Match Me If You Can

by Michele Gorman

  ‘Think how warm the air will feel when we get out.’ She rolled her eyes. That was what their mum always said when she forced them into the freezing sea in Southport … though in fairness, not in March.

  ‘You’re such a bullshitter,’ he said. ‘All right, Sissy, you asked for it. Let’s go!’

  The siblings held hands, with Sissy in the middle, and stepped gingerly over the shingle towards the water. Sissy started to lag behind as they got closer. Sarah and Robin looked at each other over her blonde head, tightened their grip and began to pull her towards the sea.

  Anyone listening to her screams would think they were torturing the poor girl … if she wasn’t laughing so much.

  ‘Oh, oh, that’s cold!’ Sarah shouted as they ploughed together up to their knees into the English Channel.

  ‘My bollocks are gone,’ Robin wheezed. ‘And they’re not even close to the waterline.’

  ‘You haven’t had bollocks for years.’

  ‘Don’t say bollocks,’ said Sissy.

  When Sissy’s lips turned a sickly shade of blue they started trying to coax her out of the water. They finally tempted her to shore with the promise of some Brighton rock.

  They rubbed themselves warm again, put all their clothes back on and headed for the pier.

  Sissy loved the water but the pier was what she’d been waiting for.

  Not Sarah. She hated fairground rides. If Sissy wanted to make herself sick, she was on her own. The helter-skelter was about as wild as she could go.

  But Sissy wasn’t having fun unless she was about to be sick. So they waited together for one of the up-and-down swirly ones to make sure that Sissy got on all right.

  She started screaming as soon as the safety bar came down. This alarmed the man sitting next to her.

  ‘Hey, Sissy. Sissy!’ Robin shouted, making calming motions with his hands. ‘Tone it down a little, will you?’

  ‘You’re not the one riding it,’ she said.

  ‘She’s got you there,’ said Sarah.

  The ride started and Sissy’s screams turned to helpless giggles as she swooped and dove round and round. She loved it.

  They put her on every wild ride on the pier. Each time, she screamed while sitting still and giggled when the ride started moving.

  It was late afternoon by the time she showed any sign of tiring. But she wasn’t giving up.

  ‘One more ride please,’ she said.

  ‘One more, Sissy. Just one. You choose.’

  This time there was another teenager sitting beside her. When Sissy started screaming so did the other girl. They locked eyes and screamed, collapsing against each other in hysterics when the ride began to swoop.

  Sarah felt ill just watching her.

  So what came next shouldn’t have surprised anyone. Sissy staggered off the ride, waved to Sarah and Robin, and vomited down the back of the woman in front of her.

  ‘Oh no,’ Robin said.

  ‘Do you think it was the Brighton rock?’

  ‘Or the funnel cakes or the fish and chips.’

  Sissy was understandably upset. ‘It’s okay,’ Sarah said, finding a serviette in her bag to offer to the woman. ‘I’m so sorry. We’ll pay to have that cleaned.’

  But the woman shook her head. ‘That’s not necessary. I have children. This top’s had worse than vomit on it.’ She opened her own bag and pulled out another one. ‘Always come prepared to Brighton.’

  Sarah wished she had. ‘Come on, Sissy, we need to get you cleaned up. Wait here,’ she said to Robin. ‘We’ll be back.’

  They found the ladies’ loos a little way back up the pier. ‘I’ve got mints,’ she told Sissy. ‘You can rinse your mouth, then chew one and rinse again. You’ve got a bit of yuck on yourself. Here.’ She wetted a paper towel and scrubbed Sissy’s jumper. ‘We’ll just wash it out, okay? You can wear it with the wet spot or you can just wear your swimsuit with your jacket over it. Your choice.’

  ‘Swimsuit.’

  ‘Okay. I’ll take your jumper.’ She stuffed it in her bag.

  Her phone was ringing. James.

  ‘I have to wee,’ said Sissy.

  ‘All right, you go. I’m just going to take this outside, okay? I’ll see you in a minute.’

  ‘Sarah, hi,’ he said over the din. ‘What are you doing? Are you outside?’

  ‘Yeah, I’m in Brighton with my sister and brother. What’s up?’

