After All - Part Forty Three

Chapter Forty Three

Mattie sat next to him as their taxi took them to the Shard, he made everything seem so simple, he could scrunch her concerns up like a leaf of paper into a ball that he could toss into the bin as garbage. And she wanted to believe him, believe all that he said, but she knew that it wasn’t that easy.  As the car stopped he jumped out of the door, then led her out, past the paparazzi hoping to catch a famous face, then into the reception of Britain’s tallest building, make that Europe’s.

With a grin and a lustful look of appreciation, he led her to the elevator. HE stood next to her, hands linked, and she had to admit that they looked like a power couple, him impeccable in a suit, slick, well fitting, her in her flowing dress. She didn’t feel classy, she never felt elegant, but as usual with Dylan guiding her, she moved on uncaring of that.

The restaurant on one of the higher floors of The Shard was reserved in its entirety for Michael Painter, but then as they had approached the building, Dylan had assured her that what Painter wanted, Painter got, he was a big player in London these days. The whole place was decorated with white feathers and glass and crystal, huge centrepieces on every surface, crystals dripped from the ceiling, casting a thousand reflections around the room, the whole thing was magical and caused Mattie to gasp.

Dylan turned to her, sensing her hesitation, but when he looked back, the look of awe and wonder on her face sent a jolt of heat through him. She had so much experience, so much poise in every situation she landed in, yet something as simple as a room like this could stun her to a standstill.

                “It’s beautiful,” she gasped, “so stunning.”

He grinned, “perfect for you!” He gave her arm a tug, “come on.”

With that he retrieved two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter, and handed her one.

She took it and sipped appreciatively, then followed him into the busy room.

Dylan tucked her hand into his elbow as an elderly couple approached; Dylan smiled genially, then introduced Matilda to them, a well known corporate lawyer. They chatted for a few moments and it wasn’t until Matilda started to become involved in those conversations that he started to relax. She was intelligent, and she was charismatic, there was no one that she couldn’t converse with, no one she couldn’t win over, but she wasn’t as confident as the woman he married. He knew that was his fault, he’d caused her self doubt, that negative introspective that was never more than a step away. He wanted her to see that she could deal with tonight, that she could be the woman that she wanted to be, she just had to trust and believe...him as well as herself.

Mattie instantly recognised Michael Painter, though it had been years since she’d seen him he hadn’t really changed, though maybe he was a little more confident and enigmatic, but then success and affluence did that to a man, she’d seen that with her own husband, or rather ex.

As soon as he spotted Dylan, Michael excused himself from the group he was entertaining and came across, both shaking Dylan’s hand, and clapping him on the back simultaneously.

                “Bloody hell Wallace, didn’t think you’d make it now that you’re ensconced across the Atlantic, great to have my oldest mate here.”

Dylan grinned, “wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

Mattie watched the perusing glance over her turn to recognition, and then shock, “what the....? Matilda? What the hell are you doing here? I thought you’d be giving him a wide berth since the...” he cupped his hands to his lips and mock whispered, “divorce!”

AS Mattie blushed, not knowing how to deal with this level of interrogation, Dylan stepped suavely into the limelight, “she’s one of my oldest friends, and yours too. Seemed right that she be here...and she’s started to forgive me for my un-spouse like behaviour. Civility is a great compromise.”

Mattie stared up at him, she wasn’t sure what that last comment made her think, after all she’d feared people seeing them as a new/old couple, but to be dismissed as just a friend kind of hurt too. His reassuring smile settled her somewhat, but without a decent discussion, working out what they both wanted, what they both felt, and how they wanted to deal with the past, the present and of course the future, she felt wrong footed. She had no idea what he was thinking.

He squeezed her hand and continued discussing things with Michael. In college they’d been good friends, and though she knew that he wasn’t close to Michael anymore, it was nice to see them chat about old times, Dylan had always been TOO independent, and often sacrificed friends for his own benefit. It was nice to see these tow still shared something. Friends were important.

So important she almost laughed, that she’d lost hers over the course of her marriage, its disastrous breakup, and then the outpouring of grief that followed her losing everything. She had Sarah, Hermione to a lesser extent, and Andy...but she hadn’t seen him for ages, so she had no one to really call a friend. Suddenly she decided that she’d rectify that, she still had loose contacts for them, her childhood friends as well as other college buddies, and with social media being what it was, that became her short term plan, to reconnect.

When she looked up at Dylan he was smiling down at her, “you were a million miles away then!” When she nodded still distracted, he took her hand, “come see this.”

