‘I would love that, sweetheart. I truly would.’ Forget the song on the show – this, right here, was the highlight of her night and she felt like doing a jig – only she wouldn’t, because she’d learned her lesson with the cameras in this room.
‘Or maybe…’ Netta saw Mandy glance out at the fairly basic celebration catering on the canteen counter. ‘Maybe I could plan the next event here for you. Free of charge, of course. I had no idea how awesome this place was and I’d like to help.’
Netta didn’t have the heart to say she might not have a job here after tonight, given that she’d just gate-crashed a whole TV show. Thankfully, before she answered, Blair returned and appeared by their sides.
‘All right, sis,’ he said, kissing Mandy on the cheek. ‘Good to see you. Well, this is pretty cool. Don’t remember the last time we were all in the same place at the same time.’
Netta didn’t want to mention that it was probably two years ago today, when Fergus died. No wait, there was the funeral ten days later. And then the very short visit to the cemetery on this day last year. Yes, that was it. Three times in two years – what a sad truth that was.
She felt her mood slide down a notch, but then it was pushed right back up again by Blair’s next question.
‘Why don’t we sack this place off because, let’s face it, Mum, we’ve both put in a shift today, and all go grab dinner. There’s a wee late-night Italian place near here that does a smashing lasagne.’
‘I’d like that,’ Mandy agreed, grinning. Much as Netta wanted to go with it, there was a slight issue. She’d already been caught out neglecting her job once tonight, she couldn’t do it again. Not until she’d had a chance to speak to Moira and gauge if her boss was upset with her. ‘It would need to be after I’m done here, and it might be a while because now that most of the students have gone home, I’m a bit short-staffed for serving and clearing up.’
That’s when Mandy shocked her for the second time tonight, when she took her bag from her shoulder, dropped it over the counter, then picked up the bottle of Prosecco that Netta had been pouring, and another one that was sitting beside it. She gave the second bottle to Blair. ‘Right, Mum, Blair and I will finish pouring then start circulating with the wine. You go and get another couple of bottles and start on the next tray. Sooner we get going, sooner we can go celebrate you being bloody marvellous.’
A few moments later, when Netta watched her two children laugh as they swanned off to serve the guests, Blair with his tool belt still buckled round his waist, she realised that she’d never been happier than right now. She also realised that tears were flooding down her face. Bugger, she was getting soft. She took a step into the prep area, and fished for her bag, pulling out a packet of tissues when she found it.
Okay, take a minute. Steady yourself, Netta. Fergus would be calling you an old fool.Not that she’d give a damn what he thought now, because the only people that mattered were in this building right now.
That defiance helped her pull herself together. Time to get back out there. She was about to drop the tissues back in her bag, when she noticed it was flashing.
She dug deeper and saw that the flash was coming from her Family Listening Line phone, notifying her that she had a voicemail message. Her first thought was that she wasn’t on duty. Her second thought was that it might be an emergency, so she couldn’t bring herself to ignore it.
She pressed the message button.
‘Hullo, Netta, it’s George here. Now, before I go on, I just want to say that I’ve never done anything like this before and I would normally ask your advice before doing something like this, but since this is about you, it makes it a bit tricky. You see, I wasn’t entirely honest earlier. Or, at least, I didn’t tell you everything. The reason lunch with Barbara from the doctor’s was so awful was… well, aye, she didn’t stop talking, right enough… but apart from that, well, the truth is, the person I really want to have lunch with is you. I’d probably be six-feet under before I told you that, but I was playing golf with my lad today, and he told me to get a grip and ask you out, so that’s what I’m doing. So, Netta, if you’d like to have lunch with me, I’d be much obliged. If that breaks rules, or if you don’t think it’s appropriate, then I’ll understand and I’ll never mention it again. I’d hate to embarrass you or lose your friendship, because the truth is, our chats are the best part of my week. Anyway, Netta, I’ll let you go, because you’re probably busy and I hope I’ll speak to you soon. All the best. And this is George, in case I didn’t say that at the start. Bye now.’
She stood there, too stunned to move. Which was why she then heard his distant voice adding a pained, ‘Jeezo, I’m too old for this…’ Before the disconnection tone kicked in.
George.
Asking her out.
Oh my goodness.
It was so unprofessional.
So sudden.
So utterly out of her comfort zone.
That she decided she might just say yes.
But before she could do anything about it, there was a tap on her shoulder.
‘Netta,’ said a woman’s voice that she’d heard many times before, but only on the telephone.
Netta had thought about the potential that their paths could cross tonight, but she’d reckoned that as long as she kept herself to the canteen, it would be fine. But, bugger, that plan had been scuppered when she’d been plastered all over the telly in the show. Not only had she broken the rules of the Family Listening Line, but given that she’d been singing her heart out with Ava, this lady was obviously in on her secret now too.
‘Could I have a quick chat, please?’ she heard Kiki Strang’s voice say. Kiki. The caller she’d been speaking to regularly for the last two years. ‘But in person this time?’
31
KIKI
Kiki still wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but as she waited for the lady in the canteen to turn around, she was hopeful that she wasn’t about to make a complete tit of herself. It had to be the same Netta, didn’t it? It wasn’t just the name. When she’d been watching her on screen, she’d recognised the voice. The tone. The kindness she’d shown Ava.
