Incomplete Strangers

Chapter Nineteen

December 2014, London England

The next morning Molly woke up hangover-free, but when she opened her eyes and surveyed the chaos around her, she groaned, and her stomach turned. Clothes were strewn over every surface, and across the armchair in the corner of the room, the wardrobe doors were inexplicably open, and pieces of paper, empty cans of soda and packets of gummy sweets littered every surface in the room.

It wasn’t only her surroundings that were making her feel overwhelmed. She was still processing everything that had happened last night. Seeing Saskia giving it her all on the stage had made her feel overcome with emotion. She wondered if anyone on the cast knew how much courage it had taken Saskia to get back up there and perform. She was proof that you could conquer your fears.

The other thing making her stomach lurch was the conversation she’d had with her dad, and the possibility that Chris had overheard it. If he had, he would know that she had feelings for him. The whole thing was just as much of a mess as Saskia’s bedroom. She closed her eyes again, just as she heard Saskia stir next to her.

‘Morning, love,’ Saskia croaked. ‘How did you sleep?’

‘Really well,’ Molly said opening her eyes, ‘but I’ve woken up in a nightmare. This place is disgusting.’

Saskia cleared her throat. ‘I know, but I’ve had no time to sort it out. Come, on, let’s get up. You said you were going to buy me breakfast.’

‘Why don’t we ask Papa as well? Then you get to see him again before he goes,’ Molly replied. ‘I said I would meet him for lunch, but if he comes now, you’ll get to see him too.’

‘Good idea. His hotel is only round the corner,’ Saskia replied, tiptoeing over the mess. ‘Can you text him and ask him to meet us in Café Floris? It’s not far, and he will love it.’

Molly raised her eyebrow and picked up her phone. ‘Sure. How long do you need to get ready?’

Saskia looked at the clock on her bedside table. ‘Give me half an hour.’

Molly showered in the surprisingly clean and tidy bathroom. When she returned to Saskia’s bedroom, Saskia was still in bed, the duvet wrapped tightly around her.

‘Come on, love. You need to get up,’ Molly said, sitting down on the bed, still in the towel she’d borrowed from the linen cupboard. ‘You were the one hurrying me out of bed.’

‘Ugh, I know,’ Saskia said. ‘I’m just having trouble actually doing it.’ She yawned and pulled back the duvet, sliding slowly out of the bed. ‘Right. I’m up. If you want to have a tidy while I’m in the shower, you feel free.’

‘You’re the worst.’ Molly shook her head.

‘You love it,’ Saskia replied and walked out of the room.

Molly dried herself and looked around the room, wondering where she’d put her clothes. She located her jeans draped over a chair but couldn’t find her jumper. She opened Saskia’s wardrobe and eyed the long-sleeved pink leopard print top that she’d always secretly longed to wear, and took it out, putting it on. Maybe wearing it would help her channel some of Saskia’s confidence. She put some mascara on and had just put her make-up bag away when Saskia walked back in, her cheeks flushed red from the shower.

‘Check you out!’ Saskia said, running her eyes over Molly. She nodded approvingly. ‘That suits you. Keep it. I can buy another one. I’ve got a proper job now.’ She gave Molly a smug smile.

‘Are you sure?’ Molly asked. ‘I’ve wanted to borrow it for ages, and I couldn’t find my top anywhere.’

Saskia laughed. ‘The bedroom has it now.’

Molly sighed. ‘Get dressed.’

In Saskia’s bold leopard print top, Molly felt confident striding into the café and sitting down at a table in the window next to Saskia. Gaspard arrived a few minutes later, sitting opposite them.

‘Morning, Papa,’ Molly said. ‘How’s your head? We drank more than I thought we would last night.’

‘I’m just fine, chérie.’ He eyed two plates being delivered to the table next to them. ‘Those croissants look almost as good as the ones I get from the boulangerie at home.’

‘Oh, they are, Papa,’ Saskia said. ‘Get the almond one, c’est délicieux.’

He wrinkled his nose. ‘Have I not brought you up to want fresh croissants, not yesterday’s croissant with some frangipane stuffed inside?’

‘These are way better, Papa, I promise you.’ Saskia smiled at him.

Molly watched their exchange, smiling to herself. She loved the way that her dad and sister both knew their own minds and refused to settle. She needed some of that energy herself. She ordered the almond croissant, and when it arrived, she wasn’t disappointed. The flaky pastry contrasted perfectly with the sweet almond filling.

Gaspard turned to Saskia. ‘Now you can tell us, how is it going?’

