Page 67 of Sorry, Not Sorry
‘And Graham, when Sandy asked you to help her – what did you hear?’
Graham held up his hands, suddenly looking sheepish. ‘Look, it was in the middle of the football and if I’m honest, all I heard was noise. We were in extra time and the boys had just scored from two-one down. I wouldn’t have heard a bloody earthquake at that point.’
‘So Sandy’s timing was the problem, not that you didn’t want to help?’
Graham nodded with an anxious glance at his wife. Sandy refused to meet his eyes, and Delilah studied them both for a moment.
‘Graham, what would you have said if Sandy had explained – after the game was over – that it makes her feel unloved and devalued when you ignore her?’
Graham reddened, and then said gruffly, ‘I’d have told her she was being a silly cow! She’s my world, and I’d do anything to make her happy – just not… you know, not when the team’s about to take penalties.’
‘Oh, Gray!’ Sandy’s lips trembled. ‘I’ve never heard you say anything so sweet before.’
Delilah checked the clock and let out a satisfied sigh. ‘Okay, folks, our time’s up for today. I’m really pleased to see you building better connections with each other. Before our final session next week, I’d like you both to practise what we’ve discussed today. Go through the steps rather than jumping to conclusions about what the person said. Ask yourself what you heard and then what you’re making up in your head about it. Express how that makes you feel, and what you need to feel better. And remember your tone of voice – you don’t want your body language to sabotage your message.’
She stood and walked to the door, holding it open while the couple gathered their belongings.
‘You okay, Graham?’ she asked, biting back a smile at his grumpy expression.
He shrugged on his jacket and scratched his thinning hair. ‘All seems a bit long-winded, if you ask me,’ he grumbled.
‘I know changing our habits can feel uncomfortable, but these exercises will work for both of you, if you do them properly. It’ll get easier with practice, I promise,’ Delilah said cheerfully.
‘I’ll give it a try, love. Anything to make sure I’m not back here again after next week.’
He reached for Sandy’s hand and his gloomy expression changed into an indulgent smile. ‘Come on, you silly sausage. We don’t want to be late for kick-off. The boys are playing at home this afternoon.’
As soon as she’d ushered Graham and Sandy out, Delilah closed her laptop and grabbed her jacket. She shut her office door and popped her head around the half-open door to Armenique’s office.
‘You still here?’
‘Yup,’ Armenique answered distractedly, typing swiftly on her laptop. ‘Just finishing my notes and then I’m done for the day.’ She looked up from her computer with a smile. ‘Doing anything special this weekend?’
Delilah grinned. ‘I’m off to meet Noah at his place, and then we’re going over to his parents’ for lunch.’
Armenique folded her hands in prayer. ‘I wish you luck, my friend. May the forces of good protect you,’ she intoned solemnly before breaking into her trademark cackle. ‘Nah, have fun, girl. How are things going with the Wicked Witch these days?’
Delilah laughed. ‘Let’s just say we’ll never be besties, but at least she’s civil. Noah’s made it clear she’s got to be nice to me and she’s definitely making the effort. Thankfully, his dad loves me, which more than makes up for her.’
‘Well, say hi to Noah and have a nice lunch,’ Armenique said with an airy wave. ‘See you at supervision on Monday?’
‘Definitely!’
Leaving the building, Delilah walked to the end of the lane and turned into the high street. The bus stop was just past the tattoo parlour on the other side of the road and as she approached the pedestrian crossing, she was struck by a sudden thought.
Almost an hour later, Delilah emerged from the shop in time to see her bus approaching. Racing the few metres to the stop, she got there just as the bus pulled in and climbed on board, taking the nearest seat while she caught her breath. Her left wrist stung from Stan’s handiwork, but when she peeked under the small plaster to admire the two entwined initials, she couldn’t stop herself breaking into a huge grin.
A glance at her watch confirmed she and Noah were going to be late for lunch, which would not please Mrs West. But somehow Delilah had a strong feeling that when Noah saw her new tattoo, he wouldn’t mind at all.
