‘I tried. It really needs the vacuum cleaner on it, but, well… you know the issue with that.’
‘Why don’t you just order a new one and put it on the credit card?’
‘I’ve told you I don’t want to do that. Perhaps I’ll go and ask next door if I can borrow theirs. They’re not very friendly, but…’
‘We could get a new sofa while we’re about it,’ Gavin said. ‘It looks as if some wild animal has been shredding it for a nest.’
‘My aunt gave it to me. She had a rescue cat.’
‘And while we’re about it we really need to get rid of this carpet. I’ll sand the boards so they match the ones in the bedroom, and we can buy a nice rug.’
‘If we just took up the carpet we wouldn’t need a new vacuum cleaner so urgently,’ Jules said with a weak smile. She fell on to her hands and knees and began to pull apart the carpet pile with slightly shaky fingers.
‘I can’t see any more glass,’ she said, straightening up, ‘but perhaps we ought to get you some slippers anyway.’
She took the two miniscule shards of glass from his hand and moved through to the kitchen.
Opening the cupboard under the sink to drop them carefully into the bin, a cloud of damp rose to meet her. There was definitely a leak somewhere. Gavin kept saying that he’d get his plumber to look at it but she couldn’t afford to shell out for anything extra until her next pay cheque came in, not if she and Gavin wanted to eat, and he did like his smoked salmon breakfasts at the weekend with those muffins which came from the corner deli and were delicious, but two cost more than a pack of four from the supermarket. She liked to indulge him though, and he deserved it, especially at the moment when he was obviously under stress. He more than made up for her treats with his own; the flowers, the bottle of Barolo which they’d consumed with dinner the previous night and the chocolates, seventy percent cocoa salted caramel deliciousness from a local chocolatier nestled in the most gorgeous gift box with Florentine style decoration and an extravagant cream satin ribbon tied in a bow. She would keep that box for ever. One day she wouldfill it with their children’s tiny name tags and other precious mementoes of the life they were building together. The cost of the muffins was nothing in comparison to what he gave her. And then there were the promises; to take her to the Caribbean after Christmas and skiing at Easter and next summer they could tour the Loire valley, staying in some of the stunning chateaux which he’d been to before. He was so appreciative of nice things. It wasn’t surprising that he found living in this poky, slightly shabby little place a bit challenging. Funny, she’d never thought of it as shabby when Carrie was here. They’d covered the sofa with a teal velour throw and Jules’s Gran had run up some pretty cushions in a retro fabric.
Carrie had draped fairy lights from the picture rail and in the evening she always lit a candle or two. It had all felt cosy and relaxing, lived in and full of laughter. When they had people around, no one had to worry about spilling anything and everyone said how homely it was. They hadn’t needed expensive new things to give them happiness, but some people did. Gavin was one of those people and there was absolutely nothing wrong with that, was there?
Back in the living room Gavin was still suspiciously inspecting both his feet and the carpet.
‘You’re right,’ she said, sitting down next to him. ‘We should roll up this carpet and get rid of it – and the sofa, too. I’ve hardly got anything on my credit card. We’ll go and choose something at the weekend.’
He leaned forwards and ran a finger around her lips. She shivered with pleasure at his touch and pushed to the back of her mind how many extra shifts she would have to take on in order to pay for a new sofa.
‘Gavin,’ she said, gazing into his incredibly blue eyes, ‘you would tell me if there was anything really wrong, wouldn’t you?’
‘With us?’ he asked. ‘How could there be anything wrong with us? You’re perfect.’
She snuggled into him, resting her head on his shoulder.
‘And you’re perfect, too. We’re so lucky, aren’t we, to have found each other?’
‘The luckiest,’ he said, kissing her hair even though she hadn’t washed it for three days.
‘I want you to feel that you can tell me if there’s anything worrying you. I know that you think I have a stressful job and don’t want to bother me, but…’
He twisted and took her face in his hands.
‘There’s absolutely nothing to fret about, babe. We’re fine. Everything’s absolutely fine.’
‘But you’d tell me if it wasn’t?’
‘Of course I would. I tell you everything, you know that.’
Except he didn’t. At least, not yet. But she was sure he would, given time. Besides, she liked a bit of mystery in a man. It gave him gravitas. A lot of her previous boyfriends – could she really call them that when they’d barely been together for more than a few weeks? – male acquaintances then, had been only too eager to offload about previous relationships, childhood traumas and workplace jealousies. No, it was nice to have someone who protected her from all that.
He wanted to make her life better, and she loved him for that. If he got grumpy and impatient from time to time, who could blame him? Besides, he was right, she should have taken more care removing the bits of glass.
TWO
Jules had only been asleep for about an hour after a gruelling night shift when she was woken by someone hammering on the front door. Next to her the bed was empty and cold. She stretched out her fingers for the little lovingly scribbled note Gavin always left for her to find when she woke up. Instead of the piece of paper she was expecting, there was just a dent in the pillow where his head had been.
‘Yes?’ she snapped, swinging the front door open to confront two burly looking men in ill-fitting suits.
‘We’re looking for Gavin Stone. Is he in?’
