Marcus sat back down, moving the chair back so he could cross one leg over the other. He watched the woman put on her coat without saying a word. Victoria positioned the strap on her shoulder bag, checked that everything was in place, and looked down at the seated man.
‘Goodbye, Marcus,’ she said. ‘I hope you find what you’re looking for.’
‘And what would that be?’ he said.
‘Oh, Marcus…’ she said, shaking her head. ‘I was trying to be nice and giving you the opportunity to say something nice back. But since you can’t even manage that, let’s just leave it at goodbye, shall we?’
Victoria walked away, her head still shaking in disbelief. As she went down the wooden staircase, her heels loud on the steps, she wondered how she had ever got involved with Marcus Standing in the first place. ‘Avoid divorced men with children,’ said her inner voice and she smiled. As Victoria walked out of the Freedom Coffee House, she felt relieved that this whole nightmare was over. She deserved better than this.
Meanwhile, Marcus leaned with an arm on the balcony, watching her walk out of his life. He sat in brooding silence for a couple of minutes after she’d gone, then dug his wallet out of his jacket and went down the staircase to buy himself another coffee.