Saskia wiped her mouth with a napkin. ‘It’s so intense, Papa. The schedule is relentless, but it’s so worth it, and the friends I’ve made are so inspiring. Most of them have been in productions like this before. They’re already going to auditions to line up their next jobs, and I keep thinking about how lazy I’ve been.’

Molly sighed. ‘You aren’t lazy Saskia; you were dealing with so much. And the job at Ezio’s was comfortable and secure, and you needed that.’

Saskia nodded. ‘You’re right, but I’m stronger now. I’ve got two auditions next week; one for a gin commercial and one for a play.’

Gaspard’s face lit up. ‘I am so proud of you, Saskia. I have been worried about you these last couple of years. I can see in your face that you’re motivated. You will do well. I know it.’

‘I”m so happy, honestly, I feel like pinching myself every day.’ Saskia said, her eyes sparkling as she spoke. ‘The only downside is that I don”t get to see Scott as much. I miss him. More than I thought I would. I think I love him.’ Her eyes filled with tears. ‘I’ve never felt like this before.’

‘Have you told him?’ Molly asked.

‘No,’ Saskia shook her head. ‘We’re both kind of new at this whole relationship thing, we’re taking things slowly. I want to tell him, but I also don’t want to freak him out.’

‘I don’t think you need to worry about that,’ Gaspard said. ‘He’s very much in love with you.’

‘Do you think so?’ Saskia wiped her eyes, then picked up the rest of her croissant and took a bite.

‘Absolutement.’ Gaspard nodded. ‘I think he will tell you, but he is biding his time. He does not want to…clip your wings.’

‘When I come back to Canterbury, I’m going to tell him,’ Saskia said. ‘It’ll be our little secret for now.’

‘You are not the only one keeping secrets,’ Gaspard said, then turned to Molly. ‘How long have you been in love with Chris?’

Molly almost choked on her tea. She put her cup down, spluttering. ‘Papa, I’m not in love with him.’

Saskia snorted. ‘Papa, you see it too? They are so smitten with each other, aren’t they?’

‘Can we not talk about this here?’ Molly nudged Saskia who was giggling. ‘It’s not funny.’

‘Just admit it, Mole. Just to us,’ Saskia whispered.

‘No. We’re friends.’ Molly turned to her dad. ‘Papa, I’ve not been honest with you. Back in October, I was mugged at the train station. I wasn’t badly hurt, but I was too scared to get on the train for two weeks. When I did manage to get back on the train, there was a power cut and I freaked out. Chris was sitting next to me. He comforted me that night and we just…connected.’

Gaspard wiped his mouth with a napkin. ‘He has impressed me more in the few hours that I spent with him last night than your current boyfriend has in the last four years. I don’t believe that you are just friends, you are too close, too intimate with each other.’

‘We kissed each other.’ Molly blurted out. ‘Then the next day we both agreed that we were friends, nothing more. I’ve spent the rest of the week with Mark. You two might not like him, but you aren’t in a relationship with him.’

‘Neither are you,’ Gaspard said bluntly. ‘Not really. There is no commitment, no future, just dates. You deserve more.’

Molly gulped down her tea. He was right. As usual. There was no future for her and Mark.

Saskia eyed Molly curiously. ‘What happened when Chris and Mark bumped into each other? I would have loved to see that. I bet Mark was ready to explode with jealousy.’

Molly sighed. ‘He was so rude to Chris, and Chris just said nothing. I was so angry.’

‘Oh Molly,’ Saskia said, dramatically. ‘I think we should both butt out, but we’re thinking of your best interests, and Mark isn’t.’

‘He made a real effort last week,’ Molly said. ‘He bought me some clothes and make-up to leave at his place, filled his fridge with my favourite food, took me out on dates, and then took me out with him to his work Christmas party.’

Saskia turned her nose up. ‘A room full of bankers? What was that like?’

Molly wrinkled her nose. ‘I felt really self-conscious. He bought me this expensive dress, not my usual thing at all and not even the right size.’

She got her phone out and showed Saskia and Gaspard a picture that one of his friends had taken of them both.

Saskia’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Crikey Molly, that doesn’t leave much to the imagination. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a dress like that before. It suits you though. Shows off your figure.’

‘Thank you,’ Molly said, noticing Gaspard’s shocked face. ‘I wasn’t sure about it, then his colleague, Beth, made all these comments about it. When Mark came over to us, there was this weird energy between them.’

‘Do you think he’s cheating on you?’ Saskia folded her arms. ‘Papa, you need to go and see him, you’d suss out what’s going on like that.’ She snapped her fingers.

‘I couldn’t judge him though, could I?’ Molly said. ‘Can we just change the subject? When are your auditions?’

