The One You Really Want (14 page)

The phone rang on Connor's desk.

‘It's me,' said Laura. ‘How's she getting on?'

‘Terrific.' Through the glass door, he watched Mia simultaneously booking a client into a class, handing a fresh towel to another client and buzzing a third who had mislaid his membership card through the turnstile. ‘Couldn't be better. Want me to transfer you so you can have a word with her yourself?'

‘I've already tried having a word,' complained Laura. ‘I rang her first. She told me it wouldn't give a good impression, people seeing the receptionist yakking away on the phone to her mother, and besides, she was far too busy to take personal calls.'

Connor smiled to himself; between them, they had undoubtedly created something unique. Their daughter was the oldest sixteen year old he knew.

Nancy, back from the shops, thought she was hallucinating when she glanced through the railings bordering the garden in the centre of Fitzallen Square. It was a dark grey afternoon and the air was thick with fog, but the small, bundled-up figure sitting on one of the wooden benches beneath a dripping ash tree looked uncannily like her mother.

Nancy made her way through the gate and peered more closely at the solitary figure.

‘Mum! Is that
you
?'

Rose, her transparent Pacamac crackling as she pushed the hood down, waved and called back, ‘Yoo hoo, darling. Hello!'

Nancy hugged her tightly; it was so good to see her mother again, even if it was like hugging a cellophane-wrapped sweet. Rose even smelled comfortingly familiar. Nancy shook her head in disbelief.

‘You're not supposed to be here yet! Rennie booked you onto the four o'clock flight. I was going to meet you at the airport.'

‘I know you were, darling. That's why I thought I'd save you the trouble.' Beaming, pink-cheeked with the cold, Rose said, ‘I'm here now, so you don't have to trudge all that way.'

‘But . . . how did you
get
here?' The reason Nancy had planned to meet her at Stansted was because she knew Rose would be traumatised by the prospect of finding her way to Chelsea. Suspiciously, she said, ‘Don't tell me you caught the coach.'

‘The coach? Not a chance.' Rose looked shocked. ‘Why would I do that, when the plane's so much quicker? No, no, I just looked up the EasyJet website on the internet and found out the flight times. Then I rang them and a lovely lad there was able to swap me onto the earlier flight.'

‘Website?
Internet?
'

‘Sweetheart, I'm not senile. It's a marvellous system,' Rose confided. ‘They have computers at the local library, and the librarians are wonderful at showing you how to use them. You'll never believe what I found on there the other day. Something completely outrageous!'

‘What?' Nancy dreaded to think.

‘A recipe for cloutie dumpling,' Rose exclaimed, ‘from a lady in Wellington, in New Zealand! And when I emailed her to ask where she was originally from, she told me she'd never visited Scotland in her life. Yet her recipe was excellent. Imagine that!'

Nancy, her brain in a whirl, said, ‘So how
did
you get here from Stansted?'

‘Och, it was simple! I just asked a really nice man how I should go about it, and he showed me where to catch the train to Liverpool Street. Then I met
such
a nice family on the train and they explained the whole underground system to me. So when we reached Liverpool Street I bought one of those A to Z books at WH Smith and worked out which tube station was nearest to here.'

Had she ever seen her mother looking more relaxed? Incredulously, Nancy said, ‘Just like that?'

‘Just like that. Easy as pie. Well, you can't go far wrong with the Circle Line, can you? Sooner or later you'll end up where you want to be.'

Honestly, Nancy marvelled, whatever next. Would Rose be announcing that she'd applied to run the London marathon? Joined the international space program? Become a weather girl?

Speaking of weather . . .

‘What are we still doing out here? Come on, let's get inside. We'll put the kettle on and get you warmed up. How long have you been waiting?'

‘Not long at all, pet. I've been sitting here enjoying the gardens.' Having bent to gather together her motley collection of bags, Rose straightened and broke into a broad smile. Thinking she was smiling at her, Nancy was startled to hear her mother call out, ‘Bye, sweetheart. Bye, Doreen. See you again. Hope that leg's better soon.'

