Kate Glanville

Kitty’s long red hair was dripping as she sat down breathless on the nearest seat.

She’d though that she would miss the train!

The narrow lanes around her parents’ house had been flooded and she’d had to take a five-mile detour to get to the station. In the car park she hadn’t realised that she’d parked her mother’s ancient Golf beside a deep puddle until she stepped out of the car, drenching one of her new trainers so that her foot squelched as she ran towards the platform, her little red suitcase bumping along behind her. 

There had been no time to open her umbrella and now her hair, which she had spent ages taming with straighteners that morning, was already turning into a frizzy mass of curls.

Kitty looked down at her nails; at least they were weather proof, though the elderly beautician in the village didn’t offer more than the most basic of manicures with a coat of polish rather than the acrylic extensions with delicate illustrations that Kitty would have treated herself to on Kensington High Street in the past.  

It had been six months since she’d fled London for the sanctuary of her parents’ cottage in Devon. The blazing log fire and chintzy sofas had been reassuringly familiar, her mother’s home-cooking just the comfort she had needed to ease her aching heart at the time.

Kitty shuffled out of her wet jacket, thinking of how her mother’s constant need to feed her and her father’s obsession with logs were now becoming more exasperating every day. Though she had to admit that she had let herself revert to her teenage behaviour; lounging on the sofa with the dog watching re-runs of Friends when she should have been writing, reluctantly accompanying her parents on their Sunday drives in the back of the family Volvo, complaining she was bored in teashops on the coast, or dragging her feet as they walked round yet another National Trust property

 As she sat at her lap top writing for the magazine she worked for, her mother brought her cups of hot-chocolate accompanied by home-made biscuits or slices of sponge oozing with jam or butter cream fillings. Kitty shifted in her seat feeling the inevitable tightness of her waistband; her goal of losing half a stone before the weekend had been thwarted at every turn. The ticket collector appeared.

‘You both going to Truro?’ he asked and Kitty noticed the man sitting opposite her for the first time,

‘Yes,’ Kitty and the man said in unison.

‘But we’re not together,’ Kitty blurted out.

‘Never thought you were,’ the ticket collector winked at Kitty and moved on.

The man looked as though he was about to speak. Damp and still breathless, Kitty felt in no mood for conversation. She averted her eyes and stared out of the rain-lashed train window. The landscape looked wintery despite the new leaves on the trees and the candy-floss blossom outside the farms and cottages they passed. Even the lambs in the fields looked grey, huddling beside their mothers rather than frolicking with their friends. Kitty thought of Nancy; it was hardly the weather you’d hope for on your wedding day, especially for a ceremony in a cliff-top Cornish church.

Kitty pushed back her wet hair and a drop of water slid into her eye. She wiped it away with the cuff of her jumper. 

‘Would you like this?’

Kitty looked back at the man sitting opposite her, struck by his good looks and tousled dark hair.

He held out a white handkerchief. 

‘Oh, no,’ Kitty gave her eye one final wipe with her cuff, the wool stinging her eyelids, ‘I’m fine.’

‘But you’ve got…’ the man’s voice trailed away as he mimed a circle round his eye.

‘Oh damn!’ Kitty rubbed harder. ‘I forgot I was wearing mascara.’

‘You look like …’

‘A prize fighter?’ Kitty suggested.

‘I was going to say a panda,’ the man smiled, which made him even more handsome than before.

‘Well, who doesn’t love a panda?’ Kitty turned back to the window, suddenly feeling foolish.

 ‘I’ve certainly wasted too many hours looking at panda memes on Instagram,’ the man said 

Kitty laughed and turned back to him.

‘I’m glad it’s not just me.’

‘Have you seen the one with the panda and the rubber ducks in the bath?’  

‘Oh yes, that’s funny.’

‘And the one where the pandas are rolling in the snow?’

‘I’ve not seen that one.’

‘I’ll show you. The man took his phone from his pocket and leaned across the table. He frowned a little as he peered at the screen. Kitty took in his sharp jawline and smooth skin. One lock of hair fell over his forehead; he reminded Kitty of a romantic poet from long ago. 

‘Here we are,’ he held out his phone and Kitty watched three pandas rolling down the snowy hill. 

