11. SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT
ELEVEN
SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT
‘That’s another week without losing any weight,’ Judy said, frowning, as Tess stepped down from the scales. ‘Why do you think that is?’
Why? Where do I begin , Tess wondered.
‘You’ve been naughty again, haven’t you?’ Judy said.
‘I’m afraid so.’ Tess felt hot blood coursing up her face. I’ve been very, very naughty.
‘And the wedding’s in July?’
‘Yes,’ Tess replied.
‘Hmm,’ said Judy. ‘Have you bought that outfit yet?’
‘No, I was wanting to lose some more weight.’
‘You said that two weeks ago.’ Judy consulted her file. ‘And time is running out. You only have a few months in which to lose another stone.’
Tess felt ashamed. Not only that – in another few weeks she’d be cruising round the Greek islands, and she couldn’t see that being very conducive to weight loss.
I’m a big, fat failure, she thought. I can’t lose weight, I don’t seem to be able to find a decent man, and I’m behind schedule with my sewing. Drastic action was called for. She would just not eat and she’d not arrange to meet any more of these ‘hearts’ for the time being. None of them so far had set her pulse racing, and most of them involved some form of food. So: no men, no food, and she’d work round the clock. At least she might get Amber’s wedding dress tacked together and Mrs Byron-Sommers’s monstrosity finished off.
She was pleased to see Shirley had returned from her grandmotherly duties.
‘Don’t look so downhearted!’ she said as Tess plonked herself on the adjacent seat. ‘I think you’re looking great.’
‘Thanks,’ Tess said, giving Shirley a smile. ‘But that Judy is such a taskmaster, and I don’t know if I can lose as much weight as I want to in time for the wedding.’
‘What does it matter if you don’t? As long as you’re well and happy with yourself when the big day comes.’
Tess grinned. ‘You’re a tonic, Shirley. I hope you’re still OK for that meal on Friday week?’
‘Looking forward to it.’
Stopping off at the shop on the way home, Tess found Orla on the laptop, making copious notes.
‘It’s gone quiet,’ she informed Tess, taking a sip of her coffee. ‘Just thought I’d check up on a few things.’
‘Things?’ Tess repeated, grinning. ‘Could that be men ? And what about Paul the plumber?’
Orla sighed. ‘I never did get my bathroom, and I don’t see him that often now anyway. But listen, there’s a guy on here that I really like the sound of. He’s got a hotel , Tess, with a cocktail bar and a spa! What’s not to like? He’s probably too good to be true, but he’s surely worth a punt. Silver surfing might just be about to pay off!’
Tess decided to say nothing.
Tess did a minimum-calorie shop in Sainsbury’s to get her through the week ahead. She’d arranged to have most of the week off from the shop. Now, staggering through her door with a mountain of fruit and vegetables, she decided to be vegetarian for a few days, and drink only water. She’d take long walks in all weathers and catch up on her work. As expected, Lisa had rung to ask if Tess could make ‘a little dress for Ellie for the wedding’, so that was an extra task.
She ate fruit for breakfast, soup for lunch, and some sort of vegetable casserole for dinner, accompanied by a glass of water; a diet that meant that she spent a considerable amount of time in the toilet. To take her mind off food, she worked hard. By Day Three she added some fish to her menu, and by Day Four she added some chicken and a glass of Merlot. By Day Five she added some potatoes and had two glasses of wine. By Day Six, Mrs Byron-Sommers’s vast mauve outfit was completed, Amber’s dress was ready for fitting and Ellie’s dress was cut out. And, according to her bathroom scales, Tess had managed to lose six whole pounds.
Even Orla noticed that she looked slimmer when she arrived at the shop on Saturday morning. And Tess couldn’t resist asking, ‘How was the date? Wasn’t he a hotelier or something?’
