Page 34 of The Golden Girls’ Road Trip

Rachel snorts. ‘Okay, you two, I’ll get the drinks,’ she says and I can hear her laughing as she walks to the bar.

‘Touché, Con,’ Alex says. ‘You always gave as good as you got.’

I don’t say a word, but hold a gentle smile back from my lips.

A little later Rachel arrives with a tray and places three drinks down on the table. Mine looks elegant with a froth, which must be the egg white, and a twist of lemon peel tucked over the rim of the cocktail glass. Alex’s looks just as lovely and I can smell the citrus from across the table. Rachel has something in a tall glass with ice and lemon.

‘Just a Coke for me as I’m working,’ she says, and we raise our glasses and toast, to good times.

‘This place is lovely,’ I say. ‘It’s warm and inviting, even for an old woman like me who’s more used to the pub.’

‘Thank you, Connie. There’s absolutely no age discrimination here, well, unless you’re under eighteen of course. I’ve had this place for about five years and we’ve made it pretty decent.’

‘And this is delicious,’ I say, taking another sip.

‘Better than the pub?’ she asks with a grin.

I raise my glass to her in response.

‘So, the exhibition was a success then, Lex?’ Rachel says. ‘I heard it was a sell-out. Will that make things easier, do you think?’

Alex looks uncomfortable for a moment, but then she seems to rally herself.

‘Did you hear that from Hank?’ she asks.

‘No, haven’t heard from him in ages. It was from Imogen. She phoned before she flew back to the States, said there were red dots everywhere.’

I’m watching Alex during this exchange and I see the moment she visibly relaxes.

‘Yeah, it was all good,’ she says, but I don’t miss the pointed look she then gives Rachel who busies herself with her drink.

‘Apart from those paintings not for sale of course,’ I say. The gin has made me want to do some digging and having Rachel here as a buffer could prove to be very useful.

‘What wasn’t for sale?’ she asks, and Alex stares straight at me.

‘Well, I had my eye on a lovely portrait of a young woman, but was told it wasn’t for sale. Sitter one, I think it was called. And then there was a gorgeous landscape of Loch Ness at sunset. It reminded me, a little, of a painting a dear friend gave me years ago, funnily enough. That wasn’t for sale either.’

‘That portrait had already been accounted for, I’m afraid.’

‘There wasn’t a sticker next to it,’ I say.

‘An oversight, that’s all,’ she says.

‘And the landscape?’

‘Well, that one has never been for sale. It should be in a pair, but unfortunately its companion disappeared years ago without a word or a trace.’

Her eyes are still on mine as I let her words sink in.

‘Shame to have lost the other one, Lex,’ Rachel says. ‘How did that happen?’

‘Stolen away, I’m afraid to say. The two together could have been wonderful, very valuable, but mine, on its own, to be honest, is worthless.’

I pick my drink up and take a sip, let the cool gin and warm triple sec flood my mouth.

‘I hope you find it,’ Rachel says, getting up. ‘I’m going to get you both the same again and then leave you to it.’

Rachel disappears behind the bar and it’s just me and Alex.