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Two, then three weeks went by, and she looked at her phone so often, but there was never a message or a missed call from him. She supposed she had herself to blame for that, insisting on a clean break, but how she wished he would contact her.
Her phone buzzed with an incoming call and her heart nearly leapt out of her chest, but when she looked at the screen, she saw it was her mother. She picked up her phone and pressed the answer button.
‘Hi, Mum. I was going to call you to see if you were free for lunch or dinner next time you’re in London.’
‘Were you?’ Her mother’s voice sounded immensely surprised. ‘I can’t remember the last time you called me, other than for my birthday, even though I’ve told you I’m not counting those any more. Is there someone with you? I can hear someone talking.’
Addie shifted position on the sofa and reaching for the television remote, turned it to mute. ‘It was just the television.’
‘Addison, you really must try and go out more. How on earth are you ever going to meet someone by staying at home all the time?’
Addie ignored the critical parent tone of her mother’s voice because she was starting to take on board Vic’s insights into her mother’s behaviour. ‘Mum, I have met someone, but we recently broke up.’
‘Oh, sweetie, that’s too bad. Did he dump you?’
‘No, actually it was me that ended it.’
‘Was he a jerk?’
‘No, far from it.’ Addie paused for a nanosecond and added, ‘I fell in love with him, but he didn’t want to commit to anything other than a fling.’
Solange let out a sigh. ‘Perhaps if you’d tried harder to please him, or lost a few pounds you might have—’
‘Mum, is that what you do to keep a man? Twist yourself into whatever shape he wants to please him?’
There was a telling silence.
‘Addie, I have twisted myself so much to please not only men, but the public and every brand I’ve ever represented that I no longer remember what my real self is.’ She gave a half laugh that didn’t sound humorous. ‘I’m too scared to find out.’
‘You have to find out, Mum, otherwise you’ll spend the rest of your life inauthentically, like I’ve been doing for years.’
Her mother sighed. ‘Yes, well, it’s hard when the world expects you to look perfect all the time.’
‘Maybe I’m lucky I didn’t take after you, then.’
‘Sweetie, I envy you. I always have to be honest. You don’t have to work at looking beautiful. Do you realise the effort I have to put in to look this good? It’s ridiculous and I’m getting tired of it. For once in my life, I want to eat chocolate, or drink a couple of glasses of champagne instead of counting the damned calories.’
Addie had never heard her mother speak so honestly before and it warmed her heart to think underneath all that brash bluster was someone as insecure as she was. Perhaps there was hope for their relationship after all. ‘I can imagine how hard that must be, denying yourself the things you want most.’
‘I wanted to be a better mother than mine, but I don’t think I’ve done a good job,’ Solange said. ‘I haven’t been there for you the way I should’ve been. The work always came first, or the current man in my life.’
‘It’s not too late to fix that.’
‘Do you really think so?’ There was an undercurrent of hope and vulnerability in her mother’s voice Addie hadn’t heard before.
Addie smiled. ‘Of course because none of us are perfect. I have stuff to work on too. Getting over Vic is the first thing on my list.’ She could have bitten her tongue for accidentally mentioning Vic’s name.
There was another silence.
‘Not Vic Jacobetti?’ The element of gobsmacked surprise in her mother’s voice would normally have annoyed Addie, but this time it didn’t.
‘Yes, Vic Jacobetti.’ Even saying his name hurt inside her heart like a burning coal.
‘Do you want me to talk to him? I’ll set him straight. I’ll tell him he has no right to break my daughter’s heart and—’
‘No, please don’t do that.’ Addie shuddered at the thought of her mother’s version of what being an involved mother might be. ‘I have to work through this myself, but thanks for offering.’
‘So, about this mother-daughter lunch,’ Solange said. ‘Shall we go somewhere fancy and dress up? Or would you prefer something a little less exposed?’