The Love Solution

by Ashley Croft

  ‘I swear.’ Sarah crossed her heart but Molly wasn’t reassured in any way. ‘No one will find out. I swear that only you and I know about it and it won’t go wrong. But I thought you said it was ready for clinical trials. Is it safe? What do we have to do? How does it work?’

  ‘It depends what you mean by safe. It’s definitely non-toxic and won’t do him any physical harm but it’s not exactly ethical, manipulating someone’s hormones.’

  ‘But it’s not like actually drugging him, is it?’

  ‘Erm,’ Molly muttered. The Love Bug was a psychoactive substance that could change Niall’s thoughts and behaviour. Molly felt slightly faint at the thought of it.

  ‘I can’t wait to see him come grovelling back.’

  ‘Whoa … Before you get too excited, it’s not a miracle worker. It might not make a huge difference to Niall. The Love Bug is a hormone that facilitates … um … romantic bonding and only if it’s very specifically tailored to the two people involved … but I think I can deal with that part of things.’

  ‘How do we give it to Niall without him noticing?’

  ‘At the moment, we think a nasal spray is the best method of delivery.’

  ‘So, you mean you could put it in an aftershave or perfume bottle or an atomiser?’

  ‘An atomiser would work, yes …’

  ‘I’ve got an empty one upstairs,’ she said excitedly. ‘What do you need from me?’

  ‘A DNA sample from you and from Niall. I can take yours now but we’ll have to get Niall’s too. A strand of hair would do, or an old toothbrush.’

  Sarah’s eyes gleamed. ‘Oh, I’m sure I can find a hair. In fact, I can get one now.’

  Molly waited, trying to suppress her rising sense of panic. Sarah was back in half a minute with a black plastic comb with some of the teeth missing.

  ‘Here you go. Bit yukky but Ni left it in the bathroom when he called round last week. He’s so bloody vain, far worse than most of the women I know.’

  ‘OK. Thanks.’ Molly popped the comb in a plastic bag, already worried about Sarah’s blithe optimism. ‘I can do a mouth swab on you. Cheek cells are brilliant. Shall we do it now?’

  ‘OK, yes.’ Sarah’s eyes gleamed. What if Sarah was actually suffering from a breakdown, not simply unable to let go of Niall? Molly could be making it worse but it was too late now – she’d resolved to do anything and risk anything to help her sister. Actually, she thought, as she pulled a pair of blue nitrile gloves from her bag, perhaps it was her who was having the breakdown, agreeing to do this.

  Gritting her teeth anyway, she removed a 20ml tube and long cotton bud from the bag and placed it on the table.

  ‘Open wide,’ she said.

  Sarah obeyed and Molly swabbed the inside of Sarah’s mouth.

  Molly put the swab in its tube.

  ‘You can close your mouth now.’

  ‘That’s it?’ said Sarah.

  ‘Yup. That’s it. The secret of life is in that tube.’

  Sarah pulled a face. ‘Wow. This all sounds like those old legends and spells. We did a poem at school called “St Agnes Eve”. You have to do stuff like undressing in front of a mirror, or peeling an apple and the next man you see will fall in love with you.’

  ‘But it’s not a spell, it’s science. You know I don’t believe in any of that airy-fairy stuff.’

  ‘No, but it is a bit like that,’ said Sarah.

  ‘No, it’s not. That was a pile of crap in a poem.’

  ‘OK, OK,’ soothed Sarah ‘I know that. Running a tiara workshop doesn’t mean I believe Tinker Bell really exists.’

  The atmosphere between them was starting to simmer again but Molly took a deep breath and resolved to stay calm. No way did she want another slanging match like last night. ‘OK, sorry, I’m just a bit … antsy about this. Technically it’s a medical product. I could and would get the sack if anyone finds out what I’ve done. It’s unethical, immoral. In fact, I must be out of my mind.’

  ‘Can you reverse the effects, if all goes wrong? Is there an antidote?’

  ‘There are some drugs for other conditions, which are predicted to counteract it. We haven’t done much work on those yet and there are only a few trials that have been done on fruit flies and the human volunteer trials of a similar hormone in the Netherlands and the US … It will take a while to create the Bug you know. I’ll have to transform a plasmid carrying the gene into permissive bacteria and then express it.’

