My eyes were puffy and no amount of concealer was going to cover the dark bags under them. I hoped nobody would notice but knew that was too much to hope for.
‘You look like shit!’ Maria announced when I walked into the staffroom at the start of the shift.
‘It’s over with Tony.’
She frowned. ‘I thought it was already over.’
‘No. What made you think that?’
‘My bad. It’s just that you were so pissed off with him about the anniversary disaster and you never saw him last week. I assumed…’
I sighed. ‘The anniversary disaster probably was the beginning of the end.’
‘So what happened to cause the end of the end?’
I shook my head. ‘I don’t want to talk about it just yet. I’m too angry with him right now and I’m too upset about Reggie.’
‘Callie! This is why you need to stay detached,’ she said gently. ‘Reggie was a day off ninety. It was his time.’
Shoving my bag into my locker, I slammed it closed. I knew it wasn’t fair to take my anger at Tony out on Maria but I couldn’t help it. ‘Honestly, I have no bloody idea why you do this job sometimes. Where’s your compassion?’ Without waiting for an answer, I stormed out of the staffroom and smacked straight into the She-Devil.
‘Is there a fire, Carolyn?’ she snapped.
‘No, Mrs Kimble. Sorry.’
‘What if I’d been one of our frailer residents? I could be on the floor now with a broken hip.’
‘I know. I’m really sorry. It won’t happen again.’ I looked at the floor, willing myself not to cry. It was clearly going to be one of those days where the tiniest thing could set me off.
‘I should think not. I was going to ask Maria to do this but I think you can do it instead. The Starling Group have asked us to do a stocktake.’ She thrust a clipboard into my hand. ‘You can start with the laundry room then move onto the summerhouse. If there’s time left before lunch, you can do the residents’ lounge too. You’ll find the forms self-explanatory.’ Without waiting to see if I had any questions, she turned on her heels and strode back towards her office.
Shit! The laundry room and the summerhouse. Of all the places she could have picked, why the hell had she selected those two?
As I counted towels, sheets, and pillowcases in the laundry room I tried my hardest not to think of Tony. It was impossible not to, though. Our relationship had started in that room and I’d never been in there since then without smiling at the fire in his eyes as he’d lifted me onto the vibrating washing machine. At the time, it had been the most daring and most erotic experience of my life, as opposed to the low point I viewed it as now.
An hour and a half later, I trudged across the gardens towards the summerhouse. A small sit-on lawnmower stood in the middle of the gardens but there was no sign of Rhys. For a brief moment, I wondered if the She-Devil knew about Tony and was torturing me. No. It would have provided her with the perfect excuse for a formal disciplinary if she’d known.
With a heavy heart and shaky hands, I reached out and pressed the summerhouse door handle. Somebody – presumably Rhys – had put the plant pots back on the table. An image of Tony sweeping them aside sprung to mind and I shuddered. I could do this. I’d held it together in the laundry room and I could hold it together in the summerhouse. And I might have managed if Tony hadn’t appeared five minutes later.
‘What are you doing in here?’ he asked, closing the door behind him, a cheeky twinkle in his eyes.
My pulse raced and I found myself momentarily dumbstruck. I waved the clipboard at him, as if that explained things.
‘I saw you crossing the garden,’ he said. ‘I wondered if you were heading for our place, so I thought I’d join you.’
‘It’s not our place. Not anymore. Nothing’s ours anymore.’
‘Don’t be like that, angel.’ He reached out to touch me, but I stepped back and bashed against the table. ‘Don’t try to tell me you had no idea about Hazel.’
Hazel? My stomach lurched. Pretty name for a pretty woman.
‘Don’t look at me like that,’ he continued. ‘Did you really not have a clue?’
‘Yes, Tony, I really didn’t have a clue,’ I cried. ‘And do you know why? Because I believed you when you told me you were divorced, childless, and living in Sheffield. That’s what people in relationships do, you know. They trust their partners. They believe what they say.’
