Step Back in Time (26 page)

When I come down for breakfast, Harry is still asleep where I left him last night – on my sofa.

We took a taxi back to Apple Close last night. When we arrived Harry staggered around the outside of the cab, holding on to the door and then the boot for support while I paid the driver, so I’d suggested he come into mine and have a cup of coffee to sober up a bit before he went home. But he fell asleep on my sofa before I even had a chance to make his coffee, so I covered him up with a blanket, and left him quietly snoring away to himself.

‘Harry,’ I call gently to try and ease him from his sleep now. ‘Harry?’

‘Mmm…’ Harry murmurs, turning over. ‘What year is it this time?’

‘Harry, you need to wake up,’ I say, raising my voice a little.

Harry sits up with a start, staring at me. Then he looks around the room. ‘Bloody hell, I’m still here! She’ll kill me!’

He leaps off the sofa and pats at his clothes as if he’s checking he still has them on.

‘It’s OK,’ I say, slightly annoyed by his reaction. ‘Nothing like that went on. You simply crashed out last night on the sofa. So I thought it best to just cover you up and let you sleep it off.’

‘You’ve never been married, have you, Jo-Jo?’ Harry asks, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.

‘No.’

‘Covering me up and letting me sleep it off is not going to go down well with my wife when I try and explain where I’ve been all night.’

‘I didn’t think of that, sorry.’

Harry runs his hand through his tousled hair. He’s got dark stubble on his chin this morning too, and his dishevelled appearance is making him look very sexy.

I shake my head a little.
No, Jo-Jo, now is not the time to begin developing feelings like this for Harry; you’ve had three decades to do that – he’s married this time, remember?

But I can’t help it. I
want
this Harry. No, not just this Harry –
all
the Harrys. The Harry. Oh, it’s so confusing, but I know what I mean.

‘No, I’m sorry, this isn’t your fault,’ Harry apologises. ‘I was the one who got drunk last night, then poured out my troubles to you. You were just good enough to listen.’ He looks at the clock on the mantelpiece. ‘Is that the correct time, 6.25?’

‘Yes, I think so. Sorry, I’m up pretty early this morning.’

‘No, that’s good. Patricia doesn’t usually wake up until around 7 so I might just be able to sneak back in without her noticing.’

We both hurry towards the front door and open it wide. Harry is about to say something to me when we both see two people talking over the low wall at the end of the garden.

It’s Mrs Sullivan from next door; she’s wearing a pink fluffy dressing gown and slippers, and in her hand she clutches a bottle of milk while she chats to another woman I don’t recognise.

‘Patti!’ Harry exclaims with a gasp, looking with horror at them both.

I’m pretty sure Mrs Sullivan isn’t called Patti, so I have to presume the second woman is Harry’s wife. For a split second I wonder if the garden is just long enough to be out of earshot so I can whisk Harry back indoors before she hears him.

But as her head snaps around in our direction, the look of fury on her face suggests it’s not.

‘Patti!’ Harry calls, beginning to run down my garden path. ‘It’s not what you think!’

‘Stay right where you are, Harry,’ Patti, who doesn’t look anything like I expected her to – she’s petite and pretty, with long auburn hair – commands. She holds out her hand like a policewoman holding back traffic. ‘Don’t bother coming any further. If you want to be with
her
so badly, then I suggest you stay there. Because you won’t be setting foot inside our house ever again!’

Mrs Sullivan, whose grey hair is bound up in rollers, touches Patti on the arm sympathetically, then she pulls the collar of her dressing gown around her neck protectively, and looks at Harry for his response.

‘Don’t be silly, Patti,’ Harry says impatiently, ‘if you’ll just let me explain —’

‘Oh no! You’re not talking yourself out of it this time. Mrs Sullivan here has told me everything. How you came in drunk together last night, and how your hands were all over each other as you came up the path.’

Damn! I thought I’d seen the curtains twitch next door when we came in, but I’d been so busy dealing with Harry I’d just dismissed it and forgotten about it until now.

