Chapter 7 #2
‘Think I should mingle, too,’ I say to Georgia. ‘Try to get to know everyone.’
For a brief moment, she looks as if she wants to say something important, but when she speaks, all she says is, ‘Catch up in a bit.’
Deciding I need some water, I make my way to the kitchen and find Xander in there standing by the sink.
‘Hi, Ria,’ he says, and his body visibly stiffens. ‘It’s sweltering out there. Just needed some shade. That’s the thing about Giles’s garden – no shade anywhere. And he had the pick of all the houses – I’m surprised he didn’t take that into consideration.’
‘I was just getting some water. Want one?’
‘Think I’m fine with this.’ He holds up his beer.
‘How’s Alicia?’ I ask, filling a cup from the tap. I still haven’t heard from her since she ghosted me earlier.
Xander’s eyes widen as he looks at me, despite my effort to keep my tone casual. ‘She’s, um—’
‘I’m just asking because we’d arranged to meet today at my house but she didn’t turn up. I tried to call her, but there was no answer, and no reply to my message.’
Xander exhales. ‘Well, um, this is awkward. Alicia and I, um, we broke up.’
I stare at him, waiting for him to crack a smile and tell me he’s joking, but his expression remains deadpan.
‘Oh . . . we only saw you both last night. You seemed fine.’
Slowly, he nods. ‘I know. This must be a bit of a shock, but . . . relationships are just so complex. I still can’t get my head around it.
Everything was going well, then, when we were in the cab home, she just snapped.
Said I didn’t care about her and she’d had enough.
I . . . I don’t know where it came from.
I’ve tried really hard with Alicia – I really wanted us to work.
’ He sighs. ‘I’ve had to tell myself I can’t control what other people do.
I can’t force Alicia to be with me if she doesn’t want to.
’ He shakes his head. ‘At least she works in a different department – I’d hate for her to feel uncomfortable seeing me every day.
’ He gives a faint smile. ‘So, that explains why she didn’t turn up and didn’t answer your call. ’
It takes a moment to make sense of this, to find the words that should be an automatic reply.
‘I’m sorry,’ I say. It doesn’t add up, though.
Only yesterday evening Alicia had been gushing about Xander, hoping their relationship would go the distance.
All for her to change her mind and end it moments later.
‘Did she tell you I’d invited her here?’ I ask.
‘Yes, she mentioned it when we were leaving the restaurant. Said how nice you were.’ He finishes his beer and places his glass on the worktop.
‘Well, I’d better get back out there and socialise.
I can’t hide away in here forever. Thankfully I hadn’t had a chance to introduce Alicia to anyone, so there won’t be awkward questions. ’ He smiles then heads outside.
I finish my glass of water and step back into the garden.
By the barbecue, Leo is talking to Georgia, and I make my way over to them, beads of sweat snaking down my chest. It feels like it’s still over thirty degrees out here, and while I wouldn’t mind it being a bit cooler, I dread the sharp, bitter chill of winter.
Silverleaf Heights won’t feel the same once the season changes and all the flowers on the green have withered and died. It will feel even more remote.
As I approach them, Leo stops talking and moves away from Georgia, pulling his phone from his pocket. He glances at me as he listens to someone speak.
‘Okay, yeah, I’ll be right there,’ he says after a moment.
He ends the call and rushes over. ‘Ria, I have to go. There’s been a complication with my patient’s surgery.
’ His tone is fraught and lines crease his forehead.
Leo, despite knowing he shouldn’t, gets attached to his patients and feels the pain their families go through.
‘I’ll just grab my bag.’
Leo pulls me aside. ‘Do you think maybe you should stay for a bit? We’ve only just got here and the food isn’t even ready yet.’ He glances at Giles, who is talking to Eleanor, then he turns back to me, his eyes silently pleading with me.
‘Okay,’ I say. ‘Not for long, though.’
‘Great.’ He gives me a quick kiss. ‘I’ll catch Giles on my way out and let him know.’
As soon as Leo has disappeared inside, Georgia appears at my side, placing her hand on my arm. ‘Sorry, I heard what Leo was saying. I know it might feel a bit strange being here on your own. But he’s right. If you stay, it will really show everyone that you’re part of the Silverleaf community.’
