There it was again: that fluttery feeling whenever anyone mentioned John’s name. He is not looking for someone. He is your handyman. Rory pushed the feeling down. But she turned back to the wardrobe so that Susie couldn’t see her face.
‘Yes. He has. I’m really pleased with it. And he’s not “my man”.’
Susie sighed. ‘More’s the pity. You shouldn’t have let that one get away. Great arms.’
Time to change the subject. ‘What do you know about this man I’m meeting tonight?’
Susie sat up again. ‘Not much. But I can confirm that he is breathing, solvent and has not got a wife.’ She smiled proudly. ‘I checked.’
* * *
In all her thirty-eight years, Rory had never been on a blind date. Walking into the restaurant, she kept up a running commentary in her head. You are a grown up. You are just meeting someone new. There is nothing to be worried about.
Except she was worried.
Susie had never had the best taste in men. In fact, the main reason Susie was still single was because she was only ever attracted to the type of man who would make normal women run a mile. Overly familiar? Rough around the edges? Brains of a Brussels sprout? That was Susie catnip.
Therefore, Rory wasn’t surprised when Jim looked like he might have just got back from holding up a post office.
Maybe she was being unfair. He was dressed well. A crisp white shirt and smart trousers. The long sleeves hid the tattoos which Susie found so attractive, but when he turned to speak to the waiter, Rory could see the pointed tail of a dragon peeking out from the collar of his shirt. According to Susie, it covered the whole of his back. She’d gushed how his tattoos made him look like Tom Hardy. Maybe if Tom had just recovered from glandular fever. Although to be fair to Susie, there was something strangely familiar about him.
But Rory wasn’t here to pass judgement on Jim. Susie was a big girl and could take care of herself. Rory really should pay attention to the man who had been brought here for her. She’d promised her mother that she wouldn’t judge him in the first five minutes. Just think about the jars he could open and the spiders he could catch. Look for the positives.
‘So, what do you do, Andy?’
He leaned back in his chair. ‘I’m in business.’ He winked at her. ‘Bit of this, bit of that.’
Rory’s heart sank. But Susie’s eyes told her she had to continue. Jars and spiders.
‘How do you know Jim?’
‘He started drinking at The Crown a few weeks ago. That’s my local. We’ve had a few bevvies together the last few Fridays.’ The wink again. Then he went silent.
Marvellous. A wheeler dealer and a drinker. Her cup runneth over. Plus, Jim had only known him for a few weeks; so much for the glowing recommendation. How long before she could get out of here?
‘You’re a teacher like Susie, aren’t you?’ Susie’s boyfriend, Jim, was at least trying to engage her in conversation.
‘Yes, we’ve worked together for about six years. At St Anthony’s.’ And this is how Susie repaid her.
‘Yeah. St Anthony’s,’ he nodded his head, ‘I’ve heard of it.’
‘Oh, did you go to school round here, then?’ This had to be the dullest conversation she’d had in a while.
‘No. Only moved here recently. And then I met this one.’ He took hold of Susie’s hand and squeezed it.
Susie’s face was sickening.
Jim turned back to Rory. ‘Do you like it? Teaching?’
‘Yes. I love it. The kids at St Anthony’s are great.’ Whenever Rory talked about her students, it made her smile. Teaching was a tough job – and Nathan Finch was making it tougher – but she wouldn’t change her students for the world.
‘I hated school, me. I hated teachers too.’ For a moment there was a glint in Jim’s eye that wasn’t particularly attractive, then he tried to smooth it over with a smile. Rory definitely had the feeling that she’d met him before. It was odd.
‘There’re probably a few of our pupils who might say the same.’ Susie tried to lighten the mood.
Jim didn’t take his eyes from Rory. ‘Rough, are they? The kids at your school?’
Rory bristled; those were her kids he was referring to. ‘I wouldn’t say that.’
‘That’s not what I’ve heard,’ chipped in Andy. ‘Some of the kids on my estate go to St Anthony’s. I reckon you’ve got some right toe rags.’
‘We’ve got some difficult kids. But they have difficult lives. It’s understandable.’ Why wasn’t Susie joining in with her? She loved the kids at St Anthony’s as much as Rory did. And why was Jim the Dragon Tattoo Man still staring at her so intently?