‘I’ve got one on Tuesday, and one on Thursday,’ Saskia replied. ‘I’ve booked them both in the morning so I can get there and back before I have to do the matinee show.’

‘So, are you thinking you might live here for a while then?’ Molly’s stomach lurched. She’d been hoping that Saskia would be coming back home once the pantomime wrapped.

‘I don’t know yet.’ Saskia shrugged. ‘You know me, I go with the flow.’ She picked up her phone. ‘Speaking of going, we need to go now, I need to get back to the theatre.’

Gaspard insisted on paying the bill, then Saskia led them both back to the theatre, where she said a tearful goodbye to Molly and her dad.

‘See you soon,’ Saskia said to Molly, squeezing her tightly, before pulling her dad in for a tight hug. ‘See you soon too, Papa.’

As Gaspard extricated himself from his daughters’ arms, he smiled. ‘I will see you both very soon. I’ve booked us a suite at the Devon Lane Hotel from Christmas Eve until Boxing Day. You will be backwards and forwards from the theatre, Saskia, but I saw this as the only way we could spend Christmas together.’

Molly and Saskia squealed and threw their arms around him again.

‘Oh, Papa, thank you! A fancy hotel suite at Christmas.’ Saskia’s eyes lit up.

‘That’ so sweet of you, Papa,’ Molly said. ‘Thank you so much. Can we pay our share?’

‘Non,’ Gaspard replied firmly. ‘Let me treat you both.’

‘I’m looking forward to it already.’ Saskia nodded to the theatre door. ‘I need to go, but I love you both, and I’ll see you soon.’ She blew them both kisses and disappeared into the theatre.

Molly walked with her dad back to his hotel, and as they reached the entrance, he smiled at her. ‘I have been worrying about you too, Molly,’ he said. ‘You take on a lot, and you put yourself last.’

‘Not anymore,’ she replied defiantly. ‘I’m making myself a priority from now on.’ Maybe it was the leopard print top, or a bigger sea change inside of her, she wasn’t sure. But she knew she wasn’t going to be walked over any longer.

‘I can tell,’ Gaspard said. ‘I am very much in favour of this.’

‘Are you upset that I cheated on Mark?’ she asked.

‘It isn’t my place to comment,’ he replied. ‘Relationships are complicated. I would say that it is important that you do not mislead anyone. Hearts are easy to break, and hard to mend. That includes your own.’

‘Wise words as usual,’ she said. ‘Has anyone ever told you that you should be a writer?’

‘Plenty of people have told me that I shouldn’t be,’ he replied, laughing. ‘Mais, je m’en fous.’

‘I think I need to start to not give a shit, too,’ she said, smiling. ‘Thank you, Papa, for everything.’

‘Je vous en prie.’ He kissed her forehead. ‘Look after yourself.’

***

As Chris stood in the lobby of Molly’s office building, his palms started sweating, and a prickly, uncomfortable feeling spread through his body. He’d spent the last few days thinking about Saturday night. About Molly, and her dad, and whether he’d overstepped the mark by insinuating that she hadn’t been honest with him about how she felt about him. He hadn’t contacted her, as he had no idea what to say.

She’d sent him a message last night asking him if he wanted to catch the train home together, so he’d walked over to her building when he finished work. He couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face as she walked into the lobby. Her blonde hair fell in loose curls, and her lips were, as always, scarlet red.

‘Evening, Chris,’ she said, a smile spreading across her face as she saw him.

‘Evening, Miss Millot,’ Chris replied, raising his eyebrow at her.

She blushed. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but sometimes when people find out my dad is a famous author, they assume I’m rich, or that I’ve only got where I have because of my name.’

He opened the door for her, and then followed her out into the darkness.

‘I don’t think that.’ He shook his head. ‘I see how hard you work. I understand why you didn’t tell me and I’m so grateful to you for letting me come along and meet him. He’s so friendly.’

‘He is,’ she said, smiling. ‘I miss him so much, but he is so French, like he couldn’t live here, that’s why he and Mum split up. We moved over here from Provence when I was five, but he wasn’t happy here.’

‘I’m sorry, that must have been hard for you,’ he said as the bright lights of the station loomed ahead of them.

‘It was,’ she replied. ‘We miss him loads, but we do get to have some pretty cool holidays in Provence, where he lives and he’s so much happier in France.’

He followed her into the station, and his heart sank. The concourse was full of people with angry faces, all talking loudly. The colour drained from Molly’s face and her eyes darted around nervously.

‘What’s going on?’ she asked.

Knowing she would feel overwhelmed, he gripped her hand in his tightly and led her to the information board. Every train going back to Kent was delayed due to an accident.

