by Sue Welfare
Fleur scrolled down to find Suzie’s mobile number and pressed ‘call’. The phone began to ring just as she pulled open the door to the lavatory.
The service station toilet smelt like a monkey cage. It was the kind of place where you’d feel dirtier after washing your hands, if you could bring yourself to use the hand basin. Liquid soap had formed a slimy grey stalagmite on the splashback and damp paper towels and crumpled tissue littered the scuffed, dirt-caked floor. The toilet seat was up, but there was no way Fleur was going close enough to even think about lowering it. Above a pitted and stained mirror a chipped yellowing sign read: ‘These facilities are inspected regularly.’ Fleur wondered by whom – trolls?
She let the door swing shut. On her mobile someone had answered.
‘Suzie?’ she said in a hoarse whisper, ‘Are you there? I just wanted to let you know that we’re on our way back, we’re—’
‘Who are you ringing?’ said Rose from behind her.
Fleur almost jumped out of her skin. ‘You frightened the life out of me,’ Fleur stammered.
‘I was worried about you. I thought you said you wanted to go to the loo?’
‘I did, I mean, I do. There’s a queue,’ said Fleur lamely.
‘No, there’s not; look the thing’s on green,’ said Rose, pulling open the door. ‘Are you sure you’re feeling all right?’
‘Oh, I’m just tickety-boo,’ said Fleur, phone still clamped to her ear as she stepped inside.
*
‘That was Fleur again, she said she couldn’t talk for long – they’re now on their way home,’ said Sam, handing Suzie her phone. ‘They’ve just stopped at the service station at Hunter’s Cross. What on earth are you doing in Hannah’s room?’
‘Looking for these.’ Suzie, on her knees and still wrapped in a towel, triumphantly held up her new shoes. The family cats, Sid and Harry, had padded in behind her to watch the rest of the show. ‘They were under Hannah’s bed, although I’ve got no idea what she’s done with the box. She must have been trying them on. I just can’t believe her sometimes,’ Suzie sighed. ‘She knows they’re mine and they’re new and that I bought them especially for the party. I don’t take her clothes. She would be furious if she thought I was going through her things.’
‘You should take it as a compliment.’
Suzie pulled a face. ‘Well, excuse me if I don’t. I wouldn’t mind if she asked but she just helps herself – my shoes, my perfume, my make-up. Last week I caught her sloping off in my boots and the jacket Mum and Dad got me for Christmas. I’m going to have to say something.’
She looked around the bedroom. Vampire posters and right-on, edgy, slightly grungy slogans had taken the place of Hannah’s pony posters. Her teddies and toys were stuffed into a box on top of the wardrobe. The room was a tip, despite Suzie’s constant efforts and pleas for Hannah to clear it up. You couldn’t see the bedroom floor for clothes and crumbs and books and magazines, and every flat surface was covered in mugs, empty packets, make-up and hair paraphernalia.
In one corner a pile of freshly ironed clothes lay alongside a black plastic sack spilling out crumpled papers and rubbish, abandoned half way through an enforced clear up.
Suzie sighed; she longed for the old Hannah to come home: the one who used to giggle with her in the kitchen; the one who couldn’t wait to get home from school to tell her how the day had gone; the one who enjoyed helping her cook; the one who didn’t sulk and who would have loved tonight’s party. The old Hannah would have joined in and had fun with everyone, not crept off somewhere to moan and feel all grumpy and hard-done-by.
‘We really need to be getting going,’ Sam was saying.
‘I can hardly go anywhere like this, can I?’ said Suzie pointing to her towel. ‘And I need to put a face on.’
Sam rolled his eyes. ‘No, you don’t, you know you look gorgeous just the way you are. Come on, just put your frock on – it’ll be fine. I’ll go downstairs and let the dogs back in.’
‘Can you leave the dogs in the kitchen, I don’t want muddy pawprints all over my dress,’ said Suzie, hurrying into the bedroom. ‘Just give me ten minutes.’
‘You’re the one who was worrying about it all going wrong if we weren’t there,’ called Sam, shucking his jacket off the hanger and pulling it on. ‘I won’t be a minute.’
