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By half past seven, I’m as fluffed and primped as I can be. I’ve exfoliated, depilated, moisturised and conditioned, and I’ve run out of ideas to pass the time. Something Lee said last night comes back to me, and I reach for the phone to call Ava, my sister.
7
It’s just after lunchtime when I arrive at the station in Harrogate and I’m relieved to find Ava waiting for me outside, her battered Mini looking even sorrier for itself than when I saw it last.
‘If this were a horse, someone would have shot it by now,’ I laugh, after we’ve hugged tightly and she’s thrown my overnight bag into the boot.
‘Behave. It got me here to pick you up, didn’t it?’ she retorts, as the engine bursts into life with a deafening clatter. ‘Plus, it’s a lot more car than you seem to own.’
‘I’ve told you before, I don’t need a car. We have public transport in Leeds.’
‘Very fancy, I’m sure,’ she replies, arching her eyebrow. This is almost like a dance we go through every time I see her. Ava is what you’d call ‘down to earth’. She works as a nurse at Harrogate district hospital and, like most nurses I’ve met, doesn’t generally believe in sugar-coating things.
‘So, explain to me again this fraud you’re caught up in?’ she asks, as we leave the town behind us, heading for the village where we grew up, and she still lives with her husband, Ben.
‘It’s not fraud!’ I complain. ‘Basically, we lost a contract to a rival and, an hour after he found out, Lee handed in his notice to go and join said rival. Orchestra think he’s pulled a fast one and, because I’m his girlfriend, I’m implicated.’
‘Mm. Too slippery by half, that Lee. I’ve always thought so.’
I sigh. This is another well-worn conversation. ‘I know. You’ve never trusted him.’
‘With good reason!’ she retorts. ‘He’s dumped you right in the shit, hasn’t he?’
I haven’t shared my new misgivings about Lee with Ava; I just told her the bare bones of what had happened and asked if I could come and stay for a few days. She’s never made any attempt to conceal how she feels about him, and I really don’t want to stoke that fire now. If she spots any chinks in the armour of my relationship with Lee, she’ll be straight in there with a poison arrow to try to finish him off. The feeling is mutual, to a large extent, which is probably why he suggested I visit while he’s away.
‘So, how long do we have the pleasure of your company for?’ Ava asks.
‘I don’t know yet. It depends when I hear from Orchestra. Friday at the latest, I’d have thought. Is that OK?’
‘Of course it is, you daft bugger! Stay as long as you like. Mum and Dad will be pleased to see you, and I’m sure Ben will be too.’
‘Haven’t you told him I was coming?’
‘No time. He won’t mind, though, you know what he’s like. It’s good to see you, Ella. It’s been far too long.’
With a stab of guilt, I realise she’s right. Although we visit Lee’s family religiously every month, it must be nearly three months since I was last here, and I was alone that time as well. Thinking about it, Lee has managed to have a diary clash every time I’ve suggested visiting my family this year, apart from last Christmas, when he knew he wouldn’t get away with it. I didn’t notice at the time but, looking back on it, it’s too regular to be a coincidence. I’m generally fairly easy-going about social stuff, but I’m starting to suspect that Lee has taken advantage of my flexibility to ensure we only ever do what he wants to do. I file that thought away for future consideration and return to my current predicament.
‘I’m not going to say anything to Mum and Dad about being suspended,’ I tell Ava. ‘I don’t want them to worry.’
‘Are you sure? You’ll need to tell them something, and you can quickly get in a mess with a lie. Remember when you didn’t want to tell them that horrible girl in your class at school was bullying you, so you said she was really nice in private, and then they invited her to your birthday party and actually thanked her for being there for you? What was her name?’
‘Rebecca Studland.’ I shudder as the memory comes back. I can still feel the burning humiliation as she ridiculed my house, my parents and everything about her experience to a rapt audience in school the next day. I never did have the guts to tell Mum the truth about her, but I made sure I ‘lost’ any future invitations and made up excuses as to why she couldn’t come round again. Ava is right, it did get exhausting after a while, and it was a relief when we went to different secondary schools and I lost touch with her.
‘Maybe you’re right,’ I agree. ‘I’ll think about it. I wonder where Rebecca is now.’
‘In prison, with any luck!’ Ava laughs.
A little while later, the familiar sign welcoming us to Wistlethwaite and asking us to drive carefully through the village indicates that we’ve arrived.
‘I’m on shift at three, so I’m going to drop you and run, I’m afraid,’ Ava tells me as we pull up outside her house and she shuts off the engine. The sudden silence is a welcome relief, and I sigh with pleasure as I unfold myself from the passenger seat. ‘Ben’s working locally at the moment, so I imagine he’ll be back at around half past four. Teddy will keep you company in the meantime, and you’re to help yourself to anything you want, OK?’
Teddy, Ava’s Labradoodle, appears as soon as she opens the door. He can’t seem to decide whether he’s delighted to see me or I’m a threat, because he’s wagging his tail and barking furiously at the same time. He rushes back indoors, only to reappear a few moments later with one of his toys, but he’s still growling, even though his tail is thrashing with delight.
‘Shut up, Teddy. It’s Auntie Ella, you idiot,’ she rebukes him. ‘Just push him out of the way,’ she tells me as he completely blocks the doorway and insists on sniffing every inch of my overnight bag. Once I’m actually inside the house, he suddenly decides I’m no longer of any interest and lies down on his bed with a sigh. I reach down to scratch his ears, and he presses his head into my hand, loving the attention.
‘He’ll be your friend for life if you keep doing that,’ Ava smiles. ‘The lead and poo bags are in the utility room if you fancy taking him out. Right, I’m going to love you and leave you. I’m only covering for a few hours today, so I’ll be home later for a proper catch-up. I assume you can remember where the spare room is?’
‘Ha ha. Go and save some lives, or whatever it is you do.’
