I serve a few more customers. ‘Excuse me,’ says a man. ‘Your free Wi-Fi isn’t working.’
For goodness’ sake, what is Miranda paying for? This Wi-Fi is glitchy – like my curse. I ask him to give me two minutes as Miranda looks like she’s having a heated conversation with Frank in the romance section. I run out to the back and switch the Wi-Fi off and on again.
Once it’s back on, I give him a thumbs-up and go back to the till. I’m distracted by loud sobbing. Turning around, I gasp. Miranda is sitting behind the till.
‘Miranda,’ I gasp.
‘It’s Frank,’ she croaks. ‘He’s going to be a father in a few weeks, and before you ask, I am not pregnant.’
26
When I arrive home, Jamie is sitting in the living room with Lenny curled up on his lap. Oliver is in the kitchen.
‘Hello, Nelly.’ Jamie beams. His blond hair is spiky at the front. He’s wearing a navy shirt, jeans and polished brown shoes. I’m sensing he’s off out after as the air is thick with his citrus heavy aftershave. ‘It’s nice to see you in the daytime. Ollie is in the kitchen making something.’
‘A mess knowing Oliver.’ I give Jamie a wry smile, and he chuckles.
‘How was your day?’ Jamie asks as Oliver comes into the living room, carrying two plates of pie and chips.
‘Dramatic.’
Oliver hands me a plate. ‘For you. I made the pie myself.’
Our fingers touch, and I wait for the white light. There’s nothing but silence. This is strange. It was working earlier when Miranda forced me to hug her as she was emotional about Frank.
‘Nelly – are you okay?’
I blink several times and nod before taking my plate to my chair. ‘You didn’t need to cook for me.’
He casts me a sheepish smile and hands Jamie a plate. ‘I do, Nelly. I have been the world’s worst flatmate.’
Jamie laughs. ‘Nelly, take what he’s offering and milk more out of him.’
I smile but I am only half-listening. A thought has rushed to the front of my mind and requires urgent consideration – what if my curse doesn’t work on Oliver? Beads of sweat have gathered on my brow, and my heart is hammering inside my chest. Every time I touch Oliver, I don’t see a vision. He’s the only person my curse goes glitchy on. After putting down my plate of food, I reach into my bag and take out a pencil and the notebook I used when I went to see Cynthia and when I interviewed Oliver. The front two pages are filled with the questions I wanted to ask my parents when Cynthia contacted them in the afterlife, and the next page is Oliver’s interview assessment, which is a sea of ticks. I flick to the empty fourth page and write:
Theory – my curse doesn’t work on Oliver.
I loved science lessons at school. I loved making chemicals react, and I also enjoyed undertaking experiments where you had to prove or disprove something. I look at my theory. Now, all I need to do is start conducting mini experiments.
Jamie catches my attention by gesturing towards a beanbag on the floor. ‘I bought Ollie a housewarming gift. It’ll keep him away from your chair. He has told me all about it, and you do have an impressive set-up there. I don’t blame you for guarding it.’
I smile. ‘Thank you. Oliver did try to bribe me with a signed copy of one of his books to sit here.’
Oliver enters, carrying a plate of food for himself. ‘I thought it was a good deal.’
Jamie laughs. ‘Nelly, I would have refused that crappy deal, too.’
Oliver grins and sits down on the beanbag, resting the food on his legs. ‘Nelly, tell us about what’s going on with Frank and Miranda. Dad texted me to say Frank has had to take emergency leave. He’s got someone pregnant, and that person is not Miranda.’
‘Eight months ago, Frank had a one-night stand with his ex-girlfriend, whom he bumped into on a night out,’ I explain, after swallowing my first mouthful of Oliver’s homemade pie. It’s delicious, but I dread to think what my kitchen looks like.
Oliver gasps. ‘Frank and his ex-girlfriend? How many years has he been with Miranda?’
It’s hard to believe. Even though my curse has always shown Frank pushing a baby’s buggy, I have never thought it could have been from a one-night stand. I never envisioned he’d end up fathering a child.
I recount what Miranda told me. ‘Frank and Miranda have been together for fifteen years. He left his ex-girlfriend after meeting Miranda at a cocktail party. He was out for a darts club night out eight months ago, and his ex-girlfriend was in the same pub. Apparently, she thrashed him at darts, made all his mates laugh and then invited him back to hers for a nightcap. Frank never told Miranda as he claimed it was “just a blip” and didn’t think she would ever find out.’
Oliver and Jamie exchange bewildered glances.
