From Notting Hill with Love...Actually (29 page)

“What on earth do you mean, Dad?” I asked, as a feeling of unease began to flutter around at the base of my stomach.

“Apparently, Sean went to find your mother tonight. I understand from David your other guests found her in a café not far from here. So while he was out Sean went to check on her as well.”

“What’s wrong with that?” I asked defiantly. “I’m glad someone went to make sure she was all right.”

My father raised his eyebrows at me and shook his head slowly.

“Oh, Scarlett, you’ve so much to learn.”

“What, what is it?” I screwed my eyes closed and shook my head. “Just what are you going on about, Dad?” I said, opening them again. “What are you trying to say?”

“That Sean is playing a very clever game with us all. I don’t doubt he cares about you very much, Scarlett. But to win you over he tried to manipulate the situation we all found ourselves in tonight for his own ends. He had a chance to look good in front of me, your mother, and, most importantly, you, all in one evening. And he took that chance and ran with it tonight.”

I sat there for a few moments trying to take all this in. No, Dad was wrong, surely. Sean wasn’t like that.

But then why hadn’t he said he’d been to Kelly’s to check on my mother? And why did he suggest he’d been in the house all night with Dad and David if he hadn’t? It just didn’t add up.

“I’m not saying Sean’s a bad person—far from it,” Dad continued when I didn’t respond. “I actually quite like him. But perhaps he’s not quite the person
you
think he is?”

I nodded slowly.

“Scarlett, you may think that all that’s happened to you since you came to London is finding your mother again. But I think we both know a lot more has taken place than that. You’ve got some serious thinking to do and some big decisions to make about your life, and for once, you can’t hide out in a movie theater to make them.”

“But how do I choose, Dad?” I asked in desperation. “How do I know what the right thing to do is?”

“You’ll just know, Scarlett,” Dad said, taking my hand and holding it firmly in between the two of his. “Something will come along and, believe me, then you’ll know.”

Dad slid along the sofa, put his arms around me, and immediately I was returned to that safe and secure little girl once more.

Dad and I sat together for quite a while on the sofa, just snuggled up together like we used to, both of us lost in our own thoughts and memories. Eventually Dad unwrapped himself from around me, stretched out his arms, and yawned.

“It’s been a long day, Scarlett. I think I might head off up to bed now. Plus David and Sean must be wondering what we’re getting up to in here now it’s gone so quiet.”

I uncurled myself from the sofa and saw him to the lounge door.

“Night, Dad,” I said, kissing him on the cheek. “And thanks.”

“Good night, Scarlett,” he said, glancing across at Sean as he appeared from the kitchen. “Sleep well, darling.” He tilted his head in Sean’s direction. “Good night, Sean.”

Sean nodded and watched until Dad had disappeared at the top of the stairs. Then he turned to me.

“You look exhausted, Scarlett. Would you like another cup of tea—or maybe something stronger? I think your father may have left
some
alcohol in the bar tonight.”

Considering the vast quantity of alcohol Sean and David had suggested Dad had put away tonight, he had seemed quite sober to me, and his thought processes surprisingly clear.

“Something stronger would be good. It has been quite a night.”

Sean followed me back into the lounge. “Where’s David?” I asked, suddenly realizing he hadn’t reappeared.

“He went to bed. Just a few minutes ago, though,” Sean added, as if that made it better. “He said he had an early start in the morning.”

“Oh, that’s right, he does. He has a breakfast meeting, I believe, over in Surrey.”
But
he
might
have
waited
up
to
see
how
everything
went
, I thought as I sat down again on the sofa.

“Ah, I see,” Sean said as he poured us both a whiskey. I knew he was probably thinking the same thing. He added some ice from a bucket and passed me the glass. “Is that OK for you, or do you want it watered down a bit?”

“No, this is just fine,” I said, taking the cut-glass tumbler. I was glad it wasn’t brandy this time. I didn’t think I’d ever drunk so much alcohol for “purely medicinal” purposes in my life.

Sean sat down next to me. “I hear you’ve got a meeting with your future parents-in-law tomorrow, to discuss the wedding?”

“Yes, that’s right. David’s parents have a house in London; we’re holding the wedding reception there in a tent.”

“I’d have thought you’d have got married in your hometown. Isn’t that the tradition?”

