The ring of my phone shocks it into rebooting. “Yeah, Maz?” I listen, end the call, and tell him, “Marilyn’s on her way back.”
And that’s who Dair meets a short while later when both of us are cleaned up and dressed, although we’re still on my bed.
Our backs are to the door, both of us sitting near the closest outlet where my aunt’s laptop charges and runs through endless Microsoft updates.
I look over my shoulder and make introductions.
“Ohhh.” Her eyes widen. “So, you’re Vince’s private client.” She waggles a wave at Dair from the bedroom doorway, then homes in on me. “What are you two doing?”
“Looking for the spreadsheet Stacey kept of all her mudlarking finds. Dair’s got a lot of china patterns to identify. She researched so many, I thought it might speed up the process for him.” I watched my aunt boot this laptop so often, I’m pretty sure I’ll know the right file to click on when I see it.
I look over my shoulder again to see my cousin’s wife wreathed with smiles, which comes with her usual nosy teasing. “What do you think of your surprise?” She tugs on the bedding. “I saw it and thought of you right away.”
Dair is still a little flushed from getting off. The breeze from the window I cracked open ruffles his hair as he traces a firefighter’s bulging biceps. “Because he’s so strong? No.” He quickly revises his opinion. “Because he saves people with your husband when they do midnight flits for free.”
Marilyn is old-school. Born and bred here, like me. She’s as hard as nails, a human version of Kitty who won’t take anyone messing with her nearest and dearest.
I can’t remember the last time I saw her warm this quickly to a stranger, but that’s what she does. She warms to Dair, and how much I’ve missed her slams me hard in the chest.
So does hearing her tell Dair, “I met Kev at a party for his twenty-fifth. Vince’s cousin, yeah? That was the same year Vince first came to live here. Means I remember his Fireman Sam era.” She aims this at me. “You still love a man with a long hose, don’t you?”
She cackles.
Dair does too, and I give up on trying to pretend that I can find that old file. I close the laptop and set it aside to dig in the tote instead for the other resource my aunt used to leaf through. The reference book I find predates Google. Would be worth fuck all if I tried to sell it. Dair reacts like I’m trying to give him something worth a real fortune.
“I can’t take this.”
“Why not? I’m never gonna read it.”
Marilyn changes the subject. “Am I cutting your hair, love?” She isn’t talking to me. Her head tilts. “Maybe just a little trim to get it out of your eyes?”
Dair flicks his fringe to one side. “I would, but I’ve got to go to work.”
“Doing what?”
“Caring,” Dair tells her. “Picked up some late shifts.” His eyes laugh about what doesn’t sound too much like fun to me. “I’ll be a zombie all next week.” He sobers. “It will be one of my last weeks here.”
Fuck.
Marilyn doesn’t notice both of us lapse into silence. She’s too busy revisiting her own caring era. “I remember those zombieshifts.” They chat about a job role Marilyn left behind for hairdressing, sharing stories about messed-up sleep schedules and body clocks demanding meals at weird times until Dair stands. I see the moment Marilyn notices that his arms are full. Not with a laptop or the book I’ve offered. He holds a purring Kitty, who doesn’t show any sign of shifting. She’s still snug in his arms when we’re back in the hallway where Dair says, “Wow.”
I see why—the living room door is open.
Dair’s gaze darts between the contents of that room and me. “It’s like a wee palace in there.”
“Didn’t Vince already show you?” Marilyn opens the door even wider. “Come take a quick look. Just ignore the sofa. Kitty claws it every time I’m not looking.”
My chest has prickled for plenty of reasons over the years. Seeing Dair’s reaction provokes warmth I actually like.
Marilyn gives him a tour of the very first pieces I ever worked on. “These chairs and tables got you through lockdown, didn’t they, Vince?” She doesn’t wait for an answer, too busy telling Dair about how I kept myself busy when the world stopped on its axis. “Kev had a van full of clearance junk and no auction houses were allowed to open. Vince watched some YouTube videos, and this was the result. He’s got good eyes. Must have to see what was under all those paint layers.”
Dair sets Kitty down to run a hand over satinwood inlays and mahogany I polished. Over the burl of walnut I uncovered and the gilt I learned to apply by trial and error. I made so many mistakes with these pieces.
Like my aunt, Marilyn acts as if they’re perfect. “They all look the real deal, don’t they?” She flashes me a quick look, and this is quieter. “It’s okay that we kept them, yeah?”
“Course it is.” I should have come home sooner. She’s been worried. I see it plain as day in the held breath she lets out.
Dair asks, “Is this the kind of work you did for…” He doesn’t voice Flynn’s name. Doesn’t need to. I’m already nodding.
