‘Are you okay, Mary?’ asked Kathy.
‘I’m perfectly fine.’ Mary smiled. Then she hugged Alice.
‘I think she likes you,’ said Kathy.
‘She can hear you,’ said Mary. She stepped back and scrutinised Alice again. ‘I knew it,’ she said. ‘As soon as I found out you were coming over I knew it. It was meant to be.’
‘Knew what?’ asked Alice.
‘That you were sent to look after our apartment. And Aphrodite. Our cat. We finalised our bookings for our trip on the exact day you called Kathy.’
‘Your apartment?’ Alice was confused. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand.’
‘We’re going off around the world and need someone to apartment sit and love our cat.’
‘Oh,’ said Alice. ‘Um ...’
‘It’s all free, obviously.’
Alice struggled to put her confusion into words. ‘That’s really kind of you, but I’m only here for a few weeks. Just for a holiday. I’ll be going back home quite soon.’
‘Good. That’s settled.’
‘I don’t think it is, Mary,’ said Kathy. ‘She said she—’
‘Now, now, Kathy, you know I have a gift.’
‘Mystic Mary,’ said Kathy. ‘It’s not a real thing.’
‘You may mock, but I do,’ said Mary firmly.
‘But I don’t know you,’ said Alice, ‘And you don’t know me ...’
‘Alice, I feel I do. I’ve heard so much about you. Please say you will do it when we go, even if it’s just for a couple of weeks. If you want to go home we have plenty of volunteers who will jump over you to take over. Believe me, it’s lovely.’
‘It’s absolutely gorgeous to be honest,’ agreed Kathy.
Alice stood and looked at them as if they were speaking another language that sounded like English but didn’t mean the same things as any English words she knew. She decided her mind had been scrambled by the journey.
‘It’s perfect. We’re going in two weeks. You are booked at the hotel for two weeks. Everything is in alignment,’ said Mary.
Alice continued to look at them. ‘I’ve only just arrived.’ She was struggling to find the words to match her bewilderment.
‘Well you are not saying no. So I’ll take that as a yes.’ Mary looked pleased with herself.
Alice glanced at Kathy pleadingly.
‘Just think about it,’ said Kathy.
Alice smiled weakly as Ignacio revved the engine of the Rolls. She’d say no politely and firmly later. She wasn’t really sure whether she was awake or dreaming the whole thing. Or perhaps she was developing a film fixation like her mother and was in a new instalment of Alice in Wonderland.
‘Right, why don’t you get checked in, and we’ll meet you at the bar in half an hour?’ said Kathy.
‘Yes, yes,’ sighed Alice, passing her luggage to the doorman. ‘That’s a good idea.’
One cool, refreshing shower followed by a cup of coffee reassured Alice she was actually awake, but possibly in some bright cartoon alternative universe populated by yellow Rolls Royces, glittering waves and women called Mary who asked people they didn’t know to look after their apartments. She went down to the bar to meet her and Kathy. Once she’d taken a swig of the champagne they’d ordered she found the courage to bring the subject of the apartment up. ‘It’s a lovely offer, really, Mary. But I can’t commit to it, it wouldn’t be fair.’
‘Honestly, Alice, just say yes. And don’t worry if you want to leave in a few weeks.’ Mary tipped three lumps of sugar into her coffee and smiled. ‘It’s very good timing, that’s all. We’ve decided to travel very quickly and left all the organising for our apartment and Aphrodite till the last minute. The person who said they could do it has had to head back to Italy because of a family emergency. So you have dropped into our lives at just the right time. I knew you would. Ever since I’d heard about you from Kathy all those years ago, I knew you would.’
‘But,’ said Alice slowly. ‘I may only be there for two weeks.’
‘It’s fine. And it’s too late anyway. I’ve told Aphrodite.’
Alice fiddled with her bracelets. ‘Alice is so rigid, never lets go.’ Adam was in her head again, throwing memories at her like stones. ‘I love her, you know, and I’m all for being organised.’ He was on the phone to his friend in the kitchen and didn’t know she was listening in. ‘But it was so liberating, so freeing just to get up and go on the motorbike and see where I ended up. Bless her, she can’t help it. Being so bloody grown up all the time.’
