Courtship

Part 43

Marina's heart was hammering. So much hinged on the next few moments. What if she was about to watch her dreams and hopes go up in smoke? But then wasn't that what had happened yesterday? It was fortunate she had another chance. Time to ensure they started from a solid base. No secrets. She gave herself a stern reprimand. She would not hide this part of her life from him. She would show him around the centre. See how he handled that, find out whether he still wanted to be involved with her and then she would tell him about the family's financial situation. And maybe, just maybe he would forgive them, forgive her, forgive the fact they had misled an entire community for many years now.

Marina knew that if she wanted them to take their relationship to the next level then she had to ensure there were no skeletons in her cupboard. But still it was nerve wracking. Everything hinged on this evening. Maybe this wasn't her best idea. Maybe Isabelle's idea to invite him round for dinner and break the news then was a better idea. Safety in numbers and all that. Stop being a coward, Marina's heart snapped. This is about you and him. Not him and your family. You and him. If you can't bring yourself to tell him the truth without having reinforcements around you, then this is the wrong relationship for you! That was all she needed to prompt her to continue.

"Ok, park here, we can walk." Marina murmured and silently prayed for confidence to see this through.

"This is very mysterious." Rafe murmured as he parked the car and then turned to her before opening his door. He wasn't sure why exactly she wanted to come to this part of town, but she had been pretty persuasive. At the time he was just relieved she had agreed to meet him this evening. After the way they had parted yesterday, it had seemed pretty final. And yet, in his heart he knew they were far from over. He just hoped she knew that too. But having picked her up at her house, and with a vague plan to go somewhere quiet to talk about what had happened last night and where they went from here, he'd been taken by surprise when she said she had somewhere they could go that evening. So again, with a sense of relief he had followed her directions. Of course the fact she seemed rather mysterious about the exact location of this mysterious café did make him a touch worried, but after last night he was not going to bring up any conversation that inferred she was being secretive!

It wasn't too far to drive, though as they had driven through a less than salubrious district he wondered why they hadn't gone somewhere closer to his home or her home. Still, the fact she was in the car with him was a good omen. Wasn't it?

The drive was interspersed with directions to this mystery venue, but overall the conversation was stilted. Pleasantries about the family. Superficial conversation about his day at the hospital. Mundane comments about the unseasonal weather for this time of the year. Fleeting remarks about titbits of news they had heard over the course of the day.

But now they had arrived and if anything she was anxious. Given where they were, he could understand her anxiety, to some extent. It was not what he would have described as the safest part of town. But it was her choice to come here.

He could also see that her anxiety was increasing. She kept exhaling quiet little breaths as if she was trying to keep herself calm. She was clearly becoming increasingly concerned. About what? Coming here? Then why come?

"Marina, what's going on?" He asked quietly, his arm outstretched to rest along the back of her seat as he turned to face her.

This was it. Her heart began to pound. This was a moment she would remember for the rest of her life. It could change her life. Stay calm. Just keep to the facts.

"You remember ages ago you asked me about what I did?" She tried to sound confident. This was such a huge leap of faith for her. Of course the last couple of months had been everything she had hoped for, but through it all she had kept this part of her life secret. If she was going to try to fix whatever had come apart last night, then she needed to restart and build an honest foundation.

Time to share with him exactly what she did in what he called her free time. Time to find out whether she had made the right decision. Her heart hoped he would stay. Her head was still debating the point given what had transpired last night. But at least he had picked her up and when she asked him to drive here, he had hesitated for a few seconds and then agreed.

Marina wished she'd phoned ahead and checked to see who might be waiting to see her this evening, for her patients were probably not the type of patient he saw every day. It was more than that. It was the reason why she had set up this centre that would be the crunch moment. She knew Rafe well enough to know that he was a good doctor, and while he might not on a regular basis work with the kinds of people she encountered, he would not shy away from treating them if they came to the hospital. Who he'd meet tonight wasn't the problem. The problem was in telling him why the centre had been set up she would have to tell him about the family. That meant telling him about misleading him and the community for nearly a decade. She wasn't sure how she'd react if someone told her they'd conned them for nearly a decade.