Red Letter Day

by Colette Caddle

  'No! It's . . . someone else.'

  'Celine! Who? For God's sake, tell me!'

  'It's Richard.'

  'Richard Lawrence? You've been dating the most eligible bachelor in the country?'

  'Don't call him that,' Celine complained. 'He's actually a very ordinary kind of guy.'

  'I'll have to take your word for that. So is it serious?'

  'Oh, come on, Marina, we've only gone out a few times! What about you? Has Dominic popped the question yet?'

  Marina gave her a small, satisfied smile. 'Shouldn't be long now.'

  'You only met a few weeks ago!'

  'Let's face it, Celine, when you know, you know.'

  'I thought you were holding out for a rich man. Dominic is almost on the breadline!'

  Marina made a face. 'That's a slight exaggeration but it's true, he's not exactly what I was looking for.' She sighed happily. 'But when you're in love, who cares about money?'

  Celine put a hand to her friend's forehead. 'Are you feeling okay?'

  Marina laughed. 'Never better.'

  'I'm so happy for you,' Celine said, genuinely delighted. 'You couldn't find a better man than Dominic.'

  'What about Richard?' Marina asked with a sly look.

  Celine laughed. 'Yeah, you're right. He's perfect too!'

  'I want to meet this man for myself. We shall set up a foursome.'

  'We'll see.'

  'Don't give me that! What could be more natural? He and Dominic are friends. You and I are friends. We must go to dinner. I'll tell Dominic to arrange it.'

  Celine bit her lip as she saw the determined look on Marina's face. 'Promise me you won't grill him about his intentions?'

  'But of course not, darling, I'll be on my best behaviour. Tell me something. Does Dominic know all about you and Fergus?'

  Colin nodded. 'But don't be cross with him, Marina, it was a very delicate situation.'

  'I'm not cross, darling. I'm impressed. How wonderfully discreet of him. Is there no end to his good points?'

  A week later Celine arrived at the church hall just as the cast of 'My Fair Lady' finished a rousing rendition of 'With A Little Bit of Luck'. She applauded delightedly as she pulled up a seat next to Cathy. 'Gosh, they're really good, aren't they?'

  'Not good enough,' the producer replied out of the side of her mouth, 'but they will be.'

  'So what do you want me to do?' Celine asked.

  'The costumes for the ballroom scene have arrived, so maybe you could work with the ladies on those?'

  'Sure.'

  Cathy clapped her hands. 'Okay, everybody, this is Celine Moore and she's very kindly offered to look after the wardrobe for us.'

  There was a polite round of applause and Celine smiled. She was amazed at the number of faces she recognised.

  'So,' Cathy continued, 'any of the ladies not involved in the Ascot scene, please go into the next room with Celine and she will organise your ballgowns.'

  The women chattered excitedly as they moved down to the door at the other end of the room.

  Dominic appeared at her side. 'Hi, Celine, all set for Saturday night?'

  'Yeah, looking forward to it. I just hope Marina doesn't give Richard the third degree!'

  'She'll behave herself, I'll make sure of it,' he promised.

  Celine shot him an amazed look. She didn't think any man was capable of keeping Marina in check, least of all a softly spoken gentleman like Dominic. 'See you later,' she said and went to join the ladies of the cast. When she saw the rails of clothes she almost groaned aloud. She should have spent some time going through the stuff before dragging everybody in here. She clapped her hands together and smiled nervously. 'Hi, everybody, why don't you all have a rummage and see if you can find something to suit you?' She went to the nearest rack and flicked through some of the dresses. 'Yes, the sizes are all clearly marked so it should be straightforward enough. When you've found something you like, try it on and come to me if it needs some adjusting.'

  She watched as the women started to rummage through the racks. With a couple of exceptions, they were all middle-aged and Celine thought that most of the adjustments would be to the rather revealing bodices.

  'Hello, dear, how nice to see you.'

  She turned around to see Mary Boyle bearing down on her. 'Oh, hello, Mrs Boyle, I didn't know you were a member.'

  'Thirteen years.' Mary stuck her chest out and cast a scathing eye over the other women. 'I planned to retire this year but Cathy begged me to stay on. There aren't many strong sopranos,' she confided.

  'Oh, I see.' Celine nodded gravely.

