Nothing New for Sophie Drew: a heart-warming romantic comedy

by Katey Lovell

  Eve looked unsure. “Playing games isn’t a good way to start to a relationship.”

  “Men don’t like needy women, Eve.” Or so all the internet articles I’d been reading had said.

  “But no one likes being ignored,” she replied.

  The gloomy raincloud that had hovered in the distance edged closer, the first spots of rain falling as we reached Eve’s car, relieved we’d made it before the heavens opened. Trust there to be a downpour when we had plans to go to a music festival that evening with Tawna and Johnny. The park would be a quagmire.

  As Eve put her key into the ignition, our mobiles beeped in unison. Different notification tones, but there was only one person it could be – Tawna.

  Both of us looked wordlessly at our incoming messages, digesting the information before us.

  “I can’t believe she’d do this. Even for Tawna it’s unbelievable.”

  Eve’s skin turned a funny shade of green, like mushy peas. “What the hell is she playing at?”

  I looked back at the screen, rereading the message in case I’d misunderstood, but no.

  Booked the hen do! We’re heading to NYC June 17th - 20th!

  I’ll let you know how much you owe me later. #GirlsOnTour

  The thought of how much four nights in New York would set me back made me feel sick, and there’d bound to be additional expenses too, because who goes to America to sit in a hotel room? Not Tawna Maguire, especially not on her hen do. Meals out and Broadway shows would fill our days, along with shopping sprees on Fifth Avenue and cocktails in exclusive bars. It made me nervous. Not to mention that my annual leave was rapidly running out, and June 17th was less than a week away…

  “We could ask her to scale it back?” Eve said, but her words were devoid of optimism. No way would Tawna change her plans. Once she set her heart on something, she got it and damn the consequences.

  “Not a chance.”

  Eve sighed. “I’ll be dipping into my deposit savings then. I’d hoped I’d be applying for a mortgage before the wedding, but looks like that idea’s out of the window.”

  I didn’t let on that I’d be struggling to find the money at all. My wages were due in my current account on Tuesday but they were hardly generous to start with. I’d have to do another sweep of my wardrobe to see if there was anything else worth selling. I didn’t have vast amounts of money floating around, but then who did? Not me and not Eve, that’s for sure.

  “I might tell her to invite someone else in my place.” I was furious that she’d put us in this predicament. “I do love her, but she’s so detached from what life is like for us mere mortals. I bet she paid for it from Johnny’s account. He probably won’t even notice the money’s gone.”

  “You can’t get her to invite someone else. We’re her bridesmaids. We’ve not got a choice, we’ve got to go.”

  Eve reversed out of the parking space, her lips clamped together as she checked her mirror. She looked like the emoji with the straight line for a mouth, as though she was deeply unhappy but resolutely battling on to stay calm. It didn’t fool me though. I could hear her teeth grinding behind the curtain of her lips.

  “I’ll ring her then. Have it out.”

  And before I had chance to think it through, before I could plan a conversation or convince myself it was a bad idea, I’d angrily jabbed at Tawna’s entry in my phone book and held the phone to my ear. It only rang twice.

  “Soph!” Tawna exclaimed, her voice dripping with excitement. “Did you get my message? We’re heading to Manhattan! Me, you and Eve taking on The Big Apple!”

  She spoke so fast that I couldn’t get a word in, chattering about what an amazing time we’d have and how the trip would be her last hoorah as a single woman.

  Eve studied me as she waited at a T-junction. She raised her shoulders and mouthed, “What’s she saying?”

  I pulled a face that didn’t answer the question, it was nothing more than a pleading look from a hopeless case.

  When Tawna eventually shut up I stayed quiet. I’d not said a word since the call was connected.

  “You’re not mad at me, are you, Soph?” she begged. “I know it’s unexpected, but it was meant to make you both happy. Please don’t be mad at me. I couldn’t bear it.”

