Swan (15 page)

‘Never fear, David is here. I want you to leave
everything to me.’

I raised a quizzical eyebrow. ‘What, you’re going to
cook for me?’

‘Yes. Anything wrong with that?’

‘Er no, no. Sounds great.’ My mind raced back to his
filthy kitchen, the stacks of plates piled up in the sink, and I just hoped his
cooking was better than his hygiene.

David rolled up his sleeves, took the bags into the
kitchen.

‘What are you planning to make?’ I shouted after
him.

‘It’s a surprise. You do like beef, don’t you?’

‘God yeah, I love beef.’

‘Good. Then you should like this. You’re not
allergic to anything are you?’

‘No, no, I pretty much eat anything.’ I grinned,
momentarily aware of my weight as I said it.

‘Okay, get comfortable. Let David work his magic.’

I was mystified by what he was cooking up. In a way,
I found the suspense quite exciting. No man had ever offered to cook for me
before. Still, I didn’t get my hopes up too high though.

Over the next hour, a succession of gorgeous smells
wafted in from the kitchen. In the meantime, I watched TV to keep busy, but
every so often my mind wandered as I tried to imagine what he was doing in
there. Whatever it was smelt surprisingly good.

Eventually, David shouted to me that dinner was
ready, and I turned expectantly towards the living room door. He walked in
carrying a plate of Thai green curry and steaming jasmine rice. When he placed
it in front of me on the table, my eyes nearly popped out my head. It looked
like something out of a Michelin star restaurant. The rice was moulded into a
perfect circle and the curry delicately garnished with sweet basil leaves and
chillies.

‘Wow David, this looks amazing,’ I gasped.

‘I just hope it tastes as good as it looks,’ he
winked, taking a seat next to me. He took a bite of his curry and smiled
conceitedly. Obviously, he considered it to be a success.

Hastily, I took a large forkful of mine. It tasted
heavenly – just the right balance of ingredients and hands down the best
Thai curry I’d ever tasted. No,
the
best curry I’d ever tasted, and that included Indian.

‘David, this is divine. I didn’t know you were such
a brilliant cook.’

‘Oh, I dabble a little,’ he smirked.

‘Dabble? You could be on Masterchef.’

He nodded vacantly. ‘What’s on TV? Shall we find
something to watch?’ He picked up the remote and started flicking through the
Freeview channels. He stopped when he got to an old black and white film.

‘
It Happened
One Night
! I absolutely love this movie.’

‘Me too,’ I enthused. ‘Clark Gable and Claudette
Colbert. They make the best double act ever!’

‘I know. They’ve got such chemistry, haven’t they?’

I watched him out of the corner of my eye. His face
was so alive, so excited. I smelled a rat.

‘I thought you said you weren’t a film man?’

‘I’m not, really. But there are some classics that
you just can’t ignore.
It Happened One
Night
is one of them.’

I nodded enthusiastically.

‘Do you like old films then?’ I asked.

‘Yeah, they’re the only type I watch. I think the
old stuff is way better than the crap they’re churning out now, hence why I
rarely go to the cinema anymore. Have you ever seen
Sunset Boulevard
?’

‘Gloria Swanson. Amazing!’

David turned and stared at me, his glasses catching
the light like two sun reflectors. ‘You’re a real movie buff, aren’t you? I bet
I could name any film and you’d be able to tell me who starred in it and what
date it was made.’

I blushed and shovelled another forkful of curry
into my mouth. ‘Well, I wouldn’t say I’m quite that good. It’s just, well, when
you spend a lot of time alone, you get through a lot of movies. It helps to
pass the time.’

‘Have you spent a lot of time on your own?’ His
voice was warm, tender.

I was so annoyed at myself for giving too much away.
Now that I’d opened the floodgates, who knew what else I’d let slip? That I
wasn’t thirty-six? That I hadn’t had sex for twenty-five years?

I decided to play it cool.

