Chapter 38
THIRTY-EIGHT
JESS
‘Morning, love.’
Jess opened a bleary eye to her mum placing a cup of coffee on to the bedside table. She glanced at her phone, which showed a time of just after eight thirty.
‘Thanks, Mum. Why didn’t you wake me? I bet Maisie has been awake for ages.’ She stretched out her arms before gratefully taking a sip of her drink.
‘Oh, don’t worry, she woke at seven and is currently watching a cartoon. I thought you deserved a bit of a lie-in. So, how did the date go?’ her mum asked, plonking herself on the end of the bed, ready to hear all about it.
‘It was great,’ said Jess, painting on her best smile.
There was no need to tell her mum that she had felt confused at the end of what she thought had been a perfect evening. And that kiss at the bar still sent her into a spin every time she thought about it.
‘Will you be going out together again?’ asked her mum, excited for her daughter.
‘Hopefully, yes, but we haven’t arranged anything yet. I guess he is literally only across the landing, though.’ She forced a smile.
Would Declan ask her out again? Jess wondered, hoping that he would.
She went over the events of the evening in her head, the fun they had had at the golf, their loud laughter ringing out, and the easy way they seemed to connect with each other.
She recalled the drinks in the cocktail bar, the kiss, and the feeling of floating on air she felt as they walked home beneath the stars.
Had she imagined that he had enjoyed it all as much as she had? He seemed so tense on the walk home.
‘So how was the cinema?’ asked Jess, the rich coffee reviving her with every sip.
‘Noisy.’ Her mum laughed. ‘Dozens of over-excited kids squealing every time the bad guy came onto the screen. Maisie and Libby loved it, though. Now, what would you like for breakfast? Unless you fancy a walk to a café? My treat.’
‘I wouldn’t mind a little walk. I’ll take a quick shower, then we’ll set off. And breakfast is on me,’ she told her mum firmly.
When she was ready, she said to her mum, ‘I will just knock and see how Alice is. I felt she seemed a little tired yesterday, although maybe that isn’t so surprising at her age.’
‘Of course.’ Carol smiled. ‘She can come with us if she fancies it.’
Jess was surprised to see Alice open the door in her dressing gown and looking a little weary.
‘Are you okay?’ she asked anxiously.
‘Truthfully? I have felt better. I am afraid I have a chest infection,’ she informed Jess.
‘Alice! Why didn’t you say something?’ said Jess.
‘Oh, don’t worry about me.’ Alice batted away any fuss. ‘I have some antibiotics from the doctor and have been drinking plenty of water. I am sure I will be just fine in a few days.’
‘So did you go to the doctor alone?’ asked Jess, feeling bad for her friend.
‘I took a taxi. The surgery is only up the road,’ Alice explained.
‘Can I get you anything?’ offered Jess. ‘Something to eat maybe, is there anything you fancy?’
‘I don’t have much of an appetite, but I do have some fresh soup in the fridge if I get hungry, so don’t worry.’ She gave a little cough into a tissue.
Jess couldn’t bear the thought of her being all alone in her apartment. She quickly texted Mark, asking if he could call in sometime this morning and literally a minute later he came out of his door.
‘We are going out now, but I will call in later,’ a concerned Jess told Mark.
‘I’ll look after her,’ said Mark, ushering Alice inside and ordering her to sit down while he made a pot of tea.
After breakfast in a café not far from the train station, Carol suggested a little train trip into Southport. ‘I’ve been saving these.’ She smiled as she pulled a bag of coins from her handbag, as Maisie’s eyes lit up at the thought of going to the arcades and playing on the machines.
‘That would be lovely.’ Jess felt reassured knowing Mark was spending some time with Alice so felt able to enjoy these last few hours with her mum. ‘What time is Pete collecting you, though?’
Jess’s heart sank when she thought about her mum and how she was regretting her move. She had only been thinking of her mum’s happiness at the time, but kind of wished she had made her think a little more before rushing in and could not help but feel guilty about that.
‘Oh, not until around four. We can easily be back by then. It’s only ten thirty,’ said Carol, glancing at her watch.
‘You don’t have to go back with him if you don’t want to, you know that?’ said Jess, as they stood in a small queue outside the ticket kiosk ready to purchase their train tickets.
‘Thanks, love, but I think I do. Besides, all my clothes are there, and so is my car. We came down in Pete’s car. I’ll sort things, though, don’t you worry,’ she tried to reassure her daughter.
‘You don’t think he will be angry with you?’ asked Jess, slightly concerned for her mum.
‘I don’t know.’ Carol frowned. ‘I shouldn’t think so, but then I really don’t know much about him at all, now I come to think of it.’ She sighed. ‘He doesn’t seem to be an angry type, though.’ At least she had seen no evidence of it.
‘But you think things are definitely over between you?’ asked Jess as they wandered over to the platform. She kept her voice down so Maisie could not hear.