Suzie didn’t reply. At least she had found her shoes. She took a quick look at the clock beside the bed and made a start – towel off, underwear on. Then she slipped the dress off the hanger and slithered into it, tugging it on over damp shoulders, before pulling on the jacket. She sat down at the dressing table, dragged a brush through her hair, added a slick of kohl pencil around her eyes, a little lipstick and a dab of perfume – and was all done and ready to go with time to spare.
Checking her reflection, Suzie grinned. Matt had been right – despite getting ready in a rush, her new outfit was absolutely perfect, fitting her like a dream and making her both look and feel wonderful.
‘Are you ready? I’m just going to go and start the car,’ Sam was saying as he opened the bedroom door. Suzie was in the last-minute throes of getting ready, stepping into her new shoes, putting in her earrings, picking up the little clutch bag she had bought to finish off the outfit. For an instant as he caught sight of her, Sam stopped in his tracks and stood stock-still in the doorway, taking in the view.
‘Wow,’ he said after a second or two. ‘You scrub up well. Anyone taking you home tonight?’
Suzie smiled. ‘Well eventually, yes, let’s I hope so. As long as he’s not blind drunk; I’m not sure how far I can walk in these shoes.’
He nodded. ‘Okay. So, you ready now? I’ve given the dogs some water and a few biscuits.’
‘Yup,’ she said, taking one last look in the bedroom mirror before pulling the bedroom door closed behind her.
Sam stopped in the hallway, waiting for her, eyes bright. ‘You look . . .’
‘What?’
‘You know . . .’ he said.
Suzie waited.
‘Nice,’ Sam said after a moment or two more. ‘Really nice.’ Suzie smiled to herself. It was the closest thing she had had to a gushing compliment from Sam in years.
‘Best we get back to the party and make sure everyone is hidden away and ready for the off,’ he said. ‘Be a shame to spoil it now.’
‘Did Fleur say how long it would be before they get here?’ Suzie asked as she locked the front door.
Sam shrugged. ‘No, but not long. Hunter’s Cross is, what, twenty minutes from here?’
Suzie nodded. ‘Half an hour if my dad’s driving.’
‘That outfit, it’s new, isn’t it?’ he said, looking her up and down as they got to the car.
‘Yes, it’s been ages since I had anything new and I wanted to have something nice for tonight,’ she said defensively.
‘I wasn’t complaining. That colour is good – really suits you.’
Suzie smiled self-consciously. ‘Thank you.’
‘No really, it’s nice. Reminds me of the colour me and my brother sprayed his BMX when we were kids,’ he said, unlocking the car door.
Suzie laughed. And there she was, thinking romance was dead.
When they pulled up outside her parents’ house the front garden was already full of people milling about, saying their hellos and chatting to each other, all busy socialising, while Liz, still in her bathrobe, appeared to be desperately trying to direct guests around to the backyard. When she spotted Suzie and Sam, her expression changed from starry self-effacing welcome to something cooler and far less convivial.
‘I’ll just drop you off here and go and park the car,’ said Sam, peering out at the crowd.
‘Well, thanks for that,’ said Suzie. ‘You know Liz is going to kill me, don’t you?’
‘You did tell her we were off and she told you to go.’
‘That isn’t going to help one little bit and you know it,’ sighed Suzie, as she got out of the car.
Li
z, on an intercept course with Suzie, didn’t bother with anything in the way of social niceties and certainly didn’t compliment Suzie on her new outfit.
‘Where the hell have you been? You did this on purpose, didn’t you?’ Liz growled through gritted teeth. ‘You knew people would be turning up, didn’t you? How could you leave me here on my own? After all I’ve done to help pay for this party? I’m nowhere near ready and Grant is going to be here any minute now. It’s so unfair. What on earth is he going to think? The bloody doorbell just keeps on ringing. I was going to put up a sign with directions on it but I didn’t get the chance. Look at me – just look at me,’ she said furiously. ‘Thank God the press aren’t here, they’d have had a field day. I can see it now, “Starmaker ’s little Miss Perfect cavorts around half naked at family party.” They’re just waiting to catch me out, you know. Did you see the headline in the redtops? “Lizzie Bingham’s the head girl of reality TV.” It wasn’t meant as a compliment, you know. They can’t wait for me to fall flat on my arse. They’ll assume I’m drunk or on drugs, you know – is that what you want? Is that it?’
