Midnight (30 page)
‘Well, today’s the day.’ Jack mustered the troops. ‘In half an hour, Curtis Warren himself is due to walk through those doors. He’ll have his beady eyes on each and every one of us. Even when you’re not aware of it, he won’t be far away. He’ll be in the background, watching you. He’ll be listening to conversations and taking notes. So, remember, we’re here not only to sell cars, but to build the reputation of this company. We need to establish a network of customers who will trust us and who will carry the word far and wide.’
He finished his short rallying speech by reminding them of the golden rules. ‘There are three things to remember. One, listen to what the customer wants. Two, don’t come down heavy for the hard sell. The customers don’t like it, and it’s proven to be counterproductive. I think you all know the third golden rule?’
He put his hand to his ear, waiting for the response, which came loud and clear, as they answered in unison: ‘The customer is always right!’ Laughter ensued as they released the pent-up energy.
Twenty minutes later, Curtis Warren walked through the doors, accompanied by his assistant from Head Office, who was taking lots of photographs. The big man moved amongst them, talking to each man and woman individually.
A short time later, the people started arriving. First it was a trickle, then a stream – until the entire place was flooded with people.
‘You’ve done a good job,’ Curtis Warren told Jack, and his delight was evident as he moved amongst the would-be customers.
The morning went well. There were numerous test drives and one-to-one consultations, and by midday a considerable number of deals had been clinched, much to everyone’s satisfaction. The festive atmosphere, the free food and the raffle made it a day to remember. The raffle was to benefit the local children’s hospital, a worthy and popular cause. People were more than willing to put their hands in their pockets and find £5 for a ticket.
Not many miles away, Molly, who had spent the night in a soulless hotel in Birmingham, was on the M6 heading towards Lytham St Anne’s. Her company car, a bright-yellow VW Golf with
Banbury’s Estate Agents
logos on its sides, was powering along in the fast lane.
When the driver behind started beeping his horn, indicating that she should move over to allow his huge four-by-four to overtake, she made a rude gesture but swerved left into the middle lane, and narrowly avoided a lorry.
‘Dopey cow!’ bawled the driver of the four-by-four as he roared past, but Molly was oblivious.
In the car behind her the woman turned to her husband. ‘For God’s sake keep away from that car,’ she urged. ‘It’s all over the place. The driver is either crazy or drunk.’ Turning to check that her children’s safety belts were on, she feared for their lives.
Just then, a coach zoomed past, its horn sounding the alarm as Molly once more overtook without signalling. Her impatience to get to Jack had overridden her common sense.
Behind the wheel of the Golf, Molly noticed none of this. Dressed in a smart grey suit from Wallis, and wearing a new pair of sexy high-heeled shoes, she hoped to wow Jack this morning – and then to win him back. She knew how important the grand opening was for him. Jan, the receptionist at Jack’s old job, had passed on all the gossip to her friend Izzy, who went to the same gym as Molly.
Molly gave a happy little gasp at the misplaced thought of her future with Jack. There was still time, she thought; still time to put things right with Jack, to make up for the past. Mal would soon find someone else, she told herself. All he needed to do was join one of those online dating agencies, and he’d soon be fighting women off. And then she and Jack could be together for ever.
For a moment, her features tightened and the old rage took over. Jack Redmond
owed her
– and now she was ready to call in the debt.
Unaware of the chaos she was causing, Molly hummed along to her CD of
Abba’s Golden Hits
.
A crack of thunder rent the sky as black clouds drew together above the busy motorway. Not another bloody shower! She consoled herself with the thought that once she and Jack were back together, they’d go on a little holiday. Somewhere far away from the so-called English summer.
As if on cue, the heavens opened and the rain sluiced down, flooding the windscreen.
Disorientated, Molly flicked the wipers to maximum speed. Then, as she reached to pump up the volume on ‘Dancing Queen’, her happy expression turned to one of panic as the spiky heel of her shoe caught in the carpet beneath the accelerator pedal. Trying to free her foot just added to the pressure on the pedal, which made the car go even faster and caused her to panic. Frantically grabbing at the steering wheel, she lost control altogether and the car veered at full speed straight into the side of a massive removal truck.
