‘No,’ Lucy said. ‘I’m starving, dying for a coffee, and all I was thinking about was sitting down and eating.’
‘I’ll go and get some sugar.’ Pippa wasn’t going to be snappy, but Lucy could be quite difficult at times. Not to mention unfeeling. Here Pippa was, upset about her financial crisis, and all Lucy could do was witter on about food.
‘I’ve been thinking,’ Lucy said, scrunching up the paper from her sandwich. ‘Why don’t you give Skye a call?’
‘Skye?’ Pippa was pouring the contents of three long, thin sugar sachets into her coffee and creating a tiny whirlpool with a wooden stick.
‘Didn’t she say that she’d had to move from her place? Isn’t she camping with her cousin at the moment?’
‘Oh, my God, you’re a genius!’ Pippa said. She was glad she hadn’t started a row with Lucy now.
‘I have to run, Pippa.’ Lucy downed the rest of her coffee.
‘Already? I’ve barely started this,’ she said, pointing to her cup.
‘Believe me, I’d love to sit and chat for the afternoon, but I’ve a meeting in forty minutes and I need to go through my notes first.’ She swooped down and kissed Pippa’s cheek. ‘Good luck with sorting yourself out. I’ll ask around about jobs, needless to say.’
‘Okay. See you soon, I suppose.’ Pippa felt neglected once more.
‘You’re welcome,’ Lucy said, looking at her from beneath her eyelashes.
‘Why are you giving me the headmistress stare?’ Pippa asked.
‘Well, I bought you lunch and you seem to have forgotten to say thank you or even acknowledge the fact.’
‘I did!’
‘I don’t think so,’ Lucy shot back. ‘Ciao.’
Jeez, Pippa mused. Lucy must have PMT or some sort of jet-lag-associated mood-swing thing. She settled back to enjoy her coffee and dialled Skye’s number. ‘Hello, Skye. How’s it going?’
‘Not great. I’m not cut out for camping on sofas.’
‘That’s the right answer!’ Pippa exclaimed.
‘Sorry?’
‘How would you like to move in with me?’
‘Seriously? Just for a dig-out or long-term?’ Skye asked. ‘Not that I’m choosy right now.’
‘Long-term. As in split the rent and the bills, take the spare room, half the cupboards in the kitchen, two shelves of the fridge and a wheelie trolley rack in the bathroom!’
‘Can I come and have a look later this evening?’ Skye asked.
‘Yes, if you make it after seven. I’ve a small break-up to execute with Jay so you might prefer to wait until the coast is clear.’
‘Are you sure about that? I think he’s a really lovely guy, Pippa.’
‘Why don’t you go out with him, then?’ Pippa asked.
‘I didn’t mean it like that.’ Skye giggled. ‘I just think you’ll regret letting him go. He’s crazy about you, and before we went away you were singing his praises. I think you two are made for each other. Are you certain you’re not being a bit hasty?’
‘Thanks for the advice but I know my own mind.’ Pippa tried to keep the edge from her voice.
‘Fair enough. I’ll text you around seven to make sure he’s gone before I pop over.’
Pippa hung up, feeling much more positive. She knew she hadn’t actually paid her rent or cleared her credit cards – or her overdraft, for that matter – but she was on the right road. That was enough for one day.
She was seriously fed up with being cross-examined by her friends, though. Skye had been looking for a man for ages. She’d spent the weekend telling Pippa she was too shy to talk to guys. That guy in New York would’ve been fine but she’d turned up her nose at him. And, to top it all off, she was practically homeless.
Lucy seemed to think she was a financial wizard. Maybe she was, but she was so damn careful all the time. Every move she made had to be planned and thought through. Pippa didn’t appreciate being made to feel as if she was the disaster of the gang.
She was having a small blip currently. No biggie. She’d dig herself out of it once she’d set her mind to it. Lucy would never be impulsive, God bless her, and Skye would be afraid of her own shadow for eternity.
Feeling sensible and grown-up, Pippa bypassed Top Shop, and didn’t even try on the pale pink Ugg boots in the shoe shop, even though they were half price and she’d wanted them for ages. All she bought was the newspaper and a sparkly pink pen with strawberry-scented ink. She figured it would encourage her to circle more job ads.
