Once in a Lifetime

by Chrissie Manby

  ‘I’m glad you chose us,’ Dani whispered to the top of his head.

  Eventually, Jezza dozed off and Dani was able to stop tickling him. Though she wasn’t able to move. She picked up her phone and opened up the Internet icon. She entered ‘I love you always forever’ into Google’s search bar. The sound, when she played a video of the song on YouTube, was so much more fresh and raw than she remembered. It was a sound from another life.

  In a modern town house on the other side of Newbay, Nat Hayward typed the same search term and listened to half the song while Lola was in the bathroom. Only to see if he’d been thinking of the right song, he told himself. That was all.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  ‘So how was your date?’ Jane asked over breakfast.

  ‘Busy.’ Dani described the foursome.

  ‘Oh,’ Jane said. ‘How strange.’

  ‘You’re telling me.’

  ‘Still, I suppose it was rather nice of Will to offer them the space at your table so that Nat and Lola didn’t have to wait for ages at the bar.’

  ‘Yes. I suppose it was.’

  Flossie joined them at the breakfast table. Now that her exams were over, she was getting up later and later. She too wanted to know how the date had gone.

  ‘They joined you for dinner? That is so rude,’ was her opinion. ‘Are you going to see him again?’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Dani said.

  But Will texted while Dani was cycling down the hill to The Majestic. She checked her phone as soon as she came to a stop. He thanked her for a ‘fabulous’ evening and reiterated his hope that she was up for another one soon. Dani decided she would wait a while before she responded.

  As she was walking into the hotel, Dani bumped into Cheryl.

  ‘How was your date?’ Cheryl wanted to know. It seemed that everyone had been waiting on tenterhooks to find out. Dave the chef had spread the news far and wide that Dani had the chance of a shag.

  ‘It ended up being a foursome with Nat Hayward and his fiancée,’ said Dani. Cheryl blanched. ‘Not that kind of foursome,’ Dani assured her.

  ‘Well, that’s good news,’ said Cheryl. ‘Since they’re coming in this afternoon to talk about having their wedding reception here.’

  ‘What?’

  Why hadn’t Nat said anything the previous evening? Why hadn’t Lola?

  ‘I’ll need you to be on hand to talk about the menus.’

  ‘Can’t Dave do it?’ Dani asked.

  ‘You know I’m not going to ask him,’ said Cheryl. ‘Though you can try.’

  But when Dani asked him, he said no.

  So at three thirty, Dani had to come out of the kitchen – in the cleanest apron she could find – to talk to Nat and Lola about their big day. They weren’t alone. Lola’s parents were with them.

  ‘Eh, it’s the Queen of Cakes!’ said Ian. ‘I told Nat and Lola how impressed we were with your work at Lola’s birthday and the engagement party and that they have to have their party here.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Dani said, pressing down the thought that she wished she hadn’t been so impressive.

  ‘So,’ Cheryl was straight into action. ‘I believe you’ve already had a chance to look at our brochures regarding our typical wedding packages.’

  ‘They’ll want the most expensive one,’ said Ian.

  ‘Actually, Ian—’ Nat began.

  ‘No, don’t you worry about it, Nat. Sheena and I have been saving for this day since Lola was born. We’ve put money aside for all our girls,’ Ian told Cheryl. ‘We’ve got three. Lola’s the middle one but she’s the first to get married. We’re starting to think Francesca might never need her share of the wedding cash. Perhaps we can get a new patio instead.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sure that can’t be right,’ said Cheryl. ‘She’ll find her perfect man soon.’

  ‘You haven’t met our Francesca,’ said Ian. He guffawed.

  ‘Anyway,’ said Cheryl. ‘The package outlines in our guide are exactly that. Just a guide. They can all be customised and made perfect for you. Table settings et cetera can all be matched to your personal colour scheme. We’re well used to dying tablecloths to order, that sort of thing. We dyed some duck-egg blue just the other week. Have you chosen your colour scheme yet?’

