Don't Go Breaking My Heart (2 page)

Stunned, Dennis could barely say a word. He
was caught out bang to rights.

“But it’s you I really love, Maida. I do like
Patsy, I must admit, but you’re the girl I really want to share my
life with.”

“Well it’s been two years on and off and
we’re nowhere nearer going public. My parents are just like yours
and want to see me settle down with my own kind. And quite frankly,
I’m fed up of this situation even though I really, really love you
with all my heart.”

He pleaded but she wasn’t prepared to change
her mind. They saw each other a couple more times but when Maida
deliberately moved to Manchester to a new job, that was the end.
Maida emailed a while later to say she missed him and couldn’t
settle in Manchester. She was moving to Rabat in Morocco, for a top
corporate job her father had organised for her through family
contacts.

Now he knew there was no chance of
reconciliation.

Resigned to never seeing her again, Dennis
threw himself into his relationship with Patsy who was perfect in
every sense, even if there wasn’t that deep, unswerving love he
felt for Maida. Nevertheless, Patsy ticked more boxes than all the
other women available.

“Will you marry me, please, my love?”

Patsy’s face lit up in front of the kneeling
Dennis holding a sparkling diamond ring in front of her.

“Oh yes! Yes! Yes, Dennis! I never thought
this day would come.”

Spontaneous applause broke out in the
restaurant. A complimentary bottle of champagne soon arrived for
two of their best customers.

Lucy and Bob were ecstatic.

“A lass from the best Yorkshire stock, you
can’t go wrong there, son.”

“Thanks, mum. I think I’ve made the right
choice. But…

“Just a nagging feeling in my mind, mam.
Can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it’s just pre-wedding nerves after
all this time alone.”

“She’s a Tyke through and through. That’s
good enough for me.”

“As long as she’s not a female version of
Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, she’s good enough for me
too,” smiled Bob.

After a stylish church wedding followed by a
huge party at the Leeds Hilton, Dennis, Patsy and Tina settled into
his house and rented out her bungalow.

Dennis was enjoying his new role as a
step-dad and husband, even helping with homework and school runs
when time allowed.

One of Tina’s teachers gave her a note to
give to Dennis. It read: “Well done Dennis, I never doubted you
would make it in life. All the best in the future. Hope you
remember me. Rick Lane (your old science teacher).”

Dennis smiled. He told Tina to thank Mr Lane
and if he’s still riding his scooter he could help him blaze a
trail in it. Tina wasn’t sure what he meant but promised to pass on
the message.

Content and supremely happy, Dennis answered
his mobile one afternoon at his office and his mood was instantly
changed. He was alarmed to hear his mother bawling. She tried to
explain but couldn’t make herself coherent.

“It’s, it’s…it’s your dad… He’s, he’s…”

“What dead?”

“No, he’s alive and fine. He’s, he’s….”

“Sick, stroke, car crash? What mam?”

Lucy couldn’t bring herself to say it.

“If he’s not dead, seriously sick or banged
up in a crash that’s okay. Calm down mum, I’ll be right round.”

Dennis jumped in his Jaguar XF, texting Patsy
asking her to pick Tina up from school because something had come
up. Patsy texted back: “Okay. Hope nothing serious.”

Dennis could hear Lucy’s wails as he let
himself into the house. She was alone in the kitchen, sobbing over
a cold cup of tea. Her tears had filled the saucer, which was
brimming over.

“Mam, what’s wrong?”

“Your father. He’s gone. Packed his suitcase
and just disappeared.”

“What?”

“He left this note, saying he was fed up and
wanted some sun, sea and fun before he passed away and I was too
bossy, miserable and judgmental.”

“Where’s he gone?”

“Dunno. Left his phone here so we can’t
contact him. Call the police, love, they’ll find him.”

“We can’t do that.”

“Why not? He’s a missing person.”

“But he’s gone of his own accord. Nobody’s
kidnapped him or anything.”

Lucy burst into a fresh round of crying.

“What do we do now Dennis?”

“Wait mam. Just wait. Give him time, I’m sure
he’ll come round after a few days. Or at least contact us.”

Dennis stayed with Lucy for a while. He
phoned his siblings and they came round to comfort her. Dennis had
to attend a business function with Patsy that night and was running
late.

When he got home the house was eerily silent.
No familiar salsa music on the stereo or sound of a children’s
programme from the TV room.