  'You still haven't come for tea.'

  'Yes, sorry about that,' Celine murmured. 'But now that I'm running the shop alone, it's been quite hectic. And then I normally spend Sundays with my dad.'

  Mary was slightly mollified. 'Well, family is important.'

  'Isn't it?' Celine grabbed a flamboyant pink creation off the rail and shoved it into the woman's hand. 'Why don't you try that on, Mrs Boyle? I think that colour would be very good on you.'

  Mary preened. 'Really?'

  'With your wonderful skin I'm sure of it,' Celine said, backing away. 'Excuse me a moment, I think I'm needed.' She hurried across the room to where a large, red-haired woman was trying to squeeze into an orange dress with layers of netting. Celine ran her eye along the nearest rail and seized a more regal gown in royal blue. 'I think this would suit you much better,' she suggested with a tentative smile.

  And so the evening continued, with Celine feeling more like a peace commissioner for the UN than a costume mistress.

  'You survived then,' Dominic remarked as he walked her back to the flat.

  Celine grinned. 'Only just. No, I had fun. You make a wonderful Henry Higgins, by the way.'

  Dominic looked surprised and pleased. 'I didn't think you'd seen any of the rehearsals.'

  'I just caught a few minutes of you singing "I've grown accustomed to her face". It was lovely.'

  'I think you're being kind.' They stopped outside her flat.

  'Would you like a coffee?' Celine asked.

  Dominic sighed. 'I'd love one but I promised myself I'd go over the books this evening. Not my favourite occupation.' He handed her the clothes he had been carrying for her. 'Mind you, looking at that little lot, it looks like you're going to be busy too.'

  Celine laughed. 'It's just some minor alterations, it won't take long.' As she turned to open the door, a car pulled up alongside them and Kevin got out.

  'Hello, Celine.'

  'Kevin!' She quickly turned back to Dominic. 'See you tomorrow.'

  Dominic hesitated for a moment and then nodded. 'Right, bye.'

  'Pleased to see me?' Kevin asked when they were alone.

  'I am, actually. We need to talk. Let's go upstairs.'

  Chapter 27

  The following morning, Celine was in the shop bright and early and singing along to the radio as she dusted the shelves and hoovered.

  'Someone sounds happy.'

  She turned to see Richard standing in the doorway and switched off the Hoover with her foot. 'Hello, there.'

  After a long kiss Richard drew back to look at her. 'You're gorgeous.'

  Celine laughed. 'Rubbish.' She'd pulled on jogging pants and a T-shirt and her hair was pinned on top of her head and she just knew her face would be shiny from all the exertion. 'Come back in an hour and I'll be scrubbed up.'

  'You're gorgeous,' Richard repeated and ran a finger down her cheek and across her lips.

  Celine pushed him away. 'Don't start, mate, I've got a shop to run.'

  'I'm going. I just wanted to check what time I should pick you up tomorrow night.'

  'Marina's booked a table in the Thai restaurant for eight-thirty but we're meeting for drinks first in the Shelbourne.'

  'Fine, I'll pick you up around seven.'

  Celine put the Hoover away, let herself out of the shop and went back up to her flat. As she undressed, her thoughts returned to
the reason for her good mood and she smiled. Finally she'd got through to Kevin that they were finished and they'd parted last night on reasonably good terms. She just hoped that Dominic wouldn't mention his visit — it was unlikely that Richard would understand. He was a laid-back man but Celine suspected he was the jealous type.

  After a quick shower, Celine dried her hair, applied some eye makeup and lipstick and then lowered a simple cream linen dress over her head. After zipping it up, slipping on her shoes and running a comb through her hair, she was ready. As she lowered the comb she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She hardly recognised the confident, happy woman staring back at her. She wasn't sure if it was because Richard was in her life, Kevin was out of it or the fact that she was doing a job she enjoyed, but whatever it was, she looked happy. Taking her bag and her keys, she ran downstairs and let herself back into the shop. After she'd put on the kettle, she switched on the lights, flicked the open sign and opened the door to allow a soft breeze into the shop.