Taking her to the back of the dining room, they rounded a corner and she was confronted by a breathtaking view. The whole room was glass, and had spectacular views, but from this angle they were looking both up and down the Thames, at the various bridges, all lit on the already dark night, to her left was the conglomeration of glass buildings that made up Canary Wharf, the O2 arena behind it, to her right, the regal County Hall, the Millennium Eye, and of course the grand Big Ben.

She was holding her breath, and when she looked up at him she let it go in a huge sigh, “it’s amazing here.”

He grinned, “I knew you’d like it...” when he saw her wistful face, he added, “or rather love it. We’ll come here often, ok? Whenever you want a treat, THIS is where I’ll bring you.”

It was the first time they’d mentioned the future, and whilst it wasn’t a concrete reference to years of happiness it was that snippet of hope that she needed.

                “That sounds amazing.”

Grinning he ran his hand along her arm, “it will be.” Nodding to a waiter he took two more flutes of champagne, then handing her one, he pulled her back close to her body. “So how’s your father getting on in Thailand?”

She smiled, a safe topic, he was good at that, diverting the conversation, “I spoke to him a couple of days ago, he’s settling in. He’s good.” she toyed with the glass for a moment, “I promised him I’d visit, soon. I’ve not been out there before.”

His eyes widened, “me neither, it’s apparently an amazing place...we could go together? A holiday, a chance for me to make good with your father?”

                “You’d come with me? Really?”

He slid a hand up to cup her cheek, “I’m going everywhere with you now. That’s what this is, isn’t it?”

She nodded, “I’d like that.”

                “Wallace! Should’ve known you’d be here!”

They both spun around as though they’d been burned, and stood there grinning hands on hips was Patrick, the closest thing that Dylan had to a friend.

                “Bloody hell Mr Landry, you’ll worm your way into any freebie bar, wont’ you?”

The other man winked in an amused manner then cast his eyes on Matilda with surprise, “and Matilda? This is your date for the night?”

Matilda blushed, “um...sort of...”

Patrick laughed, “this is an ‘over several beers’ kind of story, I can sense that!”

Dylan stepped protectively in between the banter, both physically and metaphorically, “she’s here as my guest Landry, you need to know no more. If you value a friendship!”

Patrick lifted his eye brows in a knowing way, “ah, it’s like that!”

He gave Matilda a gentle nudge, “LOVE that you’ve got him on the run!”

Mattie sighed, she didn’t feel as though she had him on the run, quite the opposite, but she looked at Patrick, a charming hulk of a man who was as funny as he was attentive, and all too soon she was engrossed in his stories of escapades and disasters that involved both him and Dylan over the last few years. Several drinks were consumed as the room seemed to get busier and busier.

All too soon a voice was calling the gathered crowds back through to the dining room for dinner to be served. Michael had married his wife Diana in Mexico eighteen months earlier, and so tonight’s menu paid homage to that, a buffet of Mexican nibbles, tortillas, dips, along with burritos individually made by an army of chefs with a variety of fillings.

Mattie was well aware that eating too much would affect her ability to breathe in her dress, but several glasses of champagne needed to be absorbed by food. So she selected what she hoped was the lightest filling of chicken and salad, much to the chagrin of the chefs.

                “So how’s the hotel running?” Patrick joined her at the small table overlooking the Thames.

She wiped at her mouth, wishing she was a better eater when she was starving, “yes, it’s good. Really busy, which is the main thing. You should come play golf; we’re trying to get a PGA competition there in maybe two years. If we do...then it’ll become THE place to play...you might not get a tee.” She ended the comment with a sparkle of humour in her eye.

He lifted an eyebrow, “doesn’t tolerating your bastard of a boss on a regular basis get me ANY leeway?”

She placed a finger on her lips, a deliberately pondering gesture, “hmmm, maybe we could work on an arrangement where you take him out of our hair for a while and leave us to get on with our jobs?”

                “Now I sense some gossip! Is he a demon boss?”

Mattie chuckled, “he’s ok. He’s like them all, throws his hand in, often where it’s not overly necessary.”

Patrick laughed loudly, “there are SO many stories I want to get out of you!”

                “What have I missed?” Dylan sat between them and looked repeatedly at each of them.

Both of them chuckled and averted their eyes.

Before they’d finished eating, Michael stood and spoke to the people gathered, there were probably two hundred people there, some very familiar faces, others that she couldn’t quite place, but all were enthralled with his witty take on the last thirty years. She remembered Michael being on the debating team at college, he was a natural talker and had all the room engrossed, and laughing.

