The Story Of Us

Katie wasn’t keen to revisit this chapter of her family’s past . . .

THE door burst open and a backpack was unceremoniously dumped on the floor with a resounding thud.

“Have you heard the news?” Bella called out.

There was the scatter of small feet as three-year-old Daisy raced with their Labrador puppy, Roly, to be the first to greet Bella.

“What’s going on?” Liam leaned over the bannister and looked down the stairs.

Normally the thirteenyear-old was ensconced in his room by now playing online computer games with his mates. Another face joined him. “What’s happened, Bella?” Izzy demanded. “Have you got a boyfriend?”

Bella scooped up Daisy and made a big fuss of Roly. “Mum, where are you?” “I’m right here,” Katie replied. “What’s going on?”

For some reason Bella’s smile stirred unease in Katie.

Last time she’d come home in such a good mood was when a boy asked her out.

He’d stood her up because it was “just a joke” and she’d been humiliated.

She’d buried herself in her schoolwork after that, and even now she was at sixth-form college, she showed no interest in boys.

“You’ll never guess who’s coming to town to do a talk at the library tomorrow,” Bella gushed.

“No, I won’t.” Katie laughed. “Go on, tell me!”

“It’s a famous writer,” Bella continued excitedly.

Bella excelled at English, and she loved writing. She’d filled dozens of notebooks with stories and poems, and all were illustrated with her own brand of quirky art.

“Philippa Gregory?” Katie suggested. “Joanne Harris? It’s not Richard Osman, is it?” “No.” Bella giggled. “Suzanne Collins? Oh, my goodness, is it Stephen King?”

“Mum! Get real!” Bella replied. “You’re just reeling off your favourite authors.

“Wait for it,” she went on, eyes like saucers. “It’s A.A. Ardley! Apparently, he used to live round here!”

Katie was struck by a wave of dizziness. “What? No!”

Bella mistook Katie’s look of horror for one of astonishment.

“None other,” Bella said smugly. “And I know you like his books because you get them from the library.

“What do you think he’s really like, Mum?”

“He’s probably just ordinary,” Katie said weakly.

“Ordinary? Have you seen how many awards he’s won?”

She put Daisy on the floor before stomping upstairs, clearly disappointed that Katie wasn’t bouncing around with excitement.

“Who’s A.A. Ardley?” Liam asked.

“He’s a writer,” Katie replied. “Don’t you have homework to do?”

There was nothing like chopping vegetables for releasing tension, but this time nothing was helping.

She had known A.A. Ardley when he was just plain old Archie Ardley, a boy with messy brown hair and soft brown eyes.

He’d always been popular, and when they were thrown together in the same GCSE English class, he’d sat down next to her.

“You don’t mind if I sit here, do you?” he’d asked.

“It’s a free country,” she’d replied, trying to sound cool even though her heart was racing.

They went to the library together after school, and sometimes Archie came round to her house to do his homework.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Katie,” he often said, and she thought he meant he loved her.

When it came to going to sixth-form college, Katie chose to go to the same one as Archie and they took the train together every day.

She stabbed at a carrot and it flew off the chopping board on to the floor.

Before she could stop him, Roly pounced on it and began to crunch with mad delight at his prize.

She put the knife down and slumped on to a stool.

She’d been just a few

months away from sitting her A levels when she found she was pregnant.

She’d never forget the gut-clenching fear while she waited for the test result, praying that it would be negative.

When she saw the result the fear was like a physical entity, tying her stomach in painful knots.

This wasn’t what they’d planned.

Archie’s grades were predicted to be so good that he was already looking at top universities.

Katie wanted to be a nurse and was planning to go to a university nearer home, but she didn’t want to think about the years they’d be parted.

She touched her stomach now, remembering how fearful she’d been, because everything would change.

“Don’t joke about things like that,” Archie had said darkly when she told him. “I’m not joking.” “How could you let this happen?” he demanded accusingly. “What are you going to do about it?” “Me?”

“I can’t have this!” he raged. “It’ll ruin my life.”

“What about my life?” she asked.

“You don’t get it, do you? I have a future. I can’t be held back by an unwanted kid.”

It was those cruel words that had made Katie change how she felt.

She was barely more than a child herself, but she felt a desire to protect her unborn baby.

He’d called it unwanted. How could he say that?

“We’ll manage,” she said, trying to soothe him.

“We? No, this is on you, Katie.”

There had been more words spoken, none of which she wanted to remember.

He’d stopped speaking to her for a couple of weeks before sitting next to her on the train.

“How are you?” he asked. She wilted with relief. “I’m OK.”

“Good. I’ve got this history assignment to do and I wondered if you could help.”

“I’m not doing history.” “Doesn’t matter; you do better than I do. I haven’t time to do all the research for it.”

She was so pleased. “Of course I’ll help,” she replied, and she’d ended up writing the essay for him.

Once she’d done it, he’d stopped speaking to her again, and she felt hurt and bewildered, wondering what she’d done wrong this time.

