| |
The phone call was from Emily. Helen was pleased to hear from her. She could be an independent witness to Alex’s madness. ‘I’ve just had a whole motivational presentation about applying for Sansom’s old job and ...’
‘I don’t think it was enough.’
What wasn’t enough? Helen paused, trying to match up Emily’s answer to what she’d been saying. It didn’t help. ‘Sorry?’
’I got Dom to help me with a driving lesson. It was fine. I thought it was fine, but what if it was too little? What should I do?’
Helen still wasn’t following the conversation. ‘What?’
‘You said I had to make him feel needed. So I got him to give me a driving lesson.’
‘Right.’ A driving lesson? Helen was not expert in matters of the heart, but even the most basic reading around the subject would probably tell you that driving lessons weren’t romantic. She pulled the phone cord away from the wall and sat down on the floor.
‘So what do I do now?’ The anxiety in Emily’s voice was only just below the surface.
Helen didn’t want to get drawn back into this. However much she told herself she was being a good friend to both Emily and Dominic, she couldn’t quite get the tiny devil Helen off her shoulder. Tiny devil Helen thought she was being pathetic. Actually tiny devil Helen thought Emily was being pathetic. ‘You know you shouldn’t have to make him love you.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well if you’re unhappy talk to him.’ Helen paused. She was preaching the value of honesty and openness. She was a hypocrite. She gave tiny devil Helen a hard look. ‘Sorry, but you’re his girlfriend. You know what he likes.’
‘Please Helen. You said you’d help.’
Helen took a deep breath. Emily could make her own choices, and those choices should be respected by her friends. So, what could she suggest? ‘Well his family are a big deal to him. Obviously he was totally in awe of his dad, but family generally is a big thing.’ The devil popped back up. ‘But you must know that. I bet you’ve met them loads.’ Emily had never been taken to meet the parents.
‘Well he knows my dad quite well.’
Helen sighed. She couldn’t do it. Being bitchy for her was a moment of spite followed by days of guilt and self-recrimination. Her belief in the sisterhood ran too deep. ‘Yeah, but in a work way. Maybe you could invite him to something with your dad and Tania outside of work.’
‘Don’t say Dad and Tania.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because they’re not a proper couple. It’s a moment of insanity. It won’t last.’
Helen didn’t reply. Professor Midsomer was engaged. It sounded like it might well last. ‘Okay, well your dad anyway. Make Dominic feel part of the family. He’ll appreciate that.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yeah.’ Of course she was sure. She’d undertaken a decade long study of the character of the man. She was just too cautious to ever shift her theories into action. They wrapped up the conversation, but Helen didn’t move. Maybe Alex wasn’t the mad one after all. At least he had a plan for her future. She pulled herself back to her feet and marched into the lounge. She picked a marker pen from the tray at the bottom of the flip chart and turned the pad to a new page. In capital letters she wrote a new heading. OPERATION GET OVER DOMINIC.
Alex watched her from the sofa. ‘Seriously?’
She nodded. ‘He’s with Emily.’
‘Which you said you were fine with?’
‘I am.’
Alex raised an eyebrow.
‘I’m not fine yet. But I’m going to be. I need a plan.’ She stopped and stared at the rest of the empty flip chart. ‘I’m not sure what the plan should be.’
Alex jumped up. ‘You need to get back out there.’
‘Out where?’
‘Out dating. You need to meet new people, to help you forget about the old people.’
Alex grabbed the pen and wrote ‘speed dating’ and ‘internet dating’ on the paper.
Helen shook her head. ‘I’m not sure. I’ve been on dates. Dating people are weird.’
‘Not all of them. The trick is to meet enough. If you meet enough people, some of them are bound to be acceptable.’
Helen wasn’t sure. The whole notion sounded horrendous. She liked familiar people. She liked people she already knew. Meeting new ones was traumatic.
Alex slung an arm over her shoulder. ‘We’ll start with speed dating.’
‘We?’
‘Definitely.’ He nodded.
‘I don’t need a chaperone.’ She glanced at her lodger. ‘Not one that’s going to be better at it than me anyway.’
He laughed. ‘So you’d rather go on your own?’
Well obviously not. ‘Together then.’
‘Together. One for all. Like the Muskehounds.’