Jess simply couldn’t bear the thought of her mother staying in an unhappy relationship because she thought she might be a burden to her. She had been nothing but a brilliant mum, always there for Jess and Maisie, even when she was going through her own pain after Jess’s dad had left.
‘I do, love,’ she told her daughter, before they boarded the train that was rumbling towards the station. ‘And please, don’t worry. I’m a big girl now.’ She winked.
They had a wonderful time in Southport, Maisie excited by her haul of gifts from the streams of pink tickets pouring from the machine.
She was thrilled with her new soft toy, a pink elephant to go with the dozens of soft toys she already had in her bedroom.
They went to the ice-cream parlour afterwards and enjoyed ice-cream sundaes dripping with chocolate sauce.
It was almost three o’clock when they headed back towards the station, passing the throng of holidaymakers and shoppers out in force as the sun beamed down.
Turning a corner past some high street stores, Jess noticed a familiar face. Her heart sank when she saw the bloke hold the door of a restaurant open for a woman as they both headed inside.
‘Is everything alright, love?’ her mum asked. ‘You look as though you have seen a ghost.’
‘What? No, I’m okay, thanks.’ She painted on a smile. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten all that ice cream.’
‘It was a bit indulgent but lovely, though, hey,’ said Carol as she stopped to admire a pair of dusky-pink kitten-heeled shoes in a shop window.
‘Do you think I am too old for those shoes?’ asked Carol, debating whether to buy them or not.
‘Absolutely not,’ said Jess. ‘Anyone can wear a kitten heel.’
They headed inside the shop, and after trying the shoes on, Carol made a decision to buy them.
‘You look pretty, Nanny,’ said Maisie as Carol looked in the mirror, and viewed her feet at various angles.
‘We should go somewhere nice for dinner some time so you can wear them,’ Jess told her mum, even though her mind was suddenly elsewhere.
‘Do you know, I think I will wear them now,’ Carol said to the assistant as she popped her trusty trainers into a bag. ‘Why do we need a special occasion? Being here with my two favourite girls is as good as it gets.’ She winked.
‘You should treat yourself more often, Nanny; you always treat us,’ said Maisie as she slipped her hand into hers.
‘Maybe I will.’ Carol smiled. She was suddenly filled with the reassurance that whatever happened in the future, the three of them would be alright.
‘Are you sure you’re alright, love?’
They had returned home now, and Carol was filling the kettle to make a cup of tea before she left.
‘I am. It’s just that…’ She waited for Maisie to leave the room before telling Carol what she had seen earlier in town.
‘Don’t go jumping to conclusions, love, there’s probably a very simple explanation,’ Carol reassured her daughter. ‘Did he kiss her or something, is that why you’re puzzled?’
Thinking about it, he hadn’t even kissed her on the cheek; he had just smiled in greeting as he opened the restaurant door.
‘No, but she was dressed really smart for a Sunday afternoon. It looked like she had made a real effort.’
‘And Declan?’
‘Not especially. Jeans, smart T-shirt.’ She shrugged. Thinking about it, he wasn’t really dressed up at all.
‘There you go, then. Didn’t you tell me he’s an accountant? Could it have been a meeting with a client?’ Carol suggested.
‘I never actually thought about that,’ said Jess, although maybe it was unlikely on a Sunday, and he definitely wasn’t dressed for that, although she supposed he could conduct business any day of the week.
It was out of character for Jess to feel remotely jealous, but the events of last night would confuse anyone.
One minute Declan was kissing her and saying he had been dying to do so all evening, the next he was giving her a perfunctory kiss goodnight outside her front door with no plans for any further dates.
Maybe the woman was an ex, who Declan realised he missed after spending time with her.
Whatever the reason, she was not about to play those games; she had been hurt before and now she had Maisie to think about.
She would ask Declan what was going on when she next saw him.
Just over an hour later, Carol hugged Jess goodbye, and Maisie hugged her so hard it almost brought a tear to her eye. She was already desperate to return to her family permanently.
‘I’ll see you very soon.’
Pete had stepped inside briefly, refusing a drink and glancing at his watch, saying they had better get going if they were to miss the evening traffic.
As they left, Jess almost ran after them, telling her mother to stay right now, but she stopped herself.
Her mother would need to collect her car and her belongings as she had pointed out.
Besides, it was only fair for her mum to have a proper conversation with Pete. However difficult that might be.
As the car pulled away, Jess brushed away a silent tear that had slid down her cheek. It had been lovely having her mum around for a few days. She hadn’t realised quite how much she had missed her.
She tried not to dwell on things but dearly hoped her mum would be alright and that Pete wouldn’t take things too badly when her mum told him she was leaving. Did she really know him well enough to know how he would react?
As she tidied around and put some washing on, she also wondered how long she would be doing such things here in the apartment.
Life throws curveballs sometimes, she thought to herself as she sat with a cup of tea in the kitchen, watching her washing go around in the drum.
And other than try to be strong during difficult times, there really isn’t much we can do about that.