She’d broken down in tears and told her mother everything.

“I’ll tell you now,” her mother said. “I never liked Archie Ardley. Do you think I didn’t realise that you did his assignments for him?

“You’re better off without him, and that little baby will be, too!”

He was gone before Bella was born.

But Katie couldn’t believe that he’d used her. If he had, then didn’t that mean she was stupid?

When she first held Bella in her arms, Katie had been terrified, but more than that, she cherished her baby and looked on her as a blessing.

The first thing she did was let Archie know he had a daughter.

She still clung to the hope that he’d want to see her, that they could have a life together.

But Archie wasn’t interested.

“I’m glad!” Katie’s mum had declared. “He’s forfeited any right to call himself Bella’s father, and you don’t want anything from him.

“Your dad and I will see neither of you want for anything. You can carry on with your career plans. I’ll give up work to care for Bella.”

Katie never planned to fall in love again, but then Ben came to do some work at the hospital and asked her out.

“I remember you from school,” he’d told her. “I always wanted to speak to you, but I never had the courage.”

“I wasn’t that scary, was I?” She laughed.

“No,” he replied. “Never that.”

“Dad will be excited about my news,” Bella said with a sly look at Katie.

She looked at Ben across the dinner table.

To her, he was her dad as much as he was Liam, Izzy and Daisy’s.

“What news is that, love?” Ben asked.

“We have a famous author coming to town to do a talk at the library,” she replied. “Guess who it is!”

“Wow! Well, you know I’m not a reader, love,” Ben said apologetically. “I wouldn’t have a clue. You’ll have to tell me.”

“It’s A.A. Ardley.” “Never heard of him,” Ben replied.

“I want to be a writer like him.”

“No, you don’t,” Ben said with such vehemence that it nearly made Katie’s heart stop. Did he know?

Ben’s smile was sudden as he went on.

“You don’t want to be like him! You should be a writer like you and no-one else. Besides, you are a writer. You’re always writing! You’re a chip off the old block.”

Katie gasped. No-one seemed to notice.

“I mean a published author, Dad,” Bella said.

“And why shouldn’t you?” Ben asked. “You have the talent.”

He looked over at Katie and she felt her face flush.

She got up and took her plate over to the sink.

“Leave that,” Ben said. “I’ll clear up while you get ready for work. Are you feeling OK?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

As she left the kitchen she heard Bella speak again.

“She’s been acting weird since I got home, Dad.”

It was midnight and Katie yawned.

She’d been too busy to think about Archie, but now there was a slight lull on the ward her thoughts turned to him again.

What if he realised Bella was his daughter? People said her resemblance to Katie was remarkable.

He wouldn’t recognise her name because Ben had adopted her after they got married and she’d taken his name.

Bella had never asked about her biological father, and Katie had gone along with that because it was easier.

Would he want to get involved in Bella’s life now he was older and wiser?

And how would Ben feel if that happened?

“Katie, you’re needed,” a voice called out. “Cubicle three.”

When she got there, Estelle took her arm.

“Sorry to dump this one on you, Katie,” the doctor said, “but I thought you’d be best to deal with him.”

“Is he a difficult one?” Katie smiled.

“That’s an understatement.”

She briefed Katie, then reeled off a list of the blood tests she wanted her to do.

“And don’t let him bully you!” she added.

“I won’t,” Katie assured her.

She pulled back the curtain and entered the cubicle, and when she saw who was sitting on the bed, she spun round.

Her heart was thudding and she felt as if she couldn’t breathe.

It was rude turning her back on her patient, but what else could she do?

“About time!” he snapped. “I could have died out there waiting all that time!”

He didn’t sound like someone at death’s door.

She took a deep breath and shut the curtain before turning round.

A woman sat beside his bed looking embarrassed.

“I’ll just take some bloods,” Katie said.

Archie hadn’t changed all that much. He was a little heavier and his hair was a

little longer.

He jerked his arm away and, for the first time, he glared at her.

“Don’t make such a fuss, Archie,” the woman sitting beside the bed said.

“I’m not making a fuss! I’m in pain. How long is this going to take? I’ve a full schedule tomorrow. I’m due to give a talk at the library.”

“We’ll be as quick as we can.” Katie looked up and met his eyes, but there was no hint of recognition.

How had she ever thought those eyes warm? They were as cold and hard as ice.

She left the cubicle and sent the bloods to the lab. “Excuse me.”

She turned to see his companion hovering beside her.

“He wants to know how much longer he has to wait.”

“I just told him we’ll be as quick as we can,” Katie snapped, then regretted it. “I’m sorry. It’s been quite a night.”

“No, I’m sorry. This has happened before. He over-indulges and makes himself ill. He woke me up insisting I call an ambulance, but I drove him here instead.”

Katie had forgotten how self-obsessed Archie could be.

“Do you think it’s his nerves about the talk tomorrow?”

