The one very positive aspect about the bad things in life is that the more knocks you receive, the easier it is to drag yourself back up from the floor the next time around. Alex doesn’t respond to my email and I’m relieved. Why make a nightmarish situation any worse?
However, I have to see for myself that he’s happy. I can’t totally let go with good grace until I know for sure he’s in a stable relationship, especially after the misunderstanding over Alicia moving in with him.
My plan is to hang around close to his apartment and follow him. Only until I can see for myself that he’s really picking up his life in a meaningful way. I don’t intend to interfere or complicate things, but I have to be one hundred per cent sure this time around.
Two days following, I’m there from seven in the morning, but there’s no sign of him. As each day drags on I begin to wonder if he even lives there anymore.
Then, on day three a taxi pulls up at the kerb. A tanned, fit guy steps out and before he even has a chance to turn around, I know its Alex. He leans in to pay the driver and as the taxi pulls away he’s left standing with two large suitcases and some hand luggage. He’s wearing a white straw panama hat and he looks so good I groan out aloud. Then I have to throw myself across the passenger seat, as his head turns in my direction. After a few minutes I look up, but he’s already carrying the luggage inside.
I feel like a private investigator. Okay, he’s been on holiday, but he could have gone on his own. He looks good…so good, that a tingly heat sensation begins in the pit of my stomach. Concentrate, Ceri. What do I do now? I sit and wait, watching for any sign of movement at the windows on the second floor. I spot him once or twice as he passes the bedroom window, no doubt unpacking his suitcase.
An hour and a half later and I’m thinking this is stupid. It’s stalking. I’m just about to put the key in the ignition and go home to drown my sorrows with a bottle of wine, when he steps out into the street. He saunters down to the corner and heads in the direction of the local shops. I quickly follow him on foot, trying not to run to catch up, because I know he won’t be going very far. I can take my time. I don’t want to look suspicious, or draw his attention.
He’s not in a hurry, but he has long legs and I have to take probably two steps to each one of his strides. It makes me feel very subconscious and I draw a strange look from a young woman walking towards me. He stops a few times, once to take his wallet out of his pocket and he checks to see whether he has some cash. I have to jump behind a tree. If he turns his head slightly he will see me, despite the discreet distance I’ve been keeping. Where is everyone when you want to disappear into a crowd?
He isn’t in the shop for very long and when he comes back out he has a small bag. It looks like milk, bread, and the usual things you need after you’ve been away from home. But he has one other, unexpected, item: a small white dog on a lead. As Alex walks off, talking to the dog, I recognise Geoff, the owner of the shop as he steps out and shouts after him. He walks briskly up to him and hands him a small bag, which I assume contains doggy things, and they both laugh. Alex juggles the two bags and the leash, shouting a “thanks” over his shoulder.
The dog begins pulling on the leash and Alex walks faster, but after a few moments the dog is really straining to push forward. Even from forty paces away I hear Alex’s voice carry on the wind. “Harry, slow down. We’re going home, boy.”
The walk back is tortuous. How I wish I could sidle up to Alex and pass the time of day. To be able to engage him in conversation as if we were old friends bumping into each other. Instead I have to keep hiding behind things as the dog continues his stop/start journey homewards. He’s a cute little dog, I think he’s a Westie. He’s pure white and has a very male gait to his walk, despite his little legs.
At the front door Alex has to juggle the shopping and the dog. It’s all I can do to stop myself leaping out from behind the rubbish bins to open the door for him. Once he’s inside that’s it for him for the rest of the day. At eight o’clock I head for home, weary in mind and body.
***
I assume the next morning Alex will have a lie in, then take Harry for his morning walk. I arrive around seven-thirty and I’m right. Moments after I pull up he comes jogging around the corner, Harry trotting alongside him. His tee-shirt is sticking to him and his hair is flat to his head, but I can’t take my eyes off him. He disappears inside and I see him pass the window maybe five or six times. It’s a work day for Alex and I suspect he will be in the study most of the time. A few people come and go during the morning, but it’s hard to tell if any of them are visitors. They are all male, so even if they are visiting him it’s better than a succession of attractive women calling at the building. This isn’t going to work. I could sit here for days and still not know what’s happening in his life.
