Lizzie turned her phone on during her afternoon break when most of the other girls went out to the smoking shelter or nipped to the loo. She went round to the side of the building, hoping that Eve might’ve messaged to say how she’d got on with the estate agent but she hadn’t. Instead, there were a dozen notifications from Paul, all missed calls from the last ten minutes or so. He’d obviously been trying to catch her on her break.
As she stared at the phone, it began ringing again. She glanced around then moved further away from the building as she answered.
‘What do you want?’ she demanded.
‘You. Spread out on the -’
‘Give it a rest, Paul.’
‘What? You asked me a question and I told you.’
‘Yeah, and I told you to leave me alone, didn’t I?’
Paul snickered. ‘Didn’t say I would. Look, right, the way I see it, you came to see me yesterday because you wanted me to talk you out of it. You want me chasing after you like all women do. Fine, I can take a challenge -’
‘It’s not a bloody challenge,’ she snapped.
‘Course it is. I’m not leaving you to be manipulated by that bitch, getting you into her bed -’
‘Shut up,’ she interrupted.
Maybe it was something in her voice but he went quiet for ten seconds. Then she heard him grinding his teeth.
‘Has she fucked you already? Is that what this is?’
‘It’s nothing to -’
‘She has, hasn’t she?’
‘Paul, will you just leave it? I’m going to hang up and call the police.’
‘Not a threat if I know you won’t go through with it.’
‘Don’t test me,’ she warned before hanging up.
Her hands were shaking as she turned her phone off again and stuck it in her pocket. Part of her wanted to message Eve but it was shame that held her back. Paul was like a virus she couldn’t get rid of and she’d brought him into Eve’s world, whether she’d meant to or not. After everything that’d happened last night and today, listening to Eve’s coded promises that this - them - was serious, she didn’t want to shatter the illusion. For now, she needed to believe in it.
A walk around the park after dealing with the estate agent gave Eve the clarity she required to determine her next steps.
As affable as Isaac had been about all the Foundation’s plans this morning, she was under no illusions that she could easily ruffle his feathers if she didn’t at least try to follow the type of process he would recognise. She wanted to present the idea of the Majestic as a community hub to him first, putting plans in place before she spoke to Jamie. If she could persuade Isaac to at least consider the possibility, it would bolster her case in all quarters, even though she was willing to step beyond his protocols to achieve her aims.
With that in mind, she messaged him when she got home, requesting that their Friday coffee plans be reinstated this week and that she should again meet him at the office. What she wasn’t expecting was a knock at the door forty minutes later and to find a breathless Isaac on the threshold.
‘Is everything all right?’ he questioned.
Eve stepped aside to allow him in. ‘There was no need to rush over.’
‘Call it a presentiment. You gave no indication earlier that you might want to meet again this week, so I deduced something must have happened to upset you. Is it the girl?’
‘What?’ Eve closed the door and led him into the kitchen. ‘Of course not. Look, let me make you a drink. What do you want?’
‘A cup of decaf. Put a sugar in it, please.’
The act of making the coffee gave her a few minutes to contemplate how she was going to approach this conversation. She would’ve liked more time to prepare her arguments into a coherent entity that would appeal to his sense of logic. Since there was no chance of that now, she supposed she would have to see where the tide took her.
Isaac took his coffee without comment then waited until she sat down before crossing his arms.
‘Okay, what’s wrong? What did you want to speak to me about?’
‘The Majestic,’ Eve answered.
He groaned theatrically. ‘Oh, Evelyn, would you let it lie? I’ve explained why I was there and, anyway, I thought we’d cleared up any misconceptions earlier. There’s no proposal for the Majestic in the Foundation’s plans. It isn’t even labelled on the development maps!’
His arrogance didn’t surprise her, although she was quietly incredulous that he would lie so brazenly just hours after placing the tools to contradict him in her hands. She rested her elbows on the table and held his gaze.
‘You’re lying, Isaac. I know your preferred site for the leisure hub isn’t any of the potential council sites. Instead, you’d like them to demolish the Majestic and then you can start over on the patch of land that attaches directly to the Chinterton Estate yet is still within reasonable reach of Newfields. Isn’t that right?’