‘We might have a problem,’ he said quietly to her.

‘Can you get me out of here?’ she whispered. ‘I can’t breathe.’

He slipped his arm around her shoulders, feeling her tense as people pushed past them. He tightened his grip on her, keeping his eyes on the station entrance, and guided her through the throng of people, out into the cold night air. Under the awning of the station, he held her tightly as she sunk her head into his shoulder and took several deep breaths, before pulling away from him.

‘Are you alright?’ he asked.

‘I’m fine now,’ she said, a steely determination in her voice. ‘There are no trains, right? So I think we should go and get some dinner somewhere.’ She paused. ‘We can always crash at Saskia’s place if we can’t actually get home.’

‘Sounds like a good plan to me,’ he said. ‘Where do you want to go?’

‘You choose,’ she said. ‘I chose last time.’

‘Right,’ he replied, biting back a smile. That had been one of the best nights of his life. ‘Let’s go.’

He led her away from the chaos of the station, down Westminster Road and over the bridge, past Big Ben. They crossed over the road after the bridge and walked along the South Bank as the fairy lights draped between the streetlights twinkled above them.

‘Where are we going?’ she asked.

‘You’ll see,’ he replied. ‘Mind the steps.’

Down a flight of stone steps, just opposite the river, was a row of restaurants and shops. He pointed towards one of the restaurants. ‘How about dim sum?’

‘I’d love that,’ she said.

‘That’s a relief,’ he said. ‘It would be a bit awkward otherwise.’

She laughed and he pulled open the door and let her go in first. The restaurant was dimly lit, with bench seating. A waiter greeted them and showed them to an empty bench at the back of the restaurant, before handing menus to them. He took their drinks orders, then walked away.

‘I didn’t even know this place was here,’ she said, looking around the restaurant. ‘I like it.’

‘I came here with Alex and Scott last summer, and I’ve been back a few times since then,’ he replied. ‘I hope you’re feeling proud of yourself right now. You took charge of that situation.’

‘Thank you,’ she replied. ‘The last few times I’ve felt anxious, I’ve tried to stay focused on a solution and it helps. You helped too. As usual.’

‘It’s not a problem,’ he said. ‘Remember you had to look after me the other night. We’re here for each other.’

‘Right,’ she said, and held his gaze for just a second, before she looked away.

Guilt gnawed at his stomach. He’d overhead a conversation that wasn’t meant for him, and he knew that she had feelings for him. He didn’t want to make the evening awkward by bringing it up – and she clearly didn’t want to either.

‘You’ll have to tell me what to order.’ She looked at the menu. ‘I’ve not been to a dim sum restaurant before.’

He picked up his menu and ran his eyes over it. ‘I think we should get some duck bao buns, vegetable gyoza, and char sui pork buns. Does that sound good?’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I have no idea, but if you order it, I’ll eat it.’

After the waiter had taken their order, and delivered them glasses of jasmine iced tea, Chris turned to Molly.

‘How’s work? Have you been busy? I’ve not seen you on the train.’

‘It’s been so busy,’ she said. ‘That’s why I shut myself away to try and focus. I’ve got two deadlines to meet before Christmas and I’m running out of time. I’m sure I’ll get there though. How about you?’

He nodded. ‘Pretty much the same. New starters needing new laptops and system access at the same time as my sales guys needing new software. I’m counting down the days until Christmas.’

‘Me too,’ she replied. ‘Papa’s coming over and he’s booked us a suite in the Devon Lane Hotel. He usually comes to our house, but we need to be in London this year, so that we can see Saskia.’

‘Oh wow, that sounds incredible,’ he said. ‘I bet it’ll be super luxurious.’

‘My dad does like the finer things in life,’ she said, smiling. ‘What are you doing for Christmas?’

He took a sip of his tea. ‘We’re all going to the hotel that Alex and his mum own. It’s beautiful and there’s a bar.’

‘That sounds great,’ she said.

‘It is. You should come up on New Year’s Eve,’ he said. ‘They throw the best parties. Alex and I DJ, and we have a band as well, it’s awesome.’

‘I might do that,’ she replied, remembering that Mark would be on a stag do. ‘Saskia will have finished her pantomime, and she’ll want to go if Scott”s there.’

‘Oh, he’ll be there.’ he said. ‘Alex will most likely rope him into making cocktails. The hotel’s technically his mum’s place but he’s a not so silent partner.’

The waiter arrived at their table, bringing bamboo baskets full of buns and dumplings.

‘Here goes,’ she said. ‘What should I start with?’

‘The bao bun,’ he replied, passing her the basket.

