The Red Dress chapter thirty two

 Nick had got back to the house, having played golf all afternoon. He went through to the bar and poured himself a stiff scotch, hoping it would warm him up. The wind had been bitter on the golf course, and Nick wished he hadn't played. Feeling the warm amber liquid thaw him out, he walked over to the French doors and took in the magnificent view.
 
     When he had built the house overlooking Port Erin bay, he had fallen in love with the spectacular views across the Irish Sea. His architect had managed to design the house, which had six bedrooms, in such a way that all the main rooms could enjoy some aspect of the view. The large balcony, which led off the main lounge, dining room and master bedroom, created a perfect terrace where he had entertained often. The games room was linked to the lounge via a well-stocked bar, affectionately called the 'nineteenth' by the many locals who frequented it. He knew his obvious wealth had attracted a lot of new friends, but it hadn't brought him happiness, or love.
 
     His thoughts went as usual to Lisa, and he wondered if she had received his letter. He assumed her mother probably hadn't passed it on, but he couldn't think what else he could do for now.
 
     The pain came back when he remembered the day he had waited for her to arrive, only to be told by her mother that she had run off with some guy she hardly knew. God, he wanted her so much. Ever since he had first seen her, he hadn't wanted anyone else. Hannah had been the only one who understood the living hell he had gone through in the last month, and if it hadn't been for her, he would have gone out of his mind with grief. Only the call from Lisa's brother telling him that she was going back to boarding school for a year had given him the faintest hope that he might get her back, and that’s when he had written the letter.
 
      He didn't care how long it took, but he had to try to contact her. He would never love anyone else in the way that he loved her. It wasn't just her beauty and her innocence that attracted him, but her disregard for his money. He had deliberately not brought her back to the house in case it had the same effect on her as it had on everyone else. He had wanted her to be the first one to love him for who he was, not what his wealth had made him. When the phone went at seven-thirty, he assumed it was Bob wanting to know if he fancied a pint at the local pub later. It wasn't Bob, it was the answer to his prayers.
 
     Amy looked from one face to another after she dialled Nick's home number, knowing they all depended on her to get it right. She could feel her hand shaking as she held the phone to her ear. After a couple of rings Nick answered and Amy stuck her thumb up to the others.
 
     “Hello, Mr Corday?”
 
Nick confirmed that it was. At least they'd got the right guy.
 
     “You don't know me, but I'm a friend of Lisa's- we're at St. Michael's together.”
 
Nick couldn't believe he was at last in contact with someone who could tell him where Lisa was. He’d asked her brother for her new address, but he wouldn't give it to him.
 
     “I'm delighted to hear from you, Miss…?”
 
     “Amy, Amy Matthews.”
 
Amy was pleased to hear the enthusiasm in his well-spoken northern voice.
 
     “Where are you calling from, Amy? Would you like me to phone you back?”
 
Nick wasn't going to lose the first contact he’d had regarding Lisa's whereabouts, and there was no number registering on the call monitor.
 
     “That would be great if you could,” Amy answered gratefully; already anxious as to how she was going to explain the long distance call to her parents when they got the bill. She gave him the telephone and extension number, and then put down the phone.
 
     She hardly had time to tell the others how nice he sounded, when Nick rang back.
 
     “Hi, Amy, please, first things first, is Lisa okay?”
 
Amy thought how mature he sounded, and how caring.
 
     “Yes, she's fine, but she's very depressed about you guys splitting up, that's why I'm phoning you.”
 
Nick wanted to believe what Amy was saying was true, but he found it hard to because Lisa hadn’t even tried to contact him.
 
     “I think you might have that wrong, Amy. You see, her mother told me quite the opposite, and I haven't heard from Lisa in over a month, so I assume she was telling me the truth.”
 
Amy thought for a moment. The expression on everyone's faces was tortured trying to work out what he was saying.
 
     “No, that’s where you're wrong, Nick. Lisa does love you, she's just really frightened, and she can't forgive herself for letting her mother tell you, and not coming to the Isle of Man to tell you how she felt herself. When I spoke to her earlier, she said she couldn't get over losing you- and how she would give anything to have you back…”
 
Nick felt the tears pricking in his eyes. He just prayed that this girl wasn't winding him up.
 
     “You don't know how much I want to believe that, Amy but she hasn't even answered my letter, so I have no reason to believe you.”
 
Hearing Nick's voice thickening at the other end of the phone, Amy decided to come clean.
 
