‘Hell!’ He started running after the white car.
‘What is it?’ called Liv.
‘That’s Lizzie!’ he called back.
It looked like things were about to kick off again. Liv was contemplating whether she should stick her nose in or not, when Robbie’s police car swung into the driveway and headed for the hotel. Liv had no idea what was about to go down but she was keen to find out, so she jogged after them.
35
Effie was a bit worried that Liv had left without saying goodbye because she couldn’t find her anywhere, but a quick check in her bedroom revealed that her bag was still there. Seeing it lying on the chair gave her an idea. A few minutes later she snuck back in and slid the envelope into the bag and made sure it was right at the bottom so that Liv wouldn’t find it until she was safely back in Blackburn and unpacking. Effie couldn’t stop the sigh that escaped. She was going to miss Liv so much.
She made her way downstairs feeling quite pleased with herself but a little sad that Liv wasn’t about and would be leaving soon. Dolly trundled up the hallway with Jock’O on her lap already standing up and wagging his tail at the sight of Effie. ‘Morning,’ she said to Dolly as she gave Jock’O a fuss.
‘I’ve invited Winnie for Christmas so I need to let Fraser know there’ll be an extra one for dinner.’
‘Hmm good idea.’ Effie couldn’t focus on Christmas Day just yet.
‘What’s up?’ asked Dolly.
‘I can’t find Liv but her things are still here so she’s not left. At least I don’t think she has.’
‘The mechanic was coming early to fix the car. She’s likely overseeing the repairs.’
‘Ooh you could be right. I’ll go and see.’
‘Hang on.’ Dolly jerked the scooter forward, which almost made Jock’O topple off and he lay down quickly. ‘You’re going to really miss Liv, aren’t you?’ said Dolly.
‘You know sometimes you just click with a person. Like Ant and Dec, Tess and Claudia, Craig and Charlie from The Proclaimers – and that’s how I feel about Liv.’
Dolly smiled. ‘You know you could always go and visit her.’
Effie came over all sweaty. Her skin prickled and her chest felt heavy. ‘I don’t know about that.’
‘There’s always the train. I’ve a friend in Blackpool so we could travel together.’ Dolly reached for Effie’s hand. ‘Don’t go back into your shell when Liv leaves. Build on this.’ She nodded and oddly Effie found she was nodding along. ‘It was always your dream to travel. And this might be a start. Baby steps.’
She did feel braver when Liv was around. ‘Baby steps,’ she repeated. ‘I guess Blackburn isn’t Burkina Faso.’
Dolly gave her an odd look. ‘It’s a lot closer than that. Will you think about it?’
‘I will,’ said Effie, trying hard to ignore the slightly faint feeling that was coming over her. Dolly squeezed her hand and with that the front door opened and was flung so hard it banged into the wall.
‘Where is he?’ yelled an irate Lizzie.
Dolly and Effie went to see what she was shouting about. Callum came in behind her. ‘Lizzie, what are you doing here?’
She glanced over her shoulder. ‘Callum, you’re like a bad smell. Please go away. This does not concern you.’
‘There’s no need to be rude,’ said Callum.
‘Talking of bad smells, you’ve not changed your perfume,’ said Dolly scooting into the entrance hall. ‘Why are you here, Lizzie?’
‘Your grandson is playing games. My money is as good as anyone’s!’
An out-of-breath Liv came running into the hotel and waved that she needed a moment to get her breath. ‘What did I miss?’ she asked.
‘Nothing,’ said Dolly. ‘Lizzie is just leaving.’
‘No, I’m not,’ said Lizzie before filling her lungs and yelling, ‘Fraser!’ Everyone recoiled.