‘Who on earth suggested that?’
‘Suggested? No, you confirmed it when you gave me those plans to look at. Did you think I’d simply glace at the summary maps and believe what they told me? The devil’s always in the detail, especially where the council’s concerned. I followed a few footnotes and ended up buried in the appendices. So, yes, I understand what the council’s plan is if the Majestic fails as a commercial enterprise.’
Isaac set his jaw. ‘With reading skills like that, you should be employed by the British Library. You’ll read the entire catalogue inside a month.’
‘Can we return to the point?’ she asked and he sighed.
‘Whatever caveats the council put into their development proposals are beyond my control. I would’ve hoped you’d realise that. Frankly, Evelyn, you’re behaving like a raving voter who doesn’t understand the difference between what the council can do and what would be better managed by mythical creatures or alien lifeforms. I’m not all-powerful, whatever you might believe.’
‘You want the Majestic demolished,’ she persisted.
‘I haven’t been discreet about that.’
‘Have you not stopped to consider that it could be a community asset in its own right?’
Isaac rolled his eyes. ‘The town doesn’t need a decaying cinema -’
‘Are you the sole arbiter on what the town needs? I thought you just said you weren’t omnipotent.’
‘With respect -’
‘With respect? You’re barely bothering to conceal your condescension.’
He spread his palms flat across the table, as though he was trying to compress his irritation into the wood. Eve could tell from the way his shoulders were quivering that it was a futile exercise. Rarely had anyone antagonised him so much in her presence; certainly, it was something she had never managed to accomplish herself. For a moment she savoured the control she had, wondering whether this was how it felt to be a person like him or a person like Karen. She could comprehend why people became addicted to the sensation and how it could transform them into someone else.
Isaac gripped the edge of the table and glared at her.
‘I have tried for years to get you interested in what goes on in this town. Karen didn’t care, and she infected you with that. There was never any support from the pair of you beyond the odd raffle prize. And now you’ve spent a couple of hours at the Majestic, you claim to know what could cure all the town’s ills?’
‘You’ll find that’s not what I said,’ Eve replied.
‘Then what is it you are saying, hmm? That I don’t know my brief or that I’ve been wasting my time?’
‘Perhaps simply that you’re myopic. You’re focused solely on young people. Older people -’
‘We’re failing as a society, failing our young. We need to give them the opportunities we had when we were growing up, don’t you see? More to the point, that’s where the funding is. Do you really believe we’d have the sort of reputation we do if we were handing out harvest hampers to little old ladies? Those days are long gone and good riddance.’
‘So, essentially, the old should go ahead and die? They’re getting in your way.’
‘That’s not what I meant,’ he answered in a softer voice. ‘Of course I don’t think that. Our parents are living vibrant lives -’
‘Because they have the means. The Majestic is close to several sheltered housing complexes and three care homes. All those residents would greatly benefit from the Majestic being in better condition. I’m not just talking about the cinema itself either. There are plenty of smaller spaces around the building that could be refurbished and used across multiple demographics. That would fit into your remit, wouldn’t it?’
‘The sports hub is funded -’
‘And can be funded on one of the other suitable sites. I’m not suggesting any money is diverted from that at all. But the grants offered by the Foundation could be used to help younger people use whatever services are sited at the Majestic. Over time, the whole thing becomes self-sustaining and we all get what we want.’
Isaac rubbed his forehead then took a ferocious gulp of coffee. ‘You’ve neglected the matter of funding or hadn’t you noticed? The building’s falling apart, the so-called owner can’t even afford to replace the most basic of equipment without a loan. What are you expecting him to do, hmm? Get the begging bowl out.’
‘There are pots of money available for cultural regeneration,’ Eve said as steadily as she could. ‘You’re aware of them, you apply to them.’
‘If you think anybody is going to give that boy regeneration money, you’re more delusional than I believed.’
‘We’ll see,’ she said.
More than a minute passed in silence. Isaac’s foot was thrumming against the floor, setting Eve’s nerves ablaze. The last thing she needed now was for him to draw any further connection between Jamie’s predicament and the millions she had access to. It was too soon for him to get an inkling of that, particularly when she had yet to speak to Jamie directly. She couldn’t bear to accidentally betray him by giving Isaac notice of her true intentions, so she moderated her tone with her next words.
