It was on the tip of my tongue to spill my guilty secret to Muriel, and get her sage opinion, when the shop door burst open, violently clanging the old fashioned bell above it. Both Muriel and I look up as the door swings back, and hits the display stand behind it. It then teeters and topples precariously, before hitting the floor, spreading the contents in all directions, gloves, scarves and purses everywhere.
And there she stands, looking like misery itself, hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing a pair of torn jeans and a baggy jumper with food stains dripped down the front. Muriel and I both look at each other uncertain what to do.
‘Chrissie?’ I say, I’ve never seen her look so unkempt and out of control.
‘You really need to move that stand,’ she says, and then her face crumples up as she bursts into tears.
Muriel and I spring into action. We grab hold of her, arms around her shoulders, moving her into the shop. She is inconsolable, snot and tears everywhere. We sit her down and hand her wads of tissues. Muriel goes off to make tea with a slug of medicinal brandy, and I try to get some sense out of her between sobbing fits. ‘What on earth is wrong, Chrissie, I’ve never seen you like this?’
Chrissie wipes at her eyes with the backs of her hands, and stuffs the tissues into her nostrils to stop the flow of snot coming from her nose. ‘The weekend was a total disaster, it’s all gone wrong,’ she blurts out, in between sobs.
‘Why what happened?’ I pass her another tissue as Muriel comes back with the tea.
She blows her nose noisily on the new tissue. ‘He spent the evening watching football.’
Muriel and I exchange confused glances over the top of Chrissie’s head. ‘Well, that’s not the end of the world is it?’
‘I’d planned a whole seduction thing, sexy lingerie and body oil, and he wasn’t even slightly interested. It’s like he’s gone off me completely,’ she sniffs.
‘Maybe he was tired,’ I say helpfully.
‘Or stressed,’ adds Muriel.
‘He’d eaten loads at dinner, and when I tried to get him interested he just pushed me off and said he was too full to move.’ She looks around for more tissues and finding none she uses her sleeve instead.
Muriel thinks for a moment. ‘Perhaps you should have let him rest it off before you...well you know.’
‘It was four hours later, Muriel. He had sat through a whole football match with all the boring talking stuff at the beginning and the end.’
‘Oh.’ I didn’t really know what to say.
‘He’s never done that before, I mean yes he likes his footie but he’s never turned down sex for it.’ She looks at me helplessly.
‘Did you wait until the footie had finished?’ Muriel asks, hopefully.
‘Yes, I waited and waited and then waited some more. I was wearing the sexiest little red lacy bra and the smallest g-string you ever saw. I made my move on him and he just pushed me off.’ She cries again, using the soggy ball of tissues to wipe at her eyes. ‘I got so frustrated in the end I lost my temper with him and we had a huge row. And now he says he doesn’t think he wants to get married ever. He says we’re okay as we are. How can we be okay when he would rather watch football than let me seduce him?’
Muriel raises her eyebrows at me over Chrissie’s head. ‘Perhaps he’s just not ready to get married, Chrissie?’
‘But I am ready. What’s the point in us being together if we don’t get married?’
I hand the tea to Chrissie and she takes a big noisy slurp from the mug. ‘But does it matter if you love him and you live together anyway?’
‘Of course it matters, I want him to commit himself to me. It’s what you do when you love someone.’ She pushes the tea back into my hand and looks around her. ‘Are there no bloody tissues in this place?’
‘I’m not sure anyone cares about that these days, Chrissie. He probably feels he’s already committed to you.’ Muriel reaches into the tissue box but finds it empty, I nod towards my handbag behind the counter, and hold Chrissie’s hand to re-assure her.
‘But he does love you, everyone can see that. You’ve got a whole life together already what with the flat and a joint bank account, you’re as good as married now.’ I gingerly take the soggy tissue from her and throw it in the bin.
‘So why can’t he just marry me then?’ She has run out of places to wipe her nose having already used her sleeves and the backs of her hands. ‘I feel like I’m wasting my time and it’s all pointless.’
