ROSA PULLED IN to the city hall’s car park with a sigh of relief. Sergeant Downing hadn’t been joking when he’d said it was still pretty bad outside. She’d driven forty the entire way, praying that she wouldn’t bump into anything since the visibility was so bad.
Which was probably for the best. She didn’t want to be reminded of all the things she and Aaron had done together on the island in happier times.
Things hadn’t ended particularly well between them now, but she hoped that he’d realise her leaving hadn’t been his fault. Though she didn’t think that was the case. She’d botched the explanation. Partly because she couldn’t say that she was a hypochondriac. Not out loud. She could barely think it. The other part was because she didn’t think he’d respond well to her saying she’d done it for his own good.
So, really, she’d given him all that she could.
Her fingers shook as she unbuttoned Aaron’s shirt. It was pathetic, lying to him about why she was wearing it. Especially since he could so easily figure out that it was a lie. But she didn’t care.
The shirt would remind her of the last day they’d spent together. Even if it wasn’t exactly his, she could still smell him on it. Remnants of sleeping together the previous night, which proved that he’d held her while they’d slept.
She pulled it off, held it to her chest for a moment, and then folded it neatly and set it on the passenger seat. Then she pulled at the long-sleeved top she’d put on under Aaron’s shirt and hurried into the hall, her handbag the only protection she had against the rain.
She worried she’d made a mistake when she walked in and saw only unfamiliar faces, though that feeling in itself was familiar. It had accompanied all of her spur-of-the-moment decisions. And when Sergeant Downing had told her about this event, right after she and Aaron had had such an immense argument, it had seemed like the perfect escape.
And since that was what she did—ran, escaped—she’d come.
She shook the water off her clutch and then walked further into the room as though she belonged.
‘Ms Spencer?’
She whirled around, felt a genuine smile on her lips when she saw Sergeant Downing. ‘I hope you meant it when you invited me.’
‘Of course,’ he replied with a smile. He was handsome, she noticed for the first time. He had short curls on his head, dimples on either side of his mouth that became more pronounced when he smiled. If she hadn’t been so entirely enthralled by her husband, she might have been interested.
‘This place is pretty big for such a small town.’
‘Yeah.’ He stuffed his hands into his pockets, looked around. ‘It’s meant to hold the entire town. We’re about six thousand, so it has to be pretty big.’
‘It’s lovely,’ she said, taking in the hall.
It was decorated informally, with stands throughout the room that held food and other goodies. A makeshift bar stood against the wall on one side. There was an elevated platform on the other side, where children chased each other and screamed, and parents soothed and chatted in groups.
The windows were high—almost at the roof—and were spattered with rain, though they provided enough light for the room that the fairy lights that had been haphazardly draped throughout weren’t entirely necessary.
‘You have generators here?’
‘Yep.’ He lifted his shoulders. ‘City hall is also the designated safe venue for disasters.’ He gave her a chagrined smile. ‘Small town.’
‘Oh, no, I love it. Apart, you know, from the fact that I was locked in a room with my husband for a day because we couldn’t make any calls.’
He laughed. ‘Speaking of your husband...’
‘He’s not coming,’ she said, her body stiffening. ‘He’s tired, and me being out the house is giving him the chance to...rest.’
He studied her but only nodded. ‘Shall we get something to drink?’
Relieved, she said, ‘Sure.’
She followed him to the bar but, when she saw that there was a hot drinks stand right next to it, pivoted and ordered a hot chocolate instead of the alcohol she’d first wanted. Sergeant Downing seemed well-liked by the town—certainly well known, though in a town of six thousand that was expected—and when he began to introduce her as ‘Ms Spencer’ she automatically corrected him.
‘It’s Rosa,’ she said while she took the hand of the elderly woman who’d handed her the drink.
‘That’s a lovely name,’ the elderly woman—Doreen—said.
‘Thank you. I was actually named after my mom’s favourite flower. It’s a tradition in our family. For the daughters, at least.’
‘How lovely.’ Doreen beamed. ‘It’s almost like our Charles over here.’