‘I realise you don’t understand why the Majestic means so much to me. You think it’s a recent fad, don’t you?’
‘Isn’t it?’ he queried. ‘You’ve been visiting for a matter of months, you’re hardly a long standing patron.’
‘Films have always meant a lot to me, you know that.’
‘I hoped you’d grown out of it. Wallowing in the 1930s or whatever it is you watch. What about the here and now?’
Eve pressed her lips together. ‘Not everything has to be a crusade, Isaac. Some people are fit for them, I’m not. All I want is a quiet corner of the world where I can be left alone. I’m rediscovering who I am, not the woman who Karen moulded me into.’
‘You were what Karen needed throughout her career.’
‘Yes, and what consideration was given to what I needed? Everything that she was took something from me. Every decision she made to further her own career was one I couldn’t make. Who I wanted to see, where I wanted to go; it all became subservient to what she wanted from her life and what she expected from me. I suppose that’s what marriage to someone like Karen is about, but perhaps I would’ve coped better if we’d been in love.’
Isaac blinked. ‘What you and Karen had was beyond that.’
‘Beyond it? When I was younger, I couldn’t see anything beyond it.’
‘And that’s exactly what I mean. You want to live in a fantasy world and I prefer to live in the real one.’
‘Love isn’t a fantasy, Isaac. Or, at least, it shouldn’t be. I misunderstood what I had with Karen, I succumbed to the false assumption we were equal, faithful partners. That her higher purpose superseded everything else. What I didn’t know is that while I was here slowly caving in on myself, she was persistently seeing other women for the duration of our relationship.’
Eve stopped, waiting for his reaction. It came in the form of a shadow settling on his features and his eyes casting down to the floor. As the realisation settled into her core, she felt lightheaded.
‘You knew, didn’t you?’
‘I . . .’ Isaac massaged his temples. ‘We attended many of the same functions. Those events weren’t your kind of thing, but Karen frequently brought guests with her. It wasn’t explicit and, yes, I disregarded it -’
‘Ignored it, you mean.’
‘Relationships are complicated. It wasn’t my place to interfere in yours.’
His pragmatism was suffocating and Eve couldn’t bear it. She jumped up, crossing to the sink and running icy water over her hands, savouring the chill in her fingertips. Twisting the tap off, she spun back towards him. She could see the disdain in the curl of his lip, the crinkle of his nose. It was evident what he truly thought of her and she was struck with the sudden desire to upend his worldview.
‘I think I might be falling in love with Lizzie,’ she said conversationally.
Isaac’s expression juddered and he sprang to his feet. ‘You must be joking.’
‘Not at all. I’ve never felt like this before.’
‘She’s a child,’ he spat.
‘Don’t be ridiculous, she’s in her twenties.’
‘And you’re nearly fifty! This is ludicrous, she worms her way into your life -’
‘You don’t know a thing about it.’
‘I know she’s leading you on. Whatever she’s promised you, she won’t follow through on it. If you’re hoping a young girl like that would want to -’
‘Oh, she wants to,’ Eve interjected.
Revulsion flashed over his face. It took him a moment to master it, long enough for Eve’s confidence to waver. Only the memory of Lizzie coming apart in her arms last night convinced her that her version of reality was far more accurate than his.
‘I think you need a holiday,’ he said finally. ‘Get away from this Lizzie and everything that’s going on with the Majestic. It’ll all be clearer when you get back and we can talk seriously about what you’re going to do next. You’re right, you need something to do with your life.’
‘I’m not going anywhere just now.’
‘As I said -’
‘Isaac, I won’t be dictated to about who I can and can’t see. I’m a grown woman, for heaven’s sake.’
He let out a growl and stomped the length of the kitchen. Every jerk of his limbs reminded her of a petulant teenager, but she didn’t have a chance to point that out before a deafening banging on the front door reverberated around the house. Isaac pivoted on his heel, hands on his hips.
‘I suppose that’s your little girlfriend, is it?’
‘Of course not, she’s got a key,’ Eve replied automatically.
‘Well, aren’t you going to answer it?’
