The Harder They Fall

by Debbie McGowan

  “Ah, yes. It’s safe to say she’s realised how indispensable you are. We’re thinking of hiring another assistant, actually, to help you out a little, but I’ll talk to you about that later in the week. What I phoned for was to ask a small favour.”

  “Of course.”

  “I wondered if you could pass a message on to your Uncle Rob?” The line was silent. “Are you still there, Lois?”

  “Err…yes.” Her voice was suddenly much quieter. “That might be a bit of a problem.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I can’t say too much, but we haven’t seen him since before your wedding and my mum is furious with him. He borrowed some money—quite a lot of money, in fact—from the trust fund set up for my sister and me.”

  “For his operation?”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “He’s waiting for surgery for a heart condition, isn’t he?”

  “I don’t know anything about that, I’m afraid. No, this was for his business. He held a big investors’ meeting at a hotel, and invited Mum along. She said she wasn’t interested. Then he came to the house with a fancy bike he was supposed to be selling to meet the shortfall, but the sale fell through. She offered to help him out in the short term, and he hasn’t been back since, on top of which, his phone’s going straight to voicemail and emails are bouncing.”

  “Oh, that doesn’t sound too good,” Eleanor said. “Has he ever gone off like this before?”

  “I, err…”

  “It’s OK, Lois. You must all be very worried.”

  “Not really,” she said lightly. “Has he taken money from you too?”

  “Not from me, no, but I can’t really say any more than that. Look, we’ll have a good chat when I get back, see what we can sort out.”

  “All right, Doctor Dav…Brown. Enjoy the rest of your honeymoon. Bye now.”

  “Bye, Lois.”

  Eleanor hung up and spent a few minutes weighing up her options. It was risky, and if she got caught she could get into trouble. Of course, it was possible that Rob was trying to protect his family from worrying about his health, but she was far from convinced, for the implication was that he had done something like this before. And then there was the investors’ meeting, which, coupled with the reunion, pointed to a rather more elaborate scheme to defraud not only Jess, but quite a few other people. In light of all of this, she didn’t see there was much choice: she went out to the car and retrieved her laptop from the boot (where it had remained all week), and logged in to the patient database. The connection was frustratingly slow, but even so, it didn’t take long to establish the truth: Simpson-Stone wasn’t exactly a common surname, and there was only one patient registered with the first name of Robert. Apart from an overnight stay and follow-up for gall stones a couple of years ago, the only other entry was from the minor injuries clinic the previous Sunday, for a cheek wound requiring a couple of steristrips and a preventative course of antibiotics. Rob had been lying all along. She wasn’t sure how she was going to break the news to Jess, but for now it could wait, because she was resting and Kris was still looking after the other invalid. She left Jess’s phone within arm’s reach and returned to her cabin.

  “Time to swap patients.”

  “So soon?” Toby had woken up not long after Eleanor had left and was now sporting a clean nappy and a full tummy. Kris looked very disappointed that she’d come back.

  “You’re a superstar. Thanks.”

  “Well, he smiled at me so beautifully, I just couldn’t resist,” he said, rubbing the gurgling little chap’s back until he let out the most enormous belch and sicked up all down his front. “Although…” Kris grimaced and handed him back to his mum.

  “Yeah. He does that when he’s fed from the bottle, don’t you Toby?” She rubbed her nose against his and he smiled again. “And one for Mummy too? What a clever boy!”

  “So how is she?” Kris asked.

  “Jess? She’s got flu. She’s in a dreadful state over this thing with Rob. I haven’t told her yet, but I’ve just spoken to his niece and he’s gone AWOL. He’s a conman.”

  “Oh no! Did Jess tell you she gave him everything from their joint account?”

  “Yeah, although she didn’t mention the joint part. That’s really going to see the you-know-what hit the fan.”

  “Think I might go AWOL myself,” Kris joked. “Right, well I guess I’d best go and keep an eye on her. Thanks, Ellie.”

  “No problem. Thank you for saving me from the joys of nappy-changing.”

