Chapter Forty
Amber’s Monday had been…peculiar. At her boss’s insistence, she’d gone home to bed. Mr Tomkin had already claimed some of the duvet, and was curled in a tight ball.
‘All you ever do is sleep,’ Amber grumbled to the cat. He looked at her with half-closed eyes, his purrs punctuated by funny brrrrrppp noises. Amber mimicked the sound and the cat rolled on his back, paddling his paws in the air. Whatever brrrrrppp meant, it was obviously a good word in cat language. Amber copied him and laid back. ‘Oh, to be a cat,’ she murmured. ‘All you have to worry about is sleeping, eating, hunting, and then repeat.’ She hadn’t taken her coat off, but would do so in a minute. She needed to close her eyes, only for a second or two.
Five hours later Amber awoke with a start. Sitting up, she yawned and started to stretch, but found herself confined by her winter coat. Shrugging it off, she shivered. Outside, grey winter daylight cast gloomy shadows over the bedroom walls. Struggling to her feet, she moved across to the landing and ramped up the temperature on the heating thermostat. She felt so cold. But then again, she’d been feeling cold ever since evicting Matthew. Her thoughts strayed to Chrissie and Dee. She felt dreadful that Steve had sent her home when her two besties were also having a rubbish time. Feeling guilty, Amber picked up the phone and telephoned Dee’s mobile. It went to voicemail. She tried again, this time ringing Dee’s personal landline at Hood, Mann & Derek.
‘Alan Mann’s office, can I help you?’
‘Dee, it’s me.’ Was it Amber’s imagination, or had there been a very long pause? ‘Are you there?’
‘Hi…um…can’t stop, Amber. Really busy.’
‘Yeah, I thought you would be. Listen, I’m so sorry you were left with all my work. I shouldn’t have listened to Steve. I feel terr–’
‘No worries. Must dash. Need to get the post signed.’ Dee had hung up.
Undeterred, Amber then phoned Chrissie who gave her virtually the same response. Amber began to feel anxious. Were her besties furious she’d wimped off leaving them up to their eyeballs in leases? What Amber couldn’t have known was that both Chrissie and Dee didn’t want to talk to her until Steve had spoken to her. The last thing they wanted was being boxed into a metaphorical corner by Amber’s relentless questions once she put two and two together, and realised everyone was behaving rather weirdly.
As Amber slowly put her phone down, she decided to take cakes into the office tomorrow as a “sorry” present for her friends. With that thought in mind, she turned her attention to getting ready for dinner with her boss.
***
Amber stood back from her bedroom mirror to critically study the “overall effect”. Ironically, her skin was glowing like somebody who’d overdosed on happiness. In fact, the rosiness was simply down to lingering in a hot bubble bath. She’d piled her hair into a messy bun and tendrils fell in loose curls around her face. Her make-up was flawless, which was a miracle considering her hands had trembled like Mr Tomkin having his annual booster at the vet’s. As she threaded some dangly earrings through her earlobes, Amber reminded herself this wasn’t a date. So why was she feeling so nervous? It was basically a meeting with her boss – dinner just happened to feature. This was Steve for goodness sake! The man she bantered with in office hours, and who gave as good as he got in return. He’d made it quite clear there were things she needed to know, and that he wanted to be the one to tell her. For the life of her, Amber hadn’t a clue what Steve had meant by that. And then she groaned as a thought occurred. Oh no. It had to be redundancy. Steve wanted to give her the heads up away from the likes of young Jessica in Accounts who made office gossip her personal business. Grrrrreat. That was all she needed. First boyfriendless, and soon jobless – not good when there was a mortgage to pay.
Mr Tomkin weaved around her ankles asking politely if his mistress could possibly stop preening in front of the mirror and sort out his tea, and if there was any more fillet steak going begging, that really would be rather splendid.
