An Unexpected Gift (11 page)

Thanks
for seeing if I was okay. Just got home safe and sound. Goodnight.

He
smiled and texted back.
Goodnight Caitlin.

Maybe
this year wouldn’t turn out to be so bad after all.

Caitlin
felt much better after seeing Daniel.

She
told Kerrie about her day when she got home later that evening and they both
sat at their small wooden table eating sausages and mash.

“Hang
on, hang on,” said Kerrie, waving her fork in the air. “He came all the way out
to meet you? To see if you were alright?”

Caitlin
flushed. She waved her hand as if to pooh-paah away any ideas that might be
forming in her friend’s rather imaginative brain. “I don’t think he came
all
the way out
. I think he works somewhere-”

“But
he likes you doesn’t he? And…..I…..get the feeling that you do too.”

Caitlin stabbed her
sausage with a fork and held it up in the air. “Are you sure you cooked these
properly?” She peered at it closely.

“Stop
being ridiculous. Of course it’s cooked. Admit it. You like him. He likes you.
What’s the hold up?”

“The
hold up is the fact that he’s married, as I already told you. And I’m putting
myself back together again after an abusive relationship and if you remember, I
was involved in a savage attack not so long ago.” She got up and placed her two
sausages on a baking tray and shoved them back into the oven.

“They’re
cooked.” Kerrie insisted.

Caitlin
turned around and leant against the worktop, folding her arms across her chest.

“I
like mine singed all over.”

Ignoring
the sausage saga, Kerrie continued. “But you said he and his wife weren’t so
friendly to each other.”

Caitlin
remembered that day. Daniel and his wife had barely spoken to one another.

“Maybe
they had a tiff on that day Kerrie, who knows!”

But
a part of her
did
wonder what kept Daniel coming back and meeting with
her and phoning her. Of course, there was that small matter about the kiss.
Even now, she couldn’t be sure whether it had really happened or if it was just
her imagination and wishful thinking. They had carried on as if nothing had
happened. And it had been just a light peck. And she had been the one who had
instigated it. She wouldn’t mention a word of that little episode to Kerrie.
Nor that they were holding hands today.  Their feelings for each other
were difficult to define. She wasn’t sure what she wanted and it bothered her
to be drawn towards him only to pull back when she remembered Marisa.

“Kerrie,”
said Caitlin slowly. She wondered whether to tell Kerrie about the silent phone
calls. Thinking better of it, she decided not to and instead she said, “Let’s
just leave this topic, it’s getting boring.” She was tired. It wasn’t even very
late but it had been a long day. The phone calls were setting her on edge and
she dreaded her phone ringing. She would finish her sausage and mash supper and
then go to bed.

“Okay,
I won’t bring it up again. Not tonight anyway.” Kerrie knew when to shut up.

She
could see that Caitlin was starting to look tired and wan again. It wasn’t
surprising.

Getting
over the attack wasn’t going to be instant. She would still have flashbacks of
that awful night and Kerrie knew her friend hadn’t been sleeping too well. She
wondered if Carl had started to harass her again. She saw Caitlin texting away
and thought better than to ask her now. Maybe tomorrow. She got up and cleared
the table, putting her dishes into the dishwasher whilst Caitlin stood by the
oven waiting for her sausages to singe.

“I
bought some cheesecake for us. Thought it might cheer you up,” she said lightly
to Caitlin.

Caitlin
looked up mid-texting, “Cheer
me
up? So you don’t want any?” With no
sign of guilt on her face Kerrie helped herself to a slice of blueberry
cheesecake and collapsed on a sofa in front of the TV. 

Caitlin
was preoccupied with her phone. Daniel had texted back his goodnight and she
replied. A few seconds later another text came through. “
Do you want to meet
up for a quick drink tomorrow?”

She
hesitated, not quite sure what to reply. It was obvious, she
did
want to
meet him. She looked forward to seeing him. But she didn’t feel right seeing a
married man and although they were just friends, she wondered why he would want
to meet up with her again tomorrow when he had just seen her a few hours ago.
She stared out of the window, her finger thumb poised on her phone, wondering
what to reply when another text came through. “There is something I need to
tell you.”

Why
didn’t you tell me today?

She
was curious about what he could possibly want to tell her so quickly after
their last meeting. Or perhaps it was something he had wanted to tell her
earlier but hadn’t followed through with. In either case, his text had her
hooked. She was beginning to find it hard to fight her attraction to him. What
confused her even more was why he would be even remotely interested in spending
time with someone like her, when he was married to someone like Marisa?

“
Okay
,”
she replied, typing quickly before she changed her mind and made an excuse.
 Then she added, “
Six o’clock, Jude's Wine bar, Holborn good 4u
?”

“
Perfect.
C u @ 6 tmrw
”

“
Goodnight
”

“
Goodnight
Caitlin
”

She
had a contented smile on her face and her eyes flashed at the thought of
meeting Daniel tomorrow. But the smile was quickly wiped off as she removed her
charred sausages from the oven.

Daniel
was frantic with worry. His blue eyes darkened and the muscles on his face
tightened.

He
tried Caitlin’s number over and over again but it always went to voicemail.
This wasn’t like her. She was always on time.  He didn’t like the sound of
this. First the excrement, then the slashed tires and now no Caitlin. He knew
Carl was mixed up in all this somehow. The thought of Summers made his stomach
churn.

He
paced up and down outside the busy pavement. Kingsway was always a buzzing
place, with constant traffic on the roads and a regular charge of people on the
pavements. He was annoyed with himself for not having the numbers of any of
Caitlin’s friends or family to call.
Why would he?
 

