Chapter 20 #2
As good-looking as any of the men Maddie had seen her friend with, this one was definitely a man, rather than a boy.
She managed to give Sofia a thumbs up as he loaded their bags into the car with ease.
At the hotel, the luxury level of which Maddie had never experienced in her life, if the trip through the marbled reception and gilded lift were anything to go by, she and Charlotte were shown into a twin-bedded room with views out to sea and its own balcony.
Adonis’s quiet authority as he’d moved through the hotel was impressive, thought Maddie.
His popularity with the staff was obvious by the way everyone smiled and greeted him.
All except for one young woman on reception who gave their party a distinctly frosty look when she thought no one was looking.
It seemed to be directed at Sofia, and Maddie hoped it didn’t mean trouble for her friend.
Maybe the woman was just having a bad day.
The room they’d been shown into wasn’t like any twin room Maddie had ever seen, each bed was the size of a large double, and the pastel linens on the bed and the delicate carved glass light fittings screamed expensive but tasteful.
‘I hope you will be happy here.’ Adonis had brought up their bags personally, although there seemed to be numerous lackeys around who could have done it.
His English was excellent, and Maddie found his slight hint of a Greek accent on certain words cute.
She could see the attraction of this one, no problem.
‘Please settle in and order anything you like from room service on me. I must get back to work now, but I will see you very soon I hope.’
‘Thank you,’ Maddie and Charlotte spoke almost at the same time.
Adonis raised his hand.
‘It’s nothing.’
Sofia had been standing quietly by the door, and before he left the room, he pulled her in for a thorough kiss, which had Maddie and Charlotte not knowing where to look.
Sofia bumped down on the nearest bed.
‘So … what do you think?’
Maddie bumped down next to her.
‘Obviously, he’s gorgeous, and unusually he seems lovely with it. What’s not to like? I can see why you were desperately keen to get here.’
Maddie raised her eyebrows while Sofia looked down at her hands.
‘It’s just a casual thing, honestly.’
If she kept saying it over and over again, maybe it would make it true, like a spell. Was it because she had no job to go back to, that it felt a bit different this time? She was standing on the edge of a cliff, and she mustn’t let herself step over.
Charlotte stared out of the French doors at the sea below.
‘He does seem really nice, Sof.’
‘Thanks.’
Maddie looked down at the bed she was sat on and across at the neighbouring one.
‘One …two. Where are you going to sleep?’
‘Funny. Adonis has a room at the top of the hotel, as well as a flat in town.’
Charlotte joined them on the bed.
‘Are we going to see anything at all of you this week? It’s supposed to be the three of us together.’
She tried to stop her voice from sounding pathetic. Now she’d told her friends about Doug, she felt even more vulnerable, rather than less. It was like the facade she’d so carefully built up over the last few years was crumbling around her, and she wasn’t sure what she’d find beneath it.
Sofia put her arm round her.
‘Of course. Don’t be silly. Adonis works all the hours God sends. It’s a miracle he was able to pick us up today.’
‘Yes, that was kind of him.’
The buzz of Sofia’s phone was loud in the room. She kept it firmly turned away from them both while she read the message.
‘Just got to pop out for an hour. I’ll be back later, and we can all go for dinner. I’ve got a special place in mind.’
Before they could do more than nod, Sofia was out of the door and off.
‘Claiming his reward for the valet service if I’m not mistaken.’ Maddie reached for her sponge bag and headed into the bathroom big enough for four.
‘Don’t be mean, Mads. She looks really excited.’
‘That’s what I mean.’
Charlotte picked up the room service menu from one of the ornate side tables.
‘Let’s take him at his word. Do you fancy a cocktail on the balcony?’
‘Sure do. You choose. Let’s order two of each so we don’t have some poor guy traipsing up and down.’
‘Good plan.’
With two Cosmopolitans each in front of them, and the whole of the main town laid out below, Maddie and Charlotte spent some peaceful moments watching the divers on the swimming platform and the boats pulling in and out of the port.
Charlotte spoke again first.
‘Oh, look at all the cats being fed by that house. There are some binoculars on the side. I’ll get them.’
A gang of twenty cats had converged on the feeding bowls at the sound of a rattling tin, and Charlotte and Maddie took it in turns to watch them fill their bellies.
‘Would you ever have another cat?’ Charlotte sipped at her cocktail and surveyed her friend.
‘I’m not sure. We had Bill and Ben for so many years. They weren’t related, but they died within a week of each other at the ripe old age of eighteen. I do miss having a cat, but they are a tie, aren’t they?’
‘I remember them. A black one and a tabby, wasn’t it? They can be a tie, but they’re also great company.’
‘True. You were always more of a dog person, weren’t you?’
Charlotte gulped back a tear.
‘Yes. I was heartbroken when Sophie went. She was only eleven and a half, but dogs don’t live anywhere near as long as cats, especially big dogs.’
Maddie was still looking at the cats through the binoculars.
‘I’m really not sure what I want to do with the next phase of my life, now Tony’s gone. So, would taking on another animal be fair?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. You’d be fine. Cats don’t need that much input. It’s not like having a dog. I don’t think I’d have another one now.’
There was no way she could commit to having an animal when she didn’t even know where she’d be living in six months’ time. Would she still be in her spacious Victorian house, surrounded by all her things, a newbuild box somewhere with a pared down life, or even a stunning modern flat?