  Before she got a chance to make any coffee though, her first customer had arrived. After that, there was a constant stream of women and it was almost twelve before Celine got to make a cuppa. Realising that it would probably be her only chance to eat, she hurriedly made herself a sandwich. Fridays were always busy and though she'd be exhausted by five-thirty, Celine preferred it like this. She groaned as she heard the bell and looking longingly at her sandwich and cooling coffee she went back out front where Mary Boyle was poking in the bargain bin. In all the time she'd been here, Celine had never seen Mary buy as much as a scarf. If she was here it would be purely to gossip. She forced a smile to her lips. 'Good morning, Mrs Boyle. Beautiful morning, isn't it?'

  'There's still a chill in the air.' Mary cast a critical eye over Celine's light dress. 'My mother always said, "Never cast a clout till May is out".'

  'Really?' Celine nodded and nipped back outside to take a quick sip of her coffee. When she returned, Mary had moved on to the hats.

  'This doesn't look very clean,' she remarked, holding up a cream beret.

  'It's the light.'

  Mary threw it back on the shelf and moved on to root through a rail of cardigans. Celine was about to go back to her coffee when the door opened again. 'Good morning, may I help — oh!'

  Eileen Gilligan stood in the doorway glaring at her. 'Help me? Well, I don't know, you tell me, Celine. I told you once before what I wanted.'

  Celine glanced over at Mary who was standing still, her ears pricked. 'Why don't you come through—'

  'I told you to leave my husband alone,' Eileen said, not moving an inch. 'But it seems you didn't listen.'

  Celine took a deep breath and then crossed the room to Mary, took her by the arm and escorted her to the door. 'I'm afraid I must ask you to leave, Mrs Boyle.'

  'But you can't do that,' Mary spluttered.

  'I'm sorry.' Celine shut the door on the indignant woman and flicked the sign to closed.

  'What was Kevin doing here last night?' Eileen demanded. 'And don't try to deny it, because I followed him.'

  'Okay, Eileen, I'll be honest with you. I told Kevin it was finished, he had other ideas, but now he's got the message. I'm in another relationship and I've no intention of seeing your husband again.'

  Eileen slumped against the counter. 'Do you mean it? Really? Because I'm not sure I can stand much more of this.'

  Celine looked at her in amazement. 'I didn't think it bothered you. Kevin told me . . . well . . . I wasn't the first.'

  Eileen flinched. 'No, you weren't, but he's never stayed with anyone as long as you.' Her eyes searched Celine's face. 'I was afraid he'd fallen in love.'

  Celine reached out a hand to her. 'No! No, I promise you it's over. I'm so sorry, he told me you didn't really care what he did.'

  'I was afraid I'd lose him,' Eileen said, tears running unchecked down her face. 'So I ignored what was going on.'

  'I'm the last person to give you advice,' Celine murmured, 'but maybe that wasn't such a great strategy.'

  'Apparently not.' Eileen pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at her face.

  'Right now, he's not seeing anyone and I promise, hand on heart, I have finished with him for good. I am really sorry for all the hurt I've caused you.'

  Eileen gave a brief nod and went to the door. 'Thank you for your honesty,' she said and was gone.

  Celine closed her eyes. 'Oh, Kevin, how did you get it so wrong?' After taking a few deep breaths, she turned the sign around again and opened the door. She peered out to see if Mary Boyle was still hanging about but thankfully she was nowhere in sight. Celine could imagine the gossip at next week's dress rehearsal.

  'Shit, Dominic!' She sank back against the counter and dropped her head in her hands. He was bound to hear about this and then he'd remember meeting Kevin last night. Lord, even if she'd introduced them it wouldn't have looked so suspicious. He was bound to put two and two together and come up with five. And what would he do then, tell Richard? Damn it, she'd have to tell him first except she wasn't going to see him until tomorrow night. Still, it was unlikely that Mary would have got to Dominic before then. She went out back, threw her cold coffee down the drain and dropped her sandwich into the bin. Suddenly she didn't feel hungry any more. She sighed as the bell went again. Going back into the shop, she prayed that it wouldn't be Mary.

  Her face cleared and she smiled in relief when the customer turned out to be her father. 'Hi, Daddy.' She reached up to give him a hug and a kiss.

  He touched his cheek. 'What was that for?'

  'Oh, it's just nice to see a friendly face.'

  'One of those days, eh?'

  'Yep. But never mind that, tell me all your news.'