  “Oh, the pleasure was all mine!” he said dolefully and returned to his own cabin for an afternoon of reading and care-giving.

  Their final night: James chose to stay ‘home’ and look after his sons, leaving Eleanor free to join the rest of her friends for an evening of eating, drinking and general merriment. There was a real party feel in the air, with just one dark cloud looming: Jess was now aware of the full extent of Rob’s trickery and had sent for Andy. Some thirty minutes later, the door of the cabin was slammed so hard that it bounced, and the seven of them watched as Andy marched off up the footpath and into the woods without so much as a backwards glance. Dan moved to follow and Kris stopped him.

  “Leave him. He’ll come back when he’s got it out of his system, if his little brother’s anything to go by.” Dan accepted these words of wisdom and opened another beer. Casper, on the other paw, did not, and tore off after Andy, with Shaunna and Kris shouting themselves hoarse, but to no avail.

  “All the praise has gone to his head,” Shaunna said, watching as Casper’s tail disappeared from view.

  “He’ll come back when Andy does,” Kris consoled her. “Once he’s happy they’ve collected their full quota of pine cones.”

  “Who? Andy or the dog?” she asked wryly.

  As it was their last night, Adele contended, they had to make the most of the hot tub, and it had been burbling away for the best part of two hours before Andy (and Casper) strolled back into their midst, acting as if nothing had happened.

  “Come and join us,” Shaunna called from in amongst the steam and bubbles.”

  “D’you know what? I think I will!” he said, pulling off his jacket. Adele started up a raucous rendition of ‘The Stripper’ and Andy slowed down, making a big show of lifting his t-shirt inch by inch, before spinning it in the air and launching it in Eleanor’s direction. By this point, everyone was singing along and producing the most atrocious, tuneless noise that it was as well no-one else could hear them. One button at a time, his jeans were next, landing at Josh’s feet, then his socks, until all that was left were his boxer shorts, and he started to push them down at the back, with much whooping and encouragement from the women, whilst Dan’s smile melted into a look of pure terror.

  “Nah,” Andy grinned and jumped in the water. “Just kiddin’!” Dan had never been so relieved, although he was also feeling a little unsettled at seeing his girlfriend and her best friend flirting with his brother, all of them semi-naked in a hot tub.

  “You know the simple solution?” Kris said, noticing his friend’s jealousy. “Get your kit off and join them.”

  “Ooh, I don’t know about that.” He flexed his shoulders and started acting all macho.

  “Go on, Dan!” George said. “It’s great fun!”

  “So why aren’t you in there tonight?”

  “I thought I’d give everyone else a chance.”

  “Well, if you put it like that.” Dan kicked his shoes off, and removed the rest of his clothes on the way. “Shift over, bro,” he said, climbing in between Andy and Adele. Shaunna leaned across to get the wine bottle and emptied the rest of it into their glasses.

  “A toast,” she said, “to the absent Mr. James Brown, esquire, and his lovely lady wife, El-e-a-nor.” Eleanor laughed and hid her face.

  “To El-e-a-nor,” they all repeated, over-emphasising James’s pronunciation of her name.

  “Thank you for an amazing honeymoon,” Shaunna continued, “an
d for letting us share it with you.” A chorus of thank-yous followed, and Eleanor cleared her throat. They all fell silent, and Adele turned off the water jets, delighted with herself for getting the right button first time.

  “Can I just say how honoured I am to have friends like you. Who would have thought it, that twenty-two years on…”

  “Twenty-three,” George corrected.

  Twenty-three years on from..."

  “Nearly twenty-four, actually,” Adele interrupted again.

  “Good grief! However many years it’s been since that first party...”

  “Don’t remind me,” Shaunna said, shoving her elbow into Andy’s ribs. Eleanor rolled her eyes and continued.

  “…that we’d still all be together, enjoying a night in the mountains and sharing a drink or two.”

  “Or three,” Adele said.

  “Or five!” Shaunna laughed, examining her glass in mock horror.