Suzie held up her hands in surrender to stem the tide. ‘Whoa there, just calm down. Of course it isn’t what I want, you know that – you’re over-reacting. Besides, you told me to go, remember? Wasn’t it you who told me less than an hour ago that I wasn’t indispensable?’ said Suzie as evenly as she could manage.
‘Oh, very clever,’ snapped Liz.
‘I don’t suppose you checked all these people off against the guest list, did you?’
Liz glared at her. ‘Do I look like a bloody doorman?’ she snapped. ‘Of course I haven’t checked them off, I haven’t even had time to get my bloody dress on yet.’
At which point another car with the next wave of guests pulled up in the drive.
‘Oh, I think that’s Peter Hudson, Mum and Dad’s best man.’
‘I don’t care if it’s the Pope.’
‘What I mean is, I’m sure he’ll give us a hand. Why don’t you go inside and finish getting ready?’ said Suzie. ‘I’ll sort this lot out.’ Turning her attention to the new arrivals, she smiled and, ignoring the grumbling from behind her, said, ‘Hi, Peter and Mary. How lovely to see you. How are you?’
Liz meanwhile looked as if she might just explode with fury.
Peter smiled. ‘We’re just fine, aren’t we, Mary? All ready for the off, are you?’ he said, as they shook hands and said their hellos.
Suzie nodded. ‘I think we’re more or less there now. It’s been a really hectic day. We haven’t stopped yet.’
‘I can imagine. Many people arrived?’ Peter asked, glancing around.
‘Quite a few, we’re asking everyone to stay round the back in the marquee till Mum and Dad get here. I’m so pleased that you could both make it, and that you’ve agreed to do the speech, Peter. You’re still okay with that?’
Before he could do more than nod, his wife Mary raised her eyebrows and laughed. ‘Just you try stopping him, he loves to be the centre of attention, don’t you, Peter?’
He grinned and patted his top pocket. ‘It’s all in hand. Don’t you worry, all done and dusted. Anyway I’m just going to park the car. See you in a few minutes.’
‘Right,’ said Suzie, turning her attention back to Mary. ‘Well in that case let me take you round to the marquee.’
Behind them, Liz had turned on her heel and stalked back into the house.
Chapter Ten
‘Who on earth are you texting now ?’ snapped Rose from the front passenger seat of the car. Although she hadn’t pressed the matter, Rose was getting increasingly worried about Fleur’s behaviour. It certainly wasn’t like her to be so furtive; normally she was brutally direct.
Fleur grunted.
‘Are you going to tell me what’s going on?’ Rose asked.
‘Colin,’ said Fleur, without looking up from her phone.
‘The man who manages your restaurant?’
‘Uh-huh. That’s right. And Frank.’
‘Frank?’
‘Frank.’
‘Frank who?’ pressed Rose.
‘He’s a friend of mine. He’s feeding my cat while I’m away.’
‘I didn’t know you had a cat,’ said Jack with surprise.
‘I didn’t know you had any friends,’ murmured Rose under her breath.
Jack shot her a killer look.
‘I didn’t think you liked animals,’ continued Rose.
‘I don’t, and anyway it’s not exactly mine. It’s a stray really, a skanky flea-ridden one-eyed thing – you know how it is with cats. Waltzes in to your house as bold as brass, eats and then waltzes out, they’re a law unto themselves, cats. How long do you think it’ll be before we get home?’
‘About a quarter of an hour,’ said Jack from the driver’s seat.
‘You could ring them then if you like when we get back. Colin and this Frank. See how things are, if you’re worried,’ said Rose, glancing across at Jack, who shrugged.
‘No, you’re all right. It’s much easier this way,’ said Fleur, fiddling for a second or two longer. ‘Fewer details to worry about. And besides I tried to ring back at the service station and I couldn’t get through.’
‘But I thought you were talking to someone?’ said Rose.