  “I wish you’d asked before you booked it, that’s all,” I said, trying to be diplomatic. I was fuming, but I didn’t want a fight. “It isn’t easy getting time off work at such short notice. Some people at the law firm book their holidays a year in advance.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you’ll find a way to swing it,” Tawna replied with so much nonchalance that it came across as dismissive. “Even slave-driver Marcie wouldn’t deny you of a trip like this. I’m sure she’ll be able to get some agency girl to cover you.”

  She didn’t mean to be mean, but I bristled at the throwaway remark. It made me out to be replaceable, and although my job didn’t require much in the way of qualifications, it was still skilled work.

  “It’s short notice for Eve too,” I added. “And her team’s tiny. They can’t just drag any old Tom, Dick or Harry off the street to cover her. She’s got a PhD!”

  “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip,” Tawna argued, “my one and only proper hen. I don’t think it’s too much to expect my two oldest friends, my bridesmaids, to be there with me.”

  I envisaged her sat with her nose in the air like a Disney baddie.

  “Well, I don’t think it’s too much to expect to be asked if I want to fly halfway around the world next week,” I huffed, no longer trying to hide my annoyance. Her comment about the agency girl was still jangling on my last nerve. “Even if I do manage to get the time off work it’s going to be expensive.”

  “But so worth it,” Tawna replied.

  “It’s all right for you. You’re not working nine to five every day, with clients relying on you. You don’t have bills to pay single-handedly either.”

  “But you’ll be there, won’t you?” Her voice trembled, and again I was racked with guilt. “If money’s a problem, I’m sure Johnny would pay for you.”

  There was no way I was going to accept their charity.

  “Don’t worry,” I said, all the while worrying, “I’ll find the money. I’ll be there.”

  “Me too,” Eve called out, although her lips barely moved and her teeth remained gritted.

  “You’re the best friends a girl could ask for,” Tawna exclaimed. “I knew you’d come around. We’re going to have so much fun!”

  But as she enthused about a restaurant we simply had to go to down in Greenwich Village, I switched off from her babble, staring vacantly out of the window as the fields passed by in a blur of bottle-green.

  “Don’t forget it’s the festival tonight,” Tawna chirruped. “You are still planning on coming, aren’t you?”

  “Yep,” I managed, thinking at least the music event we’d planned to go to was free. Maybe I could smuggle some booze in in a flask, pretending it’s tea. “Eve’s still up for it too, but she might be late.” She’d planned to visit her mum at the care home once she’d dropped me at my parents’ house and returned the dog to her neighbours.

  “You girls are the best,” Tawna squealed. “The absolute best. I can’t wait to see you later!”

  I was about to put the handset back into my bag when it beeped and, assuming it was Tawna, I unthinkingly opened the text.

  Hi beautiful. Made any decisions about the money yet?

  I could do with knowing one way or another ASAP. D xxx

  Chapter 21

  “Mum? Dad?”

  The house was still and the radio quiet, an indicator that no one was home even though I’d told Mum and Dad I’d be dropping by. When I poked my head around the door to the living room the local paper was resting on the arm of Dad’s chair and two mugs of tea were left, unfinished, on the coffee table. They weren’t placed on coasters, and that was when I knew in my gut that something was wrong.

  I walked into the kitchen, hoping t
o find a clue, and there it was, written on the whiteboard Mum uses for her shopping lists –

  SOPHIE,

  GONE TO NORMA’S. FRED’S HAD A FALL.

  COME OVER IF YOU LIKE.

  LOVE U, MUM XXX

  Suddenly the worries I’d built up to be so major – Darius, money, the hen do – seemed trivial. What if Fred was seriously injured?

  I didn’t hang about. Closing the front door behind me, I turned left and jogged the ten minutes it took to get to Fred and Norma’s house.

  An ambulance was parked on the driveway but there were no sirens or blue flashing lights.

  I noticed the net curtains twitching in the house across the street.

  Norma opened the door before I reached it, and from the way her cheeks sagged and the vacant look in her eyes I knew what she was going to say. The tears started to fall before she even said the words.

