At first all there was to see was a mock-up of a block of flats, made from a scaffolding framework, clad with board and painted canvas. Soon fake smoke streamed from the top of the building. A blonde leaned out of a window, gesturing frantically to the fire crew below. To Alice she looked more desperate for attention than rescue.
The announcer informed the crowd that the fire brigade were being called and help was on the way. Even before he'd finished, sirens blared and fire engines, blue lights ablaze, rushed to the scene. The fire crews poured from their vehicles and immediately started tackling the flames. They extended a ladder towards the girl's window. A fireman began climbing. Due to the uniform and helmet Alice wouldn't have known it was Hamish unless he'd told her what his role was to be, but in her mind she'd have seen someone just as young, fit and attractive and with a grin just as appealing as his.
'Now there's someone who doesn't get vertigo,' Kate said.
Alice ignored her. She'd long ago given up trying to convince her sister that Tony didn't have a fear of heights. Once Kate got an idea in her head it was almost impossible to shift it.
'Will he reach her in time?' demanded the announcer.
Fake flames, less convincing than the smoke and announcer's pretended doubt over the outcome, leapt in all directions. The firemen on the ground sprayed water. Real water and Alice was pleased to see a little of the spray reached the blonde. If there was any justice her straight locks would be a frizzy mess by the time Hamish got to her. Hopefully her mascara wasn't waterproof.
As the smoke thickened, the girl vanished from sight. The announcer warned of the dangers of smoke inhalation. 'Almost there,' he said as the tall, strong, hunky fireman climbed the last few steps. He too vanished from sight for a moment, then reappeared with the blonde in his arms. It was exactly like Alice's fantasy except for a few little details. In her imagination obviously it would be her getting rescued, her the fireman carried away to safety, her who melted his heart and ignited a fire of passion hotter than any fire he'd faced. Her, not some mystery blonde.
Alice didn't mind about the unconvincing fire, the danger or realities of the situation weren't what appealed to her. She knew her fantasy was just that. Now the blonde girl had ruined it all for Alice. No, it wasn't quite that. Alice had enjoyed similar demonstrations before although she'd not participated in them. It wasn't so much that it wasn't her as the fact she'd said no. That she'd always have to say no.
Hamish climbed down with the girl over his shoulder. The crowd cheered.
'He has her! And it looks like she's grateful.' The announcer stated the obvious as they reached the ground. Hamish removed his helmet and the blonde hussy attached her, no doubt pouty, lips to the poor chap's mouth.
'That could have been you,' Kate, said.
'Thanks for reminding me,' Alice snapped.
The commentator thanked Hampshire Fire Service for the thrilling demonstration as the sisters left the main arena.
'What do you want to do now?' Kate asked. 'I need the loo, but then we'll do whatever will cheer you up.'
'Can I start the day over?' Alice asked.
'Has it been so bad?'
Had it? She knew she was being silly over the fire display and her disappointment was temporary. Otherwise she'd had a good day, mostly.
'Tony and I rowed this morning over me wearing this.' Alice indicated her dress.
'Bet he only stopped the night so he could remind you not to have any fun today.'
'Don't be like that,' Alice said. 'He has his good points.'
'If you say so. Anyway, I'm glad you didn't cave in.'
'I didn't see why I should. I like this dress.'
'Me too and from the way Handsome Hamish was looking at you, I'm not the only one. I quite understand why you were so keen to wear it today.'
'You sound like Tony!'
'Don't be mean,' Kate said. She joined the queue for the toilets, leaving Alice to sit on a straw bale and wait.