  ‘Not much, just meeting some mates for the football in a little while. Listen, I think we should talk to Rachel soon.’

  Just as she feared. It wasn’t a casual social call. ‘Why now? Has she said something to you?’

  ‘No. That’s the problem. She hasn’t said anything. I think that means it’s bothering her.’

  Sarah stared at the growing crowd on the pier. ‘I think so too. She hasn’t said a word to me. If she felt normal about us she’d have been more nosey than this. We usually talk about everything.’

  ‘That’s what I thought. So we should say something to her, right?’

  ‘Do you want to do it?’ she asked.

  ‘You should be there too.’

  ‘Do I have to?’

  ‘Well, kind of. She’s your friend.’

  Sarah snorted at that. Friends didn’t do things to make other friends jealous.

  ‘We should do it soon,’ he continued.

  ‘I guess so,’ she conceded. ‘Given the circumstances. I hate to cut you off but can I ring you later? I’ve got to check on my sister.’

  ‘Oh sure, sorry to hold you up. Have fun. Talk to you later.’

  The knot in her tummy grew as she thought about what was coming. What if Rachel threw a wobbly and accused her of being a bad friend?

  Who’d blame her? Sarah already thought it about herself. But like James said, they’d gone too far to stop now.

  The ladies’ cubicles were all full and Sissy wasn’t out yet so Sarah waited for her by the sinks. Mothers, children and groups of friends all jostled for space in the long, narrow room. Their voices bounced off the tiled walls. By the time Sarah said, ‘No, you go ahead, I’m just waiting for someone’ for about the twentieth time, she started losing patience.

  ‘Sissy?’ she called. Her sister could spend ages in the loo. ‘Sissy? Hurry up please. People are waiting.’

  ‘Sissy?’

  She waited for a few more seconds, not wanting to interrupt people in mid-wee.

  ‘Sissy? Answer me, please!’

  Sometimes she could be really awkward. ‘Sissy, this isn’t hide-and-seek.’

  She could imagine her holding in her giggles on the other side of one of the doors.

  Sighing, she knocked on each one, murmuring ‘Sorry’ at the exclamations from the other side.

  None of the voices were her sister’s.

  Fear prickled her neck as she hurried outside. What was Sissy wearing? That’s right, her swimsuit top. That was black. Did she have her jacket on or not? Her jacket was white. She scanned the heaving crowd, who all seemed to be dressed in black or white.

  ‘Sissy!’ She dug out her phone.

  ‘Robin, is Sissy with you?’

  ‘She was with you.’

  ‘I can’t find her. She was in the loo and now she’s gone.’

  ‘Well she can’t have gone far. I’ll come toward you. Are you near the loo?’

  ‘Yes, but I need to look for her.’

  ‘Stay there. I’ll look for her on the way to you, then you can look and I’ll stay by the loo in case she goes back there.’

  She could be anywhere, Sarah realised as she hung up and checked the time. She’d thought it had only been a few minutes, but she’d left Sissy in the loo nearly twenty minutes ago. She could be up on the promenade by now, or on the beach. She could be in the water.

  What had she been thinking?! It wasn’t like she didn’t know her sister liked to wander off. The staff at Whispering Sands always kept a very close eye on her. How did they do it with a home full of charges? She’d lost
one person in a matter of hours.

  Robin was hurrying through the crowd. Now he looked scared too.

  ‘I’m checking towards the front,’ Sarah said. If Sissy was back where the rides were then they’d spot her if she passed. If she wandered off the pier via the entrance though …

  Sarah dodged between all the people, rushing back toward the promenade. At least she was wearing jeans and trainers, not some stupid dress and heels that she’d never be able to run in.

  ‘Sissy!’ she yelled at the top of her voice. It wasn’t the time for restraint.

  People caught her eye sympathetically, and parents reached for their children to check they hadn’t wandered off in some sort of mass migration. Like irresponsibility was catching.

  She must be out of her mind. What made her think she could look after Sissy full-time when she couldn’t even take her to the loo? If anything happened to her because Sarah had done something as stupid, as trivial, as take a phone call …

  Her mum had been right. As well-meaning as she was, Sarah didn’t know how to take care of Sissy, not when she’d never done it before, and her sister was now gaining more independence. She wasn’t a little girl any more.