  Lola launched into a long soliloquy about her vision for the ideal day. She was going to have five bridesmaids – her sisters, a cousin, and her brother’s two small girls. She was wavering between a daffodil yellow and dusty mink for their dresses. It was so hard to find a colour that would suit all five of her attendants. On the other hand, since the wedding would be in September, then maybe she should go with an autumn theme …

  Dani suddenly felt the need for a long drink of water. She reached for the jug that Cheryl had placed on the table, just as Nat reached for it too. Their fingers brushed. Their eyes met. Dani withdraw her hand so abruptly that she knocked the sugar bowl over, drawing everyone’s attention. Exactly what she didn’t want.

  Dani said, ‘Look I’m really sorry to interrupt you, Lola, but I’m afraid I need to go back into the kitchen for a moment. I left a tray of biscuits in the oven and I would hate for them to burn. Perhaps Cheryl can come and get me to talk menus when you’ve sorted everything else out.’

  Cheryl looked as though she was about to protest but Dani couldn’t sit at that table for a moment longer. Not after she and Nat and touched hands and she’d seen a look of pure despair in his eyes. Had he seen the same look in hers?

  There were no burning biscuits, of course. Dani’s assistant Joe had everything under control. He always did. Dani got herself a glass of water then went outside to the comfort of the wheelie bin bay.

  Nat wasn’t in despair. At least, not for the reasons that had briefly flitted through Dani’s mind. He was just bored by the wedding preparations and perhaps embarrassed by his blow-hard future father-in-law. Maybe he was a little hung over as well. Or feeling odd about turning forty. He was not thinking what Dani had been thinking. Not at all.

  ‘Dave,’ she said to her friend and sort-of boss. ‘I can’t do the rest of that meeting with Nat and his fiancée.’

  ‘Eh?’

  ‘You’ll have to do it for me.’

  ‘With Cheryl?’

  ‘Yes, with Cheryl.’

  ‘I vowed I would never do anything to make that woman’s life easier ever again.’

  ‘Not even if it means making my life easier in the process?’ said Dani. ‘Me? Your oldest friend in this hotel?’

  ‘Why can’t you just talk to them? You know what to say.’

  ‘And so do you. Look, Dave. I just to need to go home, OK.’

  ‘You gotta give me a reason,’ he said.

  ‘All right,’ said Dani, pulling out the big guns. ‘I think I’ve got my period. It’s early and I wasn’t prepared.’

  Dave recoiled and the matter was settled. He would finish the meeting.

  Dani didn’t wait around for Dave to change his mind. She slipped out through the kitchen’s back door, got on her bike and got out of there. But she didn’t go home. Instead, she cycled down to the sea front and kept heading west with the sea by her side. The further she got from the hotel, the better she hoped she would feel. She ran out of energy before she got far enough.

  She stopped and leaned her bike against the sea wall, looking out at the horizon. And as if to taunt her, into her head popped the memory of another time she’d stopped to look at this view. Her first proper date with Nat Hayward, after their first proper kiss at the nightclub. They were both on their bicycles. He’d made them a picnic. They’d laid out a rug on the sand and kissed all afternoon, until Dani’s lips were raw. They were so excited to be together at last. Not having to pretend to be casual about their feelings for each other any more. All their pent-up desire for each other had come tumbling out.

  It was so long ago and yet, as the cliché went, Dani could remember it like it was yesterday.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Jan
e had not been to the pet shop since the afternoon she’d seen Bill Hunter at Duckpool Bay. The afternoon when she hoped he hadn’t seen her trying to persuade two police officers not to arrest her granddaughter. What an embarrassing episode.

  Today, Flossie was at Xanthe’s and Dani was at work so Jane took Jezza with her on her errands.

  ‘If you’re good, you can choose a new toy at the pet shop,’ she told him, as she attached the lead to his harness. She was talking to Jezza exactly as she used to talk to Flossie and getting similar results with her bribes. Flossie could never be bribed and neither, it seemed, could Jezza. The promise of a new toy did not stop him from pulling Jane to and fro across the pavement as though he were a runaway plough horse.

  By the time they got to the pet shop, Jane was quite out of breath.

  ‘Don’t show me up in here,’ she begged him.

  Jane pushed open the door. The bell announced her arrival. Bill looked up from the paperwork he had been going through while the shop was quiet and beamed when he saw who’d walked in.