  Sarah’s mouth was open. ‘That sounds complicated …’

  ‘It’ll be tricky but it is feasible. Of course, then I’d need to engineer the Bug to complement Niall’s genetic coding.’

  ‘Right … of course … um how long will that take?’

  Molly waggled her hand and blew out a breath. ‘A week or so under ideal conditions but remember I have to do this in secret alongside my normal work. I can’t let anyone find out, especially not Ewan … so maybe two to three weeks?’

  Sarah’s eyes shone with excitement. She hugged Molly. ‘I’m so grateful.’

  ‘You don’t owe me anything. I owe you.’

  ‘But I know you’re taking a big risk doing this. You won’t regret it, I promise.’

  ‘Wait and see if it actually works before you thank me,’ said Molly firmly.

  ‘Oh, it will. You’re a brilliant scientist.’

  Molly smiled weakly and hugged Sarah back, thinking that she already did regret her offer. However, it if it gave Sarah comfort and helped her move on, then it would be worth the risk.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  A few days later, Niall stood in the doorway of the cottage. He’d come around to ask Sarah to sign some more papers relating to the sale which was now in progress. Judging by the extra room in his leathers, he’d lost more weight. Sarah wasn’t entirely sure it suited him because he’d also lost the cheeky dimple she’d loved so much.

  He took off his helmet while she closed the front door.

  ‘You’ve had your hair cut,’ she said.

  Niall rubbed his hand over his head. ‘Vanessa said I’d look better without the quiff.’

  Sarah resisted the urge to ask if Niall did everything Vanessa told him. There was no point starting an argument now. ‘She’s right about one thing, then,’ she said.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me you didn’t like it?’

  ‘I didn’t know I didn’t, until now.’

  Niall put his helmet on the hall table and followed Sarah into the sitting room while she tried to calm down. Ever since Molly had agreed to create the Love Bug, she’d been like a cat on a hot tin roof but now he was here, she felt strangely calm. Energised but definitely calm. She was determined to throw him off the scent by being on her best behaviour. Her strategy was to lull Niall into a false sense of security by making him think she was happy to sell the house.

  They talked briefly about the house sale then Niall moved on to his family and work. Sarah marvelled at how easy it was pretending you weren’t about to commit grievous bodily harm on your ex, for a short time at least. She was even enjoying herself, nodding in all the right places while Niall moaned about the change in his shift pattern and how knackered he was. Once or twice she thought she might even nod off, she felt so calm – must be her hormones – and suddenly Niall stopped talking about himself and looked closely at her.

  ‘Are you OK, Sarah? You seem a bit out of it.’

  ‘Just tired. I’ve had a lot of commissions and the house sale has been exhausting even though I’ve been able to stop the endless tidying now.’

  ‘I know. I’d have helped out more but these shift changes have really buggered up my Circadian rhythms. Still, it looks really smart and I noticed you fixed the gate.’

  ‘Oh, Liam did that.’

  ‘Liam?’

  ‘Liam Cipriani.’

  ‘That bloke you almost killed with Toby? You mean he came back for the course?’

  ‘He forgave me. He’s been back a few times. He’s making a ti
ara for his daughter’s wedding and a bracelet and necklace.’

  ‘Why did he fix the gate?’ Niall sounded suspicious.

  ‘He used to be a joiner but he runs a commercial property company now. I think he felt he wanted to help out.’

  ‘So, he’s definitely not gay?’ said Niall.

  ‘No.’ Sarah shoved a packet of chocolate gingers at him. ‘Have one of these. I’m addicted to them.’

  ‘I shouldn’t really … Vanessa would kill me if she knew I’d had trans fats.’

  ‘She’ll never know,’ said Sarah wickedly, anticipating the moment that Vanessa found out Niall had transferred his affections back to her. If the plan worked of course. Molly kept warning her it might not have the desired effect but Sarah was confident. Molly was just being super cautious, as all scientists were.

