Cathy shook her head and choked back the tears. She’d never been the kind of woman who used crying as a weapon so there was no point in making herself feel even worse by trying it now. All she could do was explain why she’d acted as she had. ‘Aiden came round to the shop as soon as he realised May had packed a bag,’ she began. ‘When she told us she needed to get away from everything, I didn’t realise that included him as well. He was beside himself, Rick. I mean, imagine how he must have felt walking in after a business trip to find she’d left without telling him. It was like when …’ She stopped and pulled herself together. ‘I’ve got to say I felt a bit sorry for him.’ She glanced towards him, knowing that he wouldn’t have a shred of sympathy for the younger man. Why would he when he didn’t know how it felt to be isolated, to have to pick your way barefoot over the broken glass of your love life? What else could she have done in the circumstances, with Aiden standing there choking back tears, other than help?
