Broken Wings (Contemporary Romance) (11 page)

“
Funny you should say that! We were only talking about that last night, and it was Richard who was sounding me out on the subject and not me, can you believe,” Lucy said with a laugh.

“
And, did you both decide anything?”

“
Now that would be telling, wouldn't it? You will just have to watch this space,” teased Lucy.

“
Okay, it's like that is it? Well, you better make sure I'm the first one to know.”

“
You can count on it, Angelina. But please, if you run into Richard, not a word, okay? Or you will only prove him right; he reckons I won't be able to keep quiet about this for more than a day, and guess what? He's right!” Lucy laughed and Angelina was virtually holding her stomach through laughing so hard.

Lucy left Angelina's place just after nine o'clock. Angelina locked up and headed off to bed. She lay down and tried to sleep but she couldn't, her eyes were wide open and thoughts of Joshua were occupying her mind. It occurred to her that she had never seen him in his army fatigues; she closed her eyes and tried to imagine what he might look like. Smiling to herself and giving up on trying to sleep at all, she leant forward and switched on her bedside lamp. She plumped up two pillows and positioned them behind her head and opened her laptop. She may as well do some work on her novel, she thought to herself.
If I'm going to be tired at work tomorrow at least it will be for a worthy reason.

Angelina spent the next few hours penning her novel, the words flowed with ease and at the finish, she had completed another three thousand words. She was feeling rather pleased with herself and finished up for the night. Now feeling quite tired, her eyes felt heavy and ready to sleep.

The following morning, Angelina was startled out of bed by her annoying alarm clock that seemed to shriek loudly and echo all around the room. “For goodness sake, SHUT UP,” she shouted as she struggled to find the off button...

Finally, the room was quiet once again, the shrill noise had stopped and Angelina made her way to the bathroom and took a quick shower before heading downstairs. She was feeling pretty nervous about work today. Her boss would know she lied about feeling ill and taking two days off work. Now she had to face him and lie to his face too; this she was not looking forward to one single bit. She felt as guilty as sin and she knew her face would give her away too.

At 9:00 a.m. sharp, Angelina hurriedly made her way down the bustling street of Kendal towards her office. As she neared it, she spotted her boss walking through the double doors to her office building with a frown on his face. “Great, just great,” she mumbled out loud to herself. She climbed the stairs two by two to the second floor where her department was situated. As she entered, Mary looked towards her, tutting and wagging her finger mockingly.

“
He's not in a great mood this morning, Angelina.” Mary looked towards Geoffrey's office.

“
Just my luck. And just what I don't need today!” Angelina walked over to her desk and dropped her bag down over her chair while turning on her computer.

“
Angelina, can you come into my office please,” Geoffrey demanded sternly.

Angelina noticed the serious look on Geoffrey's face and thought maybe she should just come clean and tell him the truth and be done with it. What's the worst he could do? Closing the door behind her and pulling up a chair, she sat down silently while Geoffrey fiddled around with some papers on his desk, not acknowledging her at all. It seemed like forever before he looked up and stared straight into her eyes.

“Angelina, you have been working for me for eight years now and not once during that time have I ever known you to take time off sick. In fact, the only time you have ever taken off work was three years ago for bereavement leave. You're dedicated, smart and very loyal. I am hazarding a guess here that you're new found relationship has something to do with your unscheduled leave of absence this week?” The room fell silent, neither one of them saying a word. Angelina was contemplating her answer before she spoke.

“
Okay, yes, I admit that my leave of absence was not due to my falling ill, Geoffrey. However, I do have a very good explanation if you will just bear with me for a few minutes while I explain. I have recently entered a new relationship; he is a soldier with the British Army and he was on short term leave. We thought he had two weeks left in England but this was cut short over the weekend by five days. So yes, I decided to put my personal life before work for a change. I'm really sorry, Geoffrey. I know how unprofessional that was of me and I will totally understand if you need to reprimand me. All I can offer you in way of assurance is that it will never happen again. I really am very sorry.”

Geoffrey stood up and turned his back, looking out of his large office window onto the street below. He turned around and smiled at Angelina.
“You could have just been honest with me, you know. I am not an ogre, I am your boss. I was young once, believe it or not, and I would probably have done the same thing if I were in your shoes. I can understand why you did it, but I can't deny how disappointed I was that you lied to me, and by text, Angelina. However, that said I will let it ride this time. You are a valued member of my team, I won't be reprimanding you this time. Please, next time you find yourself in a similar position, just talk to me okay?”

Angelina was stunned. She had never seen this side of Geoffrey before and she was pleasantly surprised that he actually had a heart, after all. He was in his mid-fifties, married with two grown-up children. He never really spoke about his family; in fact, it would be fair to say he completely separated his work and his private life altogether. Apart from a few family pictures displayed around his office, no one really knew that much about his personal life other than he seemed quite happy with his lot. Angelina had always respected him for that. He wasn't an office flirt like some of the other guys who were always trying to hit on someone in the office. He was hard working, loyal to the firm and fair with his employees albeit rather strict for the most part.

“I would like to add before you go back out there that I am really happy for you, Angelina. It's about time you met someone and it really is good to see you smiling so much these last few days.”

Angelina left the office and walked back to her desk. The office gossips were studying her face and whispering to one another. There was an internal call from Mary, who sat just behind her.
“Hey, you okay? How did it go in there?”