It
was 6pm and he was waiting for her outside Jude’s winebar just as they had
arranged last night. There was nobody he could contact to see if she was
alright.

He
slammed the flip top of his phone down again. The excitement of meeting Caitlin
had quickly turned to fear and worry. Now it was almost half past six and
Daniel was at a loss for what to do.

It
was just as well that he had reported the slashed tires to the police
yesterday. In the police report he had mentioned his concerns and his
suspicions about Carl Summers being the culprit. He would call DCI Osborn.
Something had happened to Caitlin and he needed to find her fast.

“Hi
Daniel!” a breathless and red-faced Caitlin tapped him on the arm from behind.

He
had been so fraught with worry in dialing her number that he hadn’t even seen
or heard her approach. He turned sharply towards her, registered her face and
then his features relaxed with relief. His muscles softened and he grabbed her,
holding her close to him. “I’ve been worried sick about you!” he said, trying
to keep the anger out of his voice.

Caitlin
looked at him with surprise. “What’s happened? What are you talking about?” she
asked, as they faced each other. He still didn’t release his hold on her even
though he saw that she was fine.

She
was here and she was in one piece. Nothing had happened to her.  That was
all that mattered.

“What’s
going on Daniel?” she repeated, a tinge of worry creeping into her voice. She
noted his dark countenance and put it down to him having to wait so long.
“Sorry I tried to phone but there was no signal. The Central line was stuck in
the station for ages. We could barely breathe towards the end.” He closed his
eyes in relief. The Central line was notorious for having many problems,
especially during peak times.

“Sorry,” she said again
in a small voice.

Daniel pinned her with
his piercing blue eyes before letting out a huge sigh. “I thought something
might have happened to you.” 

She was anxious to hear
what it was that he needed to tell her. She looked at him apologetically. “Come
on, let’s go in.”

They
sat at the same table they had sat on the last time they had met in this very
place.

The same plastic flower
was on display in the same black stone vase.  She ordered a glass of wine
and he ordered a beer.

Caitlin looked at him dreamily.
We’ve got to stop meeting like this. Because each
time I see you, it gets harder to stop thinking about you.

He
seemed caught up in his thoughts and sat quietly. She waited until the waitress
bought their drinks before she said. “So what was it that you wanted to tell me?”

He wondered, now that she
was here, whether telling her about his suspicions that Carl was behind the dog
excrement and damage to his car, was worth it. For all he knew, he might even
be wrong and then he would worry her needlessly.

Caitlin
waited patiently. Now he had her full attention because he clearly had
something to tell her but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Things between
them were getting more familiar. Part of her wondered if this was what he
wanted to discuss.

“Daniel,” she said
softly. “What’s the matter?” He put his hand around the bottle of beer, wiping
the condensation off it with his thumb. His cool blue eyes examined hers. Last
night he knew only one thing; that he wanted to see her again. He wanted to see
her everyday if he could. And now that she was here, he didn’t want to talk
about Carl and the attack or the police. He just wanted to spend time with her.
But she needed answers. So he sat back in his chair and said, “I don’t want you
to be afraid but I think there are some things you need to be aware of.”

Caitlin
felt anxious, wondering what bad news he was going to give her. Had the police
been unable to pin anything on Carl?

Daniel
took a swig of his beer before carrying on. “Yesterday, someone pushed dog
excrement through my letterbox.”

Caitlin’s
face visibly crumpled in disgust. Daniel continued, “They also slashed all the
tires on my car.”

“No!”
said Caitlin in disgust. “I’m sorry Daniel. Who would do such a thing?” She
stared at his calm face. If he was perturbed by these events, he was handling
it very well. Thoughts were flying fast and furious through Caitlin’s head. Who
would target Daniel and his wife in such a way?

But
he hadn’t finished yet. “At first I thought it might be my ex-wife,” he waited
for this piece of news to sink in. And as soon as he said it, he knew that it
would have an impact on Caitlin, “but now I’m not so sure that Marisa is behind
these, these…..crimes.”

His words hit so unexpectedly that for a moment
Caitlin wasn’t sure if she heard right.

“Your
ex
-wife?” She asked in amazement. She
was still holding her glass of wine in mid-air.

Daniel nodded his head.

Caitlin placed her wine glass down on the table,
her hand shaking a  little. “What happened?” She wondered if she should instead
have said “
I’m sorry,
” but from his smooth exterior he didn’t seem to be
too upset by it.
She listened to him
patiently, not daring to interrupt. And as he spoke, everything he said more or
less tied in with how he had been acting with her whenever he met her. He
rarely mentioned his wife. Even when they spoke about the attack and Carl, he
never mentioned Marisa or what her feelings had been when he had been attacked.
And remembering the day she had visited him at home, suddenly it all fell into
place.

He
spoke quickly, as if reciting the details which no longer held any special
place in his heart. It was as though he wanted to tell his story once and never
speak of it again.

“So you see, when she
finally left the house, only this last week, and I found the feces and the car
damaged, I immediately thought it might be her. But I know, despite all her
faults, Marisa isn’t the type of person to go to such great lengths. Besides,
towards the end we had both fallen out of love with each other. She wants
nothing more to do with me and vice versa. The Marisa I know wouldn’t waste her
time and energy defacing anything that I own. And she wouldn’t have the
wherewithal to get anyone else to do this for her either. I know I’m not
painting her in too good a light, but there you have it.”

Caitlin
stared back at him in silence. It was all slowly starting to make sense to her
now. Daniel’s behavior. All this time, on the few occasions she had met up with
him, she wondered what his wife would think. And the reality of it was that
Daniel was as lonely as she was.