Page 20 of The Six-Week Single Dad
While Hayden settled Alfie, I finished cooking. I set the table, debating whether to light the candle in the centre. It might look a bit obvious, although if I wanted to make sure the likes of Catrina didn’t get her claws into Hayden, I guessed I had to do something. And soon.
Chapter Eleven
Hayden
After the stresses of the day, it was wonderful to come back to Bea and Alfie. I hadn’t realised quite how much I would miss him while I was at work. And Maddy had been away from him for four whole days. We’d FaceTimed each evening for a little while and Alfie had seen his mum, although he couldn’t quite work out why her face was in a box. She’d already told me that she wouldn’t be around that evening; there was a welcome dinner or something and her French colleagues were taking her and Robert out. I wondered how many colleagues there actually were.
I missed Bea too. She had slotted seamlessly into this new life with me even after only a few days, and I found myself daydreaming about her.
How would she react if I told her how I felt?
I shook the thought away.
We had almost six weeks in front of us.
What if I said something, only for her to laugh in my face and we had to spend the rest of the time avoiding each other?
I couldn’t do that to Alfie. When he was in his cot, I went back into the living room. Bea was dishing up the spag bol.
“There’s wine if you want it,” she said.
“Hmm, I was going to try and keep a clear head, unlike someone I could mention.” I winked at her, referring to her weekend’s antics. “But a nice Malbec would go well with this.” I found the bottle I wanted and uncorked it, pouring each of us a large glass.
When we sat down at the table, I took a forkful of the sauce and popped it into my mouth. The flavours exploded: tomatoes, meat, wine, chilli; it was truly delicious.
“Where did you learn to cook this?” I asked, genuinely in awe.
“I met a lot of Italians on my travels and one of them shared her Grandmother’s recipe. It’s really easy.” Bea gestured to the kitchen. “I made loads, which means I can freeze it.”
“I’m going to want you around for a lot longer than six weeks if you keep telling me things like that.”
Her fork froze in mid-air as the words tumbled out of my mouth.
Shit, shit, shit.
It was too late to take the words back and I didn’t know how to move on from there without it being super awkward. Silence was probably worse though.
“What did you get up to today?” I asked instead.
Bea visibly relaxed at my question. Perhaps it wouldn’t be awkward, after all.
“I went out to the Cottage Cafe this morning and met a couple of mummies who knew Maddy.”
I groaned inwardly, though put on a front. “Oh, really? Who was it?”
“Iona and Catrina. Apparently they both offered to help Maddy, although she declined.”
That sounded about right. I vaguely remembered meeting someone called Catrina very early on in Alfie’s life, and she was quite keen to help out. Maddy thought she had ulterior motives and had dismissed her offers. “Yeah, I think I know who you mean.”
Bea avoided looking at me as she carried on speaking. “Catrina asked me to pass on her best wishes.”
I bet she did.I remembered Catrina being over-friendly and obvious whenever she was around me. The thought of her paled in comparison to Bea. I still questioned whether I should say anything. Then I remembered what Tom had said the previous evening. If that were true… I shook my head and turned my attention back to the present.
“That was nice of her. How did you like her?”
“I thought she was rather judgemental of Maddy. I mean, I’ve never been in that situation, so I have no idea how I would feel about leaving my son for that length of time.” She glanced towards Alfie’s bedroom door. “Although I already feel guilty about leaving him now.” A smile crept across her face. “And he’s not even mine!”
“I think it’s wonderful the way you and Alfie have bonded so quickly. It makes things a lot easier for me too.” I took another swig of my wine. “I really should have stood my ground more when Maddy told me she didn’t need me at the start.”
