Just the Way You Are (27 page)

‘We
are
, I just didn’t know how to tell you! I knew you really liked Max and I knew you’d be devastated if you found out he was Mr Writer.’

I stopped to catch my breath and luckily, so did she. She turned around and glared at me, her eyes sparkling with tears. Her shoulders had slumped, like she’d admitted defeat about something.

‘You’re right; I did like Max. He was kind and funny at a time when I really needed someone to be those things. I even thought I was in love with him but I wasn’t, not really. I was more in love with the
idea
of him: someone kind and sensitive who maybe didn’t have loads of money but had something different to offer instead.’ She pursed her lips and linked her fingers together. I’d never seen her look so sad before. ‘It was nice spending time with him and being coupley together but that’s it. I’m not pissed off at the fact Max is Mr Writer; anyone can see how crazy he is about you, even me and I’m a complete dipshit at times! The thing that’s really pissed me off is that you lied to me. We’ve never had any secrets from each other in the whole time we’ve known one another and I was really proud of that.’

‘I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to hurt you,’ I explained.

‘Ava, this whole Mr Writer thing has been one crazy event after another! It’s made
you
crazy, mostly in a good way – except you’ve lied and you never normally would. You’ve finally got excited about love again and it’s brilliant, especially after what you’ve been through. If you thought I’d be mad because Mr Writer turned out to be Max, then you’re wrong. We had fun together but it was like square peg, round hole. You and him on the other hand… Anyone can see you’d be perfect together!’

I shook my head. ‘No we wouldn’t. We’ve agreed to just stay friends and I think that’s for the best. We’d be a car crash together.’

No you wouldn’t,
a little voice in my head piped up.

‘If you say so,’ Gwen replied. ‘But if you ask me, I think he’d get together with you right now if you asked him.’

***

‘So you two, tell me a bit about how you got together.’

My insides shrivelled up as Maddie’s face took on a smug, cat-like grin. She looked every inch the blushing bride: dewy skin, natural make-up and bright keen eyes. Her blonde curls were piled away from her face in a chic up-do and she was wearing a cream shift dress with black court shoes.

‘
Well
, I was at a speed dating event a little while ago – I was covering speed dating for my hugely successful dating column – and there he was! Of course, I fancied him as soon as I saw him. Who wouldn’t, I mean look at him!’

She pinched Craig’s cheeks and made them flush even brighter than they already were. He chuckled and ran a hand through his neatly styled brown hair.

‘Yeah it was love at first sight,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t believe my luck when she left me her number after the speed dating night. We had a few dates and… well we just knew really, we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. I wanted to make it special for her, so I hired a town crier and dressed up in a really nice suit. Maddie was thrilled.’

‘How romantic.’ I tried to muster some enthusiasm by looking them in the eye as I hastily scribbled notes down on my writing pad. ‘So which jeweller’s did you buy the ring from?’

Maddie threw her head back and laughed falsely. It was painful to listen to. She patted Craig’s knee as some kind of display of affection and stared hard at me.

‘Oh Ava, you silly goose! He had the ring designed especially for me by a bespoke jewellery company. This isn’t some mass-produced ring you can buy out of a high street jeweller; this is a
one-of-a-kind piece
.’

She extended a long, tanned arm to reveal the rock in question. It was exquisite: three emerald-cut diamonds on a platinum band. It looked pretty and elegant; not like some women’s engagement rings that were the size – and price – of a small country.

‘It’s… it’s beautiful.’ The words caught in my throat and I had to quickly compose myself before continuing with my questions.

‘Ava’s never been engaged, have you darling?’ Her eyes met mine and I noticed they glittered with a macabre happiness. It was as though the nice moment between us in the Dog and Duck had never happened. She seemed to have restored her icy defences.

‘No, no I haven’t… What would you say are the best qualities about each other?’

Maddie’s grin widened and she wrapped her arms around her fiancé’s waist. How tight her grip was became evident when he gave a little cough and tried to prise her away.

‘Apart from being
amazing
in bed – I’m not giving away any details but let’s just say ten inches is
more
than enough – he’s kind and thoughtful and sweet. He arranged for ten bouquets of roses to be delivered to my flat after our first date because he wanted me to know how special I was!’

