Love Me Till Wednesday (Sapphire Stars #1)

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Nick sat down at the table furthest from the counter, cradling a mug of strong tea in his hands. The cafe’s plastic tablecloths were covered in pink polka dots now, not the garish red and grey diagonal stripes that they had when he was last here in the 90s. They’d looked outdated even then. Everything else looked the same, though, even the plastic chair he was sitting on.

He pulled his baseball cap down low so the other two customers wouldn’t recognise him, then checked his watch. Lisa should be here by now. He hoped she hadn’t changed her mind.

He felt his phone buzz in his coat pocket. That could be her. He pulled it out and looked at the screen. Adrienne again. What marvellous timing! He was tempted to ignore it but it must be important - even she wouldn’t pester him about wedding plans in the middle of the night. He tapped the green button. ‘Hi, darling.’

‘So you are still alive. Why haven’t you been answering my calls?’ She sounded extremely agitated.

‘I just have.’

‘Yeah, but you’ve ignored all the others today. ’

‘I’ve been busy. You know what it’s like when I come back to England. It’s just one meeting or interview after another. Anyway, what’s wrong? You do realise it’s 4 am here.”

‘I was worried about you.’

‘I’m fine. Just tired. I need some sleep.’

‘You sound like you’re trying to get rid of me.’

‘Like I said, I’m tired. Can we talk tomorrow? Well, later today, I suppose.’

‘And how are you planning to get some sleep?’

What sort of a question was that? ‘I thought lying down in bed might do it.’

‘Are there many beds in the cafe?’

‘What?’ How the hell did she know he was in a cafe?

‘You’re in Eduardo’s Cafe, George Street, London NW1.’

He looked up to check who was around. ‘Are you stalking me?’

‘No. I used the device locator on my phone.’

Shit! He’d allowed her to see his location when she was meeting him on set a few weeks ago, and he’d forgotten to turn it off afterwards.

‘Why are you looking at that?’

‘Because you weren’t answering your phone. I thought you might be lying dead in an alley somewhere. Or perhaps just lying?’

‘Oh god. Not this again.’ Despite numerous opportunities, he’d never cheated on her, but recently, she’d started getting suspicious. ‘I’m not lying. I am tired.’

‘And you thought going to a cafe in the small hours of the morning would help with that?’

‘Christ, Adrienne, I’ve got jet lag. I was wide awake. I needed some fresh air.’

‘So you walked more than two miles from your luxury hotel suite to a cafe with a two-star rating on TripAdvisor? ’

She’d done her homework before phoning then. ‘I used to come here when I was a student.’

‘With Lisa?’

He sighed. ‘That was thirty years ago. You weren’t even born then. I wish I’d never mentioned it.’

‘Are you with her now?’

Had she got his phone bugged as well? ‘What makes you think that?’

‘So you’ve not seen her today?’

‘I ... No.’ He’d last seen Lisa five hours ago. Technically, that was yesterday. And if he said, yes she’d never shut up about it.

‘Liar.’

‘What’s this all about?’

‘I’m engaged to a man who lies to me, and I’ve just found out I’m pregnant. That’s what it’s all about.’ She started to sob.

Nick was silent while he processed what she’d just said.

‘Are you still there?’ she shouted.

‘But you can’t be.’

‘Do you want me to text you a photo of the pregnancy test?’

‘You can’t be.’

‘I stopped my contraception three months ago.’

‘You did what?’

‘You wouldn’t give me a straight answer about having children. And I’m not getting any younger.’

‘I did give you a straight answer - I told you I didn’t want any more children. I made that very clear before you moved in with me.’ What he hadn’t got around to telling her was he’d made sure he couldn’t by having a vasectomy. It had been an easy decision after all the heartache he’d been through with his first wife. He’d barely seen his twin daughters since she walked out on him fifteen years ago when they were three. He was still cut up about that now.

And now he had to face up to the fact that Adrienne was cheating on him, probably with that smarmy tennis coach. It might explain why he hadn’t made any progress on improving her backhand. ‘Who is he? Who have you been screwing behind my back?’

‘No one! How dare you say that when you’re cheating on me.’

‘I’m not cheating on you.’

‘Nick?’ a familiar voice said.

He glanced up to see Lisa looking at him quizzically.

Adrienne’s voice was still shouting down the phone. ‘Oh my god, Nick. How can you tell such barefaced lies? Do you think I’m stupid? I just heard her call your name.’

Lisa mouthed, ‘Do you want another drink?’

He shook his head and watched Lisa head over to the counter.

‘Nick! Are you listening to me?’

‘I can’t talk about this here.’ He ended the call before Adrienne could reply and shoved the phone into his jacket pocket.

Lisa sat down with her mug of tea, looking genuinely concerned. ‘Are you ill? You’re looking grey again like you did in the studio.’

‘Let’s just say I’ve had less stressful days.’ Nick said, doing his best to ignore the phone buzzing in his pocket.