  ‘Don’t bet on it. She can smell chocolate at fifty feet. Oh, feck it.’ He picked a biscuit off the plate, bit into it and closed his eyes in ecstasy. ‘God, I’ve missed crap food,’ he mumbled.

  ‘Have another one,’ said Sarah soothingly.

  After she’d been through the documents with him and added her signature, she expected Niall to leave but he seemed in no hurry to go back to Vanessa. He helped himself to two more biscuits and insisted on making more tea for them both. He told her about some of the patients he’d had to deal with and Sarah almost forgot that they’d ever split up. It was just like old times. She felt happier than she had done for weeks. The Love Bug could work; all Niall needed was a little nudge. She’d get to keep the cottage and the element of revenge would be sweet.

  Should she tell him about the baby now? No, it was too big a risk.

  Eventually, he said he was leaving and Sarah followed him to the door. ‘You really do like my hair then?’ he asked, glancing in the hall mirror. ‘I wasn’t sure at first …’

  ‘Yes, I said I did. It really suits you.’

  She waited for him to mention the comb, ready to deny having seen it, but he didn’t.

  Niall hovered by the door, looking sheepish. ‘Sarah …’

  ‘Yes, Niall?’ She hung on tenterhooks. Was he going to say he regretted leaving her? There was a look in his eye: sadness, regret …

  ‘Thanks for being so reasonable about this,’ he said.

  ‘What choice do I have?’ she said.

  He stepped forward as if to give her a hug, but Sarah moved away, unable to bear him touching her and worrying he’d feel her slight bump. ‘It’s for the best, you know. I think we’ll both come to realise that … in the end.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  ‘You’re working late again. I thought I was the one who kept Coco Pops and a sleeping bag in the lab.’

  ‘Jesus Christ!’

  ‘Were you expecting him?’ asked Ewan from behind Molly who was up to her elbows in a biological safety cabinet. He slid onto a stool next her, keeping his hands well out of her way.

  ‘I wasn’t expecting you. I thought you were taking the day off to see your brother and his kids,’ she said. Had he seen what she was doing? He must have seen the petri dish in the cabinet but he’d have no idea exactly what she was culturing. It could be anything and she had an answer prepared if he did ask.

  ‘I’ve just come from the park. There’s only so much harassment of birdlife you can do before you get reported to the council. Besides, the kids are knackered, not to mention Rob, so he’s taken them back to mine for a nap and a wee dram. That’s Rob not the kids. He says he doesn’t know how Fiona copes with them and works as well. He’s worried she might stay at this conference in Montreal.’

  Molly smiled, beginning to relax. Ewan must have really enjoyed himself with his niece and nephews to make a joke about it.

  ‘So, I need to do some work on my grant application in the lab for a few hours before I go back to Toddler Central.’ He glanced across her workstation. ‘So what are you doing here?’

  ‘Oh, just double-checking a few things.’

  ‘You seem to be here a lot, lately.’ Molly’s pulse spiked, dreading him probing for more details. It was always best to keep your lies as close to the truth as possible but she’d rather not have to tell a lie at all.

  ‘You mean even longer than you?’

  ‘Ha … are you planning on being here much longer?’ he asked.

  ‘No, actually I’m almost finished.’

  ‘You’ve been working long hours,’ he said, surprising her with his concern. ‘You should get some rest before the race next Sunday.’

  ‘I was just about to go home.’

  ‘Good,’ he said gruffly. This is how he’d been since that morning at her flat. She deeply regretted her meltdown and guessed he regretted his even more. Maybe he was worried she’d gossip about him at work. He was paranoid about mixing his personal life with his professional one and now she knew exactly why.

  ‘How are things with you and your sister?’

  A pang of guilt stabbed her. ‘Oh, much better. We had a heart to heart and made it up,’ she said, realising she sounded overly cheery. ‘Sarah joked about me and the tandem. Our parents would never have believed I’d get on one and take part in a race.’ This was true. Sarah had said exactly that, and she and Molly had laughed about it.