  Then up ahead, between the shoulders of strangers who all seemed so much bigger than her, she glimpsed a head of flyaway blonde hair. ‘Sissy!’

  Sissy stopped and looked around, everywhere but in Sarah’s direction.

  ‘Behind you!’ Sarah shouted.

  Slowly Sissy turned, an enormous grin spreading across her face. ‘There you are. You wandered off,’ she said.

  ‘I did not! You wandered off.’

  Sissy shook her head. ‘I was looking for you.’

  Sarah hugged her. ‘I was looking for you.’

  ‘But I was looking first.’

  She didn’t want to let go of her sister. ‘Let’s go find Robin. He’s worried. Hold my hand.’

  Sissy took her hand and said, ‘In case you get lost again.’

  No chance of that, she thought, gripping hard.

  Chapter Forty

  Catherine

  What she was doing was absolutely unprofessional. Not to mention that she’d feel like a complete tit if she got caught. She just hoped she’d have enough cover from the after-work crowd to get a quick peek through the windows.

  Alis was meeting Georgina at a pub in Soho, which was nearly on Catherine’s way home anyway. As long as she happened to walk completely out of her way. Why shouldn’t she see how they were getting on?

  She waited till she knew their date had started, did a last-minute make-up check and left the office. Magda was long gone of course. She was using the office as an excuse to go out to lunch these days.

  A pub wouldn’t have been Catherine’s choice of venue but Alis had sounded really excited about it when he’d told her that he’d arranged the date with Georgina. She’d felt a guilty little stab at his enthusiasm. Hopefully Magda was wrong about her client’s reaction.

  She saw the giant flaw in her perfect plan as soon as she approached the painted red façade of The Coach and Horses. Yes, it was crowded with drinkers, just as she’d hoped. Unfortunately they were all sitting outside at the tables along the windows …

  Along with Alis.

  ‘Catherine?’

  ‘Oh hi!’ she said, feeling her face flush. What an amateur stalker she was. ‘Was tonight …? Tonight was your date, wasn’t it?’ She looked around like she just realised where she was. ‘Here?’

  He nodded, smiling. He’d made an effort for Georgina, she noticed. He wore a button-down shirt with little grey and pink flowers on it. The long sleeves were rolled up past his elbows though, so Georgina wouldn’t miss his tattoos.

  ‘Nice shirt. Is it vintage?’

  ‘Just old,’ he said. ‘I like flowered shirts. I’m glad you approve.’

  Catherine noticed that there was only one glass on his table. ‘Is Georgina not here yet?’

  He rubbed his beard thoughtfully. ‘I believe she’s what’s called a no-show in the business. I was just finishing this before I headed home.’

  Catherine glanced at his nearly empty pint. That cow. It was bad enough that she was so judgemental about everything, but to stand him up? ‘Did she at least ring to cancel? Or text?’

  He shook his head. ‘Nah, but that’s all right. It’s warm under the heater here and I’ve been enjoying watching the people.’ He leaned closer, lowering his voice. ‘There’s a couple behind you who broke up last month but they’re trying it again. Between you and me, I don’t think it’s going to work out.’

  ‘Really?’ Catherine slipped into the seat opposite Alis. ‘Why not?’

  ‘From what I’ve heard so far, the dark-haired guy called it off because he thought the blond one was getting too involved. But the blond keeps pushing the other guy to make plans in advance and it’s driving him mental.’ He smiled. ‘Those are his words, not mine.’

  ‘Do you eavesdrop a lot?’

  ‘Every chance I get. Don’t you?’

  She laughed. ‘Of course I do. But I don’t usually admit it. I’m sorry you had to waste your time, when Georgina didn’t even have the courtesy to ring you. Can I at least buy you another pint?’

  ‘I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth, thank you. It’s not a waste of time though. I’m happy sitting here.’

  Catherine would be spitting feathers if she were him. She’d fumed when Richard was five minutes late, and she wasn’t even romantically involved with him.

  ‘But you had to get ready and travel here and wait for her and she didn’t even show.’

  Clearly he didn’t see her point. ‘I’m here, Catherine, out in Soho. It’s a nice night, I have a pint and an outdoor seat under a heater. What’s not to be happy about?’

