All in the Leaves by Pat Elliott

Author:Pat Elliott [Elliott, Pat]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: eBookPartnership.com
Published: 2005-01-20T13:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Wednesday I got an email from Chloe. She told me what a wonderful time she had in Edinburgh with Angus, Kevin and Andy. On reflection, she’d decided not to write Howard off immediately, she would give him one last chance to redeem himself. She felt she owed him that. For that reason she had been in contact with him and he was grateful for the last chance. Chloe had arranged to go to a golfing dinner with Howard and she really wanted me to come along also. I was to invite Clive too. We would all be attending as Howard’s guests. Could I possibly let her know if we were coming as soon as possible? I shook my head. After the wonderful time she had with Kev and Andy and then with Angus, I hoped the ghost of Howard had been laid to rest. Sadly not. One last chance. I sighed, heavily.

*****

That night, I phoned Clive. I explained to him the situation with Chloe and Howard and what had happened in Edinburgh. I heard an intake of breath over the drugged drink part of my story. I explained the last chance and that Howard wanted us to attend as his guests in part to show his contrition. I could almost hear Clive thinking.

‘Friends as good as you and Chloe have been to each other are hard to find, Anna. You’ve been pals for so long. If this really is Howard’s last chance it might be good to be there for her, in case the whole night goes wrong. I’m up for going to this social. After all, we were going out anyway, so this saves us looking for a venue. Let Howard pay, for all the aggro he’s caused, he owes you that much.’

‘You don’t mind, then?’

‘Not at all. Keep your friend, Anna. I’ll pick you up; we’ll go to Chloe’s and pick her up too, in case she wants to leave early. That way she’s not reliant on Howard for anything.’

‘What about our date though, Clive? Time for us?’

‘There’ll be plenty more times for us, Anna. Let’s do this one for Chloe.’ What a wonderful man he was. I could hardly believe my fortune in meeting him. This one I would not let go.

‘Clive, thank you. I feel very lucky to have found such a thoughtful, genuine man.’

‘Anna, you make me smile. There aren’t many girls who would say that to a man. I appreciate your honesty. Remember at the wedding I told you I’d lost someone because I was afraid to speak up? I don’t want to lose you Anna, or see you upset. So we’ll play along with this and hope for your friend and you that it turns out for the best. I’ll be over on Saturday at five p.m. I’ll have one of the relatives’ cars. Now, go tell Chloe we’re coming. I’m looking forward to it.’

‘Okay, Clive. Thank you.’ Quietly I added, ‘love you.’ The reply came almost as quietly.

‘Love you, too.’

I replied to Chloe later on that night and got a reply instantly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.