Never Can Say Goodbye (6 page)

‘Hardly adversity – bugger it,’ Biff Pippin muttered as the pile of socks, gloves, scarves and hats toppled from her hands.
‘This is like manna from heaven for us and it’s a wonderful stroke of luck for young Frankie – Rita leaving her the shop –
and you too, Brian. You did OK, didn’t you?’

‘Ah.’ Brian’s pale-blue saucer eyes moistened. ‘I did that. Rita was always so kind to me. I had hopes of us tying the knot
one day, but I knew she still carried a torch for fat Ray really. Mind, it’s really lovely being in that bungalow on my own
and not having my miserable ma yelling at me morning, noon and night. You know, some mornings I can make me breakfast without
even having to get dressed.’

‘Far too much information,’ Frankie giggled, straightening up from folding a heap of T-shirts.

‘I mean –’ Brian looked indignant ‘– while still in my ’jamas, gel. Ma would never let me have breakfast in my ’jamas. Always
had to be properly washed and dressed afore eight in our house. And she used to check that I’d got clean hands. Treated me
like a kid, she did. Never let me wear my ’jamas downstairs even when I was ill. Now sometimes I wear ’em all day on a Sunday.
It’s lovely.’

Frankie smiled fondly after him as he and Hedley disappeared out into the storm to load the van again. Rita, bless her, had
managed to spread an awful lot of happiness with her generous bequeathing.

Surprisingly, the disparate roped-in crowd seemed to be working quite well together. The shop was being rapidly denuded of
everything that wasn’t needed. The good frocks –
all of them – had been locked away in the small room that passed as a stock cupboard until such time as Frankie could sort
them out. The rest of the stock was disappearing nicely.

‘Dexter hasn’t shown,’ Lilly said grumpily as she helped a large lady look for anything ‘suitable for the gym in a twenty-four
plus, duck, if you’ve got it’.

‘Well, he did say he was going to get something to eat, and no doubt he’s got his own unpacking and settling in to do, and,
let’s face it, this is probably hardly the type of nightlife he’s been used to.’ Frankie straightened up again with yet more
T-shirts. ‘And if he’s interested in you he’ll be here, you know that.’

Lilly sighed as she showed the large lady a pair of piebald harem pants in a size six. ‘You’re pretty useless at sign-reading,
aren’t you? He’s not interested in me. What?’ She frowned at the large lady. ‘Won’t they? Not even one thigh? Ah, shame …
OK. Oooh, look, jogging bottoms. Extra-extra large. Go and try them on – in the cubicles over there. A snip at a fiver and
they’re just your colour. Sorry? Well, OK maybe maroon doesn’t suit everyone but they’ll look lovely on, trust me.’ She watched
the lady lumber away towards the cubicles then beamed at Frankie. ‘There – see? Saleswoman of the year – thanks to Jennifer.
Now where were we?’

‘You,’ Frankie said admiringly, ‘were just selling rubbish to a customer. I thought we were giving it away.’

‘
Giving it away
?’ Lilly looked horrified.

‘Well, yes. I just want shot of it.’

‘And you want money for it, too,’ Lilly insisted. ‘At least the stuff that isn’t going to charity. You have so much to learn.
Like with Dexter … He really fancies you.’

‘Rubbish.’ Frankie frowned. ‘Of course he doesn’t.’

‘Duh!’ Lilly struck a pose. ‘He was all over you, you lucky thing. I hardly got a second glance.’

‘You got far more than that. And Dexter Valentine is definitely a player. He’s sexy, gorgeous, and friendly, and amusing –
and he knows it. He thinks he’s irresistible and any girl is fair game. I bet he flirts with every female he comes into contact
with. I’ve known loads of men like Dexter.’

‘Really?’ Lilly smiled gently. ‘Why haven’t I met any of them, then? We’ve been housemates for three years and—’

‘You know what I mean,’ Frankie said quickly.

‘Yeah.’ Lilly clambered over the discarded harem pants and gave her a swift hug. ‘And if I ever meet the bastard who broke
your heart I’ll give him a good slap.’

‘Thanks.’

Fortunately, Frankie thought, the chances of Lilly, or anyone else, ever finding out about Joseph Mason were slim to nil.
And the chances of them ever meeting were even slimmer.

She watched in amusement as the large lady emerged from the cubicles and beamed at Lilly, declaring the jogging pants were
‘ … exactly what I was looking for, duck. You’re a clever girl.’ The lady then handed Lilly a five pound note.

‘See,’ Lilly said triumphantly as she passed, ‘easy peasy. I’m putting the money in the biscuit tin in the kitchen. We’ve
got loads in there already.’

The door flew open again.

