Lucy’s Book Club for the Lost and Found

by Emma Davies

  ‘No, no, it doesn’t involve Lucy per se, it’s rather more that I’d like you to find out some information for me. Information that relates to a conversation I’ve had with her recently about something very sensitive from my past. I’d like to do some initial research before I let Lucy know I’m taking it further. I’m not sure I should be following this up at all, to be honest, or if I’m ready to deal with what I might find – and that’s why I’d rather Lucy didn’t know for the moment. She’s a lovely girl and I don’t want to worry her for no good reason. Does that make sense?’

  ‘Partly,’ replied Callum slowly, ‘but perhaps if you explain what it is you’re trying to find out I can show you where to get the information from. That might make more sense. Computers can be powerful research tools if you know how to use them properly and where to look. I can certainly show you how to do that. That way you don’t even need to tell me all the details if you don’t want to.’ He looked up at Oscar’s face to see him shaking his head.

  ‘I’m afraid I’m a bit too long in the tooth for all that. What I’d like is for you to do the research for me. Could you do that? If I tell you what I want to know… it might take some time, but I could come back and you could tell me what you’d found.’ There was a pleading look in his eye. ‘I could pay you,’ he added.

  Callum held out his hand to try and allay the sense of urgency he could hear in Oscar’s voice. ‘I wouldn’t dream of it,’ he replied, pulling his notebook towards him and taking the cap off his pen. ‘I’d be very happy to help, so if I promise not to say anything to Lucy, why don’t you tell me what you’d like me to do?’

  Oscar smiled, finally. ‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘Now we’d best be quick.’ He tapped the top of the page in Callum’s notebook. ‘So, here’s what I’d like you to find out.’

  *

  It was gone two o’clock before Callum finally sank his teeth into a sandwich. He’d even gone out and bought one from the deli on the corner of the market square, not something he had ever done before. Usually he just walked slowly past the window, eyeing up the enticing display of cakes, breads and cheeses. Today he had pushed the door open with no thought to the cost. He had earned this treat, and that made it all the more worthwhile.

  His mouth was still full when Phoebe plonked herself down at the computer next to him, so although he made smiley eye contact with her, he had to chew in an exaggerated fashion to convey his inability to speak straight away.

  ‘It’s okay, don’t rush,’ she stated. ‘I’m not meant to be talking to you.’

  A piece of chicken caught in Callum’s throat and it took a moment for his spluttery coughing to dislodge it, even longer for him to swallow the rest of the food in his mouth. He stared at her in disbelief.

  Phoebe stared back, her look almost a glare until a few seconds later her face broke into a sunny smile. ‘Good job I’m going to ignore the jealous twat then, isn’t it?’ she said, laughing.

  Callum felt his stomach settle back into place. ‘I take it we’re talking about Gary?’ he asked. ‘Is that… I mean… is that why you haven’t been in for ages? I was wondering why.’

  He received an appraising look. ‘Do you honestly think I’m so under his thumb that one click of his fingers and I do what he says?’ She pretended to pout. ‘Nah, I haven’t been in because I’ve been working double shifts, not because he forbade me to come in here.’

  Callum smiled weakly. ‘And did he forbid you to come in here?’

  ‘Well, he tried,’ grinned back Phoebe, ‘but I told him to stop being such a prat.’

  ‘Jesus, all I did was bring back your keys,’ he said. ‘What would he have rather I had done? Left you standing on the doorstep?’

  ‘Ah, but I wasn’t, was I?’

  ‘No… but I didn’t know that!’

  Phoebe made an emphatic gesture with her finger. ‘That’s exactly what I told him,’ she said. ‘And I told him that Lucy had offered to bring the keys round but that she didn’t have a car and you did, and given the vile weather I could hardly insist that Lucy walk over.’

  ‘What did he say?’ Callum’s eyes were round.

  ‘Nothing much, he just harrumphed for a bit and sulked in the kitchen. I got my own back of course, when he came wheedling round to me, looking to have make-up sex. I went to bed and read instead.’ She smiled, triumphantly.

  ‘Is that a thing?’ he whispered. ‘Make-up sex?’

