Dickens and Me

CHAPTER EIGHT
(copyright 2009 Anita Birt)
With time on her hands and not scheduled to return to work until tomorrow, Caroline volunteered to meet Dr. Moreland off the London flight.
She'd caught sight of Greg on the far side of the crowd in the arrivals area and started towards him to apologize for her temper tantrum yesterday at his home but stopped dead in her tracks as shock rippled through her.
A beautiful blonde woman carrying a baby hugged and kissed Greg before handing him the child. He cuddled the infant and edged out of the crowd while his wife followed behind dragging a monster suitcase, a heavy bag slung over her shoulder.
Caroline felt violated. He'd been coming on to her while his wife was in Britain and she had almost lowered her guard. His good-humored charm was hard to resist.
Angry with Greg and angry with herself for almost liking him, Caroline waved to her colleague and waited for him to make his way through the thinning crowd.
Greg had been too busy with his wife and baby to notice her. If he had recognized her he was cool enough to introduce her to his wife as his doctor and not the woman he'd been flirting with.
Dr. Moreland shook her hand. "Good of you to come, my dear. Airports can be a trial but seeing you has cheered me immensely." He wiped a white handkerchief across his forehead.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. My suitcase was the last one to appear. I had almost given up hope."
"I don't mind," Caroline said. "I had the day off and offered to meet you." His heart condition worried the clinic staff. The less stress he had to endure, the better. Mrs. Moreland had poor vision and seldom ventured on to busy highways.
Caroline tried to concentrate on what Dr. Moreland was saying. "Priority ticketing means nothing. My suitcase must have been buried in the hold." He tucked the handkerchief into his pocket. "Airport technology is still in the dark ages..."
Still shaken by seeing Greg, his wife and baby, Caroline nodded in what she hoped were the right places as he continued speaking.
"Now we can leave this wretched den of iniquity," he remarked.
Caroline hurried him to the exit and over to the parking garage. "I have an appointment late this afternoon so we'd better go." She decided not to mention the accident. She was due at the repair shop to discuss the cost of fixing her bike.
"Has the clinic been busy during my absence?"
Caroline nodded. "Very. How was the conference?"
"Excellent." As he talked she concentrated on negotiating through rush hour traffic converging on the northbound freeway.
Eventually he dropped off to sleep and Caroline's thoughts turned to Greg, his wife and baby.
Her hands clenched on the wheel. She should have been straight with him the minute he walked into the clinic.
Why hadn't she?
Because she didn't want him to remember.
Didn't want to hear his apologies.
It was too late for that. Way too late.
He hadn't been there when she needed him.
She stifled a sob. Their baby ... She missed her.
Get over it, Caroline. Don't go there.
"Don't go there," she muttered quietly.
"What's that? I didn't catch what you said." Dr. Moreland straightened up in his seat.
"I was talking to myself. I hope I didn't wake you."
"Not at all. My wife talks to herself. I find it very distracting. I never know whether she's speaking to me or the wall."
"It's something women do. My mother often talked to herself. She said it reminded her of things she had to do."
"Does she live nearby?"
Caroline cleared her throat. "My mother died the year I graduated from high school." She blinked away the tears misting her eyes.
"And your father?"
"He was killed in a car accident when I was sixteen." She wished he'd stop asking questions. When she applied to work at the clinic no one had probed into her family background.
"Do you have any brothers and sisters?"
"I'm an only child."
"I'm sorry I've had little time to have you over to the house. The past few months have been difficult for me to adjust to a healthier lifestyle. No more eighteen hour days. More exercise. You know the drill. Having you on staff has made a big difference."
"Thank you." How could she consider canceling her contract and leave the clinic short-staffed?
Dr. Moreland patted her arm. "You're a fine doctor. I'll tell my wife you are without kith or kin. We have six children, grown up now, but two live in Markbridge. I'll have Marjorie invite you to dinner to meet them. I'm sure you'll enjoy our daughter, Sarah. She married Peter Somerville after we moved to Markbridge."
Caroline's stomach knotted. She forced a smile. "That would be nice." What else could she say?
Pete Somerville had been one year behind her in high school. He'd never remember Kate Southern. Boys never gave her a second glance. Until she'd gone to Ottawa with Greg he'd never acknowledged her existence. To him she was invisible. Like wallpaper. Part of the school environment.
"Our son, Mark, isn't married."
"Really." She tried to sound interested.
"He's a communications specialist and works out of his home. Something to do with the internet, web sites and other mysterious marvels like viruses that attack computers."
"Sounds intriguing." She breathed a sigh of relief as they reached Park Lane Circle and stopped at the doctor's home.
"Thank you for meeting me, my dear. If you'll pop the trunk I'll get my bag." He opened the door then turned to her. "My wife will give you a call. I'm sure you'll enjoy meeting our family."
"Thank you." She waited until he retrieved his suitcase and closed the trunk. Her heart wasn't into meeting his family.
An old memory surfaced like a faded picture in a scrapbook.
Pete Somerville and Greg's sister, Laura, had gone steady for two years before breaking up.
She'd heard the gossip. Something about Laura cheating on him.
Caroline's decision not to level with Greg had returned to haunt her. Pete Somerville was in town. Greg was in town. Who else might turn up?
Caught in a web of her own making she tried to make light of the situation as she drove to the bike shop.
She hadn't committed a crime. She had kept her ex-husband's name, had her hair styled differently, wore contacts most of the time instead of her glasses and could afford good clothes.
She smiled. Her clothes closet wasn't filled with different outfits and shoes to match but what she had were excellent.
So what's the problem?
No problem.
Greg hadn't remembered her.
She'd chosen not to remind him.
Why?
Caroline parked at the shop. Before going in she puzzled again over her reluctance to level with him. It was like going around in circles.
Opening old wounds?
Is that what she was afraid of?
She disliked confrontations. Disliked arguments. Raised voices. Recriminations.
So what was to argue?
Nothing.
He was guilty of abandoning her.
End of story.
She got out of the car.

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