Chapter 4
4
SATURDAY
The sun was shining brightly when Dee pulled open the bedroom curtains, a beautiful day to go away. It would be even sunnier in Portugal, she thought, then pushed the thought away. Today was her birthday and she wasn’t going to let anything spoil it. Nigel was selfish, always had been and probably always would be. She had learnt long ago not to dwell on the unpleasant things he did, and instead concentrated on getting as much happiness as she could out of every day. She had a lot to be grateful for. She had amazing kids, a lovely home and enough money to do what she wanted. Besides, she would much rather go down to Cornwall with Babs and have a few days in a little cottage by the sea, than hang around on her own while Nigel and his friends played golf. She hadn’t been on a girlie holiday for years and she was looking forward to it.
She hadn’t heard a sound from the guest room next door and guessed that Babs had gone to sleep as soon as her head had hit the pillow. They’d stopped up late chatting and Babs had drunk rather a lot of wine, not that Dee blamed her after what Geoff had said, but Dee had swapped to soft drinks after two more small glasses. Babs had left their car at home so Dee would be doing the driving today and needed to keep a clear head.
She glanced at the clock, it was past ten already and she really wanted to leave before lunch. She picked up her phone from the dressing table and scanned the screen. There were a few messages. She always turned her notifications down at night, not wanting to be disturbed as she was a member of a couple of online global book groups and messages came in at all hours. Annabel and Hugh knew that if they needed her urgently it was best to phone.
She opened the messages one by one. There was one from Annabel wishing her a happy birthday and promising to take her out for lunch one of the days next week when Hallie had recovered from her cold, one from Hugh telling her a surprise was on the way, and a couple from friends. Then another message pinged in. It was from Nigel.
Happy birthday, Dee. Sorry about the mix up. I’ll make it up to you when I come back. I’ve put five hundred in your bank account so that you can treat yourself while I’m away. N x
That was typical of Nigel, he was generous with money but thought it could buy everything, that if he gave her enough she would forget anything he did.
She sighed, slipped her phone into her dressing gown pocket then went downstairs. She made a mug of tea and poured a glass of cold water, putting them on a small tray with some paracetamol. She had a feeling Babs would need them.
Ten minutes later she tapped on Babs’ bedroom door. ‘Babs! Are you awake?’ she called.
Silence.
Dee put the tray she was carrying down on the hall unit, opened the door then picked the tray back up again, taking it into the room where Babs was lying in bed, her eyes closed, the back of her hand flung across her forehead. Her clothes were lying in a heap on the floor. Dee groaned, remembering countless holidays when they were younger when Babs’ clothes and possessions had littered the room. It seemed that she hadn’t grown out of her untidiness.
‘Morning – just!’ Dee said cheerily.
Babs opened her eyes a fraction. ‘You look far too bright and cheerful for someone who’s been downing wine half the night. Or was it only me drinking? It’s all a bit of a blur.’
‘This will make you feel better.’ Moving Babs’ phone over, Dee placed the tray on the bedside cabinet.
‘Nothing will make me feel better! I feel like someone is bouncing a ball around in my head,’ Babs groaned. ‘Surely it’s too early to get up.’
Dee surveyed her friend. She did look pale, but a bit of breakfast and a shower, and she would be fine. Thank goodness she’d talked Babs out of opening another bottle of wine last night. She handed her the glass of water and packet of painkillers. ‘I thought you might need these.’
‘Thanks.’ Babs edged herself onto her elbows and squinted at Dee. ‘Aren’t you hungover?’
Dee shook her head. ‘I went onto soft drinks seeing as I’d be driving today.’
‘Driving?’ She clapped her hand to her forehead. ‘Gosh, I forgot. We booked a week away in a holiday cottage in Cornwall.’ Then her eyes widened. ‘And it’s your birthday! Happy birthday!’
‘Thank you. You do still want to go away, don’t you?’ Dee asked. ‘Because it’s fine if you’ve decided against it and want to go back and talk things through with Geoff.’
They’d found a lovely little cottage in the small village of Port Telwyn in Cornwall. There’d apparently been a last-minute cancellation so they had booked it for the week. However, Dee was more than happy to go by herself if Babs had thought better of it this morning. She really hoped her best friend and Geoff would make up.
Babs nodded then groaned again. ‘You bet I do. I forgot about it for a minute.’ She took the glass Dee was offering her, popped two painkillers out of the blister pack, swallowed them and downed the glass of water. ‘These will soon kick in and I’ll be right as rain. I need to go to the loo though.’ She flung back the thin duvet and raced out to the bathroom a couple of doors down.
‘I’ll make us scrambled eggs on toast then we can be on our way. We have to collect the keys for the cottage before five, and it’s almost eleven already,’ Dee shouted as she headed down the stairs. It was about a two and a half hour’s drive from Bristol, but the weekend traffic was likely to be heavy.
‘Give me quarter of an hour to shower and get dressed,’ Babs shouted back.
Dee was putting the bread in the toaster when Babs came down, showered, dressed in bright red trousers and a red and yellow top, just over fifteen minutes later. She sniffed appreciatively. ‘Oh, I love the smell of fresh coffee.’
