Page 5 of Take a Chance on Greece

Amira and Kat played their parts well, keeping up a stream of merry chatter about the holiday, which Jim pretended to listen to, although I knew from the mutterings under his breath that he was actually wondering if the guy in the Fiat Punto in front of us was going to hurry up and travel at the speed limit any time soon.

We dropped Amira off at her place first, then it was round to Kat’s new house share. I’d never seen it in the light, and, when we drew up outside, I had serious misgivings about whether it was safe to leave her there.

‘Are you sure you’ll be alright?’ I asked, looking at the boarded-up front window and noting the rather offensive graffiti on the side of the building. Kat, of course, misinterpreted my genuine concern as a ploy to put off the moment of being alone with Jim.

‘Best get it over and done with,’ she hissed in my ear as I helped get her suitcase out of the boot. ‘Like ripping off a plaster. Only for God’s sake, don’t rip that bandage from your back. Or at least, don’t do it unless Amira or I are around to intervene…or to watch the fallout.’

She winked at me, and went merrily into the house, leaving me alone with Jim. I sat back in the passenger seat and stared out of the window, wondering what to say next. Even if I didn’t have the sword of Damocles hanging over my head in the form of a dodgy tattoo, I think this journey would still have felt a bit strange. Jim and I had been together for yonks, and of course we’d spent lots of time at each other’s places, but this was the first time I was heading to his for an extended period. In fact, I really should stop thinking of it ashisplace, and start referring to it asours. It was going to be my home now, and once I’d got my own key and my things unpacked there, it would be bound to feel more like I belonged. Jim was obviously thinking along the same lines too.

‘What shall we have for tea?’ was his first comment after I’d got back in the car. ‘I thought we could swing by Tesco for a few bits on our way back to mine.’ He paused. ‘Sorry, I should say back to ours, of course, even though you haven’t got round to signing that tenancy agreement with the landlord yet. You need to hurry up and do that. Got to get things off on a proper legal footing.’

‘You and your paperwork,’ I sighed, then kicked myself for saying something which could start a disagreement. ‘You’re right, of course. I’ll make it a priority.’

Before the tattoo drama had taken over my mind, I’d been harbouring tender dreams of Jim picking me up and carrying me over the threshold into the house the first time we arrived back there as an officially co-habiting couple. Yes, I knew that was what you were meant to do when you’d actually got married, but moving in together was the first step in that process, and it would have been a romantic gesture to make, a symbol of our commitment to each other and our hopes for the future. But now that I had a fresh, slightly sore, tattoo to consider, I was rather glad that Jim wasn’t one for romantic gestures. Besides, he probably would have struggled to lift me with the added weight of guilt I was carrying.

‘Isn’t there anything in the house we can eat?’ I said. The late night and the emotional stress of the last few hours were starting to catch up with me and I wanted nothing more than to go straight home and crash out on the sofa, my back safely hidden among the cushions.

‘Ah, well the lads came round last night and you know what they’re like. They’ve eaten me out of house and home. We could probably do with a complete restock. Tell you what, I’ll let you finish work a bit earlier tomorrow and you can do it on your way home, and we’ll just get the basics today. And it’s a good time to pop in. They’ll have put the discount items out by now.’

Stopping off at Tesco to pick up some bargain pizza and salad felt like a pleasingly normal thing to be doing with Jim.

‘The usual?’ I asked. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll zip round extra fast, it’s hardly worth you coming in.’

It would give me the perfect opportunity to get some extra bandages. I could also have a quick look at the cosmetics counter and see if they had any makeup which might be suitable for using as a cover-up once the tattoo had healed.

I grabbed the first pizzas I could find so I had more time to seek out my other necessities. I’d tell Jim they were from the bargain section and he’d be happy at that. Then I caught myself. Just because I was telling one lie by omission, it didn’t mean I should start adding other untruths to it.

When I got back to the car, Jim was deep in conversation on the phone. He gestured an apology to me and rolled his eyes as if exasperated by the other caller, but I could tell from the way he was chuckling that he was really enjoying the conversation.

I sat and stared out of the window for the rest of his call, trying to pretend that everything was alright, while simultaneously torturing myself by rehearsing how I would try to lessen Jim’s devastation when the inevitable truth emerged.

‘Sorry, sweets, that was Dan, as you probably guessed,’ said Jim as he eventually hung up. ‘He was wondering if I was watching the match tonight.’

What he really meant was Dan was wondering if Jim fancied watching the match with him.

‘It’s our first evening in as a proper couple,’ I said, unable to conceal my disappointment. This couldn’t be further from the dreamy night I’d imagined, where we’d have a candlelit dinner and he’d gaze lovingly into my eyes and be most un-Jim-like by starting to talk about ring shopping then and there. But then I remembered that I had no right to be upset about something so trivial. In fact, wouldn’t it be better if Jim did go out to see Dan? It would at least delay the dreaded moment when he’d spot the bandage and start asking awkward questions.

‘How about a compromise? We’ll enjoy the pizzas together, and then you head out to watch the match down the pub with Dan,’ I suggested.

‘Compromise, the secret to all good relationships,’ said Jim. ‘And you can get on with unpacking your bits and bobs without me getting in your way. I’ve cleared out a couple of drawers for you, and there are a few spare hangers. I thought maybe we could pop to B&Q at the weekend and pick up some extra storage. I don’t think I realised quite how much junk you were bringing with you. Do you really need so many books? I’ve no idea where we’re going to find room for them.’

‘Ha ha, very funny. It’s not all junk. So that’s how you entertained yourself in my absence? Going through my things. I hope you’ll return the favour.’

Jim grinned. ‘I am an open book. What you see is what you get. In fact, that’s what I’ve always liked about you, Liddy-Lou. You’re nice and straightforward, aside from the tendency to get carried away by silly romance novels which have no bearing on real life, of course.’

Yep, that was me, nice and straightforward, with no terrible skeletons in the closet. I was so guilt-ridden that I didn’t even pick him up on his insult of my favourite books. The silence stretched out between us. Jim turned the car into the drive. As we came to a halt, he leaned across and lightly patted me on the knee.

‘Are you sure you’re OK after that holiday, sweets? Normally you jump on me for insulting your precious books.’

I pulled myself together. ‘As I should have done. Don’t worry, now we’re practically married, I’ll bring you round to my way of thinking sooner or later.’ I forced a laugh.

‘We’ll see,’ said Jim. I couldn’t decide whether he was referring to the marriage comment or my threat to get him reading romances.

‘Anyway, now that we’re back at our home—’ despite everything, I still got a small thrill out of saying that ‘—where’s that key which you’ve been promising me for ages?’

Jim looked shifty.

‘Sorry, I knew there was something I’d forgotten. I haven’t got round to getting yours cut yet. We’ll have to manage with this one until I sort it.’

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