Chapter 33
33
‘This is perfect!’ Fiona turned in a circle, trying to take in everything the space had to offer and then strode over to a corner and, pacing it out, started planning where things would go. Then she headed over to the other side of the room to do the same, before returning to Rory.
‘It’s industrial yet inviting. Stylish yet unpretentious.’
‘Which is exactly what you were going for, isn’t it?’ he asked.
‘How do you know me so well?’ She stretched up on tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. ‘And why did they just let us in here on our own? I thought you said the Events Manager was going to meet us?’
‘Let me ring her.’
While he took out his phone, she continued to look around. The room was ideal. The clever use of wood, together with metal in soft, copper shades, gave a warmth to the place. It was wide, with plenty of open space for people to gather together in for the presentation, yet had enough little nooks and crannies which Jenny and Caleb could hide in, if the need arose.
‘She’s coming over now.’
A minute later, the door opened. The woman who walked towards them had a distinct familiarity about her. She was young – substantially younger than Fiona – with loose, wavy hair and an easy smile. Fiona tilted her head, trying to work out where she recognised her from.
‘Fiona, this is Pip. Pip, Fiona.’
‘Pip, as in… Pippa?’
‘Yes, as in my daughter.’
The change in her pulse was immediate, as she stepped away from Rory. He laughed.
‘It’s fine. I’ve told her who you are.’
‘All good things, I promise,’ Pippa said, as she moved forward and kissed Fiona on the cheek – one side only – which was currently glowing pink.
‘Well.’ She hesitated, quite mortified by the situation. ‘I’ve eaten at your father’s café a few times. We have a professional interest in recycling. I mean we’re only… I am actually still ma?—’
‘Okaaay,’ Pippa said, trying hard to suppress a smirk, in a way that was uncannily like her father’s. ‘I’m going to ignore whatever’s obviously going on here. Rory just said he had a friend who was looking for a venue.’
‘Oh, yes.’ Fiona breathed a sigh of relief, then realised that she’d probably just made the whole thing look even worse. She momentarily wished that the safety checks had missed something and the floor would conveniently open up and swallow her. ‘I’m the friend. The friend who needs a venue.’
Pippa laughed. ‘It’s fine, honestly. Let me show you the place.’
After discreetly glowering at Rory, she followed Pippa around, making notes as she went.
‘The speaker system has just been installed. The PA is state-of-the-art although, even without it, the acoustics in here are great.’ She had the same easy manner about her as her father. ‘I assume Rory told you we’d had a licensing issue?’
‘He did, and that’s all sorted now, isn’t it?’ she asked. Running an illegal event would definitely be the final nail in her coffin.
‘Yes, the paperwork came through yesterday. We’ve started taking reservations today.’
‘And Wednesday? Do you have anything booked here for Wednesday?’
‘Not yet.’ She grinned.
‘Then, in that case, I think I’ve found myself a venue. Now, I guess we should talk about food.’
Pippa grimaced. ‘I wish we could do that, but I’m afraid we can’t,’ she said. ‘The restaurant is already booked to capacity. If I’m honest, the Manager wasn’t quite expecting that. They’re looking at getting more staff in, but there’s no way that’s going to happen in time for your event.’
Fiona cast her eyes pleadingly towards Rory.
‘Nope,’ he said. ‘Not doing it.’
Pippa laughed. ‘I could have told you he’d say that. Hates anything with big numbers. But from what he’s been telling me, I might have an idea that would be right up your street.’
At 9a.m. on Monday morning, Caleb and Jenny were sitting in her office, in identical clothes to the week before. Not that she judged them. Less washing was good for the environment, she’d discovered from Rory’s sniff-and-air approach. Secretly, however, she’d vowed to grab anything of his that started to smell a bit dodgy and slip it in with her wash at home. She was taking this sustainable-living drive one step at a time and clean clothes were still pretty high on the list of things she wasn’t willing to forego.
‘It sounds amazing,’ Jenny said.
She was sucking a lollipop, one of those hard, round ones, entirely designed to rot teeth. Fiona was having a hard time not snatching it from her and throwing it in the bin. She was a client, she kept having to remind herself. An immature one, sure, but one she currently owed a lot to.
‘I mean, we trust you and everything and if you say this is the best choice, then we’ll go with it.’
‘There won’t be any problems,’ she assured her.
‘Well, we’re with you, Captain.’ Caleb offered some strange form of salute, which the women decided best to ignore.
‘All the invitations are set to go out at five o’clock on Wednesday, just as you asked,’ Annabel said. ‘You’re sure you don’t want us to put out anything beforehand? Like a sort of teaser, with the post code or something?’
‘No.’ Jenny removed the lolly from her mouth and shook her head. ‘This’ll work, trust us.’
