Chapter 45
Eamonn’s son Sam had been left in charge of the shop while his dad was playing cricket. Mimi, having popped in to buy chewing gum, said, ‘How’s the web-designing coming along?’ and saw the boy’s ears redden.
‘Not so bad.’
‘Are you enjoying it?’
Sam looked a bit panicked. ‘It’s OK.’
‘I was having a look at Cal’s website last night,’ Mimi said gently. ‘I noticed a few of the links aren’t working all that well.’
The ears grew redder. ‘I know. I’ll get them fixed. I’ve just been busy.’
‘Well, I’ve sorted out a few websites in my time, so if you ever need a hand, just say.’
Hope flared in Sam’s pale eyes. ‘Really? That’d be good. I wouldn’t mind.’
‘Websites can be tricky, can’t they?’
He nodded vehemently. ‘More difficult than I thought.’
‘OK, now this is just a suggestion,’ Mimi looked at him, ‘but if you ever decide you’d rather not be in charge of Cal’s site, I’d be more than happy to take it over . . . you know, at some stage in the future—’
‘Or now?’ Sam blurted out. ‘You could take over doing it straight away. That’d be better.’
‘I can. Of course I can,’ Mimi said sympathetically. ‘Or if you prefer, I could just give you a hand, show you how to get things fixed—’
‘No.’ Sam was shaking his head vigorously. ‘I think you should do all of it.’ His ears were glowing like embers. ‘I like working here in the shop; making websites isn’t really my thing.’ Clearly relieved to have been handed a get-out clause, he admitted, ‘My dad thought it’d be good because I’m always on my computer, but I don’t know how to fix things when they go wrong. All I really like doing is playing Runescape.’
‘Seriously?’ She could hear the delight in Cal’s voice. ‘Oh my God, that’s fantastic! You are a star.’
Mimi wished he wasn’t a hundred-odd miles away at the other end of the phone. If she could have given him the news face to face, there was a good chance he’d have hugged her, which would have been even more fantastic. But he had taken Cora to his sister’s place on the Gower coast to celebrate her cousin’s birthday, so telling him this way would just have to do.
‘Poor Sam, he was so out of his depth but too embarrassed to admit it. He asked me to tell his dad, so I’ve just been over to the pavilion and spoken to Eamonn. He’s fine with it too.’
‘Relief all round,’ said Cal. ‘You’re brilliant. Really, thanks so much.’
‘If only all takeovers were as easy to sort out.’ His words made her feel all warm and glowy inside. ‘Anyway, I just wanted to let you know. I’ll make a start on the website tonight, but I need to get back to Lois now.’ Having cleared the situation with Eamonn, she was making her way around the perimeter of the cricket pitch. ‘Felix and Arabella are here.’
‘Ah, tricky. How’s she doing?’
‘Not great.’
‘I’ll let you go,’ said Cal.
I wish you wouldn’t, thought Mimi.
‘They’re still there,’ said Lois. ‘Not that I’m looking.’
‘I know.’ Mimi rejoined her on their bench outside the pub, deliberately positioning herself between Lois and the spot where Felix and Arabella Playdell-Grey were seated at the edge of the pitch watching the cricket.
‘Now you’re in the way.’ Lois peered to the left of her, then to the right.
‘I am ignoring them.’ Two seconds passed. ‘Have you seen that picnic hamper she’s brought along? Four different kinds of sandwiches! Cupcakes and cakes. And I bet you any money she made everything herself.’
‘How can you even see it all from here?’ said Mimi.
Lois patted her shoulder bag. ‘I may just happen to have a small pair of binoculars with me.’
‘Well that’s a good look. Let’s hope they don’t catch you spying on them like a lunatic.’
‘They won’t. I’m discreet. Oh don’t look at me like that,’ Lois wailed. ‘I know, OK? I’ve messed up big-time. I left my husband because I couldn’t stand my mother-in-law. Now that’s all sorted out and I actually like her – even if I still can’t believe it myself – and you’d think that’d make everything wonderful, except it hasn’t, because my husband has found himself a new girlfriend who just happens to have two legs and no scars, and to top it all she can make cakes as well.’
‘You don’t know that for sure,’ said Mimi.
‘Maria told me she’d heard that Arabella was nearly picked for Great British Bake Off.’
‘She wasn’t on it, though, was she?’
‘Yeah, but she was almost good enough.’ Lois moved her bag to one side as Paddy approached their table.
‘If you wanted to learn to bake, you could do it.’ Mimi gestured towards Felix and Arabella, who were now packing everything back in their hamper and rolling up the picnic rug. ‘Look, they’re going now.’
‘Probably off to have wild sex,’ Lois said gloomily. ‘And the last time I tried to bake a cake I forgot to add the eggs. It ended up being a frisbee instead.’
