Laurie xx
Rachel kept on pressing the bell as music was playing in Jay’s flat and she reasoned he must not have heard it when she rang the first time. The door opened on her third ring.
‘Rachel, hi,’ Jay said with a smile. ‘Sorry – have you been waiting? It’s a bit loud in here.’ She was almost too flustered to notice how his white T-shirt set off his golden skin. Almost.
A man passed behind Jay through into the kitchen, followed by a young blonde woman. ‘Harley, our drummer,’ Jay said, gesturing backwards – ‘and Amber – Harley, can you turn it down a bit?’ Jay asked, looking over his shoulder.
‘Sorry to bother you,’ Rachel said. ‘But it’s a bit of an emergency, I’m afraid. There’s a problem with our shower. The attachment came away from the wall and all watery hell has broken loose. So there’s a chance you’ll have a leak coming through your ceiling – I guess –’ she said, peeking into the flat to check the layout was the same – ‘it would be your bathroom ceiling.’
‘Oh that shower,’ Jay said calmly, ‘I know it well.’ He smiled. ‘Don’t worry, it’s happened before and for some reason the water’s never come through.’ Jay’s laidback manner was contagious, and Rachel found herself relaxing a little. The shower really didn’t seem like such a big deal all of a sudden. ‘Laurie had some issues with it when she first installed it. I can come up now and sort it out for you now, if you like?’
‘No … I mean,’ Rachel floundered, ‘I didn’t mean that.’
‘It’s really not a problem,’ Jay said. ‘Seriously, it didn’t take long at all last time.’
‘It was this part here,’ he said, pointing to where the shower tap attached to the wall as he dried his hands. ‘I’ve fixed it, but you’ll just have to be gentle when you’re using it.’ He swept up the wet towels and chucked them into the laundry basket in the corner of the room. ‘Laurie was totally set on getting this freestanding bath,’ he said, smiling and shaking his head. ‘It was in Elle Decor or something.’
Rachel smiled. ‘Well, thank you. So much – we really appreciate it. I think you’ve earned a cup of tea. Will you stay for one?’
‘Sure,’ Jay said, putting his tools to one side and following her through into the living room.
Rachel took some chocolate-chip biscuits out of a packet and put them on a plate, then brought them with the tea into the living room.
‘You’re a lifesaver,’ Rachel said.
‘Honestly, it’s fine,’ Jay said. ‘Actually it’s given me a break from Harley’s nagging,’ he smiled. ‘We’ve got a gig tonight and I think he’s nervous, he thinks we haven’t rehearsed enough.’ He laughed. ‘Band politics. Worse than families.’
Rachel poured the tea and offered Jay the plate of biscuits.
‘You’re a musician?’ Rachel asked.
‘Yes,’ Jay said. ‘Harley and I started a band in our twenties and we play gigs every so often, tour a bit.’
‘Is it full-time?’ Rachel asked.
‘It used to be, but recently I’ve been busy starting up a small business. I trained as a cabinet-maker a while back and recently I’ve had a few commissions. Just got a workshop around the corner so I can expand.’
‘Sounds interesting,’ Rachel said.
‘I enjoy it,’ he said. ‘Anyway, how are you guys settling in up here?’ he asked, looking around.
‘Good, thanks,’ Rachel said. ‘Zak and Milly found a cat this morning, they’re playing with it in her room, that’s what’s keeping them quiet.’
‘Don’t tell me,’ Jay said, narrowing his brown eyes. ‘Tabby, white paws, bags of cunning?’
‘Is he a regular at yours too?’ Rachel asked.
‘He should be,’ Jay joked. ‘He’s mine – his name’s Mr Ripley. So-called for his talents at finding his way into other people’s flats. I do feed him, I promise,’ he laughed. ‘He’s just got an adventurous spirit. Anyway, if Zak and Milly are playing with him I’ll just grab him when I go back down. So, feline visitors and disobedient showers aside, are you enjoying your stay?’
‘Yes,’ Rachel said. ‘Although it’s not a holiday. My husband Aiden’s mum is sick in hospital and she needed to see a specialist here.’ Rachel glanced down and took a sip of her tea.
‘Oh,’ Jay said, sitting forward on the sofa. ‘I didn’t realise. I’m really sorry to hear that.’
‘Thanks,’ Rachel said. ‘We’re just grateful to Laurie for letting us stay here, for suggesting the house swap. I don’t know how we would have managed otherwise.’