Spinning round, Nancy saw a man in his thirties with long blond hair heading towards them through the fog with a mongrel on a lead. From the depths of his parka the man called back, ‘Bye, Rose, lovely to meet you,' in a light, unmistakably camp voice that sent a shiver of alarm down Nancy's spine.

‘Mum,' she hissed when the couple had trotted damply off down the path, ‘that wasn't a woman. It was a
man
.'

‘What? I'm not with you, pet.'

‘You called him
Doreen
.' His name was probably Darren, and Rose had, embarrassingly, misheard him.

‘Dear me, you really don't think I'm safe to be let out on my own, do you?' Looking amused, Rose said, ‘His name's Zac and of course he's a man. Doreen's the name of his dear little dog. She managed to get her leg caught in a drain cover yesterday, that's why she's limping. Now, are we going to have that cup of tea or not?'

 

Rennie, phoning from New York, insisted on speaking to Rose when he heard she'd arrived safely.

‘Oh yes, I'm having the time of my life,' Rose assured him. ‘Everyone in London is so friendly and welcoming, it's like being at a lovely big party. And this
house
, well, it's like something out of one of those magazines with celebrities in.'

‘Did you bring me that casserole?' teased Rennie.

‘No, pet, I didn't. I was worried about turbulence on the plane. But I'll make you one as soon as you come back,' Rose promised. ‘And Carmen's hankering for flapjack, so I'll be doing some of that this evening.'

‘Is Carmen there? I'll have a quick word with her.'

‘She's upstairs, pet, getting herself all ready for her big date.'

In New York, Rennie's eyebrows went up. ‘Big date? Who with?'

‘Oh my, she did tell me. Let me think, what's the name of Carmen's gentleman friend?' Brightening, Rose exclaimed, ‘Ah yes, got it now. Joe.'

‘Joe,' echoed Rennie. ‘My God, she's actually going out on a date with him?'

‘She's very excited,' Rose confided. ‘Nervous too. All over the place, bless her heart. Well, it's her first try since Spike. Some people take longer than others to get over these things, don't they? Poor lamb, she's taken more time than most.'

‘Tell her I'm glad the shaving did the trick,' said Rennie.

‘Oh really?' Interested, Rose said, ‘Did Joe have a beard until recently? I didn't know that.'

 

‘Rennie asked me to remind you to give your legs another shave,' Rose dutifully reported to Carmen when she finally reappeared downstairs. ‘He said nobody likes a girl with stubble. I did explain to him that you'd be wearing a long skirt so it's not as if anyone would know, but he still wanted me to tell you.'

I'll bet he did, thought Carmen. Luckily she was too busy dealing with the butterflies in her stomach to react to Rennie's less than subtle teasing.

‘You look beautiful, sweetheart,' Rose said reassuringly.

Carmen did her best to relax her shoulders and not look as if she was about to go out on her first date in . . . well, practically her whole life. She and Spike had been so young when they'd started seeing each other that their meetings had been more hanging-around-in-the-park-together than anything resembling a proper date.

Now, anxiously checking her reflection in the mirror above the bookcase, she thought she looked more like Bambi about to be shot. The shoulder-relaxing wasn't working at all. Her dark blue dress, held up with thin straps and cut not too low at the front, was plain and simply cut. The full-length organza jacket, also dark blue, was randomly dotted with Swarovski crystals. She hadn't worn anything this smart since her brand new school uniform on her first day at Jessop Lane Primary.

Hopefully this time she wouldn't be coming home with red poster paint down her front and a couple of buttons hanging off.

 

‘I'm having the best time of my life,' Joe whispered in Carmen's ear and she felt herself flush with happiness as his arms tightened round her. They were slowly circling the dance floor as the band played an old Mariah Carey number. The female lead singer wasn't up to Mariah Carey's standard but that didn't matter, they were performing free of charge and the ball had been a raging success.

‘Me too,' said Carmen. She'd enjoyed herself, and she'd enjoyed being here with Joe. He had looked after her, proudly introducing her to people he knew. Everyone had been friendly and welcoming. Conversation at their table had flowed effortlessly; she hadn't felt awkward once. Joe had held her hand under the table. He looked so handsome in his borrowed dinner jacket. He told jokes and made her laugh. In his company she felt relaxed, normal, desirable again. It was like coming out of hibernation.