Orla rolled her eyes. ‘Where do I begin?’ Then she said, ‘While I was waiting to meet him in reception I could just hear the receptionist murmur to a waiter who was passing by, “That’s the latest one, over there ! How many do you reckon that is altogether?” And the waiter, who was foreign, said, “I can only count up to ten in English,” and they both fell about laughing. Then the guy appeared, and he was really good-looking, Tess, but I just knew ! You can tell these Lotharios a mile off, can’t you? And this guy – Andy was his name – would you believe it, he’d suggested I take an overnight bag, so I had a good idea what he had in mind. But I decided I’d risk one cocktail since I’d taken the trouble to drive all the way over there, and he was a real smoothie, you know, intent on telling me how hard he’d worked to make his way up in the world and to get this hotel, blah, blah, blah. And when that same waiter delivered the drinks I saw Andy give him a wink. What an idiot!’
Tess couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. ‘So, what did you do?’
‘Well, I drank his bloody cocktail and then I said, “I think I’ll go now, Andy, but I expect you’ve got the next one in the queue lined up. Thanks for the drink.” And I just got up and left.’
‘What did he do?’
‘Do? He didn’t do anything, just sat there. Probably in shock. Let’s face it, Tess, at our age we’ve all been round the block a few times and you can spot these guys a mile off.’
‘Oh, indeed,’ said Tess, sitting down quickly at the service desk.
‘In the meantime,’ Orla went on, ‘how about you and I have a look around for cruise wear ? We need to look the part, don’t we? Don’t tell me you’re going to wear that boring old black one-piece swimsuit again? Why don’t we look for one of those with the cut-out bits? ’
‘Because,’ Tess replied, ‘all the fat would bulge out through the cut-out bits. You’ve got to be really slim to wear that sort of stuff.’
‘So you’ll resurrect that boring old black one again. Well, I’m going to buy something bright, and I might just get a jumpsuit too. Jumpsuits are very in at the moment.’
‘It’s just such a palaver when you go to the loo,’ Tess said, and then wondered if she sounded dull. Perhaps she could cope with a jumpsuit. And, for sure, she didn’t want to look boring. Or wholesome – oh no! She’d buy that bright pink backless swimsuit she’d seen in her catalogue somewhere, and she might even look for a jumpsuit that didn’t have a million buttons so she could go to the loo easily. And a long sundress with a great big split up the side, or the back maybe. She wouldn’t tell Orla what she was planning to buy; she’d just wait to see Orla’s face when she unpacked her suitcase on the boat. Because the new Tess Templar had no intention of being dowdy.
On Friday evening Shirley arrived, brandishing a bottle of Shiraz. ‘I know we shouldn’t,’ she said.
‘Ah, but I’ve cooked a very low-calorie meal, with masses of vegetables,’ Tess said, ‘which gives us plenty of allowance for wine.’
‘A girl after my own heart!’ said Shirley, looking around. ‘Love your place! And your cat!’
Dylan had emerged from his favourite resting place on Tess’s bed and come down the stairs to see what all the fuss was about. He made a beeline for Shirley, who stooped to stroke him.
‘You’re very honoured,’ Tess informed her. ‘Dylan is fussy. Some people he ignores completely.’ She thought the cat was probably no bad judge of character, and wished she could take him along with her to suss out some of these tiresome ‘hearts’.
‘Have you always lived here?’ Shirley asked as she sat down.
‘Since my divorce more than ten years ago,’ Tess replied. ‘Before that we lived in Hawthorn Road. What about you?’
‘I moved to a flat after Ken died, but I don’t much like it. The flat’s nice but there’s a very noisy couple upstairs and a very nosy old bat who lives opposite.’ Shirley looked wistful. ‘And I miss having a little garden.’
‘Perhaps you should look for something like this,’ Tess suggested.
‘Perhaps I should.’ Shirley was silent for a moment. ‘I don’t mean to pry, but have you got anyone, you know… I mean, are you in a relationship?’
Tess shook her head. ‘I was with a lovely guy for three years, but sadly he was killed in an accident. That was almost three years ago now but sometimes it’s still quite raw. I really miss him.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry, Tess. Do you feel lonely? Because I know I do sometimes.’