‘I love the way the snow sticks to their fur,’ Kitty giggled, ‘Like giant snowballs.’ The man looked at her.

 ‘Adorable,’ he said.

She noticed that despite his dark hair, his eyes were a startling blue. She dragged her gaze away as she felt a buzzing in her pocket and pulled out her own phone. Mum flashed up on the display

‘Where are you darling?’ her mother’s voice was loud.

‘On the train.’

‘The road is flooded. Mrs B just told me when she arrived to clean.’

‘I know, I had to go the other way.’

‘You’ll need to go the long way round.’

‘That’s what I did Mum.’

‘If I’d known I’d have told you to give yourself an extra twenty minutes.’

‘I just made it.’

‘Your father says he could drive you to Plymouth.’

‘No need, I’m on the train now.’

‘All you need to do is say the word.’ 

Kitty glanced at the man; he could obviously hear her mother and was trying to disguise a grin.

‘Please don’t worry about me,’ Kitty continued. ‘I’ll get there with no problems at all.’

‘If you’re really sure darling. Let us know if you need help.’

‘I’d better go now.’

‘Have a lovely time. You never know, you might meet a nice man.’

‘Bye mum’

Kitty hastily ended the call, feeling her cheeks flushing as she placed the phone on the table.

The man was laughing. ‘My mother is just the same. She thinks her children have never developed beyond the age of eight; she is constantly fretting about us.’

Kitty studied her shimmering pink nails, trying to remember what it had been like to live in London, when her parents didn’t ever seem to worry about her; probably because she had a nice man in her life, or someone who had seemed nice at the time.

 ‘Lovely dog.’ Kitty looked up again at the sound of the man’s voice. He nodded at her phone and she realised he was talking about the picture of the Golden Retriever on her display screen.  

‘That’s Dougal, my parent’s dog. Well, he used to be mine, he was my present on my twelfth birthday.’

 ‘How old is he?’

‘Nearly sixteen.’

‘Wow! That’s a good age! My dog is only seven.’

He held out his phone again and Kitty found herself staring at a picture of a black lab sitting in a field of buttercups.

‘He’s called Jet.’

He showed her another picture of the black lab running across a beach.

‘That was the last time we came down to Cornwall.’ ‘You didn’t want to bring him this time? ‘ 

‘This weekend will be much too exciting. Jet would cause chaos!’

Kitty was about to ask what would be so exciting but the buffet trolley was making its rattling way down the aisle. The man turned,

 ‘Just what I need, a cup of Great Western coffee.’

Kitty ordered a cup of tea, and the man and the attendant entered into a long conversation about a rugby match the weekend before. Kitty sipped her drink and stared out of the window again. Outside, the rain had stopped but the sky was still grey. The track ran along the sea; in the distance a tiny yacht was battling valiantly with large waves. 

‘What takes you to Cornwall? the man asked and Kitty realised the attendant and his trolly had moved on

Kitty was about to tell him she was going to her friend Nina’s wedding when the tune to Pirates of the Caribbean blared out.

“That’ll be my brother,’ the man picked up his phone.

Kitty heard a deep voice on the other end.

‘Where are you mate?’

‘Just past Newton Abbot’

‘Get off at Totnes, and we’ll pick you up.

The man ended the call. I’d better get my things together. No need to go all the way to Truro after all.’

He stood up and reached for a holdall from the overhead shelf. He was taller than she’d thought he’d be, slim hipped in an expensive-looking pair of jeans.

‘It’s been nice meeting you,’ his startling blue eyes met hers again as he looked down at her.

She nodded in response, trying not to look bereft at being abandoned so soon. The train stopped with a lurch at the station, and Kitty knocked the remains of her tea all over the table, it started dripping onto her lap.

‘You’d better have this after all,’ the man said handing her the handkerchief.

Kitty felt her cheeks flush again as she began to dab ineffectually at her thighs. When she looked up, he had gone. She felt her heart sink a little. It had been the first interaction she had had with an attractive man for months. She sighed, realising that he had probably just thought of her as a clumsy fool.

‘Sorry, but I just have to ask.’

Kitty looked up to find that he was back.

‘I know I’ll regret it forever if I don’t,’ he continued. ‘I wondered if you would like to go meet up some time, somewhere?  I mean for coffee, or a drink. Maybe dinner?’

