Chapter Eight

‘Sam’s not coming in today,’ Louise told Nicci the following morning as she pushed up the metal shutters on the stall. ‘I’ve had a text from her to say she’s been throwing up. I hope she’s feeling better later, because she’s coming out with me tonight.’

Nicci fastened the straps on her overall and began to fill the till with coins. ‘You can’t expect her to go out if she’s ill.’

‘But she can’t let me down now.’

‘She isn’t letting you down. She’s ill.’

‘She isn’t ill. She’s just moping about Dan because she doesn’t know what to do.’

‘How do you know that?’ Nicci frowned. ‘Did she say something to you last night?’

‘No, but he hasn’t been around, has he?’

‘So you can’t just jump to that conclusion!’

‘Well, I—’

‘Just text her to see if she’s okay.’

Louise nodded but didn’t reach for her phone. ‘I’ll do it later, when I get a minute.’

Nicci reached for hers instead. ‘She might need you to fetch something for her. She doesn’t have anyone else to run around for her like we do.’

‘I know that.’

‘Well, the least you can do is ring to see if she needs anything.’ Nicci tutted. ‘You’re so selfish at times!’

‘I will ring her!’ Louise snapped, thankful for once that the front doors had opened and the Saturday morning rush to the stall had started. She wasn’t feeling too well herself, if truth be known, after too much wine the night before. After Sam left, and the girls had gone up to Charley’s room, she and Matt had shared a bottle of red. When he’d fallen asleep on the sofa around ten o’clock, she’d opened another bottle, only now regretting it.

Louise rang Sam and when she didn’t reply, sent her a text message asking if she needed anything. When a message came back after ten minutes to say she was fine and would call her later, she sighed, hoping she wasn’t going to let her down at the last minute.

As the morning wore on, regardless of her message, Louise’s thoughts turned to the night out and what she’d wear. When she went out with Sam, she tended to dress more conservatively now. On one occasion, she’d worn a really short skirt, low cut top and the highest strappy sandals she could find while Sam had worn jeans and a simple white top. Sam looked like she was going out for a meal rather than a good drink and dance session and it made Louise feel rather tarty.

But no matter what, she always had a laugh with Sam and she was desperate for a good night out with her again. It had been an age since the last time, just the two of them. Even so, Sam probably wouldn’t go to a club if she was well and that frustrated her. Louise wanted to stay out as late as possible. She was so bored with her days that she wanted her nights to be lively, exciting; as well as give her the opportunity to meet someone nice. Of course she could get casual sex from Rob Masters but what she wanted was a man to call her own, to meet someone that she had actual feelings for. Someone who would treat her like a real lady, who she could treat nicely back, and who wanted her for her mind as well as her body. Someone to help keep Charley in order now she’d morphed into a stroppy teenager.

Louise wanted someone to love her too. Sam had that. Why couldn’t she?

It was lunchtime and Sam still hadn’t changed out of her pyjamas. Her hair flicked up in places that it shouldn’t and as she’d downed most of a bottle of red before collapsing on the sofa late last night, what was left of yesterday’s make-up was still caked underneath her eyes.

What a disaster last night had been. The look on Reece’s face kept flashing in front of her eyes. She could almost put words to it. Hurt and humiliation, mistrust and rejection. She knew if she ever had the chance to explain, he’d never believe she and Dan weren’t an item – although Dan had certainly got under her skin in the few hours she’d shared with him.

If only he hadn’t turned up unannounced. She could have talked things through with Reece and decided where they were going first. Then she could have dealt with Dan, either telling him not to pursue things, or giving him the go ahead. Or indeed, waiting because she was so unsure about either.

She cursed out loud. How could she feel sorry for herself? She’d let Dan smooth talk her and had turned into a tart without a second thought for her marriage. Okay, she could blame some of it on loneliness but that didn’t mean she should have acted inappropriately with another man to make herself feel better. What she’d done was unthinkable and no matter how much she cried, it wouldn’t change the past. She’d let Reece down. Their marriage was over, even if she didn’t want it to be.

And Dan, what was she going to do about him after sending him away? At least he’d taken his flowers with him so that she hadn’t got a constant reminder of how everything had gone wrong in a matter of minutes.

