Chapter 28
It was a fabulous evening. Yes, Nancy was nervous but she was determined not to let the nerves control her.
She sat with Phyllis and Jackie, Val, Dennis and Pam – who had all turned up to support her – drinking a white wine spritzer to give herself some Dutch courage while the band warmed up the audience with a few songs.
Then Slate announced, ‘We have a new singer to accompany us tonight. Please welcome… Phoenix.’
He pointed to Nancy, then Jackie and Val pulled her up out of her seat, egging her on, so, almost in a trance she walked on stage. Slate handed her a microphone. ‘Don’t look at the audience, look at me,’ he whispered. ‘You won’t feel so nervous that way.’
He started singing ‘Purple Rain’ and suddenly, amazingly, she was joining in, belting out the familiar words. At first she kept her eyes on Slate, but as her confidence grew she turned to face the audience. The applause when they finished made her cheeks burn.
‘You up for another one?’ Slate whispered and she nodded. She was enjoying this.
People soon got up to dance and the pub was buzzing. Nancy relaxed, she was enjoying herself. By half time, though, her voice was starting to tire. Slate obviously noticed it because he whispered, ‘Rest your voice and sit out for the second half. You don’t want to overdo it.’
‘Good idea, it will give me chance to dance,’ she said with a smile.
As was their habit, they all went for a curry when the gig was finished, and this time Val and Dennis joined them too. ‘I didn’t realise you could sing that well,’ Dennis told her as they tucked into their poppadums.
‘Neither did I,’ Nancy replied, spooning some mango chutney onto the small plate in front of her and dipping her poppadum into it.
‘They’re good. And so are you.’ Val reached for the dish of yoghurt mint sauce. ‘I can’t believe my sister is a singer in a rock band! You’re certainly living your life, now that boring Clifford has gone.’
She was, wasn’t she? Nancy wondered briefly what Clifford would think of the new her. She was pretty sure that he wouldn’t approve and for some reason that pleased her.
She glanced over as she heard Jackie roar with laughter. She and Oxo had their heads huddled together as they chatted enthusiastically.
‘Is there something going on with those two?’ Val whispered.
‘I’m not sure.’ She had wondered that herself ever since their motorbike ride and they did seem very close tonight.
Then she realised that Slate was talking to her. ‘You did well today, Nancy. Did you enjoy it?’ he asked.
‘I did, once I got over my nerves.’
‘That’s good to know.’ He raised his voice to get Decaf and Oxo’s attention. ‘We’d love you to be a regular part of the band, wouldn’t we, guys?’
They both nodded in unison and raised their beer mugs.
‘To Nancy.’
‘To Nancy!’ the others chorused. All except Muriel, who scowled darkly at her.
‘I get the impression Muriel isn’t a fan of yours,’ Val whispered.
‘We got on okay at first but she wants to be in the band and apparently she can’t sing, which is a shame,’ Nancy kept her voice low.
‘It would be nice if we could be friendly seeing as she’s with Decaf.
She’s a bit of a stickler though. It’s her way or the highway, Slate said. That’s why he moved out.’
‘That turned out well for you.’ Val winked and Nancy felt a bit uncomfortable. She and Slate were friends, that’s all.
The waiter came to clear away the poppadum dishes and then the curries were all brought out.
It was an easy, friendly evening and Nancy felt happier than she had for a long time when she finally climbed into bed that night.
Her lodgers were more like friends to her now, and it was good that Val got on with them, too, especially as she’d been so disapproving of the idea of renting the spare rooms out at the beginning. It was all working out so well.
She fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow and slept soundly through until ten thirty the next morning. She woke up to a message from Val.
Brilliant night. Haven’t enjoyed myself so much for ages. Fancy coming over to dinner today? One of Dennis’s friends is coming too, so we’ll have a cosy foursome.
She shot her reply back:
Are you trying to matchmake?
Val immediately responded:
Good heavens, no! I doubt if you and Alan will have much in common. I wanted you to come so we can have a natter over a bottle of wine, while the men talk about their boring stuff.
Why not? She always enjoyed spending time with Val and it would save her from having to cook.
She pulled on her dressing gown and went down to make herself a cup of tea. Phyllis was already downstairs in the kitchen, staring into her horoscope cup.
‘Morning, Phyllis. Everything okay?’ she asked.
Phyllis smiled up at her. ‘Apart from Cobweb making me get up to let her outside far too early, yes, it is. And how are you? You were marvellous last night, by the way.’
‘Thank you. I’m okay, still a bit tired. And astonished how well it all went. I never ever thought I’d be singing on stage with a rock band.’
‘Life is full of surprises.’ Phyllis put her cup down on the saucer.
‘Have you been reading your tea leaves again? I hope it’s good news.’
‘It’s a strange one. The leaves showed some small circles, which means money or presents.’
‘Is it your birthday soon?’ Nancy asked. ‘We don’t actually know each other’s birthdays, do we?’
‘No, it’s the beginning of March. I’m a Pisces, remember.’ She cocked her head to one side. ‘Would you like your tea leaves read again?’
Nancy was tempted – it was only a bit of fun. And Phyllis had been spot on last time.
‘Go on then,’ she said.
She fetched the cup she’d used before and Phyllis reboiled the kettle then made Nancy’s tea. After Nancy had drunk it, Phyllis read the tea leaves as she’d done before, her forehead puckered into a frown. A flutter of unease grew in the pit of Nancy’s stomach.
‘What is it?’ she asked. ‘What can you see?’
Phyllis looked up at her. ‘I see a hammer, which means challenges or adversity,’ she said slowly.
That didn’t sound good. ‘Does that mean I’m going to have some challenges to overcome?’
Phyllis nodded solemnly. ‘Yes, but you will succeed. After all, you’ve already overcome several challenges, haven’t you?’
Yes, she had. She had enough money, with the lodgers’ rent, to pay the mortgage and bills each month and she’d gained enough confidence to sing on stage.
But the reading troubled her. The question that had been on her mind when she focused on the leaves was whether Clifford would come back. Did this mean he would?
‘The leaves can be vague. It could simply mean something like a bit of conflict at work. An awkward customer maybe.’ Phyllis reassured her as she picked up her own cup and the bag of tea. ‘Please don’t fret about it. The purpose of the leaves is to guide us, not to worry us.’
‘Yes, of course, I realise that,’ Nancy agreed. It was only a bit of fun.
Phyllis’s words were on her mind as she drove to Val’s.
What would she do if Clifford returned? He’d been gone almost two months now and it still felt surreal that he’d walked out of her life and was never coming back.
What was he doing? Who was he with? Would he wake up one morning, realise that he missed her and wanted his old life back?
And if so, did she want to take him back?