Forbidden Passion (Alan Rickman FF) ENGLISH VERSION

Chapter 16

Alan was impatient, pressing the phone even closer to his ear, waiting for Mary to finally pick up. He was annoyed about the trip to Paris. Why couldn't she have checked the time against his calendar beforehand? But this was not how he had envisioned his reconciliation with his wife. When his wife finally answered the phone, he didn't hesitate long and immediately began to speak, "Mary, what's this all about? I didn't expect you to book a trip so soon! I would have preferred if we had talked about it first, because I already have various appointments on those days. How did you imagine all this?"

There was silence on the line for a moment when Mary finally gave an answer, "I don't know, Alan. I didn't see that you had entries. I did check the schedule specifically, you know. But surely it's not a big effort for you to reschedule everything," she answered his question, even though she knew her statement was a lie. No one would be able to prove to her that she had deleted the appointments from her calendar before.

Alan realized that arguing with her on the phone right now would do absolutely no good, so he relented. "We'll sort it out tonight when you get back. I'm leaving now as well. I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't come looking for me if you got home before I did." The conversation ended a short time later and Alan put the cell phone on the desk. He found himself in a quandary. He didn't know exactly how to resolve the situation. Of course, he wanted to go to Paris with his wife. Maybe they would still manage to save the marriage. Although he was developing feelings for Rosalyn, he couldn't admit them to himself. He was surely just confused because he had quarreled with his wife so often lately and therefore sought peace with his assistant. Surely his thoughts would go back in the right direction all by themselves. His marriage had lasted for decades; he couldn't and didn't want to just throw something like that away.

He didn't mind the short trip, even though it was overpriced. He would spend the money on it without blinking an eye if it meant that his relationship would get a boost again. But did the trip have to be scheduled on such short notice? He hated to cancel the dates, but in this case, he had no choice. Alan knew that he should let Rosalyn know as soon as possible, but he didn't want to disturb her vacation again. On Monday, he had to talk to his assistant on the phone, which he could hardly wait for. After all, he finally had to know what she had decided. For him it was clear, he still needed her at his side. She had already agreed to work with him, but he wanted to make sure once again that she had not changed her mind.

Originally he had not intended to leave at all now, he felt cramped, it seemed as if he was not getting enough air. He really needed some distance, maybe he would go for a walk or visit a friend. But before that, he would make a reservation for tomorrow night. Alan thought of a certain restaurant, which was further outside of London. He would book a separee there, in this room he would be able to talk to Mary in peace about her situation without having to fear eavesdropping ears. What's more, the food was excellent and the service very discreet. They had been there more often in the past when they went out regularly and enjoyed spending time together.

Luckily, he had gotten a table for two, now he just had to surprise his wife with it. Surely she would be happy about it, after all, she had enjoyed eating the delicious lobster there.

*

It was Sunday afternoon. Alan was skimming a script for a new film project, but he couldn't really concentrate on it. He hadn't been able to talk to his wife at all yesterday. She had come home so late that he hadn't felt like talking to her. Not even about the trip to Paris had they exchanged, which bothered him extremely. In fact, he didn't want to go to the restaurant with Mary anymore, after all, she didn't think it was necessary to talk to him regarding the booking. His wife was sitting in her own office and seemed to be busy with something all day, he hadn't even really seen her today.

A certain idea crept into his mind more and more often. What if he went out to dinner there with his assistant? He could tell his wife some story and make her believe that he had a business appointment tonight. After all, she didn't know about the table reservation anyway. He could talk to Rosalyn there, informally, over a glass of wine, about their further course of action. That would be much more comfortable, than to clarify the whole thing on Monday via telephone. The thought just wouldn't let him go and the longer he thought about it, the better he found his idea. Again he looked at the clock. If he let his assistant know now, she would still have enough time to get ready for the evening. He could send a cab home for her. Alan wanted to meet her at the restaurant only, better safe than sorry. Who knows did she have time so spontaneously, but if he didn't try, he would never know. Hesitantly, he picked up his phone and looked up Rosalyn's number. Once again he thought it through carefully, but he found nothing objectionable about it; after all, the dinner was just business and his wife had no idea about the reservation anyway.

Alan hurried upstairs to his bedroom to get ready. His assistant had actually accepted! He still couldn't believe she had agreed to meet at the restaurant. Now it was time to get dressed up, after all he wanted to show his best side. Beforehand, he had pre-ordered the two cabs so that they could get to the meeting point separately.