Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
T he next morning, Dilly sat in her living room overlooking Blue Water Bay. When she had arrived back from the hospital, the sky had turned a threatening shade of charcoal and crackled with the energy of an impending storm, which arrived soon after with a ferocity that the island hadn’t seen in a while. It had raged through the night, jagged streaks of lightning splitting the sky, illuminating the landscape with brief, blinding flashes.
The thunder had rolled in, each rumble sounding like a distant drum, and the rain had poured down, hammering against the windows, which was mesmerising. Dilly had watched the storm for hours before finally falling into a restless sleep. By morning, the storm had passed, and as she opened the window and breathed in the fresh air, she thought about the conversation she’d had with her dad. He hadn’t believed she’d seen her mum. He was confident that there was no way she could have survived. Dilly might have agreed with him if she’d only seen her mum once – that, of course, could have been a case of mistaken identity – but not now that she’d seen her twice.
She’d showered and had breakfast. The gallery should be open today but she had more pressing things on her mind. She wanted to chat with Max, sooner rather than later, even though he would be busy at work and not expecting her. She needed to have an honest conversation with him about Giles. All night, she had wrestled with the dilemma: should she tell him the truth or stick to the fabricated story of a one-night stand? Her dad thought she should be open with the whole island, but she still hadn’t made her mind up about that.
No, Max deserved the whole truth and she trusted him with the detail. And if he didn’t want a relationship, she fully understood. Things had changed. She knew she could go it alone as a single mum, but there was a huge part of her that hoped Max would see the bigger picture of the future.
Hearing a knock at the gallery door, she glanced at the clock and realised it was already past nine, but she didn’t move. She didn’t want to see anyone until she’d spoken to Max. She knew the community would be concerned, as an ambulance on the island was a rare occurrence. Everyone would want to know what had happened and why she’d been taken to hospital. But she wanted to enjoy that little bit of information on her own for just a while longer.
The knock sounded again but Dilly stayed seated. She switched on her phone and immediately it burst into life. Last night she’d switched it off, not wanting to talk to anyone, but now there were umpteen messages from her friends, all concerned about how she was. It made her feel a little guilty that people had been worrying about her.
Immediately her phone began to ring. It was Clemmie. Dilly picked it up.
‘It’s me, are you home? I’m at the gallery door.’
Dilly hurried down the stairs and quickly ushered Clemmie through the gallery and up the stairs. ‘What’s going on?’ Clemmie asked, her eyes wide with concern. ‘There are rumours circulating that you were in the hospital, and everyone’s been speculating about what’s happened.’
‘You haven’t said anything, have you?’ Dilly asked.
‘Of course not,’ Clemmie reassured her. ‘I didn’t know what to do or say, so I kept quiet. Is the baby okay?’
A huge smile spread across Dilly’s face as she grabbed hold of Clemmie’s arm. ‘ Babies! I’m having twins!’
Clemmie’s mouth dropped wide open.
‘You’re catching flies,’ Dilly teased, laughing.
‘Oh my God, twins?’ Clemmie squealed, her excitement infectious. ‘That’s amazing! How far along are you?’
‘I’m nearly five months. The doctors think I was just experiencing some normal stretching pains. And now, my father knows… and, of course, Max.’
‘Yikes, how did that go down?’ Clemmie asked.
‘That’s the reason the gallery isn’t open. I need to go and see Max. Have you got time for a brew?’
‘Of course.’
Dilly made two cups of tea and filled Clemmie in about the second sighting of her mum. ‘And then that’s when the pain started. Max was brilliant and he called the ambulance, but of course I had to tell the paramedics I was pregnant. He was understandably shocked but still came with me in the ambulance, holding my hand the whole time. When we got to the hospital, the doctor mistakenly assumed Max was the father and invited him in for the scan. Max didn’t correct him, and honestly, I was secretly thrilled. I didn’t want to go through it alone, and having him there made everything feel a little less scary.’
‘And what happened when you discovered it was twins?’
‘I was completely shocked! Judging by the look on Max’s face he was happy for me but he evidently decided there and then that this was a good opportunity for me to get back with the father.’
‘And does he know who the father is?’
Dilly shook her head. ‘I didn’t have a chance to chat with him because as soon as the scan was over my dad turned up and Max promptly left to give us time alone. That’s why I want to go now and explain everything.’
‘Is that a good thing? I thought you were sticking to the story of a one-night stand? I know I’ve said it before but does he need to know the truth?’
Dilly exhaled. ‘Dad seems to think that it’s better to be open and honest with everyone in the community.’
‘Everyone will have your back, I’m sure of that, but this isn’t something they all need to know. You have the right to a private life and so what you choose to say about the twins and their conception is your choice. Do what you feel is right.’
‘I know, but I do feel Max deserves the truth.’
Judging by the look on her face, Clemmie disagreed. ‘Just remember this is someone who has turned up in your life again. I know you think you know him?—’
‘I do,’ interrupted Dilly.
‘But if he disappears out of your life that’s another person who knows the truth and secrets will always come out when you least expect it. I wouldn’t be your best friend if I didn’t warn you to be careful and not to rush into anything.’