  “He’s gone, pet. He’s gone.”

  The park was already rammed with people when I arrived. Couples sat on checked picnic blankets with food and drink brought from home, others standing in groups with drinks in their hands, more still browsing the food stalls. I’d not had anything other than the slice of Victoria sponge Norma had given me, which I’d nibbled at to be polite, but I didn’t have an appetite.

  The last thing I’d felt like doing was going to the festival, but she’d insisted.

  “Fred would hate for you to change your plans because of him. Please go, Sophie. There’s nothing you can do here.”

  And I’d replied numbly that I would.

  The evening was humid, almost muggy, and the post-storm evening sun was bright enough to warrant sunglasses, although mine were at home. Raising my hand to my forehead to shield my eyes from the glare, I scanned the crowd for Eve. She’d been well up for the festival, extending the weekend for as long as possible.

  Just as I was contemplating leaving, thinking I’d never be able to find a familiar face in the crowd, there was a hand on my shoulder.

  “Hi there.”

  I didn’t need to look into those deep dark eyes, or to take in the charming smile. I’d have known that Scouse accent anywhere. Darius Welch.

  “Sophie! We found you!” Tawna swept me into a hug. With her cloud-like hair and the hit of her fragrance she all but knocked me off my feet, as if the events of the day weren’t already enough to leave me reeling. I’d texted her and Eve to let them know about Fred, telling them I didn’t want to talk about it yet in case I got emotional. Grief is a weird beast. One minute you’re numb, the next you’re raw with it. “It’s so busy! We were just saying it was going to be impossible to get to wherever you and Eve were.”

  “I’m right here.”

  “It’s good to see you, Soph,” Darius said, taking a step closer. He bent down to hug me too, it was bewildering to experience his arms around me for the first time in so long, to breathe in the scent of his neck. “You’re looking good.”

  I’d worn the jumpsuit from Max’s shop, hoping that by wearing something nice I could trick myself into feeling better.

  “Thanks.”

  I struck up a conversation with Johnny, but was aware of the weight of Darius’s gaze on me.

  A band took to the stage, a grungy-looking outfit with ripped black jeans and misshapen T-shirts that had faded to grey. The drummer nodded his appreciation for the faint ripple of applause, raising his drumsticks in a salute. They opened with a cover, and a slightly ropey one at that, but the crowd, there for the atmosphere, not the music, weren’t bothered.

  When Tawna declared she was dying of thirst, dragging Johnny to a nearby stall for liquid refreshment, Darius and I were left alone.

  “Why did you come? Tawna must have told you I’d be here. Did you just want to put pressure on me to make a decision about the money?”

  His eyes caught with mine and despite my inner fury, my tummy flip-flopped. Our relationship was always about the extremes – sizzling hot or frozen out. Lukewarm was never an option.

  “This isn’t about Nadia, and it isn’t about the money either. I wanted to see you, Soph. The truth is, I can’t stop thinking about you.”

  “You didn’t have to gatecrash a night out with my friends.”

  “I tried to talk to you at the party, I’ve asked Tawna to give you messages.” He paused, looking at me with large doleful eyes. “I’ve loved you so much for so long. I’d give anything to go back in time and take back the awful things I said.”

  “You told me I was vain.”

  “I had no right to do that. I know that now.”

  “I did it because I wanted your approval.” Saying that aloud made my heart hurt. “I didn’t believe I was good enough for you.”

  “If anything you were too good for me. I know Eve hates me and says I don’t deserve you. She’s right, I don’t. But that doesn’t stop me loving you. Nothing will.”

  “Then why did you flirt with other women right under my nose? I wanted to feel loved, Darius. All I ever wanted was for you to love me and be there for me.”

  “I know.” His shoulders sagged in a way that made me believe his remorse. “I’m sorry.”

  His apology was a surprise. Darius Welch wasn’t the kind of man to admit to his mistakes.