‘Oh,’ Kitty’s heart soared. ‘I would like that.’

‘I know I’ve only just met you but I feel …’ 

Outside a whistle blew.

‘Look, let me give you my business card,’ the man was searching in his wallet.

‘Damn, I don’t think I brought any with me.’

‘Train’s about to leave,’ the conductor shouted up the aisle.

‘What’s your name?’ the man was backing towards the door.

‘Kitty, Kitty Langland.’

‘Sir kindly disembark the train,’ the conductor shouted in a louder voice. The whistle blew again.

 ‘Are you on Instagram?’

‘Yes, kitty-langland-writer.’

‘I’ll find you.’

‘What’s your name?’ Kitty called, but he had gone. She caught a glimpse of him as the train pulled away, his holdall slung over one shoulder as he strode towards the car park where a group of men were waving at him.

Kitty held the tea-stained handkerchief to her face. It smelled of sandalwood and lemons. She tried to calm her racing heart. It was the first time she’d even thought about going on a date since the terrible day she’d come home early from work to find her boyfriend in bed with a neighbour. It had turned out the neighbour had been one of many women he had been seeing over the years they had been together.

Kitty banished all thoughts of her ex. She let her head rest against the glass of the train window and smiled as she felt the warmth of the sun that had suddenly appeared from behind the clouds.

At Truro station she found her best friend Caro waiting for her.

‘You look perky,’ Caro said as she put Kitty’s suitcase in the back of her car. As they drove to the hotel Kitty forced herself not to check her Instagram messages. Of course, there would be nothing yet. She pushed her phone deep into her pocket.  

Later she and Caro shared a pizza and a bottle of red wine at the hotel restaurant, Caro regaled her with stories about her latest on-line dates, every one of them disastrous in some way.

‘You really should give it a try Kitty.’

‘You’re hardly selling it to me,’ Kitty laughed.

‘But it’s the thrill of anticipation. Every date I set out for, I’m thinking, this could be the one.’  

Out of all their friends from university Kitty and Caro were the only single ones left. In less than a year there had been seven weddings. Nina’s wedding had been the unexpected eighth.

‘It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind,’ said Caro, helping herself to another slice of pizza. ‘Nina only got together with Dan last summer, they met on a sailing trip.’ ‘So romantic,’ Kitty said turning on her phone. ‘Love and transportation seem to be the perfect mix.’

‘Dan looked a bit beardy in all the pictures she posted,’ Caro mused. ‘Hard to see what he looks like. Are you listening to me Kitty?’

‘Yes, you said he’s a bit rugged,’ she mumbled, her heart sinking as she saw there was no message from the man on the train.

‘Beardy, I said beardy. There is a difference.’ She studied her friends face. ‘Are

you OK? You have a funny look about you.’ 

Kitty couldn’t hold it in any longer; she took a deep breath. 

 ‘I met a man; her face broke into a smile. ‘I met a met on the train.’

The following morning, they woke up late.

‘We never should have had that second bottle of Rioja,’ Caro moaned as they stumbled around the tiny twin-bedded hotel room trying to get dressed.

Kitty searched desperately for a socket for her hair straighteners.

‘There’s no time for that,’ said Caro. ‘We’ll be on a rainy windswept clifftop; your curls will never stay contained.’ 

Kitty peered out of the window. ‘Actually, it looks like a glorious day.’

‘We’re going to miss it,’ Nina kept repeating as the sped down endless high hedged lanes. They were almost there when they had to reverse to let an ambulance pass. At last, they arrived at the pretty medieval church. Nina was standing outside in a froth of white tuille with her father and two small bridesmaids.

‘Quick,’ she gesticulated at Kitty and Caro to go inside. ‘It’s all been a disaster so far’

‘What’s happened?’ Kitty asked.

‘My soon-to-be mother-in-law has fallen down the church steps and broken her ankle.’

‘What? How?’

Nina looked exasperated.

‘Just go in and find a seat’

Kitty and Caro hurried through the ancient arched stone doorway. As they entered the church the organ struck up. All heads turned expecting the bride. 

‘False alarm’ Caro called out sliding into the nearest pew and pulling at Kitty’s hand to follow. But Kitty was rooted to the spot. At the altar the groom had also turned at the sound of the organ. He was dressed in a smart grey morning- suit with his dark hair slicked back, but Kitty would have recognised him anywhere. He was the man she had met on the train.