     “That’s because she hasn't read it yet- she's convinced that you hate her for not turning up on the day she was supposed to come to the Isle of Man to announce the engagement, so she refused to open it.”
 
Nick began to feel a sliver of hope. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
 
     “So where is the letter now?” he asked, letting the excitement show in his voice
 
Amy took a deep breath. She had rehearsed this half a dozen times.
 
     “We have it, or at least we did- it was the only way we could find out whether you still loved her or not.”
 
Nick was still confused.
 
     “So why don't you give my letter back to Lisa, and let her phone me herself?” he asked.
 
Everyone was staring at Amy, holding their breath. She obviously couldn't tell him the truth, because he would be heartbroken if he knew Lisa had ripped up the letter. Amy took a deep breath before telling Nick her well-rehearsed story.
 
     “I can't, because I’m afraid it’s gone missing. It was just lucky I took a note of your telephone number before it did. Lisa thinks she's lost the letter, and it's breaking her heart. We all feel awful because it's our fault the letter went missing in the first place. You’ve got to believe me, Nick, we're all really worried about her…”
 
Not only did he believe her, but Nick wanted to talk to Lisa immediately. Amy was reluctant to give him her number, thinking Lisa would never trust her again, but Nick eventually persuaded her by promising not to tell Lisa about their conversation, or the fact that he knew about the letter.
 
     By the time Amy said goodbye and put the phone down, the other four had nearly gone mad trying to work out what he had said. After Amy had recounted as much of the conversation as she could remember, they all sat looking at each other and hoped that they had done the right thing…
 
 
 
          Nick sat and stared at the piece of paper with Lisa's number on it, and felt the tears smarting in his eyes. A month before, he had wept the bitter tears of sadness, but now he wept for joy. Nick thanked God for Amy's phone call. He had thought Lisa didn't want him, far less love him. Now he knew that she not only loved him, but that she was wretched at not knowing if he still cared. He was ecstatic. It was as though all his prayers had been answered in one phone call, and the pain, the humiliation, and the heartbreak, had only been a test which proved his undying love for her all this time.
 
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     Lisa lay on the bed staring up at the ceiling, wondering what to do. Nick had just called. When she'd picked up the phone and heard his voice, she’d burst into tears and couldn't speak, but it didn't matter because Nick did enough talking for both of them.
 
     He told her how much he loved her and how, whatever happened when she ran away, he didn't care. He told her of the agony and despair he’d gone through for days on end when he didn't hear from her, and how he had been close on occasions to taking his life. That made her cry even more, knowing exactly how he must have felt. She was now where he was then. She tried to tell him how sorry she was to have treated him so badly, but he kept telling her that it was alright- just being able to talk to her made life worth living.
 
      He was sweet and understanding, and above all, he forgave her, which lessened the guilt she felt for having treated him so badly. They talked for over an hour, and it was as though the previous month hadn't existed as far as Nick was concerned. He just wanted her back…
 
     When Nick put down the phone, he was the happiest man alive. Amy had been right. Lisa hadn't actually told him that she loved him, but she had wept at the sound of his voice, and repeatedly tried to tell him how sorry she was for hurting him, which made all his pain disappear. It was almost as though he had gone through some kind of endurance test, and had come through it feeling stronger and loving her even more. He picked up the phone to call Amy. He wanted to thank her from the bottom of his heart, but he also needed her help…
    
 
      The next day Teddy called her brother. When he answered, she excitedly told him her news.
 
     “Dan, it's him, the guy I asked you about. It really is the same millionaire who's in love with Lisa Collins, the girl in my year.”
 
Dan heard the excitement in Teddy's voice and asked her again if there was a possible story. He could do with an exclusive on Nick Corday. It would be a journalist's dream.
 
     “Story! Are you kidding? Hey, does the paper pay for exclusive interviews?” she asked excitedly.
 
Dan laughed at his little sister’s naivety. He knew she was going to tell him, whether it paid her or not…
 
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     Carla was beginning to lose heart, as were Alan's parents. They stopped sleeping at the hospital and tried to lead their lives as normally as they could.
 
     She restricted her visits to a couple of hours after University every afternoon, and Alan's sister and parents covered the mornings and evenings. They were all running out of new things to say to him, having lost faith in the old things because they weren't working. At least it meant that Carla could go home every night and catch up on the studies she had missed in the first few days, but she still felt guilty when she wasn't at the hospital. On the Friday night some of the girls talked her into going for a drink in town, and she asked Alan's father if it was okay to stay over at Alan's flat.
 
