Chapter Thirteen
August 2012
‘How much!’ Lydia gasped at the price of the suit Theo had picked out for his dad’s wedding in New Zealand next month. Theo had refused to go at first, said it was too far, but Lydia had persuaded him to change his mind because she knew if he dug his heals in he’d most likely regret it forever.
‘It’s Hugo Boss, Lydia.’ He kissed her and then turned back to look in the mirror, admiring the cut of the jacket, the material that made him look like a top businessman and a rival for anyone in the game. ‘Don’t you like it?’
Cheekily, her hand grazed across his bum cheeks. ‘You look hot.’
‘Well then.’ He grinned and disappeared back behind the curtain to remove the suit that Lydia still couldn’t get over the cost of.
‘You could always hire one instead.’ She peeked her head around the curtain and raised eyebrows at his torso, naked apart from the pristine white Calvin Kleins covering the essentials.
‘I’ll wear it more than once,’ he insisted.
That was true. He was always in a suit for work, it was just that this was one of the more expensive versions he’d ever gone for. She guessed it’d be worth the investment.
They paid for the suit and then Lydia led Theo to House of Fraser where she’d already seen the perfect dress for the New Zealand September weather: an inky-blue lacy-fit dress with a flared skirt, along with a beaded shrug in case the happy couple wanted photos taken outside.
After an early dinner at a brasserie nearby, they went back to their flat and Lydia hung the outfits in their special carriers at the end of the wardrobe. Theo had already changed out of his work attire and instead of a sharp suit with shirt and tie he was wearing what she loved to see him in, the look he’d had when they first met: faded but good-fitting jeans, a blue and white striped rugby top with the collar neither ironed nor creased, and bare feet as he moved around the kitchen to make them both a cup of tea. She sneaked up behind him as he pulled the milk from the fridge door and put her arms around him.
‘The wedding isn’t far away.’ She kissed the back of his neck as he shut the fridge and shuffled over to the bench top, her arms still round him.
Laughing at her clinging on, he said, ‘Dad’s getting nervous.’
‘I bet he is. How about Natasha?’
Theo put a sugar in his tea, none in Lydia’s as she returned the milk to the fridge. ‘She seems less nervous than Dad.’ He laughed. ‘I thought you women were the ones who got stressed.’
Impressed he seemed to finally be taking a genuine interest in the nuptials, she said, ‘Never. We keep a cool head when we need to.’
They took their tea into the lounge and plonked themselves onto the sofa. Lydia sat so she was stretched out from one end to the other, her feet up on Theo’s lap. ‘I’m not looking forward to the flight.’
‘It’s long, but it’ll be worth it. I can’t wait to see New Zealand, it’s the farthest we’ve been, you know.’
Lydia grinned at him, the rugby boy she’d thought so up himself when they first met but whom she’d started to make a life with. ‘It’ll be a great holiday. And it’s the land of the All Blacks.’ Of course Theo’s rugby team were England, but you couldn’t fail to admire the New Zealand All Blacks whenever they were on the pitch. She’d once asked him if he’d run the other way if one of the larger players came at him. ‘Of course I wouldn’t,’ he’d said and she’d laughed, suspecting it may not be completely true.
‘You should try and get into rugby again,’ she suggested, sipping her tea now it had cooled down enough.
‘I wouldn’t have the time, not with work.’
‘All work no play makes Theo a dull boy,’ she teased and earned herself a squeeze of his fingers around her toes.
‘Maybe someday,’ he answered.
She watched him, totally laid-back against the sofa. Doing something for himself, other than work, would be good for him. And this holiday was a start: a different location, a chance to ski, the opportunity to get out of the daily grind for a while. Her own job was hard work, and some days unforgiving with its demands and deadlines, but she was settled in a position she knew wasn’t something she wanted to take to the next level. It was different with Theo. He was constantly thinking about the next level up, the next gear of his career, and as soon as he attained it, he was onto the next, and the next, and so on. Something in him had changed since he’d left university. At first she’d thought it was his drive and his roaring twenties where he wanted to go for it with work and achieve all he possibly could. But lately it felt as though he was addicted to it in a way that wasn’t necessarily good.