‘A house swap?’ Jay said.
‘Yes, she’s staying at our place. A cottage in a tiny Yorkshire village probably isn’t her usual scene.’
Jay smiled in surprise. ‘Yorkshire? Wow. I knew she was going on holiday – but that’s not quite what I pictured. I don’t think she’s been further north than Hampstead before. How is she coping?’
‘She said something about wanting a change of scene. And Skipley really is beautiful.’
‘I’m sure it is,’ Jay said, sitting back into the sofa. ‘Laurie in the countryside,’ he said, as if he was picturing it. He went quiet for a moment, then a smile crept back on to his face. ‘In those heels she wears?’
Rachel smiled. ‘I left her some wellies.’
‘Now there’s an image. And what, then you’ll switch back before Christmas?’ Jay said, and Rachel nodded.
‘Shame, in a way, that you won’t be staying longer, I mean. Christmas here is great. Lily puts on an amazing spread. A lot of kids there too, Zak and Milly would enjoy it.’
‘Oh yes, Laurie told me about that,’ Rachel said. ‘But Christmas for us is just family. We’re a bit boring like that.’
‘Nothing boring about it,’ Jay said, finishing his cup of tea. ‘Listen, I should go. But thank you for the tea.’
‘No, thank you,’ Rachel said, ‘you really saved the day fixing that leak.’
‘No worries,’ he said. ‘See you again soon. Now, if you don’t mind I’m just going to try and persuade my cat to come home with me.’
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Hi Milly,
I like the photos you sent, thanks. I’m sitting in the Lion and the Unicorn, where the four of us were the other night.
Wondering what songs you’d be putting on the jukebox if you were here now. I wish you were. They’ve got loads of Motown stuff, like the Supremes. You said you liked them, right? I’m going to put a song on for you now.
Carter x
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Hi Milly,
Me again. What’s your phone number? Can I call you? I saw Kate again and asked for it, but she wouldn’t give it to me for some reason. I don’t know, she was being weird. Listen, Milly, I want to talk to you properly, hear your voice.
Carter x
When the doorbell rang at just after seven that evening, Rachel assumed it was Aiden.
As she walked past the chrome-framed mirror above the mantelpiece, she caught sight of her reflection and frowned. She looked older, tired, and she had new lines around her eyes. She was worried about Bea, about Aiden, about Milly – and it all showed.
She opened the door to find Jay, with a pretty, auburn-haired woman by his side.
‘Rachel, hi,’ Jay said, smiling. ‘Just wondered if you fancied coming to our Christmas gig tonight. It’s only up the road. Siobhan is going –’ he seemed to twig then that the two women hadn’t met – ‘sorry,’ he said, gesturing from the auburn-haired woman to her and back again, ‘Siobhan, Rachel, Rachel, Siobhan.’
‘Oh, hi,’ Rachel said, feeling conscious of how she looked, still in her tracksuit bottoms and an old T-shirt of Aiden’s. ‘I’ve heard a lot about you from Laurie.’
‘Don’t believe a word of it,’ Siobhan said, a wide and genuine smile on her face. ‘Sorry I’ve not come by earlier. I’ve been swept off my feet in a romantic whirlwind,’ she said, with a g
lint in her eye. ‘Out of the desert after years in it, Rachel. Fabulous.’ Her smile was contagious and Rachel found herself instinctively returning it.
‘Thanks for the invite, but sorry,’ Rachel said, shaking her head. ‘I can’t really, I mean Aiden is at the hospital and Zak’s—’
The buzzer interrupted Rachel, and she held her hand up to excuse herself as she answered the intercom. ‘Hi, love, it’s me –’ Aiden’s voice came through – ‘forgot my keys, sorry. Can you buzz me in?’ She pressed the button and heard the distant sound of the front door opening and closing. When Aiden emerged from the stairwell, Rachel introduced him to Siobhan and Jay.
‘I’m not normally such a drowned rat,’ Aiden said, smiling and running his fingers through his soaking hair and trying to shake off some of the moisture. ‘It’s bucketing down out there.’
‘Any news?’ Rachel asked. Aiden shook his head: ‘Tomorrow, they said.’
‘We were trying to convince your wife,’ Siobhan said, ‘and of course you too,’ she added, ‘to come out with us, to Jay’s gig.’
