Her eyes flitted in Brenda’s direction. She wondered if she should invest in a Wonderbra. Brenda was sporting a most impressive cleavage that was once more getting an airing as she hung off her Rod look a like’s every word. It was lucky for Terry that he was away again because theirs was most definitely a private party for two, she decided. Now would not be the moment to present her with the packet of turmeric powder she had in her bag. Delwyn had recommended it, saying that when mixed with water to make a paste it worked wonders on bunions.
Now, however, would be the perfect time to get to know Rhodri a bit better. She snuck a surreptitious glance up at him over the rim of her glass. All she knew about his past was that he’d grown up in the same Welsh town as Tom Jones and had gone on to be a mover and shaker in London’s art world. The alcohol made her bold, and she decided to get the ball rolling.
‘I’ll tell you a random fact about myself that you don’t already know and then you do the same, okay?’
Rhodri looked bemused. ‘Okaay,’ he drawled unsure what would come next.
‘Well, I’m an only child.’
‘I knew that.’
‘I haven’t finished,’ Isabel admonished. ‘I’m also adopted. Mum had some complicated woman’s problem, which meant she had to have a hysterectomy not long after she and Dad were married. Mum always says I was meant to be theirs because when I was born in 1992, there weren’t a lot of babies being put up for adoption, but they got me.’
Rhodri smiled but stayed silent waiting for her to continue.
‘They didn’t meet my birth mother, but the staff at the agency they went through said she was a lovely, young woman who wanted the best for me but who needed to move forward with her life. She felt she couldn’t do that if the adoption were to be an open one, you know, where she could’ve visited me or received regular updates as to how I was getting on.’
‘Would you have liked it to be open?’ Rhodri asked, leaning forward on his stool.
‘No, I don’t think I would have, it would have scared me. I mean what if she changed her mind and decided she did want to keep me after all and tried to take me away? That happened in the States you know? I read about it online. I mean, I know it was highly unlikely, but that’s how I would have felt as a child. I needed the security of knowing Mum and Dad were my mum and dad. Kids are black and white.’
Rhodri nodded. ‘Yeah, I can see that. Have you met her, your biological mother?’
‘No, I haven’t felt the need to. If I’m honest like I said, my mum and dad are my parents and besides which, she will have moved on with her life.’ Isabel eyed her drink for a beat. ‘I suppose I sometimes wonder if I have any brothers or sisters. I mean I probably do, and it’s a strange thought that I could walk past my birth mother or siblings in the street and not even know it. It scares me a little, the thought of this whole other life I could’ve had. I don’t do change well.’
‘Oh, I don’t know about that. You put yourself down too much, Isabel. You’ve lived on the other side of the world and look where you are right now. I think you do change pretty good.’ He swirled the ice in the bottom of his glass. ‘Do you think that’s possible though when a child is involved? To move on with your life I mean.’ His tone was sharp, and Isabel looked at him over the top of her glass startled.
‘I don’t know, but I have to think that it is otherwise it’s rather sad.’
‘Yes, I suppose you do.’ His eyes were hooded, and Isabel was puzzled.
‘What is it?’
‘I have a child, or I think I might do. It sounds crazy, but I know nothing about him or her, not even their sex. I told you I ran away too?’
Isabel nodded; she was all ears.
‘Yeah. Well, Sal, my ex and I were engaged. We’d been together nearly four years, and marriage seemed like the natural next step. I thought life was moseying along pretty well. We both had careers we loved—she’s a lawyer and a good one. We had a great social circle, a smart flat and I thought we were happy. When I think back on it now, and believe me I’ve thought back over it.’ His laugh was ironic and unfamiliar to Isabel’s ears, ‘I was caught up in myself, work was my focus, living the London lifestyle to the hilt and that included Sal. She fitted the bill for what I saw as a successful life for this small town boy from Wales. You know a great job, beautiful girl but I suppose she was also pretty shallow and so was I. Anyway enough of the retrospection. The wedding plans were almost finalised. We’d booked a country house in Shropshire. She’d been going for dress fittings, the whole shebang. It was a done deal, or so I thought. Then one evening I came home to an empty flat. All her stuff was gone; it was