The tears started again. What was she going to do? She needed to talk to Reece, explain what had really happened. She reached for her phone and dialled his number, but there was no reply.

‘It’s ringing but she’s still not answering,’ Louise told Nicci two hours later. Her fingers and thumbs flicked over the keypad of her phone. ‘I’ll text her, see if she’ll call me later.’

‘I wouldn’t hold out much hope of her going out then,’ Nicci warned as she weighed out two kilos of potatoes for an elderly gentleman and popped them into the carrier bag he was holding out. ‘You’ll have to rethink your plans.’

‘I’m not going out on my own again.’ Louise sighed. ‘It’s like being Belinda no-mates. And even I know I need to keep myself away from Rob Masters this week. It’s just not healthy.’

‘And you don’t exactly set a good example for Charley now, do you?’

Louise looked on in horror. ‘Charley doesn’t know about him! I’d die with embarrassment if she did.’

Nicci placed half a white cabbage on top of the potatoes in the carrier bag. ‘You’d be surprised how much Charley does know. She’s not a child any more.’

‘I know, but even so …’

‘You need to be careful that she doesn’t get the idea that it’s okay going around doing that, because it isn’t. Especially at her age. That’s £1.72, Mr Austin. Ta very much.’

‘You make it sound much worse than it is!’ Louise protested, but her younger sister just shook her head.

While she served the next customer, Louise mulled over what Nicci had said. Was she a bad influence on her daughter? Would Charley grow up to think that love was hard to find and that it was okay to have casual drunken sex nearly every weekend on a night out? If she did, then yes, it would be her fault.

She stared ahead, noticing that Jess was chatting to Ryan, over on his stall again, whispering together like a pair of kids. Matt was showing a customer a few phone covers, but looked like he was trying to listen in on their conversation too; Louise saw him glancing over whilst trying to keep his customer interested in a sale. Even when he’d popped one of the covers in a bag and rung it up on the till, Ryan and Jess were still talking.

‘Matt!’ Louise shouted over. ‘You going out tonight?’

‘Yeah,’ he shouted back. ‘I told you I’m meeting a few mates in ‘The Duck’. Do you want to come along too?’

Louise kept her sigh to herself. Even though she’d asked him once already, she’d hoped that he’d change his mind and be around to keep an eye on Charley while she went out with Sam. Although Charley was nearly sixteen, Louise hated the thought of her being alone until the early hours of the morning, and she couldn’t sleep over at Sophie’s every weekend. Her night out definitely looked doomed now.

‘I think I’ll stay in and grab another takeaway,’ she shouted back.

‘I can share it with you, if you like?’

‘No, you go out. It’ll do me good to stay in for once.’

‘Okay. But let me know if you change your mind.’

Louise turned back to see Nicci shaking her head again.

‘What now!’

‘You shouldn’t take him for granted.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I know you wanted him to look after Charley.’

‘No, I did not!’

‘Then who was going to look after her while you went out gallivanting with Sam?’

Louise didn’t have a lie ready and was annoyed that her little sister could read her so easily.

‘Stop going on at me,’ she snapped. ‘Anyone would imagine I only think of myself. I happen to care about other people too.’

‘Only when it suits,’ said Nicci. ‘I know you too well. You’ll wear Sam down by ringing her all afternoon until she gives in, no matter how poorly she is. And Matt will do anything for you and Charley. He’s already said he’d drop his plans to stay in for you. He’s a really good friend but you treat him like a hired help.’

‘I paid for the curry last night and all the drink to go with it!’ Louise retorted.

‘That was only to butter him up so that he would help you out tonight. Why didn’t you ask him then if he’d watch over Charley, before he’d made plans?’

‘He told me he’d already arranged to go out last night.’

Nicci tutted. ‘You’re trying to make him feel guilty, aren’t you? You selfish cow! You’ll do anything to get your own way. Honestly, Louise, sometimes I’m embarrassed to call you my sister.’

‘Thanks a lot, Nicci!’

As Nicci marched over to a woman holding a bunch of bananas aloft, Louise heard her mobile phone beep. She read the text message that had arrived and huffed loudly. It was from Sam. She wasn’t going to make it tonight.

After hearing the conversation shouted across between Matt and Louise, Jess sidled over to the boys’ stall. Maybe she could use this news to her advantage.