‘What’s going on in here?’ Biddy-the-funeral-goer demanded as she elbowed her way through the crowds, her pointy nose twitching,
making her look even more like an inquisitive squirrel. ‘I was just passing on my way to the bus stop and I saw the lights
and I wondered if you were doing a late-night opening.’

‘No, we’re not,’ Frankie said. ‘I’m just having a clear-out. You’re more than welcome to have a look round and see if there’s
anything that you’d like.’

‘To hire? Why would I need to hire anything on the off chance?’

‘We’re not going to be hiring clothes any more,’ Frankie said gently, noting with some amusement that Biddy was dressed in
a duck-egg blue ensemble that made her skin look like putty. Cherish, the colour-palette advisor’s choice no doubt. ‘When
I reopen the shop I’m just going to be selling frocks.’

‘Selling? Frocks? Disgusting!’ Biddy snorted. ‘Where are we going to get our bits and pieces from now, then?’

‘Biff and Hedley Pippin are taking lots of the stock for their shop,’ Frankie said. ‘So if you catch the off-peak bus to go
into Winterbrook I’m sure you’ll find something really cheap to buy in there, and it all goes to a good cause.’

‘I likes the hiring, not the buying. I don’t want stuff cluttering up my maisonette. And the Pippins’ shop’s for animals.’
Biddy sniffed. ‘Bloody animal charity shop they run. I ain’t giving my hard-earned to no animals.’

‘Oh, dear, that’s a pity.’ Frankie decided she really, really didn’t like Biddy. ‘Please excuse me, I’m really busy, but now
you’re here, do stay and have a look round.’

Biddy snorted again. ‘Bet you’re charging an arm and a leg for it and –’

The rest of her disgruntled reply was lost in a gale of giggles from the far side of the shop where Frankie’s friends, Phoebe,
Clemmie, Sukie and Amber, were fitting a selection of woolly hats on each other.

Biddy tutted loudly and stomped away towards a tottering heap of mixed tops in vaguely unpleasant colours.

‘Whatever she wants,’ Frankie hissed at Lilly, ‘make sure she pays loads for it. Miserable cow.’

‘So speaks the entrepreneur of the year.’ Lilly giggled.

‘Guess who’s on their way over to give you a hand, gel?’ Brian’s eyes glistened as he and Biff folded several ancient and
rather pungent hacking jackets into a cardboard box.

‘Barack Obama? Bob Dylan? David Dimbleby?’

‘Nah, don’t be daft, gel. It’s a lady.’

‘Oh, OK. Cheryl Cole? Lady Gaga? Holly Willoughby?’

‘Never heard of any of them neither. No, it’s Maisie.’

‘Maisie?’

‘Maisie Fairbrother – you know – she lives in them little flats out on the Hazy Hassocks road. Rita left her all her shoes.’

‘Oh, yes. I remember Rita saying that Maisie loved shoes, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in here. In fact I don’t think
I’ve ever met her.’

‘Maisie don’t get out much,’ Brian said, nodding. ‘She can’t use public transport, see? Not with her trouble. But she felt
she ought to make the effort to help out seeing as she got all them shoes. I saw her earlier and told her what we was doing
tonight. She’ll be here in a trice, will Maisie. She was getting a taxi as soon as she’d had her Toast Topper.’

‘That’s very kind of her,’ Frankie said, wondering what sort of trouble Maisie had. Presumably it wasn’t the same as Dexter’s.
‘I’ll look forward to meeting her.’

‘Ah, you just have to take Maisie as you finds her, gel. Know what I mean?’

‘Yes, of course,’ said Frankie, who didn’t. ‘Oh, steady with those … ’

She dived towards a couple of elderly women who were tottering towards the door with armfuls of clothing.

‘Here, let me help you. I’ll just open the door, shall I?’

The elderly duo smiled their thanks as they disappeared into the wild night. Frankie had to lean on the door to close it.
Blimey, the wind was strong …

‘You can’t keep me out like that,’ Dexter panted through the gap. ‘It’s been tried before.’

Laughing, Frankie opened the door. ‘Sorry, I didn’t notice you.’

‘And that’s not a phrase I’ve heard very often, either.’ Dexter, glistening with raindrops, grinned at her. ‘Sorry I’m late.
I got delayed.’

Frankie, attempting not to be impressed, again, by the devastating good looks, also tried hard not to speculate on what –
or who – might have caused the lateness. It was none of her business. And anyway, she didn’t care, did she? ‘It’s fine. It’s
good of you to even volunteer on your first night.’

‘Wouldn’t have missed it for the world,’ Dexter said, his eyes lingering on her for just a second too long before looking
round the shop. ‘You’ve worked miracles in here.’

