Upon seeing him, Maisie had run to him and placed her arms around his waist and he pushed away a jolt of affection for the child. He would need to harden his heart if there was to be no future for him and Jess.
‘Where have you been?’ asked Maisie. ‘Are you not friends with us anymore?’ she enquired, with all the innocence of a child.
‘Of course I am.’ He smiled at Maisie. ‘I have just been a bit busy, that’s all.’
‘That’s okay, then.’ The little girl smiled at him. ‘You can come inside now if you like.’
He almost took her up on her offer and followed them inside, until Carol reminded Maisie that Mummy was busy cleaning up. She had probably finished by now, but she didn’t like to impose Declan’s presence upon her, without asking first.
Carol and Declan engaged in some small talk, before they went their separate ways. As Declan turned to leave, Carol whispered in his ear.
‘Jess told me about your chat. Give it time,’ she told him.
‘I am.’ He smiled, wondering if the distance between them would only continue to grow.
Inside his apartment, Declan picked up the pink envelope and read the invitation from Alice.
Sunday afternoon for tea and cake? Normally he would accept any invitation from Alice and it was after his football after all. Plus, it was highly likely that Jess would be there. It was just a shame he had a mountain of accounts to go through that he had planned on starting on Sunday.
It would be a mammoth task searching for discrepancies in Sanctuary Bathrooms’ accounts over the last couple of years. But if he was to be a good accountant to Ken Watson, he needed to sort out the files and deliver what he had promised. And if there was one quality Declan possessed, it was being a man of his word.
‘That looks yummy.’
Maisie eyed the delicious-looking strawberry drip cake that took centre stage on the table in Alice’s lounge.
An assortment of sandwiches cut into triangles shared the space on the table, along with a selection of pastries and some fruit scones.
A large teapot was filled and carried through to the table, along with some china teacups and saucers. The set-up would not have looked out of place at Annie’s Tea Rooms, a café a mile or two up the road, thought Jess.
‘This is really lovely, Alice,’ said Jess as she sat around the table next to Mark.
Alice glanced at her watch and noticed that it was five minutes past three. She was disappointed that Declan had not arrived, but then he had not actually confirmed.
‘Are you sure it’s okay Mum coming?’ asked Jess. ‘She should be here any second.’
Carol was still searching for a suitable place to live as the viewing on the flat had proved to be unsuccessful.
‘Of course I am sure. It will affect her indirectly anyway I would imagine,’ said Alice to a puzzled-looking Jess.
Right on cue there was a knock on the door, and Carol came rushing into the apartment.
‘Sorry I’m late,’ she said. ‘I nipped into the village in the car, and someone took my parking space outside. Well, I say my space, but it isn’t really, is it?’ She rolled her eyes and laughed.
She handed a bunch of flowers to Alice that she had bought from Sainsbury’s and Alice accepted them gratefully.
‘Please sit down,’ said Alice, who offered Carol a cup of tea.
Jess could not help feeling a pang of disappointment at Declan not being at the gathering, despite her confused feelings towards him. Maybe he thought it best to avoid her. Or perhaps he was just giving her space. It was what she had wanted after all.
They ate and chatted, and Maisie devoured a huge slice of the strawberry cake, after Jess insisted she at least ate a sandwich first.
‘Right, well, it is a little disappointing that Declan is not here but never mind,’ said Alice. ‘I will catch up with him later.’
As she stood to walk to a dresser at the far end of the room, she felt a pain shoot through her hip.
‘Are you alright?’ asked Jess, getting to her feet. Alice had said nothing, but Jess had noticed her wince in pain.
‘Oh, I’m fine, don’t worry. A little sciatica, which is only to be expected at my age,’ she assured Jess as she moved slowly across the room.
