Lavender Girl

by Paula Hickford

  ‘We could go by aeroplane,’ added Tammy.

  ‘We’ll see,’ said Monica a little more forcefully. Tammy realised that going on would not aid her cause so she changed the subject to art.

  ‘I’ll show you my drawing of Liz.’ She ran into the kitchen to retrieve Liz’s picture from the fridge. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘It looks just like her,’ said Nick laughing.

  They stayed in the garden until the sun started to go down.

  ‘Come on Tammy, time to go home I think.’

  ‘Oh, do we have to?’

  ‘Yes, we do,’ said Monica. ‘You and I have both got homework and it’s getting late. Thank you both for a lovely afternoon, we’ve really enjoyed it..

  ‘Me too, ‘said Liz. ‘Thanks for coming. See you both tomorrow.’

  Liz and Nick took all the plates and cutlery into the kitchen and put them in the sink. Nick started to run the water.

  ‘No,’ said Liz, ‘you are my guest. I’ll do that later. I’d like to sit on my veranda and watch the sun go down.’

  She flicked the switch in the kitchen which turned on the garden lights. It was only just starting to get dark enough and the chrome columns of the fountain glistened in the mixed rays of spotlights and fading sunlight. Nick poured a couple of glasses of wine and held them both as he led the way to the summer house. He set them down on the table next to the chairs and turned to take Liz’s hand as she walked up the three small steps. She stumbled on the top step and fell forwards. Nick managed to catch her in his arms and pull her up. Her face was now just inches away from his and she was aware of his breathing and his strong arms holding her. There was no hesitation and it seemed to be one fluid motion of gathering her up in his arms and kissing her full on the lips.

  She didn’t resist. The wine had softened the edges. She closed her eyes and felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach. She could easily have just let herself go with it, be carried away in the moment, but after the kiss she pulled back, scared by the force of her own feelings.

  ‘I can’t do this here,’ she said softly. ‘Not in this house, not yet. This is a little fast for me.’ She was now aware of her own breathing. ‘I’d like to take it slowly if you don’t mind. It’s been a long time since I have even kissed anyone,’ she said eventually, ‘let alone…’ She didn’t finish the sentence.

  ‘There’s no hurry. I just haven’t met anyone in a long time that I have felt so at ease with.’ He held her hands in his. ‘I’m not going anywhere Liz.’

  She smiled. She was relieved. She felt as though she could relax now the first kiss was over. She couldn’t deny the chemistry between them and knew the first kiss would not be the last.

  They sat on the veranda, drinking wine and talking way past midnight, Liz snuggled up to Nick on the chair next to his.

  * * *

  Back in Bury St Edmunds Adam was tossing and turning. Georgina would be so angry if they didn’t move to New York. Would she leave him? On the other hand, Sasha definitely did not want to go. He hadn’t even discussed it with Leo and deep in his heart he knew he was putting it off because Leo loved his school and his friends. He probably felt the same as Sasha. He would have to speak to the children in the morning.

  Then there’s mum. Georgina was right, he had been a lousy son, aided and abetted by his scheming wife who only ever did anything that suited her. She certainly didn’t go out of her way to let Liz into their lives but she was his mum and he should have behaved better. She might never have even met this Nick if he had looked after her more. He looked over at Georgina who was sleeping serenely. He did love her but he was under no illusions about her.

  What if he didn’t take the job? Would it damage his career? Would there be other offers? He had planned to retire at fifty five at the latest, buy a yacht and maybe sail around the Med. The kids would be at university and he would buy them a flat each.

  And then there’s mum. What to do about mum.

  * * *

  Nick and Liz had fallen asleep in the garden and Nick woke around two o’clock. Liz was fast asleep with her head on his shoulder. He kissed her gently on the forehead, which woke her up.

  ‘I’d better be off,’ he said. ‘Come on, I need a cab.’

  Liz woke up wondering where she was for a second or two. ‘What time is it?’

  ‘It’s after two, we both fell asleep.’

  ‘Sorry,’ said Liz, ‘it must be the wine.’

