Chapter 8 #2
Michelle shook her head. Her friend was well aware of Lawrence’s unwarranted golden boy status.
‘Let’s just put it like this, he’s no longer flavour of the month,’ said Michelle, unable to keep a smirk off her face. ‘In Dad’s words, Mum “tore Lawrence a new one!”’
Caroline let out a snort. ‘Okay, I’d have paid for front row seats to that conversation!’
‘Right? Mum was gloriously angry!’ Michelle let out a long sigh. ‘Anyway, it’s a relief. One thing less for me to have to tiptoe around.’
‘Well, as news goes, that was a good snippet,’ said Caroline with a smile.
‘Sorry… I didn’t come to offload,’ said Michelle.
‘Don’t apologise!’ said Caroline. ‘That’s what friends are for. Though I’m all ears for the next bit.’
Michelle nodded, biting her lip. Was she really ready to let the next cat out of the bag?
‘Caroline… I need to ask you something.’
‘Let me guess,’ said Caroline with a knowing smirk. ‘You want the inside scoop on Crumbleton’s most eligible bachelor mechanic?’
Michelle felt her cheeks flood with heat. ‘That’s… not why I’m here. Well, not entirely.’
‘Aha!’ Caroline set a mug in front of Michelle and perched on the edge of her desk. ‘So, there is something going on with you and young Danny Dalton. I knew it!’
‘Caroline—’
‘Don’t you “Caroline” me. I’ve known you forever, and I remember exactly how you used to moon over that boy at school. I mean, not that I blame you—who could resist those dark eyes and leather jacket? Shame he thought he was too cool for the likes of bookish little us, eh?!’
‘I did not moon!’ Michelle protested, taking a defensive sip of coffee and immediately regretting it as it scalded her tongue.
‘You absolutely did. You got all flustered whenever he walked past in the corridor. And now he’s swooped to your rescue like some sort of knight in shining tow truck.’ Caroline’s eyes sparkled with mischief. ‘Very romantic, if you ask me.’
‘How did you know about that?’ said Michelle in surprise.
‘Come on, girl. Have you been away so long you’ve forgotten how fast news reaches my ears?’
Michelle buried her face in her hands. ‘Urgh, I hope Dad doesn’t know!’
‘I can’t reveal my sources,’ said Caroline, with a twinkle in her eye, ‘but let’s just say that this particular movie star only reveals the best gossip to his girlfriend!’
‘Jack saw us?!’ said Michelle.
‘I can neither confirm nor deny that my other half has eyes in the back of his head,’ she chuckled. ‘Don’t worry, he’d never tell Brian.’
Michelle let out a sigh of relief.
‘Come on then, spill,’ said Caroline, ‘tell me what’s really going on!’
‘I broke down in the rain. He saved me,’ said Michelle with a little shrug.
‘Oh, come on!’ laughed Caroline. ‘I know there’s more to it than that. Where’s the vintage car in that story?!’
Michelle rolled her eyes. Of course Caroline knew more than just the basics. And if she wanted her help, there was no point being coy, was there?!
‘Their normal loaner was already out, so Danny lent me that one,’ said Michelle. ‘Turns out Keith Dalton has got the most beautiful lineup of vintage cars!’
Caroline nodded. ‘They’re amazing, aren’t they?! But… something tells me that’s not all there is to your visit?’
Michelle shook her head. ‘I was wondering… do you know what happened between Dad and Keith Dalton? The pair of them clearly loathe each other, but he’s never told me the details. And… borrowing the car… and hanging out with Danny…’
Caroline nodded. ‘You want to know what’s keeping you two apart like Romeo and Juliet.’
Michelle swatted at the air and shook her head… but she couldn’t really deny that was the reason she wanted to know more.
‘I don’t know all the details,’ said Caroline, with a little frown. ‘So I’ll tell you what I know on one condition.’
‘Which is?’ said Michelle, raising an eyebrow.
‘You’ll fill me in on the rest of the story when you get to the bottom of it!’ said Caroline.
‘You can’t write about it!’ said Michelle, with a sudden hit of panic.
‘Of course I won’t!’ tutted Caroline. ‘I just can’t stand an unsolved mystery, that’s all.’
Michelle nodded. ‘Okay then. Deal.’
‘Right then.’ Caroline leaned back against her desk. ‘This goes back decades, right? Before you were born. Believe it or not, Brian and Keith used to be best mates.’
‘What?’ Michelle nearly dropped her mug. ‘They were friends?’
‘Thick as thieves, from what I’ve heard.
Used to play darts together, helped each other with house moves, that sort of thing.
Your dad was even the best man at Keith’s wedding…
not that the marriage lasted long. That wasn’t anything to do with your dad, though.