‘I think you believed what you wanted to believe.’ He sounded so cocky, as though it was all my fault and nothing to do with him. I longed to wipe the smug grin off his face.
‘What the hell does that mean?’ I slammed the clipboard down on the table, knocking a stack of plant pots to the floor. ‘I believed what you told me. I didn’t make any of that shit up to hide the truth, you tosser.’
Tony’s mouth fell open. ‘There’s no need to resort to name-calling,’ he snapped.
‘Believe me, tosser is very mild compared to what I want to call you.’
He shook his head. ‘I thought you were mature, Callie, but you’re really just a naïve, little kid pretending to be a grown-up, aren’t you?’
‘And you’re a sex-obsessed, middle-aged arsehole.’
He flashed his eyes at me. ‘Nice. Very nice. I came to see if you wanted to keep seeing each other, but I’m not sure I want to go out with a child.’
‘Go out?’ I yelled. ‘We never bloody went out, remember!’
The door was yanked open. ‘What the hell’s going on in here?’ shouted Rhys.
Relief flowed through me at the sight of him. My knight in shining armour. Yet again. ‘Tony was just leaving,’ I said.
Rhys squared up to Tony. ‘I thought I made it very clear last time that I never wanted to see you in my summerhouse again. You need to leave.’
‘She’s in here,’ Tony said. ‘Are you going to kick her out too?’
‘Callie’s allowed in here. She’s got work to do but you have no business in here. Ever.’ He stepped out of the summerhouse and held the door wide. ‘I’m waiting.’
Tony glared at me. ‘You’ll be sorry. We were good together and you know it. You’ll be on the phone before the end of the week begging me to come round and give you a damn good seeing to.’
‘In your dreams, Tony. In. Your. Dreams.’ My voice sounded stronger than I felt.
With one last look of contempt, he stormed out of the summerhouse, deliberately shoving into Rhys on his way out. I closed my eyes when he’d gone and let out a deep breath, my stomach churning.
‘Are you okay?’ Rhys asked, as he closed the door behind him.
I shook my head as tears welled up. ‘I was dreading today. I’d imagined what it would be like to see him, and that was far worse than I thought.’ Tears spilled down my cheeks. Next moment, Rhys had his arms round me. Feeling safe and comforted, the emotions intensified, and my body shook with sobs.
‘Please don’t cry,’ soothed Rhys. ‘From what I’ve seen, he’s really not worth it, and he didn’t deserve you.’ He held me tightly, whispering calming reassurances until the tears stopped and I reluctantly pulled away.
‘Sorry about that,’ I said, wiping at my eyes and sniffing.
‘You’ve nothing to be sorry about. He has.’
I leaned back against the table and put my hands over my face as I shook my head. ‘I wish I didn’t have to see him at work. I don’t know if I can bear it. I might have to leave if he’s going to be here long-term.’
‘Don’t worry. You won’t have to see him for much longer.’
I removed my hands from my face and looked at Rhys. ‘How do you know? Has his work here finished?’
‘Not quite, but Denise has asked for him to be removed from the transfer.’
‘What? Why?’
Rhys looked down at his feet, clearly uncomfortable with where the conversation was heading.
‘What aren’t you telling me?’ I asked.
He sighed. ‘I caught Tony in t
he laundry room with another member of staff last week.’
‘But he wasn’t on site last week.’
‘He was. I don’t think you were, though.’
My mouth went dry and I closed my eyes again. I’d been away on my first aid refresher on Tuesday and Tony had never breathed a word about coming to Bay View. Probably because he had other plans. ‘Who was he with?’
‘Does it matter?’
I opened my eyes and nodded. ‘My boyfriend has betrayed me, and I’d like to know whether one of my friends has too.’
He nodded slowly. ‘Okay. I think her name’s Marie or Mary or something like that.’
I slumped against the table, feeling sick. No! She wouldn’t. She couldn’t.