  She shivered with the cold and Nick put his arm around her. They walked back to the house with Nick’s arm still around her shoulders to keep her warm. The garden looked magical with the spotlights illuminating the plants and the fountain and the fairy lights twinkling on the pergola.

  The mini cab promised to be there in ten minutes.

  ‘Thanks Nick,’ said Liz.

  ‘For what?’ asked Nick.

  ‘For being patient with me. I love being with you too.’

  ‘I told you Liz, there’s no hurry.’

  The cab company rang Nick’s mobile to indicate that they were outside in the street.

  ‘I’ll call you tomorrow.’

  She watched him walk up the path. She was grateful that he hadn’t kissed her again, although part of her wanted him to.

  Chapter 26

  Monica had Kevin on her mind on Monday morning as she drove to work. She couldn’t wait to catch up with Nadia to see if she remembered who the speed dating guy reminded her of but when she got to work Nadia was not on reception. Instead there was another girl who Monica had never seen before. She wondered if she was still ill from the Friday before. Maybe it wasn’t a hangover, or maybe she had stayed over for dessert when she had gone to Kevin’s flat for dinner.

  There was also an email waiting for her from Kevin when she switched on her computer. ‘Hi Monica.’ A bit formal, what happened to Hi Gorgeous? She could sense that something had changed. ‘Hope everything was OK at the weekend. XX.’ It sounded more like an email to a friend than a girlfriend. She wasn’t sure how to respond. She would think about it before writing back.

  * * *

  Finn was now working for one of Liz’s neighbours a few doors up and had popped in for a chinwag after work. As soon as Tammy saw him she almost leapt on him, she was so pleased to see him.

  ‘How’s Rory and Devlin?’ she asked. Although she liked Rory and Devlin she had a little crush on Finn. She knew that Devlin and Finn were partners but that didn’t matter. She was still planning her wedding to Finn when she grew up.

  Finn told them that Rory had left to start his own business. He was now working at the local industrial workshops where he had hired one of the units and was now busy making arty farty furniture.

  ‘We’ll have to go and see him in the holidays,’ said Liz and Tammy together.

  ‘I’ll take you,’ said Finn, ‘let me know when you want to go. I do miss him. The jobs aren’t half as much fun without him. We’ve now got a Polish guy called Thomasz, Thomas to you and me, working for us. He’s built like a small tank and works like a navvy but he has no sense of humour whatsoever.’

  ‘That will never do,’ said Liz, remembering how much fun it was listening to Rory and Finn’s good humoured bickering.

  ‘I know,’ said Finn. ‘We’ll have to work on that aspect of his character.’

  Finn was keen to hear all about Nick. Liz relayed the fact that they now went to the art group together and saw each other quite often. She told him about Nick’s house in France and how he had asked her to go with him later in the summer. Tammy added that she would also be going to Nick’s house for a holiday at half term. She had practically invited herself.

  Finn asked about the arrangements for the party. Tammy was in her element as she told him about the disco and chill out area, adding that Nick would now be manning the barbecue and burgers were on the menu.

  ‘It will be fantastic,’ said Finn, ‘I can’t wait.’

  Liz showed Finn her studio inside the summer house. ‘Love it,
love it, love it,’ he said enthusiastically. He then walked around the garden inspecting the plants which had grown quite a bit over the past few weeks. ‘’I hope you’ve been watering these well,’ he said to Tammy. The garden was, he assured her, one of their best designs ever. ‘I’ve done bigger,’ he said to Liz, ‘but I don’t think I’ve done better.’

  ‘I adore it,’ added Liz, ‘it has changed my outlook in so many ways.’

  Monica popped in to collect Tammy after work and sat in the garden chatting to Finn until he left just after seven o’clock. Tammy was enjoying herself watering the plants with the hosepipe. Liz had an adjustable spray nozzle and Tammy was trying hard to spray next door’s cat as it walked along the top of the fence. Luckily the cat was far too fast.

  ‘Any news?’ Liz waited until Tammy was out of earshot.

  ‘No, Nadia wasn’t in work.’

  ‘Well, maybe she’s ill,’ assured Liz.

  ‘Maybe,’ said Monica, not convinced.

  ‘Have you spoken to Kevin?’