Had she been so wrong to compare Kate with Tony? They both seemed to think the worst of her at times. No, that wasn't fair. Kate had just been teasing and she knew how insecure Tony could be. Maybe she should make more effort not to give him reason to feel like that. It wasn't his fault that he, who spent most of his time working, didn't seem to understand her need to spend time with other people. He'd been very supportive when she'd moved out from her parents' home saying she needed a bit of space. He'd carefully checked her lease agreement, found the best insurance policy for her few items of furniture, most of which he'd paid for, and fitted smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
He'd understood her satisfaction at her independence, but been confused that she chose to visit her mum and dad several times a week, often sharing a meal. Because Kate still lived there and therefore Alice would see her frequently, it seemed strange to him that the pair of them often went out together in the evenings. He was just as perplexed by her regular meetings with old school friends and former work colleagues, especially as few of Alice's social engagements involved what he referred to as 'culturally enriching experiences'. Tony didn't do fun for the sake of it; why waste time on that when he could be furthering his career, social position or feeling of superiority?
Oh, maybe she did spend slightly too much time with Kate. Surely that last thought was something her sister had put in her head, not one of Alice's own. She quite enjoyed going to exhibitions with Tony and watching plays or the 'right kind' of film. She didn't mind listening to classical music sometimes or being taken to classy places to eat and drink as often as he liked.
The previous week Tony had taken her to a gallery showcasing the talents of contemporary British artists. Alice knew it was probably a reflection on her poor taste that she didn't totally appreciate the sculptures formed from second-hand chewing gum and text message poetry. They were better than the 'found' music which seemed to be a medley of drills; dentist, pneumatic and the DIY sort. In between was bursts of a man shouting instructions.
'Oh!' she'd said as she deciphered some of the words as 'present arms' and 'eyes front'. 'He's a drill instructor!'
'Who is?' Tony asked. He'd actually seemed impressed by her explanation.
They'd been accosted by a very shiny-faced man dressed entirely in lime green who said the piece was called 'Drilling into Your Soul' and had been written by his partner.
'It's very effective,' Alice said. She'd heard someone say that to the gum sculptor who'd been delighted, so it seemed a safe comment.
'So powerful, isn't it?' the man had said.
Alice and Tony had both agreed that was the case, then moved on to look at paintings of... well she didn't know what they were of, but she did know they represented the futility of progress, because there was a label saying so.
A reflection on her good appetite was her wholehearted appreciation of the snacks. These also had a British theme, but, in order to contrast with the artwork, they were all classics. To begin with cocktail sticks holding bite-sized ploughman's lunches in the form of small chunks of cheddar, apple, celery and pickled onions, some with and some without ham, were offered. Mini Melton Mowbray pork pies, triangles of Welsh rarebit, tiny scotch eggs and bowls of those fancy crisps created from a variety of root vegetables made up the next selection. Once those had all been consumed, trays of teensy lemon meringue pies, treacle tarts and fruit and cream-filled meringues were circulated. The meringues were described as Eton Mess but, although they were composed of the correct ingredients, were far too exquisitely neat to deserve the name. They tasted lovely though, as did the dainty wedges of Stilton, Red Leicester and Cornish Yarg each on different tiny crackers which followed.
Overall Alice had enjoyed that evening. She also liked sitting in a burger place with her mates, wearing whatever she'd happened to have on and laughing at stupid jokes. Or window shopping with Kate, which also generally involved laughing at stupid jokes.
Tony never wasted his time that way, but she couldn't help feeling he was missing out by
not having a close family and a bunch of friends he'd never feel he had to impress. It was a good thing he had her and a time consuming job or surely he'd be terribly lonely. Alice didn't want to be without Tony, but she knew she'd have her friends and family for support if they did split up. Loneliness wasn't one of her concerns.
'Sorry I snapped,' Kate said when she returned from the toilets.
'Me too. Come on, I still have some of Tony's money left. Let's get huge ice creams.'
Kate grinned. 'Excellent idea.'
Tony called her that evening to apologise for being grouchy. 'I was annoyed with myself for not going too, but that's no excuse.'
'You missed a good day.' Alice told him about some of the things they'd seen and done, but refrained from mentioning the fire brigade at all. He'd only have read more into it than had actually happened, even though from her point of view that was almost nothing at all. 'Kate says thanks for the lunch,' she added.
'She's very welcome.'