  “I don’t want to keep going on, so I’ll finish by saying thank you.” She turned and looked at Josh as she said this. “For always being there for me.” He smiled and nodded tearily. “And here’s to the next twenty-something years. I love you all.” She stopped speaking and turned away, overcome with emotion.

  “Aww, Ellie, that was beautiful,” Adele said, and everyone applauded.

  “OK, OK, enough already!” Eleanor chastised. “Now why the hell’s my glass empty?” She took it over to Shaunna, who had set up all of the wine bottles within easy reach of the hot tub, and sat on the steps, chatting to Kris, who was getting ready to join the others.

  “I don’t mind, you know,” Josh said to George. “Go in, if you want to. I’m quite happy spectating.”

  “And I’m quite happy sitting here, spectating with you,” George said, taking Josh’s hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Josh looked down at their hands, entwined in his lap, and moved closer.

  “Kiss me,” he said.

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “Umm. OK.” George leaned forward and planted the quickest, lightest kiss on his lips.

  “No. Kiss me properly.”

  Josh was staring deep into his eyes and even if he’d wanted to resist, which he didn’t, there was absolutely nothing he could do now to stop himself. He felt his lips part of their own volition, compelling him forwards, to meet with Josh’s, the soft perfume of his hot breath filling his nose and his mouth, the gentle pressure of those wonderful lips against his, opening them further, until he could resist no longer and pushed back. For those few seconds everything else in the world melted away and they were all that there was.

  “Josh-u-a and George on a bal-con-y. K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Adele chanted, breaking the spell. George opened his eyes to find that Josh was laughing, but he wasn’t backing off.

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said, waving a hand in Adele’s general direction without breaking eye contact with George. “As you were.” Shaunna and Adele started giggling and Andy splashed them.

  “That was the best kiss I’ve ever had,” George said, still unable to move away.

  “That was the only kiss I’ve ever had,” Josh told him.

  “Well, you’re obviously a natural.”

  “Hmm. I don’t know about that. I think I might need to practise a bit more.”

  “I see. So you liked it then?”

  “Yes, George. I liked it.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  “Yes,” Josh said, trying to be serious, “I do need to ask you to do something for me, though.”

  “What’s that then?”

  “Please don’t say ‘I see’ like that.”

  “Like you say it, you mean?”

  “Exactly.”

  Andy lay there for a while, listening to his niece in the room next door, shouting ‘Addy’. She probably wanted her breakfast, so it wasn’t him she was after at all. With that thought, he rolled over and pulled the duvet, giving it a good tug to free it from where it had hooked over the edge of the bed, and covered his head. He felt a bit rough, not surprisingly, as they’d all carried on drinking late into the night, which perhaps wasn’t the best idea with a five hour journey ahead of them. These thoughts were just drifting from him when the duvet was suddenly snatched away, and his eyes flung themselves open. He rolled onto his back and turned his head.

  “Shit.”

  Shaunna sat up and pulled the covers around her, leaving him completely exposed. He grabbed the bottom corner of the duvet and quickly covered his lower half.

  “Please tell me we didn’t…”

  “Erm, well. Let’s see. You’re naked. And I’m naked, so…”

  “Did we use any protection?”

  Shaunna leaned forward and glanced around the floor, taking the duvet with her. “Erm…”

  Andy pulled a pillow from behind his head and put it over his groin. She gave him a quick smile.

  “Oh God. Not again!”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO:

  BACK TO REALITY

  The journey home was a subdued one in most quarters: Jess was sleeping fitfully, lying across the back seat of Josh’s car with her head on Kris’s lap, whilst he tried to ignore how hot his legs were and read a script. George was reliving that kiss, the memory of the sensation bringing with it both fulfilment and a hunger for more. Josh was flitting between a similar mind state and much more complex thoughts about what the immediate future held. James and Eleanor had turned off the motorway to head across country in order to drop Oliver back at his mother’s, which left just the two cars in convoy, with Dan, unusually, trailing far behind. Andy and Shaunna were acting very strangely, and Adele was restless, clearly preparing to say something that she didn’t think Dan was going to like. If she was going to start an argument, he hoped she’d wait until they got home, although a quick glance in the back was enough to tell him that if Adele suddenly turned into a giant cup of coffee, the other two wouldn’t even bat an eyelid. This ridiculous vision brought with it an awareness that he was getting very sleepy, and he wound down the window an inch or two.