  ‘Hello stranger,’ he said. ‘And, it’s Jezza, isn’t it?’

  Jezza wagged his tail, knocking over a pile of cat toys as he did so. Sapphire, Bill’s greyhound, had been snoozing on her beanbag behind the counter. She slowly got up and sauntered round to give Jezza a quick sniff. He tried to engage her in a game but Sapphire was far too cool for that. Having established that Jezza wasn’t worth worrying about, she padded straight back to her bed.

  ‘Now, what can I do for you?’ Bill asked Jane.

  ‘We’re looking for a treat,’ said Jane.

  ‘Then you’ve come to the right place. If your idea of a treat is a smelly cow’s hoof.’

  ‘Luckily that is exactly what Jezza had in mind. Will it stop him eating shoes?’

  ‘Depends on the shoes.’

  Bill picked a good hoof out.

  ‘A properly smelly one,’ he said.

  ‘Thank you. How much do I owe you?’ Jane asked.

  ‘Nothing,’ he said. ‘It’s on the house.’

  ‘No. I couldn’t possibly,’ said Jane.

  ‘Then put a quid in there,’ said Bill, nodding towards the collection box on the counter. ‘It’s for the dog shelter. Actually, I’m doing a fund-raiser for them at the weekend.’

  ‘What have you got to do?’ Jane asked.

  ‘A sponsored dog walk. From The Majestic to The Driftwood on the other side of town. Do you know it?’

  ‘That’s a long way.’

  ‘Only two and a half miles. But there will be plenty of stops en route,’ he said. He paused for a moment as though considering. ‘Lots of my customers will be there. Perhaps you and Jezza would like to join us? He’s only young, I know, so he doesn’t have to do the whole route if it’s too much for him.’

  ‘Oh, it’s me I don’t think could make the whole route,’ Jane laughed. ‘With my old legs.’

  ‘Old legs? You don’t look a day over twenty-five.’

  ‘Oh, don’t.’ Jane waved the compliment away.

  ‘It’s true!’

  ‘Well, thank you.’

  Jane felt the colour rising in her cheeks. Lately she’d been blushing all the time. It was like a second menopause. Or adolescence.

  ‘So, will you join us?’ Bill asked. ‘It’s always good fun. Give or take the odd dog fight. It’s a great way to get to know other doggy people. They’re a very welcoming crowd.’

  ‘I’ll give it some thought,’ said Jane.

  ‘Good. If you do decide to come …’ Bill scribbled his number on a Post-it note. ‘Give me a call. If you decide not to come … call me anyway.’

  Jane didn’t have to give it much thought. By the time she got back to the house she had convinced herself that it was a very good idea. The local dog shelter was an excellent cause. She wanted to give something back to the community. She needed the exercise. She was not, repeat not, merely excited by the idea of an afternoon with Bill Hunter.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  It had been three weeks now since Flossie and Jed were arrested for illegally selling cupcakes on the beach. Flossie’s exams were long over. The atmosphere in the house was more relaxed than it had been for a while. Particularly since it seemed that Flossie had taken everything Dani said to her on board. Whereas perviously Jed and his opinions had been Flossie’s only topic of conversation, now she didn’t mention him at all.

  Dani was delighted.

  She was in the kitchen, making meat-free chilli for supper – Flossie was still a vegan – when Flossie came downstairs at a skip.

  ‘Mum, I forgot to say. I need my passport.’

  ‘What for?’ Dani asked.

  ‘For sixth form college? To finish some of the registration stuff I’ve got to do?’

  Those rising endings again. They drove Dani nuts.

  ‘For sixth form college? To finish the registration stuff?’ Dani mimicked her to make a point.

  ‘Mum,’ Flossie groaned. ‘Stop it. I just need my passport as soon as possible. OK?’

  ‘They want the original?’

  ‘Just a copy. But if you let me have the original, I can get it scanned round at Xanthe’s. Her mum’s got one of those printer–stroke–scanner things. I need a digital file version of it so I can send it as an email attachment.’

  ‘I can do it at the hotel, if you like.’

  ‘Oh no, Mum,’ said Flossie. ‘I didn’t mean to make more work for you. I’ll get it done at Xanthe’s.’

