Page 3 of In Just One Day

‘Flo, wake up, my love.’ Johnny tried to wake her without giving her a fright, by gently prodding her arm.

Flora was at the kitchen table, her face flat against the foothills of the Andes on the pages showing maps of Argentina’s vineyards. She opened her eyes, adjusting to the light. She wiped at her mouth and sat up, blinking. ‘What time is it? I must have…’

‘It’s just past ten. I’m so sorry I’m so late. Trains were a nightmare tonight.’ Johnny looked down at her, his tie loose at his neck, his face pale with tiredness.

Flora rubbed at her eyes then stretched her arms out wide before wrapping them around Johnny’s waist. ‘There’s some leftover chicken pie in the oven, if you’re hungry?’

‘Ooh, yes, please. Have we got any baked beans?’

‘I’m sure we have.’ Flora held on to him for a moment before letting him go, taking in the warmth and smell of his skin through his shirt.

He ruffled her long brown hair. ‘Thank you. How’s it going?’ He walked over to the oven and peered inside.

‘What, this?’ Flora looked down at the pile of books, the files of work and stack of notebooks. She sighed, pulling her hair back and tying it into a messy bun on top of her head. ‘Sometimes I worry that I’m doing all of this work and when it gets to the exams, I’m not going to remember a thing. I can barely remember where I left a cup of tea half the time, let alone what Burgundy’s best Chardonnay clone is.’

‘Chardonnay what?’ Johnny grabbed a tin from the cupboard.

‘Oh, don’t worry, it’s very boring, really. Unless you own a vineyard in Burgundy, of course. Anyway, Mack had his meeting with the bank today.’

‘How did it go?’

‘I don’t know yet. Colin was in the shop…’

‘Colin’s always in the shop.’

‘Yes, but unfortunately we cannot run on his custom alone. He only buys a bottle a week, two at a push.’

‘Shame.’

‘Tell me about it. Anyway, we couldn’t really talk so Mack said he’d fill me in tomorrow. Honestly, I think he’s hanging on by a thread. I’ve told him to let me go, that he doesn’t really need me, but he won’t.’

‘He knows how much you love that job, that’s why. And it wouldn’t be much fun sitting in an empty wine shop all day on your own, would it?’

‘I know, but still. I do feel we’re nearing the end of this happy arrangement. And that makes me really sad.’ Flora sighed. She closed her makeshift pillow and piled it up with the other books.

‘Well, see what he says tomorrow. There’s nothing you can do about it now. You need sleep. Go on, go to bed and I’ll be in as soon as I’m done here.’ Johnny poured a glass of water and passed it over to her. ‘Here.’

‘Thank you.’ Slowly, she got up and started climbing the stairs.

Johnny waited until she was gone. He let out a long breath. He’d meant to tell her as soon as he came in. All the way home on the train he’d been planning how to break it to her. But telling her he’d just been made redundant face to face wasn’t nearly as straightforward as he’d imagined.

2

Flora hadn’t ever actually planned to get into wine in a serious way. It had all happened rather by accident. She’d spent the first five years of her working life in advertising with a number of large London firms. She’d loved the pace and glamour of it at first – she’d once flown to New York for lunch – but after a while something began to gnaw away at her, a sense that what she was doing didn’t really matter, at least not to her. Around that time, she’d met Johnny. He was a friend of a friend and they’d met at a party, both taking refuge in the kitchen to get away from the karaoke in the other room. Flora had not long extricated herself from a long-term relationship with someone from work – her boss, in fact, not the smartest move she’d ever made – and getting into another relationship definitely wasn’t the plan.

But then meeting Johnny wasn’t in her plan either. Previous boyfriends included a musician (disaster) and a before-he-was-famous actor (also a disaster). Johnny just seemed so uncomplicated compared to her usual ‘type’, and as the months passed he continued to pursue her with gentle persuasion rather than grand gestures. Before long her resolve to stay single for a while was forgotten and Flora had never been happier. Everything was perfect, in fact, except for her job, which, by now, she hated.

It was Johnny who suggested one evening over noodles at their favourite local restaurant that she might look at evening courses at a local college.

‘To do what?’ Flora spoke through a mouthful.

‘Well, that’s the point. They’re bound to offer all sorts of courses. It might lead you to something you’ve never even thought of.’ Johnny took a sip from his bottle of beer. ‘Look, you’ve been doing this job for how long?’

‘Too long. Feels like a lifetime.’

‘Exactly. Come on, you need to find something you really love doing and now’s the time to start doing it. What do you think?’ He looked genuinely excited. The fact that he was so invested in her happiness slightly threw her, in a good way. Previous boyfriends had all been far more interested in themselves to worry about a girlfriend’s growing existential crisis.

‘Fine, I’ll have a look online tomorrow, I promise.’

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