‘My new mobile.’
‘New? Jesus! Didn’t those things go out with the ark?’
‘New to me, then. I told Auntie Kay that I couldn’t justify splashing out on a smartphone and she said I could have her old one. I hadn’t appreciated it would be quite so old although I should have guessed with her being such a technophobe.’
Clare took the battered Nokia from me and winced at the weight. ‘This is bad.’
‘But it will have to do. For now, anyway. There’s broadband at home and I’ve got my laptop so I’ll give your online dating suggestion a go. I think.’
11
?? From Clare
Still can’t believe you bottled it on Sunday. This is your daily nag. GET REGISTERED ONLINE! NOW!!!!!
I smiled at Clare’s text and put my phone back in my pocket. Daily nag? More like five times daily!
It was the Wednesday after Clare’s visit. I’d had the shop plastered on Thursday and Friday last week then spent the last couple of days painting ready for the floor to be fitted. Mum had helped me paint and it had been lovely to spend two solid days with her. I was really close to my parents but hadn’t realised how much I’d missed casually chatting to Mum about nothing in particular. It felt so good to be back in Whitsborough Bay and surrounded by my family again.
Auntie Kay arrived at Seaside Blooms, as planned. She’d been so busy getting organised for her travels that I hadn’t seen her since the beginning of last week.
‘Wow! It looks fantastic in here now that you’ve painted.’ She turned in a small circle on the paint-spattered lino. ‘I can’t believe how big it looks. I should have done this years ago.’
‘It looked great when you had it. All I’ve done is freshen it up a bit.’
‘Thanks, sweetie. That’s very kind of you, but we both know it was looking a bit shabby.’ She moved to one of the walls and ran her hand down the smooth plaster. ‘Nice job. Who did you get to do it?’
My cheeks flushed and I quickly turned away and put my bag down on the pasting table. ‘Some bloke I found in theYellow Pages.’ After my disgraceful attempt at flirting with Stephen Lewis, I phoned round another eight plasterers (avoiding Stevens) the next morning and discovered none of them were available for several weeks. I then had a major attack of the guilts. Stephen had seemed like a lovely guy and he clearly needed the work. It was hardly his fault he was so damn gorgeous that I couldn’t put lustful thoughts out of my mind. I bottled any verbal contact, texting him to say he had the job and he should pick up and drop off the keys with Tara at The Chocolate Pot.
‘He’s done a great job,’ Auntie Kay said. ‘And I’m loving these cream walls. So much warmer than the white.’
‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘Clare’s coming up again the weekend after next to draw some abstract flowers on the walls. She’s good at stuff like that.’
‘Sounds lovely. Is she okay with your move home now?’
‘I don’t think she’ll ever love the idea but I think she accepts it. Cup of tea?’
‘I thought you’d never ask.’
‘I’ve got a question to ask you while the kettle’s boiling.’
Auntie Kay followed me into The Outback. I filled the kettle in the small kitchen area and switched it on. ‘What do you think about online dating?’
She stiffened. ‘I’ve told you before. I don’t want to meet anyone so don’t start that again.’
Crumbs! Hit a raw nerve there.‘Not for you, silly. I mean for me.’
‘Oh. Why didn’t you say so?’ Her voice had softened, but the fiddling with Grandma’s ring told me she was on edge. I’ve always thought it was a shame that Auntie Kay was single. Before leaving home for university, I set her up with the divorced dad of a schoolfriend. She spotted the set-up and traced it back to me. It’s the one and only time she’s ever shouted at me and boy did she shout. I asked Mum why she got so mad but she told me it was Auntie Kay’s business and she’d tell me if she wanted to. It became a taboo subject after that.
‘I thought it was obvious I meant for me.’ I threw teabags into the mugs. ‘Why would I suggest you start online dating when you’re about to leave the country?’
‘Good point. Sorry for snapping. I thought you said you weren’t ready to start dating again so soon after Jason.’
‘I don’t know if I am. It’s a scary thought after we’d been together so long, but I want to meet someone sooner or later and I don’t think it’ll happen through work. Clare came up with the online dating idea. Do you think I should give it a try?’
Drinks made, I ushered Auntie Kay to the desk chair then perched on the desk.
‘I don’t know anything about online dating,’ she said, leaning back, ‘but if you want to start dating, I know the perfect man for you.’
