Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Rushing across the high street, Alba waved in Lois’ direction as a smile spread across her face.
The late afternoon traffic rushed around her—buses rumbling past, car horns sounding impatiently somewhere further down the road—but Alba barely noticed any of it.
She had just left the dentist after a routine check-up, and now she was meeting Lois for a quick coffee and a catch-up before heading home.
It had been Lois’ idea. If Alba had been left to her own devices, she would have gone straight home, kicked off her heels, and changed into something far more comfortable before settling on the couch with Colin.
Still, Tess had agreed to stay with him for a couple more hours, which meant he wasn’t alone, and that had eased Alba’s mind.
“My God, I wish you wouldn’t run across the road in those heels!” Lois placed a hand to her chest as Alba reached the pavement. “I always have visions of you going over on your ankle, falling in the road, and getting flattened by a bus.”
Alba laughed. Lois had always had a flair for dramatics. It was nice to see that some things would never change. She rolled her eyes and leaned in to hug her best friend. “At least you’re here to scrape me up off the road if I do.”
Lois lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. “That’s fair.”
“I wasn’t expecting to hear from you today.” Alba stepped back and adjusted the strap of her bag. “It’s a good job I was already coming into the city for my dentist appointment, or you never would have got me out of the house once I’d made it home from work and whipped my bra off.”
“Why? Got plans with Ellie, have you?”
Alba linked her arm through Lois’ as they walked towards their favourite coffee shop. “Actually, no. No plans to get together any time soon. We don’t have that sort of friendship.”
The words left her mouth easily enough, but the voice in her head immediately disagreed.
Liar. You’d turn around and run to her right now if she called you.
Alba pushed the thought aside. She wasn’t worried about the time she spent with Ellie. Not really. What she didn’t want today was to listen to Lois dissect every moment of it and turn it into something bigger than it needed to be.
Work was going well, life was starting to feel steadier, and for the first time in two years, Alba finally felt like things were moving forward instead of constantly dragging her backwards. “And even if I did have plans to see her, it’s nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
“Mm.” Lois’ neutral response told Alba everything she needed to know. Her best friend wasn’t convinced.
They reached the coffee shop a moment later, the familiar smell of roasted beans drifting out through the open door.
Since Lois had been the one to summon her here, Alba had no doubt she’d be the one paying, too.
And since Lois had decided to be her usual smart-arse self, Alba was quietly hoping she’d also throw in a blueberry muffin while she was at it.
They stepped inside, and Lois turned for the counter. “Usual?”
“Yep. And a muffin.”
Alba scanned the room before heading to the empty table by the window. It was a strategic choice. If Lois’ mouth started running away with itself—as it often did—Alba would have something else to focus on. People watching. It was always a good fallback plan.
She took her phone from the side pocket of her bag while Lois waited in the queue. She hadn’t seen Ellie today at work, so she would drop her a message, playing it cool as always.
Colin wanted me to ask if you’d like to come over for dinner on Wednesday night.
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she hit send, even though she knew she wasn’t doing herself any favours.
Ellie was constantly on her mind lately—more often than Alba cared to admit—but if she couldn’t have anything beyond friendship, then she needed that friendship more than ever.
It was the one thing in her life lately that made sense.
Ellie’s reply came immediately.
Does Colin require treats in exchange for the invitation?
Alba grinned. Ellie’s playful side was one of the first things she’d been drawn to.
He says it’s not a requirement, but he wouldn’t turn any down.
“Right, I needed to speak to you.” Alba looked up to find Lois frowning at her from across the table. “What are you grinning at?” Lois lowered the tray to the table and sat down, craning her neck to try and see Alba’s phone. “Something on your phone…”
“Oh, social media. Funny dog video.” Alba locked the screen and flipped her phone face down. The last thing she needed was for Ellie’s name to appear in a notification while Lois was sitting right there. She would never hear the end of it. “So, what did you need to speak to me about?”
“The weekend.” Lois paused. “I…have to cancel. I’m so sorry.”
