by Claire Frost
Millie grimaced but bit the bullet. ‘Yes, he is. Though we’re not together now, obviously. He lives in Birmingham and I haven’t actually asked him if he’ll be the guest of honour at the fair, so I’m not sure what he’ll say.’
‘Maybe Zoe can come with him,’ Ian said, but Bell cut in quickly, ‘Well, let’s see. First, we need to get Louis to agree. We were thinking he could play in a five-a-side tournament and get all the kids and their dads – or their mums obviously – to put teams together ahead of the fair, then everyone would get a chance to play against him.’
‘That sounds brilliant, I’d definitely be up for that,’ Marcus said immediately. ‘Imagine playing on the same team as Louis Price.’ Lynne rolled her eyes, but added her support for the idea.
‘How are we going to advertise the fair, do you think?’ Bell asked.
‘On social media, obviously,’ said Millie, Lisa, Ian, Matt, Lynne and Marcus at the same time, and they all laughed.
‘But we also need to make posters and leaflets as we want everyone to come,’ Ben said. ‘I know most of us here are on Twitter, Insta or Snapchat, but we need to make sure we get the message out to the older generations, too.’
‘True,’ Lisa nodded. ‘Though loads of people’s parents and grandparents are on Facebook, aren’t they? The day my mum friend-requested me was the day I deleted my account!’
‘Oh god, yes,’ Matt agreed.
‘We can ask the college to let us print off some posters and things, make them look all professional. And of course we’ll put some up round college too. This is going to look great on our UCAS forms!’ She grinned at the boys on either side of her.
Di and Sarah, meanwhile, were whispering to each other furiously until they noticed everyone was looking at them. ‘Sorry, we were just saying that maybe we could end the day with a big “We Are The Champions” type pool party, with loads of inflatables and balloons and things.’
‘Ohmygod, yes!’ cried Lisa. ‘We could have flamingos and unicorns and those slices of pizza!’
That set the whole group off discussing which lilo they’d prefer, until Bell checked her watch and shouted above the din, ‘Okay, I think we’ve established Di and Sarah’s idea for a pool party is a good one and that everyone likes inflatable unicorns. So why don’t I type up all our ideas for the day, get a date sorted with Sheila and Sue and then email everything round to people and give everyone a couple of stalls to start working on? Does that sound like a plan? Oh, and Millie is going to talk to Louis and see if he’s up for it.’
‘He strikes me as a man who’s always up for it!’ cackled Laura, and even Millie had to smile, though Ben nudged the Scot and frowned at her and looked meaningfully at Wolf, who had taken off his headphones and was starting to look bored.
‘Why is everyone laughing, Mummy?’ he asked, sliding across the floor on his knees to kneel down next to her. ‘Have people been doing swears again?’
‘No, it’s just grown-up stuff,’ she replied. ‘Come on, let’s get you home, Wolfie.’
‘I’ll sort the Lego and stuff if you want to get off,’ Bell said immediately, and Millie thanked her gratefully. She suddenly felt exhausted, and worried not only about Wolf, but also that now she’d suggested Louis’ involvement, the whole action committee was relying on her to persuade him to say yes. What if he flat-out refused and the centre had to close because of her? As she gathered up their things and everyone said goodbye to each other, she noticed Ben hanging back to help Bell tidy up and put the chairs back in place and smiled to herself.
*
Later on, when Wolf was finally in bed and Millie was able to crash out on the sofa in front of the new BBC drama everyone was talking about, she found she couldn’t care less whether the policeman had a drinking problem and was seeing the prostitutes he was supposed to be protecting, and instead let her mind wander to the conversation she knew she was going to have to have with Louis the following day. She would start with asking him to come to the fair, as she knew it would appeal to his ego, and then she would broach the subject of Wolfie being bullied. She sighed.
She’d had her suspicions, as, contrary to her Insta posts, she knew Wolf wasn’t perfect, but she also knew he wasn’t the kind of child to start a fight or be mean to another kid for no reason. Had she been so caught up in posting pics to her feed about how happy and angelic he was that she’d missed what was really going on beneath the gloss and the filters? Perhaps she was just a bad mum all round.