‘Not just me,’ Frankie said, noting with amusement that Phoebe, Amber, Sukie and Clemmie – all of whom had gloriously sexy
partners of their own – had stopped trying on the woolly headgear and were staring admiringly at Dexter. ‘I’ve got some really
good friends, and so had Rita. They’ve all mucked in.’

‘So I can see. Right, what would you like me to do?’

‘Hi, Dexter – and ooh, where to start.’ Lilly chuckled, sashaying towards the kitchen with the money box biscuit tin. ‘And
was that an open invite to all-comers or simply for little old me?’

‘Ignore her.’ Frankie laughed. ‘At least until later. And
actually we could do with a bit of muscle to carry out those bigger boxes to the van outside. Biff, Hedley and Brian are all
nearly pensionable age and must be getting tired by now.’

‘Fine.’ Dexter slid out of the leather jacket, displaying even more of the fabulously toned body as he pushed up the sleeves
of his black sweater. ‘Just point me in the right direction.’

‘Well, we’ve got a box ready for the Salvation Army to collect, and all those piles of clothes over there have been allocated
to the Pippins’ charity shop. Lilly’s got the other stuff sort of cordoned off by the counter, and all the saleable frocks
are safely out of the way. Biff and Hedley have just taken a vanload back to Winterbrook, so maybe you could carry the next
lot over to the door ready for the return trip?’

Dexter nodded. ‘Actually, I’ve got my car parked right outside – I didn’t see any double yellows – so I could load it up and
drive over to, um, wherever it is, if you like.’

‘Brilliant. Thank you. You can have Brian as navigator as you don’t know the area.’

‘Brian?’ Dexter screwed up the tawny eyes and scanned the crowd.

‘The big bloke over there with the wild hair and the duffle coat.’

‘Ah, right. He looks, um … ’

‘Brian’s lovely,’ Frankie said quickly. ‘Like a large child, kind, hard-working and very eager to please. He runs the kebab
van in the marketplace.’

‘Does he? I’ll have to cultivate him then.’ Dexter laughed. ‘Nothing like a kebab after a good night out, and that means he’s
another one of us, doesn’t it?’

‘“Us”?’

‘The Kingston Dapple market traders association.’

Frankie smiled. ‘Yes, I suppose it does. Did you get settled in OK?’

‘Into the soulless bedsit? Yes. I travelled light – by necessity – so it didn’t take long to unpack. And I found a late-opening
supermarket to stock up on the basics in one of the neighbouring villages. There’s nothing much in that line in Kingston Dapple,
is there?’

Frankie shook her head. ‘No, not really. Everyone goes to Big Sava in Hazy Hassocks, but there are Tescos and Sainsburys and
proper shops in Winterbrook.’

‘Big Sava! That was it.’ Dexter beamed. ‘They had everything I needed. I even managed to microwave a curry for my dinner,
so I won’t starve. And I called up a few of Ray’s contacts. I’m getting my first delivery tomorrow. All seasonal stuff – poinsettias,
holly, mistletoe, festive wreaths, that sort of thing. Apparently I’ll have to go to the flower markets myself in future,
but at least I’ll have some stock to start with. It all took far longer than I’d thought, which is why I’m so late.’

‘Great, er, I mean, I’m pleased you’re getting stuff sorted out too. OK, now let me introduce you to Brian, oh, and it might
be better if you don’t mention Ray too much. Brian had, um, a bit of a romantic liaison with Rita for quite a long time.’

‘Really? Did she jilt him for Ray?’

‘Not exactly jilt, no. But I think Brian was more hurt than he lets on.’

‘OK.’ Dexter smiled. ‘Poor Brian. We’ve all been there, haven’t we?’

I may have, Frankie thought, but I very much doubt that you’ve ever been anything other than the cause of any amount of heartbreak.
I doubt if you’d understand for a minute how Brian feels, or me, for that matter.

‘I can be sensitive when needed, you know,’ Dexter said, as if he’d read her mind. ‘I’m not as bad as people think.’

Not sure that she believed him, and very aware that every female in the shop stopped and stared at him as she manoeuvred Dexter
through the throng towards Brian, Frankie decided to ignore what might be pretty dangerous ground. ‘Whatever. Handsome is
as handsome does, as my gran always says.’

‘Mine too.’ Dexter nodded innocently. ‘I never understood it.’

Exchanging an eye-meet with a giggling Lilly across the shop, Frankie tapped Brian on the shoulder. ‘Brian, I’ve got someone
to introduce to you.’

‘Have you, gel?’ Brian peered at her. ‘That’s nice. I like meeting people.’

Dexter held out his hand. ‘Hi, Brian. I’m Dexter. I’m new round here and I’m going to need your help.’

Nicely done, Frankie thought grudgingly, leaving Brian excitedly agreeing to be Dexter’s navigator to Winterbrook.