It’s too obvious to involve Seb or Sheena. I can’t approach Ethan as I don’t think the two of them have spoken for quite a while. Think, Ceri, think! Then the answer presents itself. One of Alex’s neighbours, a young guy named Pete, steps into the street and he begins walking in the direction of the shops. I quickly start up the engine and park the other side of the small row of shops. I casually saunter inside and walk up and down the aisles several times, as if I’m looking for something. Suddenly I hear my name.
“Ceri! Hey, you’re looking good. What are you doing in this part of town? You haven’t moved?”
“Pete. Hi! No, I’m passing through.”
“Not visiting Alex?” he asks.
“No, no, nothing like that. I’m on my way back from an event and I need a sugar lift. I haven’t seen him in ages, I heard he’s in a serious relationship these days.” I reach for a big bar of chocolate as if I really don’t care what the answer is.
“Well, if you count Harry as a relationship, then yes, I suppose his is.” He laughs. “Are you, you know, are you seeing someone, because if you aren’t…”
I can’t believe he’s hitting on me! My head is spinning, if anyone knows whether Alex is seeing anybody at the moment it would be Pete. He makes it his business to check out everything that happens in the building. I realise he’s looking at me expectantly.
“Um. I’m sort of off men at the moment.”
His eyes widen. I don’t like the thought that crosses his mind.
“Really…” he replies, then I realise he thinks I’ve changed sides. I say a quick goodbye and head off to pay for the chocolate.
As I exit the shop I have a big smile plastered over my face. I open the wrapper on the bar of chocolate and pop a large piece into my mouth. I hear my name being called once more. This time its Alex’s voice that carries through the air.
“Alex?”
“Ceri? What on earth are you doing here? And why are you watching my apartment?”
Panic sets in. I don’t know what to say. Harry leaps forward, knocking the chocolate out of my hands and he’s all over it before Alex or I can stop him.
“Don’t you know chocolate is poisonous for dogs?” He scoops up Harry before he can finish off the last little pieces. He looks frantic.
“Jump in,” I unlock the car and open the rear door. “There’s a rug in the back if you want to wrap it around Harry. Where’s the nearest vet?”
“Head towards the bridge, then hang left. Second on the right, you can’t miss it.”
Harry starts growling, and for such a small dog it’s quite a vicious sound. A constant low rumbling.
“Is he okay?”
“How do I know? I’ve never been stupid enough to give him chocolate before. Only a tiny amount can be very dangerous for a dog his size. He’s never growled before, so can you please just concentrate on getting us there in one piece as quickly as you can.”
It’s only a couple of miles, but the journey is agony. Please don’t die little dog, or Alex will hate me forever.
I drop Alex at the door and he dashes into the building with Harry in his arms, still growling. I park the car and venture inside, taking a deep breath before I open the door.
The receptionist looks up. “I’m waiting for Harry,” I mumble.
“Oh, yes, chocolate OD.” It sounds funny and a small smile creeps over my face, but she gives me a withering look. I don’t know anything about dogs, but even I know they aren’t supposed to have chocolate. I have no idea why, though.
“I’m the driver,” I offer, jangling my keys in front of her to prove it and her face relaxes.
“Your friend is very upset,” she says.
“How dangerous is it?” I ask.
“It contains theobromine, which can cause cardiac arrhythmias, epileptic seizures, internal bleeding, heart attacks and eventually death. It depends on the quality of the chocolate, only a couple of ounces in a dog that size can be fatal. He’s in safe hands, please take a seat.”
Just when you think life can’t throw anything else at you, there’s always a surprise around the corner.
Thirty minutes later the internal door opens and Alex steps through. Harry isn’t with him. He shakes the vet’s hand and walks over to me. He runs a hand through his hair. “I need a drink. Harry’s going to be fine, but they are keeping him overnight.”
I hurry out the door after him.
“Alex, I’m so sorry, I don’t really understand about the chocolate thing and dogs, but the receptionist said it causes poisoning.”
“Yes. They gave Harry an injection and it made him sick. The vet seems to think the residual effects will go in twenty-four hours. Harry’s a bit hyper at the moment and they will be watching him around the clock.”
I’m mortified.
“Well?” he stands with his hands on his hip, empty leash swinging from his wrist. “Are you going to at least drive me back to my place?”
“Of course.” I unlock the car and Alex settles into the passenger seat.
“I think you owe me an explanation.” His voice is grim, and the rest of the journey is in total silence.