‘Did you sleep?’
‘Hardly. Sure, you kept me awake half the night.’ He grinned at her. ‘One sugar, thanks.’
She was trying hard to maintain a cool air and not beam like an idiot, which was difficult every time she looked at him. Maybe they could go for a stroll, grab some lunch, even an early movie .?.?.
Just then, his phone rang, shattering their cosy idyll. His expression flipped immediately from seductive to serious.
‘What? Yeah, oh God, right. OK, I’ll see you there in half an hour.’ He ended the call, looking distracted.
‘Look, I’m going to have to go. I’m really sorry, Ally, it’s just .?.?. something’s come up. But thanks .?.?. thanks for everything.’
Her heart sank as she watched him throw on his clothes and scoop up Patsy, who didn’t look one bit pleased either.
‘See you tomorrow, then.’
She felt the chilly draught as the door shut behind him, leaving her holding two coffees and feeling like an idiot. At least he’d had the decency to fold his bedclothes – that said something about him not taking her for granted. She hadn’t overheard the conversation but it had definitely been a woman’s voice with a sharp, insistent tone. She flopped down on the sofa, opposite Harry and Sally.
A heavy blanket of disappointment threatened to descend on her.
It was time to phone Rosemarie, who, thankfully, was an early riser.
‘You’re freaking joking? His ex – if that’s who it was – phones, snaps her fingers and he packs up and runs out the door,just like that?’
‘He didn’t even say why he had to go. I feel such a fool. Although, in fairness, it did sound very urgent.’
‘Yeah,’ huffed Rosemarie. ‘’Course it did. She’s the type that can always sniff out when their ex is trying to move on. Anyway, did you do it? And remember this is me you’re talking to .?.?. I can see through walls. Not literally, but you know what I mean.’
There was no point in being coy.
‘Not .?.?. quite. I knew if I did, I’d be lost. Rosie, why does every relationship I get into end up a failure? What’s wrong with me?’
‘Nothing’s wrong with you. They’re all untrustworthy rats.’
Rosemarie was a supremely loyal friend, but Ally did sometimes doubt the soundness of her judgement. For example, her sister and her husband appeared to be so contentedly married that they barely spoke about each other, in a good sort of way. It was as though they fitted together effortlessly, like a sock and shoe. And even Damo and his girlfriend of one year seemed very much in love – and contrary to Rosemarie’s dark pronouncements that ‘everyone compromises’, they appeared to have found ‘their person’. So, it was possible for some people, just not for her.
She decided this was a rabbit hole she didn’t want to explore so, as an antidote to moping all Sunday, she cleaned out Harry and Sally’s fish tank, changed her sheets and threw out all the tiny pots of sauce in the fridge. After that, feeling a sense of achievement, she reheated the second coffee, which she sipped while falling into a reverie, watching the fish flitting around in their warm, softly lit world.
There really was a lot to be said for being a pet fish. Harry was surfing the bubbles rising from his yawning pirate chest, but Sally appeared to be listening intently.
‘See, the thing about Rosemarie is that she is the only childof a very young mother and spent a lot of her life with her grandmother, and nobody talked about anything emotional, so she got most of her relationship information growing up fromIreland’s Ownmagazine. She’s got these no-nonsense, slightly old-fashioned opinions, but underneath I know she’d love to find someone of her own.’
Still, Rosemarie was not somebody to readily take advice from anyone, so Ally changed the subject.
‘OK, we’re going to have to think of ourselves. The problem is, we’ve the mortgage until the end of this month, which is in three weeks’ time, and after that the bailiffs will be in, or else I could sublet and go home to Mum and Dad. Or .?.?. I could always ask Pete if he’s space in his van?’
Sally wafted her frilly fins and eyed Ally evenly.
‘Kidding, obviously. I just thought I’d say it.’
Chapter 9
Next morning, Ally pushed open the door to The Owl’s Nest to find Evelyn working through her usual mountain of food: creamy hummus, vibrantly coloured quiches, crusty breads, fragrant almond and lemon tarts, and chocolate pavlova with cream. Ally marvelled at how her tiny, birdlike frame could summon the energy to produce such abundance.
Ally immediately began to take the chairs down and set up for opening at eight thirty.
‘Evelyn, how did you manage all of this? You look exhausted.’
She made both of them a mug of tea and helped Evelyn with the washing-up.