‘I don’t think I quite said that, lovey,’ Mrs Sullivan tries to interrupt.

‘You said enough so I can figure out the rest, thank you,’ Patti continues, tapping Mrs Sullivan’s pink fluffy arm companionably. ‘We’ve been here before with you two, haven’t we?’ she says, looking coldly at Harry and I. ‘It’s not like it’s new ground.’

‘For God’s sake, woman!’ Harry exclaims, rubbing at his forehead. ‘I told you then, Jo-Jo is just a friend and she’s still just a friend. I got drunk last night down the World’s End after
we’d
argued yet again. Jo-Jo was kind enough to bring me home to try and sober me up. Unfortunately for her, I passed out on her sofa, and fortunately for me she let me stay to sleep it off.’

‘Ha! A likely story,’ Patti says, folding her arms. ‘Anyway, you can save it. It’s too late this time. She’s welcome to you, Harry, she’s been waiting for you long enough, and now she can have you! Goodbye!’

Patti swivels as dramatically as she can on her slippered heels and stomps off in her pyjamas back up the road.

‘Shit!’ Harry says, burying his head in his hands as he squats down on the path. ‘
That
went well.’

‘I’m so sorry, Harry,’ I say, tiptoeing along the gravel in my bare feet to join him. ‘I should have tried to wake you last night.’

‘It’s not your fault, Jo-Jo,’ he says, standing up again, ‘she’s been looking for an excuse to throw me out for ages, and this is the perfect one. It’s unfortunate after what happened before, but it can’t be helped.’

What the bloody hell happened before? Why can’t someone just spell it out? I can hardly ask, can I, because I’m supposed to have been there when whatever happened before took place.
 

‘You know you’re welcome to stay here with me until you sort things out, don’t you?’

‘Thanks, Jo-Jo, that’s kind of you – you’re sure you don’t mind the gossips, though?’ He glances at Mrs Sullivan still watching us from the pavement.

‘Nothing I can’t handle. Come on,’ I say, putting my hand on his shoulder. ‘Let’s get you back inside. I still owe you that cup of coffee from last night, and maybe I can find some toast to go with it this morning too.’

We sit next to each other on the swirly patterned sofa in my lounge, eating biscuits now we’ve finished our toast, drinking coffee, and watching Andi Peters and Emma Forbes on Saturday morning television interview two of the contestants from
Gladiators
, the cast of
2 point 4 children
, and East 17 on
Live & Kicking
.

Harry hasn’t said much about what happened earlier; we came back into the house and he sat very quietly for a while, just thinking, so I left him to it. I didn’t know what else to do because I didn’t want to appear to be interfering and, even though I was trying to be, I was hardly an impartial observer. Whatever my feelings for Harry were in my previous incarnations, I was in no doubt as to what they were this time.

While Harry sits and thinks, I think too, about all the different versions of him I’ve encountered so far, from the first time we met in George’s shop, to Harry as the gentle office junior, anarchic teenage punk, savvy businessman, and now this slightly geeky-looking teacher sitting next to me on the sofa. I realise now I had feelings for all those Harrys. It’s as if his personality had been broken down into tiny building blocks, so I could encounter each part of him bit by bit, then grow to love him as a whole.

I jump at the word I’ve just used –
love
! Did I love Harry now?

I turn towards him on the sofa and, as he smiles at me, something pulls deep in the pit of my stomach.

I jump again, physically this time as my phone rings in the hall.

‘That’ll be the phone!’ I cry a bit too brightly.

‘Er, yes, I guess it is,’ Harry says, looking at me oddly. ‘They usually make that sort of noise.’

‘I’ll answer it then!’ I leap up and dash through to the hall. My phone is white, push button and slimline this time, but it’s still attached by a curly wire to the main cradle as I lift the handset to answer it. I haven’t quite arrived in the cordless era yet – or at least this house hasn’t.

