The shocked expression returned. ‘What about presents?’
I shook my head.
‘But…’
‘The only family I have left is my sister and she’s never sent me a card or bought me a gift in her whole life, even when we were kids, and…’ I sighed. It was embarrassing to admit it, but I might as well throw it on the table. ‘I don’t have any friends. Well, not long-term friends. I only joined the Cake & Craft Club in September so everyone connected to that is a new friend and none of them know it’s my birthday today.’
Saffy’s eyes glistened and I feared she was going to start crying.
‘I’m not bothered. Age is just a number and today’s just another date on the calendar.’ I sounded positive but, as I heard the words out loud, I felt far from it. Birthdays should be special, especially milestone ones like sixty, but I’d grown used to my birthday not being celebrated since Cliff’s passing that it had never entered my head to mention it to my friends. I could have said something in the pub yesterday. I could have mentioned it at Cake & Craft Club last week when Veronica was handing out invitations for her birthday party in February. Feeling my throat tighten, I returned to Saffy’s original question.
‘Going back to finding love, I wouldn’t know where to start.’
‘Apps?’
I rolled my eyes at her and she laughed.
‘Maybe your dream hottie will walk into the shop, your eyes will lock over one of your patchwork quilts and you’ll both fall hopelessly in love.’
I thought about Milly’s recent comment about wanting to meet someone naturally and smiled at Saffy. ‘That would be lovely. You never know!’ And you really didn’t. Itcouldhappen, especially in this exciting new world I was creating for myself.
‘I don’t know whether I want another boyfriend,’ Saffy said. ‘I don’t mean ever – just not right now. I need to decide whether university’s my thing but a different course somewhere else. I’m fairly sure it’s not, but what do I do instead? I think I’d better get my own life sorted before I think about boyfriends.’
‘That sounds sensible. There’s definitely no chance of you and Kyle getting back together?’
‘None. He changed when we got to uni. He was out partying every night and skipping lectures and that’s not me. Six months ago, I’d have sworn it wasn’t him either but his parents were really strict and I think the freedom went to his head. I thought he’d calm down when the novelty wore off but it didn’t. He kept turning up at my flat drunk, causing beef with my flatmates. This one time, he threw up on the kitchen floor. My flatmates got really aggy about that. Like it was my fault!’
‘Oh, Saffy, that sounds horrendous.’
‘It was, but it was the trigger I needed to gothis isn’t for me. I hated the uni and my course, I hadn’t made friends, and I didn’t recognise my boyfriend anymore.’
‘You told your parents this?’
‘No. Mum’s besties with Kyle’s mum and, because his parents are so strict with him, he’s fed them a pack of lies about why we split up. He told themhewas the one who’d ended it and it was becauseIwas seeing someone else. Who does that? I get that he’s only trying to protect himself but why throw me under the bus?’
I didn’t like the sound of this Kyle at all and felt strangely protective towards Saffy, glad that she’d sent him packing.
‘I’ve got evidence,’ she said. ‘I could prove to my mum that Kyle was the problem but I want her to believe me without me having to show her it. I don’t get why she was so quick to assume the worst of me.’
‘What sort of evidence?’
‘Photos of him passed out on the sofa in the kitchen with sick down his T-shirt. I only took them cos I wanted to show him the state he’d got into, hoping it’d make him want to sort his life out. I’ve got videos too. One of my flatmates was especially aggy and she filmed him every time he turned up plastered. She sent me the films saying she was going to report me and get me kicked out of halls.’
I didn’t like the sound of this flatmate either. Saffy came across as such a lovely young woman and threatening her like that for something she hadn’t personally done seemed particularly harsh.
‘There’s obviously still a lot to sort out with your parents, but how are you feeling now that you’ve officially left and collected your belongings?’
‘So relieved. No doubts, no regrets. I’m not even worried about what to do next. Something’ll crop up. I’m just disappointed in my parents for making this a million times harder than it needed to be, and for upsetting Grandma. I hope she’s okay.’
‘She’ll be fine, Saffy. I know she will.’
‘I’m thinking we maybe don’t say anything about the pop-up shop today. It might be too much to throw at her. I’ll give her a day or so to settle back in first.’
‘That’s a good idea.’ I marvelled at Saffy’s emotional maturity as well as how brave she was. She had no idea what to do next yet she was remaining positive about it, believing that everything would work out fine. I wished I’d had some of her self-belief when I’d been her age. My life might have gone in a completely different direction if I had.
18
The village hall blinds were pulled down when I arrived for Cake & Craft Club the following Wednesday, which was unusual. I opened the outer door, walked through the entrance hall and stopped dead. There was paper covering the glass panels of the double doors into the main hall so I couldn’t see inside. Confused, I pulled on the right door and shrieked at the yell of, ‘Surprise!’
