Gone, and good riddance
What do you mean, the numbers not available? He was just on the phone! Natalie stands in the middle of the hallway, pressing her mobile to her ear.
She glances at the chest of drawers.
The jewellery box is still sitting in its usual spot. But something’s offthe lid isnt shut quite properly.
Rob! she calls, voice echoing down the flat. Are you in the bathroom?
Natalie edges toward the chest of drawers. Her fingers graze the polished wood. A chill races down her spinethe jewellery box is empty. Completely.
Even the shop receipt shed used as a bookmark is gone.
And the cash that had been therethe money she’d handed over herselfdisappeared as well.
Oh God, she breathes out, sinking straight to the floor. How could this happen? Only yesterday we were arguing about wallpaper… You promised wed go to Cornwall in August
It all started with something laughably ordinary. Last June, Natalies little beetle of a car seized its piston.
The garage quoted a price that was eye-watering, so, frustrated, she posted for advice in her local Auto-Help UK group.
Guys, anyone know if you can unstick a brake piston on your own if its jammed? she wrote, attaching a photo of her mud-splattered wheel.
Replies pour in. Some tell her, Leave it to the mechanics, its not worth the hassle, others suggest buying a replacement part.
Then, a message arrives from Rob_85:
Dont listen to them. Grab a tin of WD-40 and a repair kitshould be about twenty quid.
Take the wheel off, push the piston out gently using the pedaljust dont go all the way.
Clean the lot with brake fluid, grease things up.
If the cylinders smooth, youll be back on the road in no time.
Natalie pays attention. His advice is clear, practical, no showing off.
What if the cylinders pitted? she asks.
Then youll need a replacement. But from your picture, your car looks well cared for. If you get stuck, message me, Ill help if I can.
And thats how it started.
Rob knew his way around an engine. In one week, he guided her through an oil change, recommended spark plugs, and even warned which coolant to steer clear of.
Natalie began waiting for his messages.
Youre honestly my saviour, Rob, she wrote at the end of July. Listen, fancy meeting up sometime? Coffees on me. Or something strongergot to celebrate how much youve saved me.
He didnt reply straight away. Hours passed before her phone lit up.
Natalie, Id love to, I really would. But Im away on business. Overseas, actuallya long one, Im afraid.
Wow, she wrote back. That far?
You cant get much further. Look, I dont want to lie to you. I like you, genuinely. But Im not on business. Im serving a sentence. HMP Dartmoor, if that means anything.”
Natalie let her phone slip onto the sofa, her heart twisting.
A prisoner? Shes an accountant at a leading firm, and shes spent two weeks chatting away to a convict?
What for? she asks, hands trembling.
Fraud. Got stitched up a bit, got cocky too. Ive less than a year left. If you want to delete this chat, I understand.
Natalie says nothing. She just blocks him, and spends the following three days in a daze. At work, colleagues ask if shes ill.
She keeps thinking:
Why? Why is it that the sharpest, most capable man Ive met isthere?
A week later, she finds an email notificationRob, asking for her address. She hadnt deleted him entirely, just closed the chat.
Natalie, he writes. No hard feelings, honestly. I expected this. Youre a decent, lovely person. No one like me belongs in your life. Thank you for the chats. They were the best fortnight Ive had in three years. Be happy. Goodbye.
She reads it late at night, sat in her kitchen, and suddenly bursts into tears. She’s sorry for both of them, and this unfair world.
Why does everyone else get lucky, and Im stuck with married men, or mums boysand then the only good ones behind bars? she asks herself.
Again, she doesnt reply…
***
Natalie tries dating, but it all falls flat.
One bloke talks half the night about his stamp collection. Another arrives with dirt under his fingernails and expects her to split the bill at a café.
In March, on her thirty-fifth birthday, Natalie feels loneliness more than ever.
That morning, her phone pings.
Happy birthday, dear Natalie! Rob writes. I know I havent the right to bother you, but I couldnt help myself. Hope everything goes brilliantly for you.
You deserve to be cherished.
Made you something here from bread and wire If I could, Id give it to you.
Just know that somewhere in Devon, one man is raising a mug of terrible tea to your health today.
Thank you, Rob, she replies, no longer able to resist. That means a lot.
You replied! Im chuffed to bits. How are you? Hows your swallowdidnt let you down in the cold?
And so it all starts again.
Now they talk every day. Rob calls when he can.
His real voice is deep and warm, with a likeable rasp.
He tells her about his life: growing up with his brother, his nieces and nephews, how he dreams of starting again.
Im not going back to my old town, Nat, he tells her as she warms up dinner. Friends there will drag me down again.
I want to move somewhere no one knows me. I can always get work as a builders mate or at a garage.
