‘Well, he’s not going to be sending me friendly texts, but I have been keeping an eye on him.’
‘How have you done that?’ Hattie was impressed.
‘I’m a middle-class woman of a certain age: I can do anything! No, actually I’ve got a friend who’s been doing a bit of cyber-sleuthing. I think he’s planning to move to the States. Which would suit me just fine.’
‘And me!’ said Hattie. ‘I’ll feel safer when he’s out of the country.’ She stopped. She hadn’t meant Sheila to know she’d felt unsafe.
‘Oh, Hattie! Do you feel threatened? I wouldn’t blame you. He’s very frightening.’
Hattie put a reassuring hand on Sheila’s arm. ‘It’s fine. I’ve moved house. He won’t know where I am.’
‘You moved house? That’s a huge thing! We’ve been here two years and I still haven’t got over it!’
‘Oh, I move house quite often. It’s not that big a deal for me.’
Sheila raised her eyebrows and then smiled. ‘So where have you moved to?’
‘It’s very near where I lived before but smaller. Tiny in fact. It’s a lodge. Now we’ve decorated, it’s really nice. Luke did a few running repairs.’
‘Is Luke your—’
‘No,’ said Hattie quickly. ‘Just a very good friend.’
Sheila nodded. ‘Let’s have lunch. I even took a couple of desserts out of the freezer that weren’t eaten at the non-wedding reception.’
‘Was there much wasted?’
‘No,’ said Sheila. ‘Quite a lot of it was eaten and everything that wasn’t, I put in the freezer. I bought a second freezer instantly, so it’s all still there. We could have another party!’
‘It’s a lovely time of year for parties. My birthday is this month and I can quite often celebrate in the garden.’
Sheila’s eyes widened in excitement. ‘Oh! Let me give you a birthday party! I want to celebrate Fi and Nick coming back but they might think that a bit over the top, but if it was your birthday party, we could invite lots of people. Would you like that? Think it over. Let’s eat.’
Hattie accepted a bowl full of salad leaves with a wonderful dressing that Sheila handed her, enjoying the feeling of being mothered. ‘This is delicious!’ she said a couple of minutes later. ‘You’re so good in the kitchen.’
‘I admit I love entertaining.’ Sheila hesitated. ‘And we have a lot of wine that no one but me is going to drink unless we have a party.’ Sheila shot Hattie a look and then looked more serious. ‘I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done for Fiona. You saved her from a complete disaster.’ Sheila put her hand on Hattie’s and squeezed it.
‘I only did what anyone would have done in the circumstances.’ She paused, remembering how angry and threatening Lance could be. ‘And you played your part, Sheila. We all did.’
Sheila removed her hand. ‘But you initiated it. I can’t thank you enough.’
‘As I said, we all did it together. But if it wasn’t too much trouble, and you let me help, and share the cost, I would quite like a birthday party this year.’
‘I’d love that! And we’ll argue about costs later. Are you a significant age? Is it your big three-oh?’
Hattie laughed. ‘I wish! It’s just for fun, really.’ It sounded lame but it was the best reason she could think of. She couldn’t explain that she wanted a way of getting Mr Saye and her sister together, although inviting him to a party would be awkward. She couldn’t guarantee he’d come. ‘Or what about another quiz?’
Sheila looked confused. ‘I couldn’t organise a whole quiz. Why a quiz? It seems a strange way to celebrate your birthday.’
Hattie wished she could explain that you can ask people you don’t really know to a quiz in a way you couldn’t ask them to a birthday party. But she was prepared to invite a man she didn’t know if it meant her sister might fall in love.
She made a dismissive gesture. ‘Oh, you know, everyone loves quizzes, but it would be a lot of work.’
‘So a party it is. Who do you want to invite?’ Sheila got up and found a notebook. ‘This is going to be fun!’
‘What will Malcolm think of the idea?’
‘Malcolm and I have been having words lately. It wasn’t until I saw Lance being such a bully that I really realised that Malcolm had those tendencies too. He doesn’t want me to leave, and so he’s being far more considerate.’
