Once again, Dominic found himself standing on Pete and Ellen’s doorstep. However, this time, instead of a bottle of wine and a sad bunch of flowers, he was carrying an overnight bag and wearing a hangdog expression. Ellen opened the door and Dominic saw Pete trail into the hallway after her, curious to see who was knocking on their door this early on a Sunday morning.
‘Flipping hell! I thought you were in China!’
Dominic shook his head. ‘Long story … I’m back.’
Ellen looked carefully at Dominic. ‘Hmm. Something’s up.’ And then she turned and looked at her husband. ‘This is your fault, isn’t it?’
Pete looked both surprised and mildly offended. ‘You can’t say that! We don’t even know why he’s here yet! And how can it have been my fault when he’s been thousands of miles away for the last three weeks?’
Ellen just made a dismissive noise. ‘This has got the whiff of your shonky advice all over it,’ she told him as she stepped aside so Dominic could enter.
He was too tired to argue, or even to help Pete and Ellen argue. He just dropped his bag in their hallway and followed Ellen into the kitchen. ‘Do you think I could borrow your sofa again for a few nights?’
‘We can do better than that,’ Ellen replied. ‘You can use the attic room. Technically, because it hasn’t got a fire door, we can’t call it a bedroom yet – not until someone chases up that builder who said he could sort that out for us …’ she paused to give her husband a sharp look ‘… but we can put an air mattress up there. At least it would give you a bit of privacy and peace and quiet. Sammy likes to get up at five-thirty most days, and I expect you don’t want him bouncing on your head at that time in the morning?’
Dominic shook his head. At that moment a small boy streaked through the kitchen, wearing not one thread of clothing.
‘I thought you said you got him ready to go out to the park to play footie,’ she said to Pete, looking unconvinced.
‘I did!’ said Pete. ‘He must have taken it off again! How was I supposed to know that—’ He stopped and looked at Ellen’s expression then sighed. ‘I know … my fault. I’ll go and find it.’ He chased after Sammy, who was trying to unlock the back door. ‘Sam! Where d’you leave your football kit? Come and show Daddy and then we can go and get your ball.’
Sammy reluctantly allowed himself to be led away.
Ellen motioned for Dominic to sit at the kitchen table and busied herself making them both a huge cup of tea. When she’d finished, she sat down opposite him. ‘Come on, then,’ she said. ‘Out with it.’
He sighed. ‘You were right and I was an idiot.’
One corner of her mouth kicked up. ‘That much is glaringly obvious. Care to go into specifics?’
‘It’s Claire …’
‘Uh-oh. You told her?’
He shook his head. ‘She found out.’
Ellen just pulled a face. She didn’t need to say anything more.
Dominic nodded. ‘Yeah, I’d say your prophetic powers are spot on. I bumped into her in the hallway. It did not go well.’
Ellen took a large sip of her tea, all the time looking at him from over the rim of her cup. ‘That I can imagine. If a woman hates anything – more than being told, yes, her bum does looks big in that – it’s being lied to. Especially by a man.’ She shook her head, gave him a pleading look. ‘I thought you were going to come clean?’
He nodded again. ‘I was. It was just …’
Ellen didn’t say anything. She just waited.
Dominic looked down into his giant mug of builders’ brew. ‘The more time I spent with her, the more I realised how much I liked her, and the more I liked her, the harder it got to say something that would blow it all to smithereens. I kept telling myself I was doing it for her, but really I think I was being a big fat coward.’ He looked up and found Ellen staring at him. Her expression wasn’t fierce, but it wasn’t very sympathetic, either.
‘You’re right. You are an idiot,’ she said.
‘I didn’t want to lose her. What am I going to do, Ellie?’
He must have been looking pretty pathetic, because her face softened a little. ‘I don’t know,’ she said, ‘not exactly. But you’re going to have to give her time – and space. Moving out was probably the best thing to do, so you can borrow our attic room as long as you like. You’ll have to push Pete’s crates of all his comics and model aeroplane junk to one side, though.’
Dominic almost managed a smile. ‘He still has that stuff?’
Ellen chuckled. ‘He tells himself – and me – that he’s saving them for Sammy.’
He sobered a little. ‘And what about after that? After I’ve given her time and space?’
‘Look, I know you’re a pretty great guy underneath. You’ve always been there for Pete, even when he’s been a total plonker, and I know that Erica hurt you badly. You just can’t let it stop you living your life.’
Dominic looked back at her in surprise. He was about to say that he lived his life at full pelt, that he did things other people just dreamed about, but then he realised what she meant. Hadn’t it been creeping up on him ever since he’d come home, this feeling that when it came to the things that mattered – relationships – he was stuck wading in the shallows? ‘How do I do that?’ was all he eventually said.
Ellen played with the handle of her mug. ‘It’s not going to be easy,’ she told him firmly. ‘The first thing you need to do is apologise – properly.’
He nodded. ‘I tried that, but she really didn’t want to listen.’
‘Of course she didn’t! She’s still spitting angry. But she won’t stay that way forever. You’re just going to have to be patient. Don’t give me that look. I told you this wasn’t going to be easy, especially not for you – Mr When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going.’
Dominic really wanted to contradict her about that, but he needed the rest of Ellen’s wisdom on this subject, so he kept his stupid mouth shut. ‘Okay, then what?’
‘Then – and this is the hard bit for most men – you’re going to have to let down a few of those walls, let her see who you really are, and do it not just in words but actions and, no, flowers and chocolate will not be good enough.’
He nodded. He knew that now. Boy, did he know that now. ‘I did let her see who I was, that’s the problem.’
‘Nope,’ Ellen said firmly. ‘It’s the solution.’
‘But she hates me! She hates what she saw!’
She sighed. ‘Men … You’re so literal sometimes, only able to think about stuff on one level. She wouldn’t be so upset if she didn’t like you. A lot. And she’s angry at the moment because she’s confused. She’s not sure who you are – the wonderful guy who’s been worming his way into her heart – or the manipulating toad she’s scared you might be.’
He supposed that made sense. Didn’t mean he had any answers, though. And which one was he? Even he wasn’t one hundred per cent sure any more. ‘So how do I do that?’
Ellen gave him a rueful shrug. ‘That, my darling boy, is up to you to figure out. Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you.’
Dominic chuckled softly. ‘Or you’d have to kill me, right?’
She gave him a don’t be a wally kind of look. ‘I wouldn’t have to,’ she said, draining the last of her tea and standing up. ‘I think there’s a queue.’
‘Right,’ Pete said, bursting back into the kitchen with his son under one arm. ‘I have child. I have clothes – on the child – and I have a football.’ He looked hopefully at Dominic. ‘Want to come across to the park with us?’
Dominic almost said yes, but then he realised the peace and quiet of an empty house might be a better choice. He shook his head. ‘Not this time.’ He risked a glance at Ellen. ‘I have some thinking to do.’