I look over to Muriel for the tissues, she is still delving around in my handbag trying to find them. ‘I think you need to sit down together and talk it through when you’re both calm. Tell him how you feel.’
Chrissie sighs in between sobs and takes another gulp of tea. I look up at Muriel and my eyes nearly pop out of my head as she has the ring box open in her hands, her face lit up like a Christmas tree. She is just about to speak when I shake my head at her. She quietly closes the ring box and slips it back into my handbag, then pulls out the tissues and passes them to Chrissie, who dissolves into another fit of tears. I wrap my arms around her and hug her tightly, stroking her hair. ‘Don’t worry, it can all be sorted out, you’ll see.’
While Muriel deals with the upended display stand, I drive Chrissie home. She has calmed down considerably, so I run her a bath and leave her soaking under a mountain of bubbles. When I get back to the shop, Sandip is reversing out of a space so I drive straight into it and give him a wave as he disappears out onto the main road.
The shop is back to normal inside, no sign of the emotional breakdown from earlier. Muriel has moved the stand from the back of the door to the other side of the shop. She is busy serving a customer at the front of the shop, so I make myself busy with the kettle. She joins me just as I am putting the milk back in the fridge.
Referring to the customer she has just served, I say. ‘She had a few bags, what did she buy?’
‘Never mind that, why is Chrissie breaking her heart because her boyfriend won’t marry her, and yet you have an enormous square cut diamond engagement ring in your bag you have conveniently forgotten to mention?’ She stands with her hands on her considerable hips.
‘Oh that,’ I say, waving my hand dismissively. ‘It’s nothing.’
‘Don’t give me that,’ she says, standing in front of me, blocking my exit. ‘Confession time, Lola.’
My shoulders slump as I deflate. ‘James proposed on Saturday night.’
Her eyes are as big as saucers and she clutches at her throat. ‘Oh my goodness. What did you say?’
‘I told him I wanted to think about it,’ I say, blowing on the surface of my tea and watching the ripples.
‘Well that is one enormous diamond, he must be serious.’
‘Is it?’ I say, clearly puzzled, and put the tea down and dive into my bag to check it out.
‘What, you haven’t looked at it?’ she says.
‘No, it sort of freaked me out.’ I pull the box out of my bag and gently prise open the lid. ‘Oh my God.’ My mouth falls open.
‘That is a whopper.’ Muriel peers over my shoulder.
I slump down onto the chair, the ring box still in my hand. A feeling of desperation washes over me. ‘What am I going to do, Muriel?’
‘I can’t decide that one for you, petal. He’s a good looking guy to be sure, but is it what you want?’
‘I don’t know. Surely if I wanted it I’d be certain, but I’m just filled with doubts. We’ve only been back together for five minutes. He said he loved me but I don’t know how I feel. We’ve been apart for twelve months and I haven’t just fallen straight back in love with him. It’s all a bit rushed, but he looked so pleased with himself when he proposed, I just didn’t want to hurt his feelings.’
‘You can’t marry him just to spare his feelings. You need to talk about it, tell him you’re not ready because you’re clearly not.’ She squeezes my hand for moral support.
I sigh to myself. I don’t relish having that conver
sation with James. He is a nightmare once he has decided he wants something, and will keep going relentlessly until he gets it. The rest of the weekend away he had been full of plans for our future together, after we had got married, and talking about moving into the house with me. All of which I’m not ready to do. I am enjoying life as it is at the moment - things are starting to fall into place, so I don’t want to do anything that will change that. Not yet anyway. I snap the ring box shut again.
‘I’ll talk to him.’ James had gone back to London after we had got back on Sunday, I didn’t want to have that conversation over the phone, so I resolve to talk to him later in the week when he returns. I bite my lip at the thought of turning James down. It might turn out to be a very short reconciliation after all.
By the time I get home that evening I feel physically and mentally exhausted. I let myself in through the front door and kick off my shoes, resting my feet on the cool tiles feeling the chill seeping into me, it feels so good I don’t want to move. I glance up at the wall and notice one of the holes in the wall now has a light switch in it and I smile to myself.
