Chapter 5
‘I hope that’s a surprised face and not a disappointed one,’ Elise said.
‘Of course it is. Sorry. I wasn’t expecting you till tomorrow.’ I hugged her. ‘I thought you had some family thing.’
‘I did, but Gary didn’t like the idea of me driving both ways in one day so he insisted I give it a miss. I thought I’d surprise you and help you pack. I hope that’s okay.’
‘Of course it is.’ I bit my lip. ‘But I’d better warn you that—’
‘Hello Elise. How are you?’
—that Clare is here. Oh crap.
‘Clare? What a delight. I’m good, thanks. You?’
‘Couldn’t be better,’ Clare said. ‘No hubby today? I thought you two were welded together.’
‘We have our own lives too, you know. That’s what makes a relationship successful. Oh, but you wouldn’t know, would you?’
‘Elise!’ That was so unlike her. Somehow Clare always managed to bring out a nasty streak in Elise that I’d never seen surface with me or anyone else.
‘Doesn’t bother me,’ Clare said. ‘I’d rather have a hundred one-night-stands than get hitched at eighteen to the only man I’ve ever kissed.’
‘Well, it bothers me.’ I held a hand up at each of them. ‘You’ve had your childish fun and now you can play nicely. Or you can leave.’
‘But—’ started Clare.
‘But nothing. You can either apologise and be civil to each other in which case you can both stay. Or you can both leave now. Which is it to be?’
‘Sorry, Sarah,’ Elise said. ‘I got lost and I’m a bit stressed.’
‘Apology welcome, but it’s Clare you need to say sorry to.’
Elise stiffened as she turned towards Clare. ‘I’m sorry, Clare. What I said about your lack of relationships was unnecessary.’
Clare ran a hand through her expensively styled bob: her signature move when in the presence of other females. I knew her apology would be insincere, but at least it was forthcoming.
‘Thank you, Elise,’ she said. ‘Although you do speak the truth and I’m not in the least offended as that’s how I choose to live my life. I don’t need a man as a permanent fixture. Unlike some people.’
Elise casually removed the bobble from her hair. Her long auburn curls tumbled out. What was it with those two and their hair? If they were cats, they’d be peeing up the walls to mark their territory.
‘I applaud you, Clare,’ Elise said. ‘You didn’t apologise. In fact, you managed to add another insult in there.’
‘Yes, well, if the cap fits…’ said Clare with a toss of her hair. ‘It’s Sarah’s last day in London and I want to be here so I’m prepared to call a truce if you are.’
Elise nodded. ‘Fine by me.’
‘Right,’ I said. ‘That was delightful as always. Repeat it and you both leave. Understood?’
‘Yes, Mum,’ Clare said.
‘Understood,’ Elise said.
‘Glass of wine or cup of tea?’ I asked Elise.
Elise looked at her watch and frowned. ‘Tea please.’
‘Wine please,’ Clare said, then disappeared back into the bedroom as Elise and I headed for the kitchen.
Drinks made, we found Clare on the floor, ripping the tape off another cardboard box. ‘It’s like Christmas,’ she said. ‘Will this be a good gift or a rubbish one?’ She peered in and moved a few things. ‘Books. Rubbish one. What’s in that bag?’ She crawled across the floor.
What bag? I only got boxes out. My eyes flicked in the direction she was heading. A large white paper bag with rope handles lay on the floor. No! Not that.
But Clare had already pulled the pink box out of the bag. I cringed at the purple glitter lettering sparkling on the lid. ‘“Sarah’s Treasures”,’ she read. ‘Now this looks interesting. What’s in here?’
‘Nothing.’ I tried to grab the box off her but she was having none of it.
She prised the lid off. ‘Ooh. Hot, hot, hot.’
Ground, swallow me up.
‘Are those firefighters?’ Elise asked. ‘From the calendars?’
‘Might be.’ In honour of my fireman obsession, Elise had bought me the firefighters’ calendar for Christmas four or five years in a row when we were in our teens. At the end of each year, I ripped out my favourites to keep and gaze upon during low moments.
While I lounged on the bed, mortified, Clare and Elise spent the next ten minutes or so debating over whom was the hottest. Boredom finally set in. ‘What else is in here?’ asked Clare.
‘To be honest, I can’t remember.’ I put my wine down and joined them on the floor.
‘I haven’t looked in it for years.’ They both looked at me with raised eyebrows.
‘Okay, I may have had the odd peek at the gorgeous young firemen, but I haven’t looked at anything else.
’ I leaned over Clare and rummaged in the box.
‘Concert ticket stubs, cinema tickets, valentine cards.’
‘What’s this?’ Clare bent forwards and picked up a CD. ‘Mix CD of lurve songs from an ex?’
‘I don’t think so,’ I said. ‘No one’s ever made me one. Does it say anything on it?’
‘“Mandy’s Party”,’ Elise read. ‘Mandy from college?’
‘Must be. I don’t know any other Mandys.’
‘Only one way to find out,’ Clare said. ‘Have you got a CD player?’
‘There’s an old one in that box of games by the window,’ I said, pointing to it.
Elise was closest so she crawled over to the box and pulled out a small pink radio/CD player covered in stickers. I plugged it in by the bed and popped the CD in. ‘I bet it’s something hideously cheesy. Mandy loved novelty tunes so we may need to do some selective listening.’
Only it wasn’t music. It was a recording I swear I’d lost twelve years previously. And it was about to completely change my already turbulent life.