  ‘That’s very thoughtful. But you won’t lose it, will you? Passports cost a fortune these days.’

  ‘Of course I won’t lose it. Honestly, Mum. I’m not a complete incompetent.’

  ‘OK.’

  ‘And I need my birth certificate too.’

  ‘Really? I thought all this registration stuff was sorted out before you went on study leave.’

  ‘Yeah. Me too. I guess there was some sort of computer glitch and the info didn’t go through the first time or something. Anyway, it doesn’t matter because I can sort it all out round at Xanthe’s. She’s having to do it again too. We all are.’

  ‘OK.’

  Dani went upstairs into her bedroom and unlocked the safe at the bottom of her wardrobe. Flossie stood behind her, watching as she put in the pin number.

  ‘My birthday,’ Flossie observed.

  ‘Yes. So now you know the secret code you can get into the safe and steal everything in it,’ Dani joked. ‘Or maybe leave some money in there out of sympathy.’

  There was nothing exactly valuable in Dani’s safe. Just a lot of things that would be a complete pain in the proverbial to have to replace if they were lost in a burglary or fire. Like Flossie’s birth certificate and passport. Not that any of the Parker women’s passports were getting that much use.

  ‘As soon as you’ve finished scanning these documents, put them straight back in your bag and make sure you give them to me the minute you walk through the door. Understood?’

  ‘Understood. But it’ll be OK if I lose them after they’re scanned because we’ll have copies.’

  ‘Not the point,’ said Dani, handing over the birth certificate with the blank space where the name of Flossie’s father should have been. Lloyd had changed his mind about going with Dani to register Flossie’s birth and Dani wasn’t allowed to fill out the form on his behalf.

  It made Dani a little bit sad, seeing that blank space again. Reliving the moment when Lloyd decided he wouldn’t even give Flossie his name. Ah well. At least it meant she didn’t have to battle about what Flossie’s first name would be. Or her middle name. Which was Rosamund. Rose of the world. She was certainly the Rose of Dani’s world, even when she was a small, squally newborn who never seemed to sleep. Even as a sixteen-year-old prone to stupid choices.

  ‘Don’t leave this anywhere silly,’ Dani said one more time as Flossie tucked the brown envelope containing her passport and her birth certificate into her bag.

  ‘I’ll take these over to
Xanthe’s first thing tomorrow.’

  ‘And give them back to me right away.’

  ‘Right away,’ Flossie gave a little salute. She turned to go to her room.

  ‘Flossie.’ Dani made her pause in the doorway. ‘Flossie, I’m really proud of the way you’ve been handling the Jed thing. I know it can’t have been easy for you to tell him you couldn’t see him any more.’

  ‘It wasn’t,’ Flossie admitted. She’d done it in a text. She showed it to Dani before she sent it.

  ‘Has he been in touch since?’ Dani gently probed.

  ‘No, Mum.’

  ‘Not even to see how you’re getting on? Or to apologise for what happened?’

  ‘No. Not at all.’

  ‘Well, at least that means you can be quite clear as to how much he really cared.’

  ‘Not much, eh? I’m better off without him.’ Flossie’s smile faded into a grim line.

  ‘I know it hurts, my love, but you really are.’

  Flossie let Dani give her a quick hug.

  ‘Now, promise me one more time you won’t lose that passport? Not least because maybe, just maybe, we might have enough money left at the end of the month to do a weekend in France before you go back to school. If we can get the dog’s passport sorted out.’

  ‘Excellent.’ Flossie gave her mum the thumbs-up.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  On Sunday morning, the sponsored walkers, plus Jane and Jezza, gathered in the car park outside The Majestic Hotel. It was the perfect day for a walk along the coast. Dry and sunny but not too hot. A few clouds like cotton-wool sheep added a touch of prettiness to the horizon.

  The walk took place every year but this was a record turnout. There were dogs of all sizes, from a couple of enormous Irish wolfhounds down to a trio of chihuahuas, who were making a noise that belied their tiny size. As Jezza and Jane got close by, he began to pull hard on his lead, eager to see who he could find.

  ‘Talk to your dog!’ someone shouted, in Jane’s direction. ‘Don’t let him get ahead of you.’