Molly’s car was dragged along for half a mile before the traumatised truck driver was able to stop safely on the hard shoulder and phone for the police and the ambulance service.
By the time they had all arrived, it was too late for Molly.
L
ibby was lost.
Twice she’d taken a wrong turn in Thomas’ old Austin, and now she was asking at the next garage, ‘Can you please tell me where the new car showrooms are? Curtis Warren Motors, I think they’re called.’
‘Oh yes.’ The big man at the till wiped a dewdrop from the end of his bulbous nose. ‘Turn right at the next junction, and the new showrooms should be straight ahead. All glass and metal, they are. Like a flippin’ palace, it is.’ Libby thanked him and left.
When she had told Thomas of her plan to go to the opening, he had offered her the car, and wished her luck.
‘Best you don’t go on about young Jack too much,’ he cautioned. ‘We don’t want yer Mum getting all agitated again like she was last night.’
Libby had promised to be discreet. Maybe Jack wouldn’t even recognise her. She was no longer the teenager he had once known.
Getting back in the car, she took a look at herself in the mirror. She had taken extra care with her looks that afternoon. Her freshly washed hair was tied up in a silver band and she was wearing her prettiest outfit – a calf-length dress in softest blue.
Pulling into the car park at Curtis Warren’s, Libby felt extremely nervous. What if Jack didn’t want to see her?
People were getting in and out of cars, and there was a steady stream of people on foot, entering the wide glass doors. Taking a deep breath, she headed towards the entrance.
Inside, there was a smart reception desk and long tables covered with the ruins of what must have been a very nice buffet.
‘Would you like a drink, madam?’ asked a friendly young man, holding out a tray. ‘We have orange or cranberry juice.’
‘No, thank you,’ she replied. ‘I’ve actually come to see Mr Redmond.’ She hoped she wasn’t making a fool of herself, ‘I don’t have an appointment, though.’
‘Mr Redmond is over there, but he’s with a client at the moment,’ he gave her a covert once-over. Nice figure, he thought.
Anxious in case Mr Warren had left some spies behind, who might be watching his every move, he decided to get rid of this visitor as quickly as possible and crack on with earning himself a commission.
‘I’ll see what I can do,’ he said. ‘Who shall I say is here?’
‘Elizabeth Harrow,’ she answered nervously.
‘Very well.’ He hurried away.
Libby watched as the young man spoke with Jack. When Jack glanced briefly in her direction, her heart turned over.
When he was told there was ‘a young lady’ waiting to see him, Jack’s heart froze. Surely Molly hadn’t followed him up here to create another scene? But no, he reassured himself, she was with Mal now.
‘Her name is Elizabeth Harrow,’ the young man told Jack.
‘Thanks, Martin.’ Jack was intrigued, but as yet the name had not sunk in. As he walked across the room towards her, Jack was impressed by the shapely young woman in the blue dress who was studying a catalogue. But when she turned to face him, he was visibly stunned.
‘Libby?
Libby?
I can’t believe it!’ he exclaimed. ‘What – how – oh, Libby, it’s really you!’
And then he was hugging her as though he would never let her go. ‘My Libby!’ he gasped. ‘I can’t believe it!’
Aware of some curious glances, Libby stepped back. ‘It’s so wonderful to see you again, Jack!’ she said simply. ‘I found out by accident that you were back, and I just had to see you. Oh, Jack, it’s been such a long, long time!’
‘Twelve years,’ he murmured, a million different feelings running through him. ‘Libby, please, you must stay – say you will! I’ve got to be here until three-thirty, but I’d so much like to spend some time with you after that. If you’re free, that is?’ He held his breath.
‘Of course!’ she answered. ‘I’d really like that.’
‘Right, then.’ Taking his car keys from his pocket, Jack placed them in her hands. ‘Just follow me.’ He took her out to the car park and showed her where his car was. ‘First, have a look around the showrooms, and tell me what you think later. When you’ve had enough, go and sit in the car, if you like, and I’ll join you as soon as I can after three-thirty. How’s that?’
‘God, she’s beautiful,’ he thought. Libby, his childhood friend; the girl he had left behind. He hoped to remedy that mistake, if he got the chance.
