midst of a massive city.
Maybe London wasn’t so bad after all. Meeting that nice friendly taxi driver had given me hope that things might turn out well. But all after a burger and fries from room service, a big glass of wine and a good night’s sleep. It had been quite a day.
I took a deep breath as I closed my hotel room door behind me, double-checking it was locked properly. Hopefully, the next time I was in the room, I would have found Dennis and he would be with me. I grinned at the thought. This room might have cost me an arm and a leg, more than a week’s holiday to Spain in Dan’s opinion, but I hoped it would be worth every penny. I felt that I deserved to stay in a nice place and not a run-down motel. I was worth investing in, Dennis had always said. Also, if he did come back with me, I wanted it to be somewhere nice. He was used to luxurious hotels in swanky places, so I didn’t want to give him less than he was used to.
Dressed in a new-to-me floral dress that I’d not worn before, in mid-height long boots and a fake fur coat, I felt glamorous for the first time in a long time. I had made extra effort with my make-up and had straightened my hair, wanting it to look different to the normal surfer shaggy look that I wore.
The sun came out just as I stepped out onto the pavement outside the hotel. I hoped it was a good sign. I was clutching the instructions from the concierge of how to get to the address on the business card I was holding in the other hand.
Just ten minutes later, I arrived at the large glass-fronted building where Dennis worked. I started to run various scenarios through my head. He’d left and didn’t work there any more. He’d gone on holiday. He was off sick. He’d refuse to see me. In none of them did I see him standing with open arms welcoming me to him.
Remembering the taxi driver’s last words to me from the day before, I took a deep breath, pushed on the revolving door and walked towards the reception desk, which was manned by a very glamorous young woman who was talking into a headset. She just stared at me as I approached and I wasn’t sure whether she was talking to me or someone on the other end of her headset when she tutted and said, ‘Yes?’, looking me in the eye questioningly.
This was my moment. I just had to be brave. I could either back out now or I could do something that could change mine and Dennis’s lives.
I gave Dennis’s name and asked if he was free.
‘Gosh, not another woman here to see Dennis.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Take a seat and I’ll try and get hold of him for you.’
As I sat on the very low and quite uncomfortable reception chair, I wondered what she meant.
I was surprised that she hadn’t even asked my name and when she sashayed across the foyer to me in heels and a very tight short pencil skirt that were both more apt for a nightclub than an office, in my humble opinion, I smiled, trying not to judge.
‘He’s in a meeting. It’s not long started so he’ll probably be a while. Do you want to come back later?’
I quickly thought about what might be best, feeling very on the spot.
‘Would it be OK if I wait?’
‘Suit yourself.’
Gosh. Talk about an attitude.
I was trying not to keep glancing at the clock above the desk but failing miserably. I kept locking eyes with Miss Prim and Proper; the more I tried not to, the more I failed. When I noticed that an hour had passed, suddenly desperate for the loo, I asked her if I could use the ladies’. She pointed a long-manicured finger in the direction of the corridor and I headed that way.
Checking that I still looked reasonably put together in the bathroom toilets, I took a deep breath and opened the door back into the corridor.
A familiar voice drifted towards me although I couldn’t work out the words until the person speaking was much closer. There was a male and a female voice, and I pulled the door to, peering out through the gap that I’d left open, my heart beginning to thump so loud, I thought they might be able to hear.
The woman who stood with her back to me, just about three metres away, was tall and elegant with her platinum blonde hair pulled back into a swingy high ponytail. In cream tailored trousers, bronze high-heeled shoes and a heavy giraffe-print coat, her style radiated glamour, and the heavy gold bracelet dangling from her wrist seemed to ooze class and money.
I took a sharp intake of breath when she raised her hand and cupped Dennis’s face which he, to my horror, seemed to be enjoying.
‘Don’t take too long to make your mind up, Dennis. There’s a place on my yacht with your name on it, just waiting for you to say yes. Just imagine what a fabulous time we could have. Just like the last time. You know it makes sense.’ She made the shape of a telephone with her hand and simply purred, ‘Call me!’
As she turned to walk away, I could see that she was beautifully groomed, with perfect make-up, and ruby-red glossy lipstick. She was simply stunning and, looking down at my second-hand outfit, I felt like a frumpy old country bumpkin compared to her. Why would Dennis ever look at me when he could have a woman who looked like that?
I turned and locked myself in one of the cubicles and banged on the door in frustration.
I couldn’t believe how ridiculously stupid I could possibly be. I’d come all the way here, assuming that Dennis would be waiting for me, ready to fall into my arms. When all along, he’d got other women just waiting in the wings. Keeping his options open no doubt. My only saving grace was that he hadn’t known I’d been here at all.
When the tears stopped, I took another deep breath and bravely opened the door into the corridor, checking that there was no one around. A glance towards the reception desk told me that Miss Prim and Proper was talking on the phone and I walked as quickly as I possibly could past the desk and out through the revolving door, leaving the shouts of her yelling ‘excuse me’ behind.
As I stepped out onto the street, the tears fell and this time I didn’t even bother to let them stop as I started to run.
Maybe I did read too many romance novels. Not everything tied up nicely at the end and the happy couple lived happily ever after. I was a fool. An absolute idiot. Happy-ever-afters obviously never happened in the real world. Life was not a fairy tale after all.