In fact, she wasn’t going to cry. She cut the call fast.
And stocked up on café paper napkins.
She even managed to drink some of the latte before he rang again.
‘Bella, don’t hang up,’ he said as soon as she answered.
‘How do you know my name’s Bella?’
‘You told me yesterday when I rang.’
‘Oh.’ That took the wind out of her sails a bit.
‘Look, I’ve handled this badly, I admit.’
‘Oh, I don’t know.’ She sounded brittle and sophisticated, she thought. Also very angry. ‘I think you handled it very well. Kept the girl distracted, avoided giving her your name, even when she asked. And she still didn’t twig what a liar you are.’
That stung him. ‘I didn’t lie!’
‘Yes, you bloody did,’ she yelled. ‘And you know it.’
This time she not only cut the call, she threw the phone at the café wall, where it broke into bits.
Well, at least it gave her something to do. She went to buy a replacement, a smartphone this time. She’d got a job now.
It rang as soon as the chip was in place.
‘Ignore it,’ she told the startled salesman. ‘A nuisance caller.’
She stamped home to the flat, the phone going every few minutes. Setting her teeth, she vowed to sign up to a new company the next day. But she didn’t turn it off, and when it stopped ringing she felt even worse somehow. She even checked the new device to make sure that she had not inadvertently pressed the silent button on the unfamiliar keypad. But she hadn’t. He had just given up.
Well, that was a good thing, wasn’t it?
Lottie was still at work when Bella got back. The flat felt empty and alien and she realised that the heating had not yet come on. It took a bit of a hunt but she found the controls and punched the override. Pretty soon, the place felt homey again, especially after she’d turned on the radio. She got out of her going-to-work clothes, lost the heels and padded round the flat in jeans and a sweater. She had just made herself a large mug of tea when the entry phone rang.
‘Hello?’
‘Bella?’
She dropped the mug of tea. It crashed on to the polished pine floor and broke into a dozen pieces. Hot tea soaked into her socks, making her jump.
‘Ouch!’
‘Bella? Can I come in?’
She was dancing on the spot, trying to avoid the scalding liquid and the shards, as she plucked at the wettest sock.
‘Dammit.’
His voice grew urgent. ‘Bella, what’s wrong?’
Distracted, she pushed the entry button and heard the long buzz as the outer door opened.
She got one sock off and threw it into the corner, but she was still hopping and pulling when there were loud footsteps, as if someone had run up the stairs, followed by a thundering on the front door of the flat.
‘Bella! What’s happening? Let me in.’
She hopped up to the door and threw it open. Or at least she tried to. She had not allowed for being bent nearly double, hauling at the sock on her left foot. She recoiled and sat down hard. Among the shattered china, as it happened.
‘Oof,’ she said. Followed by, ‘Oo-ow.’
‘Bella …’ He shouldered his way in, looking wildly round, and stopped dead as he saw her sitting on the floor, nursing her foot, a wet and now blood-smeared sock draped over her shoulder like a waiter’s napkin. ‘What on earth …?’
‘I’ve hurt my foot,’ said Bella in a small voice.
He shook his head as if to clear it. ‘What? Why? How?’
‘I dropped my mug. Spilled the tea and trod in it. Broke the mug and sat on it. I think –’ her voice started to rise ‘– I’m bleeding.’
He didn’t need any further explanation. He scooped her up, kicking the door shut behind him, and carried her into the sitting room, where he deposited her on the oldest, shabbiest sofa.
‘Show me.’
Cautiously, Bella withdrew the pressure from the side of her foot. That revealed a wedge-shaped cut, tailing off into a long shallow scratch. He inspected it like a pro.
‘That needs cleaning. There could be glass in the wound.’
She sniffed a bit. ‘Ceramic. With forget-me-nots on.’ Her voice wobbled.
He looked up at her then. It was the heart-stopping smile she remembered. How could he be such a lying toe-rag and have a smile like that? It wasn’t fair.
‘OK. Forget-me-not ceramic. It still needs to be fished out. Hot water? First-aid box?’
Bella was starting to feel faint. She directed him to the bathroom but denied all knowledge