                “So you and Patrick seemed quite cosy just then?”

Dylan had leaned in close and his breath on her ear was making the hair on her neck stand on end, her body swirl with longing.

                “You jealous?”

He chuckled, “should I be?”

Even jokes had a little awkwardness to them as they hadn’t discussed boundaries for their relationship, Mattie thought she was about to explode, “no, of course not. Dylan, we need to discuss this, what’s going on...we can’t go on without that.”

He nodded, “you and your talking!” When she lifted her eyebrows indignantly, he sighed, “no, you’re right, now we’re out here, it’s difficult...talking about things...”

She nodded, “how can we explain what we are to other people if we don’t know ourselves?”

                “But we’re everything to each other, aren’t we?”

She sighed, “we will be, but it’s early days...”

                “Are you saying you aren’t happy?”

She shook her head, pulling his hands into hers, “don’t think like that, I want to be with you more than anything...but we can’t just dive back into what we had. We have to get to know each other again...so much has happened.”

He grinned, “but the past is the past, we agreed that. We just need to work on the future.”

Rolling her eyes, she let him sweep her into a kiss, one that for a moment made them both forget where they were.

A fake cough caused them to break apart, and Mattie knew she was blushing, there was a time and a place for excessive affection in public, and this was neither.  Dylan gave her a conspiratorial wink, before they both turned in the direction of the voice.

Mattie felt her face flush part shock, part embarrassed at coming face to face with Andy. He was wearing a uniform, obviously working the bar or catering. How far she’d come in six months, crossing the line from working, to being a guest at one of these parties.

                “Andy! How are you?”

She pulled him into a hug, then watched in horror as the two men glared at each other with animosity.

                “Dylan,” she tried to ease the tension, “you remember Andy? My good friend. Andy,” she turned to him, “you remember Dylan, my...” Did she say boss? Ex husband? Lover? THAT was the issue.

                “The bastard ex-husband who ruined your life? Yeah, I remember him.” He purposely turned his back to Dylan and stared at her, “what the fuck are you doing?”  

Mattie hated conflict, and hated that Andy was hurt...she’d barely seen him since she’d moved to Dylan’s, she should have realised he’d be upset.

                “Sorry I haven’t been over for a while.”

He gave a huff, “yeah right.”

                “Andy!”

He laughed a harsh sound, “Andy what? You up and leave at the whim of the man who broke your heart? Is that what you’re telling me? You are deluded, stupid and a user, do you hear me?”

Mattie gasped and was about to protest when Dylan spoke, he stepped forward, placing his hand on Andy’s shoulder, “don’t speak to her like that mate, there’s no need.”

Mattie smiled appreciatively at him as Andy laughed again, “who the fuck are YOU to tell ME what to do? I have spent years being the unpaid counsellor for the trauma you caused her, and you come back for five minutes, flashing cash and she rolls over, legs in the air like some desperate dog!”

                “Take that back!” Dylan snarled, reaching for Andy’s shirt.

                “Stop it,” Mattie hissed, grabbing Dylan’s arm. “I’m sorry Andy, but there’s no need to be nasty, can we talk tomorrow?”

Before he could answer, Dylan shook his head, “that’s not a good idea.”

Andy laughed, “really? You’re telling her what to do now? Bloody hell Mattie.”

                “Look, can you please leave us alone Andy. We are guests at this party.”

Mattie grimaced as Dylan spoke, he sounded condescending, patronising even, and as she turned to ask Dylan to give them a moment, Andy carried on.

                “So you two are 'it' now? Is that it? Love’s young dream? After ALL that happened? And you are just forgiving him Mattie, as simple as that.” Again he didn’t give her time to speak, “and does he know? Does he know what you did?”

Mattie felt as though someone had pulled the carpet from under her feet, she staggered, heat engulfing her at the same time as dread. Andy was the only one who knew her darkest secrets. As he opened his mouth to speak she reached for his arm, “Andy please.”

She was fighting panic, pure unadulterated panic, and as he turned to her she spotted sympathy, understanding for a brief second in his eyes, until Dylan laughed, “no, come on Andy. Spill the beans, there’s nothing you can tell me that I don’t know about her!”

He looked so confident so happy, that she could barely focus on his face as the now angry Andy ignored her feelings, her wishes, as he stated simply, angrily, “you know everything? Even how she got rid of your baby? She tell you that Mr Perfect? Cos she told me!”