‘A gig?’ Aiden said. ‘I’m shattered unfortunately – but, Rach, why don’t you go?’ he said, putting his laptop bag down in the hallway behind Rachel and starting to take off his rain-drenched coat. ‘I can keep an eye on things here.’
He turned back to Jay and Siobhan, and said, behind his hand, ‘By which I mean I will collapse in front of the TV, but if there’s a fire or a burglary I might still be some use.’
‘Go on, Rach,’ he said, ‘Seriously. You should go.’
‘Are you sure?’ Rachel asked. ‘But with everything that’s going on …’
‘Do you really think Mum would want us moping around? There’s nothing we can do until we know more. Go on, go out. You could do with a break.’
‘OK,’ Rachel said, hesitantly. ‘Siobhan, would you mind hanging on for ten minutes while I find something to wear?’
‘Siobhan and Rachel,’ Siobhan said to the guy at the door of the pub, ‘we’re on Jay’s list.’ He checked his clipboard, then pressed stamps against their wrists. Rachel looked curiously at the black smudge on the inside of her wrist. ‘Does this stuff come off?’ she asked. Siobhan just smiled and took her by the hand down the stairs to the music venue.
Before they’d left the flat, Siobhan had seen Rachel pull out a bobbly grey vest top and a cream cardigan from her suitcase at the flat, and waved her hand in horror. She’d gone straight for Laurie’s wardrobe, rifling through it.
‘Here,’ she said, passing her a long-sleeved blacklace dress with gold lining. ‘And take these … size 5 OK?’ Siobhan asked, flinging a pair of black leather boots towards Rachel. The heels were higher than she was used to wearing. Rachel slipped on the clothes, then turned to look at her reflection in the mirror. ‘Not bad,’ Siobhan said, passing her a tiny, old-gold vintage handbag with a slim strap to complete the look.
As Rachel walked into the basement venue, she felt suddenly conscious of how dressed up she was.
‘Now, what’s your poison?’ Siobhan asked, a wicked smile on her face. ‘And no, I’m not getting you a shandy.’
‘I don’t know,’ Rachel said, ‘surprise me.’
Siobhan got them both JDs on the rocks and Rachel winced at her first taste of the whisky. She glanced around the unfamiliar setting and reasoned that the quicker she knocked the drink back the sooner she could go home. A mixture of teenagers and older men lined the bar, shouting at each other over the music. Were they looking at her? She shifted uncomfortably. ‘Don’t worry about the crowd,’ Siobhan said, squeezing her arm and reading her mind. ‘You’re going to love Jay’s band.’
By the time the support act had wound up Rachel had all but downed two drinks – Siobhan had replaced her empty JD with another before she could protest. The crowd were warming up and Rachel was surprised to find she was starting to relax into things.
After a break Jay came on stage, and Siobhan clutched her arm. Harley sat down at the drums, the bass player tuned up and Amber adjusted the microphone to her height. As Jay strummed the opening chords to their first tune, Amber’s bittersweet vocals kicked into a raw, sultry version of ‘Santa Baby’. The gritty music gave an edge to what could have been a honey-sweet song, and the hairs on Rachel’s arms pricked up. Siobhan turned to her and gave her a nudge. ‘Told you,’ she mouthed.
The tempo picked up after that. Jay’s band launched into tune after tune of soul-fuelled rock – to a crowd that was hungry for more. Siobhan grabbed Rachel’s hand and the two of them started to dance on the crowded floor. Rachel, in her knee-high boots and Laurie’s gorgeous dress, looking into Siobhan’s smiling face, felt something she hadn’t felt in years – free. And when the bass player caught her eye through the crowd, she couldn’t help but smile.
After the second encore, the band finally left the stage, and Siobhan led Rachel to a room around the back. Bathed in a post-gig glow, the band were sitting around on plastic chairs, drinking from bottles of beer. Jay was beaming. ‘Nice one,’ Siobhan said, slapping her friend on the back. ‘Your best yet.’
Amber offered Rachel a beer and she took the bottle gratefully. ‘I really enjoyed that,’ Rachel said. The bassist turned towards her, ‘It helps when you have such an attractive audience.’ His eyes ran, fleetingly, over her body.
‘Enough of that, Alex,’ Jay said to him, with a playful warning look. ‘She’s a married woman.’