‘Sheila took me to one side earlier,' Joe confided, ‘and told me we made a lovely couple.'

Sheila, big and matronly, had organised the raffle. Innocently Carmen said, ‘What, you and her? Isn't she a bit old for you?'

Joe grinned. ‘Me and you. She said we look perfect together.' He paused then added, ‘I can't believe that this time last week, I hadn't met you. And now, since meeting you, I can't think of anything else. You're probably going to get me the sack.'

‘Why?'

‘Couldn't concentrate at work today. I was useless.' He gave her a squeeze. ‘It's all your fault. I'm not safe. If you hear on the news about a major gas explosion in Clerkenwell, you'll know who did it. I'll have to go on the run, I'll be a wanted—'

‘Stop! I can't handle this. If I'm that much of a health hazard, maybe we'd better not see each other again.'

Joe stopped dancing. ‘Never.' He shook his head, smiling at her. ‘Don't say that. I couldn't bear it.'

‘OK.' They still weren't moving. Carmen murmured, ‘People are starting to look at us.'

‘Let them. I don't care. Listen, I'm doing this all wrong and I know it's uncool, but we are going to see each other again, aren't we?'

A lump sprang into Carmen's throat. To think that she'd been worried about tonight being a let-down, that Joe might realise he'd made a mistake. Slowly she nodded. ‘I'd love to see you again.'

‘And again,' Joe prompted.

‘And again and again,' Carmen agreed with a surge of happiness.

‘OK, I know it's way too soon to be saying this, so I won't.' His breath warm against her cheek, he murmured, ‘But right now I'm
thinking
it wouldn't take much for me to fall in love with you.'

Heavens. This was like being in a Hollywood film.

‘Is that scary?' whispered Joe, beginning to dance again as the music changed to George Michael's ‘Careless Whisper'.

‘A bit.' Carmen nodded.

‘Sorry. Nice scary or get-this-creep-away-from-me scary?'

He was so lovely. She was so lucky. And his fingertips, drawing light circles on her back as they moved together in time with the music, were making her skin tingle in the most delicious way.

‘Very nice scary,' said Carmen.

Joe's dark eyes softened. ‘That's good enough for now.'

Rennie arrived back from New York on Sunday morning and reached Fitzallen Square at midday. Any fantasies of opening the front door and being greeted by the welcoming smell of a home-cooked roast dinner were cruelly dashed when he bumped into Nancy and Rose in the hallway. Rose was bundled up in a grey woollen coat, thick knitted scarf and hat.

‘You naughty boy, you'll catch your death of cold,' she scolded, eyeing Rennie's crumpled T-shirt and jeans. ‘You're not even wearing a vest. Now, are you hungry? Shall I make you something to eat before we leave?'

‘That would be great. Roast lamb, roast potatoes, carrots, leeks, parsnips, Yorkshire pudding and gravy please,' said Rennie. Then, catching the worried look on her face he said, ‘Rose, I'm joking. You're here on holiday, not to wait on us hand and foot. What have you been doing anyway?'

‘Seeing all the sights. Oh, it's been marvellous.' Rose's eyes lit up. ‘We went to see Downing Street yesterday, and Madame Tussaud's - what a place that was, all those marvellous people looking so
like
themselves. And Buckingham Palace. And the London Eye. We're just off out again now, to visit the zoo at Regent's Park. Why don't you come with us?' Rose gave his arm an encouraging pat. ‘Oh come on, it's going to be such fun!'

Fond though he was of Rose, Rennie couldn't imagine anything more awful. Standing in the freezing cold watching penguins swimming around in even icier water wasn't his idea of a good time.

Catching his eye, Nancy said, straight-faced, ‘I think Rennie's probably tired after his flight.'

Rennie nodded. ‘Thanks, but I'll just stay here. Maybe take Carmen out to lunch.'

‘Carmen? She's not around,' said Rose. ‘She went out earlier, with Joe.'

‘Joe again? You're kidding. What have I missed?'

‘Loads.' Nancy's tone was playful. ‘Carmen's in love. We've hardly seen her since Friday night.'