Bile flavoured my mouth but I swallowed it, wincing as it burned my throat. This was far and away the worst assignment I’d ever done. She was obviously enjoying the opportunity to flaunt her newfound happiness in my face.

‘Lovely. What about you Craig, what would you say is Maddie’s best quality?’

He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled awkwardly. I noticed a blush creeping onto his creamy skin as he bit his lip.

‘Come on darling, tell Ava what my best quality is!’ she said through gritted teeth and a painted-on smile.

I saw him wince in pain as she dug her fake French-manicured nails into his arm. He looked like a rabbit caught in a trap.

‘Um well, where do I start? She’s beautiful obviously and she’s got a heart of gold. She’s so good at giving back to others through the charity work she does…’

My ears pricked up at the words “charity work”. Maybe this interview could turn out to be very interesting after all.

‘So Maddie does charity work, does she? What kinds of causes does she support?’

I felt a grin work its way up from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. I couldn’t wait to watch my nemesis squirm for a change.

‘All sorts, right babe? You volunteer down at the local animal shelter at the weekends and help out at coffee mornings for the old folks down at the day care centre.’

A giggle built inside me; it was all I could do to keep it from bursting out. Maddie McQueen was about as likely to do charity work as I was to run for Prime Minister.

‘Really, that’s
fascinating
.’ I flashed her a grin identical to the smug one she’d given me at the start of the interview. ‘You know, that’s given me an idea. We could do an animal-themed photo shoot to feature in the magazine! I mean, it would be a lovely accompaniment to the interview wouldn’t it? We could get stoats and foxes and hedgehogs and do a kind of woodland theme. Or we could get some of the cats and dogs you help look after at the shelter? That’d be incredible, wouldn’t it Maddie?’

Her face curdled and she shot me a murderous glare whilst still clinging onto Craig.

‘Yeah that’d be great, but unfortunately most of them have gone off to loving permanent homes. I worked hard with a lot of them to get them re-homed. I did behaviour training with one dog that was frightened to death of men. He lives with a gay couple in Somerset now.’

Her confidence unnerved me a little bit but I wasn’t about to give up that easily.

‘Surely the shelter keeps records though? We could contact them, find some of your favourites and get them all together for the photo shoot. What did you say the shelter was called again?’

All the muscles tightened in Maddie’s face; I was so delighted to have thrown her off balance. I’d never seen her lose control before, even when she’d confronted me in the pub. She’d maintained a steely demeanour that was seemingly impossible to crack. However, it looked like I’d found her weak spot.

‘I-I don’t think I mentioned a name.’

‘Well why don’t you tell me what it’s called? I want to mention it in the article; oh what about the day care centre you help out at? We could interview some people who go to that and who help out with you!’

It looked like Maddie was about to explode. Her mouth quivered dangerously and her eyes were wide and angry.

‘I tell you what, how about I email the details over? Is that all right with you?’ Her voice was wobbly and she looked like a cat about to pounce on an unsuspecting mouse.

‘It’d be useful to have them now.’ I kept a straight face with just a little hint of a smile at the corners of my mouth.

‘
Fine
. The animal shelter is called Morning Oak Animal Sanctuary and the day care centre is part of St Matthew’s Church.’

My earlier confidence shrank slightly but I was still determined to catch Maddie out, even if it took the whole interview.

By the time I’d finished all my questions, a total of eight lies and inconsistencies had been said about my arch-rival. Aside from the volunteering bullshit, she’d also told her husband-to-be that she was a vegetarian, liked long bike rides in the country, foreign cinema, art and alternative theatre. The best one, however, was that she’d been nominated for – and won – Manchester City Council’s Volunteer of the Year Award.

‘It sits pride of place on my mantelpiece, alongside my dancing trophies and journalism prizes!’ she’d gushed.

After forty-five hellish minutes, I’d neatly wrapped up the interview and driven home. My head was pounding from a lethal combination of Maddie’s bullshit and the fact the central heating in the interview room had been cranked up full blast. All I wanted to do was to curl up into a ball and die. Overall, the day had been a total disaster. I’d been stuck in a room with Bridezilla, had a stinking headache and I couldn’t stop thinking about a certain Max Burrows.