Jim laughed harshly. ‘Oh, the broken home story? Don’t wash with me, I’m afraid.’
Great. He was going to be one of those. I was given a clip round the ear and it never did me any harm. Rory wasn’t in the mood. ‘I just need to go to the bathroom, excuse me.’
‘I’ll come with you.’ Susie pushed out her chair and got up to follow her. So she hadn’t lost her voice after all.
* * *
As soon as they were inside the Ladies, Rory turned to speak but Susie held up her hands and spoke first.
‘Okay, before you say it, I know that Andy is all wrong for you. I’m sorry. It was worth a go. Just stick it out until the end of the meal and I promise you never have to see him again.’
Rory couldn’t last that long. ‘The end of the meal? How about I get an emergency call from home and have to leave in ten minutes?’
‘No! It will look too obvious. Just wait until after dessert and then say you’re tired or have got an early start or something. You know, the lines I’ve had men use on me. Please?’
Rory groaned. When Susie put it like that, what could she do but agree? Susie grinned and turned to reapply her lipstick in the mirror. She was so lovely. If only she could see that her bad luck with men had less to do with her attractiveness and more to do with her poor judgement.
‘What do you think of Jim, then?’
Rory had dreaded this question. Jim was awful. Unattractiveness aside, he seemed intense, aggressive and opinionated. And they hadn’t even had their main meal yet. There was no point saying any of this to Susie, though. Every man she met was a potential life partner until they did something awful and her rose-coloured spectacles fell off. Rory hoped he wouldn’t hurt her too badly.
But Rory was saved by the bell. Or her ringing mobile. It was Sheila. ‘I need to take this; it’s my mum.’
‘Hello Rory? It’s Mum.’ The waver in Sheila’s voice stopped Rory from telling her that caller display had told her that already. ‘Can you talk? You’re not driving, are you?’
Sheila started every phone call like this. Whatever was bothering her was obviously not serious enough to prevent her Health and Safety checks. ‘No, Mum, I’m fine to talk.’ Rory made a gesture to Susie to go back on in without her. That would save her from having to give her opinion on Dragon Man. Hopefully, by the time she got back out there, the meal would have arrived and she could eat and go.
Sheila sounded wobbly. ‘Something awful has happened.’
‘What? Are you okay? Is it your foot?’
‘No, nothing like that. It’s George, I’ve upset him.’
Rory breathed out. No need to panic. She leaned back against a hand basin. This might take a while. For once, she didn’t mind. ‘I can’t believe that, Mum. What happened?’
‘Olive was in bed, so George moved two dining chairs into their bedroom so all three of us could listen to some old music and have a sing song; we’ve done it a few times. Sometimes Olive joins in and sometimes she just sits and taps the rhythm on my hand.’
‘Sounds nice.’ Sheila was obviously upset, so Rory didn’t want to rush her. Also, it would buy her more time away from Dragon Man and his boring sidekick.
‘It’s really nice. Olive often falls asleep and then George and I talk about years ago. Things we got up to as kids, movies we loved, music we used to listen to. Do you
know he likes The Beatles too? I can’t believe we have known each other for almost two months and not found that out.’
Listening to The Beatles always reminded Rory of her dad. She couldn’t listen to ‘Yesterday’ or ‘Hey Jude’ without thinking of him, singing along in his van. Happy memories.
‘George went to make tea. While he was gone, Olive woke up. She was a bit confused, so I held her hand. Then she asked where my husband was. I reminded her I’d lost my husband. She got agitated then, cross with me even. “No, your husband,” she kept saying, “your husband. The one you were singing with. That tall man with the grey hair.” She meant George! I said, “He’s your husband, silly.” And then she laughed at me. “No, he’s your husband. You can tell by the way he looks at you.”’
Rory could see how this might be awkward. But Olive had Alzheimer’s. It was to be expected. ‘If she’d just woken up, Mum, she was probably just a bit disoriented. It’s nothing to get upset about.’
Sheila sniffed. ‘I know that; I didn’t think anything of it. She’s been really unwell and there are more and more days she doesn’t know who people are. The problem was that George appeared with the tea at that exact moment and he heard every word.’