‘Not for a long time, anyway. I’d like to do more travelling first. But maybe a little itty-bitty cat for you?’
‘You make it sound like I could keep it in a matchbox and take it out every now and again and play with it. Are you worried that I’m lonely?’
‘No…Not exactly. I know you’ve got your family, work and friends. But a sweet little face looking up at you every morning would be nice.’
She was putting herself in Maddie’s position. Living on her own was one of the things that scared her the most if it didn’t work out with Doug. She’d never done it. She’d gone straight from her parents to university halls, followed by living with a group of friends, and then him.
Maddie handed over the binoculars again.
‘You might be right. I’ll give it some thought. And while Motormouth is off having fun, how are you really feeling about DCB at the moment?’
Charlotte put down her drink.
‘That’s a conversation swerve and a half. I will admit I do find it a bit difficult when Sof goes off on one of her rants. Obviously, she was deeply affected by what her dad did, but like most things, my relationship woes aren’t so black and white.’
Maddie kept her own counsel. It was important for Charlotte to say what she really thought without comments either way.
People always told her she was a great listener and so non-judgemental, but what that really meant was that she knew when to keep her trap shut in the main.
‘Also, I wouldn’t say it to her face, but Sof has never really been in a long-term relationship with all its ups and downs.
Yes, she had that very brief marriage to Rupert, but he was just a temporary dad substitute, and she knows it.
Since then, it’s been a parade of gorgeous, but ultimately unsuitable men.
So, I think it’s hard for her to know what it would be like to jack in a thirty-year marriage. ’
Maddie restricted herself to nodding.
‘Obviously she’d understand it with her head, but I’m not sure she’d really feel it.’
Maddie didn’t really want to get sidetracked onto Sofia’s issues now she’d got Charlotte on her own.
‘Agreed. But as it’s just the two of us, how is it going?’
Charlotte put her head in her hands.
‘I’m all over the place. One minute I’m furious with Doug, the next I can’t imagine living without him.’
‘Even after what he’s done?’
Charlotte stopped speaking and Maddie worried she’d skated too close to the edge this time.
‘Again, it’s not that simple.’
The tears glittered in Charlotte’s eyes when she looked up again.
‘What do you mean? What is it?’
What could possibly justify Doug’s behaviour was the question on the tip of her tongue, but she kept it back.
‘I can see now that as the boys grew up, we started drifting apart. My career had taken off, big time, and I think Doug felt threatened by that.’
‘But doesn’t he run a successful business?’
‘To be honest, it’s never been quite as successful as he made out. I’ve been the main breadwinner for years now.’
‘Wow. I had no idea.’
‘No one has. I keep the truth away from people to protect Doug.’
‘Ah, the fragile male ego. I think we’ve all dealt with that.’
‘I might as well be completely honest. In the past couple of years, it’s gone from bad to worse. I’ve put in money to keep the business afloat, but at the same time our relationship has been going slowly downhill.’
Maddie stroked her friend’s arm.
‘Ah, I’m so sorry.’
‘When the boys finally left home, a lot of joy went out of our lives, well, my life really. Instead of listening to what two vibrant young men had been up to all day, over dinner, I had morose Doug telling me about the latest disaster at work.’
Maddie would be thrilled to hear about Tony’s work day, morose or otherwise, but voicing that would stop Charlotte in her tracks.
‘Yes, I can see that would be tough.’
‘I started to pull away from him, Mads. I made out I was painting day and night and spent a lot of those nights in the spare room. And then I’d wait until I heard him go out of the house before I got up.’
‘It sounds like the whole thing was very stressful.’
‘It was. But I think I was also in denial about how bad things were. Of course, our sex life went to pot.’
Maddie swallowed the last of her second cocktail. She had to be grateful that everything had been fine and dandy on that score right up until Tony’s death. He may be gone, but she had a whole trove of romantic memories to dive into.
Charlotte’s voice had dipped to a whisper.
‘I turned him down a few times, so he stopped asking. It felt easier that way. And then it just became the norm.’
The tears when they came were silent, and Maddie took her friend into her arms and let her cry on her shoulder.
‘Shhh. Let it all out.’
After a couple of minutes, Charlotte pulled away and leaned back in her chair again.
‘So, you can see why I bear some responsibility for the whole thing as well. I made it clear I didn’t really want him at a time when he was under immense stress.’
Maddie couldn’t let that one lie. She’d heard it so many times before, women blaming themselves for everything that went wrong in a relationship. It took two people to let things go sour.
‘But you were stressed up to the eyeballs as well by the sound of it. You were shoring up the business, working your arse off, dealing with your empty nest and no doubt the lingering effects of the menopause, which doesn’t help anyone’s sex life. You’re being too hard on yourself.’
‘Maybe. But can you see why it isn’t exactly how it must appear to Sof?’
‘I can. Ending a long and mostly happy marriage is a huge decision. And one that is yours, and only yours, to take. There’s no judgement here. If you stay together, I’ll back you all the way, and Sof will just have to get used to it.’
She’d never be able to look at Doug in the same way again, but that wasn’t helpful to say right now.
‘Hello? Where are you?’
Sofia’s voice in the bedroom brought an abrupt end to the conversation.
Charlotte put her finger to her lips.
‘Not a word of what I’ve just told you, please.’
Maddie banged her chest in the Greek gesture of love.
‘Of course not. Hey, Sof, we’re out here.’