‘Hello,’ I say hesitantly, half expecting it to be Patti firing a torrent of abuse in my ear.

There’s a
beep beep beep
noise and then the sound of money dropping into a box.

‘Yo, Jo-Jo, where are you? I’m calling from a phone box opposite the hotel. They’re definitely staying there – we’ve seen Howard looking out of the window already!’

‘Ellie, what are you talking about? Where are you?’

‘The band! We’re outside their hotel in Chelsea. I told you about it other day – The Conrad. Are you coming down? There’s rumours they’ll be out soon to sign.’

I poke my head around the lounge door. Harry is watching two puppet leprechauns in a sketch with two of the members of Boyzone.

‘I’m not sure I can, Ellie, I’m a bit tied up here this morning.’

‘Doing what? You never do anything on a Saturday unless it’s coming shopping with me! Come on, Jo-Jo, get your butt down here now, this is Take That we’re talking about, in the flesh!’
Beep beep beep
. ‘Oh, that’s my money running —’

And she’s gone.

I replace the handset and go back into the lounge.

‘Was that Ellie?’ Harry asks, looking up. ‘I heard you.’

‘Yes, she wondered if I wanted to go out with her this morning, that’s all.’

‘Where – shopping?’

‘Er, no, somewhere else.’

‘Why don’t you go then? I’ll be fine here.’ He picks up a packet of chocolate Hobnobs from the table and helps himself to his sixth biscuit.

‘To be honest,’ I say, sitting down on the sofa again, ‘I don’t think it’s really my kind of thing.’

‘Why?’ Harry asks, munching his biscuit. ‘What’s she doing?’

‘Visiting someone, at a hotel.’

Harry screws his face up. ‘Why would she want you to go along to that? Oh, is she stalking Take That again? Are they in town right now?’

I sigh. Here we go again.

‘Apparently, yes. For their tour.’

Harry grins. ‘Ha, like you don’t know! I bet you’re going to every one of their London concerts?’

He was right; I’d already seen the tickets pinned up on my kitchen noticeboard. Six nights at Wembley Arena! Why on earth did I need to go six times? Were they going to do a different show every evening?

‘I’m going to a few – but it’s mainly to accompany Ellie.’

‘Yeah, right!’ Harry says, his eyes twinkling. ‘I saw the dolls, you know?’

‘What dolls?’ I ask him innocently.

Harry raises his eyebrows. ‘The Take That dolls in the box over there.’ He gets up, goes over to the box still sitting in the corner of the lounge and to my horror opens it up.

‘Aren’t you a bit old for playing with dollies?’ he laughs, lifting one of the Take That dolls up and jiggling it about in its box.

‘Ah.
Those
dolls. They’re for Ellie, they’re a surprise.’

‘Isn’t
she
a bit old for dolls?’

‘Look, does this really matter right now?’ I ask, starting to get annoyed.

‘You’re in
love
aren’t you, Jo-Jo?’ Harry sings, gazing at the box containing Robbie.

‘With who?’ I snap, startled by his question.

‘Take That?’

‘Oh. Yeah, they’re OK I guess. I like their songs, that’s all.’
That was close
…

‘Ha! I think it’s a bit more than their songs you like. Who’s your fave, then?’ Harry digs around in the box. ‘Robbie in my hand here, or Gary, or is it little Markie perhaps? Or maybe you like a man who can dance?’ He pulls out the Howard and Jason dolls and begins jigging them around. Then he begins singing the lyrics to ‘Relight My Fire’ with the boxed dolls still held in his hand like puppets.

He looks so silly standing there performing in my lounge with a bunch of dolls that I suddenly burst out laughing.

‘What’s up?’ Harry asks, looking perturbed.’ Is my singing that bad?’

‘No, but your puppet skills are.’

‘Made you laugh, though,’ he says, grinning. ‘And that’s the first time I’ve done that. Smile, yes, many a time. But not properly laugh. I’m guessing that’s pretty important to you?’

