Page 84 of The Little Teashop of Lost and Found
‘It makes no difference to me how many women he’s gone out with,’ I said. ‘We’re just friends.’
‘Mmm …’ Bel said, but seeing she wasn’t going to tease any more out of me (which would have been difficult, given the muddled state both of my recollections of the evening and my emotions), she changed tack. ‘Teddy and Geeta have volunteered to help Mum paint the new bedroom in the morning while Jan, their part-time nanny, looks after Casper, so I don’t think we’ll be needed till later. If you come for lunch then we could go to the garden centre afterwards?’
‘That would be fun. I do love garden centres.’
‘Me too, and there’s a wonderful one the other side of Upvale. Oh, by the way,’ she said as we went back indoors, ‘Teddy’s coming onMonday in the pickup to collect the leftover tables and chairs, if that’s all right?’
‘Yes, fine – they stack up, as you see.’
‘I could take some of the chairs back with me in the car now,’ she suggested.
‘Good idea, and I’ll bring a couple more tomorrow and then he might get what’s left into one load.’
The distant strains of a tenor voice singing something swoopingly operatic wafted up from the basement, along with the sound of an electric drill.
‘Jack’s back,’ I said.
At lunch next day, Sheila told us that Nile had rung her from London, because he’d spotted a nice but pricey piece of Troika and wondered if she wanted him to buy it.
‘And it’s a huge lamp base, which is something I haven’t already got, so I told him to try and haggle the price down and then go for it.’
So … Nile had gone off straight to London yesterday morning, presumably to see Zelda. And there was absolutelynoreason why he should have told me he was going to do that, let alone say goodbye before he went …
It was ages since I’d been to a garden centre and I was surprised at the array of other things they seemed to stock now, and not just plant-related, either.
They also had a coffee shop, where we repaired after I’d chosen two very large teal-blue glazed pots for either side of the café door. They were already planted up with ball-shaped variegated holly trees surrounded by a circle of winter pansies.
That decided, I thought I’d get something for Nile, to liven up the dark green and gold frontage of Small and Perfect, so I picked a light green wooden tub, planted with a red rose tree on a long stem, that reminded me of the illustrations in my old copy ofAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
It was a bit pricey, but it would make me feel better about accepting that valuable jug and the expensive meal on Thursday night.
The garden centre promised to deliver the planters next afternoon, so I drew them a map of how to get to the back of the teashop. I was thinking of having it printed on cards to hand out: it would save a lot of time.
Bel and I painted the skirting boards in the new letting bedroom next morning, since Teddy and Geeta had already done their bit the previous day. I felt I ought to earn my lunch in more than just advice on catering rules and regulations.
Sheila was surprised when Nile didn’t make it back for Sunday lunch, so it must have been a rare event. I didn’t linger long afterwards either, for I needed to be back at the flat before the planters were delivered.
And it was just as well Nile’s carwasn’tparked there, because the plants arrived on the back of a small open-topped truck, which was manoeuvred into the alleyway parking space next to my car without any problem.
The pots and tub were wheeled through the passage to the courtyard and put into place and they looked perfect – the finishing touches to the outside. I thought Nile’s rose tree, in its light green planter, looked especially elegant and hoped he would like it.
One of the men who delivered them lingered to look at the overgrown roses in my garden – if a square of paving with beds around it could be called that.
‘Neglected,’ he said, shaking his head sadly. ‘But cut them back hard, feed them in spring and see what happens, before you dig any of them out,’ he advised, and I thanked him. I’d do that, and now I’d been to the garden centre, I could imagine how my little courtyard gardencouldlook with a bit of TLC, some more pots and planters and perhaps a fountain in the middle – one of those ones that burble gently through big pebbles.
Soothing …
I reminded myself of all the money I’d already spent this weekend and then went back upstairs to work on my book: cause and effect.
The dryads, having regrouped, were going to come back for vengeance and things could only get gory – just as the two couples wereabout to get sorted out into their right pairings, too … or not, as the case might be.
Beauty had grabbed Kev and planted a smacker right on his lips at the same moment as Prince S’Hallow did the same to Shaz, causing the Here-and-now to tremble in the air like a bubble about to pop.
But then suddenly they were all jerked apart by loud and bloodcurdling screams and turned to see the dryads running towards them, pointed teeth bared and long talons reaching out to tear limb from limb …
Kev leaped in front of Beauty and swung his scimitar. ‘Don’t you harpies come near my girl,’ he yelled.
Beauty thought that was very sweet, but he’d really no idea what he was up against and might need a little help. She leaned around and took aim with the magic weapon.