With that level of violence, she could only believe that it was Paul trying to force his way into her home again. The idea had her rooted to the spot, unable to risk an encounter between him and Isaac. That decision was immediately taken out of her control.
‘Whoever it is, they’re persistent. I’ll answer it.’
‘No,’ she said, stepping forward. ‘There’s no need for that.’
Isaac’s eyes narrowed. ‘Now we’re getting into something, aren’t we? I’m answering the door and maybe we’ll find out what’s at the root of all this madness.’
Eve darted in front of him and took off along the hallway herself. She absolutely refused to let Isaac treat her like a child, especially in front of a man who had inflicted those bruises on Lizzie. Opening her own door was the least she could to prove to both of them that she couldn’t be cowed.
Paul barged into the house as soon as she opened the door. Then he caught sight of Isaac and stumbled over his own feet, reaching out to the wall to steady himself. Perhaps it was merely that he hadn’t expected another man to be present, someone who might not be as easily intimidated by his physicality.
‘What are you doing here?’ Isaac raised his shoulders, giving himself a little more height. ‘Who are you? What do you want?’
‘Her to stop screwing my girlfriend,’ Paul hissed.
Isaac glanced between them. ‘Excuse me?’
‘They’re not together anymore,’ Eve said.
‘You’re a perv, aren’t you? Everything that dead bitch was into -’
‘You’ll stop right there,’ Isaac interjected. ‘You will not besmirch the name of a woman who was cleared of all accusations and isn’t here to advocate for herself.’
Eve blinked at the phrasing of that. Isaac wasn’t defending her honour; he was defending Karen’s. As if a woman who had repeatedly been unfaithful to his sister was worthier of his support.
Paul jabbed a finger in her direction. ‘It’s her I’m bothered about.’
‘My sister?’ Issac retorted.
‘Sister?’ Paul echoed then he sniggered. ‘Poor you, mate, that’s all I can say. I reckon I should -’
Isaac grabbed his arm. ‘All right, that’s enough. Get out.’
To Eve’s astonishment, he manhandled Paul out of the door and out of sight. There was a thud as someone or something hit a wheelie bin then Isaac reappeared a few moments later, his cheeks flushed.
‘This mess is intolerable, Evelyn. Have you any idea what it’s doing to your standing in the neighbourhood? There are curtains twitching everywhere.’
Eve bristled. ‘Why should I care about that? People gossip, they adore something to critique. I’m merely giving them entertainment.’
‘I can’t talk to you while you’re like this.’ Isaac stepped back through the doorway. ‘I’ll think about what you’ve said - about the Majestic - and I’ll get back to you. Goodnight.’
Without another word, he wrenched the door shut. The sound of it snapping into its frame recoiled around the hallway then left a deathly silence in its wake.
Lizzie heard the music rattling through the air as soon as she rounded the corner on to Blackberry Crescent.
The closer she got to the house, the more she recognised that something was massively wrong. At least two neighbours were stood in their doorways glaring across the street, plus there were others peeking out from behind their curtains. She picked up the pace and managed to get the door unlocked before anyone had the smart idea of coming to ask her what the hell was going on.
Inside, the music felt as if it was buzzing through the walls. It was some epic violin thing that probably sounded great at normal volume, but it was doing a good job of splitting her head open right now. After kicking off her shoes, she went straight into the living room and scrambled to find the right dial on the stereo. As soon as that had been turned down, she became aware of more music playing upstairs, though she couldn’t work out what it was until she reached the landing. It sounded like Elvis Presley singing through a helium balloon, something that made sense when she saw the ancient CD player propped up just inside Eve’s bedroom doorway.
Lizzie turned that off at the plug and absorbed the silence. She knew Eve was either going to be in the attic or the bathroom, but she couldn’t work out which until a splash gave her the answer.
She gently knocked on the bathroom door.
‘Come in,’ Eve called.
Her breath jammed as she stepped into a haze of steam and camomile. It wasn’t the atmosphere so much as the sight of Eve’s body glistening with bubbles. One leg was stretched out on the side of the freestanding bathtub pointing towards the windowsill where two candles were flickering. Then her opposite arm was resting on her knee holding a glass of wine. Every inch of her was either glittering from the bubbles or slick with sweat. Lizzie couldn’t stop staring.