Dilly knew exactly what Clemmie was saying because the very same thoughts had been turning over and over in her mind all night. ‘But what if we do have a chance together?’ As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew that was unlikely. He didn’t want to bring up another man’s child, let alone two of them. She pressed on anyway. ‘And one day the truth comes out and I’ve been lying to him all this time.’
‘Only you will know when you talk to him whether there’s any chance of that happening, but does that conversation need to take place before you’ve had time to think about it a little more? And what did your dad say about the situation with your mum?’
Dilly exhaled. ‘He thinks I’m deluded and have mistaken her for someone who looks like her. He thinks it’s impossible that they could have survived the accident, and he said that even if she had lost her memory and come back to the island, everyone would know about it because everyone would recognise her.’
‘I don’t like to say it, but I agree with him.’
‘I know, but there’s still a tiny part of me that wants to believe it’s her. But what can I do unless I happen to see her again?’
‘Let’s focus on the positives… my best friend is not only uber talented, a gorgeous person inside and out, but she is also the keeper of a lighthouse and is expecting twins! What I want to know is: when can we start shopping for the babies? And what’s the plan about moving across to the lighthouse?’
‘We can go shopping any time and as far as the lighthouse goes, I need the move across to be as soon as possible because I’m going to have to make one of the rooms a nursery for two and I need to get it all finished before I’m too fat to move.’
Clemmie laughed. ‘Well, I’m free on Sunday and most evenings. I don’t want you carrying anything heavy, and that’s an order from Auntie Clemmie!’
‘I won’t, I promise, and thank you.’ Dilly looked at her watch. ‘I’m going to go and see Max now as otherwise it’s going to be on my mind all day.’
‘Good luck. You should also prepare yourself – our friends are already asking questions about why you were in hospital and it won’t take long before word gets around.’
‘I’m sure my dad will have told half the island by now. I’m not ready to talk about it but it’s no secret now I know everything is okay, which is such a relief.’
Clemmie stood up and gave another squeal. ‘Twins! Yikes!’ They hugged before they walked down the stairs and Dilly locked the gallery door behind her.
* * *
Ten minutes later, Dilly set off for the boat house. The recent storm had left the air crisp and cool, and the bay, usually bustling with activity, was quiet for once. Dilly felt nervous about the conversation she was going to have with Max. She was still unsure whether to reveal the whole truth or hide the fact that Giles was the father.
As she approached the weathered wooden boat house, the conversation she’d had earlier with Clemmie was replaying in her thoughts. She knew Clemmie was right: the fewer people that knew, the better. But then her dad was right too; the islanders were family. She was still torn but decided that, when they came face to face, she would go with her gut. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the boat house. She couldn’t see Max but noticed her dad was talking animatedly on the phone and looking stressed. As he hung up his call and spotted Dilly, his face softened.
‘How are you feeling this morning?’ he asked, giving her a hug.
‘We are all doing just fine.’ She patted her belly and smiled. ‘But you look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.’
‘I do,’ he sighed. ‘I have a big job coming in at the end of the week and now I’m a man down.’
‘What do you mean? Where’s Max?’
‘He’s gone without giving me any warning. I’m not happy about being left in the lurch. I thought he was a decent bloke, and only yesterday he was happy the job was coming in, as we talked through the restoration. I’ve no clue what the hell has changed overnight but I woke up to a garbled voicemail and all his things have gone from the flat.’
Dilly couldn’t believe what her dad was telling her. The shock of hearing that Max had left hit her hard, especially as she knew it must be because of her and the revelation of her pregnancy. He likely couldn’t bear the thought of her possibly reconciling with the twins’ father. What he didn’t know was that such a reconciliation would never happen.
‘Do you know what time he left?’ Dilly asked, trying to gauge how far he might have gone. She quickly dialled his number, but it went straight to voicemail. ‘Damn,’ she muttered.
‘I’ve tried calling him too,’ said Ralph. ‘I just don’t understand what happened in the last few hours to make him leave, especially when he felt so happy and safe here after…’ Ralph stopped in his tracks.
‘Lydia,’ Dilly finished. ‘I know all about her and how she’s treated him.’
Ralph nodded. ‘Yes, after Lydia, I thought he was finally starting to find some peace here, but then she tracked him down. Modern technology has a lot to answer for. I saw them last night when I got back. They were arguing on the harbourfront. I went over to make sure everything was okay and I heard Max tell her that it was the last chance for her to disappear from his life, otherwise he would take out a harassment order – and how would that look to her celebrity clients? I could see he was at his wits’ end, but he was firm. He shot her down in flames and it was obvious she doesn’t have a place in his life. I think it’s possible he’s moved on to get some peace and yet another fresh start, somewhere where she can’t find him.’
Dilly took a deep breath. ‘Actually, I suspect he’s left… because of me.’
Ralph raised an eyebrow. ‘Why would he leave because of you?’
‘Because we had a… moment… but now he knows I’m pregnant with another man’s child.’
‘A moment?’
Dilly didn’t want to spell it out but there was no getting away from it. ‘We slept together. There’s always been something between us, but we never crossed that line,’ she quickly added, ‘until a couple of nights ago. And I wasn’t honest with him about the pregnancy.’ She could feel herself getting emotional. ‘And then he found out when the ambulance turned up.’
‘Don’t go getting upset. Things have a way of working themselves out.’
But Dilly didn’t know how that was even possible if Max wouldn’t pick up his phone.