‘After Mum died, I just needed time to get my head
together, you know? I couldn’t stand being around people, so yes, I did spend a
lot of time alone.’ I paused. ‘Anyway, I don’t think there’s anything wrong
with one’s own company.’

‘Couldn’t agree more. But not to the point where you
start to feel isolated.’

I turned back to the TV and watched the film in
silence for a couple of minutes. I could feel his eyes on me, watching me,
studying me. I wondered what he was thinking. Probably that I was a right
weirdo.

David put down his fork and moved closer to me.
Placed his hand against my cheek and gently turned my face towards him. His
eyes seemed to reach deep into my soul.

‘Do you feel isolated, Madeline?’

I hesitated. ‘Sometimes, I guess. But what can you
do? That’s life. Some people are just meant to be on their own. They find
themselves alone, even if they don’t want to be.’

‘And is it what you want?’

‘No, it isn’t,’ I said passionately. ‘I don’t want
to go to my grave thinking there was stuff I didn’t do. I want to enjoy what’s
left of my life. I want to make the most of it, go places, see people.’

‘What do you mean “what’s left” of it? Madeline,
you’re only thirty-six. You talk like you were an old lady. You’ve still got
plenty of life ahead of you.’

‘It doesn’t feel that way sometimes. There are times
when I feel like life is just passing me by and, you know, I haven’t got much
to show for it.’

David reached over, took my hand. ‘Don’t get so
worked up,’ he whispered. ‘Come, let me show you a little trick to help you
relax.’

Gently, he opened my palm and started tracing
invisible shapes with his fingers. Slow, sensual circles. My breathing grew
shallow as I relished that familiar, electric touch of his. Everything the man
did was so inexplicably sexy. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was exactly.
It was like he was in tune with me, like he knew exactly what buttons to push.
How to turn me on.

I closed my eyes, started fantasising about where
this could lead. Then, abruptly, he stopped.

David took his hand away, adjusted his specs,
suddenly awkward. He stood up sharply and said he was going to the toilet. He
was in there for absolutely ages. I wondered what the heck he was doing.

When he finally returned, his face was flushed but
he seemed a lot calmer. ‘Listen, do you fancy going out somewhere tonight?’

I glanced at my watch. ‘Don’t you think it’s a
little late?’

‘Nonsense! The night is still young.’

‘Er, well okay. What did you have in mind?’

‘Let’s go to West End and see where the wind takes
us.’

‘Sure, why not? Could be fun.’

* * *

‘Are you enjoying yourself?’ David asked earnestly.

‘Yeah, it’s fantastic,’ I beamed.

We could barely hear each other over the roar of the
samba music. We’d gone to a Cuban bar on Charing Cross Road called the Havana
Café - an intimate venue that ran daily salsa classes before transforming into
a nightclub around nine-thirty.

We were sipping Mojito cocktails at a small table
that overlooked a large circular dance floor, watching a salsa class led by a
good-looking Latino man dressed in a dark lycra body suit. It was absolutely
hilarious watching the pro dancers mixing with clumsy novices such as myself. A
complete riot. One couple in particular stood out – a fat balding man
with his tiny little Peruvian girlfriend. The man was trying desperately to
lead and failing miserably. I smothered a giggle as he thrashed about the floor
like a whale caught in a fisherman’s net.

David followed my gaze. ‘I don’t know why you’re
laughing, Madeline. We’re up next, you know.’

‘No way!’ I laughed. ‘There’s absolutely no way
you’re getting me on that dance floor.’

‘We’ll see,’ he winked, ‘I can be very persuasive
you know.’

I reddened and looked away. There was still that
awkwardness between us, when he seemed to be flirting with me, giving me hope
that he found me attractive. Yet maddeningly, I was still no nearer to
establishing what his true intentions towards me were. He was giving out such
mixed messages. Was I merely his friend, a buddy to take out occasionally, or
did he see us in romantic terms? I wished to God I had the guts to ask him, to
tell him how desperately I needed him to validate our relationship. But my
inexperience of these matters rendered me dumb. Left me terrified of rocking
the boat.