  'No news. Can't stay long, I'm on my way to leave the car in for a service. I just wanted to ask you to lunch on Sunday.'

  Celine raised an eyebrow. 'You're cooking?'

  Frank chuckled. 'God no, I don't want to kill you. I thought we could go out.'

  Celine thought of the conversation she'd planned to have with Richard. 'I don't know, Daddy—'

  'Oh, please, love, Brenda's coming too. It will be the first time she's been out since all of this happened.'

  'Okay, Daddy, as long as we don't go to the golf club.'

  'That's a promise,' Frank said, already halfway out the door. 'Come over about one. Bye.'

  'Bye.' Celine stood waving in the doorway as he drove away. It looked like her chat with Richard would have to wait. As she turned to go back inside, one of Rose's regular customers arrived and Celine put her personal problems to the back of her mind.

  The rest of the day was uneventful and after Celine had lodged the takings in the bank she walked back to her flat, weary and glad that she was having a quiet night in. She wanted to go through the accounts and check the week's takings but she could at least do it outside and enjoy the last of the sunshine. Pouring a glass of wine she took it and her file down to the yard. She sank back in a chair and closed her eyes, enjoying the warm sun on her face. Just five minutes and then she'd start work. It was another thirty minutes before a dog barking woke her. 'Oh, damn.' She stretched, took a sip of wine and opened the file. As she worked through the sales for the last week she started to smile. After checking it three times she threw the file on the table and sat back with a triumphant 'Yes!' The sales figures were the best since she'd come to Close Second and that included the period when Rose was still there. She was glad she was going to Arklow on Monday. It would be nice to be the bearer of good news.

  She was looking forward to seeing her boss especially as business was so good. Celine could never imagine herself returning to the world of design but she could still do something in fashion. She'd have to put some thought into that. In a month or so, Rose would return part-time. Celine didn't relish the thought of leaving the shop and leaving her flat. But, she thought, a smile playing around her lips, she'd a feeling she'd be staying in Hopefield. Richard had hinted a couple of times that he'd like her to move in.
Perhaps it was time that she became part of a couple again.

  Chapter 28

  Kay rummaged among the bottles and tubes on the bathroom shelf in search of anti-inflammatory cream. 'Bloody hell, what does she use all of this stuff for?' she muttered. Josh appeared at her side.

  'What are you doing, Granny?'

  'Looking for something.'

  'What?'

  'Never you mind. Have you brushed your teeth?'

  'I don't like brushing my teeth.'

  'Well, you have to, or they'll all fall out.'

  'Mum, you'll scare him.' Marina stood in the doorway bristling with disapproval. 'What are you looking for?'

  'The cream for my shoulder.'

  Marina scanned the shelf and then looked in the cabinet on the wall. 'It's not in here. It must be in your bedroom.'

  'It is not in my bedroom,' Kay snapped.

  'I don't like your cream, Granny, it smells yuck.'

  'Joshie!' Marina shot her son a warning glance.

  'Well, it does,' he insisted. 'It made my Action Man smell yuck too.'

  Kay froze. 'Did you take my cream, Josh?'

  Josh twisted his toes into the bathroom mat and said nothing.

  'Josh, answer Granny,' Marina told him and left to search his bedroom.

  'My Action Man had a sore leg,' Josh muttered. 'He fell.'

  Kay pushed past him and went after her daughter. Marina was sitting on the bed, holding a white Action Man in one hand and a scrunched-up tube in the other. 'Sorry, Mum. I'll go to the chemist and get some more.'

  Kay took a deep breath before replying. 'Throw open the windows, the place stinks.'

  'Sure, Mum.'

  'And do me a favour? When you go to the shops, take your son with you.'

  Marina went into the bathroom. 'Josh, go to the loo, brush your teeth and then come into my bedroom. We're going out.'

  'Oh, goody, where are we going?'

  'It's a surprise,' Marina told him, knowing that it would be counterproductive to tell him the truth. And from the look on her mother's face, the sooner she got him out of the house the better. They had been getting on much better than Marina could have hoped but there had been a couple of small hiccups, usually relating to Josh. Her mother took rather too hands-on an approach for Marina's liking but that was only natural, she told herself. She must be patient with her mother after all, it was her house.