‘Are you sure?’ I asked. ‘Long dark hair? Hispanic?’
‘That’s the one.’
‘That’s Maria. My alleged best friend.’
I sighed as I shook my head. I hadn’t had a clue and yet so many things suddenly made sense. Maria had never hidden her attraction towards Tony but I’d been flattered rather than worried. She’d often questioned me about our encounter in the laundry room and had shared how much she’d like to do the same thing. I just hadn’t realised she meant with my boyfriend. And how many times had she suggested he wasn’t right for me? I thought she was looking out for me, but it was obvious she was really looking out for herself. What was that she’d said this morning about thinking we’d split up after the anniversary disaster? She certainly hadn’t wasted her time.
‘I’m not a very good judge of character, am I?’
Rhys grimaced.
‘What did you say to the She-Devil? I mean, Denise. Does she know about Tony and me?’
He shook his head. ‘No. I kept you out of it, although I can’t guarantee Maria won’t say anything.’
‘I think she’ll keep quiet. I caught her smoking pot on the premises a few months back and I think they’d view that a bit more seriously than a bit of a grope in the laundry room. Could be the difference between a warning and a dismissal. And please don’t tell me if it was more than a grope. I really don’t want to know.’ I bit my lip, butterflies going crazy in my stomach. ‘Was it more than a grope?’
‘I thought you didn’t want me to tell you.’
‘I don’t. But I do too. Was it?’
Rhys shrugged. ‘I didn’t stick around long enough to be certain. But…’
Who was I kidding? This was Tony. There was no way it had just been a grope. The man was insatiable. ‘Would you have told me about Tony and Maria?’ I asked.
Rhys held my gaze and nodded. ‘Sort of. My plan was to catch Tony next time he was on site and try to convince him to confess, but he hasn’t been on site till today. Then, of course, you found out about his lies on Saturday and you ended it anyway. I didn’t see the need to add to your pain by telling you then. I hope I did the right thing.’
I twisted round and picked up my clipboard. ‘Thanks, Rhys. You did do the right thing. Look, I’d better get this stocktake done. I don’t need to add a bollocking from the She-Devil to my morning of gloom. Oh, God, don’t tell her I call her that.’
He smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t. It’s funny, though.’
‘I’m glad something is.’
He said goodbye and I returned to my stocktake feeling quite numb. Tony and Maria. I was actually more hurt by her than him. I’d never in a million years have expected her to do something like that to me.
15
I received a text from Tony that evening:
✉︎ From Tony
Thanks for getting me sacked from the job. Bitch.
I couldn’t resist responding:
✉︎ To Tony
You got yourself sacked for shagging my best mate at work. Karma.
He didn’t respond to that one. Feeling smug, I texted Maria:
✉︎ To Maria
Sloppy seconds is your style, is it? You’re welcome to him. Did he tell you he’s married with 4 kids? Not that it would bother you. If you can shag your best friend’s boyfriend, you’d hardly care about a stranger
A reply came back immediately:
✉︎ From Maria
I’ve been suspended thanks to that pretty-boy gardener. I might tell the She-Devil about you and Tony. You won’t be so sarcastic then, will you?
I knew I should be the bigger person and rise above it, but what the heck:
✉︎ To Maria
Be my guest. You’ll only get a warning for your indiscretion but throw in smoking pot on the premises and it’ll be a completely different outcome. Do you want to take that risk?
From her silence, I suspected not.
Tony didn’t return to Bay View and neither did Maria, except to attend a disciplinary hearing on the Thursday. Pete accompanied her and he re-appeared in the staffroom, ashen-faced, while I was having my afternoon break.
‘What happened?’ I asked, although it was obvious from his expression and the absence of Maria it wasn’t good.
‘She’s been sacked.’ He started to empty her locker into a carrier bag.
‘Oh my God! Why?’
He shook his head. ‘I’m not allowed to say.’
‘But surely an indiscretion with Tony would have got a warning instead.’