‘What did he say?’
‘We didn’t talk about it, but he drank his scalding hot tea in record time and then made up some jobs that he had to get done before bedtime. It didn’t take a genius to work out that he wanted me to go. Olive had already dozed back off, so I gave her a peck on the cheek and left.’
‘He was probably just embarrassed. It’ll be okay next time you see him.’ Rory really needed to get back to the table. She was cross with Susie, but not cross enough to be rude.
‘That’s just it. I asked him if he wanted me to pop in again tomorrow but he said we should leave it because Olive could do with some uninterrupted sleep. He made a feeble joke about staying in his pyjamas all day, but I knew what he was telling me. Don’t come.’
‘Give it a couple of days, Mum. I’m sure it will be fine.’
Sheila sniffed again. ‘I hope you’re right. I can’t stop feeling guilty, but it’s not as if we’ve been doing anything wrong. I just visit Olive, giving George a break when he needs it. I’ve enjoyed his company, but there’s nothing wrong with that, is there?’
‘Nothing wrong with that at all. I’m sure it will all sort itself out, Mum. Look, why don’t you come over a bit earlier tomorrow night, we can have a chat before I go out.’
‘Oh yes, I’d forgotten you’ve got your date.’
‘No, that’s tonight. Right now, in fact.’
‘You should have said! How is it?’
‘Terrible. I’ll tell you when I see you tomorrow night.’
Tomorrow night. When she had to go out to the Community Awards with Nathan Finch. Her weekend just got better and better.
Chapter Thirty
‘Are you sure you don’t mind doing this, Mum? I don’t have to go, you know; it’s only a work thing.’ Rory had been fussing about like this since Sheila had arrived. She would rather be going to the dentist than an awards dinner with Nathan Finch. Susie and Penny had been teasing her about it all week. What the heck were they going to talk about? Seating plans?
Sheila, on the other hand, was quite excited. ‘I don’t mind a bit. I’d only be sitting at home, fretting about George and Olive. Plus, it’ll be nice to spend some time with Charlie. Now go and get dressed. Your date will be here in a minute.’
Rory threw her hands up in the air. ‘For the last time, Mum, he is not my date! This is a dinner for the Community Awards. I am merely accompanying the deputy head.’
Sheila nudged Rory in the direction of the door. ‘Yes, yes. I know. Just go and get dressed or you’ll be keeping the deputy head waiting.’
Charlie walked in, dragging his feet. ‘I don’t want to see Finchy. Does he have to come in?’
At the same time, Sheila said ‘Yes,’ and Rory said ‘No.’
Sheila gave Rory another little push. ‘If you’re still sitting here in your jeans when he arrives, I’ll have no option but to let him in. Go and get dressed!’
Rory’s new dress was hanging on the outside of the wardrobe. She’d needed something more formal than her usual black dress and had made the mistake of allowing Susie to come shopping with her. Somehow, Susie had persuaded her that the dark green brought out her eyes. Rory didn’t want to dwell on what that neckline was going to bring out. There was no point worrying about it now. Susie had even kidnapped the black dress so that Rory couldn’t change her mind at the last minute.
The doorbell rang. Damn. Nathan was early. That meant that poor Charlie might have to see the dreaded deputy out of school hours and, worse, her mother would get the chance to talk to him. As quickly as she could, Rory wriggled into the dress and hobbled across the landing to Belle’s room. ‘Quick! Zip me up!’
Since the naked selfie incident, Belle had been subdued. Rory had made her come straight home from college for the first few days afterwards, but had relented and let her study at Fiona’s last night whilst Rory was on the awful double date with Susie. When Rory appeared at Belle’s door, dressed to go out, Belle did a mock double take. ‘You look really good, Mum. You should dress like this more often.’
‘Thanks. Maybe I’ll get one to wear to Sainsbury’s?’ Thank God they were friends again. Despite Rory’s evil parenting. Rory watched Belle’s reflection in the dressing table mirror as she zipped her dress. Her look of concentration was so endearing that Rory couldn’t resist kissing her.
