Chapter 29
‘So he just came out with it, while carrying a bag of spuds? And then you kissed him?’ Charlotte’s laughter echoed down the phone, and Thea felt herself blushing.
‘Well, to be fair, he’d put the potato sack down by that point, but yeah, just like that.’
Thea had phoned Charlotte when she’d got back, in need of some advice.
She’d also checked with Lorelai that she’d be able to babysit at short notice the following evening.
Lorelai had said yes, much to Thea’s relief.
She was actually happy enough to leave Cora in charge of her little brother, since the ball was only a mile down the road, but she’d asked Lorelai to come over just in case.
Cora had been a little put out, but since it was Thea’s first date in ages, the girl had eventually seen her mother’s point of view.
And Cora and Lorelai enjoyed each other’s company; the teenager shared the same sense of humour as her grandmother and the same taste in films, too.
Given that both of them also had a keen interest in Thea’s love life, she knew they’d have plenty to talk about.
Thea mooched over to the living room mirror and glanced at her reflection.
Her light brown hair, the same shade as Tristan’s, was too long, and the bags under her eyes could have rivalled the shopping bags she’d just unpacked.
Not to mention the fact she hadn’t shaved her legs in months.
‘I’ve got a bit of work to do to make myself presentable for a posh do at Cherry Tree Court,’ she said, half to herself, half to Charlotte, who was still on the line.
‘And God only knows what I’m going to wear.
The last time I went to a black tie do was when Dylan was a toddler, and he’s eleven now! ’
Charlotte’s tinkle of laughter came down the phone.
‘Well, you’re asking the wrong person for ideas!
I live in jeans and T-shirts, and I can’t remember the last time I had a proper haircut, either.
We can be two scruff bags together amongst the great and good of the Midwinter’s Eve Ball.
’ She paused and then added, ‘Do you fancy getting ready together? I mean, I’m not queen of style, but at least we could get a second opinion. ’
Thea grinned. She’d got to know Charlotte well over the time she’d been in a relationship with Tristan, and the thought of a bit of moral support before the ball was a very appealing one. ‘Sure. Do you want to come over here tomorrow, late afternoon, and we can pool our resources?’
‘Sounds good,’ Charlotte replied. ‘And I’m counting on Cora to be able to sort out our hair and makeup, if she’s willing.
She always looks so great when she does her own.
’ Thea heard Charlotte giving an envious sigh.
‘Oh, to have had access to YouTube beauty tutorials when I was a teenager. How things might have been different!’
‘You turned out all right,’ Thea said. She was still flummoxed by her thirteen-year-old daughter’s skills with a cosmetic brush, and quite unsure how she felt about Cora leaving the house with quite so much eyeliner on, and as for the false eyelashes…
‘But I’m sure she’d be more than happy to help us out, if bribed substantially. ’
‘I’ll bring cash and a big box of Krispy Kreme donuts,’ Charlotte said confidently.
‘Good job I’m working in the archive today, so I can pop down to Cabot Circus after work and grab some supplies.
’ Charlotte spent most of her time in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at University of North West Wessex, which was about an hour’s drive from the house she shared with Tristan in Taunton.
‘She’ll love you forever if you get the ones with sprinkles,’ Thea laughed. ‘And so will Dylan. You’ll be in the top auntie spot for the rest of the decade!’
‘Duly noted,’ Charlotte replied. ‘Er, do you want me to pick up anything for you?’
‘No, I’m all good.’ But even as she said it, her heart sank.
Her makeup was at least ten years old, and she still didn’t have a clue what to wear.
Somewhere, in the back of her wardrobe, was her old standby, a knee-skimming little black dress, but she hadn’t taken it off its hanger for so long, she wasn’t sure if it would still fit.
It was too late to Amazon Prime something, and by the time she got to Taunton or Minehead, the two nearest towns, the shops would be shut.
In desperation, she tried to think of where she could nip out to on Saturday morning.
Saying goodbye to Charlotte, she ended the call and started googling for shops nearby that wouldn’t break the bank.
Her finances were still precarious, and going to be even more so in January, so she couldn’t afford to splash the cash on something she wasn’t likely to wear again.
Then, she had a brainwave. It was a long shot, but sometimes, long shots paid off. And if she got there before it closed, she’d still have time to nip elsewhere.
‘Cora, Dylan, I’m just popping out,’ she called up the stairs. ‘I’ll be back in about half an hour. Call if you need me.’
‘OK,’ two voices, probably roused from watching things on their phones, called back. Grabbing her bag and car keys, Thea headed out again, hoping that where she had in mind might just save her bacon.