Time After Time: A heart-warming novel about love, loss and second chances. Hannah McKinnon Mary

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СКАЧАТЬ hon,’ Isamu said. ‘I’ve tried everything but we have to let this one go.’

      Hayley swallowed. ‘Got anything else up your sleeve?’

      ‘Klingel’s are looking.’

      ‘Forget it,’ Hayley said quickly. ‘They overcharge and under deliver. I’d rather be broke than –’

      ‘I was joking.’

      Hayley puffed out her cheeks. ‘Oh. Phew. Seriously then, what else do you have?’

      ‘Nothing at the moment,’ Isamu said. ‘But I’ll call you when I do. Let me see what I can find next month, but then everything will slow down over Christmas, probably until at least mid-January. Okay?’

      ‘Understood. Let me know if anything comes up. Okay? Anything.’

      ‘Absolutely. We’ll get you sorted. Got to go. Sit tight for a few months. Bye.’ Isamu hung up.

       Sit tight? Here?

      ‘Oh come on!’ She smacked her palm on the table. ‘I’ve lost the job and another client. Fucking hell!’

      She sank into her chair and picked up a photograph of Rick, Millie and Danny. She’d taken it more than two years ago. They’d spent a week at the beach in Cornwall, flying kites and eating wickedly delicious mint-choc-chip ice-cream, running barefoot in the warm sand before flopping down and watching the sunlight dance on the waves. They hadn’t had a family holiday since.

      Hayley looked at the photo in its porcelain frame and gently touched the green and red splodges of colour Millie’s little fingers had applied to the Mother’s Day present. She’d been so happy during that week in Cornwall. In love with her husband, with her children, with her life.

       Since then I’ve become a permanent customer of Shitty Days R Us.

      She sighed again, shook her head and picked up a file, ready to get to work for a client. Before she started reading her notes, she doodled Charles’ face on a yellow Post-it note and wrote ARSE underneath with thick red pen.

      *

      The moon was high in the sky before Hayley decided she’d better pack up her things – including work she had to do over the weekend – and head home. The air outside was cool, yet she sucked in a big lungful, hoping the damp fog would somehow have a calming effect on her. It didn’t, so she hurried down the street on the way to the tube station, her mind racing and her hands clammy. She’d hoped she’d be rushing back to share good news with Rick, that she’d brought on a new client, finally had some success at work again. They could have done with something positive, maybe they’d even have celebrated a little. Instead she’d be spending the weekend looking for a new job.

      Her mobile phone rang and she fished it out of her coat pocket, her steps barely slowing.

      ‘Hi, Mum,’ Hayley said. At times she even surprised herself at how upbeat she could force herself to sound.

      ‘Hello, love. How are you? I just wanted to check in. See how you’re doing. I called home but Rick said you weren’t back yet. You’re working late again. Are you okay?’

      Hayley plastered a smile on her face and crossed her fingers. ‘Just on my way home. I’m fine.’

      ‘Really?’

      ‘Really. How’s Dad?’

      ‘We’ve had a good day today.’ Tenderness filled her mother’s voice. ‘He’s asleep now.’

      ‘That’s good. Mum. What about the new medicine? Any difference?’

      ‘No love. Even if it does help, it won’t be that quick.’

      ‘Not even a tiny bit?’

      ‘No. But it’s still early. The doctor said it takes time.’

      Hayley cleared her throat as she walked down the steps to the station. ‘And you, Mum? Are you okay?’

      ‘Yes, I’m fine.’

      ‘You’re sure?’

      ‘As good as I can be.’ Her mother sighed. ‘But I was calling to check up on you. Will we see you all this weekend?’

      Hayley closed her eyes. ‘I’m not sure yet. I’ll try.’

      ‘We’d love to see you, if you can.’

      ‘So would we. I’ll do my best, Mum.’ Hayley’s phone crackled. ‘I’m losing the connection. I’ll call you tomorrow.’

      ‘Okay. Thanks, lo–’ The line went dead.

      As Hayley slipped her mobile into her pocket she pictured her father, the once strong and active man now reliant on others for physical and financial help, confined to a wheelchair.

       If only I’d been there.

      Rick said she shouldn’t blame herself and she knew he was probably right. But she couldn’t stop herself from wondering. Could she have done something? Would she have recognised the signs? She’d seen the F.A.S.T. adverts – Face, Arms, Speech, Time – so often. What if she’d been there?

       What if?

      It wasn’t fair. None of it was fair.

      I bet Dad would tell me how much he hates all the fuss.

      Hayley smiled, genuinely this time.

       And he’d have told me to sod off when we paid to make their house wheelchair accessible.

      As the train arrived and started to slow down she stared at her moving reflection in the window and her smile disappeared. She felt much older than forty-two. Her face looked drawn, with bags under her eyes like overstuffed suitcases, and, thanks to the humidity, her long, brown hair had morphed into a shapeless, frizzy disaster. She got on the train, found a seat then fished an elastic band out of her bag and tried to smooth her hair into a ponytail.

       I look like I’m auditioning for The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

      Her stomach lurched as she thought about looking for a job again. She knew all too well how hard it could be.

       Especially when we’ve got two sets of finances to worry about.

      Hayley looked down. The headline of a discarded copy of Metro on the seat next to her caught her eye: KLINGEL’S TO REPRESENT BOOTS BORRELLO.

      Everybody had heard of Carmine Benedetto Borrello. The press dubbed him ‘Concrete Boots’ because no evidence tying him to any crimes had ever been found. Hayley put the paper back on the seat beside her.

       Maybe I should go over to the dark side. I’d probably make more money.

      She shuddered. Mergers and acquisitions might not be the sexiest area СКАЧАТЬ