Chapter Twenty-one
Bell
Bell was in the office early again, but instead of sorting all the million and one things she should be doing, she was hastily typing up her notes from the committee meeting that she still hadn’t finished and firing off emails about the proposed summer fair to everyone involved, mentally crossing her fingers Millie would come up trumps and produce Louis as the guest of honour for the day – the whole success of the event depended on it.
Every so often she’d look up from her computer guiltily, as the rest of the Style It Out staff started wandering through the door, raising their hands in greeting and casting her sympathetic grimaces as she hammered away industriously at her keyboard.
Suze still hadn’t come in by nine o’clock, and Bell kept glancing at the seat next to her, hoping her friend had magically appeared. It really wasn’t like her to be late for work, and Bell opened her WhatsApp to thumb out a quick message asking if she was okay. As she clicked on Suze’s name, she suddenly realised that after the apologetic line she’d sent the previous week that Suze hadn’t replied to, she’d not thought to ask again how things were between her and Ellie or tried to rearrange the drink she’d failed to go for. She’d been so caught up with the fundraising fair and Millie.
And after the meeting on Saturday, Ben had said he’d like to help her as much as he could with the fair and maybe they should go out for drink at some point. She’d noticed that he blushed a little when he asked her, and after Ade’s comments, Bell too had gone a bit red, but had managed to pull herself together enough to agree. Although they hadn’t yet managed to settle on a date they were both free, the thought of it made her feel warm and fuzzy somewhere deep inside and had been helping her keep her chin up, as Cosette would say.
What with that and the pressures of work and Marian’s proposition – which of course she’d accepted first thing after the weekend, as Marian had clearly known she would – Bell had forgotten all about Suze and what was going on in her world. She quickly messaged her, asking her if she was all right and suggesting a catch-up over lunch. When she hadn’t received a reply half an hour later, she sent Suze’s deputy Jamie an email casually asking if he knew where she was.
She’s at an appointment this morning but will be in before lunch. Can I help with anything?
When the reply came back, Bell had to reassure him that no, the thing she needed could wait till later. What she really needed was to check her mate was okay face to face.
When she came back to her desk after a rage-inducing meeting in which Emma had pointed out a large financial flaw in her latest budget estimates in front of all the junior members of her team, Bell was not in the best of moods, but when she saw Suze at her desk, she grinned at her and cried, ‘You’re back! I was all lonely on my own this morning. Did you get my message?’
‘Sorry, I haven’t had a chance to read it yet. I’ve got a conference call in five so I’ll see you later, yeah?’ Suze replied, not meeting her eye and walking purposefully towards one of the small meeting rooms, her arms full of folders.
Bell stared after her open-mouthed. Suze never left her desk early to have conference calls, always preferring to dial in once she knew everyone else would already be on the call so she didn’t waste precious minutes of her life making small talk down a phone line with people she was never likely to meet in the flesh. And she certainly had never spoken to Bell in such a dismissive way before. She hadn’t even said hello, she realised. Either something awful had happened this
morning at her ‘appointment’ or she was monumentally pissed off with her. Both options were pretty terrifying.
Despite her stomach rumbling loudly around lunchtime, Bell remained in her chair, tapping her foot against the metal base as she waited for Suze to return from her conference call.
‘That noise could get quite annoying,’ Suze commented as she swept past, dumped her papers on her desk and went to reach for her jacket.
‘I was holding off lunch so we could go and get something together,’ Bell said, standing up and shrugging on her cardigan. ‘Where do you fancy?’ She forced herself to meet her friend’s eye, scared she was about to refuse. ‘My shout?’ she added quickly.
‘In that case, what about Patisserie Francine. I fancy something a bit posh, especially if you’re paying.’
Bell would have agreed to anything at that moment and she breathed a sigh of relief as she followed Suze out of the building, although she knew she’d need to do a bit more apologising before she was back to best-mate status in Suze’s eyes.
