‘No. Tighter.’ Vic exaggerated her grip around Danny’s back, then nuzzled her face into his neck and breathed slowly and deeply. After what seemed like an age, and only when she felt fully hugged, did she pull away.
‘I so, so needed that. Thank you, so much.’
‘There’s lots more where that came from, my little painter girl. And you’ll be here for the summer, so you can claim as many of them as you want.’
It was gone midnight when Victoria arrived back in Windsor. She’d really enjoyed seeing Danny, and even without his amazing hugs, she had felt held by him. He had been and continued to be her constant support through everything, and for that she was truly grateful.
The brisk walk from the train station had woken her up slightly but she certainly felt ready for her bed as she turned the corner into Simpson Crescent.
She was just reaching in her handbag for her door key whenshe noticed Joti’s outside light come on, then a figure strolling down the path, then on towards a van parked on the opposite side of the road to where Vic was walking.
Nosily wondering what her mum’s neighbour was up to at this time of night on a Tuesday, she hurriedly walked as near to the back of the van as she could, then wished she hadn’t. For there, sitting in the driver’s seat with a contented look on his face, and rolling a cigarette, was her Albie. She tapped on the passenger window, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin.
She lowered her head to talk. ‘You all right, bro?’
As the window went down, she clocked his ‘guilty face’ immediately. ‘Jesus, sis, you scared the shit out of me. What are you doing?’
‘I think it’s me who should be asking you that question, don’t you?’
Albie bit his lip, then lit the cigarette, forcing his sister to go first.
‘Well, I’ve been to Brighton to see a mate.’
‘Nice. I’m heading home now myself, so let’s catch up soon, all right?’
‘Is Mum OK?’ Inspector Sharpe wasn’t letting this go.
‘Yeah, yeah. I’ve er… just been helping Joti. Umm… she had a problem with her stop cock.’ He couldn’t stop himself from laughing, which set Vic off too. ‘Look, it’s not what it looks like.’
‘Is it ever?’ Vic smirked.
‘She seemed upset. I comforted her.’
‘I bet you did. And where does Lisa fit into all this?’
‘Not now, sis, I’ve got to get home. She thinks I was having dinner with Mum, and it’s really late. You won’t say anything, will you? Like… to anyone, I mean.’
‘If you can’t trust your blood, then who can you trust, really?’ Vic blew him a kiss through the open window.
Albie looked her directly in the eyes. ‘Ditto, Vic, ditto. And, I really mean that, OK? I love you, Vic.’
‘Blimey, you must be feeling guilty.’
After waving her errant brother off, Vic tiptoed through the hall so as not to wake Chandler, who was on his bed in the lounge, then headed to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. She laughed to herself at the scenario. Despite Joti stating that she wanted to be forever single, she clearly needed comfort. Albie was without doubt a chip off the old block, but despite all her misgivings, he was still her brother and she loved him with all her heart.
TWENTY-FOUR
WINDSOR
The ‘Date’
Three days later, Victoria popped her sketchpad, a couple of pencils and an eraser into her bag, then shouted goodbye to her mum, who was digging a small vegetable patch in the back garden, to Chandler’s delight. She made her way down the path and towards the town centre.
The Windsor streets were teeming with tourists, who were not only making the most of the spring weather, but also checking out the various market stall-holders, who were exuberantly selling their wares along the centre of Peascod Street.
Victoria carried on walking past the delicious-smelling sausage stall, and smiled at the confectionery stall, with happy memories of going with her mum and Albie to Ferry Lane Market when they used to holiday in Cornwall with her gran and grandad, and where they would get their penny chews. She had always been a Fruit Salad girl, whereas Albie loved the Black Jacks that left a dark, liquoricey stain on his tongue.
Checking her watch, Vic was happy to see that she still had half an hour before she was to meet Jerico. She needed to buyMandy a birthday gift, and on entering Marks and Spencer, she noticed that they had moved the underwear section to the front. She loved good underwear, and Nate had loved her wearing it. A memory of her prancing around the bedroom drunk as a skunk one Valentine’s night in a sexy red lace ensemble, suspenders included, then tripping over the hairdryer and stubbing her toe on the bed leg and ruining the moment, caused her to smile to herself.
