Without wasting time, Kate put his set of keys onto the sideboard and hurried out of the house, closing the door behind her with an overwhelming sense of relief. There wasn’t any need to stay a moment longer than necessary.
‘That was quick.’ Marcus commented in surprise as she came up the paved concrete path towards him.
‘I know, he passed out on the chair as soon as we got in.’ Kate walked straight to the driver’s side and got into the car, Marcus following suit. She couldn’t help but glance at the overhead digital time display with a cautious expression. ‘Oh goodness, it’s six-thirty already. Alf will be home soon.’
Marcus heard the distinct tone of anxiety in her voice and looked at her quizzically. ‘Are you worried about Alf coming home?’
Regretting her words, Kate started up the engine and shook her head slowly. ‘No. It’s not that.’ She considered how best to put across her worries. ‘It’s just that Alf’s always found fault with my friend Megan, despite us being friends since childhood. If he finds out about Jonnie…’ She exhaled slowly, pushing her head back against the headrest. ‘Well, it’ll just probably cause an argument between me and him and I don’t want that. Not tonight.’
‘I see.’
Marcus considered what Kate was saying. The last few months of his relationship with Linzie had been especially hard – her wayward friends playing a vital part in the numerous arguments and eventual disintegration. Yet the reasons had been very different to the situation Kate was in.
Despite only knowing Kate for the briefest of time, she’d given him the impression of a kind-hearted person – even her job suggested that. Plus he’d seen the way she’d fussed over Alf – not to mention himself, a practical stranger to her – before going to work the previous day. He vaguely remembered from past conversations with Alf that she had no family, having lost her parents at a young age. Something about this touched him deeply. It seemed she was wise in not wanting to cause unnecessary disharmony with Alf. Although he did wonder what Megan was like, for easy-going Alf to not like her…
‘I don’t want to put you in an awkward situation and of course if you’d prefer to be honest with Alf that’s fine…’ Kate began.
‘Look, I won’t say anything about this to Alf unless you choose to mention it. Okay?’
Kate felt her shoulders relax and her grip on the steering wheel loosened slightly. She smiled and tried not to exhale too heavily. ‘Thanks, Marcus. If Alf is home, then of course I’ll tell him where we have been.’ She hoped this wasn’t the case. ‘But if not, it’s probably best for the moment that he doesn’t know…’
Letting her voice trail off, she concentrated on the road ahead. The evening hadn’t started at all how she’d hoped and yet despite the circumstances she’d come to experience another side to Marcus that confirmed her initial gut feeling. He seemed to be of that rare variety of men – both aesthetically pleasing and a generous, considerate person to match.
She quietly wondered why his fiancée had let him slip away.
‘That was delicious.’ Alf commented, pushing his empty plate away from him. He’d been pleasantly surprised to arrive home – albeit a bit later than he’d planned – to find that Kate had prepared his favourite meal. She also seemed to be in high spirits.
Marcus nodded his agreement. ‘Really lovely, Kate. If you continue to cook like this, I might not ever want to leave.’
Earlier calamity forgotten and thankful that telling Alf had been averted, Kate grinned from one man to the other.
‘I guess we might have to buy a bigger house then, Alf,’ she joked, meeting Alf’s eyes and waiting for his reaction.
‘I thought you wanted to re-decorate this one?’ he replied, his tone more serious. He’d toyed with the idea since their discussion yesterday and he was beginning to think she was perhaps right. The rooms did seem rather tired…
Kate shifted in her seat, aware that Marcus was looking at them both with interest. ‘Well, yes we can decorate.’ She nodded her head slowly. ‘Or maybe we could just buy something else instead?’ she ventured, feeling braver now that there was another person to witness the discussion.
‘You want to move?’ Alf asked, surprised. He seemed to consider the idea for a split second then shrugged his shoulders dismissively. ‘I don’t see there’s any point yet; we’re happy enough here, aren’t we?’
Kate bit down on her bottom lip, stopping herself from instantly retorting something she’d later regret. She tried to not show her frustration. Instead she stood up and began to collect their empty dinner plates. ‘If you say so, Alf,’ she muttered quietly.
Marcus, sensing that the atmosphere had changed, avoided looking at either party and instead helpfully picked up the used cutlery and glasses, taking them over to the sink.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Alf snapped in annoyance. ‘So you’re not happy?’ He knew something was bothering her, but he couldn’t understand why she was being so awkward. And of all the times to do it, why create a tension in front of Marcus?
Surprised at Alf’s tone and not caring that Marcus was present, Kate let the silence linger for a moment before she responded crossly.
‘It doesn’t matter what I suggest, you always seem to cut me down.’ Clattering the plates against the worktop in frustration, she avoided turning around through fear of both men seeing her suddenly teary eyes. She knew she wasn’t being entirely fair on Alf, but she couldn’t help herself.
Alf stood up, glancing in Marcus’s direction and shook his head scornfully. He didn’t want to get into a fight when there were clearly deeper things to be discussed. It wasn’t like Kate to be like this. ‘I’m not going to argue with you, Kate, but I can’t seem to win lately either. If you want to decorate I’ve said that’s fine. Do what you want. But I’m not moving on a whim.’
Kate remained silent, staring out of the window into the narrow back garden as Alf opened the fridge for a can of beer and, handing one to Marcus, suggested they retreat into the living room.
‘That’s if Kate doesn’t need help here?’ Marcus offered, stealing a sideways glance at her and noticing how she managed a small shake of the head at him.
‘I’m okay, thanks. I’m going to tidy here and go up to bed and read.’
‘So you’re not going to join us?’ Alf asked, his tone suggesting that he felt she should.
Before she could answer, Marcus, clearly feeling awkward, cut in and tried to lighten the atmosphere. ‘Oh, go on, Kate, unless your book is more interesting than me. Besides, I’m intrigued about your art now that you’ve mentioned you used to paint.’
Knowing he’d unwittingly chosen a sore subject, Kate forced herself to smile at him and with a reluctant nod of the head she agreed. ‘Okay, let me tidy in here and I’ll join you both with a glass of wine.’
She didn’t notice Alf’s approving gaze – instead she felt relieved as they left her washing the dishes in the kitchen and the volume on the television in the adjoining room rose to an unbearable level. She needed something to distract her mind from the hundreds of burning questions that were once again floating around in her head.
It was time to face the facts. Alf clearly wasn’t yet ready for marriage; that much he’d proved the previous weekend. Neither was he interested in babies – for that subject had also been avoided for as long as she could remember. To add to that, he’d barely shown enthusiasm for her suggestion of re-decorating and he’d just more or less outright dismissed the idea of moving. So where did that leave their relationship?
Far from feeling as if they’d reached a comfortable plateau, Kate instead felt that they were both treading quicksand.
It wasn’t a welcome experience. She exhaled sadly and began to rinse the dishes