A chink of light coming through the curtain woke Bryony. Her head hurt and the light stung her eyes, making the throbbing worse. She opened her left eye gingerly. Thomas the Tank Engine looked down from the poster next to the bed and gave her a cheery smile. Bryony groaned and attempted to hide underneath the Power Rangers duvet. She tried to remember why she was in Freddie’s bedroom, and piece by piece the evening fell into place. Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a text message on her mobile. She reached out, fumbled for it and peered at the screen through sticky eyes.
She smirked and tapped out:
The phone illuminated once more:
Melinda was in the kitchen. She looked remarkably fresh-faced for someone who had drunk several bottles of wine and was already up and dressed at seven thirty.
‘Morning,’ she called. ‘Tea?’
‘Please. Is Sean in bed?’
‘Goodness me, no. He got up an hour ago and went for a run. He muttered something about his body being a temple, said he was going to make a hair of the dog and left me in bed. He’ll be back soon. He’s got to go to a job in Harrogate later today. He’s staying over. Hence the last-minute barbecue last night.’
‘Work? Today?’
‘Yes, not everyone gets two months off for summer.’ She grinned and handed a mug of tea to Bryony. ‘It was a good night, wasn’t it?’
‘Excellent although I have quite a few bruises from falling over so much.’
‘I thought you and Lewis made a great couple.’ She sighed heavily. ‘Shame you’re not exactly his type!’
‘It doesn’t really matter. I had fun and he’s such a laugh. He sent a text a few minutes ago complaining about being left outside in a wheelbarrow. He really got into the games and boy, was he competitive!’
Melinda rubbed her sore bottom and said, ‘He wasn’t as competitive as Sean. I like Lewis too. He’s an easy guy to like.’
Sean clattered into the kitchen, red-faced and perspiring.
‘Talking about me again?’ he asked.
‘No, big head. We were talking about Lewis.’
‘I knew I’d forgotten something. He asked me to tap on his door this morning. He’s got to go to London and didn’t want to sleep in. Maybe I should have invited him to come for a run first.’
‘I don’t think he’d have fancied a run. He’s got a lousy hangover and he woke up still lying in his wheelbarrow.’
Sean grinned. ‘My bad! He’ll be cursing us for a while. I’ll give him a call later. Got to grab a shower first. See you later, Bryony.’
‘Bye, Sean. Thanks for a super barbecue.’ She turned to Melinda. ‘I’d better get off and leave you and Sean to it. You got any plans for today?’
‘I could really do with a nice soak in the tub after all those drinking games. I’ll try to encourage Sean to scrub my back. And then I’ll go pick up an over-excited Freddie from his grandparents although I’ll probably have difficulty in persuading him to come home. We’re pretty boring compared to them. They’re talking about taking him skiing with them later this year when they go to the Alps. I don’t know where they find their energy.’
‘I could do with whatever magic energy pill they take too. Thanks too for letting me stay the night and for such a laugh.’
‘Did us all good,’ replied Melinda, hugging her friend. ‘It’s good to be a bit crazy sometimes. I’d better go visit the neighbours later to apologise for the noise we made. I’ll take them a couple of bottles of wine. That’ll help ease the situation.’
Bryony sat back in her chair and switched on her laptop. She felt refreshed after some breakfast, a shower and a change of clothes. She was glad the school holidays had begun and she didn’t have to go into work. The headache that had dulled her senses when she woke had now lifted and she was eager to recount the details of the night before to her sister. The memory of the events brought a smile to Bryony’s face and she wondered idly how Lewis was feeling.
Her inbox flashed. She had three messages; the first was from Tim, a work colleague and friend who had sent her a photo of the house he and his fiancée Suzanne were renting, and a brief message that stated, ‘If you find Mr Right, bring him here for a night!’ The second message was from the Sydenham’s chorea charity, reminding her about the fundraising event she had signed up for. She emailed them affirmation that she was participating in it. The last email caught her by surprise. She read it, blinked several times and read it again. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
Hi Bryony,
Congratulations! You have been successfully chosen as one of the first contestants on What Happens in.... In the style of all the best game shows, we’re continuing to keep the format of the show secret, but we can now reveal you won’t be acting as an individual contestant on this show. You will be working alongside another successful applicant who attended the Birmingham audition yesterday, to win a whopping prize of £10,000. Filming will take place over six consecutive days and all expenses will be paid by us, including accommodation and transport to and from a secret destination in France. As you were told at the audition, this is a last-man-standing show. That is still the case. Couples who fail in their challenges will be dropped from the show on a daily basis until we only have three pairs remaining for the final day. As this will be the first show to be aired, we require bubbly, enthusiastic participants like you. We were all genuinely impressed by your charisma and energy at the audition in Birmingham and I hope you still wish to take part in what we believe will be a hugely popular show. Please let me know as soon as possible if you are interested. You need to be available to travel on Sunday 23rd July. If you still wish to be a participant, I’d like to arrange a time for a Skype interview with you as soon as possible to reveal more about What Happens in…
Bryony wriggled on her chair in delight. July 23rd was less than a week away. Bryony let out a squeal of excitement. It was going to happen. She’d made it onto the show and would be able to appeal to the whole country. Somebody somewhere must know Hannah, and if Anneka Rice was hosting the show, Hannah herself might even watch it. Now all she had to do was find out if Lewis had also received an email and was going to be taking part. Surely he’d succeeded. He might even be her teammate. Or Jim – the man who had an incredible general knowledge. Her mind flipped over the possibilities and she hoped it wasn’t going to be Daphne, the woman who’d dried up in front of the camera, or purple-haired Tonya. She dialled his number but was greeted by an impersonal voice informing her Lewis could not be reached at that moment and inviting her to leave a message. Tempted as she was to blurt out everything to the answerphone, she decided it would be better to speak to him in person. It would best to find out if he’d got through before sharing her own success. She wouldn’t want to rub his nose in it if he’d failed the audition. Bryony liked having Lewis in her life even if it was only as a friend. She would try his phone again later. Now she had to share her news with her best friend. The email had given her something she had not experienced for a long time – optimism. This might be the best opportunity she would ever have to convince her sister to come home – that was, if Hannah was still alive.