Page 54 of Merrily Ever After
‘Sit down, dear,’ said Lavinia, flapping her hand at him. ‘You’re blocking the view.’
‘Bugger off, Bernard,’ Ray grumbled, craning his neck to see past him. ‘Not now.’
Bernard with the toenails. Emily found herself smiling, remembering her chat with Will last night.And well done, Dad, she thought,for learning someone’s name.
‘Go on, old chap, just one game.’ The man leaned across Ray and shook the box again.
Ray half-lifted himself out of his chair and growled.
Yaz leapt up from the floor where she’d been tying someone’s laces and intervened quickly. ‘Will might play with you later, Bernard,’ she soothed, steering him towards the musical end of the room. ‘Why don’t you join in the Down Memory Lane chat with Peter.’ Yaz caught Emily’s eye on the way past and grinned. ‘Never a dull moment.’
Emily smiled back. ‘Did you say Will is here?’
The music changed to a Beatles song about being sixty-four and a cheer rang out.
‘He’s in the staffroom working on his computer.’ Yaz raised an inquisitive eyebrow. ‘Want me to tell him you’re after him?’
‘I’m not after him,’ Emily said hurriedly. ‘I mean, no, no need, thanks. I just … He was going to see my dad sometime this week, that was all. I wondered if he’d had chance yet.’
‘I see,’ Yaz replied innocently, a smile playing on her lips.
Emily found herself blushing. What was that all about? She genuinely was interested to know whether Will had seen her dad, that was all.
She squeezed in between Lavinia and Ray’s chair, said hello to him and kissed his cheek, but he didn’t acknowledge her; his gaze was riveted to the television.
‘There’s a jewellery sale coming up later,’ Lavinia was saying to no one in particular. ‘I might treat myself to a piece. It’s been years since I had anything new. I used to wear a ring on every finger.’ She stared at her hands as if surprised that they were hers. The fingernails were painted a dark oxblood red, and her knuckles swollen with arthritis. ‘My rings must have shrunk.’ She gave a tinkling laugh. ‘Because I can’t get them over my knuckles now. Oh well, at least my earrings still fit me.’ She touched one of her earlobes absently. Her clip-on earrings featured two interlocking letter Cs encrusted with diamonds.
‘They’re lovely,’ Emily said, wondering if they were genuine Chanel.
Lavinia looked at her. ‘Hello, dear, we’ve met before, haven’t we? Milan, was it? Did you dress me for that Gucci after-party?’
‘No, Lavinia, but I wish I had.’ Emily whistled under her breath. She was beginning to see why Will was such a frequent visitor. What she wouldn’t give for a peek in the old lady’s wardrobe. ‘I’m Emily, Ray’s daughter.’
‘Oh good, you’re here.’ She leaned forward and raised her voice. ‘There we are, Ray. You can stop wittering now, your daughter’s here, look.’
Emily waved a hand in front of his face. ‘Yoo-hoo, Dad?’
Ray seemed agitated. He hauled himself to the edge of his chair, ignoring them both. ‘No, she’s on the TV!’ He pointed to the screen. ‘That’s my daughter.’
The TV was tuned to the shopping channel again. It was clearly Lavinia’s favourite. This time, two women on the screen were chatting about candles.
Emily looked at the one Ray was getting hot under the collar about. She was green-eyed and blonde and her sort of age. Emily didn’t watch shopping channels, but there was something vaguely familiar about her.
‘It’s OK, Dad,’ she said softly, laying a hand on his knee. ‘Look at me. I’m Emily. I’m your daughter.’
Ray dragged his eyes from the screen to her face for a fraction of a second. ‘I know that.’
‘To be fair to Ray,’ said Yaz, leaning on the back of his chair, ‘you do look similar.’
‘I suppose, so,’ Emily admitted. ‘But I’m a school secretary. The chances of me presenting something on TV are about a gazillion to one.’
‘You and me both,’ agreed Yaz and both women laughed.
Emily looked back at Ray; he had taken a handkerchief out of his trouser pocket and was mopping his eyes. Poor thing. What was going on inside that brain of his and how could she help him feel better? Keep active, wasn’t that what Will had said?
She turned to Yaz. ‘Do you think it would be all right to take Dad for a walk outside?’
‘Er?’ Yaz looked outside at the darkening sky dubiously and then back at Emily as if she was bonkers. ‘Go for it.’
