Page 113 of The Little Teashop of Lost and Found
‘Like that, is it?’ he said, and then, his head throbbing, wound his way down the path between some bushes and found himself in the middle of the familiar estate of shabby, run-down houses.
Would the two mismatched couples live happily ever after? I wasn’t sure and I thought the story still had legs. There might be room for a sequel … but for the moment, I was empty as a shell scoured out by the sea and my ears were echoing with exhaustion.
When I opened the window for a moment, Haworth lay silently and deeply sleeping under a starry sky.
I flung myself into bed and followed suit.
I made an appointment for Father’s doctor to come out and visit him in the end, because should he be in the early stage of Alzheimer’s, then there are new drugs on the market to try.
Of course I didn’t consult Father this time, because he would have vetoed any such suggestion and insisted there was nothing in the least the matter with him. But though he may be medically qualified, self-diagnosis can only go so far and when it comes to the treatment of your own family members, then an independent second opinion is called for.
39
Put Straight
Unsurprisingly, I didn’t wake until very late next morning and only then because the phone was ringing.
It had stopped by the time I got to it, but immediately rang again and it was Nile, worried because he’d sent me loads of messages this morning and I hadn’t answered.
‘I finally finished the book just before five this morning and went to bed – and now you’ve woken me up,’ I complained, yawning.
‘Sorry, I didn’t imagine you’d be working that late! But when you didn’t answer and your curtains were still drawn, I got worried. If you hadn’t picked up the phone this time I was going to come over and see if you were ill.’
‘Never mind, it was probably just as well youdidwake me, because I’ll have to email the book off to my agent in a minute and I need a clear head for that or goodness knows where I’ll send it instead. But once it’s gone … oh, happy day!’
‘And then perhaps you can concentrate on something else?’ he suggested.
‘True: I’ll certainly have to shift up a gear or two if the teashop is going to be ready for opening day. The bills are starting to give me nightmares.’
‘That wasn’t quite what I had in mind,’ he said, a laugh in his voice.
‘What did you want me for?’ I asked, starting to wake up a bit.
‘Bel says your boyfriend’s staying at Oldstone.’ There was a question in his voice.
‘I’d forgotten all about him!’ I exclaimed. ‘How awful of me, just landing them with him, though Bel did suggest it. And by the way, Robbie’s anex-boyfriend – an unexpected arrival in the lost baggage department.’
‘Bel said he seemed to think you were expecting him?’
‘Robbie always thinkseveryoneis expecting him, even when he hasn’t told them he was coming. I knew he might be in the country before long – he’s been living in Australia – but I’d no idea when, or that he was heading up here.’
‘Apparently you’re going to Oldstone for dinner tonight and then staying on for the weekend – unless you and this Robbie are coming back to your flat instead, of course?’
‘We’re certainlynot,’ I said emphatically. Being cooped up here with me might give Robbie the wrong idea. He’d certainly sounded as if he was already tending that way. ‘And remember, I’ve got that newspaper reporter interviewing me tomorrow and Sheila says we can use the library.’
‘It’s going to be practically standing-room only for dinner at Oldstone tonight,’ he said. ‘I’ll be there too – and so will Zelda, because she just rang Sheila and asked her if she’d collect her from the station.’
My heart did one of those funny thud and flip-flop things. ‘Did you invite her or is she another unexpected ex in the baggage department?’
‘I haven’t heard from her since we had the last argument, so I don’t know why she’s turning up like this – unless,’ he added grimly, ‘she’s going to try to change my mind … maybe even attempt to get Sheila onside. She knows how soft-hearted she is.’
‘Gosh, this sounds like it’s going to be a fun weekend!’ I said tartly. ‘AndI’mso tired I can barely talk.’
‘Then let’s hope you regain the power of speech in time for your interview tomorrow,’ he said, before adding that he would be heading out to Oldstone about six.
‘Me too. I have a few things to sort out, and I need to find something to wear for the interview, because the reporter said he might take another picture of me. He wasn’t keen on the ones the photographer took at the teashop yesterday.’
‘You could wear that lovely dress you had on at the restaurant?’
