Page 46 of Wish You Once More
Making love to Bree Sheridan again hadn’t been something I’d planned.
Rushing out on her this morning wasn’t something I was proud of either. And out of everything, that one fact left me feeling worse than anything else.
22
Bree
The few days following Mat’s disappearance passed by in a cloud of mundaneness. I worked on the chest of drawers, I went home and ate dinner with Callie, watching meaningless television, I even went out for a drink with Harry.
With every day that passed, the urge to contact Mat and find out where the fuck he was got stronger.
It was on the Thursday that I bumped into Mat’s brother’s girlfriend while I was on my lunch break. She joined the queue behind me at the coffee shop.
“Bree, how are you?” she asked. “What a great weekend! You must be proud. Did you make much in donations?”
I turned to face her. When Mat and I had been seeing each other, she and Jonny were in the very early stages of their own relationship. I didn’t know her all that well, although she had always been nice to me. Tall, with mahogany hair which fell in a curtain down her back, she was more put together than I was. Even now, she wore pristine white jeans - no mean feat with a toddler - and a simple mustard coloured sweater. In comparison, I had on a pair of slashed black jeans and a blue t-shirt, covered in paint and varnish drips. My hair was piled into a messy bun, with a pencil stuck through it. If anyone had to guess which of us was the mother, I’m pretty sure fingers would be pointing at me.
“Melinda, hi. Yeah, it was great. People were so generous, and it didn’t hurt to have a real-life rock star playing.” I tried to make light of Mat’s appearance, desperate to ask her where he was and trying to play down my interest.
“That’s good to hear.” Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, and she bit her lip before speaking again. “Did you hear about Mat and Jonny’s dad?”
“No. What happened?” I moved closer, waiting for her reply.
“Oliver was taken ill on Sunday night, after getting home from the festival. He’s been in hospital for a little while.” She sighed and then glanced around the shop, checking to see if there were any empty tables. “Actually, do you have a few minutes? I’d love to talk to someone who isn’t Jonny about all of this.”
Taken aback, I agreed. “Yeah, sure. I’m on lunch anyway.”
She reached out and touched my arm. “Great, thanks.” Pushing her way in front of me, she added, “Lunch is on me if you have to listen to my ramblings.”
We both ordered eggs and avocado on toast and coffee. Melinda paid at the till and then we wove our way through the chairs and tables to an empty table near the back of the cafe. She placed the tray with our coffees on the table, sinking down into the chair opposite me with a sigh, her shoulders slumped.
“I’m sorry to hear about Oliver. How’s he doing?” I twisted the napkin between my fingers. Mat’s Dad had always been lovely, even after Mat and I split up. When I first came back from Manchester, with no idea of what I was going to do with the rest of my life, he’d offered me a job. At the time, I’d thanked him but declined. Cleaning holiday homes wasn’t for me, but that didn’t mean I didn’t value the goodwill of his gesture.
“He came out of hospital yesterday. Jonny wanted him to come and stay with us for a while, but you know what Oliver is like. He’s extremely independent and didn’t want anyone putting themselves out for him.” The corner of her mouth quirked as she spoke of her prospective father-in-law. “But there are rules about him taking it easy, and not doing so much with the business. We’re trying to work out how to manage that between us. At least Henry loves his new nursery, which is one less thing to worry about.”
The cafe owner brought over our food and cutlery. The delicious smell of poached eggs greeted me. I tucked in like a woman starved, without waiting for Melinda, who pushed the food around her plate instead.
“At least you have a plan,” I said, sensing there was something more she wanted to tell me.
She dropped her fork against the plate with a clatter. “Jonny and Mat had a row at the hospital.”
When I’d last seen them together on Sunday, everything seemed fine. They’d been laughing and teasing each other, just like old times. There was nothing to indicate anything wrong between them.
“What about?”
Melinda let out a hard breath. “Jonny thinks Mat doesn’t pull his weight and should be here more.”
Knowing what I knew now about why Mat had left me, I was appalled to hear Jonny’s thoughts.
“I do think it was partly the stress of the situation, plus the fact he’d had a few too many beers, that made him go off on one. But he basically told Mat to leave.”
At least I had the answer for why I hadn’t heard anything from Mat. I frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. If he thinks Mat should help out, why did he tell him to go?”
Melinda shrugged. “If I knew the answer to that one, then my life would be a whole lot easier.” She reached for her coffee and shook a couple of sachets of sugar into it. “Jonny’s refusing to apologise to Mat and I’ve tried, but can’t get hold of him. He won’t answer his phone to me or Jonny.” A glimmer sparked in her eyes. “Maybe you could try for us?”
I’d spent the past few days wavering between wanting to contact Mat and ignoring him—preferably forever. Melinda’s suggestion tied a knot to my stomach. If he wasn’t answering Melinda, why would he respond to me?
“Please, Bree?” she begged. “It would mean so much to Oliver if he knew his sons were pulling together.”