Libby wandered around the showrooms, but she was unable to take it all in, or even to concentrate. Finally, when she’d had enough, she went walkabout outside, occasionally glancing in through the big windows, where Jack was chatting with the customers, and occasionally returning her smile.
At three-thirty on the dot, he joined her in the car and, without any warning, leaned towards her and kissed her long and lovingly. ‘My lovely Libby,’ he whispered. ‘You’re so beautiful!’
Nervous at first, Libby slid her arms round his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. ‘I’ve missed you, Jack.’
‘And I’ve missed you too,’ he admitted.
‘So now, Jack Redmond, I want to know what you’ve been up to all these years.’
‘All right, then!’ Jack felt like a teenager, all excited and nervous on his first date. ‘Let’s get away from here,’ he suggested. ‘I know the perfect place where we can talk.’
Starting the car, he drove out of the car park and headed out into the countryside. Twenty minutes later, they arrived at a beautiful spot where he used to fish. Barges were berthed on the canal and there was a duck pond near by, and a cafe with a terrace overhanging the water. Libby loved it. ‘Oh, Jack, it’s heavenly!’ she said. ‘I never even knew it was here.’
Jack led her to a decking area overlooking the canal, where they could watch the swans and barges pass by. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, and his heart was full. Libby was like a breath of fresh air. His mind harked back to the distant past, and he remembered how Libby always saw the good in everyone. Many times she had patiently listened to his troubles and calmed him, especially on the frequent occasions when he’d considered running away from home.
Now, when she ran ahead to stoop by the water’s edge and talk to the swans, he had a strange, deep-down feeling that he was fated to be with her for a long time, maybe for ever, now that they had been reunited. ‘Slow down, Jack, lad,’ he cautioned himself. ‘You’ve only just come out of one relationship – are you ready to take the plunge again? And with all your problems, would it be fair to land them on someone else?’ He couldn’t answer either of those questions. He needed to take it one cautious step at a time, because there was one thing he did know for certain, and that was that he wanted Libby back in his life.
And yet, apart from the fact that she wore neither engagement ring nor wedding band, he knew next to nothing about the grown-up Elizabeth Harrow.
A little later, they climbed the narrow wooden steps to the upstairs decking area, where they found an empty table. Situated near the edge, it gave a perfect view: they could see along the canal right down to where it curved away, out of sight. Moored alongside the towpath, the many barges made a picturesque sight, with their pretty lanterns and flower-buckets on their roofs.
‘So, what do you fancy?’ Jack felt the need to celebrate. It had been a red-letter day for him. Firstly, the grand opening of the showrooms had gone even better than he’d hoped. And now he was sitting opposite Libby, who had blossomed from a tomboy schoolgirl into this beautiful, graceful woman.
‘Let’s order something really special,’ he suggested. ‘I can’t have a glass of champagne, because I’m driving, but
you
can.’
‘No, not for me, thanks.’ Libby had never been a drinker.
‘Let’s have something to eat instead,’ he said. ‘My treat!’ He pointed to the blackboard with its chalked list of the specials of the day. ‘I’m going for the blackberry pie and custard. How about you?’ He always did have a sweet tooth.
Libby’s mouth watered. ‘I’ll have the blackberry pie with custard.’ She beamed at Jack for a second. The old camaraderie was back.
During the meal, they talked endlessly. ‘Do you remember all those picnics we used to go on during the school holidays?’ he said. ‘You and your Marmiteand-cheese sandwiches! I never knew how you could bear the taste.’
‘I wasn’t too keen on your peanut-butter and jam ones either,’ Libby laughed. ‘And your Mum would never give you any chocolate biscuits, would she? I always had to sneak a Kit-Kat into your bag.’
‘Didn’t take much to please us, did it? We were dead lucky growing up in Blackburn, only a few miles from lovely countryside. I missed it when I was in London.’
‘What – you went off to London, did you?!’ Libby had no idea he had lived in the capital. From this point their conversation became more serious.
Jack told her the whole story of what had happened to him over the past twelve years, up to and including his relationship with Molly. Then he listened intently to everything that Libby told him – about her Mum’s illness, her part-time job at the supermarket, and the way she had seen him in the car park . . .
By the time they had finished the meal, each of them knew a great deal more about the other, and almost all questions were answered. This time together had newly forged their strong friendship, and their hearts were warmer.