Chapter 38
JACKIE
Jackie left them to it and went to get ready.
She’d arranged to meet Oxo again this evening.
They’d been seeing each other for a couple of months now, ever since that barbecue in September, but were trying to keep it quiet, wanting the chance to get to know each other and let the relationship develop before they told the others.
To be honest she’d been so thrown by her attraction to Oxo that she’d even asked Phyllis to read her tea leaves – but all she’d said was that Jackie was at a forked road and had to make a decision.
So she’d made a decision to keep it casual, especially as Oxo was Slate’s friend and bandmate, telling him that she didn’t want it to get awkward if things didn’t work out between them.
‘Blimey, Jackie, we’re both old enough to handle a civilised break-up if we find we don’t fancy each other any more, aren’t we?’ Oxo had said. He’d wanted to tell the others right away, saying that he was proud to be seen with her.
She’d persuaded him to keep a lid on it until Christmas, so they met up in secret a couple of times a week and so far it was going well. Oxo was easy-going and took life in his stride, providing you gave him the chance to wake himself up with a mug of strong, black coffee in the morning!
Oxo had asked her around to his tonight. He rented a spacious one-bedroom flat on the outskirts of town, furnished with odds and ends he’d picked up from antique shops and fayres. She’d stopped over a few times now, going directly to work from there in the morning.
‘Hello, honey.’ Oxo gave her a welcoming kiss when he opened the door. ‘You’re just in time.’
‘I got slightly delayed because Nancy’s divorce confirmation came through,’ Jackie explained as she walked in.
‘It’ll be final in six weeks, and—’ Jackie stopped mid-sentence as her eyes took in that the lights had been dimmed and the table was laid with a clean white tablecloth and actually quite tasteful tableware.
A delicious aroma was wafting in from the kitchen.
They usually had a takeaway. What was this in aid of?
‘I thought I’d cook us a meal for a change,’ Oxo said. ‘I’ve got a hotpot on. It’s almost ready.’
‘It smells delicious,’ she told him. ‘This is a nice surprise.’
‘You are staying over, aren’t you?’ he asked. ‘I’ve got a decent bottle of wine but if you’ve got to drive back…?’ She was pleased that he never took it for granted that she would stay the night.
‘I am. And I could really do with a glass of wine right now.’
Oxo seemed to have gone to a real special effort, she thought as she sat down and sipped her wine.
He was full of surprises and she enjoyed his company a lot.
They had an easy relationship, and often simply sat watching a film together in comfortable silence, Oxo’s arms around her shoulders, neither of them seeing the need to always be talking.
But when she did talk, Oxo listened. Really listened. And she did the same back.
‘Have you put a deposit down on the flat yet?’ he asked her as they sat down to eat.
‘I’m doing it on Monday,’ she replied. ‘I’ve been trying to decide whether to go for a one- or two-bed, but I’ve decided I’m going for the one-bed.
It’s big enough for me. Slate’s buying a one-bed too.
His son, Jed, is sorting out the mortgages for us.
Nancy is fine with us staying with her until then.
I think she could do with the company and I like living there. I’ll miss everyone when I leave.’
Oxo topped up both their glasses of wine. ‘It was a bit of luck you and Slate both moving to Nancy’s, wasn’t it? We might never have met.’
‘Phyllis would say it was fate.’
Oxo grinned. ‘Fate or luck, I’m glad it happened.’
‘Me too,’ Jackie told him.
‘How about we tell people about us now? Make it a bit more official,’ Oxo suggested. ‘I don’t want to wait any longer.’
Is that what this special meal was about? ‘Does that mean we’re going exclusive?’ she asked teasingly, grinning at the astonished look that crossed Oxo’s face.
‘I thought we were exclusive…’
‘We are.’ She leaned over and placed her hand on his. ‘Yes, let’s make us official.’
* * *
‘Can I come back with you today so we can tell the others together?’ Oxo asked the next morning as they sat up in bed drinking a cup of coffee. ‘I want to see their faces when we tell them that we’re an item.’
‘Of course you can. And once they know you’ll be able to stay over now and again, that is, if you want to?’ She raised an eyebrow questioningly although she was fairly sure of the answer.
‘You bet I do.’ He grinned, pulling her towards him for another smooch.
* * *
When they both walked in later, hand in hand, they were greeted by shouts of ‘About time! We wondered when you were going to admit it!’ from Slate, Nancy and Phyllis who were all watching a film together.
‘You mean you knew?’ Jackie exclaimed.
‘How?’ Oxo asked.
Slate rolled his eyes. ‘Anyone could tell from the moony-eyed way you looked at each other. Dunno why you wanted to keep it a big secret.’
‘I saw it in the leaves,’ Phyllis said, her eyes twinkling. ‘I’m very pleased for you both.’
Slate slapped Oxo on the back. ‘I guess that means I’ll have to let you use the downstairs bathroom when you stay over, because you’ve got no chance of using the one upstairs with these two!’
‘I think this calls for a celebration,’ Nancy said. ‘I’ll go and get a bottle of fizz. It’s nice to be celebrating some good news.’
One bottle of fizz led to another. Alexa provided some music and soon a party was in full swing.
‘Happy?’ Oxo asked as they both snuggled up in Jackie’s bed much later that night.
‘Very,’ she murmured, cuddling up to him. He wrapped his arms around her and they both fell asleep.