As she parked outside her apartment she looked around the modern complex proudly. Not everyone lived in such a salubrious place. Let the girls look down their noses if they liked, but she, Pippa Craig, was doing all right, thank you very much.
By the time she’d let herself in and cleared up the spare room, jetlag had set in. Seeing as the sofa was now going to cost so much, she put it to good use by lying on it and watching Oprah on the equally expensive television.
The buzzing of her intercom woke her. It seemed like she’d only just drifted off, yet it was dark outside. When she checked her watch she discovered it was already after six. She’d never get rid of the jetlag if she kept conking out.
‘Hello?’ she croaked into the intercom.
‘It’s only me!’ Jay said cheerfully. ‘I didn’t bring the car to work with me today so I don’t have my key, sorry honey.’
‘Come up,’ she said, pressing the button. She pulled her matted hair into a ponytail, stretched and unlocked the door, leaving it on the latch.
‘Hi!’ he said, rushing in and wrapping himself around her.
‘Hi,’ she said, smothered by his enthusiastic embrace.
Before she could speak he’d engaged her in a full-on snog. She pulled away, stepped back and sat on the sofa, indicating that he should sit beside her. ‘I need to say something,’ she said.
‘Me too,’ he said, looking sheepish.
‘You go first,’ she said, hoping against hope he’d break up with her. That way she could look all sad until he left and the guilt would be his.
Dropping onto the sofa beside her, Jay took an envelope out of his pocket and held it out. ‘Open it.’ He grinned.
‘What is it?’ she asked, suddenly worried.
‘I’ve booked us a two-week break in the Seychelles,’ he said.
‘What?’ She almost choked. ‘When?’
‘It’s not until February but I couldn’t wait to tell you. I’ve always wanted to go but never had the right person to share it with. I know you were only gone for a couple of days, but while you were in New York I realised that I’m totally in love with you, Pippa.’
‘Oh,’ was all she could muster.
‘I can see you’re in shock. I know it might be a bit sudden but we’ve been together over a year, which, as you keep telling me, is a record for you! Why shouldn’t I treat us?’
‘Oh, God.’ She swallowed. ‘I feel really bad about this.’ She honestly did. ‘I was going to tell you I think we should break up.’ She waited for the hurt and anger to pour forth.
‘Wow,’ he said, running his fingers through his hair. ‘I can’t say I was expecting that.’ He leaned forward and stared at the floor.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said feebly.
‘Not as sorry as I am.’ He stood up and walked slowly towards the door. ‘I really misread this one. I honestly thought we had something special … I’d never have done this if I’d known.’
‘Jay, I feel so bad …’
‘So you’ve said.’
‘I’d no idea you were so serious about us. I thought we were just having fun.’
‘We were. That was the whole point, Pippa,’ he said. ‘You were the first girl I could really be myself with. I’ve never met anyone like you. I stupidly thought you were happy with me too. I’m not usually that spontaneous but you brought out a different side to me.’
Jay strode out of the apartment and shut the door quietly.
Pippa was alone, engulfed in unea
sy silence. Wrapping her arms around herself, she felt suddenly cold and guiltier than she ever had before. Her gaze rested on the unopened envelope Jay had left on the sofa. Grabbing it, she ran out the door to catch him, but he had gone.
Her phone pinged. Coast clear? Can I drop round? S x
Pippa told Skye to come straight over and gave her the code for the door downstairs. Then she opened a bottle of wine from the fridge. She tore off the flap of the A4 envelope and felt sick. Jay had booked an all-inclusive luxury resort hotel. This was the trip of a lifetime.
Still, she had to be true to herself. She wasn’t into Jay and that was it. He was too into her, too kind, too needy and not her type.
As she slumped on the sofa waiting for Skye to arrive, she quashed the thought that maybe she’d been a bit rash.
7
Rudolf, the
Red-nosed Reindeer
Lainey hated going to the Limerick office at this time of year. Even though she knew their clerk, Evelyn, of old, the office wasn’t as friendly as her own and she always felt that everyone was staring at her.