Before I can reply, Willow bounds up to me, wagging her tail and jumping up, stretching her paws to my stomach.
‘Hey, you,’ I say, giving her a stroke.
‘Oh, wow,’ Georgia says. ‘I’ve only ever seen Willow like that with Giles. She really likes you!’
‘Shame that’s not the case with all the neighbours.’
Georgia frowns. ‘What do you mean?’
‘It just feels like people are acting strangely around me,’ I say. ‘Because of what I saw. And my sketch.’
Part of me expects Georgia to counter my claim, if only out of politeness, but she only offers a thin smile.
‘I’m sorry, Ria. I did try to tell you. I think you might have .
. . ruffled some feathers. Please don’t tell anyone I’m telling you this.
But I really like you and I don’t think they’re being fair.
Look, I don’t know what happened, but just give people a chance to get to know you. They’ll soon see past all that.’
I glance around the garden again and notice Eleanor is now watching us. This time she doesn’t turn away when our eyes meet, but stares at me as if she’s looking through me, not seeing me at all.
‘What do you think happened?’ I ask.
‘I don’t want to speculate about anything,’ Georgia says. ‘But I believe you think you saw something.’ She points to the barbecue. ‘Looks like the food’s ready. Come on, I’m starving, and we need to take your mind off all this.’
When everyone is busy eating, Giles makes his way over to me. ‘Shame Leo had to rush off,’ he says, joining me on the sofa. He takes a bite of his burger and chews slowly.
‘Nature of his job, unfortunately,’ I say.
‘Ah, yes. I get that more than most. I can’t tell you the number of times Moira needed emergency care. Leo always dropped everything. He’s a good man, your husband.’
I put my plate on the table and turn to face Giles. ‘He is.’
‘I’m glad you’re both living here,’ Giles says.
‘I lost a lot of sleep over who would get the last house. I’m guessing that doesn’t make sense to you.
Why should it matter? People don’t assess their neighbours before buying a house.
But that’s exactly why I had to make sure I did what no one’s done before. That’s why Silverleaf is so special.’
Carefully curated residents. I’m tempted to say this to him, but it wouldn’t go down well.
‘Giles, would you be offended if I left soon? I really appreciate you inviting us, but after my post in the WhatsApp group, it feels as though people are avoiding me. Maybe everyone would feel more comfortable if I just left.’
‘Oh, Ria, I’m sorry to hear that.’ He scans the garden.
‘It saddens me that people aren’t making you feel more welcome.
I want everyone to feel like they’re part of the Silverleaf community, and if you don’t, then we need to fix that.
’ He pauses. ‘But I do have to say, the sketch might have made people feel a bit . . . uncomfortable. Everyone knew Moira. But, like I said, I don’t want anyone making you feel unwelcome around here. ’
I refrain from pointing out that the sketch isn’t of Moira. ‘It’s okay,’ I say, holding up my hand. ‘It’ll work itself out.’
‘Of course it will,’ he says, smiling. ‘Things always do. Anyway, you strike me as a fighter, Ria. Someone who doesn’t let life topple them. You remind me a bit of Moira.’ A tear forms in the corner of his eye.
‘I wish I could have met her,’ I say.
He nods and takes a deep breath. ‘Please stop me if you don’t want to talk about this, but Leo told us about what happened to you.
It just shows how strong you are.’ He lowers his voice.
‘I don’t tell many people this, but someone broke into our house once.
Moira was on her own. So I know how terrified you must have been. ’
‘I’m so sorry. Was she . . . What happened?’
‘We think he was a burglar, and that he assumed we were both out. But Moira was asleep in bed. She was scared witless when she woke up to hear someone banging around downstairs. She confronted him, ready to fight him off, but he ran away. Thank goodness. It could have been such a different story.’
‘That must have been awful.’
‘But worse for you,’ Giles says.
‘It would be if I remembered any of it,’ I say. I think of the video message and wonder what will be next, or how I’ll ever feel safe.
‘Leo said this man had been stalking you?’
‘Not exactly,’ I explain. ‘He was a teacher at my school. He . . .’ The words struggle to escape.
‘It’s okay. You really don’t have to talk about it. It’s none of my business.’