So he worked in an office? Jess kind of knew that already, as he always left in the mornings suited and booted just before she left with Maisie. She had observed him out of the bedroom window, heading to his car. Not that she was really looking, of course.
‘I wish I could say the same. Half the city must have been out food shopping today,’ said Jess. She had barely stopped for a second. Burgers and salad had been particularly popular, and she imagined people having get-togethers on a perfect summer evening.
They chatted about their respective workplaces and when they had finished, Maisie showed Declan a painting of a whale that she pulled from her school bag.
‘They live in Antarctica and Norway mainly, but sometimes in other places around the world,’ she told him knowledgeably. ‘We are learning about them at school.’
‘Wow, that’s really good,’ said Declan, appraising the picture of the huge orca leaping out of the water. He meant it. She had real talent for such a young girl. ‘Do you like painting?’ he asked her.
‘Yes. I have got an art set this big.’ She stretched out her arms as wide as they would go. ‘Do you want to see it?’
‘Maisie, I’m sure Declan has more important things to do,’ said Jess, her face flushing slightly as she thought of her underwear draped over the radiator in the hall that she never had time to put away this morning.
‘I’m off out shortly, but maybe another time?’ Declan smiled at Maisie.
As Declan put his key in the door of his apartment on their shared landing, he turned to Jess and asked if she was going to dinner at Alice’s place the following evening. When she said that she was, he surprised himself by feeling excited at the prospect of getting to know her a little better during the evening. Then again, would it be wise to get involved with someone living so close and who had a child? What if things didn’t work out? There was also the small matter of his past to consider. All the same, an evening in the company of an attractive young woman might be nice.
‘Good.’ He smiled before he headed inside.
TEN
JESS
Jess felt a fluttering of nerves as she headed home from her Friday shift at work. She decided to take the train home for a change, and had passed the mix of people who were out in force, already in weekend mode. Groups of lads in smart shirts and girls in full make-up and wearing pretty dresses strolled alongside tourists on weekend breaks trundling their suitcases away from Lime Street train station chatting excitedly.
As she sat on the train watching the old warehouses of the docks whizz by and give way to the rows of back-to-back houses, Jess wondered what she was worried about. Alice was a lovely woman, and Declan seemed like a nice guy. She hadn’t really met the older bloke from the other ground-floor flat, but they had exchanged friendly greetings on the odd occasion their paths had crossed.
A young girl boarded the train at the next stop and sat opposite her, plugging in her earbuds and avoiding eye contact. Jess wondered why people were so reluctant to even smile at you on trains but often chatted away on buses. Although thinking about it, maybe that was just the older generation that did that, the regular bus commuters often commenting on the weather, or their aches and pains good-naturedly in the morning.
What on earth would they talk about at this dinner party? thought Jess as she stared out of the window. It was kind of Alice to invite them for dinner, but she could not help wondering what people spoke about at these gatherings. Did they discuss politics and current affairs? Not that Jess was ignorant on those matters, she read the news online most mornings on the bus or theMetronewspaper, keeping herself up to date with what was going on in the world, but she never discussed such things on an evening out. On the odd occasion she did go out, she liked to let loose and have fun, dancing in a club and finishing the evening with a cocktail.
Her mum had called her this morning and said she would come and visit her next weekend and stay over, offering to babysit Maisie so she could go out if she liked. Her partner was going to travel with her and take the opportunity to visit his daughter and stay over at her place. She had told her how much she missed her and Maisie, and Jess told her mum that they missed her too.
They had taken the train to Windermere a couple of weeks ago, staying overnight, her mum kindly paying the train fare for them. They had had the best time, taking a boat trip on the lake and visiting Beatrix Potter’s old house at Hill Top, the inspiration for her Peter Rabbit stories. Maisie had talked about the weekend all the way home on the train, telling Jess she couldn’t wait to tell her teacher all about it. With Jess’s mum offering to babysit Maisie, maybe she would join some of the gang from work heading into town on Saturday evening to celebrate someone’s birthday.
Grabbing Maisie from school, they hurried along without lingering at the duck pond, until they were back home. Thankfully, after-school club provided a snack, which would keep Maisie going until dinner. She thought of Alice then, preparing the meal, and wondered if she ought to offer to help.Then again, she needed to shower and decide on what she wanted to wear. Alice had suggested an arrival time of six thirty to have a pre-dinner drink.
‘What do you think, Maisie?’
Jess held up a pretty knee-length dress with a floral pattern, and a red blouse.
‘I’ll wear my jeans with the blouse,’ said Jess, thinking she would wear a pair of black jeans, her one staple for her occasional nights out, paired with the smart top.
‘The dress. It is Friday night after all,’ said Maisie, which made Jess laugh. When did she become so old-fashioned?
‘You’re probably right,’ she said, putting away the jeans and blouse. Thinking about it, the dress would probably be a lot more forgiving if she overindulged in food.
Sitting at the small kitchen table, Maisie was colouring a picture of Merida, the brave Scottish princess with the cascading red hair from Disney Pixar’sBrave, which was one of her favourite films. Maisie already looked tired, her cheeks flushed pink and strands of hair escaping its ponytail and falling around her face. Jess wondered how long the evening would last and debated taking Maisie’s pyjamas with her to change into. She was used to being awake until about eight, maybe eight thirty at the weekend, but no later. This was going to be unusual for both of them.
Half an hour later, Maisie had changed into a floral cotton dress and Jess slid on her own dress. She brushed Maisie’s hair into a neat ponytail, her own hair let loose this evening, before grabbing the red pot plant she would take for Alice as a thank you gift. She knew nothing about wine, other than her favourite white was Pinot Grigio, so thought a plant would be a better bet.
Popping Maisie’s pyjamas into her large shoulder bag, just in case, she picked up her keys and headed downstairs. Shebreathed away a slight feeling of nervousness as she rang the bell of Alice’s apartment.
ELEVEN
ALICE
‘Jess, Maisie, do come in.’