Harley suggested they go on to a club, but Jay looked at Siobhan and Rachel and said he was ready to call it a night. He was booed by the rest of the band, but insisted he was wiped out. The three of them headed home, laughing and joking on the way, Siobhan jumping in puddles as they went. Rachel had the sensation she’d known the two of them for years. They didn’t know the ins and outs of her life – no – she hadn’t wanted to go into any of that. That evening, even though it had felt selfish, all she’d wanted was to forget about being a wife, a mum, a daughter-in-law, and that’s what they had helped her to do. They went into the block and came to a stop outside Jay’s door.
‘Jay, are you going to fix us both a nightcap then?’ Siobhan asked, leaning against the wall with a cheeky grin.
‘Of course,’ Jay said, ‘come right in.’ He held his door open for them to walk through.
Rachel checked her watch – it was past midnight, she should really head back upstairs. But, she reasoned, another twenty minutes was hardly going to make a difference. Aiden and the kids would already be asleep – and she didn’t feel like going to bed yet.
She smiled and walked into Jay’s flat, noting how different it was from Laurie’s. Instead of white carpets, here there were floorboards, exposed and varnished, and simple, colourful Scandinavian-style furniture that warmed up the room. On the walls were framed prints of film posters and record sleeves, and plants weaved and draped their way over the shelves and mantelpiece, bringing hints of green to each corner of the room. Siobhan lay down on the dark-red sofa and put her feet up on the end. Out of nowhere a tabby cat with white paws appeared and jumped up on to her stomach. ‘This is Mr Ripppple …’ she said, stroking him lazily. Her sentence tailed off and her eyelids started to droop.
‘She always does that,’ Jay said with a shrug, ‘she’s famous for passing out in the middle of parties.’ Jay motioned for Rachel to follow him into the kitchen. ‘Excuse the chaos,’ he said, stepping over a large khaki rucksack as he went through into the kitchen to pour their drinks. ‘Harley is staying at the moment, between flats, and he brought loads of stuff with him.’
‘Oh, I see,’ Rachel said, as she stepped over the rucksack carefully and took a seat on a wooden stool next to the brunch bar in the kitchen.
Jay pulled a bottle of rum from a wooden drinks cabinet in his kitchen and got out three small glasses.
‘Does your girlfriend not mind him staying?’ Rachel asked. ‘I mean,’ she corrected herself, shaking her head, ‘sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.’
Jay passed her a shot and br
ought his over to the brunch bar, sitting down with her. Rachel glanced across at the windowsill, the carefully tended chilli plants, shelves heavy with recipe books and spices, framed photos of family.
‘I don’t have a girlfriend,’ he said, ‘I live here on my own usually.’
‘Oh, sorry, I thought …’ Rachel said, embarrassed that she’d misunderstood.
‘Amber?’ Jay asked, with a smile, and Rachel nodded. ‘Our diva vocalist? She’s been totally smitten with Harley since the day she joined the band – three long months of unrequited love.’
‘Tonight is the night, she told me when we left just now. Who knows, maybe it will be.’ He held his hands up. ‘I think Harley’s pretty terrified of her, though, to be honest. Anyway, thankfully she’s not my type.’
Rachel sipped at her rum. Here, in Jay’s flat, after a night out, she felt like a new person, younger. Her responsibilities had floated away during the evening, leaving space for someone she’d forgotten she could be. ‘And what exactly is your type?’ Rachel asked, emboldened by Jay’s frankness, and the rum. She leaned forward and put her elbows on the table, resting her chin on her hands.
‘Well,’ he said, looking directly at Rachel with the hint of a smile on his lips. ‘That’s easy. Fun, sparky, playful, pretty. Smart enough to keep me on my toes.’
‘So this woman,’ Rachel tilted her head, considering what he’d said. ‘Where are you going to find her?’
‘Where?’ Jay said, leaning back in his wooden chair and toying with the glass in front of him. ‘I’ve already found her, Rachel. I didn’t have to look very far at all.’
His dark gaze lingered on her and silence hung between them.
Rachel looked away, picked up her glass and downed the last of her rum in one. But as she swallowed the alcohol, she choked, and as she struggled to get her breath back she broke into a full-blown coughing fit. Oh God, she thought, remembering Aiden and her children asleep upstairs. I should never have come here tonight. Her face was burning. As she continued to splutter, Jay got up and moved towards her, putting his hand gently on her shoulder. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked. ‘Do you want some water?’ Her coughing gradually subsided.
Meet Me Under the Mistletoe Page 11