“I suppose it is. But it’s going to be a big wedding with people flying in from all over the world. Lots of David’s business contacts are coming, so it just seemed easier to hold it all in London.”

“Ah, I see,” Sean said again.

We both took a gulp of our drinks. The whiskey burned at my throat—but at least it wasn’t as sickly sweet as the brandy.

I sighed heavily.

“What’s up, Red?” Sean asked, winking at me. “Tough night?”

I tried to raise a smile but couldn’t. “I’m sorry. It’s just I’ve got a lot to think about.”

“You mean about what your father said?”

“Partly.”

I looked at Sean. I was trying hard not to think too much about what my father had said. After all, Dad had only just met Sean tonight; he didn’t know what he was really like. But there were too many things that kept bugging me about it all. Was work so important to Sean that it meant more to him tonight than me? And even if the business thing was just a bluff so he could go out and see Mum, was Dad correct, was Sean using my parents to get to me? No, that couldn’t be right; Sean wasn’t like that. But why then hadn’t he told me he’d seen Mum? It just didn’t add up.

“Do I get any more than just a partly?” Sean asked, tipping his head to one side. “How about a two-thirdsly, or even, if I ask nicely, a three-quartersly?”

I half smiled at him. “Sorry. I was thinking about how I messed up again tonight. I was lucky it didn’t turn out a lot worse. I seem to have very understanding parents
and
very understanding friends.”

“That you do,” Sean said, nodding. He took a drink from his glass. “So what
did
your father say?”

“About?”
Was
Sean
fishing
to
see
if
Dad
had
mentioned
him?

“About everything. About your mum, about your movie chasing, about everything else you seem to do that annoys him.”

“I’m not doing the movie thing anymore.”

“Why ever not?”

“Because there’s just no point in trying to prove my theory any longer—I told Dad earlier that I’d had loads of experience of life being like a movie since I’ve been here, and I still don’t think he believed me. So what’s the point? Maybe I was never right in the first place anyway. Maybe they
were
just all coincidences.”

Sean stared at me in amazement. “I cannot believe I am hearing you say this.”

“Why? I’m entitled to change my mind, aren’t I?”

Sean raised his eyebrows.

I sighed. “It’s just after everything that’s happened over the last few weeks—and especially tonight—I’m beginning to think that Dad and David and whoever else has said it to me in the past was right, Sean—life really isn’t like a movie. You can try as hard as you want to make it that way, but there never is that perfect fairytale ending you get at the cinema, and there never will be.”

I drank some more of my whiskey while Sean continued to stare at me in disbelief.

“Scarlett, stop it,” he said eventually. “This is not you talking. What’s happened to you? You were so full of hope and optimism when I first met you, and now you’re so…so…”

“Realistic,” I said flatly. “That’s the word you’re searching for. If this experience has taught me anything, it’s taught me realism, Sean. I thought the reason I came to London was to prove my family wrong about the movies. But I’ve discovered the true reason was so I could find something that’s been missing from my life all these years—my mother. I’m telling you, Sean, everything happens—”

“Yes, I know, for a reason. You’ve said so before—many a time. But finding your mother could just have been an added bonus while you’re here. Why does it have to be the
only
reason for what’s gone on?”

“It’s not the
only
one—it’s the main one. These last few weeks have also taught me that I’m luckier than I ever realized with the life I have back in Stratford. Meeting my mother and hearing about the life she’s had, and the men she’s met since leaving my father, has made me realize that the grass
isn’t
always greener on the other side. It may seem it for a while, but then when the grass withers and dies, and there’s nothing left, you have to start all over again from the beginning—sowing the seeds and watching it grow again.”

“So what are you saying, Scarlett?” Sean said, putting his whiskey down on the table. “You’d rather your life was full of plain gray concrete—solid and virtually indestructible—so that nothing could ever come along and damage it?”

I nodded.

“Bullshit,” Sean said. “I don’t believe you. Before you came here, you’d have wanted more than just a neat green lawn. You’d have wanted a whole meadow full of long grass and wild flowers for you to run through.”

“Yes, you’re probably right. But I’ve changed.”

“No, you haven’t. You’ve had a few experiences that have made you see life a bit differently—and that might not be a bad thing. But the romantic, idealistic Scarlett still lurks in there somewhere—I know it. It’s who you are, Scarlett, it’s what makes you tick.”