Paddy put down his drink and sat beside her. ‘Could this be anything to do with Arabella, by any chance?’
‘Don’t start making fun of me,’ Lois warned.
‘I’m not. I was over there just now, right behind them.’
‘I know you were. I saw you through my binoculars. Did she make those cakes herself?’
‘Actually, she did. And she offered me some too.’ Paddy’s blue eyes glittered. ‘The lemon drizzle sponge was out of this world.’
‘You’re a monster,’ said Lois.
‘She’s a sweet girl.’
‘I know, I know she is. Everyone keeps telling me, as if that’s somehow supposed to make me feel better.’
They watched in silence as Arabella and Felix carried their picnic paraphernalia across the grass to where Felix’s car was parked.
‘You were the one who left him,’ Paddy reminded her with a what-can-you-expect shrug.
‘I know that too,’ Lois sighed. ‘But at the time I thought something needed to happen. I suppose I hoped it would make Felix realise he did love me after all.’ She gestured in despair. ‘And then everything would be all right. I didn’t know he was going to meet the perfect girlfriend, did I?’
A butterfly landed on the wooden table. Mimi said, ‘Why don’t you tell him how you feel?’
‘Because then I’d look like even more of a loser than I already do. I can’t beg him to take me back, not when he so clearly isn’t interested.’
‘What if he was interested, though?’ said Paddy. ‘You couldn’t expect him to beg you. Not after you moved out. That would just be wrong.’
‘I suppose.’ Lois nodded sadly.
‘Oh dear.’ He gave her arm a companionable nudge. ‘You haven’t played this very well at all, have you?’
‘Do you think I don’t know that? You’re not helping, you know.’ A tear splashed onto the front of her T-shirt and she hurriedly wiped her cheek.
‘Are you crying? Don’t cry! God, don’t do that.’ Horrified, Paddy grabbed a paper napkin from the dispenser on the table. ‘Here, before your make-up runs. Sorry, I thought you were OK from the way you’ve been joking about it.’ As he spoke, he was reaching for his phone.
‘It’s called putting on a brave face, pretending to be fine.’ Lois pushed the phone away. ‘And don’t even think of taking a photo of me looking like this.’
‘I’m really sorry. And I wasn’t going to take a photo,’ Paddy told her. ‘The only reason I was teasing was because I’ve got something to show you.’
‘Well I don’t want to see it,’ said Lois. ‘What did they give you, an invitation to their wedding?’
He broke into a smile. ‘Come on, cheer up, you’re going to like this. Although I probably shouldn’t be showing you.’
Mimi saw Lois give herself a mental shake. ‘Fine, go on then.’ She leaned sideways to get a look at the screen and her expression changed to one of dismay. ‘Oh what, are you serious? A video of a cricket match? Do you want me to die of boredom?’
‘You’re an actual nightmare. Be patient,’ Paddy ordered. ‘Let me find the bit I’m looking for.’
Lois shrugged, mystified. ‘I don’t understand why you’d even video a cricket match in the first place.’
‘You heard about Old Bert from Hardy’s Farm, did you? Slipped over in the pigpen on Thursday and broke his pelvis. He’s stuck in hospital recovering from surgery.’ As he spoke, Paddy was searching at speed through the footage. ‘And he was upset about missing the match, so I said I’d record it for him. OK, here we go. Pay attention.’
‘To a game of cricket?’ Lois looked pained.
‘You don’t have to watch.’ He tapped his ear. ‘Just use these.’
Mimi and Lois both leaned in to listen to the sound of cricket being played whilst birds sang overhead and someone snored gently in the background. On the screen, a corner of tartan rug and the edge of a plate of sandwiches were visible.
‘. . . But if we don’t book soon, all the best places will be gone.’ The female voice was light and extremely elocuted. ‘We really should choose one now.’
Next to her, Mimi felt Lois’s shoulder tense up.
‘There’s no hurry.’ This time the voice was instantly recognisable as belonging to Felix. ‘Something’ll turn up.’
‘Holidays don’t just turn up, though. You have to arrange them and book them.’ Arabella sounded frustrated. ‘Which is why I’ve drawn up this list. All you have to do is pick one, then we can get it done.’
Mimi couldn’t help it; she reached across and paused the video. ‘Who’s that doing the snoring? It’s getting on my nerves.’
‘That’s me,’ said Paddy.
‘Oh. Sorry.’ Wow, who’d have thought it? Paddy Fratelli, the great seducer, snored like that.
‘You sound like a warthog,’ said Lois.
Paddy looked proud. ‘I don’t really snore. Once things started getting interesting, I had to make sure they thought I was properly asleep.’