Aubrey stood up with his briefcase in hand. ‘Well, it’s a mass exodus. I’m off.’ He glanced up at the ceiling and whispered, ‘But not very far.’ He winked at Faye and held out his hand. ‘It’s been a pleasure, Ms Ames.’
‘Call me Faye.’
‘I thought you’d never ask. May I?’ He took Faye’s hand and bent down to plant a soft kiss.
Faye glanced furtively over her shoulder to check Jake was not at this moment walking down the stairs. This old guy was actually coming on to her!
He delicately withdrew a small white business card from his left breast pocket. ‘Call me any time.’
Faye took the card.
Chapter 12
Faye was left alone in the hallway, wondering when would be a good time to tell Jake that he had a permanent chaperone. She turned the small white card over in her hand. There was no name, no address, no job title – just an eight-digit phone number neatly printed in the centre.
‘For chrissakes!’
Faye tucked the card in her pocket and glanced up the stairs. ‘Do you need a hand with something?’
‘No. Yes.’
‘Well, which is it?’ Faye shouted up the stairwell.
‘I’m in the bedroom,’ Jake called down.
Faye was familiar with the upstairs layout after settling Natty into what had turned out to be one of many sleepovers at Jake’s when Faye had been out on dates and had known she might be home late – or not at all. This arrangement had suited everybody concerned, especially Jake, who hadn’t relished the idea of sleeping on Faye’s lumpy sofa – although he had ended up doing so the previous night.
Faye couldn’t resist poking her head into the spare bedroom. The bed and desk were familiar, but there was now a frieze running around the centre of the room, cutting the pale bluewalls in half; Astronauts floated along in a starry blue-black space.Definitely Natty’s doing, thought Faye.No pink ponies for her.
She moved into the room and brushed the face of the dinosaur coverlet on the bed, her eyes roving to several multicoloured stacking boxes – also a new addition to the room. She randomly picked up a toy from the overflowing toy box. ‘Natty!’ she exclaimed, half annoyed and half amused. This girl knew she was onto a good thing; she was milking the guy for all he was worth!
‘Did you say something?’ Jake’s voice came from the next room.
It occurred to Faye that she wasn’t standing in the spare room. This was Natty’s room now. Her thoughts turned back to the discussion at the breakfast table, to Natty’s insistence that Jake was her daddy. Looking around at all this new stuff, it was little wonder that Natty was confused.
‘Just a minute,’ called Faye, bending down to put a toy back in the box before she left the room. Something caught her attention – a tassel poking through the stacking box below. Curious, she lifted the yellow box off the top to take a closer look. She picked up the material and held it up. It was a small brown suede waistcoat with tassels down the side. ‘Cute.’ She laid it on the bed. Underneath was a hat squashed out of shape. Faye picked it up, turned it over and put a fist inside to reshape the hat. It was a Stetson, brown suede to match the waistcoat. She put it on the bed beside the waistcoat. She turned back to see what else was in the box, a leather belt. She picked it up. It was stuck. She gave it a yank. It flew out of the box; something else came out of the box with it and flew across the room, clunking loudly against the door before it landed on the floor with a dull thud.
‘What was that noise?’ Jake emerged from his bedroom wearing a clean shirt, unbuttoned. ‘I seem to have a problemdoing up buttons,’ Jake held up his bandaged hands as if he needed to offer proof of his new-found disability.
Faye stared at the belt that was dangling in her hand; she waved it at Jake. ‘What’s this?’
‘Ah.’
‘Ah? Is that all you can say?’ Faye paused. ‘And what is that?’ She pointed at Jake’s foot. He was moving something around, trying to hide it from Faye’s view. Faye strode over to Jake and held out her hand. ‘Give it to me.’
Jake didn’t move.
Faye sighed, knelt down and got a grip on the object that he was making a lousy job of hiding beneath his foot. ‘Let me have it.’
Jake reluctantly moved his foot.
Faye picked it up. ‘Are you that stupid?’ She stood for a moment, glaring at Jake, who was avoiding eye contact.
And there was more; the wooden rocking horse in the corner which must have cost a thousand pounds, the widescreen television. No wonder Natty wanted to come here; there was no way Faye could compete with all this on a teaching salary. And why should she? Jake wasn’t Natty’s father.
This had to stop. And she wasn’t just thinking about the toys.
Faye thrust both objects into Jake’s chest and stormed out.