  ‘Yeah, you know when you have an argument and then… well, make up afterwards.’

  Callum, who didn’t, wished she would keep her voice down. ‘I never meant to cause any problems,’ he said. ‘Is everything all right?’

  Phoebe winked at him. ‘I’m looking at wedding stationery today,’ she said. ‘Do you want to give me a hand?’

  ‘Of course. And actually, I’ve been thinking about all this – websites and online commerce, that kind of stuff,’ replied Callum, pulling his notebook across so that it rested between them. ‘When we’re done, could you help me out? I’ve had an idea, but I want to know what you think.’

  When Lucy looked in on them at the end of the afternoon to let them know they were closing soon, their heads were still bent together. She smiled.

  Chapter Thirteen

  ‘So, you’re all set for tonight, then?’ asked Lucy, knowing that the moment she said it Lia’s head would fill with thoughts of the sheer exuberant joy of dancing.

  They were just finishing up another book club meeting, and Lia’s eyes flashed as she passed Lucy her book. ‘I am.’ She grinned. ‘Although, I think that this week Hattie might be looking forward to it rather more than usual.’

  Hattie rolled her eyes. ‘Oh please, would you stop? Otherwise, I’m going to be so embarrassed when I get there that I’ll probably do something completely cringey. All I said was that he was very good-looking. I’m definitely not interested in any romantic entanglements just now.’

  Lucy lifted her eyebrows. ‘Oh?’ she said. ‘That sounds like a story if ever I heard one.’ She looked between the two women. ‘Come on, one of you tell me.’

  ‘Don’t you dare!’ said Hattie to Lia, grinning. ‘Besides, neither Callum nor Oscar will be remotely interested…’

  ‘Says who?’ joked Callum. ‘I’d love to know.’ He smirked at Oscar.

  Lia leaned forward and whispered. ‘There’s going to be a new man at the dance class tonight, who apparently, according to Hattie, is drop-dead gorgeous…’

  ‘He was! I mean he is. How did you not notice, Lia? You’ve got eyes, haven’t you…?’

  Lia groaned. ‘Would you listen to her? See what I have to put up with? I only didn’t notice him because he was standing so darn close to me, I was too busy trying to keep him out of my face and off of my feet.’

  ‘Excuses, excuses.’

  ‘He was also really quite rude…’

  ‘Ah…’ said Lucy, looking at Hattie. ‘So, do we think he’s one of those mean and brooding types? Underneath it all he has a heart of gold, and all it takes is the love of a good woman…’

  ‘I sincerely hope so, for Lia’s sake,’ replied Hattie with a wink. She picked up a plate of biscuits from the table in front of them. ‘I do apologise Oscar – what are we like?’

  ‘Enchanting,’ he replied. ‘Although I admit that your conversations are somewhat beyond my scope of experience. Things were very different in my day.’ He held out his hand for the plate. ‘My turn to wash up, I believe.’

  Hattie smiled as she passed it over. ‘Come on, I’ll give you a hand. We’ll leave Lucy and Callum to convince Lia of the error of her ways. I bet our mystery man will be lovely.’

  ‘Oh, go on with you,’ said Lia. ‘We both know he’s going to turn up and be just like he was last week: abrupt, in your face, and probably with raging halitosis. I bet I get partnered with him…’

  *

  And of course, that’s exactly what happened. One or two absentees meant a change in the normal line-up of dancing partners and, as the myste
ry man hovered nervously at the edge of the studio Lia could feel the tutor’s eyes rest on her for just a smidgen too long. She had known exactly what was coming next and it took all her willpower not to let out a groan as she pasted on a fake smile at the woman’s suggestion.

  ‘Lia, I know you haven’t been with us for all that long, but as you’ve been doing so brilliantly you’ll be just the person to help, er… this gentleman along.’ She turned to him. ‘I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?’

  The man cleared his throat. ‘It’s… well, you can call me Jay,’ he replied. He gave Lia a hesitant look that seemed to be both an apology and a plea for help at the same time.