‘I know exactly what you’re thinking,’ said Amber to the cat. ‘If I get made redundant, the pair of us will be eating nothing but beans on toast until I find another job.’ And then Amber chided herself for not only talking to her cat, but also imagining that her cat had been talking to her. She was losing the plot. This break-up with Matthew had literally pushed her to the edge of having a nervous breakdown. She rammed her feet into some stilettoes and grabbed her coat. ‘Come on,’ said Amber to Mr Tomkin. ‘Let’s go to the kitchen and I will feed you. But be warned. Your saucer will contain supermarket tinned meat. Not steak. And yes, I know I’m talking to you again as if you’re a human being, but unfortunately your mistress isn’t quite the full ticket at the moment.’ Mr Tomkin meowed by way of answer and bounced ahead of Amber, his ginger tail ramrod straight as he scampered down the stairs.
Amber was forking whiffy cat food into a bowl when the doorbell rang. As she set the dish before Mr Tomkin, she noticed her hands were shaking again. ‘Steve’s here,’ she told the cat. ‘Don’t wait up for me. Well actually, do wait up for me. I mean, it’s not like there’s going to be any romance or…oh, listen to me burbling again.’ She was definitely losing it. ‘See you later, darling.’ Stooping down to give the cat a quick rub on the head, she hastened off to answer the door.
‘Hi,’ said Steve. He gave her a business-like smile.
‘Hi yourself,’ said Amber, deliberately sounding like she did at work when Steve summoned her into the office to present a tedious pile of agreements. Amber hoped her bored attitude hid the excitement spiralling up from the pit of her stomach. He’s not gay, sang a little voice in her head. So what? sneered another. He wasn’t interested in you before, so he’s not going to be interested now.
‘Your house isn’t the easiest to find,’ said Steve, as Amber locked up. ‘This place is like a maze with all these little footpaths criss-crossing everywhere. Don’t you ever get lost?’
Amber laughed as she slipped the house key into her handbag. ‘I did once. It was shortly after I’d moved in. I went to the next row of houses by mistake. They all look identical. I spent ages jiggling my key in the lock. Eventually the door was opened by a harassed young mum with several kids hanging off the hem of her skirt. Fortunately, she saw the funny side. She’s a really nice neighbour. I know a lot of people around here. They’re good sorts.’
‘That’s nice,’ said Steve, taking her elbow and guiding her along the footpath to the road. Despite it being lit by courtesy lights, the night was inky black. Amber wasn’t quite sure who was leading who to the car. Steve’s touch was sending tingles up and down her spine. She didn’t kid herself that it was anything more than chivalry on his part. He opened the passenger door for her, which she liked. Mental note to self: make sure next boyfriend is chivalrous, guides you on dark nights and opens car doors.
‘The car will soon warm up,’ said Steve, as the engine turned over. He indicated right, gave way to a passing vehicle, and seconds later they were cruising along the main road. ‘Feeling hungry?’
‘As it happens, yes. I’ve not eaten all day.’
‘Why not?’
‘I crashed out. Literally. For hours.’
‘You must have needed the rest. How are you feeling now?’
‘Honestly? Still ridiculously tired.’
‘Break-ups are exhausting,’ Steve acknowledged.
‘Even so, you shouldn’t have sent me home. I’ve behaved like a lightweight.’
‘I had my reasons.’
‘Which were?’
‘Let’s get to the restaurant first, eh?’
‘I think I know what this is about,’ said Amber gloomily. She gazed out of the window at the night beyond.
‘You do?’ Steve gave her a quick side-long glance. Amber’s face was inscrutable.
‘I suspect you’re taking me out as a softener.’
‘Sorry?’
Amber sighed. ‘Is this a precursor to redundancy?’
Steve found himself exhaling with relief. Thank goodness Amber hadn’t found out about Matthew and Katherine Colgan. Amber was a sweet girl and didn’t deserve the way they’d treated her. Steve felt bad that he was going to be the one delivering the awful news. He was deliberately choosing a restaurant out of the locality so that if Amber broke down and wept nobody would know her.
‘No, you’re not going to be made redundant.’
Amber was both relieved and surprised. She was even more surprised when she found herself outside The Beagle and Bugle.