Chapter Eighteen
Wednesday was Darla’s night off from the cocktail bar. It was a great opportunity to have a catch-up with Ros. She was itching to hear her side of the barbecue story.
Ros had already chilled the wine and they sat on the sofa and shared their updates. Ros went first and gave a detailed account of the event as only Ros could. Darla was surprised that Ros didn’t use the flip chart. ‘In conclusion I asked that in future he run things like that by me before taking action, and he brought me those flowers.’
Darla glanced at the beautiful bunch of blooms in a vase on the table. ‘Wow, they must have cost him a bit.’
Ros seemed to look at them afresh. ‘I suppose they must. They are lovely.’
‘I get where you’re coming from completely, but I’m more traditional and a little less militant than you so I actually think it was a nice thing that he did. Women like that would never listen even if you challenged them; they’d put that down to you overreacting but when someone else calls them out they might take notice.’
Ros gave her a knowing look. ‘They’ve left the break room every time I’ve gone in there this week. One of them even walked out with her half-eaten sandwich in her hand.’
‘You should speak to Human Resources.’
‘And say what? The mean girls are being mean again? We’re not in primary school. No, I’m going over their project with a fine-tooth comb and I’m hoping to find a number of areas for improvement.’
‘Be careful. Don’t give them any reason to get you into trouble.’ Darla sipped her wine. Ros was smart but she wasn’t that streetwise and whilst she did everything by the book, many people didn’t. Darla feared Ros could be outwitted by underhand tactics.
‘They won’t because I’m implementing a new policy. Cameron thinks things will improve if I make an effort to be more approachable and find common ground with others. I’m picking one person a day and I’m engaging them in superficial conversation whilst attempting to look friendly. I’m avoiding the mean girls but that still leaves plenty of people.’
‘Blimey, that is a big change. Well done you. You might even make some friends,’ said Darla.
‘It’s fine. I don’t want to be friends with these people. Talking of friends, have you lured Elliott yet?’
‘I’m not trying to lure him. I just think we got off on the wrong foot... a number of times. I want to show him that I’m capable.’
‘How’s that going?’ asked Ros with a hint of a smile.
‘Don’t you start. I’ve borrowed a few more books from the library on rearing livestock and keeping chickens. But oh my days they are the dullest books ever written.’ Darla flopped her head back on the sofa for emphasis. ‘I actually fell asleep reading one of them. I thought it would be helpful on two fronts. One, it would increase my knowledge so I’d look less of an amateur in front of Elliott, and two, it would stop me missing a television.’
‘Did it work?’
‘No! I need a television. I really do. I’ve spoken to every charity shop in the city and none of them take in electrical items. I think I might have to buy one.’
‘Don’t do that. You can take the one out of my spare bedroom.’
‘I couldn’t. Could I?’
‘My ex put it in there for reasons unknown but it never gets used. Apart from when you stay.’
‘You are a lifesaver. I cannot tell you how much I have missed it. At least now I know I could never be on Love Island . And before you say anything, yes, that would be the only thing stopping me from getting on that show.’
‘I’ll take it off the wall at some point and you can have it.’
‘Could we do that now? I know that sounds desperate but I am.’
Ros good-naturedly found a screwdriver and they headed to the bedroom. It was easy to get it off the wall but Ros couldn’t find the stand it would have come with, although Darla didn’t care. ‘I’ll find some way to prop it up,’ she said, placing it reverently by the door so she didn’t go without it.’
‘You’ll need to get a television licence,’ said Ros.
‘I’ll sort it out first thing tomorrow. I promise. It’ll be worth every penny. Thanks again. I really appreciate it.’
‘You’re welcome. Those holes in the walls will give me an incentive to get it redecorated,’ said Ros.
They topped up their drinks. ‘I didn’t see much of Elliott from the other side of that giant sofa last week, but I did see how you interacted with him. Are you moving on from The Wanker?’
‘I’m not after Elliott if that’s what you mean. He thinks I’m incompetent for a start. But I do think I’ve moved on from The Wanker in that I feel I could date someone if I wanted to. I probably won’t ever trust anyone enough to be in a relationship with them but that’s a different issue. I get men flirting with me in the bar all the time so I have the opportunity, but... I don’t know.’