‘I thought the lonely feeling would have worn off by now,’ Tess admitted, ‘and, although I’m much better than I was, I still feel sad and alone sometimes. He was such a nice guy, and so humorous. Whenever I hear or see something funny, I long to tell him so we could giggle together. I’m not explaining this very well but, you see, the contrast between him and Gerry – my ex-husband – was so pronounced! Gerry was hell-bent on expanding his business, making contacts, chatting up the right people. I hated it. Then David came along and he couldn’t give a toss about anything like that. He had his own little business, he loved his cars, but he also loved living. And laughing.’
‘It’s so important to laugh, isn’t it? Ken was one of the funniest men I’ve ever met. I don’t know how a relationship survives when it’s devoid of humour. But you can’t live in the past, can you? Do you think you might be ready yet to meet someone else, Tess?’
Tess felt she could be honest with Shirley. ‘Yes, I am, I think,’ she said, and told Shirley a little about MMM and her disastrous dates. ‘I miss the closeness and the companionship. I kid myself that all I want is an escort for my daughter’s wedding in July, but it isn’t just that. I would like to meet someone special.’
‘I’m sure you will,’ Shirley said.
‘I’m not so sure. I’ve met a few guys, none of whom are really what I’m looking for. I keep hoping that the next one I meet might be different. My friend Orla, of course, just thinks it’s all a big joke. Silver Singles or Single Surfers, she calls us. What about your love life?’
Shirley stroked Dylan, who’d leapt up onto the sofa beside her. ‘Well, here’s the thing,’ she said. ‘Would you believe I met this really nice guy while I was up in Manchester?’
‘Manchester?’ Tess echoed, wondering if she should consider extending her fifty-mile radius.
‘Yes, I had to ferry my younger grandson to and from school because it’s about seven miles away from where they live. Anyway, while I was waiting at the school gates, I met this guy. He just happened to be waiting for his granddaughter, who just happens to be in Todd’s class, would you believe! He was attractive and very nice, and we got chatting. He’s called Charlie and, while I was there, he took me out a couple of times for a meal. ’
‘Lucky you!’ Tess made a mental note about school gates; Ellie would be starting school in September.
‘You’d be surprised how many grandparents were there,’ Shirley continued. ‘So many mothers work these days.’
‘And he’s not married?’
‘No, he lost his wife to cancer some years ago. And he’s had bowel cancer himself, but he’s fine now. As he said, we’ve either had it, got it, or someone close to you has. When I think of it, years ago we’d have broken the ice talking about pop music or something! Now it’s operations!’
They both laughed as Tess refilled their glasses. ‘Will you see him again?’ she asked.
‘Oh yes,’ Shirley replied. ‘He’s coming down for a few days next week. And, before you ask, yes, he is staying with me. We’ve already had a couple of nights together and, at our ages, what’s the point in making him wait?’
‘That was my mother’s mantra,’ Tess laughed. ‘“Make him wait, he won’t respect you otherwise!” None of us paid a lot of attention to that, did we?’
‘No, we didn’t. But you’ll have plenty of opportunity to meet men soon, when you go on your cruise. You did say something about going on a cruise, didn’t you?’
‘Yes, in June. But it’s organised by MMM, the dating site I’m with and, like I said, I haven’t had much luck with the guys I’ve met so far.’
‘Perhaps you should try your luck at the school gates,’ Shirley joked.
‘And extend my boundaries,’ Tess said thoughtfully. So what if the right man happened to come from Liverpool or Leeds or Leicester? Better, surely, to find the right man miles away than the wrong one on your doorstep, even if it limited the time you could spend together. Hopefully the ‘hearts’ on the cruise would hail from every corner of the country.
As they sat down to Tess’s Mediterranean chicken, they spoke about their families. Shirley had one brother, Simon, who was an actor, currently filming in eastern Europe somewhere, but Tess had never heard of him. She had two sons, the one in Manchester and the one in Canada, whom she was hoping to visit in September, and was the main reason she wanted to get in shape. And there were five grandchildren. She was sixty-five, a retired nurse, and she did some volunteer driving to take people for hospital appointments and ‘stuff like that’.
All in all it was a really enjoyable evening. Tess liked her new friend, who didn’t depart until nearly eleven o’clock, promising to reciprocate in the next few weeks.
‘After Manchester Man’s visit,’ Tess said. ‘I shall look forward to a detailed account!’