“God, I imagine you’ll have to keep them?” Marcy whistled through her teeth. “Five cats and two dogs… I bet you’ll be running for the hills sooner rather than later.”
“Nah, I love them all; it’s actually fun with lots of animals around. And the cats are no trouble at all. They’re so independent; we barely see them apart from mornings and nights when the wet food comes out.” Lisa got in the car and rolled down all windows before she closed the door. “So, where am I dropping you off?”
Marcy was about to answer when a message came in on her phone. She smirked as she read it and shook her head. “Never mind, it looks like I have a date and it’s so close that I might as well walk.” She typed in a reply, then turned to Lisa with a smug expression. “I love a pleasant surprise, don’t you?”
“A date? Right now?” Lisa pointed to Marcy’s torn shorts, paint-stained T-shirt and the toolbelt she was still wearing. “Don’t you need to get changed or something?”
“No, this woman just asked me if I can come around to hang up a picture for her. She’s cooking me dinner in return.”
“But every idiot knows how to hang a picture.”
“Exactly.” Marcy laughed. “I bet she needs it hanging in her bedroom.”
63
“Hey, babe.” Lisa had just sent her last email for the day when Ebony called. “Have you booked that flight yet?”
“I have,” Ebony said in a cheerful tone. “And now that you’re staying longer, it’s much better timing with work, so they were happy for me to take an extra day. Are you sure Stella doesn’t mind me staying with her?”
“No, she’s really excited to meet you.” Lisa paused. “But there’s been a little hiccup…”
“What hiccup?”
“My brother was supposed to come the week after, but he booked the same date as you by mistake. Do you mind if he’s here at the same time?”
Ebony laughed out loud. “That’s so typical of your brother. Do you remember he asked me out for years and when I finally gave in and said yes, he never showed up because he’d lost his phone and couldn’t remember where we were meeting?”
“I know. It’s typical. But it is what it is.”
“I don’t mind as long as we don’t have to share a bed.” Ebony paused. “And you know what? It will actually be nice to see him again because I’ll finally be able to have a go at him for standing me up.”
“I have no doubt you will.” Lisa smiled, already looking forward to having them both here. Making fun of her brother was her favourite pastime. After his accident she’d refrained from it because she felt sorry for him, but now that he was getting better, the itch was starting to come back. “How’s work?”
“Work is good. Very, very busy and messy at times; you know what it’s like. How’s your new job going?”
“It’s going really well, I’m enjoying it.” Lisa poured herself a glass of chilled, white wine and went outside. She sighed as she sat down on the ratan sofa and propped her feet up on the coffee table. “And I wouldn’t mind doing more of this in future. It’s refreshing to do something new; I’m learning so much.”
“Good for you, honey. You sound so upbeat and happy. Are you even ever coming back?”
“I am happy.” Lisa hesitated. “And no, I may not be coming back to London, at least not for good.” She waited for Ebony to speak but there was nothing but a long silence, so she continued. “I’ve decided I want to stay here with Stella and I’m going to make it work one way or another. I might have to move in with my parents for a while until I find a job in Spain as I’m only allowed to stay until my contract runs out, but honestly, I’d take anything at this point as long as I can be with her. I’m not picky.”
“Wow… This doesn’t sound like you at all...”
“My priorities have shifted. A career isn’t everything.”
“No, it’s not; you’re right about that. But the Lisa that I know from a year ago would never say such a thing. Have you become all chilled and Spanish?”
“I guess you could say that.” Lisa chuckled. “And we have two adorably cute puppies that we found on our way to Seville. They’ve just had their jabs and I can’t wait to take them to the park to meet other dogs. We’re not keeping them but I’m really enjoying having them around.”
“Okay.” Ebony burst out in laughter now. “Benidorm, job downgrade, dogs… I can’t wait to come over now; I want to see for myself if this is actuallyyouI’m talking to.”
Lisa laughed too and picked up Butters, who was hopping on his chubby hind legs, trying to get on her lap. “I suppose I have you to thank for all of this,” she said. “For everything good that’s come into my life. If you hadn’t pressured me to come here…”
“Aww…” Ebony cooed in a sweet voice. “You’re welcome, honey. Not that I expected you to meet the love of your life and never come back, but I appreciate it. Just know that I’ll always keep teasing you about that phone call when you said how much you hated it there.”
“Fair enough,” Lisa said with a grin. “So, what about you? Been on any more interesting dates lately?”
“God, no. I’m so sick of dating. Every man so far has turned out to be a bigger asshole than the previous. I’ve given up for now and I’m resigned to being single. Maybe I’m meant to be on my own.”
