Page 140 of The Honeymoon Affair

It’s Ellis.

For a horrible moment I thought it might be Ariel, even though I know Charles has taken my ultimatum very seriously. To be honest, I feel slightly guilty that I’ve interfered in their professional relationship as well as their personal one. I remind myself that it’s not my problem.

‘It’s nice to see you in less fraught surroundings,’ says Ellis. ‘Can I get you coffee and a scone?’

‘That would be lovely. Thank you.’

She goes behind the counter. When she’s finished making coffee for both of us, the young employee, who’s been joined by another girl around her own age, begins making it for the customers.

‘This is a lovely place,’ I say as I take the cup from her. ‘It’s really warm and welcoming.’

‘She may be prickly with those closest to her, but Mum is very clued in about what people want,’ says Ellis. ‘If she’d been born a little later in life, she probably would’ve been a bigger entrepreneur. But back in the day, when she wanted to open a small farm shop in the town, she couldn’t even get a loan in her own name. The bank manager told her to come in to see him with her husband, even though everyone knew that Mum was much smarter than him.’

‘Charles told me she was the one who opened a restaurant in the pub.’

‘Yes.’ Ellis nods. ‘Back in the seventies, lots of pubs didn’t want women coming in and could refuse to serve them. Mum reckoned if there was a restaurant attached, it would make a difference. Of course, by the time she actually got it going, things were starting to change, but she was a bit of a feminist in her own right.’

‘So why didn’t she and Ariel get on?’

‘Too much alike,’ says Ellis. ‘Too argumentative.’

‘And yet Ariel works so hard for Charles and his books, you’d think your mum would love her.’

‘I’m surprised you’re championing Ariel’s cause after that awful night,’ says Ellis. ‘And I’m not sure Mum and I were as nice to you as we could have been either.’

‘It was a disaster,’ I acknowledge. ‘But hopefully also a turning point. D’you think your mother will like me more than Ariel? Not that it actually bothers me,’ I add. ‘But am I perhaps less threatening? After all, she thinks I should be grateful to be moving in her circles.’

Ellis laughs, and it’s so infectious I can’t help laughing too.

‘Just because you’re not as outspoken as Ariel doesn’t mean you aren’t perfectly capable of holding your own with my mother,’ she says. ‘And I’m impressed at how you hold your own with Charles too. He’s mad about you, you know.’

‘He is?’

‘Jeez, doesn’t he tell you enough?’ She grimaces. ‘He never stopped talking about you at Christmas. I’ve got to confess that I thought it was just an infatuation at first. And I was very unsure about you. But I think you make a good couple.’

‘Am I supposed to be relieved?’

‘I am,’ says Ellis. ‘To be honest, I was in the Ariel camp initially. We were good friends. I still want to be friends with her. But . . . I’m not saying we’re going to be best mates, Izzy. All the same, I’m sure we can get on.’

I hope so. I like her. She’s far less complicated than I first thought.

Charles, who’s been busy shaking hands with people and making small talk, comes over to us and says he’s going into the back room to practise his reading again. Pamela takes over the greeting duties. The arrivals are mainly women, though there are a few men. They take their places at the tables, coffees and scones in front of them.

Pamela makes a short introductory speech about the book club, mentions how to leave the café in case of an emergency and then introduces Charles as the international bestselling Booker Prize winner and local author.

There’s rapturous applause as he walks back into the room.

He’s good, no question. He reads the excerpt from A Caribbean Calypso beautifully, and the applause is warm and genuine. He’s bombarded with questions about his books and his writing, and in particular, what made him write a murder mystery. I’m waiting for him to mention me and wondering what he’ll say, but he doesn’t. Instead he talks about going to the island and finding himself in a different ‘creative space’. He says that he was inspired by the concept of introducing murder into such a beautiful, tranquil environment. There’s no mention of cocktails on the beach or sex in an expensive villa with someone he’s just met. Or of her telling him to jettison the book he was writing for something else. Or of him getting engaged to her.

I shouldn’t be hurt, but I am. After all, he wouldn’t have written the book without me. Then I tell myself that tonight isn’t about me and Charles as a couple, it’s about him as a writer. The people here don’t want to know about me. They’re all a little bit in love with him.

‘You wouldn’t think he’d be so good at stuff like this,’ murmurs Ellis beside me. ‘He’s a loner at heart, but as always, they’re eating out of his hand.’

‘However, in addition to all of the above, the major inspiration for A Caribbean Calypso is the woman sitting in the audience beside my sister,’ Charles continues. ‘My fiancée, Izzy, who told me that my original attempt at a murder mystery was too wordy and forced me to write something better. So for that, I thank her.’

Everyone turns to look at me, and I feel my face flush as, led by Charles, they applaud me.

I’m embarrassed, but I love that he acknowledged me.