Chapter Six
Ellie only had two more days off until she was back at the Royal and working seven nights straight, followed by days, then more nights. It was meant to distract her from Hannah’s leaving, but, rather than luxuriating in the last moments of her freedom, Ellie was restless.
She floated around the house doing anything to distract herself from looking at her phone.
After putting on a couple of washes, dusting the shop and cleaning the bathrooms, she’d decided to reorder the mugs so they would be less higgledy-piggledy the next time they had guests – for goodness’ sake, how many celebrities did she expect to bring back each night?
Halfway through the sorting, she discovered some dusty mugs at the back and decided to wash them first before tidying them away.
She glanced at the black mirror of her phone, perched against the wall and counter.
As always it remained blank and silent. She checked it anyway.
Maybe a text had come in while she hadn’t been looking?
Nope. You’re officially delusional.
Alex wasn’t going to call or text her. He probably never wanted to see her again after the fiasco with the press this morning, let alone take her to the fanciest theatre awards ceremony in London.
It really shouldn’t be a surprise that Alex had behaved like all the other men she’d met in the past – seeming to lack any sense of object permanence.
When a woman was out of sight, she was out of mind, and Ellie was sick of having her hopes raised only to have them stomped on moments later.
Hadn’t she sworn to herself that she wouldn’t prioritise men any more?
To focus solely on the areas of her life she could control, like owning her own home?
The last guy she’d messaged on a dating app had seemed really sweet at first, until he’d told her bluntly that ‘luckily for her, he was into thicc women. But he was a bit skint at the moment, so did she just want to have phone sex rather than go on a date?’ She’d promptly blocked him and deleted the app.
After David, that creep had been the final straw, and she’d made her New Year’s resolution not long after.
Damn David! He had been like the scorched earth of her love life, turning her once hopeful and romantic dreams into an embarrassment.
He’d love-bombed her – that was what Hannah had called it – with over-the-top gestures and lightning-speed love declarations; flowers, gifts, intimate weekends away.
He’d been gorgeous, and she’d been so blinded by all of his attention that she hadn’t noticed all of the red flags – his secretiveness, the fact that he wouldn’t allow her to post anything about them on social media, the distant way he treated her in the gym in front of his friends, because he ‘liked to concentrate on his workout’.
All lies. The truth was he’d been ashamed of her.
She was spiralling, and she gripped the counter to steady her racing thoughts.
Alex was a friend, and, if nothing else, Ellie was always a good friend.
She turned to look at Mark, who’d made a mess of making his lunch.
But she couldn’t even be mad about that because it had given her something else to clean.
Although, there was something else she could be mad about – if her suspicions were correct.
‘Stop glaring at me,’ said Mark, avoiding her eyes as he ploughed through his lunch, a bacon baguette the length of a baby’s arm.
She didn’t even blink. Instead, she continued to dry the chopping board with the corgi tea towel. Slow methodical movements just to irritate him. ‘You were really shifty earlier,’ she said mildly.
He stopped chewing and finally looked up at her. ‘What do you mean?’ he grunted through a mouthful of food, deception clearly written all over his crumb-covered face.
God, were all brothers this disgusting?
‘Don’t look at me!’ she mocked in a high-pitched voice, waving the tea towel for dramatic effect.
A telltale flush began creeping up his neck – caught red-handed, or red-faced, she supposed.
‘I knew it,’ she snapped, whipping the tea towel against the kitchen table. Mark jumped, which was satisfying in itself.
‘Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t think it would blow up as it did. I thought it’d just be one, maybe two.’ He put down the baguette with a miserable grimace.
‘Why? Why would you do that?’ Mark was many things, but deliberately cruel was not one of them.
He crossed his arms and pretended nonchalance. ‘Oh, come on. I’m sure he’s used to it. What does it matter if a few people got his picture?’
‘He was my friend,’ she said sharply, refusing to back down.
And there it was, the unspoken rule. You didn’t mess with your siblings’ friends. You didn’t date them, you didn’t slag them off, and you definitely didn’t hurt or embarrass them.
Mark couldn’t meet her eyes.
‘Why?’ she repeated, softer this time, as a horrible feeling began to churn in the pit of her stomach.
He looked pointedly at the closed door and then back at her. Whatever it was, he didn’t want Nanna or Mum to know.