*
A couple of weeks later they took the long-haul flight to the other side of the world and to the dad Theo seemed to get along with much better now there was a separation of so many miles. Theo still didn’t talk much about Graham, but he spoke to him on the phone every now and then and there were regular emails shooting back and forth. Of course, the subject of a best man had come up recently and Theo had been happy to let Graham’s brother do the honours, no animosity or ill feeling between them after the decision had been made.
The happy couple were to be married at a secluded country retreat in a rustic barn that belonged to the main homestead. Arriving at the venue, Lydia was stunned. ‘Wow…just wow. Your dad has chosen well!’ She looked out to the mountain backdrop, the surrounding gardens as far as the eye could see, and when they got inside it was equally as beautiful. Grace was the first to greet them and she rushed at Lydia with an enthusiasm only a bridesmaid could have. She asked how the flight was and barely stopped talking as she raved about everything she and boyfriend Stephen had seen already.
The ceremony was nothing short of beautiful and Theo chuckled softly when Lydia dabbed at her eyes. She told him to shut up. She always cried at weddings, even if she didn’t know the person.
‘You’re such a romantic,’ he teased as they danced together once the speeches had been made, toasts given to the happy couple, and the first dance to the sounds of a band neither she nor Theo had heard of had been and gone.
Faster dancing took over as the evening progressed and Lydia and Grace found themselves doing a rendition of The Twist, which was exhausting and Theo, understandably, excused himself to go prop up the bar.
Lydia eventually took time out herself. She found a chair at the edge of the room where she could kick off her heels discreetly and massage the protesting arches of her feet.
It wasn’t long before Graham joined her. ‘I’m with you, my feet hurt and my shoes are flat,’ he said, no hint that he was losing the Suffolk accent he’d emigrated with.
‘It was a lovely ceremony, Graham.’
‘Thank you.’ He had a glass of water, claiming all that champagne was enough to last a lifetime. ‘I really appreciate you and Theo making the trek. It’s a long way.’
They talked about the flight and the tedium of it and then Lydia asked, ‘Will you come over to England for a visit at some point?’
‘Of course I will. I’m not too old and decrepit yet!’
Lydia laughed. ‘Theo seems to be getting on well with Natasha’s sons.’
Graham looked over to where they were putting the world to rights, all with a pint of beer in hand. ‘I expect they’re talking rugby. The boys are heavily into it over here. Theo had better watch out, I think the youngest still plays. He might try and drag him along to a training session.’
‘I wish he would.’
Graham turned to her. ‘How’s his work going? He doesn’t say much about it to me.’
‘It’s going well, he’s always getting bonuses here and there, flying high at meetings, talking about promotion opportunities. I think he lives for the thrill of it all.’
‘And you don’t?’ His voice was soft, just like a concerned dad’s should be. ‘How about you? Are you enjoying the thrill of the London newspaper circuit?’
‘Not quite as much as I should be, I suspect.’
‘Oh?’
‘I don’t think I’m hungry enough,’ she clarified. ‘At first I thought I would be, that it would be a feeling that grew as I spent more time in the job, but I’m not as competitive as most of the people I work with.’
‘You could always change career,’ Graham suggested. ‘Journalism is an excellent foundation for many more things. Talk to Natasha, she began life as a journalist.’
‘I thought she was a teacher?’
‘She was, but journalism came first, then a stint as a market researcher, then she finally found teaching. Like you, she wasn’t overly sure what to do as soon as she finished university. I’m not sure anyone ever is, are they?’
Lydia smiled. ‘Thanks, I’ll have a chat with her.’ This was the most she’d spoken to Graham and she liked him. He was tall, just like Theo, and they both had the same shaped nose: not hooked but with a slight telltale masculine bump. With deep brown eyes, father and son had the same shape hairline too and Lydia could almost imagine what Theo would look like when he grew old.
‘Are you both hoping to get on the property ladder?’ Graham asked.