  ‘My brother doesn’t believe it either.’ Ewan smiled. ‘He’s demanded video evidence. I’m glad you and Sarah were able to make things up so quickly. I’m sorry for what happened with her partner – Niall, isn’t it? I know how she feels and I can understand why you think you owe her a lot, but I’m not sure even you can help her in this case. She sounds like she’d be well rid of him … and you can’t make people love you, can you?’

  ‘Really?’ said Molly lightly. ‘Do you realise what you just said?’

  ‘Yes, I do.’

  ‘So, you don’t think the Love Bug should be used to bring two people together?’

  ‘Even if it was as effective on humans as it seems in theory, I can’t imagine it being used beyond the applications we’re working on already. I couldn’t live with someone who’d been artificially manipulated to love me. What pleasure would there be in living a lie?’

  ‘Not much … some people would grab the chance of it. A rejected partner maybe … who was desperate or out for revenge …’

  He cut her off. ‘Then they’d need counselling, not the Love Bug.’

  Molly felt slightly sick. Ewan was right, of course. No one should be forced or coerced to love another person and yet … surely in some cases, it could be used to heal relationships that deserved another chance? Not that she thought Niall deserved one. Once again, she regretted even offering to help but it was too late now. Sarah had become fixated on it. Molly was more worried about her state of mind than ever.

  ‘Hmm. I suppose so.’

  He slid along the bench on his stool and switched on his Mac. ‘Do you think you’re ready?’ he asked, typing in his password.

  ‘Ready for what?’ she asked, still with her hands in the cabinet, effectively trapped.

  Ewan frowned at her. ‘For Sunday?’

  ‘Oh, that.’ Molly’s shoulders sagged in relief that he’d moved on to the race. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever be ready but I suppose I’ll make it. I have a feeling it’s going to be painful though.’

  ‘Anything worth doing is painful sometimes.’

  ‘I guess you’re right. What’s the plan for next week?’ she asked, wondering how she was going to get the petri dish into the incubator while Ewan was in the room.

  ‘I thought we’d have a light training session tomorrow, and on race day I could pick you up at the flat around eight and we can use the ride to the start as a warm-up.’

  ‘Sounds like a plan.’ She flashed him a smile. ‘I’ll probably get home now and get some rest. Put my feet up et cetera.’

  But Ewan was already intent on his Mac.

  She made a meal of turning off the safety cabinet and giving it a really good swab to clean it. In fact she used so much ethanol, she felt momentari
ly giddy. Fortunately, before she passed out on the fumes, Ewan left the lab to take a phone call. She hid the petri dish in the fridge behind one of her colleague’s samples, ready to transfer it to the incubator when she had more time. The whole time her pulse hammered away in case he returned and asked her what she was doing. There was no danger of anyone recruiting her into MI5, that was for sure.

  Finally, it was done. With a waved goodbye to Ewan, she cycled home and read some online papers, making notes on them so she had something boring and innocent to discuss during their ride, but it was hard to focus. Today’s false alarm with Ewan had increased her misgivings even further. Was she raising false hopes in Sarah? Because no matter how much she tried to damp down Sarah’s expectations of what the Love Bug could do, Sarah was obviously in no frame of mind to listen.

  She’d tried to make Sarah think about the consequences again in the hope she’d decide against it and realise what a mad idea it was. What if the Love Bug didn’t work? she’d told her. Sarah would be devastated all over again. And what if it did? Molly told Sarah she would spend the rest of her life feeling guilty and Sarah would be living a lie.

  It was wrong on every front but she couldn’t let Sarah down. Sarah was relying on her – and if she couldn’t rely on her sister, then who could she rely on?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Sarah’s heart sank when she found Liam at her door. Not that she wasn’t pleased to see him – quite the opposite. She’d been trying to deny how much she’d missed him over the past couple of weeks and she was worried if she met him again, she might waver from her plan.

  Molly’s heart to heart had really made her think again about the plan to give Niall the Love Bug. What if it didn’t work? How would she feel when he finally came crawling back to her? She wasn’t stupid enough to think everything would be wonderful. Molly had said that making someone love you would be a cruel and hollow exercise and maybe that was right.

  Now here was Liam at her door, confusing the issue even further. She had missed him, there was no denying that. She showed him into the sitting room.