Alba sank back into her chair. She’d been looking forward to their spa weekend for months. They’d booked it before the chaos of summer had fully taken over, promising themselves a proper break when things had finally calmed down. “Right.”
“But you should still go.”
“I’m not going to a spa on my own.” Alba wrinkled her nose. The idea sounded almost worse than cancelling altogether. “It’s a place for either best friends or couples. Not a single woman who left her dog at home so she could have a facial and a hot stone massage.”
Alba groaned. God, the massage had been the thing she was looking forward to most.
Lois reached across the table and rested a hand over Alba’s. “I’m sorry, Al. Mum has to go away this weekend, and Dad needs me to fill in for her. He can’t manage it alone.”
Alba nodded. She knew Daniel couldn’t manage alone these days. Recovering from his stroke had been slow, and even when Lois and her mum were around, he had a habit of pushing himself far beyond what he should. “I know. Don’t worry.”
“You’ll still go, though, right?”
Alba considered it. Technically, she could, but the idea of sitting alone in a luxury spa hotel didn’t exactly scream relaxation.
Then Ellie’s face appeared in her mind, and the answer was right there in front of her.
Ellie could probably do with something like that far more than Alba.
A quiet break, time away, something that wasn’t school or responsibility or grief.
And maybe she could take Danielle with her.
“No, but I know just the person to offer it to.”
Lois rolled her eyes. “Let me guess. Ellie.”
“Yes, Ellie.” Alba lifted her cup and sipped her coffee. “And no, not with me. She can take her best friend with her since mine is terrible right now and can’t even get me away for two bloody nights.”
“You could invite Ellie along with you. You know, leave the best friend at home and just ask her if she’d like to take my place.”
Alba kept her expression neutral, but inside, the suggestion landed with a jolt.
She stirred sugar into her coffee slowly, mulling over the idea.
Yes, she could invite Ellie, but that wouldn’t feel right.
Not when Alba knew exactly why she would be doing it.
And building a friendship on motivations like that was never going to end well.
“I’ll see if she wants to take Danielle.
If not, I’ll just go alone and never tell a soul about it…
no matter how dreamy the treatments are.
” She folded her arms across her chest and sighed.
“This is the one thing I’ve been looking forward to for months. ”
“We can book for another time, but please consider still going. You’ll be unwinding. You don’t need people with you for that.”
“No, I don’t.” Alba glanced out the window. “But it’ll stop me from sitting in the hotel room all night talking to myself.”
“Hey. Just go. You deserve to pamper yourself. You’re always on the go and working. Just…do something for yourself for a change.”
Alba looked down at her coffee. She would love to do something for herself, but the truth was, Ellie needed something like this far more than she did.
Ellie lived for the school, and she gave everything she had to the staff, the students, and the endless responsibilities that came with being headmistress.
Throw in everything she’d endured over the last two years… and, well, it seemed obvious.
Alba would offer the spa booking to Ellie and hope that at least one of them got the chance to enjoy the weekend.
Humming along to the radio playing in the background, Ellie sat at the kitchen island with a small glass of red wine in one hand, the other carefully turning the thick pages of a photo album she hadn’t touched in years.
She loved nights like this, when the evening had settled into a calm, comfortable quiet, and the world beyond her windows felt distant and peaceful.
It had taken Ellie a long time to reach this point.
For months after Eloise’s death, she’d avoided anything that reminded her too strongly of the life they’d shared.
The photographs had been the hardest. The albums had stayed sealed in their box at the back of the cupboard, untouched and unseen.
Just knowing they existed had been enough to anchor the ache in her chest.
Even seeing Eloise’s best friend around the neighbourhood had once been unbearable. Everywhere Ellie looked, something was always reminding her of what she’d lost. For so long, it had felt as though the world was mocking her, but tonight, she was ready. Tonight she felt…strong enough.
Ellie rested her elbow against the island and turned another page slowly. She was in a better place now. Being back at work had helped more than she’d expected it would this year. The routine, the noise, the purpose of the job she loved had steadied her far more this year than it had the last.