The next morning, Fiona rolled over in bed. Something felt different. Shifting around, her foot dropped over the edge. Her eyes pinged open and a small smile crept across her face, where she let it linger. For the first time since Stephen’s departure, she had spread herself out across the whole of the bed. Both sides, including his. The feeling of satisfaction was soon replaced, however, with one of nerves.
In her office, she paced up and down. She came out to reception.
‘This just feels all wrong, you know? Like we should be doing something. We should be filling bags, or stuffing envelopes.’
‘I know,’ Annabel agreed. ‘I’ve used up a whole notepad drawing little stick men, just to be doing something.’
Fiona frowned.
‘It is a recycled notepad,’ Annabel added quickly.
Ten minutes later and Fiona was back again.
‘I think I should go and check that no one’s moved the screens,’ she said.
‘Did they say they were going to move them?’
‘No, but you never know. Pippa’s great and everything, but… maybe I’ll pop over there.’
‘Why don’t you just ring her?’
‘Then she’ll think I’m checking up on her.’
‘And that will be different if you turn up, how?’
It was a valid point, Fiona conceded.
‘Perhaps I’ll just head home. Get an early night. You should go too. Go home. Read.’
‘Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?’
‘What, and draw even more flick books? No, you go home. Waste your own paper.’
Together, the women packed up their things and headed out onto the street.
Back at home, Fiona fixed herself a meal. Her fridge was currently filled with a plethora of freshly bought produce and Rory’s leftovers. Sunday, she’d gone to the farmer’s market and made Holly a meal from scratch.
‘I’m worried you’re not even my best friend at all. I think your body’s been taken over by an alien,’ Holly had laughed as she helped herself to seconds.
‘Would it surprise you if I said I had Joseph on video call as I cooked?’
‘Thank God he was. I can’t imagine what we’d be eating, otherwise.’
‘What do you mean? I think I’ve found my metier.’
Holly had grimaced but then burst out laughing, reminding Fiona how important this friendship was to her.
Tuesday evening found her eating the last of the leftovers from that meal.
‘How are you feeling about tomorrow?’ Rory asked, the sound of pans clattering in the background, as he talked on speaker phone. Outside her own window came the gentle rumble of thunder, with the accompanying patter of rain, a counterpoint to the quiet of the house around her.
‘I’m good. I think. As long as everything’s still the way I left it, I’ll be fine.’
‘It will be. Pip’s on top of things. I was thinking maybe we could all have dinner together, once this is out the way. I’d love for you to get to know her better.’
She put her fork down on her plate and reached for her glass.
‘I don’t know. Don’t you think that’s a bit soon? To introduce me as, whatever I am? I still haven’t told Joseph anything about the last couple of weeks.’
‘There’s no rush. Take as long as you want.’
She was about to say something else, about the fact that it didn’t mean she wasn’t happy with the way things were going, she just needed a bit more time to make adjustments, when her thoughts were interrupted by more loud clanging and several grunts from his end.
‘What is going on there?’ she asked. ‘Do you want me to call back?’
‘No, it’s fine, it’s fine.’ His voice sounded further from the phone now. ‘This new juice store has just opened up in Covent Garden. I’ve made an arrangement to take all their veg pulp off them. Let’s just say it was a little more than I’d bargained for.’
‘Why? How much have you got?’
‘Today? About twenty kilos of beetroot and the same again of carrots. It’s going to be burgers and carrot cake on the menu for a while. I think we might have to come to a different arrangement.’
She laughed.
After another twenty minutes or so of chat about their days, she hung up the phone and ran a bath. She wouldn’t sleep well tonight, she never did before a big event, so anything she could do to keep her mind distracted was a bonus.
But it was going to be great, she could just tell.
Once in the bath, she dipped her head under the surface and considered Rory’s proposal again. Pippa was lovely, and she’d been right on top of everything with regard to the venue, but things had already moved far faster than she’d anticipated. Lunch with his daughter, without even having talked to Joseph first, didn’t seem fair. It wasn’t that she didn’t think it would happen eventually; she just wasn’t willing to go by anyone else’s timetable but her own. Besides, there was the small matter of still being married. She just hoped Rory hadn’t taken it too personally, that was all.
Realising there was one thing she could resolve straight away, she sat up in the bath, spraying water onto the floor as she reached over for her towel. Five minutes later, she was downstairs, in her dressing gown with a pen in her hand.
Even after everything he’d put her through, it still wasn’t easy to write her name. She thought back to the good times. Summer drinks in pub gardens, when they had just got together. Their wedding day, so full of happiness that in almost every photo of her at the reception, she was creased up laughing. Joseph. Joseph being born. Joseph growing up. All those precious moments the three of them had shared. It was hard to finally sever all of those links.
She shook her head to clear the images from her mind. She would keep those memories for ever, but she had new ones to make now. Exciting ones. The spark between her and Stephen had faded as the years had progressed. Now she had the chance to ignite a new one. Wiping away a tear that had somehow strayed onto her cheek, she brought the nib of the pen back down to the divorce papers and signed.