  ‘He emailed me, a business-like email.’

  ‘Well what do you expect?’ said Liz. ‘You’ve hardly seemed keen. What if it’s not the same Kevin? He must be confused.’

  ‘I am too,’ said Monica, ‘and maybe it’s too late but I can’t go forward until I know for sure.’

  Nadia was not in work the next day either which was beginning to affect Monica’s mood. Not knowing was gnawing at her insides. She felt grumpy and short tempered which was so unlike her. ‘It was only dinner,’ she reasoned. One date, she didn’t own him. What if he did ask Nadia out? She hadn’t seemed that keen so maybe he thought she didn’t like him. Maybe he decided that it wasn’t going anywhere so he may as well put himself back on the market.

  By Thursday Monica had decided that if Nadia was not in work she would find out where she lived from Personnel and pay her a visit. Luckily that wasn’t necessary. As Monica walked through the door Nadia was sitting at her desk looking all pleased with herself.

  ‘Hi,’ said Monica, relieved to see her, not least because it would put her out of her misery. ‘How are you?’

  ‘I’m great,’ said Nadia.

  ‘Have you been ill?’ asked Monica.

  ‘No,’ said Nadia, speaking very quietly. ‘That’s just what I told the agency. I’m in love.’ She was grinning from ear to ear.

  ‘Wow, that was fast.’ Monica couldn’t hide the shock and disbelief from her face. Nadia didn’t notice, she was too loved up. ‘Kevin has asked me to move in with him.’

  ‘He has?’ said Monica, incredulous.

  ‘I went to his flat for dinner on Sunday and ended up staying for three days. We talked and talked and the sex was incredible. He’s such a great kisser. When I was leaving on Wednesday he asked me to move in and I thought why not? I know it’s impulsive but I have a good feeling about him. He is the one.’

  Monica was shell shocked. This could have been her, if only she’d accepted his invitation to go back to his flat. He was obviously looking to settle down. She would have been the one having incredible sex and moving in. She was so shocked she forgot to ask Nadia who he reminded her of, instead she went up to her office to mourn the loss of the life she would have had if she had just taken a chance. She didn’t bother replying to his email.

  The rest of the day she was in a daze. When she finally got home from work Liz and Tammy were painting in the garden.

  ‘Tea is in the pot,’ shouted Liz, as Tammy opened the front door.

  Monica didn’t seem her usual happy self. She poured herself a cup of tea and came outside, slumped into a chair on the patio, took off her shoes and rubbed her feet.

  ‘Hard day?’ asked Liz.

  ‘Sort of,’ she said miserably.

  ‘What’s up?’ said Liz, when Tammy had gone to the far end of the garden and knew she could not hear them.

  ‘Nadia is moving in with Kevin.’

  ‘Oh,’ said Liz, ‘and are you sure that this is your Kevin?’

  ‘Not a hundred percent,’ said Monica. ‘I haven’t got proof it’s the same one but I have a very strong feeling that it is.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Liz, ‘I know you liked him.’

  Monica laughed. ‘I only met him a couple of times, not really enough to plan the wedding.’

  ‘There are plenty of fish in the sea,’ said Liz, at a loss to think of any wiser words.

  ‘What’s worse,’ Monica continued, ‘I had an email from him today.’

  ‘What did it say?’ Liz was almost frightened to ask.

  ‘Well, it started by saying that he was sorry that we couldn’t meet up before and then asking if I had thought any more about his ideas for the website. He hoped that I liked them enough to help him set up a meeting with the advertising department.’

  ‘I see,’ said Liz.

  ‘I don’t think he was actually interested in me at all, he just wanted an introduction.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ said Liz. ‘He was just sounding you out?’

  ‘It just goes to show how desperate I am,’ said Monica. ‘It’s my own fault, I only saw what I wanted to see.’

  * * *

  The next few weeks went by really quickly. Liz had been out with Nick several times to dinner and to the art group. She had met Heather and her husband John and would be meeting Nick’s son and his new wife in a few weeks’ time. She loved being with Nick and his family. She loved the fact that he made an effort with people. She couldn’t quite believe that he was interested in her. Nick didn’t push things either, apart from the occasional lingering kiss. He was prepared to wait until Liz felt happy about moving forward.