‘How’s Beth?’ David’s question roused me from my
musings.

I told him a little of the trouble she was having
with Phil. I didn’t, however, go into too much detail as previous experience
had taught me that men seldom like gossip. Sure, they can take the odd anecdote,
but a full-fledged bitchfest usually reflects badly on the messenger.

‘Well, I hope they manage to sort out their
differences,’ David said. ‘They’re both nice people. Twenty years is a long
time to be married so it’s not going to be easy starting over. Hopefully this
is just a blip and they’ll be able to resolve it amicably.’

‘Yes, I hope so too. Especially for Vicky’s sake.’

I was extremely impressed by how generous he was
being, particularly after Phil’s obnoxious behaviour at the dinner party. This was
yet another sign of his maturity, I thought.

‘Er Madeline, I’ve got a little something for you.’

I looked up inquisitively from my Mojito cocktail.
My head started to feel a little woozy. David reached inside his jacket pocket
and produced a small velvet box. He laid it on the table. I picked it up
gingerly and flipped open the lid.

‘Oh my gosh!’ I covered my mouth with my hand.

Inside was a pair of diamond earrings. Costume
jewellery of the finest, to be sure, but absolutely beautiful nonetheless.
Tears choked me. It was the first time a man had ever bought me jewellery.

‘Are they okay, Madeline? Do you like them?’

I nodded dumbly. My voice had temporarily deserted
me. I was too emotional to speak. I was having to take small breaths to keep
myself composed. I toyed with them in my fingers.

‘Thank you, David,’ I said quietly. ‘This is the
most beautiful thing anyone has ever bought me. I love them.’

Hastily, I took off the earrings I was wearing and
slipped on David’s. His eyes crinkled at the corners. Clearly, he approved of
how they looked.

‘They really suit you,’ he smiled.

I fluttered my eyelids coquettishly. His words were
like music to my ears. Then I turned round and accidentally knocked over our
cocktails.

‘Oh fuck,’ I mumbled, embarrassed that I’d just
spoiled a perfect moment.

David took it good-humouredly. ‘Excuse me, could I
get a towel to mop this up?’

The waiter nodded and returned with one from the
kitchen.

‘I’m so sorry, David,’ I said, sponging up the
table. ‘Those lovely Mojitos. I’ll get us another one, don’t worry.’

‘So, does this mean I can have that dance?’

‘What?’

‘You’re going to have to make this up to me on the
dance floor. I’ve earned that at least that, haven’t I?’

I gave a goofy grin, conceding that I now had little
choice in the matter. David took my hand and led me down a small flight of
stairs onto the dance floor. The music changed to a salsa type song with a fast
rhythm. The other couples seemed to recognise it, letting out a loud cheer as
trumpets signified a familiar chorus. David twirled me round a number of times
then pulled me toward him in a tight embrace that I found particularly
thrilling. As stiff as I was, he somehow managed to make the two of us took
good. I was never going to be the best dancer, but with him I came alive in a
way I never had done before. I couldn’t care less how bad I looked rocking and
shaking like a demented robot; I had David for a dance partner and that was all
that mattered.

Presently I noticed a tall, exceptionally lean man
with dark hair standing by the sidelines. He was watching us intently, his eyes
narrow and hypnotic. Strange. Very strange, I thought. Perhaps the spectacle of
me dancing amused him. Or perhaps he’d never been to a salsa class before and
was drinking in the atmosphere. But then, his expression was so cold, so
disapproving; it chilled me to the bone.

After two songs, I insisted that we return to our
table. I went to the bar and ordered us another couple of Mojitos. As I walked
back, I instinctively felt my earlobe and realised that one of David’s earrings
had fallen off. Panicking, I started scanning the floor for it.

‘What’s wrong?’ David inquired when he saw how
anxious I was.