‘Here’s her address. Gran asked if you could pop over? It’s not far. Just a few streets away.’
Al’s face is beaming, but something inside is telling me this is a bad idea.
‘Thank you,’ Alice replies, her face flushed.
‘Oh, and tell Gran we’re almost out of the cheesecake.’
‘Will do,’ Alice replies, already draining her cup.
‘Hey,’ I say. ‘Take a minute. Give the woman a chance to prepare?’
‘We’re so close, Spence.’ The light is back in her eyes. My stomach tightens. So much is riding on this meeting. If I can help her get what she needs, get her life back on track, then maybe Ican say what I’ve been holding back. I squash the thought down. Now isn’t the time.
We find the street easily: semi-detached houses, cars parallel-parked outside. Alice is talking quickly about the drawing, about the granddaughter, saying how much she looks like Kate in the drawing, how she’s exactly how she’d imagined her to be. My stomach feels like Tyson Fury has landed one. I can’t help but smile back at the way she’s talking with her hands, the way she bumps her shoulder with mine. My phone vibrates in the back of my pocket, and I pull it out, angling it away and slowing my pace. It’s a reply to the job application I’d sent in the early hours after Heather had left, when I was riding high on the idea of starting over. That or I’d had a dodgy slice of cold pizza. It was only a preliminary enquiry. I hadn’t expected anything back. Term’s over. I scan the words quickly: Last applicant unable to take position. Interview.
‘Spence?’ Alice asks, concern around her eyes. I realise I’ve stopped walking. ‘What’s wrong? Is it Georgia?’ I take a breath, paste on a smile. ‘No, it’s just spam.’Asking me to go for an interview. In Scotland.But I don’t say that. Instead, I pocket my phone. ‘It’s not important.’
Alice frowns, stepping closer. ‘You sure? You look?—’
‘This is it,’ I say pointing towards the outside of the house. She hesitates, her frown still in place.
‘Spence, is there something you’re not telling me?’
‘It’s nothing.’ I nod towards the house. ‘Best not keep her waiting, eh?’
Something flickers across her face, then she pulls back, flattening her hair.
‘On three?’ I ask.
‘One, two…’
Alice knocks on the door.
39
ALICE
The door swings open into a large hall, air filled with the scent of fresh laundry and coffee. Primrose walls give way to a high ceiling, and a black-and-white-checked floor leads towards a kitchen. It would look like a show home save for the clothes folded on the stairs ready to be put away. The woman standing in front of us double takes. Her mouth opening then closing.
‘Kate?’ I ask tentatively. She’s attractive. Honey blonde strands threaded through chocolate lowlights. No sign of the purple rinse I’d somehow conjured up in my mind. A soft fringe hangs over a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. Her make-up is soft, natural.
Kate gathers herself. ‘I… Yes. Sorry, I was expecting someone older.’ Spence catches my eye, an unspoken conversation flitting between us. ‘Come in, come in…’ She’s small, about five feet, but walks with solid purpose. Spence gives me a smile of encouragement as we make our way into a small lounge. A wood-burner is sitting in the centre of the wall. Low, comfortable sofas edge the walls, opposite the burner.
‘Can I get you a tea? Coffee? Juice… or wine?’ She reaches for the chain around her neck, running a small ring up and down.She glances to the clock on the mantlepiece. ‘It’s six o’clock somewhere in the world…’
‘Wine would be lovely,’ I say. I don’t actually feel like drinking, but she seems pleased with my response.
‘Water would be great,’ Spence adds.
‘Back in a tick.’ She rushes out of the room.
‘Wine?’ Spence pops an eyebrow.
‘Shush, it looks like she needs it,’ I reply, but his focus is on a painting on the wall, his throat bobbing. I follow his gaze. Next to the bay window, beside a set of heavy green curtains, is a painting. My heart quickens as I step closer.
The angle is different to the mural, the head facing forwards. There is something different about her expression. In the mural, her eyes always felt distant, like they were looking for answers, but in this version, they’re playful, teasing. I reach up, finger outlining the jawline.
‘You all right?’ he asks, his hand on the base of my spine.