“Patsy? Tina? Patsy?”

There was no sign of them.

Dennis panicked and started ringing round. He
quickly located Tina. She was round her auntie Joan’s. Patsy texted
Joan after Dennis had texted her and asked Joan to pick Tina up
because she was in an important business meeting.

With a horrific knot in his stomach Dennis
went to check his HSBC account online.

The account was empty.

He rang the police. Over the next few weeks,
Patsy’s real character was revealed in her absence as a
professional con-woman and possible husband killer. It transpired
that Patsy had caught an afternoon flight to Paris, then hired a
private jet to South America, probably Colombia and totally
disappeared.

The sister of Patsy’s first husband said that
she thought she had caught Patsy tampering with his medication but
thought nothing of it at the time. In light of what’s happened
since, she now thinks Patsy deliberately changed it to raise his
blood pressure and eventually induce a heart attack.

Her second husband’s brother said that he
never believed Patsy’s story even though Italian and British police
did not find enough evidence to seriously doubt her version. Naples
is one of the poorest cities in Italy and an easy place to hire a
hit man cheaply. The brother believed Patsy hired someone to kill
him so that she would inherit his estate.

Bob was quickly found. Embarrassed and
apologetic, he confessed that Patsy had seduced him and eventually
got enough information to hack Dennis’s account.

In return Bob received £100,000. He flew to
Athens then to avoid detection hired a yacht to Crete. Within a few
days guilt and homesickness consumed Bob. Weirdly, he missed Lucy’s
nagging and his regular pint of bitter, black pudding and PG Tips
tea bags.
Lucy forgave Bob, putting his behaviour down to “old man’s
insecurities”. He returned the money but there was still nearly a
million pounds missing.

Tina went to stay with her auntie Joan and
Dennis kept in touch although Patsy was still on the run and did
not attempt to make contact with her little girl.

“Callous bitch, I knew there was something
not quite right with that lass,” Lucy fumed.

“Funny, you seemed to welcome her with open
arms just because she was a local girl, mam.”

“I did have my doubts, Dennis, but you seemed
so happy with her and at your age I thought it was the right time
to settle. Glad you took my advice and got her to sign a
pre-nup.”

“Makes no difference after running off with
my money.”

Dennis managed to track Maida down and
emailed her hoping to rekindle the romance with a definite view to
going public and marrying her eventually.

Her response was swift and totally
unexpected.

The email read: “Sorry Dennis, you’re too
late.”

Maida explained she was madly in love and
engaged to a Moroccan pharmacist who everyone approved of. It was a
whirlwind romance heading for blissful marriage and an army of
children.

Devastated, Dennis threw himself into his
work and trying to build up his money again. To de-stress he
continued to salsa dance. It was at one of the classes he met an
attractive new squeeze, Judy.

They started dating and quickly Dennis felt
the old familiar tingling in his heart. Judy worked as a marketing
analyst, volunteered at the Humane Society and was a former school
chess champion.

Dennis stood in the entrance of the lounge of
his parents’ house with Judy in the hallway waiting to be
introduced.

“Mam, I’m going to introduce you to Judy.
Born and bred in Yorkshire, dad was a professional rugby league
player with Castleford and she makes the best Yorkshire pudding
I’ve ever tasted.”

Lucy frowned at the Yorkshire pudding
comment.

“Apart from yours, of course.”

“That’s okay then, son. Glad she’s one of
ours.”

“Sure is. Come in Judy.”

Judy walked in smiling nervously.

Lucy’s broad smile disappeared.

Bob suppressed a laugh.

Lucy forced herself to step forward to shake
Judy’s hand.

“Hello love. Nice to meet you.”

She turned to Dennis.

“I thought you said she’s a Yorkshire lass,
Dennis.”

“Yes, she’s mixed race, but her mam is from
Harrogate. Her dad is Kenyan and he’s a career diplomat now. And if
you can’t accept that then you’ll never see or hear from me
again.”

Lucy hugged Judy warmly.

“Welcome into the family love. At 78 years
old, my son has taught me that we should all accept each other for
who we are, not the colour of our skins.”

At that moment a text arrived on Dennis’s
phone.

It was from Maida.

“I’ve broken up with my fiancé. Can we
talk?”

Dennis responded immediately.

“Sorry Maida, you’re too late.”