Part two

‘Whatever is the matter with you?’ Caro hissed, pulling Kitty onto the pew to sit

beside her. ‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’ 

 Kitty turned to her friend.

‘That’s him,’ she pointed down the aisle to where the groom was standing.

‘That’s the man I met on the train.’

‘The one that asked you on a date?’ Caro’s eyes were wide.

Kitty nodded.

‘But that was only yesterday,’ Caro was leaning forward peering through the sea of feathers and flowers adorning the hats and fascinators of the women in the congregation. ‘Are you sure? Maybe it just looks like him? I must say he is rather handsome now he’s shaved off that bushy beard.’

‘It is him,’ Kitty whispered. ‘I know it is. Our friend Nina is going to marry the man on the train.’

Just at that moment the organist struck up the wedding march and Nina appeared, standing in the door-way with her full skirt completely filling the space. All heads turned to admire her and beneath her lace veil Nina beamed as she set off down the aisle on her father’s arm. Two little girls followed, holding up a surprisingly long train.

‘That dress is a bit over the top,’ Caro said under her breath. ‘It’s more

Westminster Abbey than country Cornish church.’

‘Never mind the dress’ Kitty looked at her friend. ‘What about the groom? He is obviously a womaniser that can’t be trusted.’

‘Please,’ an elderly woman in front of them turned around, hitting Kitty on the nose with the ostrich feather on her hat. ‘Can you girls be quiet?’ Nina had reached the alter. She and the groom smiled at each other. Dan mouthed I love you at his soon-to-be wife. Kitty felt sick.

The vicar started a long speech about the sanctity of the marriage vows and the important contract Nina and Dan were entering into.  Kitty silently berated herself for letting herself get so excited about the thought of a date with a man she hardly knew. She remembered how, the night before lying in the soft hotel bed, she had let herself envision their wedding day, the beautiful home they would create together, their gorgeous children. Now she wanted to scream! She should have known from experience that no man can be trusted. Sitting uncomfortably on the hard wooden pew she began to replace her romantic dreams with resolutions to join a convent, or a remote island community of women. By the time the vicar started to ask if anyone knew of any reason why the union could not go-ahead Kitty had decided on a single life, with a glittering career as a novelist, writing about acts of revenge on all the adulterous men she’d ever known. 

She was so deep in thought about the plot of her first novel that she almost missed the vicar saying, speak now or forever hold your peace.

She felt Caro’s hand on her arm.

‘Don’t say anything,’ Caro whispered.

Kitty looked around at all the wedding guests. Surely someone else knew what Dan was like? No one said a word. Caro’s grip tightened.

‘Then we shall proceed with the wedding vows,’ the vicar said at last.  

The rest of the wedding passed in a blur. Nina at waved at Kitty as she and Dan walked down the aisle, but Dan’s eyes passed over her as though he had never seen her before.  

Outside in the churchyard the photographer organised the guests in various groups for pictures against the stunning backdrop of the sea and brilliant blue sky. He called for friends of the bride and Kitty tried very hard not to scowl as they were arranged beside the newly-wed couple. She glanced at Dan, unable to believe that less than twenty-four hours before he had been showing her memes of pandas playing in the snow and asking her to go for dinner with him. 

People kept talking to her and she had to force herself to smile and not make a face when she heard the same comments over and over, 

Don’t they make a lovely couple?

How lucky that the sun is shining for them.

What a shame Dan’s mother had that accident.

She felt her high heels sinking into the grass and wondered how she would ever get through the rest of the day. 

As they drove to the venue for the wedding breakfast, Caro urged Kitty to keep quiet about her encounter with Dan the afternoon before.

‘What’s the point in spoiling Nina’s special day. She looks like the cat who’s got the cream.’

‘The cat who’s got the sneaky two-timing fox,’ Kitty folded her arms with a harrumph.  

Caro turned the car through high stone gate posts.

‘Maybe it was just pre-wedding nerves,’ she suggested as they followed the slow procession of cars heading towards a large country house at the top of a twisting drive. ‘A sort of final grasp for freedom; chatting up the last woman that he met before he got tied down.’