     “Of course you can, love. It's about time somebody checked on it. Have you still got the keys?”
 
Carla still had them and promised to give the flat a tidy up on Saturday morning before she came to the hospital to visit Alan.
 
 
 
     The night out did her the world of good. She didn't get in until well after two, and she was seriously drunk. All her mates had made a concerted effort to get her rat arsed, and they had succeeded. She climbed into Alan's bed and fell fast asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
 
     She woke up the next morning with a rotten hangover, and lay on Alan's bed, trying to get her bearings. When she rolled over she felt something hard digging into her shoulder and looked for the offending object. It turned out to be a bottle of Jean Paul Gautier perfume. At least that explained the scent she couldn’t identify on the first night that she'd slept there.
 
     She thought it was typically sweet of Alan to buy her a present and leave it on her side of the bed, waiting for her return. It didn't cross her mind for one second that it might belong to someone else. Nor did it occur to her that Alan's accident had happened on the Friday, and she wasn't due back until the Monday, so why would a gift for her be in the bed three days before? Carla resolved to wear it to the hospital that afternoon because he must have liked it if he had bought it for her. Who knows, she thought. It might have some effect on him. God knows, nothing else had worked.
 
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     On Saturday morning Lisa woke up feeling better than she had since she arrived. The pain was certainly easing, and she knew that she owed it all to the call she'd had from Nick, even though he hadn't rung since.
 
     When she’d told Amy about the phone call, she seemed to be pleased but then changed the subject, so Lisa didn't mention it again. After that either Amy or one of the others had called in on their way to breakfast every day, claiming that Lisa was beginning to look anorexic, and they wouldn't take no for an answer.
 
     It was Teddy's turn today, and she frogmarched Lisa down to the dining room like a sergeant major. When they were all sitting around the table eating cereal, Lisa decided to say something and thank them all for being so understanding.
 
     “You know, guys, I don’t know what I would have done without you.” she announced warmly, wanting them to know how much she appreciated their friendship.
 
They all looked a bit embarrassed. Amy said it was a pleasure, and then nonchalantly carried on munching her cornflakes.
 
     “What's up, guys? Why are you acting so weird?” Lisa eventually asked, looking at them all suspiciously.
 
Teddy nearly choked, and Linda started slapping her on the back. Chloe seemed to be the only one capable of speaking.
 
     “Pay no attention to us, Lisa. We're just a bit excited about the string quartet that’s coming to play in the grounds this afternoon.”
 
Lisa looked at them quizzically. “What string quartet?”
 
Linda stopped munching for a minute.
 
     “Chloe just told you- the one that’s playing in the grounds this afternoon...”
 
Lisa sensed a bit of irritation in Linda's voice and decided not to ask anymore. She thought she must have been half asleep at the assembly that had mentioned anything about a string quartet, because she couldn't remember anything about it at all…
 
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Carla was still feeling a bit fragile when she arrived at the hospital, but the night had recharged her flagging spirits, and she was looking forward to seeing Alan.
 
     The Sister said that there was no change, but he'd had a good night and his vital signs were fine. She sat on the bed beside him before taking his hand.
 
     “Hi, honey, guess who had too much to drink last night and is feeling like shit today. You'd better go gentle with me.”
 
As usual, she leant over and kissed him…
 
 
     Alan could smell Lisa's perfume. She had come back to him, and she was kissing him gently on the lips. When she took his hand, he could see the love in her eyes as she talked to him, but he couldn't quite hear her. He tried telling her- but no words came out. It was as though someone was controlling the volume with a remote control, and they wouldn't turn it up.
 
     “I can't hear,' he tried shouting, and looked over at Mike who had brought Lisa back. He had the remote control, and was smiling at him while he was pressing the buttons. 'That’s it Mike, turn it up!” he begged him- and suddenly, he could make out what she was saying. It was exactly what he wanted to hear.
 
     Carla noticed that Alan's hand was twitching in hers, and she leant over him and kissed him again. It was the first time she’d seen any reaction from him since the accident, apart from the epileptic fit.
 
     “What is it, baby?” she cried, and saw his lips moving, although no audible words were coming out. His eyelids flickered, and she knew instinctively that he was regaining consciousness.
 
     “I love you, Alan- please wake up,” she begged, clutching his hand tighter still.
 
      “I bet that I'll love you for longer.” he whispered, and slowly opened his eyes....