‘We can meet some other time if now’s difficult?’

He got his phone out again and turned it off. ‘No. Now’s fine. I need to know everything.’

‘Where do I start?’ Lisa asked .

‘I guess I’m struggling to understand why you didn’t tell me you were having my child,’ Nick said.

‘And how could I have done that? I didn’t know where you were. Mel told me you’d hooked up with someone new and we were over.’ Lisa closed her eyes to calm herself. Even after all this time it was still a painful memory.

Nick looked uncomfortable. She carried on.

‘When I arrived back in London, Mel said you’d come home early from Greece and you’d been round to collect your things. I thought you were a bastard for not telling me to my face. I felt you owed me an explanation so I went round to your flat. But no one answered the door. I couldn’t think what to do. I sat on the doorstep in the rain for an hour until what’s her face turned up.’

‘Jenny?’

‘Yes. Sorry, I’m rubbish with names these days. Anyway, she told me you’d given her the rest of your share of the month’s rent, and then you left to catch a flight to America. She said you were going to write with a forwarding address, so I went back a week later, but she hadn’t heard anything. She promised to send me your address when it arrived, but it never did.’

‘I didn’t get round to doing that,’ Nick said quietly. ‘Deliberately, I guess. I didn’t want you to find me. I was so cut up about you replacing me with someone else.’

‘I know how that feels,’ Lisa leaned back in her chair, wanting to put some more distance between them. ‘I contacted your agent, but she wouldn’t talk to me, and her assistant wouldn’t tell me anything. Then I tried looking your mum up in the phone book but I couldn’t remember her surname. So I thought, sod you. I was best rid of you. And then I found out I was pregnant.’

‘That must have been a shock. ’

‘No shit, Sherlock.’ Don’t get angry. You know this isn’t his fault now! ‘Sorry. For years, I rehearsed in my head what I’d say to you if you ever got in touch, but that was on the basis that you’d run off with someone else. I’m struggling to get my head around what actually happened.’

He nodded. ‘I’m the same. I’ve been angry with you for so long.’ He held her gaze for a moment. ‘What a waste.’

‘Yeah.’ She resisted the urge to lean over and kiss him. No point doing that - you’re not his type now. And he’s engaged.

‘What are you going to do about Mel?’ he asked.

‘I don’t know yet. I’ve confided in her for years about everything. And all the time, she wasn’t honest with me. Good job that she’s going away for the weekend. Otherwise, I might have done something stupid. I’ll confront her when she comes round on Tuesday night. That way, I’ve got a few days to think about how to tackle it.’

Nick nodded. ‘Probably best to sleep on it at least.’

They sat in silence. Nick was the first to break it. ‘Tell me about Jim. How was it bringing him up?’

There was no point in sugarcoating it. ‘Exhausting. Mel helped out in the school holidays when she could, but she was working full time as a teacher so she couldn’t do much during term time. Dougie was furious because I didn’t feel up to going into the studio or anything music-related, to be honest. So the Stars all agreed to go our separate ways, which at least meant I wasn’t feeling guilty about being crap at writing new material. Mum wanted me to move back home so she could help more, but that would’ve been admitting failure. Then my money started to run out when he was two, so I got him a place in a nursery and got an office job. I used my legal name, not my stage name, and I stopped dying my hair red so no one recognised me.’

‘Why didn’t you get everyone back together or set up a new band? ’

‘I’d lost my confidence. I tried writing again, but the words wouldn’t come. Meanwhile, you were living the life of Riley in Hollywood.’

‘It might have looked that way, but it wasn’t that great.’

‘Really? You seemed to be on every newspaper front page at that point. You and a different blonde model each week.’

‘That was the problem. My career was on the up, but my personal life was a mess. And I was drinking too much. I had no trouble attracting women, but keeping them was a different story. Apparently, I was deliberately pushing them away, according to my shrink.’

‘Shrink?’

‘Everyone has a therapist in Hollywood.’

‘Is that what’s happening with your current fiancée?’ Why did you say that??

He looked like he was going to reply but changed his mind.

‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘It’s none of my business.’

‘Let’s just say I’ve realised she’s only interested in my bank balance and my contacts.’

The cafe was filling up now. One of the men at the table opposite kept looking across.

Nick whispered to Lisa. ‘I think we’ve been rumbled. Shall we go for a walk?’

Lisa looked at the rivulets of rain running down the cafe window. It wasn’t the best night for walking. ‘I only live a couple of streets away. Shall we go there?’

Nick grinned. ‘I’ve heard that line before.’

It broke the tension. Lisa blushed at the memory of the first time she’d invited him back to hers. ‘Your virtue’s safe with me this time. ’

The rain became heavier as soon as they stepped outside the cafe. Lisa only had a hoodie. She’d soon get soaked.

‘Take my coat,’ Nick offered.

‘No. It’s not far. I’ll get changed when we get to mine.’ Lisa set off down the road. ‘You’ll recognise this street,’ she said as she turned left at the end.

