Chapter 32
Q uestions swirled through my mind as to the reasons behind Julia’s presence, but preferring to hold on to my dignity, I refused to demand answers or make a scene.
Trying to pretend all was well, I smiled at the two couples on the adjacent table.
But my acting was clearly below par as their curiosity appeared to continue.
As Julia slid into her seat, she positioned herself closer to Gideon than she could have done were we on an aeroplane.
Not that Gideon seemed to notice. He didn’t even try and inch himself away.
Her confident gaze went from me to Alex, and she narrowed her eyes as if weighing him up. She cocked her head. ‘Do I know you?’
Alex smiled. ‘I don’t know. Do you?’
Despite my discomfort, I chuckled at his mischievousness.
‘I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere before.’
‘He has one of those faces,’ I said. ‘Once seen, never forgotten.’
‘Why thank you,’ Alex replied with a grin. ‘I’m taking that as a compliment.’
Gideon coughed as if reminding us he was there. A gesture I thought a bit rich, considering his and Julia’s thighs were touching.
‘No. It’s more than that.’ With a look of concentration, Julia continued to search her memory bank. ‘Don’t worry. It’ll come to me.’
‘Julia, can I have a word please?’ Gideon suddenly asked.
Surprising all of us, he was up on his feet before she could answer.
She raised her eyebrows. ‘As long as it’s not work-related.’
Wondering what was going on, I raised mine too. ‘What else would it be?’
Gideon struggled to hide his irritation. At who, it was hard to tell. ‘It’s about that report I mentioned,’ he said, his voice strained. ‘While it’s still on my mind.’
Julia rolled her eyes and stepping out into the aisle, gestured for Gideon to lead the way.
Martha and Lexi craned their necks to observe Gideon and Julia, but as my boyfriend and his colleague made sure they were far enough away to prevent any eavesdropping, the two women’s curiosity was disappointed.
As their shoulders slumped, Martha and Lexi looked to each other then turned to me, their expressions reloaded with intrigue.
‘Are you okay?’ Alex asked. Leaning my way, he kept his voice low.
With the atmosphere at our table chillier than the winter temperatures, I understood Martha and Lexi’s interest. In their shoes, I’d probably want the lowdown too. Mustering the best smile I could, I nodded at Alex. ‘I’m fine, thank you.’
Gideon and Julia huddled towards each other and whatever their discussion was about I could see it was serious.
Although with Gideon’s back to me I could only observe Julia’s contribution.
Every now and then she glanced my way and wishing I could lip-read, I frowned at her.
She reminded me of Serena. Quick to offer a friendly smile that was anything but.
I looked for clues that might indicate something untoward – a seductive smile here or a suggestive flick of her hair there – but none were forthcoming. Despite still having no idea why Julia was on the train, I told myself I was worrying over nothing and put my unease down to paranoia.
The train had stopped at several stations by the time Gideon and Julia deigned to rejoin us.
As well as all things report-related, Gideon had obviously shared with Julia his dislike of Alex.
Retaking her seat, her upper lip curled as she looked at him, such was her newfound disdain.
Alex chuckled but while he might not have cared, I did.
Gideon had no right to bad-mouth anyone like that.
Gideon jerked his head. ‘What’s going on? Why are we slowing down?’ He glanced out of the window. ‘There’s no platform coming up.’
Putting my hand up to the glass, I leaned in and peered out into the darkness. Much like my mood, the snow had got heavier. Squinting into the distance, all I could see were fields upon fields of white. Any other Christmas Eve and it would have delighted me.
The doors to the next carriage opened and the conductor appeared.
‘Nothing to worry about, ladies and gentlemen.’ The train came to an abrupt stop, almost knocking him off his feet.
His Santa hat slid to one side, and he grabbed a headrest to steady himself.
‘It’s just a minor delay.’ He tidied himself up. ‘We’ll be on our way again soon.’
While the conductor headed back the way he came, Martha’s face lit up. ‘How exciting. It’s like we’re on the Orient Express.’
Her husband Brian nodded in our direction. ‘As long as there’s no murder,’ he said. The frostiness around our table had obviously crossed the aisle into their territory.
‘What do we do now?’ Lexi asked, a big smile on her face.
‘Wait it out, I suppose,’ Jake replied.
‘We could always eat.’ Lexi rubbed her humongous belly. ‘Me and little bean could do with a snack.’
Julia snorted but as she opened her mouth to say something Alex jumped in before she could speak. ‘When’s the baby due?’ he asked.