‘Yes.’ I suddenly stop smiling at him and simply stare.
What did he just say?

‘Anyway,’ Harry says, throwing the dolls back into the cardboard box again, ‘I’ve had enough of sitting here moping. Why don’t we go and see the real thing?’

‘You want to come with me?’ I ask, not only dazed by his suggestion, but by what he just said about making me laugh. ‘To see Take That at a hotel? I hardly think it will be your kind of thing.’

‘Ah, why not. It might be fun, and heaven knows I could do with some of that after earlier this morning.’

‘OK then, if you’re sure.’

‘I am. And Jo-Jo?’

‘Yes?’

‘Before we leave, can I see that smile back on your face? You’re much prettier when you smile.’

The Conrad Hotel is situated on Chelsea Harbour, just a little way away from the King’s Road, and when we arrive I’m surprised to find it’s quite calm and there’s nowhere near as many fans as I’d expected there to be.

‘Where have you been?’ Ellie says, rushing over to us. ‘You’ve missed everything! They came out, had photos taken, signed stuff and were here ages. Look,’ she says, holding out a CD with a felt-tip squiggle on it. ‘That’s Jason’s signature. And I got a photo with Robbie!’

‘He came and posed next to you?’ I’m quite impressed.

‘Not posed, exactly. He was standing near me signing some girl’s mahoosive boob that she thrust at him, and I managed to hold my camera out and take a photo, but I’m sure we’ll both be in it.’

‘Ah, classy,’ I say, looking around. ‘There aren’t as many fans here as I thought there’d be.’

‘No, now the band have gone over to Wembley to do sound checks most of them have gone. They’ll be back later, though.’

‘Jo-Jo! Where have you been?’ It’s Billy, skipping across the car park towards us. ‘Did Ellie tell you? I got a kiss off Gary! My life is complete!’

‘You did not get a kiss off Gary,’ Ellie retorts. ‘He fell into you when someone shoved him from behind.’

‘When he fell his lips brushed my cheek! That’s good enough for me,’ Billy says, grinning at me. ‘Ah, I see you’ve brought your friend with you from last night.’ Billy looks with interest at Harry. ‘How are you feeling today – a little worse for wear?’

‘I’ve felt better,’ Harry says, pulling a wry smile. ‘But I’ll live. Ellie,’ he acknowledges Ellie’s piercing look. ‘Still running around like a teenager, I see.’

Ellie ignores Harry’s jibe, grabs me by the arm and marches me away from the others.

‘What are you
doing
?’ she hisses in my face. ‘Why is
he
here with you, and what does Billy mean “your friend from last night”?’

‘I’ll try and answer your questions one at a time,’ I reply, pulling my arm away from Ellie’s tight grip. ‘
I’m
here because you asked me to come.
Harry
is here with me because he wanted to come along too. And I was at the World’s End pub watching Billy perform last night, and Harry happened to be there.’

‘He
happened
to be there?’ Ellie asks in a tight voice. ‘And did his wife
happen
to be there also?’

‘No, they’d had an argument.’

Ellie’s eyes open as wide as saucers. ‘What about – you?’

‘Don’t be silly.’
But actually, Harry never did mention what the argument was about
.

‘And what happened then?’

I look across at Harry, who is deep in conversation with Billy about something, heaven knows what. Billy is standing there in a Take That tour T-shirt, black jeans with fine silver glitter running right through them, and black leather boots with a silver chain and strap detailing covering the heel. Harry is wearing jeans, Nike trainers and an Oasis Live Forever T-shirt. They couldn’t be more different.

‘Harry had a bit too much to drink, that’s all, so I took him back to mine to sober up with a coffee, but then he fell asleep on the sofa, so he stayed the night.’

‘
All
night?’

‘Yes, all night.’

Ellie rests her forehead on the tips of her fingers. ‘Jeez, Jo-Jo, will you never learn? What will his wife say if she finds out?’

