Page 46 of Sorry, Not Sorry
‘Friends! And you seriously expect me to believe that’s all you are prepared to settle for?’
‘Noah’s a grown man,’ Delilah protested. ‘He knows what he wants and – anyway, he’s happy with Zazie.’
‘Yes, he is. But, somehow, when it comes to you, my boy loses every bit of his common sense.’ She took a step forward and her voice hardened. ‘You are not to be trusted and I’m warning you, Delilah. Keep away from him!’
Seeing the contempt in the woman’s face caused tears to spring into Delilah’s eyes and spill down her cheeks. Overwhelmed by the venom in Mrs West’s words and her own spiralling emotions, Delilah didn’t immediately register the sound of the gate or see Noah until he was standing beside her.
‘What’s going on? I saw the two of you through the window.’ He directed the question at his mother, who pressed her lips into a tight line and stared ahead with an expression set like concrete.
Delilah covered her mouth with a trembling hand, unable to hold back the tears cascading down her face. Noah glanced at her and his expression darkened. ‘What did you say to her, Mum?’
‘Nothing she didn’t deserve to hear,’ his mother said defiantly.
Noah looked from her to Delilah and then back again. ‘Can’t you see you’ve upset her?’ he demanded.
‘I’ve upset her? Have you forgotten so quickly how much she upset you – and not just you but all of us with what she did! I don’t know how you can even stand to look at her, much less…’
Noah’s eyes narrowed. ‘Much less what?’
‘I may be getting on, son, but I am not naïve. I can see where this is going. First you start talking to her and the next thing I know, you’ll be telling your father and me how everything that happened before was just a big misunderstanding and she’s a lovely girl and not the nasty, self-centred madam she showed herself to be.’
Noah stared at her in outrage. ‘Mum!’
Mortified, Delilah fumbled in her pocket for the tissue she’d stuffed there earlier and swiped it across her damp cheeks.
‘It’s okay, Noah. Please don’t fight with your mum because of me. She’s got every right to be furious. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry for what I did…’ Her voice, husky with tears, broke as she looked pleadingly at Mrs West.
For a fleeting moment, the woman’s expression seemed to soften, but then her mouth tightened, and it was as if a mask had come down. ‘Are you sorry enough to leave my son alone now he’s happy with someone else?’
‘Back off, Mum!’ Noah snapped. ‘You’ve got no right to speak to her like that. Come on, Del!’
To Delilah’s astonishment, Noah reached out a hand and she stared at him dumbly for a moment before slowly reaching out to take it, her skin tingling as his hand closed over hers. Her legs suddenly felt weak, and they seemed to move of their own volition when Noah gently tugged her towards him. She felt as if she’d been catapulted into a parallel universe as she found herself walking away with Noah while his mother stood open-mouthed on the pavement.
30
Thin rays of sunshine peeked through the heavy clouds overhead as Delilah walked down the tree-lined avenue, holding on to Noah’s hand. She knew he was just being kind and she should let go, but she was reluctant to lose the comfort of his touch, and they continued on in silence. At the end of the road, Noah turned into the entrance leading into the park and Delilah went along without protest.
School was over, and in the small playground, a few adults watched on the sidelines as children wrapped in warm coats and jackets over their uniforms climbed the frames and jumped onto swings and seesaws.
As Noah still hadn’t spoken, and Delilah had no idea of how to break the silence, they continued along the path running through the park, navigating children on scooters and parents pushing buggies, until they reached a stream flanked with tall trees overhanging its banks. They walked onto a narrow bridge over the stream and Noah stopped in the middle and released Delilah’s hand. Leaning on the stone balustrade, he stared moodily into the murky grey water cascading over the mossy stones visible in the stream. Delilah glanced at him uncertainly, remembering how often in the past they had stood at this exact spot on the bridge, laughing and jostling each other as they competed to toss pebbles onto targets in the water below, and wondering why Noah had chosen to bring her here.
‘I’m sorry about what happened. Mum had no right to speak to you like that,’ he said, finally breaking the silence.
Shaken by the ugly scene with his mother, Delilah couldn’t keep the tremble from her voice. ‘She’s still so furious with me for what happened. I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me.’
‘It’s just that she’s – no!’ He shook his head violently. ‘No, I refuse to make excuses for her! She’s my mother and I love her, but what she said was completely out of order.’
He sighed heavily. ‘I don’t know what it’s going to take for her to understand that I need to live my own life, but I’ll talk to her, Del. I promise.’
Lost for words in the face of Noah’s unexpected defence, Delilah nodded and stared intently into the water. In the distance, she could hear the faint sound of children laughing, and she leaned on the wall, resting her elbow against his as they watched a couple of brown-feathered ducks waddle across the grassy bank and into the stream, their flapping wings sending fat drops of water into the air.
‘Zazie said you went to see her at work,’ Noah said eventually.
‘Yes.’ It was hard to tell from his voice how he felt about it, and she glanced sideways at him and then quickly looked away, following the progress of the ducks down the fast-flowing stream. She felt him turn towards her but didn’t dare to meet his eyes for fear of spilling the beans about Zazie’s shady tactics. Not that she was much better, Delilah thought sadly. She had kept so many things from Noah, and even now, he had no idea why she had really agreed to his stupid plan.
‘I appreciate you doing that. I know you’re busy,’ Noah added after a while.
The ducks were now in the distance, and Delilah turned away from the stream to face him. This, at least, was her truth to tell. ‘No, I’m not.’
