The two had sat in silence for a few moments before Kelly had spoken softly
“What happened to the woman’s baby” she had asked as he had looked strangely at her
“There was no baby; she was trying to get money from me”
“Oh” was the only thing Kelly could manage, as he had sighed, a heavy sound
“Unfortunately there have been some cases in which ex girlfriends have tried to extort money by claiming amongst other things that they are pregnant. I normally let my lawyers deal with them….but she got me on the phone..and…” he had trailed off not finishing the sentence
“You never had your lawyers contact me” Kelly had said softly, seeing as Marc had frowned
“When I read the letter from your lawyer it was different. I knew Trudy” He looked up at her with a smile
“She was a wonderful woman” he had said softly as Kelly had bit her lip smiling sadly back at him
“….and there was no demand for money. Something about that letter just rang true.. So I came over to Glasgow to see for myself”
He looked up smiling
“I’m glad I did. Max is wonderful. I never knew I could ever feel that way about another human being”
Kelly had given a return smile nodding
“He does have that effect on people” she had said gently
“I didn’t know Marc” she had finally said looking him in the eye
“I truly thought you knew”
Marc noticed how brightly her eyes sparkled. Those wonderful blue pools of light which seemed to mirror her every emotion, and right now there was an honesty in them which made him swallow hard.
“I know” he replied
Suddenly feeling the need to break the air which now hung over the two of them he produced a bottle of red wine, decanting it with practiced ease, before pouring them both a large glass.
“A toast” he said raising his glass “To Trudy”. She had raised her glass in approval.
The rest of the meal went quickly, the two of them spending an enjoyable hour talking and eating. They seemed very relaxed together, the earlier event long forgotten, no doubt helped Kelly thought by the wine which seemed to flow easily. She had found him to be an enjoyable companion, and found herself listening intently to the many stories he told her about growing up in the villa. He had seemed to enjoy her company too as they were able to laugh and argue together until they both forgot the time.
As they sat back, unable to finish the wonderful meal, they had both automatically began to clear the table together.
“Would you like to sit outside for a while” he had asked while pouring her another drink. Kelly had nodded and together they had moved out to one of the large porches partially covered from the night air. By now the sky was completely black, with stars twinkling down at them from the clear sky, all quiet except from the high pitched buzzing of the cicadas’
He had spoken first, his voice more serious
“I got the results back from the lab” he had told her softly
Kelly had looked down at her drink remembering the visit they had made to the clinic in which swabs had been taken from Max’s cheek to confirm paternity
“They came back positive” he had said a small note of happiness evident in his voice as Kelly had taken a large sip of her wine
“I thought they might” she said before adding “He is your double”
Marc had given her a small smile, silence falling between them once more for a few seconds
Changing the subject he had said
“His birthday is in two days” seeing as Kelly nodded
“Yes his first” she had added with pride
“I thought we should do something special, what do you think”
Kelly had sat silently for a few seconds, thinking before looking back at him
“He loves animals, do they have a petting zoo nearby”
Seeing as Marc had frowned thoughtfully
“Leave it with me” he murmured softly
They sat there for another hour mostly in silence, comfortable in each others company enjoying the peacefulness of their surroundings. At 9.30 Marc had stood up.
“I have an early meeting tomorrow, and I need to check out some papers first. So my apologies I must say goodnight”
Kelly had followed him back in and watched as he ensured all the doors were secure. He had told her that she was more than welcome to watch TV in the living room, but she had chosen to also return to her room.
“I have a book which my publisher wants me to read so that I can create a front cover. So I should make a start on that” she had smiled and with that they had both made their way up the stairs disappearing into different rooms as they had wished each other goodnight.
Kelly had spent an hour reading the book, which was long enough for her to formulate in her mind how the cover would look, before spending some time sketching her idea. When she was finally pleased with the draft, she could feel herself yawning, and looking at her watch was surprised to see that it was already passed midnight turning out the light and once more slipping into the soft bed.