‘Too much effort?’ asked Ros.
‘It’s more that I don’t want to take the risk.’
‘I can relate to that,’ said Ros.
‘Not in a risk-management way. But I couldn’t bear to get into a situation where it affects my parents again.’
‘But I thought they didn’t know about everything The Wanker did?’
‘They don’t. And I thought telling them I was going travelling was sparing them from any upset as well as saving me the embarrassment, but being away from them for such a long time is hard for all of us. I figured it would be fine. I’m an adult but I miss them. And the thought of being a let-down after all they have done for me weighs heavy.’ Darla’s shoulders sagged as she spoke.
‘Why are we so programmed to please our parents? Surely back when we lived in caves it wouldn’t have been like that.’
‘We’d have been too busy trying to stay alive to worry about what our parents thought. Ahh,’ said Darla wistfully. ‘Simpler times.’
‘I’m not entirely sure that’s true but I do think we worry far too much what other people think. We pass judgement on ourselves based on others’ standards. I suspect we didn’t overthink things as much when we lived in caves.’
‘That’s because you’d have been eaten by a sabre-toothed cat or squashed by a woolly mammoth long before thirty,’ said Darla.
‘I’m not sure which I’d prefer,’ said Ros, looking like she was actually weighing up the pros and cons.
‘Difficult choice. Disappointed parents or a herd of marauding mammoths? Parents, who’d have ’em,’ said Darla and they clinked glasses.
The rest of the evening flew by and Darla ordered an Uber. They hugged and Darla left with the television in her arms. What the Uber driver would think she didn’t know but she didn’t care because now she had a telly. All she had to do was track down Winston and she was sorted for lovely afternoons in front of her favourite programmes with a cat on her lap – bliss.
***
A few minutes later the entry door buzzer sounded as Ros was getting changed for bed. She pressed the button. ‘What did you forget?’ she asked, expecting it to be Darla although after a cursory sweep of the living room she didn’t spot anything she’d left behind.
There was a brief pause before anyone spoke. ‘It’s me,’ said Cameron in a forlorn voice.
‘Oh. Hi.’ This was unexpected. ‘Come up,’ said Ros, hitting the button. She was instantly worried. Why had he come round rather than calling? Surely there could be only one reason. Someone had found them out and blabbed to her dad. Her heart clenched at the thought and she felt a bit queasy. She’d dreaded this happening. Her logical brain was already telling her ‘I told you so’. She realised she was pacing when there was a tap on the door. She took a deep breath and opened it.
A damp and dishevelled Cameron was standing there with a bicycle hanging off one shoulder and holding a rucksack and bin bag in the other.
‘Whatever’s happened?’ she asked, feeling a little exposed in her PJs.
He took a deep breath. ‘My housemates had a vote and they’ve kicked me out.’
For a moment she was relieved – at least they hadn’t been rumbled. But instantly she realised Cameron was in distress. ‘Come in,’ she said, stepping back as the bicycle wheel tilted in her direction. ‘I don’t think your housemates can do that.’
‘Well, they have.’ Cameron lifted the bicycle off his shoulder and looked around for somewhere to put it down. He propped it against a kitchen cupboard. ‘I got home to find all my stuff outside with a note saying they would let me off the rent as they didn’t need my contribution but they couldn’t live with my moaning anymore.’
Ros hadn’t seen him look down before. His usual smile no longer etched in place, he was a sad sight. She got him a beer from the fridge and joined him on the sofa. She grabbed a cushion and hugged that in an attempt to cover up her pyjamas. ‘Darla said you were tidying up after them a lot.’
‘Cheers. I was. I suppose I did grumble about it though.’
‘That’s understandable. I expect they’ll miss you when they realise they’ve got to tidy up themselves.’
‘They won’t bother.’ He took a swig of his drink and sighed.
‘So what now?’ asked Ros.
Cameron slowly turned to look at her. ‘I was kinda hoping I could stay here for a bit.’