  Lia smiled again, not because she wanted to, but because it was the way she had been brought up. It would probably only be for one class, after all; hopefully everyone would be back next week and normal partners could be taken. She took a step to one side, edging closer to the newcomer, and noted that he did the same. There was no point in being petulant about it, she decided. If he was here, he was here to dance and really that was the only thing Lia cared about. She’d been a total beginner too not that long ago, and everyone had to start somewhere. She looked to their tutor for guidance.

  ‘Just pop to the side here for a moment Lia, and we’ll have a chat first, once everyone else is underway, so we can see the best way to proceed.’ She held her arms up to attract the attention of the rest of the class and Lia was left nervously waiting while she gave her instructions to everyone else. She could feel the intensity of Jay’s gaze, but she was reluctant to make eye contact in case he saw it as a sign to invade her space in the same manner as last week. When she finally did risk a glance, he was staring down at his shoes. He looked rather lost.

  ‘You made it then,’ she whispered, all at once feeling rather sorry for him.

  His head shot up as he gave her a puzzled look.

  ‘Last week?’ she prompted him. ‘You came at the wrong time.’

  She saw the click of recognition in his eyes. ‘Oh, that was you,’ he said. ‘I thought I’d seen you somewhere before. Yes, my secretary got the timings muddled up.’

  There was something about his words that seemed familiar, but perhaps it was just the pattern of speech itself, slightly jerky. He was still looking at her, his pale-green eyes quite intense.

  ‘Yes, you said that last week too, that you’d seen me before.’

  ‘Did I?’ He smiled suddenly. ‘Well this time, it’s true!’ His lips were pale too, surrounded by a smattering of tawny freckles. He looked down at his feet again. ‘Was I rude?’ he asked. ‘Only, I’m sorry if I was. I think that was the day my secretary got quite a few things wrong – I’d been chasing my tail from morning till night, if I remember rightly.’

  Lia wasn’t sure quite what to say. ‘You seemed a little harassed,’ she said.

  The wide smile came again. ‘Ah… so I was rude. Again, I apologise.’

  ‘It’s okay,’ she replied. ‘It doesn’t sound as if it was entirely your fault. Does your secretary often get things wrong?’

  He rubbed a distracted hand through his hair. ‘Not often, no. To be fair it wasn’t really her fault either; she wasn’t feeling at all well and then my father shouted at her for putting sugar in his coffee by mistake. I don’t think she was having a great day either.’

  ‘It doesn’t sound like it.’ Lia paused for a moment. ‘Now it’s going to sound like I’m being rude, but isn’t it a bit odd getting your secretary to arrange a dance class for you? It’s not really a work thing, is it?’

  He held her look for a few seconds, the ghost of a smile playing around his lips. He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again, the amusement fading as quickly as it had come. ‘It’s a long story,’ he said eventually. ‘And boring.’

  Lia took the hint. ‘Well now, it’s a new week, and more importantly, the chance to forget about everything else but dancing for a while. What could be better?’

  The nod of agreement she was hoping for didn’t materialise. Instead the genial expression of a few moments ago was replaced by one of almost steely determination.

  ‘And yet again I find myself having to apologise, because I doubt very much whether this hour is going to be fun for you at all. I’ve never danced before and I’m fairly certain I will do so appallingly badly.’

  Lia smiled to try and diffuse the tension she could feel growing. ‘You never know, you might be a natural. Besides, a willingness to have a go is all that’s really required. The rest can follow later.’

  ‘Now you’re just being kind. Completely misguided of course. I know what my body is capable of and it generally does the opposite of what I intend, so forgive me if I don’t share your enthusiasm.’ He dropped her look and the conversation was over.

  Lia looked down at her own feet, feeling as if she had said something she shouldn’t have, but as she replayed the words in her head she couldn’t work out what. Perhaps Jay was as poor at conversation as he claimed to be at dancing?

  She felt a touch on her arm as their tutor came across to speak to them both. Hopefully she would have firm instructions for them; Lia was beginning to think it was the only way she was going to get through this.

