Out Late with Friends and Regrets (31 page)

Fin opened one eye and looked at the clock.
 
Then she opened the other, seeking corroboration.
 
Eight o’clock!
 
The room was flooded with the warm light of the morning through the stiff cream blind.
 
What day was it? Was she supposed to be in the shop today?
 
Ah, it was Thursday.
 
She could leave it to Dek; she’d said she might come in, but hadn’t promised.
 
Petra wasn’t in bed, but there were sounds from the kitchen.
 
Perhaps she should get up.
 
Perhaps she couldn’t be bothered.
 
No, she ought to get up.
 
She lay torpid, counting to fifty, at which point she would throw the cover off, and...

“’Morning!”

Not too bad without make-up, thought Fin.
 
Hope I look OK.

“’Morning, Petra.
 
Oh, I can’t remember the last time somebody brought me tea in bed, fantastic!
 
Lovely cups.”

“Imari.
 
The last two without chips, so handle with care.”

“Oh, I will.
 
Are you working today?”

“No, thank goodness.
 
Hamish said to take some time off whilst I was house-hunting.
 
How are you feeling?”

Fin sat up, propping her pillow behind her.

“Not bad.
 
Thick head, obviously, but not as bad as expected.
 
The Alka-Selza saved the day, I think.
 
How about you?”

“Likewise.
 
I’ll know when I’ve had my tea.
 
The first one of the day is critical.”

“First cup is the deepest.”

“Pardon? Oh, yes, yes.”

The tea was perfect, rich in colour and a little translucent.
 
The two sat side by side in bed, sipping unhurriedly.
 
There were traces of tealeaves in the bottom of the cup, Fin noticed.
 
She must start making proper tea in a pot, sometime.

“Fin...”

“Yes?”

“How do you feel about last night?”

“Funnily enough, I was wondering whether I could pluck up courage to ask you that question.”

“Well, I asked first.
 
Come on, how do you
feel
about it?”

“I enjoyed it very much.
 
You were wonderful.
 
And so beautiful – you’ve got such smooth skin.”

“I wasn’t asking for a testimonial.
 
I suppose I wanted to know how you feel about... me.
 
Personally.”

Fin smiled into her eyes.

“I like you a lot.
 
I don’t think it was infatuation, exactly, but I was overcome with, er, lust for you last night.
 
I hope you don’t feel I took advantage, or anything.”

“No, it was me, actually.
 
I was a bit worried in case you felt I was the one doing the using.
 
Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re like some of the beautiful young men I fancy, slim and strong...
 
I’m still a dedicated heterosexual, don’t get me wrong, but now I can understand how powerful the sex drive can be with your own sex, even if you’ve never done it before.”
 
She put her hand on Fin’s leg.
 
“We can still be friends?”

“Of course!”

Petra took both cups, and got out of bed.

“Breakfast?”

“Oh yes, please!
 
Actually, I’m starving.”

“There’s a bit of a breeze this morning, but it’s nice and sunny.
 
We can have it outside if you like, I’ll get you a dressing-gown.
 
How about scrambled egg on toast with bacon and mushrooms?”

“Heaven!”

The little sitting-out area was sheltered from the wind by the dividing walls between the gardens, the scrambled eggs were fluffy and the bacon crisp.
 
All was right with the world.
 
Fin should be feeling guilty about her one-nighter, she supposed, but as Ellie had said, if you liked and respected a person, and hadn’t taken advantage of them... well, that was sort of what she’d said.
 
And Fin felt good.

“This is just the job,” she remarked, “thank you, Petra,” as she handed over her cup for a refill, and watched a pair of sparrows plunge into a dense bush next door.

“Fin? I’ve just had a thought – d’you like it here? Do you want to buy it?”

“What?”

“The house – my house? Or is it too small? It’s half the size of the Laurels, but I’ll do you a good price, no agents, quick exchange – what do you think?”

“Done.
 
I think I will.”
 
She winked.
 
“Subject to survey, obviously.”

“Obviously.”

They shook hands.

Fin took a long walk around the Triangle and its hinterland, and then into the city centre, which took half an hour at a fast pace.
 
The tour of the house had been promising: there was a back bedroom where Petra did her writing, which overlooked the tiny patch of indifferent grass which might one day be a garden.
 
It would be good to have an office.
 
The place had a good feel, it wasn’t too far from anywhere and she was unlikely to do better through an agent.
 
Of course, she would strike the best bargain she could with Petra, who she felt was better able to afford concessions than Fin herself.
 