‘I said you could come in,’ Eve pointed out.
‘The room or the tub?’ Lizzie asked before she could stop herself.
Eve inhaled sharply then put her wine glass on the floor, motioning her forward. Just the thought of getting into that bath was making Lizzie’s head swirl, though it took her a minute to summon up the courage to take her clothes off. Eve dipped her chin so that she wasn’t watching her, but Lizzie could see her fingers drumming silently into the air out of the corner of her eye.
‘How do we do this?’ Lizzie questioned.
‘Step into the bath - carefully - and try leaning back against me.’
‘I don’t want to crush you.’
‘Sweetheart, there’s barely anything to you.’
Hearing that word again made her shiver. Maybe it was a combination of that and the heat, but dipping her toe into the water opened up her body in a way she hadn’t expected. She crumpled back against Eve, tears burning at her eyelids.
Eve wrapped an arm around her waist. ‘Are you okay? Is the water too hot?’
‘It’s perfect.’ Lizzie took a long breath and shut her eyes. ‘What was up with the music?’
‘The house was too quiet.’
‘People outside were listening.’
‘Were they? Well, as I told Isaac when he dropped in, they’re always apt to criticise around here. I just gave them an excuse for it this time.’
‘Isaac was here?’
‘Oh, yes. He took my request that we meet at the office on Friday as an immediate summons. I’m afraid he caught me off my guard a little, but I wanted to give him a chance to consider the Majestic as a community hub.’
‘How did that go?’
‘As you’d probably expect. We got on to other things, it turned into a full blown row. You see, he - he knew about Karen and the other women, Lizzie.’
She twisted, trying to look into Eve’s face. ‘Seriously?’
‘Apparently it was an open secret to him,’ she answered with a grim smile. ‘I wonder how many other people that extends to within the town. I dread to think. At the best, they might believe it was an explicit arrangement rather than an outright humiliation.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Lizzie muttered.
‘Don’t be. It gave me more clarity about who Isaac is and what he expects from me. Paul turned up while he was here and Isaac was more interested in defending Karen’s memory than me.’
Lizzie flinched, sending a stream of bubbles over the floor. ‘What, Paul was here as well?’
‘He was raving like the other night, although I don’t know why he came here again to say the same things.’
‘Not exactly the same,’ Lizzie said quietly.
‘How do you mean?’
‘I answered when he called on my break because I had loads of missed calls from him. I thought it was best just to talk -’
‘You don’t have to justify yourself,’ Eve interjected.
‘I want to be honest with you about everything.’
Eve kissed her temple. ‘I can’t argue with that. Go on.’
‘There’s not much to tell. He was going on about me challenging him by staying here then he guessed we were . . . I’m sorry, it’s not like I meant to tell him.’
‘Shush, don’t worry about that. Are you all right?’
‘I’m fine.’ Lizzie nestled closer, feeling Eve’s warmth seep into her. ‘Did - did Paul tell Isaac?’
‘No, I’d already done that. I hope that was okay, I didn’t mean to be indiscreet.’
‘Don’t apologise, it’s - it’s fine.’
‘Are you sure?’ Eve pressed.
Lizzie swallowed as she tried to find the right words. She focused on the bubbles tickling her toes then at the way Eve’s body felt wrapped around hers in the water.
‘Do you remember what I said about you bothering with someone like me? That it was hard for me to understand why.’
‘Yes,’ Eve murmured.
‘Well, for you to tell Isaac when you didn’t have to . . . It’s amazing that you’d do that.’
Eve let out her breath, drawing her closer. Lizzie suddenly found their bodies were touching in places they hadn’t been before. She whimpered, tilting her head to the side just as Eve’s lips caught on her throat and a hand snaked around to cup her breast. Beneath the bubbles, Lizzie gripped Eve’s thigh and shuddered.
‘Do you want me to stop?’ Eve whispered.
Lizzie reached her free hand up to Eve’s hair, holding her in place as her tongue drew circles in the hollow of her neck. She let her eyes close and savoured the sensation. A few moments later, Eve’s fingers meandered down into the water and Lizzie let out a cry.