Bhavna S. J. Chudasama - Trust My Love

TRUST MY LOVE

Bhavna SJ Chudasama

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Published by Bhavna SJ Chudasama

ISBN 978-1-8381290-1-9

First published in 2020

Copyright Bhavna SJ Chudasama 2020

The right of Bhavna SJ Chudasama to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Designed by Hawk Editorial Ltd, Hull

For my darling Ma, Susi Chudasama, who supports me whatever I do, and the best dad ever, Jayantilal Chudasama, who tells me I can do anything.

Many thanks to Heena who guided me through the flaws in my characters, Reena and Neha for never reading this book but encouraging me, the overqualified Chandni and sarcastic Amar. Roma for being Roma. To Kristin Taylor, thank you, thank you, thank you, for believing in me and being my guiding light in this journey of self-publishing; without you I would have floundered.

Last but not least, for all those in my life who have been kind to me and had more faith in me than I had each of you made a difference.

Bad men need nothing more to

compass their ends,

than that good men should look on

and do nothing

John Stuart Mill

CHAPTER ONE

Chrissy threw a pillow at the door, muttering in frustration at the noise Anne was making. Truth be told it was the sound of a famous crooner but at two in the morning, it was enough to grate on anyones nerves. Why Anne felt it necessary to suddenly pay her and her four-year-old son Nico a visit after a years absence she couldnt fathom. Anne always knew how to have a good time, but she also knew the walls of the flat were paper-thin and sound passed through them regardless, and she wouldnt let their discomfort get in the way of her plans.

The floorboards were creaky and the roughly laid carpet would somehow manage to rise with gusts of wind allowed to invade this small flat through the old rickety windows and under its ancient doors. Large cracks were forming on all the walls; they were not visible in the dark but starkly noticeable in the daytime. The flat was a bit of a hazard, but their landlord Will had allowed them to live there in addition to Chrissys wages as manager in the cafe below. It could probably run itself, but Will insisted he needed a manager. He turned out to be a guardian angel for Chrissy and Nico, and had been the reason why their lives were stable. They could hardly make more demands as he was being generous enough already.

Will had come for a visit recently and had been horrified at the disrepair in the flat. He had immediately had a surveyor attend and they were awaiting a work start date any day now, which would entail the cafe closing for two months. Customers were aware that temporary closure was imminent. The surveyor had assured them that it was safe to reside in the flat until the works commenced.

Anne always had her room at the flat although she was hardly ever there. Chrissy wanted her to know she always had a home. It was more surprising, then, that Anne had stayed here for the past three Fridays. Chrissy shared a room with her precious nephew, Annes son with Nicholas Waite, Chrissys former employer. It was a small box room on the first-floor flat atop the cafe her parents used to own. Will had purchased it from Chrissys parents estate to ease the burden of the future that a 20-year-old Anne and 16-year-old Chrissy faced after they had died. Anne had lived with Chrissy and her family before Chrissy had been born. Anne was her maternal aunt Gemmas daughter, hence Chrissys cousin, but had always been treated like her sister. Aunt Gemma was a free spirit who travelled the world, but Chrissy was unaware if she kept in touch with Anne.

The flat had two exit doors at either end of a corridor; one led to a set of stairs to the cafe and the other to outdoor stairs that exited the flat directly on to a quiet back road. The two bedrooms, a lounge, kitchen and bathroom led off the corridor. It was decorated with a primrose wallpaper that was peeling off the walls and a dark maroon carpet that had seen better days. It was a small flat but it was enough for the three of them. In fact, only Nico and Chrissy lived there permanently. Nicos toys were stuffed into a big trunk under their box room window; it gaped open, exposing a plethora of love-worn toys and books. Since Anne had come to stay, any sign of a child in this flat was banished to their little box room, which in turn was bereft of any sign of the adult who also occupied it.

As Anne entertained her date in this shambolic flat, Chrissy and Nico huddled together in the warm cocoon of their double quilt. A little lamp at their bedside shone its glow into the small dark room and on to their two bodies. With an extra blanket on their quilt and Nicos cute little form radiating heat, Chrissy thought she could conquer the world as long as he was in it with her. She wondered how the harshness of life after her parents died had seemed like a distant memory once Nico had been born.

When their parents died, Anne and Chrissy had been young. Anne had just started modelling assignments and Chrissy was still at school. On that fateful day, Chrissy had been going to her parents cafe on her way home from school, to be met with the cafe being cordoned off by police tape and two police cars parked outside. She had immediately panicked and thought the worst; something had happened to her father and she was right. She was not allowed to go beyond the cordon and Will, a family friend, had been passing by and came to her aid. He comforted Chrissy and told her later that a suspect had tried to rob the local bank, fled without any loot, and had been cornered in the cafe. Her mother Kim had been in the cafe waiting for Chrissy to come home from school, as she often did, when the robber had burst in and grabbed her, holding a knife to her throat. Jay, her father, had run towards them to free Kim, when the robber plunged the knife into Jays chest. Jay died instantly as a major artery had been punctured.

Though Kim was not hurt, she survived Jay by just six months; her health gradually deteriorated and it seemed that she just did not want to live without Jay. Even the presence of Chrissy and Anne was not enough to keep her with them. Clinically the doctors said she died of a stroke but Chrissy knew she just couldnt live without their father. They had been happily married for twenty-five years but were still relatively young. When Jay had died, Kim and Chrissy tried to keep the cafe running, but they couldnt manage as Chrissy would go to school and Kim would just sit in the cafe not able to comprehend how to continue living without her Jay. The cafe closed within two months of Jays death. Once Kim had gone, real decisions had to made about Anne and Chrissys future.

Will saw potential in the cafe as a going concern and purchased the business along with the two flats above. The family home had to be sold, but it had negative equity as Jay had mortgaged the house to renovate the cafe after the area had suffered numerous floods, for which the insurance money did not cover all the repairs. When everything was settled, Anne and Chrissy were left with a small sum that was not enough for a deposit on a flat. Whatever money Anne made would nearly all be spent on herself, and the nest-egg was fast being depleted. Chrissy had tried to do well in school but could not concentrate after her mother and father had gone, so she had left school having only just passed basic qualifications.