Chapter 35
Dixie was feeling calm and happy but Ned was giving her an odd look.
At least she thought he was but he now looked partly like Ned and a lot like Ed Sheeran, which was weird because he’d not looked like Ed Sheeran before and she was fairly sure she would have noticed that.
Ned waved a hand in front of her face but it was a giant hand and colours were flowing from his fingers. It was quite beautiful.
‘Wow,’ said Dixie, almost hypnotized by the varying shades spiralling around the inside of the campervan from his fingertips.
‘Isn’t it marvellous?’ called Renee from outside.
‘Marvellous is yellow,’ said Dixie.
Ned moved around Dixie to perch on the bed and talk to Renee. ‘What’s happening?’ he asked.
Renee waved a hand near him as if trying to pat him but missed. ‘Relax and let it take you somewhere incredible. I can see tiny purple elephants!’ She moved her hands as if conducting an orchestra in a jaunty beat.
‘Oh heavens, have we taken drugs?’ asked Ned, his head turning from Renee to Dixie and back again quite quickly. ‘Was that what the weird flavour in the risotto was?’ He sounded panicky.
‘Nooo,’ said Dixie, fascinated by the sound of her own voice. Could she smell that word? ‘Renee wouldn’t spike our dinner.’
‘I did check you were both all right with the shrooms. It’s all organic.
Nature’s charm. The Aztecs called them flesh of the gods.
Magic mushrooms were what we called them in the sixties.
You can’t beat them. So you have to join them,’ said Renee, starting to laugh.
She got up and began dancing while still conducting an orchestra only she could hear.
She beckoned the others to join her. Dixie stepped outside but it wasn’t the outside she remembered.
This was like walking into a Disney film.
Flowers shot up where she trod and each time she lifted up her foot, more pretty coloured petals appeared.
‘They smell like Tuesday,’ she said. She’d never been so happy.
Renee took her hands and they danced in circles with the pineapples.
‘Wait! Stop!’ Ned waved his arms about, which was fascinating to Dixie because there were so many of them and every one a different colour. She and Renee stopped dancing to watch. ‘I thought when you said shroom you had a speech impediment,’ said Ned, frowning hard.
‘I thought it was just a cute way to say mushroom. Like when people say K instead of OK,’ said Dixie, starting to sway to the music she could hear.
‘They’re just lazy buggers,’ said Renee. ‘I thought everyone knew a shroom was a magic mushroom.’
Ned frowned at them both. And for a moment the music stopped and the colours faded.
But then Ned started to laugh. Just a snort at first but then growing until he was belly laughing.
Renee and Dixie joined in until all three were holding their sides.
The colours came back and the music was switched back on.
Arnold screeched at them and hopped inside the van to help herself to the nuts.
Lots of dancing followed until Renee announced that she and the tallest of the Bakewell tarts were going for a lie-down.
Dixie and Ned both tried to flop into Renee’s vacated deckchair at the same time.
The chair gave way and they landed in a heap on top of each other.
They tried to get up but it was quite hard now that Dixie appeared to have flippers instead of feet.
But they would be awfully handy the next time she went snorkelling in the Caribbean.
‘Shall we just stay here,’ said Dixie.
‘I wish you would stay here.’
‘I meant on the ground,’ said Dixie, watching more flowers spring up around her.
‘That’s OK too,’ he said. ‘The whales won’t see us down here.’
‘Good thinking,’ agreed Dixie. ‘You’re very smart,’ she added.
‘You’re very lovely. I especially like your tail.’ He swallowed hard. ‘I think I love you,’ he added in a rush and then he kissed her.
*
Nora and Jay were in Jay’s garden enjoying the sunshine while Bruce lay with his legs in the air in the hope of someone scratching his belly.
Nora sipped her Diet Coke and relished the rare feeling of warmth on her skin.
She had expected to feel different at this point.
Her review of her back catalogue of men was complete and she had achieved her goal, although she hadn’t.
The review hadn’t delivered a definitive answer.
Had she overlooked the one or had she made sound decisions with all of her ex-partners?
There was still a large question mark hanging over Liam but for now she was going to sit with her friend and enjoy the tiny glimpse of summer because you never knew how long it would last.
She’d been thinking a lot about Jay. Mainly puzzling thoughts.
She feared she was confusing friendship with something else.
They were good together, there was no denying that, but just because they had the same sense of humour and a couple of things in common it didn’t mean they should embark on a relationship.
Plus neither of them had ever given the merest inkling that they might be attracted to each other.
She supposed she could just ask him. That would be the quickest way to find out how he felt, but was that the same as declaring how she felt?
The last thing she wanted was to make Jay feel awkward if he thought she fancied him but he didn’t feel the same.
No, she would have to word it in the right way to get away without any impact on their friendship. That was too important to her to lose.
‘Just got an email. I might have a lead on Theo Carlisle,’ said Jay, interrupting her thoughts.
‘Ooh, exciting. Tell me more.’
‘Art gallery in Devon did an exhibition a few years back so I’ve asked if they can pass on my details. I said I was a solicitor in the hope that Mr Carlisle thinks it’s worth him getting in touch.’
‘Naughty,’ said Nora. ‘But also genius. I hope he takes the bait.’
