Hi there, I'm sorry for the delay. This is the finale for Chalk and Cheese. I've decided that Mike deserves a story of his own so Mike and Veronica will be dealt with next (I promise). With regard to the title, Chalk and Cheese is a very British expression, and as catman71 said, it is about complete opposites. Thanks very much for all your comments and voting, please continue to do so and I hope you enjoy the story.
Elle x
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So there we were. It's weird isn't it, three months ago I didn't even know Greg existed, and now here he was and having been away from him, I needed to drink him in as though as I had been stranded in the desert and he was my very tall glass of water. To be honest, now that he was here, I felt a bit like a drama queen, having absconded like that, but I hoped he was better than me and that he was here to take me home.
"Hey Tori." he repeated.
I smiled shyly at him and tightened the sash on my dressing gown for something to do and then directed him to one of the sofas so that we could sit down. I hoped he would sit next to me and take me in his arms as he used to, but nope, he sat at the other end of the sofa. Oh God, maybe he was here to tell me what a bitch I had been, or about how selfish I was. I wasn't sure if I could handle that, not on top of everything else. What would my response be if he did say that? I couldn't cry in front of him, that would be awful and I'd have to find somewhere else to stay because the embarrassment would be too much. I don't think I could bear it if I had to explain to Carrie and Francis that all of this disruption to their lives had been for no reason.
His voice interrupted my manic thoughts, "Victoria, are you going to speak to me at some point today do you think?"
I looked back at him in surprise, not used to the tone in his voice, "You have never called me Victoria in the entire time I've known you!"
He smiled and bit his lip, but then straightened his back as though he had found the strength somewhere,
"Well I think the situation deserves it. I've come to tell you your niece and nephew are at my house if you need to see them."
The delight in seeing him left me rapidly as I realised that he really wasn't here for me, and while it was kind of him to let me know about Seb and Ava, I had wanted him to be here for me. To come and save me and be my knight in shining armour I suppose. But he didn't seem to have wanted that.
"Oh! Why are they there?"
"Well Mike's been staying with me, we've been doing a pretty good job between us, I can do plaits now - Ava says I'm the best."
I rolled my eyes, "You're a sucker, Ava says you're the best because you're the biggest man she knows and for as long as you're the best, it means that you will always swing her on your shoulders and she can feel like Queen of the World. God, I'd hate to see you with your own daughter, she'll have you wrapped around her little finger."
Greg took a breath to say something but stopped at the last minute. He shrugged and then laughed, "Well as far as Miss Ava is concerned, I am indeed the best, and I will believe what she tells me because it's good for my ego. I can't have two women in my life lying to me."
I stopped short, "I never lied to you. Not ever, not once."
He sat forward and I watched his tshirt tighten across his back and had to dig my fingernails into the palms of my hands to prevent myself from running my hand over his shoulder and nestling my cheek against it. God he was lovely.
I watched Greg's profile, his long lashes blinking often as he thought about what he was going to say and then I waited. The wait was long until I heard,
"I can't do this."
And my heart broke.
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Greg was staring at his hands when out of the corner of his eye he saw Tori lift her hand, he turned to look at her and saw a solitary tear slipping down her cheek. He sat up rapidly and went to sit closer to her but she held up her hand to halt his progress,
"Don't! Please. I understand but don't come close to me because it's going to take me a while to get used to not being able to be near you. I completely understand, leaving you like that was an awful thing for me to do, but you have to understand I never even thought I would be with someone again and I had constructed this life to protect myself after the nonsense that was Luke and then you appeared, with nothing but love and happiness and I didn't know what to do with it. I do love you and I'm sorry I did this to us, but I completely understand."
Still having said nothing, Greg watched Tori stand up and put on her gracious hostess voice, interspersed with tearful hiccups,
"Thanks very much for popping by and letting me know, take care of yourself won't you."
Tori walked him to the front door, and opened it, biting her lip and Greg followed her frowning. He watched her open the front door as if to let him out and he took a step forward and closed it, pushing her gently against it.
"What are you doing? Are you throwing me out?"
Tori could no longer hold in her tears, "No, it just hurts to see you and if we are calling this a day, it's best if you go home,"