This year Drake had told her to bring Jules along. ‘She needs the experience and it might give her a bit of insight into the reason why reports have to be delivered on time,’ he’d barked. ‘She doesn’t seem to get the fact that we need to keep up with the other parts of the country. That when she’s too busy filing her nails to bother getting stuff done for me, it affects people in Limerick or Cork or Waterford or whoever is waiting for the information.’
Lainey wanted to point out that Jules never did her nails in the office and that her work was flawlessly accurate, albeit a little slower than some. ‘She rarely makes mistakes, Mr Drake. She’s meticulous in her work. I don’t think that’s a fair comment.’
‘Whatever. If she’s so great you’ll enjoy having her with you.’
Lainey hadn’t a violent bone in her body but Drake brought out such anger in her that she often found it hard to control herself when she was with him. Just because Jules was pretty and glamorous, their boss assumed she was an airhead.
The Limerick office was close to the station so the girls decided to take the train. As it turned out, the job that day was more straightforward than they’d expected so they were done and dusted by four o’clock. ‘Our return train isn’t until seven. I’ve stupidly booked the seats so we’ll have to kill time,’ Lainey apologised. ‘I’m ravenous – will we go for a meal?’
‘Ooh, that sounds gorgeous!’
‘And we’ll charge it to the office, which is even better,’ Lainey said, winking. She’d only ever used her work credit card for the odd overnight stay in a cheap hotel. Her shyness had meant she’d never eat out alone while on business, preferring to have a room-service snack or zoom home on the bike even if it was late. ‘There are a few places on the way to the station, so let’s park ourselves in one of those and that way we won’t be hassled about missing the train,’ she suggested.
A few moments later they walked up to a buzzy traditional Italian restaurant. ‘This looks nice,’ Jules remarked.
It was beginning to rain as the girls shuffled inside. The smell of garlic mixed with warm air was welcoming.
‘Ladies, please, find a table and sit!’ the waiter called across the room.
The small square tables were so close together that Lainey had to pull theirs out from the window so Jules could squeeze in to sit down. ‘Are you all right in there?’ she asked. ‘They certainly know how to pack us all in, don’t they?’
‘Sure do, but it’s busy so I reckon that’s a good indication,’ Jules said, and began to scan the menu, which was slotted between the salt and pepper mills.
‘I’ve no idea if the food is going to be tasty but the staff certainly are!’ Lainey joked. ‘Isn’t the waiter just divine? I love that dark curly hair and his cross expression. He’s acting as if we’re interrupting his day by being here. If he was Irish and pale with spots, I’d think he was a rude upstart, but it’s almost sexy when someone’s awful to you in Italian!’
‘He doesn’t do it for me, I’m afraid,’ Jules confessed.
The waiter approached and asked if they’d like bread.
‘Yes, please,’ Lainey answered, and he fired a basket onto the table.
‘So, what is your type, then?’ Lainey asked, as they dipped crusty bread into olive oil.
‘Oh, I go for a prettier look.’
‘My sister Pippa’s like you. She loves the fresh-faced boyish kind. Beautiful rather than rugged.’
‘Right.’ Jules was looking uncomfortable. ‘Tell me about the Christmas party in work. Is it fun?’ she asked, changing the subject.
‘Oh, it’s the usual large function-room event. I can’t bear it, as I told you before, but my life wouldn’t be worth living if I didn’t turn up.’ Lainey rolled her eyes. ‘That reminds me – do you need any more info on the Kris Kindle thing?’
‘You said the gift has to be around twenty euro?’ said Jules.
‘Yeah. You’ll match people up once you have the names of the attendees.’
‘I’m getting Mr Poo-face Drake,’ Jules said, with a twinkle in her eye.
‘Why don’t you fix it that someone else gets him? He’s such a git to you. Pick someone nicer.’
‘I’m making sure I get him and I’m going to buy him stuff that’ll mortify him.’ She giggled. ‘He’s a real lad when he’s in the office, throwing his weight around, but I’m going to buy him things like plastic boobs and a knitted willy-warmer to make a show of him.’
‘You’re really not as sweet as you look, are you?’ Lainey was laughing.