The woman scoffed. “He doesn’t get nervous. His readers worship him. He could stand on one leg and sing the chicken song and they’d still give him a standing ovation.”

Katie burst out laughing and the woman’s face cracked into a smile.

“I’m Miranda,” she said. “Or, as Archie likes to call me, Mrs Ardley the fourth.” “The fourth!”

“Soon to be the ex-mrs Ardley,” Miranda added. “I can’t believe I fell for his charm – and he can be charming, believe you me.

“But it’s all a front. As for his books, I’ve written the best part of the last two.

“It seems to be a pattern.

His previous wives were writers, too!”

Katie stared at her in astonishment. If a woman her age could fall for Archie’s charm, then what hope would she have had as a teenager?

It explained why his books varied so much in style!

“You probably think I’m awful,” Miranda said, her eyes welling with tears. “I’m just glad we never had children. He was always very adamant about that, and I know why. He’d no longer be the centre of attention.”

“Miranda!” Archie shouted from behind the curtain. “I’m thirsty. Get me a drink and something to eat.”

Katie smiled at Miranda, then poked her head through the curtain.

“Until we know what’s wrong with you, you’re nil by mouth.”

“I just want a coffee!” He called after her. “What do you have to do to get any service in this place?”

Miranda went into the cubicle and came out moments later with her bag.

“I’m leaving,” she said. “I’ve had enough.”

“You can’t do this!” he bellowed. “We have a pre-nup! You’ll get nothing!”

She smiled at Katie, looking as if a great weight had been lifted.

“I’ll have my dignity and self respect,” she told her.

Katie felt a sense of pride in the perfect stranger who left the hospital.

It turned out there was nothing wrong with Archie besides a mild case of heartburn.

The last Katie saw of him, he was raging at someone over the phone, demanding they get a car to pick him up straight away while also grumbling about the inadequacies of the NHS, who had refused to supply an ambulance to return him to his hotel.

When Katie arrived home from her shift, Ben was dishing up breakfast.

She saw him standing at the stove and felt a rush of love for him.

He was a million times the man Archie was.

“You’re just in time,” he said. “Hungry?”

Ben wasn’t particularly interested in books and he hadn’t graduated from a top university, but he was a good man and a loving husband and father.

Bella got up from the table and put her arms round Katie.

“I’m sorry, Mum,” she said. “What for?”

“For being so grumpy with you last night. Would you like to come to the talk tonight? I know you like his books because you borrow them from the library.” Katie felt herself squirm. She could never admit that she only read his books to see if he ever mentioned her in them, and had done since his first was published some eight years ago.

“I’m not keen,” Katie admitted. “Sometimes it seems as if they’re written by different people. I won’t be borrowing any more.”

“To be honest, I was only excited because I thought you would be,” Bella said. “Let’s have a movie night at home instead.”

“I’d love that,” Katie said. “Here you go.” Ben put a hearty breakfast in front of Katie. “You have to keep your strength up.

“I’ve got to rush,” he added, stooping to kiss her. “I’ve got an early job this morning. I’ve put a load of washing on, but I can sort that out later.”

Katie tried to imagine Archie cooking breakfast, getting the kids ready for school and telling her he’d sort everything when he got home and she laughed out loud.

What a lucky escape she’d had.

“You all right?”

“Yes. We should talk later,” she said, squeezing his hand. He squeezed hers back. “We have nothing to talk about,” he said meaningfully.

He knew! And he was all right with it.

Katie took Liam and Izzy to school, dropped Daisy and Roly at her mother’s and was surprised to find Bella at home when she got back, sitting at the kitchen table.

“Did you want a lift to the station?”

“I don’t have to be in until later,” Bella replied. “I’ll walk so you can get some rest.

“What’s wrong, Mum? I know there’s something.”

Katie sat down at the table while Bella packed her work into her bag.

She ought to tell her. Bella had a right to know.

“You’ve never asked me about your father,” she said.

“I know everything there is to know,” Bella replied. “He does tend to repeat his stories a bit. If I’ve heard how he fell off his bike and broke his wrist once, I’ve heard it a hundred times.”

Katie laughed. Ben could never tell that story without sticking his arm out and poking a lump on his wrist that remained to this day.

“I mean your biological father,” she explained. Bella shrugged.

“He means nothing to me.” “Aren’t you curious?” “No. Maybe I will be one day, but as far as I’m concerned, Dad is my dad.

“The biological guy has never shown any interest in me, so why should I care about him?”

“I thought you might have questions.”

“None at all. Does that make me weird?”

“You were already weird,” Katie said. “You take after your grandad for that.”

“Takes one to know one,” Bella shot back. “And I get my English skills from you. Nanna said you were always writing stories.”

Katie thought it over. “Yes,” she said. “I was.” “Dad says I get my writing skills from you. He said you still write.”

“I do,” she said. “Just for the fun of it.”

“Go to bed, Mum. You’re exhausted. I’ll lock up.”

Then Bella hugged her – her daughter who was absolutely nothing like her father.

Thank goodness!