‘Alice, are you okay?’ Kathy nudged her.
‘Ah, well, I will have to leave soon. I have to look for work and I’ve got an issue, a thing, I have to deal with at home. At some point,’ said Alice.
‘She can’t help it. Being so bloody grown up all the time.’ There he was again.
‘I’ll stay in your apartment.’ She almost shouted the words. ‘Until it’s time to go. Until I spontaneously decide to go home. Until ...’ her voice petered out.
‘Whatever you say.’ Mary smiled.
‘And who or what is this issue with?’ asked Kathy.
Alice took another swig of champagne. ‘Not in the mood to talk about it at the moment.’
‘Well I think it’s time to celebrate properly,’ said Mary. ‘Mine and Frank’s great pensioner adventure by land, sea and air to Australia. We should be there just in time to see our new grandchild being born. And to celebrate Alice being exactly where she is supposed to be. As I always knew she would.’
‘Not quite understanding that bit,’ muttered Alice
‘Do you remember, Kathy? When you told me about Alice and the nasty way that man of hers was treating her, I said she belongs here. One day she’ll come.’
‘Oh, well that’s nice,’ said Alice.
‘And then when he left you I said it again. Didn’t I, Kathy?’
‘Yes she did, to be honest,’ said Kathy, ‘But I think it was just you being all Mystic Mary, Mary.’
‘I have a gift. And you know it. Don’t mock!’ She held her champagne glass up. ‘Come on girls, first toast of the evening – to me and Frank and our adventure!’
Alice took another big swig, and then realised Mary was continuing where she’d left off.
‘And then when Kathy said she’d seen you a few weeks ago, I said is that your sad friend, the one who was abandoned and now doesn’t go out much. The one who used to be fun but isn’t now. Stays in all the time? And Kathy said yes.’
‘I didn’t. I said that you’d had a bad time, I didn’t say any of that.’
Alice drained the champagne glass, then poured herself another. ‘So, this gift?’ she asked.
‘Oh, yes, I’ve had it forever. I’m always trying to help Kathy with her love life but she doesn’t listen. I knew that recent one, what was his name – Shergar?’
‘Fergus.’ Kathy sighed. ‘I think you’ll find Shergar was a horse.’
‘My powers don’t cover names, love, but nonetheless, I knew he would love you and leave you, just like that.’
‘He lives in New Zealand. He was here for business. He’s gone to Norway now. He was always going to leave.’
‘But you need someone, love. You’ll be forty in no time at all.’
‘I’ve got a couple of years left until then and I’m quite happy,’ said Kathy.
‘There’s something going on though, isn’t there? Something, someone, I can’t quite get it yet, but I will.’
‘There is nothing and no one,’ said Kathy firmly, shifting awkwardly in her chair.
As the sun set slowly over the ocean, they went on a toasting frenzy, clinking their glasses to life, the universe, Cascais, windswept barbecues on Guincho beach, beauty treatments, the shoe shine man in the square, Mary’s cat Aphrodite, Fergus and his ilk, Serge their hairdresser, flip flops and toasts themselves. Their final toast was to Alice’s little house, left alone and forlorn in London.
‘I think Frank’s trying to ring me,
’ said Mary finally, picking up her mobile phone and watching it ring. ‘I love you Frank,’ she said.
‘He can’t hear you, you haven’t answered the phone, you’re just shouting at it,’ said Kathy.
Alice could feel her eyes flickering, desperate to close and sleep. ‘I have to go to bed,’ she said. ‘Sorry. It’s been lovely but I’ll see you in the morning.’
Chapter Four
Alice woke up, feeling confused. This was a holiday, but not like one she’d ever had. Life had pushed her out of her routine, and she’d somehow jumped even further. It was as if everything had accidentally been put on pause. Her heart was racing as she went down to the hotel café to meet Kathy and Mary to talk about the apartment. Two palm trees swayed in the breeze, the sea roaring in the distance. As Alice breathed in slowly, a still calm oozed through her. Then it disappeared into a cacophony of doubt and fear in which the familiar words What are you doing? What on earth are you doing? rang around her head.