‘I have my ways of getting revenge on nasty people.’
‘Yes, ladies, what will you eat?’ the waiter asked, almost skidding to a halt at their table.
‘I’ll have tagliatelle and a side salad,’ Lainey said, smiling at him.
‘And you?’ He pointed at Jules.
‘The lasagne,’ she said, clearly not enjoying his antics.
‘Red or white wine?’ Lainey asked Jules.
‘White, if that’s okay with you,’ she said.
‘And a bottle of house white, please.’ Lainey flashed the waiter a smile, but too late – he’d already darted across the restaurant shouting their order to the gaggle of staff behind the counter.
‘Is this your first Christmas being single for a while?’ Lainey asked, dipping another piece of ciabatta into the oil.
‘Yes,’ Jules answered. ‘I had a boyfriend last year.’
A different waiter pitched up with their wine, flashing the label at Lainey, flicking the screw-top open and pouring from such a height it was like a waterfall. ‘Salute! Cheers!’ he shouted.
‘I’ve only ever had Seth at Christmas. But he was very into lists. We’d both have to write one and give it to the other by the first of December,’ Lainey recalled. ‘Five expensive things and five cheap things. We’d pick one from each category.’
‘Wow. That’s bunny-boiler stuff, Lainz. Didn’t it kind of take away any sense of magic?’
‘I suppose now you put it that way it was kind of contrived. But that was Seth all over,’ she said, shrugging. ‘He liked to have things done a certain way. Anyway, cheers!’ They clinked glasses.
The first waiter returned and almost frisbeed their plates onto the table.
Jules jumped. ‘Jeez, he nearly smashed yours.’
‘He’s pretty narky all right.’ Lainey smiled. ‘Christmas is going to be different in more ways than one this year, though. My grandma has gone away so it’ll be my first Christmas without her too.’
‘You seem really sad about that. Are you guys close?’
‘Yeah. She’s a tough old bird by anyone’s standards but she and I always understood one another. I really miss her,’ Lainey said, looking down.
‘As I don’t even get on with my mother, I find it hard to imagine how you feel. What’s the story with Huntersbrook? Is it your grandma’s house?’
‘It was u
ntil she met an Australian called Sid and made this random decision to up sticks and go to live with him on his vineyard just after Christmas last year.’ Lainey’s eyes moistened. ‘She’s eighty, Jules, so I can’t say any of us expected her to do what she did.’
‘I can see you’re upset about it, but I think she sounds pretty amazing. I hope I can do stuff like that when I’m old,’ Jules said. ‘You have to admit she’s pretty out there!’
‘I understand why she did it and I wish her well, but she shocked the hell out of us in the process. You’ve got to see it from my point of view too. She was the one who held our family together. She was head of the house, and imposing with it. She always made her presence felt so it was like someone else appeared from her room one morning and said she was going off to be a flibbertigibbet.’ Lainey scowled.
‘A what?’ Jules asked.
‘A fly-by-night who turned her back on us all,’ Lainey said forcefully.
‘Have you spoken to her much since she went?’
‘Not at all. She sent me this for my birthday,’ she said, showing Jules her bracelet.
‘That’s gorgeous. Listen, it’s none of my business and I don’t even know her but you should try and see things from her perspective. She probably got tired of doing the right thing. It happens to the best of us,’ Jules said. ‘Maybe she met this guy, realised her life wasn’t over quite yet and decided to grab the bull by the horns.’
‘I know all that and I wish her well, of course I do. I just miss her. We used to sit and talk for hours. Then she was gone. It was literally as quick as that.’
‘I’m no expert on families. But I do understand what it’s like to feel resentment when you make a choice,’ Jules said.
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’ll tell you some other time, if that’s okay?’ Jules held her gaze. ‘I know it must hurt like hell that your grandma moved so far away, but we all need to live. We all deserve to be happy too. Some people never find happiness. It took your grandma a long time but perhaps she’s finally doing what she enjoys.’
‘I guess,’ Lainey said hesitantly. ‘I sound like a horrible spoilt child when you put it like that, but it was so sudden. It’s been months now and I’ve let this silence come between us.’
Driving Home for Christmas Page 9