Oh why did Sean have this ability to read me so well? It was so annoying. I’d just made all these decisions about how my life was going to be in the future—and now here he was turning them all upside down again.

“How would you know what makes me tick?” I said haughtily. “You don’t have a romantic bone in your body, Sean Bond—let alone an idealistic one. You don’t even like Robbie Williams or Ronan Keating, for heaven’s sake! Everything’s got to be black and white with you—there’s no room for daydreaming.”

Sean was strangely silent.

I thought I’d hurt him with my words—which wouldn’t be the first time—and I was just about to apologize when he leaned toward me and spoke.

“You could be right there, Scarlett,” he said, looking deep into my eyes. “On the other hand, you might be wrong. You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you? Maybe you’re not the only one changing your view of life right now.”

Now what did he mean? But before I had time to question him further, the phone rang in the hall. I rushed through to answer it so it didn’t disturb David or Dad.

Sean followed me.

“Mum!” I said as I recognized the voice at the other end of the line. “Just hold on a moment, will you?”

I put my hand over the receiver.

“It’s about time I got some sleep too,” Sean said, heading toward the door. “So I’ll leave you with your phone call. I’m flying over to Dublin tomorrow on business, so I won’t see you for a few days. Will you still be here when I return?”

I was surprised he was off again so soon. But then it was
business
so perhaps I shouldn’t have been…“Yes, I think so. I have to house-sit until Belinda and Harry get back from Dubai at the end of next week, so I should still be around.”

“Because I wouldn’t want to miss you to say good-bye,” Sean said, pausing at the open door.

“No…that wouldn’t be good.” I couldn’t imagine ever saying good-bye to Sean. But I guess it was going to have to happen sooner or later.

Sean gave me one last smile and then closed the front door behind him.

“Mum,” I said as I carried the phone into the lounge and shut the door, “I’m so glad you rang. I’m so sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean for it to happen like that, honestly, I had no idea that Dad was going to turn up here today or I would never have invited you to the dinner party and—”

“Scarlett, Scarlett, just slow down, please,” Mum’s calm voice came floating back down the line. “I haven’t rung for explanations at this time of night, simply to check if you’d got back safely. When Oscar and Ursula told me you’d run off I was worried about you. And I know all the circumstances surrounding what happened this evening, because Sean explained them to me earlier, so please don’t fret.”

“I know, but I’m really sorry, Mum.”

“And like I told you, Scarlett, we can talk about it properly when I see you again. But now I know you’re home safe and sound I can relax, and we can both go and get some sleep; it’s late.”

I hesitated for a moment. “Can I just ask you something before you go, Mum?”

“Yes, of course.”

“You met Sean tonight.”

“Yes. I met Sean.”

“And…what did you think of him?”

It was Mum’s turn to hesitate now.

“Why?”

“I just wondered, that’s all. Since it was the first time the two of you had met properly.”

“We promised to be honest with each other, didn’t we, Scarlett?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I liked him.”

“Is that it?”

I heard her sigh. “All right—he seems like an amusing and intelligent young man. Quite good looking too, I suppose, if you like that type.”

I had a feeling I was going to regret asking this, but I had to. “What type do you mean, Mum?”

“Look, Scarlett, I can’t fault the way he dealt with the situation tonight. He came to see if I was OK and was polite and attentive while he was in the café with me. He was extremely concerned over your welfare too.”

“But…”

“But he’s good looking, Scarlett, and has a smooth line in chat when he wants it. So I’m guessing he’s probably extremely fun to be with when you first know him. But then he’s likely to turn out to be completely unreliable after you’ve known him for a while.”

“How can you tell all this?” I asked in a small voice.

“Because I’ve been there before, Scarlett, I’m afraid. If you’re asking my advice—which I think indirectly you are—the last thing you want is to get mixed up with Sean when you’ve got David already waiting for you in the wings.”

I stared into the phone. This was the last thing I’d expected my mother to say.

“You’re making Sean sound like some sort of modern day cad.”

“I never said he was that. I just don’t think he’s as reliable as your David’s likely to be. In the long term, I mean. You did ask for my opinion, Scarlett.”

“Yes, I know. And thank you, it’s helped me…clarify a few thoughts.”

“I’m sorry if it’s not what you wanted to hear, Scarlett.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s given me some things to think about.”

As
if
I
didn’t have enough of those already
…