He closed the locker door and shrugged. ‘Maybe it would but there was something else. Sorry, Callie. It’s not worth the risk to my job if I—’
‘It’s fine. Sorry. I’m not going to push. Tell her I’m sorry.’
‘Will do. See you later.’
With another sigh, he left the staffroom and I slumped back in my seat. Poor Maria. She wasn’t exactly my favourite person for what she’d done with Tony, but she hadn’t deserved to lose her job. What else could have come to light? I found out that evening:
✉︎ From Maria
Thanks for getting me sacked. Great friend you turned out to be
* * *
✉︎ To Maria
How am I supposed to have done that? As for your last comment, that’s the pot calling the kettle black
* * *
✉︎ From Maria
You told them about me smoking pot
* * *
✉︎ To Maria
No I didn’t
* * *
✉︎ From Maria
Well someone did and you were the only one who knew. I’ve got a text threat from you and you told Pete to tell me you were sorry. Pretty conclusive evidence
* * *
✉︎ To Maria
I swear it wasn’t me! The threat wasn’t an actual threat. I was angry about you and Tony and letting off steam. And as for asking Pete to tell you I was sorry, I genuinely am… that you got sacked. Not that I ratted on you and got you the sack because I didn’t do that!
* * *
✉︎ From Maria
And you expect me to believe that? Stop texting me. I can do without ‘friends’ like you
* * *
✉︎ To Maria
Same here. Good luck job hunting and good luck with Tony. You’re welcome to him
With each passing day, I missed Maria more. At work, I missed the way she made me laugh, especially after a run-in with the She-Devil, of whom she could do a scarily accurate impersonation. I missed the seamless routines we’d adopted for all our joint tasks and felt frustrated when everything seemed to take twice as long with other colleagues. And I missed her out of work. We’d spent so much of our spare time together wandering round the shops in Whitsborough Bay, fantasising about what we’d buy if we weren’t always skint, walking around The Headland, and our film and pizza nights at each other’s flats. I missed having someone to talk to. Nick and Mum were there for me but it wasn’t the same. Boyfriend-stealing aside, Maria had been a great friend. The best.
With each passing day, I became more aware that I didn’t miss Tony. I loved having the freedom to make plans with Nick or Mum instead of worrying that I’d schedule something for one of the rare days Tony wanted to se
e me. I loved no longer treading on eggshells. I loved being able to eat what I wanted without snide comments about weight-gain. What I didn’t love was Tony and I started to wonder whether I ever had or whether I’d just been swept away by it lasting longer than any of my previous relationships.
Ruby continued to sing Rhys’s praises and I couldn’t help but agree with her. He’d taken to joining me for lunch on my favourite bench and I found him to be sensitive, funny and kind. How wrong my first impressions had been. Mind you, I’d hardly given him a great first impression of me.
I remained seriously concerned about the She-Devil. She’d lost so much weight that she looked gaunt. Her eyes held a haunted look and she often stared into space when she was meant to be giving the staff a briefing for the day. I knew my colleagues loved the behaviour change because it meant they weren’t always in trouble, but I actually found myself wishing the old She-Devil would return. I couldn’t bear seeing someone so strong become a shadow of her former self. She wouldn’t let me in, though, and what right did I have to push? I was only an employee.
The following Tuesday was Reggie’s funeral, ten days after his death. The weekend manager, Gillian, was a friend of Reggie’s family, so she was attending the funeral alongside the same residents who’d attended Reggie’s party, leaving the She-Devil to manage Bay View. With Maria no longer on the payroll, I thought she might object to me attending the funeral, but Gillian had convinced her that I would be more helpful supporting the dozen or so attending the funeral than staying at work. I was relieved because I wanted to pay my final respects to a wonderful man.
The residents were split across taxis and Gillian’s car. Rhys borrowed his friend’s car once more and drove Ruby, Iris and me.
Making Wishes at Bay View Page 8