She was right. He did remember it. The flat she used to share with Mel was on the top floor of number 22. ‘You didn’t move far, then,’ he said.

‘Why would I? We loved it around here.’

Was “we” referring to the two of them or to Mel and Lisa?

As they turned into Paradise Crescent, Lisa picked up the pace. ‘I’ll run ahead to get the door open.’

He recognised this street, too, with its mix of different styles of Victorian villas. Lisa walked through a gate and up a path to some steps leading to one of the largest houses in the row. He recognised it immediately. This was the one she’d always admired when they walked past it to go to the pub sometimes. It looked a lot more loved than it had then, but it had a SOLD board outside. He caught up with her as she fumbled in her pocket for her keys.

‘You bought your favourite house then?’

‘Yes, with the royalty cheque I finally received about four months after you left.’

‘But you’re moving?’ he asked.

‘I’ve lived here a long time. I need a fresh start now I’m on my own.’

So she was single again. He looked around while she selected the front door key. There was a man walking past who looked vaguely familiar, but he wasn’t sure why.

Lisa turned the key in the lock and opened the door. ‘Welcome to my humble abode.’

The large hallway she led him into wasn’t humble at all. It was dominated by a large pre-Raphaelite style painting in an ornate frame contrasting with the modern, quirky half-moon table underneath. It looked like something designed by Salvador Dali. Lisa threw her keys into a bowl on the table. He recognised it as one he’d bought her all those years ago from Portobello Market. Seeing it took him straight back to that sunny afternoon when they’d gone for a stroll to get some fresh air after a fun morning in bed. Interesting that she’d kept it. Did it evoke the same memory for her?

‘Hang your coat up on the rack over the radiator and make yourself at home in the kitchen,’ she said, indicating a door at the end of the hall. ‘I’ll be back in two minutes.’

As Lisa ran upstairs, Nick took off his damp coat and then opened the door to reveal what an estate agent would describe as a spacious modern kitchen diner. With its large central island, long dining table and well-loved sofa with a television opposite, he guessed this was where she and her family spent most of their time. She’d managed to make it feel stylish and welcoming at the same time.

He made a beeline for the sofa and sank back into its soft cushions. He felt at home here. The jet lag was catching up with him. He risked shutting his eyes for a moment.

The sound of a door opening jolted him awake. Pete sauntered into the kitchen. He was rubbing his soaking wet hair with a towel. ‘Hello, mate. Fancy seeing you here.’

‘I was just thinking the same thing.’ Surely Lisa and Pete weren’t a couple again? She’d definitely said she was on her own a few minutes ago.

‘Do you want a coffee?’ Pete asked as he got a couple of mugs out of a wall cupboard. From the way he quickly found what he was looking for and deftly managed the coffee machine, it was obvious he lived here. Tonight had been full of surprises, and this was going on the list of less than welcome ones.

‘Are you ok?’ Pete asked .

Nick had obviously done a bad job of hiding his disappointment. ‘Sorry, just tired. That’s all.’

‘Where’s Lisa?’

‘Upstairs, putting some clothes on.’

Pete raised an eyebrow.

‘We got drenched walking back from the all-night cafe.’

‘The lovely Eduardo’s? Having a trip down memory lane? I still nip in there when I fancy a proper fry-up for breakfast. Lisa disapproves.’

‘What don’t I approve of?’ Lisa asked as she walked into the room.

‘My artery-hardening taste in food.’

‘I don’t want you popping your clogs just yet, Peter Anderson. I have plans for you.’

‘You’re not the only one.’ He was grinning from ear to ear now.

‘What’s that meant to mean?’ Lisa asked as she started making herself some tea.

‘I’ll explain later. Right now, I need some sleep before we do that radio interview.’

‘You didn’t get much rest at Andy’s then?’

‘No comment.’ Pete said with a laugh. ‘See you, Nick.’

‘Yeah. See you.’ Nick replied half-heartedly as Pete headed up the steps into the hall. Had he and Lisa got some sort of open relationship?

‘You look confused,’ Lisa said.

‘I guess I didn’t expect you and Pete to be a couple again.’

‘We’re not. He’s my lodger,’ she explained.

Nick was surprised at how relieved he felt to hear that. You’re falling for her again. Stop it!!

‘ I think he and Andy might be getting back together again. Andy whisked him away for a drink when we were about to leave the studio. Anyway, I’ve got something you might be interested in,’ she said, heading over to the bookshelf in the corner. She returned, clutching what looked like a photo album, the type where the photos were printed directly onto the page. ‘I had it made for Jim’s 30 th . I thought you could do your homework before you go round his house.’

He looked at the title embossed on the front in gold letters: “James Jones - the first 30 years”. He felt a lump in his throat. He didn’t think he could cope with seeing everything he’d missed in Jim’s life without crying. ‘Can I look at this later? I just want to talk to you,’ he said, smiling at her.