Page 9 of Love Letters on Hazel Lane

She didn’t intend anyone to hear, but her shiny-haired neighbour whispered, ‘Too right.’

This seemed strange coming from someone who had clearly spent quite some time on her own coiffure. You didn’t get it that shiny without a conditioner or that straight without straighteners.

Now the talk was over, a massive queue began to form along one side of the hall. Marge was signing books.

The shiny-haired woman turned to Jo and said, ‘Are they mad? She didn’t say anything I hadn’t read before.’

‘Honestly? But you were making notes.’

‘No, I was updating my journal. I keep a review of each date I’ve been on.’

She was single too? Rather surprising. Not only did she have the kind of sleek, shiny hair that Jo could only dream of, she also had high cheekbones, large, blue eyes and a delicate nose. She was elegant too, in a green dress in soft jersey fabric with brown, knee-length boots.

‘You must get a lot of dates,’ said Jo.

Her neighbour flicked through the notebook.

‘I write one page for each date. It’s kind of a research project.’

‘And is it working? Have you met anyone nice?’ Jo asked.

‘Not so far.’

‘Me neither. Demoralising, isn’t it? Each new message gets your hopes up and then you go on the date and he says, “There’s no chemistry”.’ She made inverted commas with her fingers.

The woman laughed, snapping her notebook shut. ‘Perhaps it’s lucky we met. I’m Kate.’ She held out a manicured hand.

‘Jo.’ She stretched out her own hand with its stubby, unpolished fingernails.

‘Don’t suppose you fancy grabbing lunch somewhere?’

They left the church hall. Jo was so busy talking to her new acquaintance that once again, she walked straight past the poster for the Scrabble club without noticing it.

*

Over a lunch of a huge green salad with no dressing (Kate) and burger and fries (Jo) in one of Hebbleswick’s trendier cafés, the two women compared dating experiences.

‘I hope you let him pay,’ said Kate after Jo had regaled her with the saga of dinner with Neil at ¡Tapas! ¡Tapas!

‘Well, no…’

‘Oh, Jo, honestly.’ She put her head in her hands for a few seconds then looked up again. ‘Paying your own way would be one thing, but paying more than your fair share? Why on earth didn’t you object?’

‘He didn’t give me chance. He told the waiter to take half from his card and half from mine.’

‘Why didn’t you stand up for yourself?’

Jo shrugged. ‘I dunno. I never do.’

‘Hmm, well, you need to start. All the books advise letting the man pay on a first date,’ continued Kate. ‘And also, you should keep first dates short. Only stay long enough to pique their interest.’

Perhaps she should be writing this down. Let them pay on the first date. Pique their interest. Stand up for yourself. She’d never manage that last one; she never had.

‘And let them do the chasing, at least initially. Don’t message them after a date,’ Kate said. ‘Wait for them to contact you.’

‘My friend Gemma would say this is the twenty-first century…’

‘And is she still single by any chance?’