‘Me too. The scrambled eggs are in the microwave and it’s about to ping,’ Dee told her. ‘Sit down and help yourself.’
Babs walked over to the kitchen table which was laid with a cafetière of coffee and a jug of orange juice, two mugs, two glasses, two plates and cutlery. ‘Very nice, I feel like I’m in a hotel.’
The toast popped up out of the toaster at the same time the microwave pinged.
‘Let me help.’ Babs went over to the microwave and took out the jug of perfectly cooked scrambled egg. ‘This looks delicious.’
Dee looked up from buttering the toast and smiled. ‘It’s the easiest and least messy way of doing it, I find.’
‘True. But one minute too long and it’s like rubber, and my timing isn’t always so great,’ Babs said. ‘Want it spooned onto your plate or onto your toast?’
Dee placed a piece of buttered toast on each plate. ‘On the toast, please.’ She cut up the other two slices of buttered toast and put them in the toast rack then they both sat down to eat just as Babs’ mobile rang.
Babs peered at the screen then pursed her lips as she dismissed the call. ‘Geoff,’ she replied to Dee’s enquiring glance. ‘Well, I’m not answering it, let him sweat for a bit.’ She picked up her knife and fork and tucked into her breakfast.
Dee watched her thoughtfully. ‘Maybe you should, he might be apologising.’
‘So he should be!’ A text pinged in and Babs looked down at the screen. ‘Geoff again. No doubt begging me to come home.’
‘Read it, it might be important,’ Dee told her.
Babs sighed, put down her knife, swiped the screen and opened the message. A look of outrage crossed her face. ‘He wants me home. Not to apologise, but because he’s got the estate agent coming back this morning to take photos and do the floor plan.’ She dug fiercely into her toast with her knife. ‘He’s got no chance.’ She looked up at Dee. ‘Well going away for a bit will show him that I’m serious, and give him chance to miss me. Let him see what it’s like living by himself, because if he insists on moving to Spain, he’ll be going alone.’
Dee nodded sympathetically. ‘I must say I’m surprised at his attitude, it’s very heavy-handed of him.’
‘Geoff might come across as easy-going, but as you know he’s got a real stubborn streak and it’s got worse since he retired.’ Babs jutted out her chin defiantly. ‘Well, so have I. And this is one battle he isn’t going to win!’
‘Are you sure you have everything you need in your case? We’ll be away for a week,’ Dee reminded her.
Babs nodded her head. ‘I’ve got plenty and I don’t want to go back to the house, I don’t want to see Geoff right now. Not after how he’s treated me.’ She cut another bit out of her toast and chewed it. ‘Do you know what he said to me when I told him I was coming to yours last night? He said, “you’re overreacting as usual”.’ She looked outraged. ‘As if it’s perfectly reasonable for him to decide to sell our home, and book flights to Spain so we can view properties, without even talking to me about it first.’ She scooped up the last of her scrambled egg with her fork. ‘I’ll be damned if I let him get away with this. He can stew.’
Dee agreed Geoff was being very selfish. Which was totally out of character. Whereas, Nigel was always selfish and him forgetting her birthday or going off with his mates for a week was totally in character.
‘Have you heard from Nige?’ Babs asked, as if reading her mind.
‘He sent me a text wishing me happy birthday and apologising. And he’s transferred five hundred pounds to my bank account so I can treat myself.’ Dee glanced up at the clock on the kitchen wall. ‘He’ll be in Portugal now, too busy enjoying himself with his golfing friends to worry about me.’
‘Men! All they care about is what they want!’ Babs reached for some toast from the rack. ‘They don’t deserve us.’
* * *
They were about to leave when Annabel video-called Dee, and little Hallie sang ‘Happy Birthday’, almost word perfect. Tears sprung to Dee’s eyes as she listened to her adorable little granddaughter.
‘Thank you, darling,’ she said, blowing a kiss to Hallie who blew a kiss back.
‘Is Dad taking you out to dinner?’ Annabel asked.
‘No, he’s gone off on a golfing holiday to Portugal with his friends,’ Dee said matter-of-factly. ‘He booked it at the last minute.’
‘What! And you let him go?’ Annabel exploded.
‘I couldn’t really stop him, could I?’ Dee replied. ‘Anyway I’m off myself, you’ve just caught me.’
‘Where are you going?’ Annabel asked. ‘Hallie seems much better today so we were planning on driving over tomorrow, to bring your cards and presents.’
‘That’s very kind of you, darling, but I’ve booked a cottage in Cornwall for a week. I’m going with Babs. Save the presents until I return and we’ll have a get-together then.’
‘If you’re sure, Mum. Text me your address in Cornwall though and I can at least post your cards, they should arrive on Monday. Better a couple of days late than a week late!’
‘Bless you, darling, I’ll text it over in a few minutes. Now I’ve got to go, we’re all ready to set off. I’ll speak to you later.’
‘Have a lovely time, Mum. You deserve it,’ Annabel said. ‘Dad’s unbelievable sometimes.’
You can say that again, Dee thought. Although she had to admit, a big part of her was happier she was going away to Cornwall with Babs than she’d have been going to Portugal with Nigel.