“
Everything is fine, Mary; actually Geoffrey was very understanding. Look, I have a lot of work to catch up on so I have to go,” and with that, Angelina rang off. She loved her job but the only downside was you had to be very savvy to keep anything private in the office. The girls could scope out information in minutes, even MI5 would be impressed!

Chapter
Ten

Nearly a week had passed by since Joshua had left and Angelina was now stalking the postman daily! The poor man didn't get near the letter box before Angelina was stood on the doorstep, asking the postman to re-check his postbag.

“Sorry, that's all for you today, Miss Ferria.”

Angelina closed the door behind her and resumed her position on the sofa with her laptop balanced on her thighs. Later that day, she had agreed to go into town shopping with Lucy as she needed a new dress for an upcoming party. She decided she was going to splash out on herself and buy a whole new outfit for Joshua's return.

The sales had arrived early and she could pick up a few Christmas presents while she was at it. She decided she was going to buy what she considered the perfect gift for Joshua, a silver Saint Christopher to keep him safe while he was away. She didn't just want any one, it had to be extra special and she would have it inscribed with a special message too. Smiling to herself, she logged off her laptop, grabbed her bag and headed out the door, having decided to meet Lucy in town rather than at her place so she could get an hour’s shopping alone before meeting up with her.

The town was bustling with shoppers, the temperature was sub-zero and gloves and scarves just did not cut it! She ran into her favourite jewellery shop and headed straight for the shop assistant who had just finished serving another customer. She knew exactly what she wanted.
“I am looking for a Saint Christopher please, a special one, not just your run of the mill ones but something really special. It's for my boyfriend.”

The assistant was pleasant and very helpful with one of those kind faces that made you want to shop there again.
“I think I have just the one, bear with me for a moment, I need to go out back.”

Angelina waited patiently for the assistant to return. While she waited, she looked on as a couple were browsing engagement rings; they were happy, and the boyfriend was very attentive to his girlfriend. Angelina smiled as she thought of Joshua and how attentive and thoughtful he was. She couldn't wait to see him again.

“Here you go; this tray has our very best Saint Christophers, each one totally unique.”

Angelina was immediately drawn to one particular chain. She pointed to it and indicated to the assistant she would like to see it close up. The assistant took it out and held it out for her to look at.
“That's the one, it's perfect and the chain is solid and not too thin. Can I have it inscribed too?” asked Angelina.

“
Of course, it will cost extra though.”

Angelina nodded and handed the chain back to the assistant. She wrote out the message she wanted inscribing on the back of the Saint Christopher and went to the counter to pay. She agreed to pick it up in a few days and then thanked the assistant and left feeling very pleased with her purchase. She had one more shop she needed to visit before meeting Lucy, as that was where she wanted to pick Lucy's Christmas present up from. She knew Lucy would just love it.

Before she knew it, it was 2:00 p.m. and she ran down the street to the department store where she'd agreed to meet Lucy. As she turned the corner, she could see Lucy waiting impatiently and checking her watch.

“
I'm so sorry, Lucy, I got held up at the jeweller’s.”

Lucy smiled.
“You're forgiven; now tell me why you were shopping at the jeweller’s!”

“
I wanted to buy Joshua a Christmas present and I came up with the idea of buying him a Saint Christopher. You know, it symbolizes the patron saint of travellers?”

“
Of course, and he will love it. Now come on, I have a long list of shops I need to visit.”

They ambled along the streets arm in arm as they went in and out of all the shops on Lucy's list. By five o'clock, they were both armed to the hilt with bags and feeling very hungry.

“How about we pop into The Swan pub for dinner?” suggested Lucy.

“
Sounds great, I'm starving.”

“
Angelina, do you mind if Richard joins us? Only he was picking me up at 5.30 and I know we won't be finished by then.”

“
The more the merrier, text him and tell him to come now if you like,” suggested Angelina.

Richard came wandering through the door as casual as the day is long, sporting a wide grin on his face.
“Come on then, Lucy, what's the damage?”

“
I didn't spend that much honest!” Lucy lied unconvincingly!

“
Mmm, I'll believe that when I see it. I know what you two are like once you are in shopping mode, more so you, Lucy.”

They all sat down to a sumptuous steak and ale pie, served with peas, gravy and mashed potato.
“So, Angelina, how are you coping without Joshua?” enquired Richard mischievously.

“
Not too bad, I can't deny I am missing him like crazy though. I think the postman thinks I am crazy, I am practically stalking him daily, waiting for Joshua's first letter.”

“
Well, don't be disheartened, it will come soon. If he said he will write then he will write. It can take a while for letters to get through, depending on where he's based at the time,” Richard reassured Angelina.

She liked Richard. He was a real rock for Lucy, there was nothing he would not do for her and this showed through their tight relationship. He really was in love with her, even the way he looked at her as if there was no one else in existence. She truly admired what they had and hoped to see her and Joshua in a similar place one day. She could see why Joshua spoke so highly of him and why they had been such good friends for so long.

Angelina was exhausted; all she wanted to do was get home and collapse onto her comfy sofa with a large glass of wine and a good movie. She thought about the lovely gift she'd bought for Joshua and imagined the look on his face once he opened it. She wondered if she was able to post it to him, then changed her mind, preferring to give it to him in person so she could see his face when he opened it.

Angelina was on her second glass of wine when thoughts of her mother popped into her head. She felt saddened at their failed relationship and wished they could have been closer, talked more like other mothers and daughters. She couldn't remember one single time when they went shopping together or caught a movie at the weekends. All she remembered was opening all the curtains in the house each morning before she left for school, knowing her mother wouldn't bother.