Great, ten out of ten, magic.

I got into my flat and collapsed onto the couch.

‘Could my life
get
any more screwed up?’ I asked the empty room.

No answer was the loud reply.

Chapter 25

On the day Ivy and Leo were due to meet, I went to the hospital a couple of hours beforehand to help her prepare. When I arrived, Carolyn was there helping her put the finishing touches to her make-up.

‘Hey you! How are you feeling?’ I asked.

‘My stomach’s doing somersaults but apart from that, I’m wonderful!’ There was colour in her cheeks and a gleam in her eyes. She also looked healthier than I’d seen her in a while.

‘It’s good to see you so excited,’ I said. ‘I’m glad the hospital thought you were well enough to meet him today.’

‘Me too honey, me too. Oh my, I can’t believe I’m going to see Leo Browning again!’

Her breath caught in her throat and she had to sit down on the bed for a moment.

‘Mom, are you OK?’ Carolyn asked, putting an arm round her shoulders.

‘Yeah darling, I’m just fine.’

‘I’ll go and grab some water for the car ride; Ava, do you want anything?’

A million things,
I thought,
but none of them come from a hospital canteen.

‘I wanna show you something, honey.’

Ivy picked up her hospital bag and pulled out a wad of envelopes held together with a rubber band. The ones I could see bore a distinctive British postmark in the top corner.

‘What are those?’

‘These are the love letters that Leo wrote me after he went back to England. My momma hid ‘em all, didn’t want me getting attached to him again. Just before she died, she gave ‘em to me and told me she was sorry. Here, take a look at ‘em.’

I pulled out the first one and unfurled it.

31
^st
August 1964

Dear Ivy,

I am writing this letter because I will soon be far away from here and I cannot leave without letting you know what’s in my heart.

My dear Ivy, you must know that you’re my soulmate. The very thought of you makes my world spin out of control. Were circumstances different, we would be together forever, never spending a single moment apart. We would have the beautiful English cottage you wanted with roses round the door and a garden for our children to play in. We would have the life we always dreamt of. However, it seems this is not to be. I must leave in order to take over my father’s business. Please be assured Ivy, that I will not rest until we are reunited. I will picture your beautiful skin, your ruby red lips and your raven black hair. I will count each second until I am able to stare into your beautiful brown eyes, where I see my entire future. Until then, please think of me and hold a place for me in your heart.

Love always,

Leo

‘Wow,’ I breathed. ‘He really loved you.’

She nodded a little wistfully then shot me her signature smile.

‘I’m showing you these because I want you to have faith, Ava. Sometimes there can be love after the letters.’

Ivy got up again, adjusted the silver wig she’d bought especially for that day and walked out into the corridor. She looked absolutely beautiful, if a little frailer than when I’d first met her. For meeting Leo, she’d chosen a lovely purple maxi skirt, a white blouse and a purple shawl. Although she wasn’t too steady on her feet, she looked simply majestic as she walked to my car. Every fibre of me hoped today went well for her. It would be a welcome boost for her after everything she’d been through.

***

We got there in plenty of time. Ivy, Carolyn and I stood on the pavement outside Leo’s house for ten minutes while she prepared herself.

‘Now are you sure my hair’s OK? You’d tell me if it wasn’t, right?’

Carolyn rolled her eyes and smiled then put an arm round her mum’s shoulders.

‘You look great Mom; just relax OK? He’ll be delighted to see you again, right Ava?’

I nodded and gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. ‘Carolyn’s right; you look lovely and Leo will think so too. Are you ready to go in?’

Ivy was obviously playing for time and started fiddling with her shawl and fixing her skirt.

‘Damn things never sit right,’ she muttered.

‘You’ve got nothing to worry about,’ I assured her. ‘Honestly, you look incredible and Leo will be so happy to see you.’

‘What if he isn’t? What if he takes one look at me and sees a silly old fool who’s just trying to dredge up the past?’ She pursed her lips and looked from us to Leo’s front door and back again.