‘Salvador?’ Jay chuckled. Nora glared at him. ‘Sorry, unusual name. I didn’t mean to judge. Carry on.’
‘Hiya, Salvador, it’s Nora. I was wondering how you were and thought I’d give you a call.’
‘Oh crap, have I got a kid I don’t know about? Or a rare sexually transmitted disease? Brrrr. That’s Salvador hanging up,’ he said, keeping tight hold on the rope but moving back slightly to be out of swiping distance.
‘He won’t think that. Will he?’ she asked, but Jay was already nodding furiously at her. Maybe this needed a tad more thinking through.
Nora got in from climbing to find her parents were no longer there, the goulash was in the fridge and there was a bag of doughnuts on the counter with a note in hermother’s handwriting that just said ‘Eat’ followed by a row of kisses. She heated up some of the goulash and sat down with a fork and her laptop.
Once she’d cleared away she retreated to the living room and took Oliver out of his glass terrarium and he slowly made his way up her arm to her shoulder. Nora flipped open her laptop. She created a new spreadsheet and filled in basic details for the first three ex-boyfriends she was going to track down. She had taken on board what Jay had said, and as she didn’t want to freak anyone out, she decided a more sensitive approach was in order.
As she was a logical person, falling in love fascinated her. There was simply no logic to it and yet it was happening all the time. Like most people she didn’t believe love at first sight existed, which meant love was something that took a little time to develop, and herein lay the real issue. How long should she stay with someone to see if it was going to become love? And while she was waiting, was she missing an opportunity for another that could have been The One? Looking back, she had been quick to call time on some of her relationships. Basically it was all a gamble and mostly people didn’t even realize the odds they were dealing with. Nora loved odds and probability. As a statistician it was basically what she did all day and she was immensely grateful that someone paid her for it.
Nora sipped her caffeine-free Diet Coke. She’d already had two coffees and while the odds of dying from too much caffeine were lower than even she could be bothered to work out, the chances of her struggling togo to sleep if she consumed more caffeine were much higher at 30 per cent.
She decided to have a bit more of a scroll on social media for ex-boyfriend number four, then she’d head off to bed. Her phone buzzed to let her know she had a message and she half glanced at it. It was from Jay.
Thought I should let you know that the swelling is going down in my groin so fingers crossed I’ll be able to climb next week.
Ugh. Jay’s groin was not something she’d been thinking about.
Thanks for letting me know. Take good care of the injury.
Thanks Nora that means a lot??
Jay was a bit accident-prone and Nora wasn’t sure climbing was the safest sport for him, but he persevered and she admired that about him. She returned her attention to her screen. Ex-boyfriend Salvador. It appeared that she may have been part of his discarded 37 per cent because there on the screen was Salvador beaming back at her along with a stunningly beautiful woman and a super-cute baby. Maybe she’d check the others out tomorrow, she thought, as she updated her spreadsheet.
*
On Saturday morning Dixie called Nora and asked her to be out the front of her house at eleven o’clock precisely. Dixie liked to add a little drama to proceedings, otherwise life could be quite dull and she felt it was her mission to zhuzh it up. Unfortunately she had vastly miscalculated her arrival time, so was disappointed to see that Nora wasn’t outside when she pulled on to the driveway at half past two. Nora lived in a nice little side street full of robust semi-detached houses with family cars on the drive. Nora always put hers in the garage because she said it was less likely to get stolen.
Dixie jumped out of the driver’s side and knocked rapidly on Nora’s front door. The door opened and Nora waved her inside.
‘No, you need to come out. Ta-dah!’ said Dixie, unable to contain her excitement any longer.
Nora peered past her and spotted the vehicle on her driveway. ‘Is this yours?’
‘Yes. I traded in my Mercedes and got this. It’s a genuine vintage VW campervan in Niagara blue and white. Well, it was white once and it will be again.’
‘Vintage. You said that was code for old and clapped out when it was Glenda’s van,’ pointed out Nora.
‘Ahh, but this is a campervan. That’s different. They’re a real classic. The garage even gave me some money too.’
‘I would hope they did,’ said Nora, coming outside to inspect it. ‘It must be at least fifty years old.’
‘It’s fifty-three and that means it doesn’t need roadtax or an MOT!’ Dixie had been thrilled to discover her new pride and joy was exempt.
‘I doubt it wouldpassan MOT,’ said Nora, poking at a rusty patch on the wheel arch.
‘It’s completely roadworthy. The man assured me it was safe to drive. And I have three months’ warranty on it. It’s just a bit slower than I’m used to. But at least I’ll have to learn to use a handbrake now, which will be a good skill to add to my CV. Although it sticks out of the dashboard rather than the floor but maybe if it’s there I might remember to use it.’ Dixie got back in the driver’s seat and attempted to start it again. The poor old van did a lot of chugging but wouldn’t start. Nora came to the driver’s window and scrunched up her face, the way she did when she was worrying about something. With some effort Dixie cranked down the window. ‘How quaint is that?’
‘There’s a reason why things advance. Not only do they improve, it also makes them safer. Although if it won’t start, I guess that makes it very safe,’ said Nora, with a wry smile.
‘It’s OK. The man said it does this sometimes when it’s choked or something.’ It was possible Dixie hadn’t taken in all the details because the man had spoken fast and Dixie struggled to listen when she was excited.
‘It might need the choke. Is there a knob to pull out?’ asked Nora.
Dixie had a scan of the black plastic cab. ‘I don’t think so.’ She tried to start it again. After a bit of chuggingthere was a loud bang, followed by a plume of black smoke out of the exhaust. It was working and Dixie was thrilled. ‘See, it’s fine. Look inside,’ she added, switching off the engine and almost sending Nora flying as she got out. Dixie proudly pulled open the door on the side of the van to reveal the interior. It was currently wall-to-wall beige vinyl with faded daisy-patterned curtains and a grubby orange carpet, but Dixie had plans. She’d seen renovated interiors on the internet and they looked amazing. She had no doubt she could do the same with this. ‘I’m going to redo the inside so it’s all swish, like that George Clarke programme where they have everything doubling up and surprise extra space everywhere.’