‘In London?’ When Theo looked her way she nodded that she was okay and pointed to her feet, relieved and out of her shoes. He rolled his eyes before getting back to what she could only assume was more rugby talk. ‘It’s too expensive and I don’t want to live in a tiny place forever. I think buying will wait until we’re out of London.’
Graham seemed to perk up at that. ‘You think you’ll leave the big city eventually?’
‘I hope so. It’s been fun but we’ve been there a few years now and the novelty of the tubes, the vibrancy of the streets into the night, it gets to the point where I think most people are ready for something different.’
‘Is Theo still in touch with his mates? I know a couple of them were living in London, or is he too happy with his girlfriend?’
‘We are pretty happy, but he makes time for his friends as well, which is good.’ When her smile faltered Graham was onto it straight away.
‘You’re good for him, Lydia.’
‘I am?’
‘You keep him on the straight and narrow.’
‘I’m not sure what you mean.’
Graham appeared reluctant to elaborate. ‘It’s good he has friends he keeps in touch with, but keep an eye on him.’
‘Why would I need to keep an eye on him?’ She almost laughed until she saw Graham had clearly meant every word.
Graham laughed and shook his head. ‘Would you listen to me? He’s a grown man. Forget I said that, the champagne must’ve gone to my head. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find my bride.’
But when Theo came over to join her she suspected the comment hadn’t been a mistake, but rather a warning that there was something she didn’t know about her boyfriend, a reason she should be on her guard.
*
Theo was disappointed they couldn’t stay longer in New Zealand. Work had only allowed him a fortnight off but he squeezed in as much skiing as he could. The first time they went was following a raucous night at the bars in town and it had summoned all of Lydia’s determination and stamina to stay upright that day, let alone move anywhere on her skis. She’d joined him another time after that but had then declared relaxation time and while Theo skied, Lydia enjoyed hot chocolates, the holiday atmosphere, and even managed to finish one of the novels she’d brought with her.
‘Here we go again.’ Theo held her hand as the plane took off, leaving New Zealand behind, ready to return to England where the autumn weather had brought storms and gale force winds. The plane whirred and the wheels came up as they began their ascent.
Theo turned his head to look at her and out of the window. ‘It was a great holiday, wasn’t it?’
She turned and snuggled against his shoulder. ‘I had a lovely time.’
‘And you enjoyed the skiing didn’t you? At least a little bit?’ He made a gap between his middle finger and thumb.
‘It was fine, but a couple of days out on the slopes was plenty for me. The wedding was my favourite part of the holiday. Your dad is really nice, and Natasha’s lovely too.’
He nodded. ‘She actually is. I didn’t take to her for a long time, but I can see now how good she is for Dad.’
Lydia put a hand on his arm. ‘I’m glad you think so.’
He smiled. ‘Did you have a good chat with her?’
‘I did.’ Natasha had talked all about the various career paths she’d followed or could’ve chosen and Lydia’s head felt much clearer than it had back in London. She was aware that she had a good job, but she also had alternative career options long-term.
‘Do you have any idea what you’d like to do next? Maybe magazine journalism?’ Theo suggested as the plane levelled out. ‘That might be different.’
‘It’s a possibility. But whatever I decide, we can’t afford to do anything too drastic if we want to keep a roof over our heads.’
‘We’re living the life, Lydia. This is what it’s all about. We’re in our twenties, living in London. Make the most of it.’
‘We’ve spent a fortune on this holiday,’ she said. ‘We’ll really have to tighten our belts when we get back to London.’ It wasn’t that she was boring but Lydia had always thought of the future as well as the present, unlike Theo, Mr-Live-in-the-Moment.
Theo patted his stomach, the non-existent hint of anything other than the same flat abs he’d had through uni. ‘After what I ate at the wedding, I’ll only be loosening my belt.’
Lydia poked him in the stomach and giggled but when she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, tired from the early wake-up call that morning, she couldn’t help wondering what Graham had meant when he said to keep an eye on his son. He was concerned about the company he kept, but hadn’t said why, and Lydia couldn’t get the niggling thought out of her head.
She just hoped Graham was exaggerating or completely wrong, and that Theo was in control of his own life. She wanted to believe that nothing was going to change.