Keith and Brian fell out long before Mrs Dalton left. ’
Michelle stared at her, struggling to reconcile the idea of the pair of them as friends with years of Dalton-related rants. ‘So, what happened?’
‘There was some sort of major disagreement,’ said Caroline.
‘Well, duh!’ laughed Michelle. ‘I gathered that much. Any idea what it was about?’
‘A car. That’s all I know.’
‘A car?’ Michelle shook her head. ‘That’s it? Decades of ranting and hurt over a car?!’
‘Well, I’m assuming there’s more to the story,’ said Caroline. ‘But you know how these things escalate—hurt feelings, pride, misunderstandings. Before you know it, two good men start treating each other like sworn enemies.’
Michelle blew out a breath. ‘Well… it’s a start.’
Caroline nodded. ‘Thing is, Keith Dalton is actually a lovely bloke. Always has been. I mean… he’s a bit rough and ready, but he’s got a heart of gold.’
‘Same as my dad,’ said Michelle quietly.
‘Exactly. That’s what makes this whole thing so bloody tragic. Two best friends who probably miss each other something chronic. But things have gone on far too long, and they’re both too stubborn to do anything about it.’
Michelle felt something heavy settle in her chest. ‘You reckon they miss each other? After all this time?’
‘I’d bet money on it,’ said Caroline. ‘All that blustering?’
‘Yeah,’ said Michelle, suddenly looking at the whole thing in a different light. ‘It’s one way of keeping the link between them alive, isn’t it?!’
Caroline nodded. ‘Hey, maybe if you can get to the bottom of what happened, you can help them mend things.’
‘That might be pushing things a bit far!’ said Michelle, raising an eyebrow. ‘I’ll do my best to get to the bottom of what started it all, though.’
‘Anyway,’ said Caroline, ‘enough ancient history. What I want to know is how long you’re planning on staying in Crumbleton this time.’
‘I…’ Michelle paused. ‘I honestly don’t know. I need to figure out what I’m doing with my life. I definitely need to sort out some work.’
‘What kind of work?’ Caroline asked. ‘You’re not thinking of begging for that soul-sucking job back, are you?’
‘Definitely not. That place was slowly killing me.’
‘So if you could do anything, what would it be?’
It was such a simple question, but Michelle found herself hesitating. When was the last time anyone asked her what she actually wanted, rather than what made sense or what paid well?
‘This is going to sound completely mad,’ she said slowly.
‘The best ideas usually do,’ said Caroline, looking intrigued. ‘Come on, out with it.’
Michelle took a deep breath. ‘I’ve always had this stupid fantasy about opening an American-style diner. You know, proper fifties vibe. Red vinyl booths, checkered floors, milkshakes and burgers. Completely impractical, of course, but…’
She trailed off, expecting Caroline to laugh or point out all the reasons why it would never work. Instead, her friend was staring at her with growing excitement.
‘Michelle, that’s brilliant! You’ve been obsessed with feeding people for as long as I’ve known you, and Crumbleton could absolutely use something like that. The locals would go mad for it, and tourists would love it too!’
‘You think?’ Michelle felt a flutter of something that felt suspiciously like hope.
‘I know . But where, though? You’d need somewhere with plenty of space, and parking if you can get it… not an easy task in Crumbleton.’ Caroline paused, studying Michelle’s face. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
‘I… well, there’s this empty building. Near the Dalton Garage. I think it’s an old showroom. It just… I don’t know, it felt right somehow.’
Caroline’s eyebrows shot up. ‘I know it. Ooh, that would be perfect. There’s possibly just one little hiccup, though…’
‘What’s that?’
‘He might have rented it out to various people over the years,’ said Caroline, ‘but I’m pretty sure it still belongs to Keith Dalton.
‘Oh.’ Michelle’s heart sank a little. It made sense. It was right next to the garage, after all. ‘Right. Well, that probably rules that out then.’
‘Not necessarily,’ said Caroline slowly. ‘Think about it. You could set up in business right next to Danny’s garage… your diner dream and his mechanical skills… it’s all very Grease Lightning!’
‘Caroline, you’re getting carried away?—’
‘Am I? Or am I seeing the bigger picture?’ Caroline leaned forward, her eyes bright with possibility. ‘You could be the one to fix this, Michelle. All of it. The feud between families, the business opportunity of your dreams… maybe you’ll find your own happy ever after there, too.’
Michelle stared at her friend, feeling like she was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down at either the most wonderful adventure of her life or the most spectacular crash.
‘You really think I could do it?’
‘Michelle Singer,’ said Caroline, her grin wide and excited, ‘I think you’re exactly what this town’s been waiting for.’