Heartbeats in Moonlight

Chapter 8

The shop-strips were common in rural towns; ribbons of retail outlets dotted with small cafes, family shops, not huge supermarkets, run by local people. Sometimes quirky and others were bland, but the stamp of their qualities and their personalities were part and parcel of their brands.

"Ella? Are you ok?"

"Yes. Of course." Ella looked through the car window and said with more conviction, "Look, Ames, don't worry about David, our history is ancient." Ella took a breath, turned around and said, "I am more interested in your fool in your future! What exactly did Jack say to you?"

"He said I made Jane feel stupid! He said..."

Ella interrupted without hesitation. "What?"

"He said I made Jane feel stupid."

"He really is a prize fool, isn't he!" Incensed, Ella shook her head. "Did he give you a chance to explain?" Amelia shook her head. "You should have told me. I would have had a talk with the idiot. Did you challenge him?" Ella asked, her eyes narrowed. "Ames, did he give you a chance to explain?" Her eyebrows winged their way to her hairline when Amelia didn't answer. Ella huffed, "So basically he told you about Jane's allegations and didn't give you a chance to correct him."

A quick look across, Amelia noted the sparks in Ella's eyes. "Yes. Kind of. I guess." The word was a sigh.

"Yes or no, Ames!" Ella grumbled. "He did, or he did not?"

"Sort of." Amelia banked her sigh. Ella's eyes widened in complete bafflement.

Ella tilted her head to one side, saw Amelia' diffidence and prompted, "Ames! Sort of? What does that mean? Ames, come on!"

Amelia sighed. Her cycle trip was going to be amazing, a roller coaster ride of anticipation, excitement, and elation. But the conversation with Jack at the last meeting had taken the gloss off the trip.

"Ames?"

"He gave me a chance."

"Ok."

"But he didn't believe me." Amelia sighed softly. "He said," and she imitated Jack voice and tone, "If you want to stay on this trip, pull your head in! Otherwise you're out!"

The fact Amelia could remember Jack's statement verbatim, made Ella really concerned about Amelia. It explains why they came to the shop. The words must be rattling around inside Amelia's head. 

Ella poked her tongue in her cheek as she studied Amelia for a couple of seconds and said quietly, "So that's why we went there?"

Amelia nodded. "Yes." Trying for nonchalance she said, "It doesn't matter."

"Rubbish! Honestly. Utter rubbish." Ella had too much to say without sounding cross. "And Ames, of course it does. It matters. Really matters."

Seconds passed. Amelia didn't know what to say without sounding unhappy.

Eventually Ella sighed, "Ok. Ok, given that he told you to pull your head in, what makes you think Jack will have changed his mind?"

"I don't know." Amelia bit her lips, "I just want him to..." Amelia shrugged as she ran out of words, Ella waited, then a few seconds later, Amelia said softly, "I don't want to go on this trip if he's got the wrong impression of me. With him wondering if I am a horrible woman!"

That worried Ella. This trip was important to Amelia. Not just about Jack. Amelia had never been on a school trip. Ever. No camps. No trips with her school. This was going to be her moment.

Amelia closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, as she reviewed her last conversation with Jack in her mind. "Maybe I inadvertently said the wrong thing when I was talking to Jane. Maybe I said something that was misconstrued. Maybe I misunderstood something and said something that was..."