'Oh, and we got the egg on a plate pictures for you.'
'Seriously?'
'Trust me, there's nothing more serious than an egg on a plate to some people. I can tell you all about albumen viscosity if you're interested.'
'Um, well...'
'Don't worry, I can't really remember the details.'
'Then I'll make do with just the pictures.'
The next day he sent a fabulous bouquet of mixed white flowers tied up with a bright pink bow. The exact same pink as her dress. What was he saying? That she'd looked as good as the flowers when she wore it, or was he reminding her that he hadn't forgotten she'd done so against his wishes? The former she decided; she refused to jump to conclusions and think the worst of those she cared about.
The flowers still looked wonderful a week later, which was only the second time she'd seen Tony since the New Forest Show. On Sunday, they'd gone to an exhibition of more paintings which didn't seem to actually be of anything in particular.
'They express youth, vitality and urgency,' Tony had explained.
'Yes, I can see that,' Alice agreed. Well, to her they looked as though five-year-olds had done them. Five-year-olds in a hurry, so that was sort of the same thing.
'Do you like them?'
'I prefer them to those futility ones we saw,' she said. That was quite true, but then she'd rather have a filling than root canal surgery.
'Do you have a favourite?'
Alice pointed to the nicest coloured one of those which already had red 'sold' stickers on it, secure in the knowledge that someone else valued it and Tony wouldn't be able to buy it as either a gift or an investment. It was the sort of thing he might well do. Chocolates or Premium Bonds respectively would make much more sense to her.
Afterwards they'd gone out for a meal. The food was delicious and presented in such an artistic way that it more than made up for the paintings seeming a bit messy. They were joined by two acquaintances of Tony's. The men were very serious and spoke about the grown-up subjects of corporate insurance and carbon trade exchange in such detail they made up for any childishness, not just in the artwork but in the world ever. Still, Tony seemed interested, so she smiled and nodded, particularly when the waiter suggested another bottle of Chablis.
Since then Tony had been too busy with work to go out socially. He'd phoned several times though. He always called her if he knew she'd gone out. That was because he cared about her and wanted to know she'd got home safely. It was not, as Kate insinuated, because he was checking up on her.
A week later, Alice had a surprise as she finished work. Tony was waiting outside.
'I realised I've been neglecting you lately,' he said as he opened his car door for her.
'I know you've been busy with work,' Alice said, trying hard to sound sympathetically understanding rather than neglected. 'Have you finished the latest project?'
'We have, so I'll be back to normal hours for a while now.'
Alice almost asked, 'Normal for you, or actually normal?' but stopped herself just in time.
'So, where shall we go?'
'My place, Kate's coming to tea.'
'Ah. Lovely.
When Kate arrived she showed him the photos she'd taken at the show. 'There you go, eggs on plates.'
Tony studied the images. 'No doubt about it, those are eggs on plates.'
'Surely you didn't doubt something Alice told you?' Kate asked.
'Of course not. There's no reason for me to is there?'
'Show him the Highland cows,' Alice said. 'The calves are so cute, Tony. Look at that gingery one, he was my favourite.'
Tony looked at the picture of Alice cuddling the animal, her arms lost in its deep fur, and its huge tongue attempting to lick her hair. 'So I see!'
'And there's his mum.'
'You're very close. Are you sure it was safe?'
'Deffo. They're gentle and anyway, they're tied up.'
'OK.'
Alice knew that if he'd gone to the cattle lines at all, he'd have picked his way through the straw on the ground, keeping as far away from the animals as possible.
Tony smiled tolerantly at the images of Alice on a helter-skelter and eating candyfloss. 'You seem to have acted like big kids,' was his opinion.
'That's part of the fun,' Alice said. Maybe it was as well he hadn't come with them, it wasn't really his sort of thing.
'You know what fun is, Tony?' Kate said. 'It's that thing other people have when you're not about.'
'Yes, I know what it is and I'm glad Alice has her charming sister to help her indulge whilst I'm busy.'