That was still to come; neither wanted to commit to a price before the house had been valued.

But it was with a sense of real elation that Fin bounded up the stairway to 2B, and went hurriedly through the door ritual.

The usual.
 
Double glazing, conservatories... (Yes, please, do you make a conservatory to fit a three-foot gap at first floor level?), Farmfoods...
 
and a flyer which seemed to be about self-development.
 
There was wording about discovering “the real you”, and “your inner resources”, but no address or contact number.
 
When Fin looked more carefully, she saw that the bottom of the A5 sheet had been neatly torn across.
 
She took a very deep breath, and turned the paper over.

Nothing.
 
Nothing at all.

She re-examined the front.
 
“Be Ready For A Fuller Life!” it began, but no organisation was named anywhere in the text.
 
If there had been, it would have been at the bottom, she supposed.

There would be no point in asking Denise, or any of the other tenants about it.
 
It was obviously for her.
 
But there was nothing sufficient to take it to the police, either.

“Well, fuck you,” she said to the flyer.
 
She hadn’t realised her hand was shaking.

Then she filed it with the other one.

September was the soonest that could be managed for Petra’s move.
 
Fin’s lease ran out the week before, so she decided to stay in a Bed and Breakfast and store her boxes in the interim.

In a good-humoured bargaining session with Petra she had come to a favourable agreement over the house.
 
Petra was no mean negotiator herself, the antiques business requiring a good deal of skill in that area, and they settled on a price only slightly below the surveyor’s assessment.
 
Fin had no difficulty in securing the modest mortgage she needed to make up the shortfall between the money from the cottage and the price of the new house.
 

“If you want to move on the Sunday, Petra, I’ll help you,” said Fin.

“Oh, that would be fantastic,” said Petra, “I was wondering how I was going to coordinate everything, what with all my stuff coming from Storesafe on the Saturday.
 
I was hoping they could pick up the contents of the house en route, but they said no, that would have to be a separate job.”

“With a separate bill, presumably.”

“Oh, yes, of course.”

“I’ll give Ellie a ring and see if she’s free, shall I? She’s a big strong girl.
 
We could get a Luton or something, and do the move ourselves, couldn’t we?”

“Are you sure? I suppose there isn’t that much in the house, comparatively speaking, but having seen how some removal men carry on I’d prefer it to be you handling my precious bits –”

“With pleasure, madam. Any time.”

“Oh,
you
! But what about you, Fin, won’t you want to move on Sunday yourself? I thought you couldn’t wait to be out of that place.”

“I shall be out by then, the previous week in fact, and in a B&B.
 
But you’re right, I’m counting the hours.
 
I hate it with a passion.
 
It’s dark, it’s depressing, it’s manky. No wonder the neighbours all look miserable.
 
Do you know, Petra, I thought I was super-adaptable, I thought I could live anywhere, but now I know I can’t.
 
And then there’s the stalker-”

“No! A
stalker?
You never said.
 
Do you know who it is? Have you seen them?”

“It’s just a couple of flyers, through the letter box.”
 
It didn’t sound like much, saying it like that.

“How do you know it’s a stalker, then?”

“The first one said that whoever it is, was watching me, on the back.”

“That’s horrible.
 
What about the other one?”

“Nothing written on it, but the source was torn off the bottom.
 
It could have been different from the first one, a real flyer of course, but it just seemed strange.”

“That’s dreadful.
 
No wonder you can’t wait to leave.”

“At least it’s not long to wait, Petra.
 
So anyway, will you get a van organised or shall I? I’m getting so excited about the whole thing,
 
I can’t wait!”

“Oh, you do it, Fin. You’re so organised and efficient.
 
And you’ll ring Ellie? Let me know the arrangements...”

“I will.
 
‘Bye, Petra.”

Fin and Ellie met for coffee.

“Typical.
 
She’ll leave it all to you, if you let her,” said Ellie.

“I volunteered, actually.
 
And I really wanted to help.
 
I do like her.”

“Well, don’t get your hopes up.
 
She’s into young men in a big way.
 
I wouldn’t incorporate her into any of your fantasies if I were you.”

Fin smiled.
 

“OK.
 
But are you up for it, Ellie? The move? That’s the second Sunday in September.
 
And I got a great deal on her house, so I’ve every reason to like her.
 
Have you been in it?”

“Yes, a couple of times.
 
Good location.
 
It’ll suit you down to the ground.
 
Can’t make that Sunday, though, I’m going on a wine week to the Dordogne with Rachel and Dave.”