Once they were seated at a table in the corner and they’d ordered pots of Earl Grey tea and plates of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, Bell poured the tea and smiled. ‘God, this is the life, maybe we should do this every day.’
‘Have you had a pay rise I don’t know about?’ Suze replied immediately. ‘You’d need another mortgage to eat here every day. By the way, have you heard back from your solicitor yet?’
‘I’m expecting a call this afternoon, so we’ll see,’ Bell answered. ‘But enough about me and boring money things, how are you? Are you okay after your appointment this morning?’ she asked, practically whispering the word ‘appointment’.
Suze looked at her, confused. ‘I’m fine thanks, it was just a check-up and the dentist complimented me on the state of my teeth, although god knows how when I drink such vats of tea and coffee,’ she added, taking a large, less-than-ladylike slurp of Earl Grey.
So Suze really had been pissed off with her then. Bell gulped. She took a deep breath before launching into her heartfelt apology. ‘Look, Suze, I know I’ve been a rubbish friend recently. I’ve got so much on with work stuff and all the community centre fundraising but none of that matters – I should have made time for you and I’m sorry. Tell me what’s going on with you and Els.’
Suze sighed and looked at Bell. ‘I totally get you have lots going on at the moment, Bellster, but you can ask for help, you know, you’re not Superwoman, no matter what Marian might think. You don’t have to do this all on your own. I’m sure there’s work things I can take off you or you could delegate to your team – that’s what they’re there for, after all – and I’ll happily come and man a stall or help out behind the scenes at the fair. And if Colin sends you one more dickheadish email, I’ll go round to Tina’s flat and punch him in the face – okay?’
‘Okay,’ agreed Bell meekly. There was a beat of silence before she added, ‘But I do really want to know about you and Ellie. Is everything all right with you two?’
‘Yes. No. I don’t know.’ Suze looked wretched. ‘I think she’s having a wobble, to be honest, not that she’ll admit it. But she’s been all distant and quiet for the past month. It doesn’t help that I haven’t seen her for over three weeks. I know we’ve always done the long-distance thing, but sometimes it feels like she’s on the other side of the world rather than a couple of hundred miles up north.’
‘Have you asked her what’s wrong?’ Bell said gently.
‘I’ve tried, but she’s swerved the question or changed the subject completely. And when you’re FaceTiming rather than seeing each other in real life, it’s hard to force the issue. She was supposed to be coming down last weekend, but she cancelled, giving me some shit excuse about her mum needing her at home.’
‘Maybe her mum’s ill or something? She’s got no reason to lie to you, and Els just isn’t like that, is she?’
‘No, I know, that’s what’s so frustrating about it. Usually if something’s wrong she’s pretty good at opening up and telling me what’s going on in her head, but recently it’s as if she’s taken a step back from the relationship but won’t tell me why.’
‘Hmm, it does sound strange and un-Ellie like,’ Bell mused. ‘All you can do is be as open as possible about how you’re feeling and hope that encourages her to talk about what’s going on with her, too. When are you next seeing her?’
‘She’s now supposed to be coming on Friday, but I’m not holding my breath after last weekend,’ Suze huffed. ‘You’re right, though, Bellster, I need to bite the bullet and sit her down and say I can’t see a future for us if she can’t talk to me.’
Bell put her forkful of scrambled egg down in alarm. ‘Be careful, though, Suze. Don’t say anything you don’t actually mean. You two are great together. Well, most of the time,’ she amended as she caught her friend’s grimace.
‘I know, but what’s the point in being in a serious relationship with someone who can’t tell me how she’s feeling? We’re both grown-ups – well, in age, anyway. Look, Bell, I love Els with all my heart, but I can’t be with someone who doesn’t feel the same way about me. I’m too old and I’ve been too burnt in the past.’
‘I know, sweetie, and I agree, but I’m just saying don’t throw away something amazing, that’s all. Or you’ll end up sad and alone like me!’
‘Er, except you’re not sad or alone, Bellster.’
‘I know, I was exaggerating for effect, sorry. I may be alone, but actually I don’t think I’m sad anymore,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘Is it weird that I actually feel happier than I have in years?’
