Bex is a schoolteacher. Lancashire born and bred, she is also Kate’s best friend, which is kind of her, as she doesn’t suffer fools gladly. They used to live in the same Wiltshire village and watch Fleabag while eating butter pie at her place. And now Kate’s asking a massive favour.
‘I want you to see if Rob’s with anyone when he gets off the train… and tell me how he seems to you,’ she says, realising how absurd she must sound. ‘How he looks.’
‘What? Mark him out of ten? He’s well fit, Kate. We already know that. Tens all round, even from Craig.’
Why’s Bex in such an annoying mood? Probably because Kate’s asking her to intercept Rob at Paddington, see if he’s different in any way.
‘I was behaving really strangely just now,’ Kate says. ‘When I waved him goodbye.’
Bex laughs. ‘That’s not like you.’
‘Seriously, Bex. Rob bumped into this woman at the station and suddenly he seemed like a different person… I can’t explain what I felt. I just know it was one of the weirdest moments of my life.’ Up there with the time she saw Jake, her ex, with another woman.
‘You was acting strangely? Or he was?’
Bex’s accent might have been softened by years of living down south, but she’s lost none of her northern bluntness.
‘If I told you what I was thinking, you’d laugh at me,’ Kate says.
‘Do I ever? Even that time you tried doing the paso doble in the pub, I never once giggled.’
She’s lying. They’d both laughed like drains that night. Her relationship with Jake was on the rocks and she’d needed cheering up.
‘I thought Rob…’ Kate’s words tail off. She’s crying. Stretch raises his head.
‘You alright?’ Bex asks, more gently now. ‘Is it that woman at the station?’
Kate bites her lip, wondering where to start, how to explain. ‘There’s something else,’ she says, wiping away a tear, trying to keep it together. ‘Rob and I, we had a talk last weekend, about our worst fears. I was worried I might not be able to paint again, after the accident. And Rob, he said he’s scared of meeting his double. You know, his doppelgänger.’
‘His evil twin?’ Bex says. Kate can hear the amusement in her voice.
‘It’s meant to be a bad omen,’ Kate continues. ‘He met his once, a long time ago, but he’s worried about seeing him again. That he’ll take over his life. When I saw Rob off just now, I thought it was his double. Seriously. I know it sounds crazy, but it was fucking terrifying, Bex.’
‘OK,’ Bex says quietly, clearly surprised by Kate’s sudden outburst. She doesn’t often swear. ‘Maybe seeing Rob with this woman triggered something,’ she says. ‘Hardly surprising, all things considered.’
Bex has helped Kate through some tough times in recent years. She never thought much of Jake, or the leaky narrowboat he and Kate lived on together in Wiltshire, and she’s been a big supporter of Kate’s new life with Rob. Thinks it’s time Kate got a break. And a twenty-nine-year-old tech toyboy fits the bill perfectly. Go for the money, girl.
‘Why don’t you call Rob now, make yourself feel better,’ Bex suggests.
‘I don’t want to worry him about it,’ Kate says. ‘And, you know…’ She pauses. ‘It might not be him I’m talking to.’
Oh God, she’s sounding like a mad person. She pictures Bex pulling a face.
‘I just want you to tell me what you think, when you see him,’ she adds. ‘Reassure me that Rob hasn’t been replaced by someone else. That I haven’t just spent the night with a complete stranger.’
‘What time does his train get into Paddington?’ Bex asks.
Kate closes her eyes with relief.
‘Four hours from now.’
She loves Bex for being prepared to do this for her. She knew she’d be heading up to town today. She always goes to London on a Saturday to do the galleries. They used to travel together. But it’s still a big ask.
‘I could take a later train up to Paddington,’ Bex says. ‘To coincide with his. But you need to stop all this doppelgänger talk. I’m doing this to put your mind at rest. And if Rob’s having an affair, I’ll rip his balls off. Obviously. For you.’
Kate has to smile. Bex can be salty like that. ‘Thanks, Bex. Really. Just make sure it looks like a coincidence, though. You being there.’
‘I’ll see what I can do. As it’s you. And because I know you’ll pay me back big time. Maybe a trip on his fancy yacht or something.’
‘Thanks.’ Kate pauses. ‘Rob hasn’t got a yacht, you know that. But I’ll buy you fish and chips. I told him I was going to call you, see if you’d like to come down here for a few days.’
‘Is that what you’d like? For me to come down?’
‘He’ll pay for your ticket.’ Rob always offers.
‘I’ll buy my own, thanks.’ And Bex always refuses.
‘Seriously, it would be nice if you could come,’ Kate says.
Bex is currently single, a rare state of affairs. She’s not a stunner, but she does a lot with what she’s got. Kate’s seen how men notice her, the way she moves. She’s also thirty-three, like Kate, with no sign of children. Something else they have in common.
‘Actually, I could do with getting out the village,’ Bex says. ‘Might find myself a tasty Poldark, you never know. I’ll see what the trains are doing.’
‘Call me as soon as you see him?’ Kate says, much happier now.
‘How will I know what I’m looking for,’ Bex says, ‘if he, well, seems the same?’
‘You’ll know. Trust me.’
7
Kate
It feels good to be back in the village after dropping Rob off at Truro. She was held up for ages driving through the narrow Cornish lanes – Saturday is changeover day for many of the local holiday lets – and to cheer herself up she pulled in at her favourite bakery and bought a cinnamon bun, an object of swirling, sugar-dusted beauty. She licks the last of it from her lips as she turns into the drive. To her horror, Dr Varma is already there, waiting by the front door. She should have come straight home.
‘I’m so sorry, Ajay,’ Kate says, showing him through the front door. She’s called him Ajay since their first session, at his request. Rob still uses his formal title. ‘I didn’t realise the time.’
‘It’s quite alright.’ Ajay smiles at her as he walks through to the kitchen and sits down at the table. ‘I was early anyway.’
Kate knows he’s lying. She never used to be late for anything, hated it when Jake was not on time.
‘Thanks so much for coming,’ she says. ‘Rob tells me you were down for the weekend.’
Ajay smiles benignly. She’s talking too much, not used to seeing him in anything other than a suit. This afternoon he’s wearing chinos, a polo shirt and deck shoes. The only clue he’s here for work is his familiar black attaché case.
‘Can I get you anything?’ she asks, hovering by the sink. ‘Tea? Something stronger?’