‘It’s for a big veterinary practice near Bristol, just my thing, out in the country.’
‘I’ll keep everything crossed for you.’ She poured water in to the cups and let the teabags steep.
‘Did you call Theo’s mum?’
She took the milk from the fridge. ‘With this hangover?’ She winced when she laughed and it made her head throb. ‘No. I’ll call her later, make an excuse. There’s no way I’m going for Christmas, gathered around preparing turkey and all the trimmings when I know Theo had been lying to me.’
‘Well you can’t be expected to help with Christmas dinner, what with that broken arm of yours.’
‘Stop it. Don’t mess with me, not this morning.’
‘So what’s your excuse going to be?’
‘I was going to Sally’s again this year but Imogen’s persuaded me to go up to Yorkshire and stay at my parents. We haven’t had a family Christmas for a while so it’ll be nice. I’ll be back the day after Boxing Day to work through to when I go to Andorra. I expect I’ll try to see Theo before I go away.’
‘Even after what you know?’
‘Even after what I know. I wouldn’t feel right just not turning up ever again. We have a lot of history together, not all of it bad. Once upon a time we were perfect.’ She thought back to the day in the hotel room when Melanie had claimed she was part of the package, part of the other life Theo had been leading, one he was too ashamed to ever tell Lydia about. Part of her saw it as a feeble excuse to cheat, the other part of her felt sorry for a man who couldn’t defend himself and the accusations flying around. And Lydia knew, however she felt, she had to see him again.
‘You know, I think the trip to Andorra has come at just the right time,’ Lydia told Connor now. ‘After Christmas when the winter really sets in and everyone is beyond fed up, I’ll be able to get away, really get away.’
‘How long are you away for?’
‘Three weeks in total.’
‘Wow, three weeks is a decent time. Ian must have a budget to burn.’Connor topped up his tea with milk.
‘I requested longer so I could turn it into a holiday as well as a work trip. He changed the return flight at his expense, which was really kind, and I’ve got enough money to pay for the extra accommodation. I won’t be in the plush hotel Ian put me up in, but I don’t care, and it was easy enough to find a room for one. Sad, isn’t it?’
‘No, it’s not sad, it’s what an independent young woman would do.’ He smiled at her and she knew their friendship was intact. ‘Just do me a favour.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Don’t break any limbs skiing,’ he said. ‘Because our friendship only stretches so far and as lovely as you are, I’m not being your nursemaid.’
Lydia clinked her mug of tea against his. ‘Cheers to that. I intend to get very familiar with shops and spas on this trip and the ski slope will merely be a backdrop.’
*
Lydia spent the rest of the lead-up to Christmas getting organised for her trip. She found her ski jacket and had it dry-cleaned, bought a couple of pairs of salopettes because she knew jeans wouldn’t be warm enough, and she planned to shop in the January sales to find a couple of new jumpers.
Christmas in Yorkshire passed by without too much fuss and it was lovely to be with Imogen and her parents. The sisters had giggled at the obvious undercurrent about grandchildren one day and how the house would be much noisier. ‘My boyfriend’s in a coma,’ said Lydia shoving torn up wrapping paper into a box ready for recycling. Their parents were watching an old black and white movie in the lounge. ‘It’s gonna have to be you,’ she said to Imogen.
‘You’re sick, Lydia.’
‘Just trying to make sure the mood isn’t too sombre, that’s all.’ After so long, she was well and truly fed up with the sympathy, the pity, the looks between her parents as they wondered how fragile their daughter was. ‘So…how’s Robbie?’ Robbie was the new boyfriend and Lydia hadn’t seen her sister so enamoured with anyone for years.
‘He’s good.’ She knelt down to help pick up the stray strands of ribbon on the floor. ‘In fact, we’re getting serious.’
‘Are you?’ When Imogen stayed quiet, something her sister rarely did, she asked, ‘Why do I get the impression you’re holding out on me?’
Imogen took a deep breath. ‘Last night, he asked me to marry him.’
Lydia dropped the box and flung her arms around her sister. ‘That’s wonderful news! You hadn’t talked about him in a while, I wondered whether you were even still together. Why have you kept it all so quiet?’ She noticed Imogen’s expression. ‘Don’t tell me, you think because of Theo I won’t be happy for you, is that it?’
Imogen nodded, on the verge of tears. ‘You’ve had a shit year. The love of your life is hanging on by a thread and you have no idea what your future holds, but I do. And it feels wrong.’
‘Listen to me.’ Lydia took both of Imogen’s hands in her own. ‘Don’t you ever apologise for being happy and don’t ever think I can’t handle good news. You always tell me everything and I don’t want that to change.’