  Of course she didn’t need Adam’s permission to go forward but she couldn’t be happy without it and it was part of the reason she was holding back. If Adam really disapproved it would never feel right and there was a very real possibility that he wouldn’t approve. He hadn’t called for a couple of weeks despite the fact that she had left messages at home, at his office and on his mobile. She knew she would have to do something to break the deadlock. Adam was far too stubborn.

  Evelyn answered the phone at the office. Liz didn’t need to explain who she was. ‘Mrs Bailey,’ said Evelyn warmly, ‘how nice to talk to you. Adam is on a conference call right now I’m afraid. Is it something urgent or can I ask him to call you back later?’ She thought about leaving a message but decided that much more drastic action was needed. She was never sure if Adam was as busy as he always seemed to be when she called or whether he had briefed his secretary that part of her gate-keeping role included fending off calls from his mother.

  In any case she had nothing to lose so she continued, ‘Evelyn, are you the lady I need to thank for the wonderful flowers I received on Mothers’ Day? They were absolutely stunning. I knew it couldn’t be Adam, men are never very good at that sort of thing.’ Ever loyal Evelyn didn’t like to own to the fact that Adam merely paid for them. Instead she tactfully said that Adam was always very thoughtful. Liz knew she was lying. Adam had never been thoughtful; at least he had never given her much thought.

  However, pressing on she asked if Adam would be free for lunch any time soon as she would like to surprise him. Evelyn opened up the Outlook Calendar on her computer.

  It was almost wall to wall meetings until the end of August. ‘He might be able to squeeze something in on Friday week.’

  ‘It can’t wait that long.’ She was almost ready to panic. The party was just over three weeks away and she needed to speak to him now.

  ‘Hang on Mrs Bailey, I think I’ve found a slot. The Management Committee Meeting has moved to Friday which means that he has a couple of hours late Thursday morning when he is not in a meeting. If you could make it an early lunch, say eleven thirty to twelve thirty, I can fit you in.’

  ‘Perfect. I’ll see you on Thursday. Thank you so much for all your help.’ Liz knew that Tammy would be breaking up from school on Friday so time was of the essence.

  She was
nervous on Thursday morning and took extra care getting dressed. She wanted to look her best. She had never, ever gone into town to meet Adam for lunch and now, as she boarded the train, she wondered why it had never occurred to her to do it before. She should have made the effort. He might have been pleased to see her. She wondered if she would get a phone call at the last minute cancelling the appointment but when none came by ten thirty she wasn’t sure whether she was pleased or not.

  She exited the tube at Aldgate and found that she quite liked the buzz of the City. It was different to the West End which seemed much more crowded but much less focused. Here people walked with intent, no aimless meandering along the pavement. Here people strived determinedly forward. You could almost feel the ambition.

  She got to the bank at eleven twenty five and asked the receptionist to let Adam know that she was there. She was surprised to hear the voice on the other end of the phone instruct the receptionist to ask her to come up to the tenth floor.

  ‘Oh dear,’ thought Liz, ‘he’s waiting with an excuse.’

  When the lift doors opened Adam was nowhere to be seen and instead Evelyn lunged forward to shake her hand. ‘Hi Mrs Bailey, we’ve spoken on the telephone.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Liz, ‘nice to finally meet you and thank you so much for your help.’

  Evelyn smiled broadly. ‘Come this way, Mr Bailey is waiting for you.’ She led her along the corridor to a meeting room.

  Liz wasn’t sure what to make of it. The fact that they were meeting in a meeting room made it so much more formal. She felt as though she was about to be interviewed for a job, or worse was being fired. ‘Can you fire your own mother?’ she wondered as she walked in.

  Adam was already in the room, waiting and looking tense. ‘Hi mum,’ he said nervously. Evelyn came back with coffee and biscuits, discretely leaving them on a side table before slipping out as quietly as she came in.

  ‘This is a first,’ said Adam, forcing a smile.

  ‘I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before, it was such an easy journey.’ Liz took off her coat. ‘So this is it, the place where you spend so much time. It’s impressive.’