‘Now,’ said Mary, putting three large envelopes on the table in front of her.
‘Please tell me you haven’t got the tour guide stuff out.’ Kathy laughed.
‘I get nothing but compliments about these, excuse me Kathy,’ said Mary. ‘I get a lot of visitors, Alice,’ she continued. ‘But I’m a busy woman. I was forever ferrying people into Lisbon and the like. I mean, it’s lovely, but it’s down the road. I’m there all the time. So one day I decided to facilitate rather than participate. Cut the visitor numbers down considerably.’ The envelopes were marked as ‘Cascais in a Day’, ‘Discovering Lisbon’ and ‘A Morning in Sumptuous Sintra.’ ‘I used to work in a travel agency,’ said Mary. ‘Never lost the habit.’
‘They are very good, actually,’ said Kathy. ‘I gave them to my brother and his wife the first time they visited and they raved about them.’
‘Thank you very much,’ said Alice.
Mary stood up. ‘Right I have to go now – so much to do. There’ll be more information in the apartment for you when you move in. Make sure you have a lovely pink dress for our leaving do the week after next.’
Nope, it’s all real. Not a dream, thought Alice.
Hugging Alice, Mary whispered ‘Just go with the flow love, and it will all fall into place.’ And then she was gone.
Go with the flow, thought Alice. How do I do that?
‘Another coffee?’ asked Kathy.
‘I am on holiday aren’t I?’ said Alice. ‘I haven’t moved here and forgotten to tell myself, have I?’
Kathy laughed. ‘Mary is a whirlwind. Totally bonkers. Completely lovely.’
‘But I feel bad moving into her apartment for a couple of weeks and then leaving.’
‘She means everything she says. Just take the offer and don’t worry about it. You’ll enjoy it more here if you’re not in a hotel for ages. Really. Trust me. And now you’ve committed to a month here – two weeks in the hotel and at least the same in the apartment.’
Alice took a deep breath. Go with the flow. There was nothing waiting for her at home except for the looming shadow of Adam trying to sell her house. Not to mention the mortgage repayments and the small matter of needing to find a new job. So, nothing to go back for at all, she thought. ‘Okay. If you insist. Is it fabulous?’
‘Views to die for dahhhlink.’
Alice sat back in her chair and closed her eyes, allowing the morning sun to warm her face.
‘So?’
‘So what?’ said Alice, eyes still closed.
‘What’s he done?’
‘Who?’
‘Adam.’
She opened her eyes and took a sip of her coffee, the anger and panic surging up again at the mention of his name. She took a deep breath and said, ‘He wants to sell the house.’
‘Oh dear.’
‘Quite.
‘So?’
‘So, I have temporarily left the country. He can go and bloody whistle for it.’
Kathy left her to go to work and Alice embarked on her first day of the first open-ended holiday she had ever had. She tried to relax. And she tried to relax the following day. Day four arrived, and she took an early morning swim, collapsing onto a sunbed and listlessly trying to dry herself in the sun. Alice found that the future always disappeared during her early morning swims but was generally waiting for her as soon as her feet touched the grass, like a big, throbbing, anxious question mark. So, what are you going to do then? You can’t go on like this for long. You’ll have to look for a job. You have to live. This is all very well, but ... She had learned to deal with her own inner dialogue by putting her iPod on to muffle it and organising her time in order to avoid the question mark. It was exhausting. All she wanted to do was sit under a tree and read some books, but that was not her current default setting. She wrote lists even in thin air. That was her default setting. Already that morning she had grappled with whether to have eggs and bacon for breakfast or just some fruit as she was having lunch with Kathy later on. That had been followed with a long internal discussion about whether to have a sandwich for tea and a swim or not, or whether simply to walk along the prom to Estoril.
A family tumbled through the lobby as she headed towards the lift to her room, laden with towels, beach balls and buckets and spades. They were laughing and chatting and were visibly relaxed. The complete opposite of Alice in fact. ‘But I am actually on holiday,’ she sighed. ‘I can just drift.’ That is all very well, but ... replied the voice in her head, as she walked to her room to get ready to meet Kathy.
