Page 49 of Ask Another Day

Holly cringed, she couldn’t stop it. ‘Do you always dress like Elvis?’

Her words affected him in a similar way she imagined a puppy looked when you took away their favourite toy, but she was tired so drove the point home. ‘I get you like him, but could we have an Elvis free evening?’

‘Oh. OK. Yeah, of course,’ he pursed his lips together and for an awful moment, Holly thought he was going to start crying. But when a second or two ticked by, and no tears came, she relaxed.

‘I saved us a table by the window. What would you like to drink?’ she asked.

‘Half a bitter shandy, please,’ he replied, a little less enthusiastically.

*

Holly made her way to the other end of the bar in search of her brother. But he was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Rose. Which could only mean one thing. She loved that they’d been helping her out at the pub, but she was finding their level of affection annoying. As the realisation sunk in, she breathed a little heavier. She didn’t like the version of herself she could so easily slip into these days. She always teased Luke and Rose, but that’s all it had been - teasing. The emotion that had swept through her just now felt scarily like resentment. And it was something she would not feel in relation to her brother. Six years ago, when Luke’s wife, Hannah, had died trying to rescue their dog from the sea, it was as if she had lost her brother too. He and Hannah had been perfect for each other. Without her, Luke was lost. He’d focussed all his attention on the cars in his garage and had more in common with machines than people.

Natalie’s birth had thrown him a lifeline. The role of uncle had brought a fraction of her brother back. And when they’d lost their parents the following year, Luke - all too familiar with grief by then - had stepped up and been there for Holly in more ways than she could count. But it was only Natalie who got to see his light. When he’d finally let Rose in, it was the beginning of a new chapter for him. One he deserved more than anyone. He was laughing again, spending time with Holly for reasons other than practical ones. It wasn’t the version of him with Hannah. This was a different, stronger, Luke. A man who knew what he had to lose. She wouldn’t resent him for finding happiness with Rose. Holly took that kernel of resentment and locked it away. The relief in her heart was instant.

*

She rested her crutches on the bar and lifted the access hatch. As she set to work on Brian’s bitter shandy, it felt good to be pouring a drink again. She’d missed it - Luke had banned her from the bar area after she’d smashed the third pint glass in the space of an evening shift. But that had been weeks ago. Holly started to contemplate how she’d get the drink over to her date, the sound of the pub door clicking shut caught her attention.

Her jaw dropped.

She couldn’t believe it.

Brian had ditched her.

He’d abandoned their date before it had even started. After a quick exhale or either relief of annoyance - she wasn’t 100% committed to either reaction, she downed the bitter shandy, and waited for her brother and Rose to appear from the cellar. At least causing them some embarrassment could salvage the evening for her.

Whilst she was waiting, she took her phone from her pocket and opened her fortune telling app. Tapping the screen, she asked her phone, ‘Did I sabotage a potential boyfriend because I couldn’t get over him arriving dressed as Elvis?’ She released her finger from the screen and watched as the image changed to a message saying The Answer Is No. She smiled, relieved the fortunes agreed with her. Brian was, thankfully, not the one.

Chapter 16

Absolutely Certain

One more week. Although Holly was desperate to start weight bearing, she was also terrified of finally standing on her left leg. Visions of crumpling in a heap on the floor of the physio treatment room threatened to have her cancel her upcoming appointment. But she didn’t because was determined to get her life back. At the review with her consultant last week, he’d said if she didn’t start walking soon, she wouldn’t get the full range of movement back. He’d already told her she’d get arthritis in that joint - exactly the sort of thing you wanted to hear months after celebrating your 33rd birthday. His words had scared her. She’d taken for granted how easy it was to walk. When you couldn’t, when you were reliant on the kindness of others to help you get from A to B, it showed you how isolating life can easily become. She wanted to play tag with Natalie, get back upstairs, back to her bedroom, back to being able to step in and out of her own bath.

Before those monumental events though, she had another of Rose’s dates to contend with. Nikolai looked good on paper - Holly had triple checked, so Rose had been given the green light to swipe right on him. She’d also been messaging him on Holly’s behalf and had reported back he’d been a perfect gentleman - no dick pics or lude suggestions. And most importantly, no Elvis connections, or aspirations to assist her in toilet cubicles. The decision for Rose to be in charge of the messages hadn’t been Holly’s idea. But after her brief interaction with Brian had torpedoed the date before it had even properly started, Rose had insisted on doing the ground work. And from everything she’d heard, Nikolai sounded good. Scratch that. He sounded great. But she’d been burnt by two of Rose’s dates and the odds weren’t in her friend’s favour.

‘Ooh, you look nice,’ Rose catcalled as she stepped into Holly’s makeshift bedroom.

‘Yeah? I call this look boot chic. You like?’

‘You can pull it off,’ she dodged the obvious lie. Holly was wearing a yellow cotton dress that sat above her knees - the delicate floral patterns made her smile when she’d seen it on ASOS last week and she ordered it on impulse. On one foot she wore her Dr Marten sandals, and the other was sporting the ugly supportive boot she needed to wear to support her left ankle. She knew it was a brutal clash of aesthetics, but early on in her recovery she’d come to terms with the fashion disaster that the boot was.

‘Remind me of the cliff notes for Nikolai?’ she asked as she reached for her crutches.

‘35. Web designer. Likes dogs - particularly basset hounds - he has two. Lives just outside Scarborough. Oh, and the pièce de résistance - he loves Jurassic Park.’

‘And the catch?’

‘No catch.’

‘There’s always a catch. Why is he single?’

‘Bit rich, Holly.’ Rose rolled her eyes, somewhat theatrically.

‘My catch is I’m a single mum.’ Holly emphasised her point with open palms and a smile on her face, owning her catch, happily.

‘Holly–’