‘Thanks,’ Kitty un-crossed her arms and stared out of the window at flowers beds full of tulips. ‘You make it sound like he would have asked out anyone.’ Caro laughed.

‘I’m sure he liked you Kitty. I mean who wouldn’t, you’re lovely, and funny and very pretty, gorgeous in fact.’

‘You can’t backtrack now,’ Kitty rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

Caro slid the car into a parking space.

‘Anyway, have you seen some of the male guests? I’m sure some of them must be single. Let’s forget about Dan and have some fun.’

But Kitty couldn’t forget about Dan.

As they lined up with their glasses of champagne to congratulate the bride and groom Kitty felt her sense of outrage building. If Dan could do that on the way to his own wedding, how was he going to treat Nina for the rest of their lives? Kitty knew only too well how it felt to find out that the man you loved was a womanising cheat.

A waitress re-filled her glass, and as she took a sip her head began to spin a little. She remembered there hadn’t been time for breakfast before they left for the church. She turned to Caro to ask if she could see any canapés appearing, but Caro was deep in conversation with a burly man in a kilt. 

Kitty’s glass was empty again by the time she found herself in front of Nina and Dan. 

‘Kitty, thank you so much for coming,’ Nina kissed her lightly on both cheeks. ‘I’ve been longing to introduce you to Dan for months, but since you left London there hasn’t been a chance.’ She turned to her new husband. ‘Darling, this is my friend from university, Kitty.’ Dan’s smile was wide as he held out his hand.

‘Good to meet you Kitty. I hope you’re enjoying our wedding day.’

Kitty stared at him, there was no sense that he recognised her at all. His brilliant blue eyes had already turned to the next guest, an elderly man with a hearing aid in both ears. Nina’s voice was raised. 

‘Uncle Dermot, I’m so happy that you are here.’

‘Did you say there are deer?’ 

‘No, Uncle Dermot I said…’

Kitty seized the opportunity. She poked Dan in the chest so that he immediately turned back to her.

‘Don’t pretend you don’t remember me,’ she hissed through gritted teeth. ‘Sorry?’ Dan looked confused. ‘Have we met before?’

Kitty laughed, ‘That’s right, act the innocent.’

‘Sorry,’ Dan repeated. ‘I’m pretty sure I don’t know you.’

‘On the train?’ Kitty spoke slowly as though to a child. ‘The pandas?’ ‘Pandas?’ Dan shook his head. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Kitty felt her anger rising.

‘I’ve met your type before. I lived with someone like you for six years and I know all your two-timing tricks. Do you do it as a boost to your pathetic ego?’ Dan glanced at Nina but she was still engaged in a loud conversation with her Uncle Dermot.

‘Maybe you need to go and sit down,’ Dan said. ‘You’re swaying a little.’

Suddenly Caro was by Kitty’s side, her arm around her shoulder ‘Come along Kitty, let’s go and get some fresh air.’ Kitty shrugged Caro away.

‘I will just say this,’ she gave Dan another poke in the chest. ‘Don’t you dare hurt my friend Nina. If I hear anything bad about you, even the tiniest sniff of other women, I will tell her all about what you did the day before your wedding, you bastard!’

Caro put her arm more firmly around Kitty, dragging her away. ‘And I’ll be writing about you in my novel!’ Kitty called back over her shoulder. 

‘For goodness’ sake, get a grip,’ said Caro as she guided Kitty to the outside terrace. I think I’ve met my perfect man – don’t make me have to take you home and miss my opportunity for lifelong happiness.’ 

Kitty tossed her head, ‘It’s OK I’ve told him now,’ she said. ‘I think he’s got the message.’  

Throughout the wedding breakfast Kitty stuck to sparkling water. She kept noticing Dan’s eyes glancing nervously at her table and she couldn’t help feeling pleased with herself for telling Dan what she thought of him.

‘That’s shown you can’t get away with it,’ she muttered as she jabbed her fork into a miniature pavlova. ‘One point to the sisterhood,’

As the last of the puddings were cleared away, Dan stood up and clinked his glass with a fork to attract the guests attention. 

‘I just want to say a few words about my lovely wife.’

Kitty slid from her seat; she didn’t think she could bare to sit thorough Dan’s speech when she knew what he was really like.  

