Chapter 36
Well, that was all a right turn-up for the books. It was only 11:30 a.m., but I felt wrung out and ready to return home for a much-needed nap.
That said, I was still glad that I had met Jocasta. It was fair to say we would never be friends. And I was glad that she and her wardrobe of tight pencil skirts would soon be sashaying their way Manchester-bound.
I no longer felt any animosity to her, though, and that was a positive. I felt I understood the workings of the woman a little better now. She wasn’t at all happy in life, and she hadn’t known how to deal with it. She had tried to gain control by manipulating situations, feeling that if her life could go in a different direction, it would suddenly make her happy. But life didn’t work like that.
I wished her well, I really did. I believed that everyone was capable of redemption. We were all broken in our own way and the pieces could, in time, be put back together. Either by ourselves or with the help of others. I truly hoped she was getting all the help she needed. It sounded like she was receiving a lot of support. I kept my fingers crossed that her story would find its happy ending, as mine had done.
As I pushed open the heavy door into Fluck, Young Glover, I noticed there was someone sitting quietly in reception, their head slightly bowed.
Alice waved her hand as soon as she spotted me, desperate to get my attention.
“Lila, this young lady wants to see you, but she hasn’t got an appointment. I told her I didn’t know what time you were arriving, but she was adamant she would wait.”
I turned my head to see who was so desperate to speak to me. A pretty young girl was sitting nervously on one of the high-backed chairs, appearing anxious and seriously out of her comfort zone.
She looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. She smiled timidly, her eyes wary.
“Ms Glover, I’m hoping you can help me.”
I looked expectantly at the young woman. Slowly my brain clicked into gear, and I realised how I knew her. She was the girl at the table with Alfie and his mates at the pub when I was waiting for Lottie a few weeks before.
She looked so different now. She had put on a little weight and there was a rosy glow blooming in her cheeks. Her hair, which had looked matted and in need of a good comb, was now hanging in glossy blonde waves down her back. The blue streaks had gone, and it was shining like spun gold.
I tried to recall her name. I knew it began with B, but what was it? And then it came to me in a flash.
“Bella, isn’t it?”
She looked delighted that I knew her name.
“Yes, I’m Bella. I recognised you straight away when I saw you in the pub. I was in the year under Thomas at school. I remember he was such a nice boy, and I remembered you too. You always looked so glamorous and important when you came to the school, with your suits and your briefcase. You seemed so different next to all the other mums.”
I smiled to myself. But the smile hid a little sadness. In truth I hadn’t been so glamorous back then. It was just that I often had to rush to the carol concert or prize-giving evening straight from work, so was still wearing my suit.
I had always been working. There were so many things I’d missed when Thomas was growing up: all the awards nights and coffee evenings. I wished I could go back to those days and don my jeans and trainers and get involved more. But I couldn’t change that now. Those days had sadly gone.
That was the lot of being a woman, though. We never thought we were enough, no matter what path we chose in life.
“Well, it’s lovely to see you, Bella, and you’re certainly looking really well. But what is it you want?”
She looked up at me, her wide blue eyes filling with tears.
“I really need your help. I’m in a lot of trouble, and I don’t know where else to turn.”