One Tuesday afternoon in early March, Harry came into my office.
“I’ve just had a call from Paul Heaton,” he said. Paul was the chief buyer for a major supermarket chain and Harry was hoping to break into retail rather than relying solely on online sales. “I was supposed to be seeing them on Thursday but they’ve asked if I can go tomorrow instead.”
I winced. “You set aside tomorrow to work on that, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. The guy just can’t make it on Thursday now. His wife’s got a last-minute hospital appointment and he needs to be with her. There isn’t another day that we’re both free for a few weeks. I said I’d do it, but it’ll mean a late night here.”
“Want me to stay and help? Tom’s away in Berlin at a conference, so I can stay late.”
He gave me a relieved smile. “That would be fantastic. Thanks so much.”
I took my bag to the restroom and sent Tom a message.
Going to see a film and go for pizza with some of the women from work tonight. I’ll call you when I get in. Hope your trip’s going well x
I didn’t get a reply.
We worked hard for the next few hours gathering together all of the information that Paul Heaton needed and putting it into a presentation. At eight thirty Harry leaned back in his chair. “I think we’re done now. That was quicker than I expected, thanks to you.”
I smiled and stood up to fetch my coat and bag from the cupboard. “I’m glad you got it all sorted. It’ll be a big deal if they take you on.”
“Wish me luck.” He smiled at me and my knees weakened. He must have known that that smile would just undo me.
“Fancy getting something to eat?” he said. “You must be starving.”
I shook my head. “Better not.” He knew exactly what I meant.
We left the office together and went down in the lift. The building was empty and quiet. We said nothing, just stared ahead, but the tension between us was almost overwhelming.
Harry walked me over to my car at the far side of the car park. We hadn’t said a word since leaving my office. I fumbled for my car keys and pressed the button on the fob. The lights flashed on. I turned to him to say good-bye.
There was a moment’s pause when things could have gone either way. Gently he reached out and touched my face. Our eyes met. His thumb brushed across my mouth and I started to tremble. Tentatively I reached out to stroke his hair and then he kissed me.
CHAPTER 28
Ruby
Those two nights in Paris were bliss. I felt like a teenager again: full of lust and love and hope for the future.
Harry had offered to give me a lift to the airport, but I’d refused. I didn’t want him to drive me back to my house afterward, either, for Tom to come out and see me saying good-bye. I wanted to keep that weekend to myself as something to cherish. It had taken a lot of persuasion and outright lies to get him to agree to my going on the trip. I’d told him there were other women going and that I’d be with them all the time. But then Tom insisted on taking me, saying I’d never find my car again if I left it in a multistory car park at the airport. He was probably right about that. At the terminal he kissed me good-bye as though he loved me. I guess he thought someone from work might see us; he’d always put on a good act in public. He told me he’d call me over the weekend; Harry and I had had contingency plans to deal with that.
As soon as I got out of the car, I didn’t give him a second thought. I know that’s wrong, but by that point I’d mentally separated from him. I knew I’d leave him one day; it was inevitable now. But still, even then, I wasn’t dreaming about leaving to be with Harry. I just needed to get out of my marriage.
Harry was so excited to see me. You would have thought we’d been apart for days rather than two or three hours. He was late, of course, so we hurried toward the check-in as soon as he arrived. A few people were ahead of us in the queue. I pulled out my passport and Harry took it from me to look at my photo.
“You don’t look very happy there.” He grinned at me to take the sting out of his words. “I know they say you mustn’t smile, but you didn’t have to take it so literally.”
Embarrassed, I took my passport from him and kept it closed. I’d renewed it three years before, when Tom and I were going through a bad time. He’d booked a holiday without telling me; two weeks alone with him in a foreign country was the very last thing I’d wanted. I thought I was in luck that my passport had run out, but he made me an emergency appointment with the Passport Office in Liverpool so that I could renew it the same day. My photo showed me looking exactly how I’d felt that day: depressed and fed up.
“Things were bad for me then.”
He put his arm around me and pulled me to him and whispered, “I’m sorry. It looks like you were going through a tough time. I shouldn’t have laughed at you.” I leaned into him and kissed his cheek. The clerk called me forward to weigh my bag and check my documents and by the time Harry had done the same, I felt okay again.
It had been years since I’d traveled with anyone but Tom. It was an adventure, like the start of a holiday, where you think anything can happen.
“He didn’t suspect anything, did he?” asked Harry when we were having a quick drink at the bar before boarding the plane.
I shook my head. “I’m so used to hiding things from him now. He didn’t suspect a thing.”
“Nor did Emma,” he said. “Mind you, she’s always thinking about work. I doubt she’s even noticed I’ve gone.”
I knew Tom would’ve noticed I’d gone. I knew I’d pay the price when I returned.
Our flight was only ninety minutes long and it seemed by the time we got on and had a drink it was time to get off again. I was disappointed; I enjoyed sitting with Harry in the cramped cabin. It was good to be able to be with him without worrying about someone seeing us. I’d had a quick look around the cabin as we entered, and I know Harry did, too. When everyone was seated, he walked the length of the plane and I know he was checking to see whether there was anyone he knew. When he came back, he sat down and said, “All safe,” and kissed me.
The flight was great, not too crowded and with a smooth takeoff. It seemed to go by in a flash. Landing has always terrified me, though, and as we approached Charles de Gaulle airport, I squeezed my hands tightly to take my mind off what was happening.
Harry looked down at my lap. “Are you okay? Your knuckles are white.”
I nodded. “I hate this. I don’t mind flying, but this . . .” We bumped onto the runway and I caught my breath.
“We’re here now.” He held my hands and gently rubbed them. “You’re okay.”