  “Can you ring George and see if they’re stopping off anytime soon?” he asked. Adele did so and five minutes later they pulled in at the next service station, where the others had been for around ten minutes. Josh was standing outside, drinking from a vast takeaway cup and evidently having the same problem with fatigue. It wouldn’t have been half as bad if they’d been able to leave earlier, but they’d waited until they were sure they were no longer intoxicated from the night before, and now it was getting dark. Dan gave his back a good stretch and headed inside to get his own dose of caffeine. Another couple of hours and they’d be home.

  Back in the cars, with Andy taking the final leg again; Adele decided to sit in the back, behind Shaunna, who was watching the tiniest bead of water make its way along the rubber sill of the window. As they left the services and picked up speed, the droplet was squashed flat and ceased to exist. Now she had nothing to distract her.

  “Want some music?” she asked.

  Andy shrugged. “If you like.”

  Shaunna switched on the stereo and turned it up to a volume where it could be heard over the road noise. Andy checked his rear view mirror and signalled to pull out, catching a glimpse of Adele’s pensive expression. He couldn’t decide whether it was because of his driving, or something else, but it was obvious that she was about to start one of her mini rants. Less than five minutes down the motorway, and predictably as ever, he saw her turn to Dan and smile ever so sweetly. Not wanting to be party to another of their arguments, he focused his attention on the road ahead and tried to tune her out. However, it soon became apparent that the people in the back were unaware that everything they were saying could be heard, loud and clear, in the front. Andy chanced a peek at Shaunna and saw that she too was pretending not to listen. The conversation went something like this.

  Adele had been so worried when the plane crashed in Kathmandu; they all had, and for a while it looked like she was going to b
e bringing up little Shaunna all alone, to which Dan pointed out that she had lots of very good friends and as such would never be alone. She told him to stop interrupting and he did accomplish this for a short time, while she continued to relive the horror of being at home, so helpless and ‘sick to the stomach’ each time the phone rang, dreading the terrible news she was convinced would arrive every minute of every day. Dan remarked that he only had flu; she let out a shrill squeal and he backed off again. Her relief at finding out he was alive and on the mend was immeasurable, and she’d been having a good long think over the last week (Andy knew what Dan wanted to say at this juncture, but he refrained from doing so), and, the thing was, she still wasn’t ready to say yes to getting married, but, if he’d like to propose again, she would happily agree to a long-term engagement.

  Now, at this point, if Andy had been Dan, he thought, he’d have just said yes and got on with secretly congratulating himself for finally snagging the girl of his dreams. Instead, he asked her if she was ‘out of her mind’, because, and he thought it a reasonable consideration, they weren’t teenagers anymore. They were an almost middle-aged couple with a child, not to mention the fact that his brother was going to be forty next year (thanks for the reminder, bro). Adele listened and said no more. The music played on. Andy kept his eyes on the road; Shaunna traced circles on her knee with her finger, the silence stretching on through the miles ahead. Dan started fidgeting and shifted his position. Shaunna took her lip balm out of her bag and pulled down the sun visor to use the mirror. Andy grinned, impressed with her cunning.

  “Adele,” Dan said finally, turning in his seat as far as he could and shuffling over so he could reach across the sleeping toddler between them. Shaunna lifted herself in an attempt to see what Dan had in his hand.

  “Where did that come from?” Adele asked.

  “My pocket, where d’you think?”

  “And do you normally keep it in your pocket?”

  “Always.”

  “Oh.”

  Ever the optimist, Andy thought. He briefly made eye contact with his brother in the mirror and gave him an encouraging wink. A few seconds passed before Dan addressed Adele again.