Chapter 14 #2
‘I don’t know,’ Marian said sadly, pulling her hand out of his grip.
She looked at him and remembered how she had been so attracted to him the very first time they met.
And that night at the beach when they had talked until the early hours of the morning, sharing their hopes and dreams, their life stories, their likes and dislikes, favourite music, the kind of books they liked to read, and all sorts of little details that had seemed trivial in retrospect but seemed so important at that moment.
She remembered looking into his grey eyes and seeing a kindred spirit, feeling that this was it, the special moment when she had met the love of her life.
Was all that gone forever? Was thirty-five years of marriage now over?
It made her immensely sad to feel that it was.
But now it seemed as if it could take a lot of time to get back what they had – if that was even possible.
She hadn’t understood his wish to have some freedom from responsibility until now, when she herself had felt free for the first time for many years.
The new job, that little flat, connecting with long-lost relatives had everything to do with her and he was not part of that.
But she had to give them a chance. He had taken on the blame for the problems in their marriage, but she knew they were both at fault. She hadn’t been honest with him.
‘Maybe we could try to get to know each other again?’ she suggested. ‘I mean, who we are now, not who we were back then, if you see what I mean.’
‘Like going on dates?’ Theo asked, looking hopeful.
‘Something like that,’ Marian said, feeling more positive towards him. ‘How long are you planning to stay here?’
‘I said I’d be away for a month,’ Theo replied. ‘Frank is taking care of the business while I’m away.’
‘But it’s the busiest time of year,’ Marian argued. ‘Can you really afford to take all that time off? Can that nephew of yours really handle it?’
‘You’re more important to me right now,’ Theo said. ‘And saving our marriage. I trust Frank and he promised to do his best to keep everything going until I get back.’
‘A month,’ Marian said as if to herself. ‘Well, you know what? Let’s see where we are at the end of that month.’
He nodded. ‘That’s a deal. Let’s spend time together and find out who we are. Do things we used to enjoy.’
‘Yes, we should,’ Marian said. ‘When I’m not working.’
‘Working? You have a job?’ He looked at her incredulously. ‘Doing what?’
‘Marketing,’ Marian said. ‘Pierce, Claire’s husband, needed an assistant to help with the office work, so I said I’d love to help out. I really enjoy it.’
‘And you have a flat in the manor,’ he said. ‘Must say, you’ve fallen on your feet here, haven’t you?’ His tone was slightly resentful, which annoyed Marian.
‘Yes, I have. I don’t see that there’s anything wrong with that.’
‘I suppose not. It’s just that you seem to have settled in here in such a short time when it took you years to even tolerate Australia.’
‘That was different.’ Marian shook her head. ‘I’m not even going to try to explain it. But I think you’ll understand when you spend a little time here and meet my family. Claire and Pierce are having a housewarming on Sunday, so you could come with me and meet them.’
‘The long-lost Fleury family?’ he asked. ‘That should be interesting.’
‘Yes, it will be if you come,’ she said with a teasing smile. ‘Let’s see how you cope with the Fleury girls all together.’
‘Sounds scary,’ he said with a pretend shudder.
‘You have no idea,’ Marian said with a wink, happy that there was suddenly a more positive vibe between them. ‘But the scariest of them all is Sylvia, the matriarch. She will be a tough nut to crack.’
‘As you know I like challenge,’ Theo said with a grin. ‘So bring it on.’
‘Brilliant,’ Marian said, even though she didn’t think it was brilliant at all.
What have I done? she thought. Nobody knows about the letter I found, or how miserable we’ve been, so everyone will welcome Theo with open arms and give him false hope… But I should bring him so he can get to know the Fleurys and see for himself how kind and friendly they are.
She got up. ‘It’s getting late, so we’d better go. You must be tired anyway.’
He rose. ‘Yes, I am. I need a night’s sleep. I suppose you’re working tomorrow, so I’ll amuse myself until Saturday. I was thinking I’d go and check out that famous surfing beach nearby. Inch, I think it’s called. Have you heard of it?’
‘Of course,’ Marian said. ‘Very popular with surfers. That’s a good idea,’ she said, not wanting to admit she had the day off tomorrow.
She needed a little time to adjust to him being here and she also wanted to be on the alert for a call from Pierce about his meeting with John Peters.
‘I’ll be in touch about doing something on Saturday. We could go for a drive.’
‘Okay.’ He started to walk up the path and she fell in step with him. They walked up the path as dusk was falling, both deep in thought. They didn’t speak until they were in front of the manor.
Marian turned to face him. ‘Goodnight, Theo. Thank you for coming.’
‘It wasn’t what I hoped, but better than I feared,’ he said with sad little smile. Then he took her hand and held it in his. ‘I wanted to say something profound but I can’t find the words.’
‘Me neither.’ Marian wondered if her frozen heart could one day begin to thaw. Right now it didn’t feel possible but he looked so sad and forlorn she felt a stab of pity.
‘It seems so hopeless right now,’ he said. ‘That’s what makes me sad.’
‘I know,’ she said. On an impulse, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. ‘It’ll look better in the morning. Sweet dreams,’ she whispered before she opened the door and went inside.
As she walked up the stairs, Marian thought about Theo and what they had decided to do.
The fact that he had come all this way to see her and try to mend what was broken between them had touched her.
Could they reignite that spark they had when they were young?
If they tried hard, maybe they could. But did she really want to?