The house is empty, so I go into the kitchen and dump my bags on the table. I go straight over to the fridge and pull out a bottle of Pinot I have been saving, and pour myself a generous glassful. I have consumed half a glass in one go and can feel the liquid cursing through my body relaxing me, and I sigh, pleased to be back in my sanctuary away from the madness of the day.
The sound of a roaring engine coming up the drive perks up my ears and snaps me back to reality. Thinking it is Robert returning home, I get out another glass ready for him. After a few minutes when he hasn’t come in through the front door, I go down the hallway to investigate.
I open the front door expectantly and my shoulders slump back down as I am greeted by Alex, my brother, standing next to a brand new red Porsche, camera in hand, busily taking photographs of the house.
I stop in my tracks. ‘Alex, what are you doing here?’
At over six foot tall, he stands with the ever present surety of one who is only ever going to do well for himself in life. Wearing a Paul Smith suit, his floppy blonde hair pushed back on his head and his chiselled looks, he would give Rupert Penry-Jones a run for his money any day of the week. No formal greeting can be expected from my brother.
‘Just getting some shots of the house while the sun is going down, it’ll look fantastic in this light.’ He says, snapping away.
‘You mean my house?’ I push the camera down in his hands to stop him taking any more photos, and motion towards the gleaming Porsche. ‘Mom mentioned you were having a hard time.’
Completely missing my sarcasm, he answers. ‘Yeah, I couldn’t get the top of the range, had to downsize temporarily, you know until things pick up again.’ He looks up at the house again. ‘So, it’s looking good, Sis, you’ve done a lot of work since I was here last. There shouldn’t be any problem selling this baby.’
I shake my head in despair. ‘Is this why you’re here?’
‘Of course not, I was just passing the area and I thought I would drop in for a cup of tea with my favourite sister.’
‘You mean your only sister.’ I march off into the house and Alex follows me and starts taking photos of the hallway. I am now losing my temper with him. ‘Please stop taking photos, Alex.’
He puts the camera back into his pocket and gives me his little boy smile. I immediately feel like I did when we were children and bigger boys were picking on him at school, being mean to him. ‘I’m sorry, Alex, I’ve had a really hard day. Come on and I’ll pour you a glass of wine.’
‘I’ll stick to tea if you don’t mind, Sis, I have to drive to Manchester tonight.’ He comes into the kitchen and sits himself down by the table while I put the kettle on.
I busy myself with the tea making while Alex taps away at his phone smiling to himself. Then he stands up and motions towards the hallway. ‘Do you mind if I pop to the bathroom?’
‘You know where it is, I haven’t moved it yet,’ I say, as the kettle snaps off.
Five minutes later, I have put his tea on the table where he had been sitting. I am still nursing my glass of wine wondering what is taking him so long. I get up and go into the hallway where the door to Robert’s sitting room is wide open and Alex is standing in the middle of the room, snapping away on his camera. My eyes widen in horror. ‘No, you can’t go in there.’
He stands looking around the room and nodding his head with approval. ‘Nice.’
He fires off a few more photos before I grab the camera from his hands and tug at his arm. ‘You have to leave, Alex, these rooms are private.’
‘Oh yeah, mum said you had a guy shacked up here.’ A snarky smile spreads across his face and he turns towards me. ‘You gave him a short lease, right?’
I turn on him now, anger flooding through my veins. ‘Look, Alex, if you have come over here just to wind me up then I think it’s best if you just turn around and leave.’
‘You need to calm down a bit, Lola, no one is forcing you into anything. Just open your mind to the potential - you’re sitting on a goldmine.’ He looks around him and nods with approval. ‘We could get four flats, no five if we convert the attic. We call them luxury apartments and they’ll be worth a fortune especially once we’ve done some landscaping in the gardens. Hey, you could even keep one of the apartments for yourself, so it’s a win, win situation.’