Kate showed him a picture of Alice in the fire engine. 'The firemen were happy to help too.' She didn't even try not to smirk.
'Anyone want a drink?' Alice asked brightly. If she acted like they were all getting along, maybe it'd come true.
It didn't work. Kate soon left and Tony continued to sulk. She knew he loved her, but wished he'd show it in a way which didn't involve jealousy or buying her things.
'Have you thought any more about moving in with me?' he asked, proving she should be careful what she wished for.
She had, mostly trying to figure out why she was so reluctant. Tony's flat was plenty big enough for them both and he'd promised to have it redecorated to suit her.
Tony had lots of good points. He was generous. He cared about her safety, insisting on paying for taxis whenever she went anywhere without him. He'd wanted her to take one to work when he realised how far off the road, and therefore the bus route, the premises were. Her parents liked him. They'd suggested she not rush into anything though.
'My contract for this place has another six months to run. Maybe after that?' Alice suggested.
'You'll have to decide before then and let them know if you're not going to renew the lease.'
She was aware of that but determined not to be pushed into a decision she wasn't ready for.
'I'll give you an answer by the new year, OK? Please don't ask again until then.'
'New year! But that's months away.' He must have seen her expression because he raised his hands in surrender. 'All right. If you make up your mind before then just say and I'll book the decorators, but I promise not to ask again before that.'
Alice considered fetching the pink ribbon from her flowers and saying as they both liked the colour so much they should have the walls all done to match, but decided it might be sending the wrong signals. If they started looking at paint colour charts she'd find herself swept along with his plans. That happened all too often as it was.
'By the way,' he said, 'I'm not working late Friday night after all, so I've booked us a table at Luigi's.'
Alice took a deep breath. Luigi's served the absolute best Florentine pizza, lushest creamiest tiramisu and the bubbliest prosecco in the prettiest crystal glasses... 'Sorry, I can't.'
'I thought it was your favourite restaurant.'
'It is and I'd love to go another time, but I've promised to go to Mum and Dad's. Dad is putting up a new s
hed and Kate and I are supervising.'
'In the dark?'
'Dad'll put the security light on. It's really bright.'
'Oh. OK. You'll still have to eat. We can go afterwards.'
'Afterwards we'll be getting fish and chips from the van which comes round. You know we always do that after one of Dad's projects.'
'Oh.' He should do, they'd had fish and chips waiting for him when he got out the shower the time he'd helped repair the fence. How he'd ended up in the pond on that occasion and therefore needed a shower was a mystery. Even Kate, who'd been very nearby, said she didn't have a clue. He'd not been available during any of her dad's projects since, but she'd told him about them.
'You can come with me if you like. I'm sure it'd help to have someone tall on top of the ladder.' That wasn't fair and she knew it. DIY was most definitely not his kind of thing, especially when it happened out of doors.
'Right, OK.'
'Tony, you don't have to. Kate's rounded up a few of the chaps she works with, so I'm sure they'll be enough people to get it done.'
'No really, I'd like to help and I haven't seen your parents lately.'
Tony borrowed a pair of old jeans from Alice's dad, so as not to get his chinos dirty. He wore gloves to avoid splinters, protective goggles to stop roofing tacks injuring his eyes, and kept a good distance from Kate for no specified reason. Although he looked a bit daft, he did a good job of reading the instructions so tasks weren't attempted until all the right parts and equipment were to hand and were done in the correct order so no time was wasted.
He didn't actually manhandle any pieces of the shed, but he did pick up a claw hammer at one point. That's because one of Kate's friends asked him to pass it up.
'Sure. Er, a claw hammer...?'
'In the bucket by your feet. The thing with the orange handle.'
Tony also double-checked the measurements before Alice's dad cut the roofing felt. Both figures matched, but he didn't take offence.
'It's good to be sure about things,' he said. 'Better than rushing in without thinking things through.'
'That seems to be a family trait,' Tony said. Then after an awkward pause added, 'And an admirable one too.'
Firestarter Page 2
