CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Jaz and I stare at each other in horro.
‘She wouldn’t have done it deliberately, would she? Given her an ordinary ice-cream, knowing it would make Maisie ill?’ says Jaz, wide-eyed.
I sigh and shake my head. ‘Maybe Ellie was right, after all. As unbelievably wicked as it sounds, maybe Sophie is just using Maisie to get Zak back? Thinking about it, she looked guilty as anything when you asked her if she’d given Maisie a lactose-free ice-cream.’
‘And now she has Zak all to herself,’ mutters Jaz. ‘I bet she was lying about not being able to get through to him on the phone. So now he’s heading for the hotel thinking everything is fine.’
I nod. ‘While Sophie’s planning who knows what! To persuade him to have dinner there, I bet. Then goodness knows what else . . .’
‘What do we do? Shall I phone Ellie and tell her?’ says Jaz. ‘I don’t have Zak’s number.’
‘Do we really need to worry Ellie while she’s out with her mum?’
Jaz frowns. ‘I just think we need to do something. That’s bloody evil, deliberately making Maisie feel ill.’
I chew my lip, thinking hard. I know where the hotel is. If I set off now I might even be able to get there before Sophie. But I’m quaking inside at the thought of confronting Sophie and having to tell Zak about the ice-cream.
Apart from the fact that I absolutely hate confrontation of any kind, I’m worried that I might just make things worse. What if there’s a perfectly innocent explanation for the ice-cream wrapper and they get annoyed with me for interfering? What will Ellie think of me then?
Also, am I really brave enough to take action all by myself? Obviously Jaz can’t come with me because she has to stay and look after Maisie . . .
I know what Rob would say.
An image of him doing his super hero power stance on Brighton beach flashes into my mind, and my mouth curves up at the memory.
I adopt the pose, raising my arms decisively in the air and shouting, ‘I will do this!’
‘What the . . . ?’ Jaz is staring at me in amazement.
I grin. ‘It’s just a technique Rob taught me to help me feel confident. I’m going down there to find Zak.’
‘You are?’ Jaz’s eyes open wide in astonishment. ‘Blimey, Fen, that’s some technique.’
‘It’s working. I’m off. Wish me luck!’
Jaz shouts, ‘Go girl!’ spurring me on as I dash out to the car.
On the drive down there, my stomach churns the whole way, thinking about what I’ll say to Zak - but I know I have to do it. For Ellie’s sake. And Maisie’s.
Sophie is clearly pulling out all the stops to get back with Zak – even going to the extreme length of making her own daughter ill so she can spend time alone with him. It seems clear that in coming to Sunnybrook, Sophie was never really interested in Maisie at all – except as a way of getting back with her ex.
Ellie and Maisie are uppermost in my mind as I race in the direction of The Gables Country House Hotel . . .
*****
I overtake Sophie on the way down, slouching down in my seat so she hopefully won’t spot it’s me. Then I drive as fast as I legally can to make it to the hotel before she does.
Arriving in the car park, I immediately spot Zak’s car and breathe a sigh of relief. With a bit of luck, I can tell him what’s happened before Sophie arrives.
A girl at reception calls his room, tells him I’m here to see him and then says I can go straight up. She gives me his room number and I take the lift, my heart beating frantically.
I can’t remember when I last did anything that involved me being quite so brave and pro-active. Never, probably. But it seems like the right thing to do and I even feel as if I have Rob beside me, giving me the confidence!
Zak looks surprised to see me, as well he might.
‘Hi, Fen. Come in. I was expecting Sophie and Maisie. Is something wrong?’
So I explain about the ice-cream and about Maisie feeling too ill to travel. And he frowns and says Sophie knows all about the milk allergy. When I tell him that Sophie is on her way here, without Maisie, his face changes as the penny drops.
He looks furious. I really wouldn’t want to be Sophie right at this moment.
‘Thanks, Fen, for driving all this way. I can’t imagine what Ellie would have thought if she knew we’d been here together, without Maisie.’ He frowns. ‘And no doubt Sophie would have found a way to let her know.’
‘I think Sophie has an agenda that she was keeping all to herself,’ I murmur, and Zak sinks down onto the bed and sighs, running his hands wearily through his dark hair.
‘I wanted to believe her motives in coming here were good – for Maisie’s sake.’ He looks up at me, worry etched on his face. ‘But it seems Ellie might have been right to be concerned.’
‘You were in a difficult situation. But now you can put it right.’
He nods, getting to his feet. ‘Time to get back to Sunnybrook. With a bit of luck, we might be gone from here before Sophie arrives.’
‘Will you do me a favour, Zak?’ I ask.
‘Anything.’
‘Don’t tell Ellie I drove down here to warn you.’
‘Why not?’
I shrug miserably. ‘She doesn’t want to have anything to do with me. And I don’t want to annoy her any more than I already have.’
*****
It’s the following day and we’re all jittery as anything knowing Dad is having his operation this afternoon.
The plan is for all three of us to go into the hospital at lunchtime and see Dad before he goes in. Then Mum and I will stay there and spend an anxious hour or two waiting for him to come out of theatre. I’m dreading the wait but I need to be there when he comes out – and I can sense Mum is relying on me to keep her calm.
I’d asked Ellie a day or so ago if it was all right for me to bake for the café the night before so I could have the day of the operation to concentrate on Dad, and she said, ‘Yes, of course, that’s fine. Please give him my love.’
It was the most she’d spoken to me since the day we fell out - but it was hardly enough to raise my hopes that we could get our friendship back on track.
After a breakfast that none of us can face, I wander over to the barn where Rob is finishing the furniture and creating a sign to hang by the front door.
‘So today’s the day,’ he says, looking up as I enter.
‘Yes. I just wish it were over. I can’t bear the tension. Oh, Rob, I just need him to be okay.’
He nods in sympathy. ‘I remember doing the same for my Gran. The wait was horrible. But she was – is – fine.’
‘That’s good,’ I say, feeling slightly encouraged.
‘What about Ellie? Are you two speaking again?’
I shake my head sadly.
He frowns. ‘But I thought after yesterday things would be okay again. That was some emergency dash you did to let Zak know what Sophie was up to!’
I smile sheepishly. ‘It was, wasn’t it? I quite surprised myself. I used your super hero technique.’
He grins broadly. ‘You did?’
‘Yeah. It seems to work.’
‘Of course it does. So was Ellie not grateful that you and Jaz worked out what Sophie was up to?’
‘I told Zak not to tell her about my part in it.’
‘Why?’
I shrug. ‘After discovering the truth about Ethan, I sent her three texts and left two messages, all saying that she was right and that Ethan had turned out to be a low-life scumbag. And not my dashing hero, after all. But she hasn’t replied and she’s still not talking to me.’
‘That must be really awkward with you working together.’
‘Tell me about it,’ I murmur mournfully.
‘So don’t communicate in texts. Go and see her and tell her face-to-face. Make her listen.’
‘Can’t.’
‘Why not?’
‘Scared.’
‘You were brave enough to tell Zak what Sophie was up to.’
‘This is different.’
‘How?’
‘Because . . .’ I swallow hard, hot tears pricking at my lids. ‘Because I can’t bear the thought that she might reject me again. And then I’ll have to face the fact that I might have lost my best friend forever.’
There’s a silence. Then Rob says softly, ‘Perhaps it’s time for action, not words.’
I glance up at him questioningly.
And Rob reminds me about something we saw at the Christmas Fayre in Brighton that time. As soon as he starts talking about it, I start feeling hopeful. Like he really might be onto something . . .