I shake my head in exasperation. I am getting sick and tired of hearing the same old thing from both Mum and Alex. I briefly wonder whether I could take an injunction out on the pair of them and quickly dismiss it.
‘Alex, you are really pushing me, you know how I feel about this. Just drop it will you.’
‘Don’t be like that, Sis, I just want to help you out and take some of this stress away.’ He places a reassuring hand on my shoulder and then immediately snaps himself to attention. ‘I have to leave anyway, I would have liked to stay over but maybe next time.’
He smiles his winning smile, pecks me on the cheek and spins on his heel striding off out the front door. I follow him out and he pauses just before he gets back into his car. ‘Just think about what I have said, Sis, you know it makes sense to release some of the equity you’ve got here.’
I almost push him into his car, biting down so hard on my lip I can taste blood. I watch him speed off down the driveway spitting gravel, sunglasses on, cocksure expression on his face and I wonder whether we actually do come from the same gene pool.
Chapter Thirteen
It’s really busy in the shop for a Thursday and I have been on my own all morning. Muriel is due to arrive within the next half an hour, so as the shop has now emptied I tidy up some of the rails before going to make a welcome cup of tea. I’d had a text from James earlier saying he would be back this evening, I text him straight back and arrange for him to come over to mine for dinner, though God only knew what I was going to cook.
I have also received a call from Katherine to let me know my first delivery would be with me by Monday morning, a thrill of excitement shoots through me at the thought of seeing the actual garments and getting them displayed in the shop. Muriel and I have been busy planning the launch event to get the message out about the new line, and hopefully bring in more business. She had also agreed to increase her hours as long as we get additional permanent Saturday staff in place, so I was considering this as the back door opened and Muriel popped her head in.
‘Good news, you’ll be pleased to know the website is ready to launch. My nephew will be calling in tomorrow to show us how it all works, so you’ll need to bring your laptop,’ she says, dropping her bag onto the desk and hanging her coat on the back of the door.
‘Damn, I knew there was something I had to do. I was going to buy a new laptop, just for the shop.’ I pour the boiling water onto the tea bags and give each one a little squeeze with the back of the spoon.
‘No matter, you can pop out this afternoon, can’t you?’ she says, pu
lling a packet of dark chocolate digestives from her handbag, at which my face lights up.
‘Yes, I have to call in at home anyway,’ I say, dumping the tea bags in the bin and stirring milk into both mugs, a little in mine and a lot in Muriel’s. ‘You wouldn’t believe how busy I have been so far today, I bet we’ve doubled the takings.’
‘That’s good news, and it will be even better once we get the new stock in and do the re-launch.’ She blows the surface of her tea to cool it down.
‘Speaking of which, I had a call from Katherine earlier and she’s bringing our first delivery on Monday.’ My face is beaming so hard I think it may crack.
‘That is exciting. We could put some of the new stock on the website, when we work out how to use it of course,’ she says, raising her eyebrows.
‘I know, I’m not very techy so I hope your nephew has lots of patience,’ I say, frowning to myself. ‘I was thinking we should invite some journalists from the local papers and ply them with wine and food, and then hopefully they will give us a good write up. What do you think?’
‘I think that’s an excellent idea, how about a week on Thursday?’
‘It would be a bit of a tight schedule, but if we pull our fingers out on Monday we could do it I’m sure.’ I sigh to myself. ‘I just wish I hadn’t got that damned hen weekend to go to tomorrow, I could do with concentrating on the shop.’
‘You could do with letting your hair down for a change too. The shop will still be here when you get back. Just go and enjoy yourself and we can get stuck in with the re-launch next week.’ She offers the packet of digestives to me.
‘Yes, I know you’re right.’ I dunk a biscuit into my tea quickly, not wanting it to break off and sink to the bottom. ‘I’ve just had so much going on - I’ve been all over the place. And what with James and his rather impromptu proposal I just haven’t been able to settle all week.’
Lola's House (Lola Series) Page 10