She tentatively picked up a bun with her chopsticks and took a bite. ‘Ooh, that’s good,’ she said.

He helped himself to a bao bun, then a gyoza. Molly was happily working her way around the baskets. If she was anxious about the train situation, she wasn’t showing it.

They had just finished the last gyoza which Molly had diplomatically cut in half and shared between them when his phone buzzed with a message.

‘There’s a train in half an hour. If we miss it, we risk being stuck in London all night,’ he said, before taking out his wallet.

Molly wiped her mouth with a napkin. ‘We’d better go then,’ she said, sliding out of the bench and putting on her coat.

The waiter arrived with their bill, and Chris handed over some money.

‘Keep the change,’ he said, standing up and putting his coat on, then stuffing his wallet into his pocket.

‘We should have split that,’ Molly said as they hurried out of the restaurant.

‘We had to be quick,’ Chris replied. ‘You can pay next time.’

He hoped that there would be a next time.

When they reached the station, Chris slipped his arm through Molly’s and guided her to the barrier. She swiped her ticket and he followed her. The train was waiting on the platform and was packed. Walking through the carriages, they managed to find two seats next to each other.

Molly collapsed onto the seat. ‘That was a bit of a race. I’m so glad we made it. Otherwise, we would have been stuck in London for the night.’

He held her gaze for a second. ‘That would have been awful.’ He pulled his tablet out of his bag and switched it on. ‘Your dad’s sent me a draft of his book. You want to read it with me?’ He put the tablet on the arm rest between them.

‘Wow, you are privileged,’ she said. ‘He hasn’t sent it to me.’ She moved closer and started to read over his shoulder.

He quickly became engrossed in the story, as he always did with Gaspard’s books. When he looked up at Molly, he smiled. She was fast asleep, with her head on his shoulder. He stayed fixed in the same position, afraid to wake her, until they reached Canterbury, where he gently nudged her.

‘Molly, we’re home.’

Molly woke with a start. ‘Oh no! I fell asleep on you!’ she exclaimed, sitting up.

‘It’s fine, I don’t mind. I’ve wiped the dribble off my shoulder,’ he deadpanned.

‘Very funny,’ she said. ‘That’s the first time I’ve fallen asleep on the train since I got mugged.’

‘I feel honoured. You must trust me.’ He stood up and pulled on his coat.

‘I do,’ she said. ‘Implicitly.’

‘Same,’ he said, his eyes meeting hers as she stood up. ‘Come on. I’ll walk you to your car.’

Yet again there had been the briefest of moments between them. Something intangible, yet still present. He decided not to question or examine it but followed her into the car park, which was lit by the full moon piercing its way through the darkness.

When they reached her car, he bit his lip, aware of the isolated position that it was in. He turned to her, nodding at her car.

‘Why don’t you park at mine tomorrow and we can walk to the station together? It’ll save you some money and you won’t have to be on your own.’

‘Are you sure that’s alright?’ He was too kind, too sweet, and it made her heart ache for him. ‘I can manage on my own.’

‘You can,’ he replied. ‘But you don’t have to.’ He leant forward and kissed her cheek. ‘I had fun tonight. Maybe we can go there again with Scott and Saskia after Christmas?’

‘She would love that!’ Molly said, her eyes lighting up. ‘We used to go to this Chinese restaurant when we were younger, and we’d always have to order more pancakes as she could eat so many that we didn’t get a look in.’

As Molly talked about her parents, a sadness swept across her face. Chris thought of his parents and how often he spoke to them or went over to their house. He thought about how hard it must be not to be able to do that.

‘That’s such a sweet memory,’ he said. ‘I wish your mum could see you now. She’d be so proud of you.’

Her eyes filled with tears. ‘Why do you always do this to me? You always say the sweetest things, and it makes me cry.’

‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I just need you to know how incredible you are, and how brave you’ve been.’

She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and wiped her eyes.

‘Thank you. Do you want a lift?’

He shook his head. ‘It’s a nice night for a walk. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

She nodded and stood on her tip toes to kiss his cheek, before climbing into her car.

The walk back to his flat did nothing to clear his head. He was in love with her and that was that. Unless she broke up with Mark, their situation would never change. And there was no way he was going to tell Molly how he felt.

He sat on the sofa in the dark, silent living room with his head in his hands. He wished he was at Molly’s and that she wasn’t going home alone to a cold dark house, but that they were together, drinking tea and wrapped in a blanket on her sofa. He would tuck her under his arm so she could fall asleep, and he would hold her close. She would tell him she loved him as much as he loved her. His chest felt tight, and he fought back the tears that threatened to push through the eyes that he’d closed tightly.