Page 104 of From Notting Hill with Love…Actually
“Oh, is that where he took you? I did try to find out where you’d gone, but no one would tell me. Tom’s family just clammed up when I tried to get in touch. I can’t say I blame them, really.”
I didn’t comment on this.
“So that was it, end of the line—I had no choice but to get on with my own life then. But you have to believe me: I never wanted any of it to happen that way. I never wanted to abandon you. I always thought I’d be able to come back for you. And you have to know, Scarlett, I’ve always thought about you and wondered how you were doing—especially on your birthday.”
“Which is?” I asked, testing her.
“The 19th of March, of course.”
She was right. I stood up and aimlessly wandered about the room. I couldn’t get my head around all this.
This evening I’d not only met my estranged mother in the orchestra pit of a cinema, but I’d found out exactly why she had abandoned me almost twenty-three and a half years ago. And the even crazier thing was it had happened for almost the same reason my father had encouraged my fiancé to allow me to go and do for a month.
Why would he risk the same thing happening again?
“I know all this must be a bit of a shock to you, Scarlett,” Rose said, standing up. She walked over to me. “Believe me, it’s been quite a shocker for me tonight, meeting you again.”
I thought for one awful moment she was going to try and hug me, so I rapidly backed away from her.
“I…I just need to think about everything for a bit, Rose…I mean Mu…I mean…”
“It’s OK, Scarlett. I understand, of course you do. Perhaps you’d like me to go now.”
I nodded.
Rose picked up a pad that was lying on the table. “Do you have a pen? I’ll jot my number down for you. Perhaps you’d like to call me sometime, when you’ve had a chance to think about everything.”
“Erm, there’s one in the hall, I think.”
Rose found the pen and returned to the room to write her telephone number down. Then she laid the pad and pen on the coffee table in front of me. “That’s both my home and mobile numbers. Call me any time if you want to talk some more.”
I nodded again.
Rose picked up her bag and coat. “Well, good-bye, Scarlett. I do hope I’ll hear from you soon.”
“Yes…bye then…er…”
“It’s OK—I don’t mind you calling me Rose. I used to be Rosie, of course, but I think Rose suits me better now. Rosie was the person I used to be, not the person I am now.”
“Yes, good-bye…Rose,” I said, still not able to face her properly. My head was spinning. I just couldn’t deal with all this right now.
Rose gave me one last look and then smiled again before walking out of the lounge and into the hall. I heard her heels clipping across the tiled floor and the click of the front door as it shut behind her.
The strange thing was that that was exactly the same noise my shoes had made earlier when they walked across the floor of the hall.
And the reason it was the same noise?
I just realized Rose was wearing exactly the same pair of shoes as me.
Twenty-Nine
I hardly slept that night. It was not surprising really after what had happened to me earlier on.
I’d rung Ursula almost as soon as Rose had left and briefly told her what had gone on. I didn’t feel like speaking to anyone, but I knew if I didn’t they would phone me anyway. So I quickly got that call out of the way and settled down to do some serious thinking.
There was so much that was still unclear.
So I now knew the reasons why my mother had left. Perhaps I didn’t fully understand them, but I knew more than I’d ever known before. But it was my father’s behavior that was puzzling me more than anything. Ifhe’dlost my mother all those years ago, why would he encourage David to do the same thing to me? Did he really think that lightning wouldn’t strike twice?
