Chapter Forty-Three
Fifteen minutes later, Paz and Tracy’s girlfriend, Monique, arrived and were soon talking intently about Paz’s voluntary work overseas.
Grace and Annie fluttered around the ballroom, fanning out the booklets and making sure the copies of Naomi Newton’s books were neatly stacked on the table to the right.
Crush told them it was standard for the author to do a signing after the talk.
It all felt very professional. Grace couldn’t quite believe she’d played such a large part in bringing it all together.
How odd to discover what you are capable of at the age of sixty-nine.
The thought of her age made her pause. Regret about the year she’d spent wallowing at home threatened to creep in.
Had she even made the most of the decades before that?
She could have joined Frank at book club and built these wonderful friendships sooner.
She shook the thoughts away. Looking back was fruitless, it was the present and the future that mattered, and she planned to make the very most of both.
She glanced at Annie, wondering how her friend was feeling about the present and the future. ‘How’s Jack doing?’ she said, making sure the book stacks were perfectly neat. She didn’t want to bring the mood down, but it wouldn’t be right to pretend all was right with the world.
‘Oh, you know,’ said Annie. ‘The doctor’s trying him on some different medication to see if that has more of an effect.
A lot of it’s trial and error, apparently.
Half of South East London is on the waiting list for talking therapy from what I can gather.
’ She paused, looking down at the booklets on the table.
‘I just want my Jack back, you know what I mean?’
Grace nodded. She knew exactly what Annie meant.
‘If he was himself, he’d love all this.’ Annie gestured to the room. ‘He’d have been up a ladder pinning up the bunting.’ Her shoulders dropped. ‘I just have to hope we hit on the right dose of the right medication, and it lifts him enough to set things off in the right direction.’
‘It must be incredibly hard for you to see him like that,’ said Grace. Traumatizing as Frank’s sudden death was, there was some mercy in never having to see him suffer like Jack.
‘At least things are a bit more stable money-wise, now I’m working here as well,’ said Annie.
‘That’s good. We do miss you at book club, though.’
‘When I’m more established here, I’m going to see if I can swap shifts, so I have book club days off,’ said Annie. ‘I don’t want to push my luck until I’ve proved I’m reliable, but the manager’s nice. I hope he’ll agree.’
‘Me too.’ She gave Annie a hug and felt her friend’s ribs contract as she let out a long breath.
Grace wondered when Annie last had a hug and resolved to offer more.
They parted at the sound of raised voices in the bar.
They rushed through to find Zed Fellows standing in the doorway, his thin hair soaked, liquid dripping onto his battered leather jacket.
‘And that’s what you get for fucking over my friend,’ snarled Dani, standing over him with an empty pint glass in her hand.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Grace.
‘That nutter tipped a pint over my head,’ said the reporter.
‘Nutter is a pejorative term,’ said Dani, hands on her narrow hips.
‘And you’re lucky Crush didn’t let me have a proper drink, or the glass would have followed.
’ She stepped forwards. Zed stepped back.
‘Now fuck the fuck off you sad little man.’ Her chin jutted with every word. ‘You’re not welcome here.’
‘I’m going to report you for assault,’ he said. ‘I’m just trying to do my job.’
‘Try it.’ Dani loomed over him.
Paz stepped between them, hands raised. ‘Let’s calm down.’ He turned to Zed. ‘What grounds would you have for this alleged assault?’
‘She threw a drink in my face, obviously. Even if I don’t report it to the police, it will make interesting reading in the paper tomorrow.
Might even be picked up by the nationals.
’ He wiped his hand over his sunken cheeks.
‘Has-been rock star still acts like diva. That would make a nice headline.’ His thin lips curled in an ugly smile.
‘You mean the drink she accidentally spilled when she slipped?’ said Paz.
‘What?’ Zed shook his head. ‘Nah, I’m not having that.’ He looked past Paz and Dani to the others. ‘You all saw her.’
‘I saw her slip,’ said Tracy, her eyes wide and innocent.
‘Me too,’ said Lee.
Zed bared his stained teeth. ‘Say what you like, I’m going to tell the truth in the paper tomorrow.’
‘As her criminal defence barrister, I would advise you against either slandering or libelling my client,’ said Monique, stepping forwards and drawing her shoulders back.
‘Yeah, fuck face,’ said Dani, crossing her arms defiantly.
‘And I would advise my client against inciting any further conflict.’ Monique pursed her lips.
Dani let her arms drop and shrank back. ‘Sorry.’
Paz turned to the room. ‘Did anyone see anything other than an unfortunate accident?’
A chorus of ‘no,’ and ‘she slipped, and her drink splashed out of the glass,’ came from the group.
‘It seems all witnesses corroborate, so you’d be open to a charge of defamation if you so much as hint at wrongdoing.’ Paz held out his arms. ‘What can you do?’ He smiled obsequiously. ‘I think it’s time you left the premises, don’t you?’
As Zed slunk away, muttering, Dani turned to Monique. ‘You’re the dog’s, man. Will you be my defence lawyer next time I’m up?’
‘Absolutely not,’ said Monique, laughing and wrapping an arm around Tracy, who was gazing at her adoringly. ‘No way in hell.’
‘Fairs,’ said Dani. She turned to Crush. ‘Can I have a drink now?’
A woman with wild hair and red-framed glasses entered, looking over her shoulder with a puzzled expression. ‘Is it raining in here? Some bloke just barged past me soaking wet.’
‘Naomi,’ said Crush. ‘So good to see you. Don’t worry about him. He had an unfortunate run-in with a pint of lime and soda. Did you find us okay?’
‘Yes. This area’s gorgeous, isn’t it? The parade is so quaint.’
‘We like it.’ Crush grinned at her friends. ‘We’re so grateful you’ve given up your Friday night to help us.’
‘My pleasure,’ said Naomi. ‘Looks like it’s going to be a good night. There’s already a queue outside.’
Grace’s heart started to thump against her ribs. ‘Gosh, really? Right then, I suppose we’d better get the show on the road.’