Least Said (18 page)

Tea
was
made,
with
many
hands
making
light
work,
and
a
delicious
lemon
drizzle
cake
–
made
by
the
daily
treasure
who
came
in
to
‘do’
for
her
–
was
cut
into
hefty
slices.

Once
we
were
settled
the
talk
quickly
returned
to
a
story
I
had
heard
and
enjoyed
so
many
times
over
the
years.
It
was
the
story
of
how
Tina
and
Calum
had
met,
and
the
story
of
how
they
had
eventually
got
back
together
many
years
after
their
initial
affair
had
ended.

‘It
was
also
when
Tina
and
I
first
met,’
Bette
said
for
my
benefit,
even
though
I
had
also
been
privy
to
that
piece
of
information
longer
than
I
cared
to
remember.

I
had
to
say
that
I
never
tired
of
hearing
Bette’s
version
of
events
–
embellished
as
it
was
by
her
romantic
vision
of
a
love
story
that
had
finally
ended
in
happy
ever
after,
many
years
after
it
all
began.

‘Well,’
she
was
saying,
when
I
wrenched
my
attention
back
from
wishing
I
could
claim
a
more
auspicious
first
meeting
for
Jon
and
me,
because
merely
working
for
the
same
company
failed
completely
in
the
romance
stakes
as
far
as
I
was
concerned.

‘We
met
at
a
writing
weekend,’
Bette
continued.
‘I
don’t
know
if
I
ever
told
you
that,
Wendy,’
she
threw
a
look
in
my
direction.

‘Erm,
I
don’t
think
so,’
I
replied,
and
could
only
keep
a
straight
face
by
very
carefully
avoiding
Tina’s
gaze.

‘Well,’
Bette
said,
leaning
back
in
her
armchair
and
settling
herself
in
for
an
enjoyable
session
relating
her
favourite
tale.
‘I
was
keen
to
present
Calum
with
my
latest
manuscript,
but
I
couldn’t
get
near
him
for
the
would-be
writers
that
surrounded
him
at
the
bar.
Well,’
she
said
again,
‘I
had
scarcely
turned
away
for
a
minute
to
speak
to
someone
and
when
I
turned
back
he
had
shrugged
off
the
gaggle
of
writers
and
made
a
bee-line
for
Tina.’

‘How
many
times
do
I
have
to
tell
you,
Bette,’
Tina
protested,
‘that
he
only
included
me
because
I
was
talking
to
Maggie
–
she
was
running
the
weekend
with
her
husband,’
she
explained
this
as
much
for
Bette’s
benefit
as
for
mine.
I
had
always
accepted
her
explanation,
but
Bette
wouldn’t
have
it.

Nonsense,’
she
interrupted
briskly,
as
we
had
both
been
expecting
that
she
would,
‘the
man
couldn’t
take
his
eyes
off
you,
and
she
was
smitten,
too,’
Bette
insisted,
turning
to
me.
‘She
couldn’t
stop
talking
about
him
when
we
went
upstairs.
We
were
sharing
a
room
–
did
I
tell
you
that?’

I
shook
my
head,
knowing
from
past
experience
that
it
was
futile
to
try
and
interrupt
the
stream
of
memories
that
were
as
real
to
Bette
today
as
they
had
been
all
those
years
ago.

‘The
poor
man
had
only
invited
her
to
call
him
Calum
and
do
you
know
what
she
said
as
soon
as
we
got
upstairs?’
I
shook
my
head
again.
‘She
mimicked
him
in
the
cruellest
way,
“Call
me
Calum,
everybody
does,”
and
I
said,
“Me
thinks
the
lady
doth
protest
too
much,”
buried
my
head
under
the
covers
and
went
straight
off
to
sleep.’

There
was
a
dramatic
pause
in
her
narrative
and
I
knew
she
was
building
herself
up
to
the
finale,
which
began
with
the
inevitable,
‘Well,’
paused
again
to
milk
the
moment
for
all
it
was
worth
and,
when
she
was
sure
she
had
our
full
attention,
she
delivered
the
climax
to
the
story,
‘I
woke
to
the
sound
of
the
door
being
kicked
open
and
Calum
stepped
into
the
room
carrying
Tina
in
his
arms,
both
of
them
soaked
to
the
skin.’

‘Just
like
a
scene
from
Gone With The Wind
,’
Tina
put
in
helpfully,
knowing
the
way
the
dialogue
always
went
off
by
heart.

‘A
modern
version
of
Gone With The Wind
,’
I
added
my
own
little
embellishment.

‘Exactly,’
Bette
beamed,
‘and
I
knew
then
that
they
were
destined
to
be
together
forever.’

Of
course,
we
all
three
of
us
knew
it
hadn’t
been
anywhere
near
as
straight-forward
as
that.
A
brief
affair
had
resulted
in
the
birth
of
a
child,
a
fact
Tina
had
chosen
to
keep
secret
from
Calum
for
reasons
of
her
own.
In
the
end
she
had
been
forced
into
confessing,
but
not
for
many
years.
Tina
and
Calum
were
very
happily
married
now,
but
it
had
been
touch
and
go
for
a
while
whether
they
really
would
end
up
together.