Rosa glanced over just in time to see Sergeant Downing wince. She cocked an eyebrow. ‘Charles?’
‘He was named after his mother’s favourite royal,’ Doreen offered enthusiastically.
Both her eyebrows rose.
‘My mother’s always been unique,’ Sergeant Downing told her grimly. ‘Thanks for that, Doreen.’
‘It’s a pleasure.’
Rosa laughed. ‘Thanks for the hot chocolate, Charles.’
‘Charlie,’ he replied with a smile. ‘You’re welcome.’
The whole encounter made some of the sadness that inevitably came when she spoke about her mother ease. Which was strange, considering that she barely spoke about her mother outside of her family. Hell, she barely spoke about her mother in her family.
Her father and brothers’ lives had pretty much gone on as usual after her mother had died. They lived in Mossel Bay, a small town on the Garden Route in the Western Cape. She’d grown up there, and had then gone to Cape Town when she’d started college. And then, when she’d dropped out, she’d started working for a commercial chain as an intern, before working up to a junior and then senior designer, with help from Liana’s connections.
She’d only gone home a couple of times since she’d left for college. The first to pick her mother up and take her to Cape Town so that she could help take care of her as she went through her treatment. Her father and brothers would visit once a month, sometimes twice, which was hopelessly too few times, and yet every time she’d told them that they’d told her they had their own lives to live.
And so that had been that. Even after her mother had died, and Rosa had gone home to pack up her mother’s things, it had been Aaron who had been by her side, helping her through it all.
Her brothers hadn’t been interested. Her older brother had just started his own business and was more interested in Aaron’s legal advice than their mother’s belongings. And her younger brother had just got married to someone Rosa had only met once, and he’d been no help whatsoever.
And as for her father... Well, he’d been living a life separate from his wife for a long time by then. Now, of course, he was living with the title of ‘widower’ and enjoying the attention.
No, Rosa thought again. She hadn’t been able to talk about her mother in the longest time. She hadn’t wanted to bring it up with Aaron because... Well, because she hadn’t wanted to remind him of how terrible their experience with cancer had been.
It had been long after his mother had gone into remission and her mother had passed away that Aaron had relaxed. She’d only then realised how negatively he’d been affected by it all. He’d finally started eating properly. He’d smiled more. He wouldn’t toss and turn as much at night.
She hadn’t wanted him to slip back into the person he’d been before. Hadn’t wanted that for herself either. So she’d left. Protected him from going back. And felt herself revert as she did. She’d been foolish to believe it was possible for her to do otherwise when her life was still shadowed by what she’d gone through with her mother.
‘Rosa?’
She blinked and then offered a smile to Charlie when she saw his questioning look. ‘Sorry. It’s been a rough morning. What did I miss?’
He gave her a sympathetic look. ‘I don’t think I’m going to be making your day any easier, I’m afraid.’ He hesitated. ‘Your husband managed to get hold of me just now. He says he has your phone, and asked whether I could pick it up for you.’
* * *
Aaron was waiting at the front door when Sergeant Downing rang the doorbell. There was surprise on the man’s face when Aaron opened the door almost immediately after the bell sounded.
‘Hi,’ the sergeant said cautiously. ‘You called.’
‘Yes. Thank you for coming.’
‘Rosa insisted.’
Aaron paused as he reached for Rosa’s phone on the table next to the door. ‘You spoke with her?’
The man’s face turned a light shade of red. ‘Yeah. I was with her when I got the call.’
Now Aaron turned to face the man fully. ‘You were with my wife when you got my call,’ he repeated.
‘Not like that,’ Sergeant Downing said quickly. And then he straightened his shoulders. ‘I was the one who invited her. Both of you,’ he added. ‘And when I saw you weren’t with her...’ He trailed off. ‘Well, I didn’t want her to feel alone. Like she was amongst strangers.’
‘She was. Is.’
‘Yes, but she didn’t have to be.’
Aaron considered it for all of a minute. ‘You’re right. I should probably come back with you. I’ll give Rosa the phone myself, and make sure that she isn’t amongst strangers any more.’