But, as she walked downstairs, Rory realised that the voices she could hear didn’t include that of Nathan Finch. That was John’s voice.
Rory’s stomach still did its familiar flip when she saw him. She was a fool. He didn’t fancy her; he just felt sorry for her. John and Sheila turned to look in her direction. Charlie had his head in a box, from which he was extricating a variety of implements.
‘Wow.’ John almost dislocated his jaw, his mouth fell open so fast.
‘Darling. You look beautiful!’ Sheila clapped her hands together and kept them there, as if in prayer.
Rory fiddled with the neckline of the dress. John couldn’t take his eyes off her. Sheila looked happily from one to the other of them, and Rory wanted to strangle her.
Charlie came to the rescue.
‘Rory. Look at this lot. John has bought me my own set of tools.’
‘Wow, lucky you.’ She smiled at John. ‘That’s very generous of you.’
John shrugged. ‘A mate of mine got them cheap. He was getting some for his own boy and I thought Charlie might like some. He can earn his keep that way.’ He winked at Charlie, before turning to check with Rory, ‘It’s okay isn’t it?’
‘I would think so. As long as I don’t have to return him to his mother missing a finger.’ She felt a pang. She’d got used to having Charlie around. He didn’t belong to her, but it was going to be difficult to say goodbye. With Belle spending less time at home, Rory had enjoyed having someone to look after.
John rubbed his palms together. ‘How’s your bathroom working out?’
It was fabulous. ‘Great. How’s Chris?’ Another pang. A different kind.
John frowned. ‘Er, fine. As far as I know. Your mum reminded me that your kitchen is being delivered next week. What day do you want me?’
Damn her mother. After the parents’ evening revelations, Rory didn’t want John to help at all. How could she put him off? Think. ‘Actually, it’s been delayed. Not sure when it’s coming now.’
Sheila looked confused. ‘But that’s not what…’
‘Yes. Yes. You know how these things are. Never go to plan.’ Rory’s nose started to itch and she rubbed it with the back of her hand. An itchy nose meant a cold was on its way, just in time for the half-term break. Great.
John shrugged. ‘Okay. Well just let me know when you want me.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘Is your nose all right?’
‘Just a cold. I’ll be ri
ght back.’ Rory dashed to the downstairs loo to blow her nose. She needed to be quick before her mum said anything to make John suspicious about the kitchen delivery.
This time, when the bell rang, she grabbed her coat. It had to be Nathan. ‘Don’t worry, Charlie. I’ll go straight out.’
‘Hold up,’ John jumped up. ‘I’ll come out with you.’
He followed her out to the hallway. ‘Sorry, I should have checked with you before giving him the tools. I know it’s not my place. I just feel sorry for the kid, you know. My mum was on her own. I know what it’s like.’
So, it was true. The doorbell rang again, insistently. Rory tried to ignore it. ‘It’s fine. Honestly. It was a kind thing to do. It’s good that you like to… help people.’
‘It’s a great thing you’re doing for him. And for his mum. It must make it easier for her knowing that he’s in such a nice place with… such nice people.’
Rory’s heart thumped. ‘Thanks. Really. Was that all you wanted to talk to me about?’
The doorbell rang again. Followed by a loud knock on the door. John hesitated, ‘Those girls are desperate to get going, aren’t they?’
‘Oh, it’s not the girls. It’s…’
Just then, the door opened. When Sheila had let John in, she clearly hadn’t closed it properly. A sharp rap from Nathan Finch and it had opened, revealing a surprised Nathan in an expensive tuxedo, knuckles still in mid-knock. ‘Sorry, I’m not sure how that happened.’
Rory couldn’t even look at John. ‘John this is Nathan. He’s the deputy head at my school. We have an event to attend. A community awards evening. Nathan, this is…’ Her mind went blank. How did she introduce John Prince? Her builder? Her friend? ‘This is John.’
Nathan nodded curtly. ‘We need to get going, really. I hate to be late.’
Rory’s red face was probably providing a lovely contrast to her green dress. ‘Of course. Sorry, John. I have to go.’
‘No problem.’ John wasn’t meeting her eye either. ‘I completely understand.’
Happily Never After_A laugh-out-loud romantic comedy Page 18