‘Not for another four weeks,’ Lexi replied. ‘And counting.’
‘Hence, our Christmas break,’ Jake said. Looking to his wife, he took her hand. ‘Our last hurrah, just the two of us.’ In a moment of sweetness, he appeared to lose himself in her gaze. Snapping himself out of it, he returned his attention to the group. ‘We thought we’d make the most of it.’
Lexi giggled. ‘I wasn’t up for it at first. Then I thought why not let someone else do the running around for a change.’
‘Why not, indeed,’ Martha said. ‘You’ll have your hands full soon enough.’
Alex laughed. ‘I can second that if my nieces and nephew are anything to go by.’
‘I third it,’ Brian said. ‘Our grandkids have got energy like you wouldn’t believe.’
Listening to them, I felt an ache in my chest, wishing I could fourth it.
Lexi turned serious. ‘Oh no, our baby won’t be a struggle. This pregnancy has been an absolute dream.’ She nudged her husband. ‘Hasn’t it, Jake?’
Jake’s smile tightened. ‘It sure has.’
‘A perfect bean on the inside makes for a perfect bean out,’ Lexi said. ‘That’s what I say.’ She waved a dismissive hand. ‘There’ll be none of this crying all the time and sleepless nights business.’ Lexi wrinkled her nose and again turned to her husband. ‘About that food…’
Jake sprung into action. ‘Yes, sorry.’ Opening their cool box, he produced two large jars and unscrewing their lids, placed both in front of his wife.
The rest of us looked on in horror as Lexi took a gherkin from one and dipped it into the chocolate spread contained in the other.
My jaw dropped and I put a hand up to my chest as she stuffed the gherkin into her mouth.
Lexi was clearly in gourmet heaven, and as she savoured the taste, Alex tried not to gag.
I wondered if, like Richard, she had no palate, or if she was simply experiencing some weird pregnancy craving. Regardless, as she chomped on her snack, the pickled gherkin sounded way better than it looked.
‘Can you pass me the squirty cream?’ Lexi asked her husband.
Alex quickly looked away.
‘I think we’ll join you,’ Martha said.
Brian almost choked.
His wife rolled her eyes. ‘I was referring to our sandwiches.’
Relieved, Brian retrieved their rucksack from the storage rack above his head and pulling out a tin foiled parcel, handed it to her.
Gideon huffed. ‘We could have eaten too if someone hadn’t forgotten their bag.’
Unable to believe he’d just said that, I glowered at his selfishness. ‘Think yourself lucky. I don’t even have clean knickers.’
Julia leaned into Gideon. ‘I’m beginning to see what you mean.’
Having clearly overheard, Martha and Lexi gasped, while I looked from Julia to my boyfriend.
‘Gideon, what’s she talking about?’ I asked, as he shifted in his seat.
As if I hadn’t spoken, Julia patted his arm. ‘How does avocado, grilled halloumi and a smoky chipotle sauce sound?’
‘Bloody awful,’ Brian said.
Julia got to her feet and grabbed her travel bag. Sticking her nose in the air, she ignored Brian’s quip and headed for an alternative table. ‘There’s more than enough here for two,’ she said, making it clear Alex and I were not invited.
I scoffed, pitying the woman her confidence. Hungry or not, no way was Gideon about to accept her offer. I folded my arms and with a smug smile, looked forward to seeing Julia dine alone.
Gideon rose from his seat.
My eyes widened and my smile vanished. ‘What are you doing?’
He shrugged. ‘What can I say? I’m hungry.’
I shot forward in my seat, my cheeks burning with embarrassment as I watched him go.
Wondering how he could humiliate me in front of everyone like that, I wanted nothing more than to take Julia’s smoky chipotle sauce and rub it in Gideon’s face.
Feeling everyone’s eyes on me, I again tried to maintain a sense of decorum.
Heat coursed through my veins and determined to control my anger, I swallowed hard.
It didn’t work; I still wanted to kill Gideon.
‘Excuse me please,’ I said to Alex, working hard to control my tone.
Alex’s face turned pallid as I picked up my knitting needles and stood up.
‘Don’t worry,’ I said, stuffing them into my tote bag. ‘I’m only going to find the buffet cart.’
As Alex manoeuvred himself out of my way, he paused to glare at Gideon and Julia. But I didn’t want Alex’s sympathy, I just wanted to get away before I did something to get me arrested.
Stepping out onto the aisle, tears pricked my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Unable to bring myself to look at anyone, I simply stared straight ahead and holding my breath, walked away.