‘Yes!’ Suze held up her hand and high-fived her friend. ‘Go Bellster, go Bellster, go Bellster—’
‘When you’ve quite finished with the embarrassing Go Jerry hand movements that no one under thirty will have a clue about!’ Bell laughed. ‘Yes, I may have proved that breaking up with Colin wasn’t the worst thing that could ever happen, but you and Els are the real deal, just you remember that. And as Jerry himself would say, “Take care of yourself, and each other.” ’
‘Who’s being embarrassing now!’ Suze laughed. ‘Come on, get your credit card out and pay for this slap-up lunch and then we’d better be getting back to the office before Marian asks where we are.’
Bell did as she was told and then refreshed her inbox on her phone. ‘Shit, Gloria’s emailed.’
‘That’s good, isn’t it?’ Suze asked, peeling her eyes off her own phone.
‘Only if it’s to tell me that she’s scared Colin and his legal team into backing down,’ Bell said. ‘Otherwise it’s really not good.’
‘Well open it then!’ Suze replied, peering over Bell’s shoulder impatiently. ‘Come on, stop being ridiculous, I’ll read it for you if you can’t bear to open it!’
She took Bell’s phone out of her hand firmly and clicked on Gloria’s name. ‘ “Dear Ms Makepeace,” ’ she began in her poshed-up ‘phone voice’. ‘ “Further to our conversation last week, I am pleased to report that Mr Viner has now agreed to the purchase price we put forward and we will begin the conveyancing process. You may wish to speak to your mortgage provider at your earliest convenience, blah blah.” ’
‘Wow, she actually got him to back down – well done, Gloria!’ Bell whooped and clapped her hands, then hugged her friend. ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe after all the to-ing and fro-ing that he’s actually going to let me have the house!’
‘Well, let you buy him out, it’s hardly him giving it to you,’ Suze pointed out. ‘But I’m so pleased for you, Bellster, what brilliant news. Oh, you’ve just had a message from Millie – here’s your phone back.’
Bell scanned the message quickly and her smile grew even bigger. ‘Yes! Louis says he’ll be guest of honour at the fair and might even bring Zoe with him. That should mean we get loads of people signing up to the five-a-side tournament.’
‘It sounds like your plan is coming together,’ Suze grinned. ‘Well, that’s two go
od things that have happened in the last five minutes and these things always happen in threes so maybe Marian will offer us both a pay rise when we get back to the office. That’s if she doesn’t fire us for taking the longest lunch break known to man! Come on, we’re outta here.’
*
As Bell lay on the sofa that evening, she surveyed the living room from her prostrate position. With the offensive faux-leather sofa and massive TV gone, she’d been able to create a cosy yet airy feel to the room so that it felt like hers, rather than hers and Colin’s – without the Colin. The knitted footstool and candy-coloured cushions warmed up the previously neutral palette and there was still room for the piece of furniture Bell had coveted for almost all of the last ten years – a wooden sideboard.
She’d spent many an evening, when Colin was watching some lame TV series, browsing seemingly every single interiors site the internet had to offer – and there were a lot. But one evening she’d finally found her dream sideboard and pinned it to her private fantasy-home Pinterest board. The sideboard had then, of course, followed her everywhere she went on the internet for the next month, with ads even appearing on her Insta feed, constantly reminding her of its tantalisingly gorgeous shape, smooth wooden top and cool brushed-metal legs.
Now, months later and with the algorithms long having given up on her, Bell had to hope her dream sideboard was still in stock and that the price tag had remained at an ‘oh my god this is really quite expensive but I guess it’s an investment’ level rather than an ‘oh my god this is insanely expensive and I’ll have to remortgage the house’ level. Thankfully, it was both available to buy and just about in the realms of affordability, so before she could overthink it, Bell put it in her basket and checked out. When the confirmation email appeared in her inbox, she grinned, took a screenshot and sent it to Cosette. Within seconds, her phone started to ring.
‘Well, I take it that your new purchase means there’s some good news on the house front?’ her sister said excitedly.