‘So, you’re off out tonight then, Matt?’ Jess queried, wrapping her hair playfully round and round her index finger as she stood talking to him and Ryan.

Matt nodded. ‘Yep, you can join us if you like. I think Nicci and Jay are coming out too.’

‘I’d rather eat my own vomit,’ she muttered.

‘Pardon?’

Jess stifled a giggle. ‘I said I might just do that.’ She turned back to Ryan. ‘Will you be there?’

Ryan huffed. ‘Me? Naw.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because he stays in with his wife,’ said Matt pointedly.

Jess knew he was trying to warn her off, but she ignored him.

‘Why don’t you come out on your own?’ she asked Ryan. ‘Are you under the thumb?’

‘No!’ said Ryan, a little offended. ‘I do go out some weekends, but not all of them. The twins take up a lot of our money.’

‘I might have to babysit for you one night,’ she whispered to him. ‘Then you could give me a lift home. I’ve seen the films; the babysitter always gets the husband.’

Ryan nearly choked with laughter. He spluttered, patting himself on the chest.

‘Something stuck.’ He glanced at Matt, who looked nonplussed. He’d missed the comment again but realised that had been intentional. Jess didn’t want him to hear what she had said to Ryan.

The tension on the stall when the two of them were together was more than electric. It was primal. Matt frowned as their heads bowed together again and Jess began to giggle. He had to do something to split them up.

‘Ryan, we need some batteries fetching from the stock room,’ he said. ‘Size AA and AAA. I’ll watch the stall while you fetch them, if you like.’

‘There’s enough under the counter for now,’ said Ryan, never taking his eyes from Jess.

‘Jess!’ Malcolm shouted over. ‘I need a hand over here!’

Jess sighed. ‘Another day, another dollar. I’ll catch up with you later.’

Ryan grinned. ‘You can count on it, my lovely.’

Matt shook his head in annoyance. Ryan was such a snake at times. He wished he would realise how lucky he was to have a wife like Sarah, and two lovely little girls. The fact that Ryan seemed willing to throw it all away for some young tramp – again – was beyond his comprehension.

Well, he had covered for him before and felt bad about it. He wasn’t going to do it again.

When they finally finished for that evening, Louise went home in a strop. All week she’d had a feeling that Sam would let her down at the last minute. She seemed completely out of sorts but didn’t want to talk about it, even when pushed. Louise had even suggested she call round to see her but Sam had declined company altogether. Which meant either Louise went to the pub with Matt and his mates and came back early because of Charley, or she stayed in and moped alone. Choices, choices, she thought wryly. So many of them.

Charley was in the living room when she went in and if Louise wasn’t mistaken, she had actually run the hoover over the carpet. She eyed her daughter suspiciously, wondering what she was after.

‘You okay?’ She asked as she shrugged off her thick fleece. ‘Thanks for tidying up.’

‘Well, you work hard, so I should do my bit every now and again.’

Louise paused, momentarily lost for words. She wanted to ask if her daughter had been abducted by aliens and replaced by a goody two-shoes clone while she’d been at work.

‘Have you eaten?’ she asked instead.

‘No, but Sophie is coming around later. We could nip to the chippie, if you like? Oh, you’re going out, aren’t you?’

Ah, that explained everything. Louise assumed she and Sophie wanted some time to themselves. At least they were back on speaking terms again. She sat down beside her on the settee.

‘Well, I was going out.’ She sighed loudly. ‘But Sam is poorly.’

‘Oh.’ The look of disappointment on Charley’s face was clear.

‘What are you up to, Charley Pellington?’

‘Nothing!’ Charley answered quickly. ‘We were going to watch a DVD, that’s all.’

‘Sounds like a good idea.’ Louise thought a little teasing was in order first. ‘If I stay in with you, we could order in pizza and make it a real girlie night, if you like.’

‘Cool,’ said Charley. Her pout said anything but.

Louise laughed as she stood up. ‘I suppose I’ll crash Matt’s night out and give you some peace. I’m only going to the local, mind. I’ll be back around eleven so you won’t be on your own for too long. Would Sophie like to sleep over?’

Charley tried to hide the grin spreading across her face. Perfect. She reached for her phone to text Sophie the good news.

‘Good to go! It was a piece of cake!’