  Seriously? Who was that pleased about being stood up? ‘I can make you even happier. Which beer would you like?’

  ‘London Pride, please.’

  She made her way to the bar, drafting a strongly worded email in her head to Georgina. Love Match had strict rules about courtesy. Not all clients would be as easy-going about this. If Georgina were in Alis’s shoes she’d have rung Catherine already to complain.

  She got herself a glass of wine and returned outside with Alis’s ale. She could tell by the tilt of his head that he was being nosey again.

  ‘So, what’s the update?’

  ‘Well,’ he whispered dramatically. ‘It sounds like blondie hasn’t exactly been sitting home alone pining for his ex while they were broken up. So now he has some nerve being jealous and making demands of the other guy.’

  ‘Are those his words again?’ Catherine asked, sipping her wine.

  ‘No, those are mine.’

  She laughed.

  ‘You can’t make someone love you,’ he said. ‘You can convince them to be with you, but you can’t make them love you. It’s too exhausting to try.’

  He sounded like he was speaking from experience. Catherine thought back to Richard. Yes, she had done it too, and then he went and made being in love with Magda look like the easiest thing in the world. For love to really be satisfying it had to come of its own free will. She wished she’d learned that earlier.

  The more worrying revelation from the wedding was what she’d been doing to Paul. What kind of control freak was she, anyway? Building her own boyfriend? Who did that?

  Sick people, that’s who. And the fact that Magda was the one to spot it just made it all the more embarrassing.

  ‘I don’t think you and Georgina would have been overly compatible anyway,’ she told Alis.

  ‘I kind of got that impression when I contacted her about meeting and she sent me a list of dietary requirements.’

  ‘Ha, you should talk!’ she said. ‘You’re a vegetarian.’

  ‘Yes, but I don’t lead with that. And as you know, I’m sometimes a lapsed vegetarian. I did wonder why you set us up.’

  She gulped her wine. She had to be careful. ‘Well, actually she’s my busine
ss associate’s client. It was her idea.’

  ‘Have you met Georgina before?’ he asked.

  She nodded. ‘She’s much like you’d imagine from her profile.’

  ‘In other words,’ he said, ‘she’s about as flexible as a steel rod.’

  Catherine thought about that. ‘No, a steel rod will bend if you heat it up. I am really sorry, Alis. I think it was a mistake to try to introduce you, but Magda is keen to show Georgina that she shouldn’t be so rigid in her requirements. And, to be fair, you’re a lovely man who she should be mad about.’

  He smiled. ‘You think I’m a lovely man?’

  ‘Well yes, of course.’ Catherine blushed. ‘I admit that when I first met you I may not have given you a fair chance.’

  ‘Because you thought I was a scruffy, beardy twat, you mean.’

  ‘No, no, I never thought you were a twat, really. It’s obvious that you’re a very sensitive and open person.’ She glossed over her surprise that he consulted astrologers and aligned the energy in his kitchen drawers.

  Those weren’t really defining features anyway. They might be part of him but they didn’t define him. Any more than her love of Filofaxes defined her. When she thought of him she thought of his kind, laid-back nature and his enthusiasm for the world.

  Georgina would be lucky to have a guy like Alis. What right did she have to reject him before she’d even met him? She’d be ringing that woman as soon as she got to the office tomorrow.

  She was starting to think that Georgina shouldn’t meet Paul either. Yes, with the improvements he was probably her ideal on paper, Aussiness aside, but Catherine wasn’t so sure she deserved him.

  She thought again about Paul and her Erector Set approach to dating. She’d been like some demented Nigella following her favourite recipe. Even worse, she was the one who always said that love didn’t follow a checklist. At the end of the day the only thing that mattered was whether that spark was there. Lactose intolerance, laundry habits, tattoos, beards, none of that mattered …

  Tattoos? Beards?

  Where had that come from?

  ‘If you’re hungry at all,’ Alis said, ‘we can eat upstairs. That’s why I picked this pub for drinks. It’s got good vegetarian and vegan food. Unless that’s too weird for you? We could go somewhere else if you’d rather. I can find something to eat on any menu.’