Where would you go? she asks, breath held.
Near you. Rent a room, a cheap flat. Just to know were breathing the same air.
But Im not trying to push you
By May, Natalies head over heels.
She knows when his cell gets checked, when its his turn for the showers, for work in the kitchen.
She sends him parcels: tea, chocolates, warm socks, and bits for his tinkering.
Just stay out of trouble, Rob, she begs. Dont get in any fights.
For you, love, Ill be as quiet as a mouse, he laughs. Im out in April.
Ill be waiting.
***
Come April, Natalie drives out to the prison gates. Shes bought him a new jacket, a pair of jeans, trainers.
Her hearts beating like mad.
When he steps out, broad-shouldered, a bit greyer than in his pictures, she freezes for a second.
But then he smiles and says:
Well, hello, boss lady, and she throws her arms around him.
Youre really here, she whispers into his prickly cheek.
Not going anywhere, he hugs her tight. You smell nice, like some flowery perfume.
They head back to hers.
The first week is like a fairy tale. Rob gets stuck in: fixes the dripping tap, takes apart the front door lock thats been jamming for six months.
Evenings, they linger in the kitchen over sweet wine, while Rob tells funny stories from his old life, always skirting around the worst of it.
Rob, Natalie says on the tenth day, you talked about getting your own place.
Maybe you dont need to. There’s room here. Its easier for two. That way, you can save up for tools, settle in.
Nat, it doesnt feel right staying here at your expense, he says, swirling sugar into his mug. Im a man, I ought to provide.
Dont say that! she puts her hand on his. Were not strangers. Youll get back on your feet, find a job, and everythingll be fine.
My brother called yesterday, he says, turning away. My nephews ill. Needs an operation, private. Hes asked me to lend him money, andwell, you know Ive got nothing. Im embarrassed, Nat. Really embarrassed.
How much do they need? she asks quietly.
A lot… Five grand. But they’ve got some already.
I was thinking of heading to London for work, decent pay, quick money.
She falls silent. The same five thousand pounds are in her jewellery boxshes saved it over three years, denying herself everything.
Shed planned to redo the flat, replace the old tiles, fit that fancy shower
I have the money, she says, barely a whisper.
Robs head snaps up.
Dont even think about it! Thats your money. I wont take it.
Rob, its your nephew. Your family. You said yourself, that matters more than anything. Take it, pay me back later. Were together now.
He holds out for almost two days, wandering around like a storm cloud, starts smoking again out on the balcony though hed promised to stop.
In the end, Natalie takes out the money and puts it on the table.
Take it. Go help your brother. Bring it to him, or transfer it, whatever.
Ill drive it down, he says, hugging her. If Im there, maybe Ill hear about work in their area too, might be better options. Just two days, Nat. Ill go and come back. In a couple of days
***
Natalie has been sitting on the hallway floor for over an hour. Her legs are numb, but she cant feel the pain.
She replays the night beforehim laughing at some daft comedy, his arm around her shoulder, her feeling happier than ever.
I’ll leave early the day after tomorrow, hed said before bed.
But hed slipped off a day earlier. Shed been asleep, never heard him leave.
Shed dreamt the front door slammed, but assumed it was the neighbours.
By two that afternoon, she finally calls his brother. The number hed once given her just in case.
Hello? a gruff voice answers. Who is this?
This is NatalieRobs friend. Did he come to yours today?
Silence. Then a heavy sigh.
Miss, what Rob? My brothers got a different name, and hes not out. Hes still inside for another six monthsout in October.
Natalies vision goes dark.
HowOctober? But he got out. In April. I picked him up, at Dartmoor. Myself.
Look, the man on the phone sounds angry. My brother Alex is in HMP Exeter.
As for Rob… Robs my old cellmate, he got out a couple of months back.
Stole my phone; got all the contacts. Youre just the latest pen-pal hes conned. Hes a dab hand at ittechnical education, can talk the hind leg off a donkey.
Natalie lowers her phone to the floor. She remembers how hed taught her to change spark plugs.
The main thing is not to over-tighten, hed told her. Or youll strip the thread, and thats that.
Ive stripped it, she murmurs. Stripped the whole thing. Ive done myself in.
She realises, glaringly, she knows nothing real about this man she called her partner. Shed never seen his passporta release paper, nothing.
Suppose his name wasnt Rob at all?
***
Of course, Natalie goes to the police and files a report. She shows them a photo. Learns plenty about her supposed other half.
His name actually is Robthats the only true detail he gave her.
Hed been in for a serious crime, spent half his life behind barsmet Natalie serving his third sentence.
Natalie makes the sign of the cross, changes her locks, and decides shes actually had a lucky escape. Compared to his previous girlfriends…