  *

  Jay wasn’t so much a bad dancer as a rather wooden one; reasonably competent, but with little feel for the music or the mood of the dance they were trying to perform. He moved through the series of steps like a puppet on the end of a string, going in the right direction but with each movement distinct and separate from the last. Nothing flowed, and that included the conversation. At one point, he stopped her in the middle of a tricky sequence to wholeheartedly apologise once again, before restarting with his tongue sticking out in concentration. Lia had tried to offer encouragement. He was obviously very nervous, and understandably shy, but as each suggestion she made was largely ignored, she found it increasingly hard to lighten the mood. She was relieved when the end of the class drew near. Her arms ached from being held in too stiff a pose and she felt none of the fluid lightness that always cheered her while she danced. She felt almost cheated, as if a precious evening had been wasted.

  She had caught Hattie’s sympathetic look on several occasions as she flew past, this week paired with one of the more accomplished dancers and literally being swept off her feet. It made Lia’s mood drop even further to see the enjoyment on their faces – and she realised that that was what was the most puzzling thing about Jay; he didn’t even appear to like dancing, the class seemingly a chore for him, as he concentrated furiously to commit the steps to memory, rather than the wonderful joy it was for her. Why bother coming when you felt like that?

  Lia dropped out of hold quickly, crossing to the side of the room, where she pretended to be looking for something in her bag. Hattie joined her after a moment, coming close to her side.

  ‘Was that as bad as it looked?’ Hattie whispered, keeping an eye on Jay, who was still standing self-consciously in the middle of the room.

  Lia nodded, a pained expression on her face. ‘He seemed okay to begin with, but then he just clammed up and I got Mr Wooden Puppet instead. My bloody shoulder’s killing me!’

  ‘He does look a bit serious, but he probably—’ She stopped suddenly. ‘Shh, he’s coming over.’

  Lia rummaged in her bag again, her back to the room. She fished out her water bottle, even though she wasn’t remotely thirsty, feeling the heat from Jay’s stare burning a hole in the back of her neck. She turned around, unscrewing the cap of the bottle.

  ‘Ah, that’s better,’ she said to no-one in particular, taking a swig of water.

  ‘Perhaps I could buy you a drink?’ said Jay. ‘To say thank you,’ he added.

  Lia nearly dropped the bottle. She looked at Hattie for help, mentally begging her friend to get her out of this one, but Hattie was ignoring her, eyes fixed on Jay, smiling.

  ‘Oh,’ said Lia. ‘I’m not sure if… well, what I mean is that Hattie and I normally go for a coffee afterwards. You
know, a bit of a girly treat…’

  ‘I could buy Hattie a drink as well,’ he replied, his smile totally disarming.

  Hattie was still grinning, and Lia knew she was going to get little help from her friend. Then she held out her hand and looked pointedly at Lia for an introduction.

  ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know your name,’ she said.

  Jay took her hand, giving an amused smile. ‘Well now,’ he said, ‘it’s a little embarrassing.’

  ‘His name’s Jay,’ said Lia, helpfully.

  The green eyes swivelled in her direction. ‘It’s not, actually,’ he answered. ‘Some people call me Jay – as in, you know, the letter “J” – simply because it’s easier, less… open to judgement?’ He paused, sighed at their bemused faces and then continued. ‘It’s Jasper.’

  Lia was aware of Hattie trying to stifle a giggle out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn’t seem to move herself, pinned as she was under Jasper’s scrutiny. He held her look for a few seconds more before dropping his gaze to the floor. She could see him swallowing, and there it was again; the unease, the uncertainty, that were so at odds with his earlier charming smile.

  Hattie let out the giggle. Whether she was intending to or not, it broke the tension. Not for the first time Lia wondered why she couldn’t be more like her friend. Hattie had a way of putting people at ease that she had never had.

  ‘Blimey!’ she exclaimed. ‘Your parents really didn’t think that one through, did they?’ she said, totally without guile. ‘Never mind, we won’t hold it against you,’ she added, giving a theatrical wink, which made Lia blush and Jasper laugh.

  ‘That’s settled then. Where shall we go?’

  Lia sighed. There was no way she could do this. ‘It’s a really kind offer, Jasper,’ she said as gently as she could, ‘but I’m afraid I don’t think I’d be much in the way of company tonight. I’ve got a headache threatening, and besides, I have to get back home.’ She flicked a glance towards her friend. ‘Sorry, Hattie, I hope you don’t mind.’