  “It was never to do with you,” he said, running a hand through his hair. A strand flopped in front of his face and he cocked his head to keep it out of his eyes. I was overcome by a sense of déjà vu which almost knocked me sideways, a distant memory of when our relationship was new. “I was weak, and I loved the attention. It was selfish of me, but at the time I didn’t think of how it made you feel. I loved you so damn much. So damn much.”

  The music from grungy band came to a halt and I clapped as they said their thank yous, mainly because I didn’t know how to respond to what Darius had said.

  I’d loved him too, that head over heels love that is ten-a-penny in youth but doesn’t often come around once you hit adulthood. I’d had the daydreams about our wedding day, spent hours practicing my signature as “Sophie Welch”. Looking back it sounded childish, whereas at the time it had been exhilarating.

  “Tawna told me about Fred. I’m sorry. I know how much he meant to you. I’ve let you down so many times, but I’m here for you now. Let me help you however I can.”

  When his hand slid around my waist it took me by surprise but a gush of nostalgia, along with the echoes of his words, stopped me from pushing him away. The spicy scent of his aftershave gave me a head rush, and the chatter of the surrounding crowds fuzzed in my ears.

  “I still think of you all the time,” he said, whispering in my ear. His lip caught my earlobe as he added, “What we had was special, wasn’t it?”

  He drew me closer, and I turned to find myself facing him. Every detail was so familiar it was as though he was in high definition. When he leant in to kiss me I unwittingly responded, the soft cushion of his lips against mine as bliss-filled as the mellow music coming from the stage. I allowed myself to float away from the harsh realities of life, unthinking and carefree, and only when Eve appeared and screamed, “I can’t believe it!” did I pull away, full of confusion.

  To avoid her barrage of questions I extricated myself from Darius’s hold and focused my attention firmly on the stage. The beautiful melancholy tune was coming from a sole man sound-checking guitars for the next band. My heart sank as he looked straight at me, a pained expression on his face, as his fingers picked out a gentle melodic riff.

  Max.

  Chapter 22

  “Aaah!”

  Freshly boiled water splashed onto the back of my hand, the burning sensation stinging so much that it brought tears to my eyes. It was my own fault for not concentrating when doing the tea run. My brain repeatedly replaying the scenario all morning.

  The attraction that had always been present between Darius and I was undeniable. My knees had buckled beneath me as soon as his lips had connected with mine and if it hadn’t been for his arm around my waist, the large palm of
his hand firmly clutching my hip, I may well have melted on the spot.

  But then there had been Max, who must have seen the kiss from his prime vantage point at the centre of the stage where he was setting up for the band. The crushed expression he’d been wearing said it all – any doubts I’d had about his feelings for me were quashed. No one would look as hurt as that if they didn’t care.

  Darius had been sending me texts full of kind words and condolences ever since the festival, but I’d not replied. Not only was I confused, I was purposely faltering because time was ticking on and I still hadn’t given him an answer about the loan. I so desperately wanted to do what was right for Summer, although I was in no fit state to make big decisions. Anyway, where I’d find the money if I did decide to give it to him goodness only knew.

  “Are you all right?” Jane asked, as I placed the kettle back on its stand and ran water from the cold tap over my hand. “We heard you cry out.”

  “I scalded myself.” I held out my hand, showing her the blotchy marks where the water had hit. “It feels like nothing’s going right at the moment.”

  “Now now, don’t be so hard on yourself. Accidents happen to the best of us, and we didn’t expect you to be here at all when we heard about poor old Fred. You shouldn’t be here if you’re not up to it, love. You’ve been in your own little world all day.”

  So she’d noticed, and if Jane had, Kath and Marcie would have too.

  “I’ve got a lot on my mind,” I admitted, through clenched teeth because the temperature of the water against my sensitive skin stung like hell.

  “Fred was like family to you. It’s understandable that you’re going to find it hard.”

  “It’s not just Fred,” I confessed, feeling terrible that I could even be thinking of anything else after such an awful event.