‘It was just Frank’s answer machine,’ said Fleur, after what appeared to be a second or two of hesitation. Rose still wasn’t at all convinced. There was something going on and she wanted to know what it was.
‘So who’s this Frank then?’ she asked, determined that if she pushed hard enough something had to give.
‘No one in particular,’ Fleur answered casually.
‘But he’s feeding your cat – got a key, has he?’
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, stop fishing,’ snapped Fleur, dropping her phone back into her handbag. ‘Of course he’s got a bloody key. He couldn’t get in to feed the cat if he didn’t have a key, could he? He’s not Spiderman. He’s just a friend, all right?’
‘If you say so,’ said Rose, struggling to suppress a yawn.
‘Sorry,’ said Fleur. ‘Am I boring you?’
‘No, of course you’re not, I’m just tired, that’s all. It’s been a long day.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘I’m hoping Liz will have arrived by now. She said she’d give me a ring as soon as she got to the house. It’s weeks since we’ve seen her. She rings at least once a week but she’s always so busy these days – talking on the phone’s not the same. She seems very keen for us to meet this new man of hers, doesn’t she?’
‘Maybe she’s finally found Mr Right,’ said Jack, eyes fixed firmly on the road ahead.
‘Well, let’s hope so,’ said Rose. ‘I’m beginning to worry about her.’
‘You mean in case she turns out like me,’ said Fleur.
‘Of course that isn’t what I meant,’ said Rose. ‘She’s just so picky, that’s all.’
‘Nothing wrong with being picky,’ sniffed Fleur.
‘Well no, I know that, but let’s face it, no one is perfect. I just keep hoping she’ll find someone nice and settle down. I’m worried about her ending up on her own.’
From the back seat Fleur sighed. ‘Oh for God’s sake. It’s not as bad as you make out, in fact there’s a lot to recommend it – all the bed to yourself, no one doing foul things in the bathroom.’
‘What about company?’
‘She can always buy herself a budgie.’
‘I was being serious,’ snapped Rose.
‘So was I.’
‘I’d like her to find someone normal, someone ordinary.’
‘I can’t see Liz settling for ordinary,’ interrupted Jack.
‘You know what I mean, someone sensible with their feet on the ground who’ll love her for who she is—’
Fleur snorted. ‘You are such a bloody romantic, Rose.’
‘I can’t help it, I know people do it all later these days but I’d really like her to be happy and settled.’ Rose yawn
ed again. ‘Sorry, I’m totally worn out, I’m not really sure I can manage a night out on the tiles. I was thinking, how about if we just order a takeaway and stayed in tonight? Or Jack could do a barbie – there’s plenty of food in the freezer. Do you think the girls would mind? I mean, we could always do something another night.’
Sitting in the back of the car, Fleur decided to say nothing.
*
‘They should be here soon,’ said Suzie to Sam as he arrived back at the cottage after parking the car. ‘I just got a text from Fleur – Mum and Dad are about ten minutes away. I’m going back to make sure that everyone stays out of sight.’
Sam nodded. ‘Okay, I’ll send any stray guests round. Tell you what, can you send Megan round if she’s about? She can keep an eye out for them.’
‘Good idea,’ said Suzie. ‘If I go round to the marquee, can you pop into the house and let Liz know Mum and Dad will be here soon? Only I’m not sure what sort of reception I’m likely to get if I go and tell her.’
He nodded. ‘Okay. Do you reckon I’ve got time to put up that other banner on the front of the house before they get here? I was thinking of hanging it from the trellis above the door.’
Suzie stared at him. ‘Are you serious?’
‘Why not? It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes—’
‘If you want to but you’ll have to get a move on. Where is it?’
‘Still in the hall I think, in a box – I took the other one into the marquee.’
‘Okay, do you need someone to give you a hand?’
‘Yeah that would be great. Matt maybe?’ suggested Sam.
Suzie stared at him, wondering why he had asked for Matt of all people. Did he suspect something? ‘Matt?’ she asked.
Sam grinned. ‘Yep, like he hasn’t got enough to do already. Last time I saw him in the marquee they were all running around like headless chickens trying to get everything done in time.’ He paused. ‘It was a great idea getting him in to do the food.’