‘I can’t switch off. It’s wearing me out,’ said Alice as she and Kathy left the café after lunch.
Kathy put her arm around her friend. ‘It’s only because you’ve been working non-stop for so many years,’ she said.
‘I suppose so.’
‘Your brain isn’t used to resting, is it?’
‘I suppose not.’
‘You will learn to relax.’
‘Yes, sir!’
‘You’ve got a nice redundancy package, haven’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘About to live rent free.’
‘I know, but I still have a mortgage to pay.’
‘It’s not too big though is it?’
‘No.’
‘I’m going to give you a facial and body treatment on the house tomorrow.’
‘Are you?’
‘Yes. And look at this.’ Alice followed Kathy to the sea wall. Below was a tiny, sandy beach framed by rocks. Children were jumping in the water, screaming happily. ‘This is in the middle of town, this is,’ said Kathy.
Alice smiled. ‘Point taken.’
‘There’s a yoga class at the hotel every Wednesday. Why not give it a go? It will help.’
‘Were you always this relaxed?’ asked Alice, leaning against the wall. ‘I can’t remember.’
‘No, I wasn’t, as you know. But I love it here. What with all the lavender and jasmine and what have you I use in the salon I get so relaxed, I sometimes go and sit by a road just to get some fumes to break the calmness!’
Alice looked out to sea and kissed her friend on the cheek.
‘I want you to be happy,’ said Kathy.
‘I want to be happy too.’
‘You will be. You’ve just got to sort yourself out a bit. Give yourself some time. It will come. I promise you it will.’
‘I also don’t remember you being this wise.’
‘I’m not! But I’m really good at sounding it. And stop checking your phone messages all the time.’
Alice had pulled her phone out of her bag and was scrutinising it.
‘Sorry, just worried about the house and Adam.’
‘I thought you’d decided to leave the country and do nothing for a while.’
‘I have.’
‘So, if your mum or sister texts you to say he’s back in England, what will you do?’
‘I’ve made a decision to do nothing.’
‘So stop checking your phone all the time
!’
‘I know, I know, but I feel I should be doing something.’
‘Do you want to do something?’
‘No.’
‘So, don’t!’ Kathy glanced at her watch. ‘Better get off, my next appointment is in half an hour. I’m working tonight. Will you be okay on your own?’
‘Yes. I will be practising going with the flow.’
‘Very funny.’ Kathy took a green scarf out of her bag and draped it around her neck. ‘Right, ready for action!’
‘I really like your hair short,’ said Alice. ‘It’s very classy. Very business-like.’
‘Thanks – that’s the idea. And I like the way you’re growing your hair a bit longer and curly. It’s more like you.’
‘Thanks. It’s a complete accident and the result of neglect.’
‘Don’t forget you need to get a pink dress for Mary and Frank’s party.’
‘Oh yes. Does it have to be pink?’
‘It’s Mary’s pink-themed party. The pinker the better.’
‘Here,’ said Alice, handing Kathy her phone. ‘Can you drop it off at the hotel reception on your way back to the spa and I’ll pick it up in a couple of hours.’
‘Aha! Cold turkey.’
‘Yes. But just for a couple of hours.’
‘It’s a start,’ said Kathy hugging her, before hurrying off towards the cobbled main street.
Alice walked down the steps to enjoy the beach for a while, wiggling her toes in the sand, watching the ebb and flow of the tide. As she absent-mindedly put her hand in her bag to get her phone, she remembered she was going cold turkey and needed to force herself to forget what was going on anywhere apart from the centre of Cascais. So she took a deep breath and said out loud, but quietly, so as not to startle anyone, ‘I will relax.’ Alice rolled her shoulders and stretched her neck. ‘Relax,’ she muttered to herself through gritted teeth. She walked up to the street above and began to meander home and was distracted by a young man with a guitar who was following two older ladies. Pausing by a dress shop, the ladies began to discuss what was in the window, whilst the man stood next to them, strumming his guitar. As they moved off, he moved off too, still playing. Absent-mindedly crossing the road, she smiled at the thought of the women with their own personal busker and wondered if he did the same in the supermarket, or at the dentists.
The House That Alice Built Page 3