This is going to be bad.
‘Nanna’s out, and I presume Mum’s watching the shop while you eat? So, come on, spit it out.’ She noticed the worry lines on his forehead. Her 28-year-old brother suddenly seemed a lot older than he actually was.
‘I thought I could make some money.’ She continued to stare at him, and he twisted under her gaze like a spider under a magnifying glass. ‘We had a tough time last year.’
‘Understatement.’ Mum had told her they hadn’t made any profit last year.
Small businesses like theirs were struggling.
They’d taken a massive hit during the pandemic, then there’d been the credit crunch, the astronomical rise in the cost of living.
One disaster after another. Thank God they owned the shop and house outright.
‘Well, the rates and insurance have gone up, and the tax bill was double what I expected. Sales are still bad. I thought if I sold them the story of Alex being here, then I could keep us going for a bit longer, but turns out they don’t pay much anyway, so it wasn’t even worth it.
If things don’t improve, we might have to close the shop at the end of the month… For good.’
Ellie flinched as if he’d struck her. They couldn’t close the shop.
It was their family’s pride and joy. ‘No, absolutely not.’ She stepped away from the counter, her fists clenched tight, as if she were about to fight back.
But who was she going to fight? Mark? Yes, he was useless at keeping track of the accounts, but the shop was his life’s blood.
Whatever risks he’d taken, they would always have been for the good of the shop.
For all his faults, Mark loved the shop, just as much as – probably more than – she did.
Mark ran his hand through his hair and pushed away his half-eaten baguette. ‘Well, we might have to.’
Ellie’s heart broke. She couldn’t let this happen; this was their home, her family history and future. ‘I can give you my flat deposit,’ she blurted out.
He blinked. ‘I can’t ask that of you – that’s your savings, your future.’
Her jaw tightened. He was right, but it was still the right thing to do. She had to help her family. Yes, it would mean the end of her dreams for her own flat, but if it saved the shop? Their family home? There was no question about it. ‘You’re not asking. I’m doing it.’
Mark looked miserable, and she suddenly felt very sorry for her idiotic brother. How long had he kept this burden to himself?
‘You’d just be throwing good money after bad. It might keep us going for another six months, a year maybe, but the business just isn’t profitable any more.’
‘Then we should make it profitable. Our family’s done it before, we can do it again. Change, diversify. Try something new. We can’t give up.’
He blinked up at her as if seeing her for the first time, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. ‘Maybe. I mean, I had one idea…’
Ellie sagged with relief. She’d say this for Mark, he always had decent ideas… mostly. The personalised balloons hadn’t worked out well. No one needed to see themselves in balloon form – it was the stuff of nightmares. But it boded well that he’d at least considered some changes to save them.
‘I wondered about becoming a cafe, or maybe starting a personalised gift delivery service. But don’t mention it to Mum, you know how she gets about change and I need to think it over first. Oh, and don’t mention it to Nanna either. I don’t want them to worry, not yet at least.’
Ellie tried not to roll her eyes. Nanna was tougher than he thought, but he might have a point about Mum – she never took bad news well. ‘Will do.’
Mark winced. ‘Especially… as it might mean an initial investment.’
Well, she had offered. ‘Okay, sounds great. Have a think about it. Do a business plan or whatever. I’m sure we can sort something out, and I’ll send you the money.’
The worry lines on Mark’s forehead relaxed, and in one quick motion he stood up and wrapped her in a fierce bear hug. ‘Thanks, Sis.’
Swatting his arm playfully, she untangled herself from him.
‘No problem. Everything is going to be fine. So, don’t worry.
’ She tried not to show how gutted she was.
Her own dreams were nothing but ash now.
Why couldn’t someone take care of her for a change, instead of her having to constantly tear chunks off herself to make other people happy?
‘And that thing with Alex? I won’t do it again, I swear,’ said Mark solemnly, his head low.
She snorted lightly. ‘I doubt I’ll ever see him again. But it’s good to know there’ll not be another picture of me out in my slippers and dressing gown.’
He grinned. ‘You’re safe. Besides, the money was rubbish. Nanna’s brought home more from bingo.’
They both laughed because Nanna never won anything at bingo, and had more than once complained about it being ‘ruddy fixed by that sodding Kathleen’.