Jay’s phone pinged and he opened a message, giggled and began speedily responding. Nora peered over her sunglasses at him. ‘I’m guessing it’s not your stalker?’
‘No. It’s just Tasha.’
‘You two seem to be getting on well.’ She pushed her sunglasses back up her nose and turned her face back to the sun.
‘Yeah we are.’ There was a brief pause. ‘She wants us to be exclusive.’
Nora had a sensation like she’d never experienced before.
Gutted didn’t come close. It was as if someone had ripped out her major organs, dropped them in a blender and shoved the mush back inside, expecting her to carry on as if everything was exactly the same when it wasn’t.
In that single sentence, everything had changed.
All the possibilities had been deleted. If the house had suddenly landed on top of her it would have had less impact.
‘She wants what … So are you two … Obviously you are … How long?’ It wasn’t the most coherent sentence she’d ever put together but considering her discombobulated state she felt it covered the main points.
Apart from the burning question as to how come she didn’t know anything about Jay and Tasha.
‘She was being really flirty the last time I saw her, but I figured I’d gotten it wrong and she was just being friendly. But she’s been messaging me ever since, and we have stuff on this week and a thing on Saturday.’
‘A thing?’ Nora almost spun herself off the plastic garden chair in her haste to see Jay’s face. What did he mean by ‘a thing’? Was it a serious thing, or just a thing?
‘You know?’ he said. ‘Press, radio and TV interviews. All very dull. And there’s the Undercover Bullets premiere on Saturday night.’ He said it like it was an afterthought. Like when you say ‘extra cheese’ when you’re ordering a pizza.
Nora opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish taking its final gulps of air. ‘Premiere? As in posh outfits, red carpet, stars of stage and screen?’
‘Nah, not really. It’s a bit last minute because Tasha’s last film has done pretty well so they’re squeezing us in. Like I’ll be squeezing myself into my tux.’ He snorted and carried on texting.
‘Stop. Jay, this is huge.’ Nora waved a hand in front of his face.
‘Oh, did you want to come? I get a few free tickets. To be honest, we’ll probably be glad of bums on seats.’
‘But I’ve got Bruce most of this week, which is why I’m working from home, plus I’ve got him on Saturday.’ She’d not realized exactly where Jay had been planning on going when she’d signed up to dog-sit. Her mind had been too preoccupied with ex-boyfriends to question it.
‘We can see if Renee’s available. Or there’s always next time. Let’s hope there is a next time,’ he said.
Nora felt uncomfortable: a little sweaty and anxious. ‘Did I miss something? With you and Tasha?’
He put his phone away. ‘If you did, I think I did too. I’m not sure what it is or even if it is anything but hey. It can’t do any harm, right?’
Alarm bells were going off in Nora’s head.
Her biggest quandary was whether to share any of her fears with Jay.
Tasha was big right now and he’d fancied her for ages.
But how hadn’t he realized that he was in a relationship with her sooner?
Perhaps she was looking for problems. Or maybe Jay was playing it down.
After all, he didn’t owe her an explanation.
He was her friend and she should be happy for him.
She felt bad for not being instantly supportive.
‘You could be the next Brangelina,’ she said, trying to lighten her heavy mood.
‘Without all the kids hopefully,’ he quipped. ‘What can we make with Pandey and Blake?’
‘Blandey,’ said Nora. ‘Jasha or Bandey?’
‘Maybe not then,’ said Jay pulling a face.
‘You don’t seem as enthusiastic as I thought you’d be.
’ She studied him – the bowed head and sloping shoulders were not the body language of an excited man.
‘Or at all enthusiastic, actually. About the film I mean, not Tasha. Obviously you’re excited about Tasha because she’s the most gorgeous blonde on the planet.
Right?’ For some reason she pushed her mousey brown hair behind her ear.
‘She is.’ He sighed. ‘You’re right about the film. It doesn’t feel real. Maybe I’ll believe it once it’s premiered.’
Something was niggling her like grit in a sandal.
‘But this is it. It’s what you always dreamed of.
The famous girlfriend, red carpet premieres, the big career.
’ It suddenly brought Nora’s little life into sharp focus.
Jay was leaving her behind. His life was going to change beyond recognition, and it was very unlikely there would be any space in it for her.
Something like panic gripped her and she took a sharp breath, making him look up.
He swivelled around. ‘But you remember when my agent got all mega excited about the Blake Seven film and started looking at yachts because that gig was going to catapult me to stardom and make him rich?’
‘Yeah. What happened to that film?’
‘Last I heard it was on its twelfth rewrite and still had no funding. And my agent still has no yacht. I think for now it’s best I manage my own expectations. The life of an actor teaches you to expect disappointment. Then if it’s good news it’s a nice surprise.’ He gave her a half smile.
‘That’s depressing.’
Bruce jumped up and almost knocked Jay backwards off his chair as he got as close to him as he could. ‘Does my boy need a cuddle?’ Jay wrapped his arms around Bruce’s neck. ‘Who knew he was just a big softie underneath?’
‘I guess we all hide our true selves to an extent,’ she said, but Jay was busy fussing the dog and was probably no longer listening. A cloud moved and blocked the sun’s rays. Perhaps summer was already over.