‘She already knows. She saw him trying to leave early this morning.’

‘Bloody hell! What happened? Did she rip your hair out?’

‘No, of course not. But she told him not to come back.’

Ellie shakes her head, and a few blonde curls come cascading from the ponytail her hair is tied back in this morning. ‘Poor cow, can’t blame her really. Not after what happened before.’

If someone doesn’t tell me soon
…

‘Why does everyone keep going on about that?’ I try. ‘It’s not like anything happened.’

Ellie raises her eyebrows. ‘Hmm, I think the less said about that the better. We have more pressing matters to attend to. Where is he staying now – with you I suppose?’

I nod.
I tried
.

‘And you think this is a wise move?’

‘Does it really matter?’

‘It might when the school finds out. The gossip will be all over the playground when the kids and the mothers find out two of their favourite teachers have hitched up together.’

‘We’re not
hitched
up.’

‘People will think that.’

‘I don’t
care
what people think.’

‘You might if it affects your job.’ Ellie folds her arms and waits for my reaction.

‘You’re kidding me? This might affect our jobs?’ I exclaim. ‘And you standing out here like some prepubescent schoolgirl lusting after boys who are almost young enough for you to teach,
isn’t
an issue?’

Ellie’s bright green eyes narrow. I’ve committed the ultimate sin. I’ve criticised her beloved Take That.

‘What I do in my private time is none of their business,’ she says huffily. ‘And you can talk – when did you become so blasé about it all?’

‘Then in that case what I do in
my
private life is nothing to do with the school either!’ I retort. ‘And I haven’t
just
become blasé; maybe I was never that bothered in the first place!
Maybe
I was just going along with all this nonsense to keep
you
company!’

I’m aware that our initial whispering has now risen to a fairly loud exchange, and some other remaining fans are beginning to glance over in our direction.

‘If that’s how you feel, I suggest you leave us genuine fans to it,’ Ellie announces. ‘We don’t need hangers-on. And take lover-boy with you while you’re at it!’ she suggests with a flamboyant wave of her hand in Harry’s direction.

‘Ladies, ladies,’ Harry calls, as he and Billy walk over to see what the problem is. ‘What’s causing all the fuss?’

‘You are!’ Ellie says accusingly, jabbing a finger in his direction. ‘Like you did the last time Jo-Jo nearly lost her job.’

Ellie is bright red in the face, and appears to be on the verge of tears. But she’s defiant in her anger as all five foot of her stands challengingly looking up at Harry’s six foot plus frame.

The expression on Harry’s face changes immediately from joviality to concern.

‘Yes, of course. You’re absolutely right, Ellie. It’s admirable you’re so concerned for your friend’s welfare.’ He turns to me. ‘I’m sorry, Jo-Jo, I didn’t think. I’ll pick up my bits and move out just as soon as we get back.’

I look between the pair of them.
Will someone just tell me what the hell is going on?

‘Will someone please tell me for the love of Kylie what is happening here?’ Billy asks to my relief. ‘It’s like watching an episode of
Neighbours
when you’ve been away on holiday for a fortnight, forgot to set the video recorder, and you haven’t got the foggiest what’s going on.’

Ellie hesitates. ‘It’s not really for me to say. That’s up to Jo-Jo.’

‘No, you go on, Ellie,’ I say quickly, as desperate to know the answer to this one as Billy is. ‘I’ve got nothing to hide – have you, Harry?’

Harry shakes his head. ‘Nope, nothing whatsoever. But I could do with something to eat, and maybe this isn’t the best place to discuss private matters.’ He nods in the direction of the other fans, still looking with much interest in our direction because we’re the only form of entertainment in the hotel grounds now Take That have gone. ‘Shall we head to the King’s Road for lunch?’

‘Yes, let’s do that,’ I agree. ‘And then Ellie can fill you in on everything that’s been going on, Bill.’

And maybe I’ll discover at last what’s really going on between Harry and me.