She slipped through long French windows onto the terrace and went down stone steps onto a manicured lawn.

The spring air was warm on her face and birds were singing in the tall trees that surrounded the house. She took off her high heels and walked barefoot on the grass; a gentle breeze blew her skirt against her calves and her long curls brushed her face.

Behind her she could hear applause and laughter, and every now and then a cheer. She walked further away, along a celandine-lined path through a patch of woodland, out onto a hill that looked out across the sea.  

She sat down on a strategically placed bench and took a deep breath, watching a yacht effortlessly slide across the horizon in full sail. Her heart swelled with unexpected optimism. She would move on with her life, take control. She didn’t need to be a victim of other people’s bad behaviour; the future was hers to do whatever she liked. 

She leaned back and closing her eyes, turned her face to the sun. She decided she would write a book. Not about adulterous men; why glorify them by putting their exploits into words? She would write about strong, independent women who made their own way in the world, without the need for men to prove their worth.

She would go away to write it. Maybe to an attic room in Paris? Or a beachside shack in Kerala. Her sense of determination mounted.

‘I will make a new life!’ she exclaimed out loud. 

‘Good for you,’ said a deep voice beside her.

Kitty’s eyes sprang open. A figure was standing in front of her. She couldn’t see properly in the bright sun. She sat up and put up her hand to shield the light from her eyes. 

‘It’s you!’ she cried out, recognising the chiselled jaw and slicked back dark hair. ‘I can’t believe it! How dare you follow me here.’

‘I didn’t follow you, I stumbled across you. Like a miracle. I was worried I would never see you again.’

‘Oh! Now you remember me,’ Kitty stood up. ‘Now we’re on our own.’

 ‘How could I forget you? I’ve been desperately searching social media. I think I must have misheard your name. You are called Kitty Langfield aren’t you?’ 

 ‘Langland,’ Kitty corrected irritably. ‘But surely you could just have asked your wife!’

 ‘What wife?’

‘Do you have a serious memory problem?’ Kitty felt incredulous. ‘First you forget meeting me yesterday, and now you have forgotten that you have a wife.’ She looked up into Dan’s blue eyes; despite her fury they really were very hard to turn away from.

‘I have no idea what you mean,’ Dan ran his hands through his hair, so that it took on the tousled look of the day before. ‘Who’s my wife? ‘

 ‘Nina!’ Kitty almost screamed her name. ‘One of my best friends!’

‘Nina?’

‘Do you remember? You made some promises to her in the church a few hours ago? She was the beautiful woman in the white dress. When I left the dining room you were about to make a speech about what a lucky man you are…’ Kitty’s voice trailed away as she realised Dan was laughing.

‘What’s so funny?’

‘You think I’m Dan.’

‘I know you’re Dan,’ but even as Kitty said the words her voice faltered. He wasn’t wearing the morning-suit he’d had on earlier, she glanced at his left hand; there was no gold ring.

‘I’m so sorry,’ He wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes. ‘This always used to happen to us at school, but no one has confused us for years because Dan grew such a massive beard. I told him he shouldn’t shave it off for the wedding.’ 

Kitty felt her face flush red.

‘Who are you then?’

‘I’m Ben, Dan’s identical twin brother.’

Kitty stared at him and his piercing eyes met hers. She could see that he was trying very hard to stop laughing.

‘I didn’t see you in the church,’ she muttered.

‘Our mother fell down the steps. I’ve been in A & E with her for hours. Luckily it was just a sprain.’ He gestured towards the house. ‘She’s busy drinking champagne and working out how to dance with crutches when the band starts to play.’ 

As if on cue the sounds of a distant drum beat could be heard.

‘I think I’ve made a bit of a fool of myself,’ Kitty bit her lip. ‘I said some pretty awful things to your brother.’

‘I did hear there was an angry woman, last seen heading for the woods. I’m actually part of a search party.’ 

 ‘I hope you’re joking.’ 

Ben grinned.

 ‘Dan was a little confused.’

 The sound of Love Train could be heard wafting through the trees.

 ‘I think they’re playing our song,’ Ben said. ‘Come on, let’s go back and dance the night away. On the way you can tell me about this new life you have planned.’ He held out his hand. ‘And maybe you can tell me if there’s any room in it for the man you met on the Cornish Express.’

The End