Chapter Thirty-Three

Having reassured her on the phone that it would not be on his motorbike, Dom picked Lisa up. Not that she had an aversion to going on the back of a motorbike, but it altered her outfit choices. After a day spent swimming with Toby, battling with Dexter the parrot, and cleaning out chickens called Princess Layer, Hen Solo and Jabba the Cluck, Lisa welcomed the opportunity to get showered, do her hair and make-up, and to get dressed up to go out.

Having all of her own clothes back meant she was more spoilt for choice than she had been in a while. Unsure where she was going, she put on her classically lined, black midi dress and opaque tights. When she saw Dom she was pleased she had made the effort but had remained understated. He looked good in mid-wash jeans, a white shirt and a fitted jumper, with an unbuttoned, charcoal reefer coat. He was doing smart-casual very well. Lisa slipped on her jacket and decided it wasn’t an occasion for her hat, scarf and gloves.

As they headed off, they chatted about the news from Winnie. Lisa was pleased to hear that she and her son were spending some quality time together and that they had talked over some of the issues of the past. Dom said he and Jack were going to join them for Christmas. Lisa didn’t know what was going on with her emotions, but she felt tears well in her eyes. She hurriedly wiped them away. After her performance the other day she could hardly descend into tears in Dom’s presence; he would think she was an emotional time bomb. She really was very pleased for Winnie though, and she was proud to have played a small part in encouraging the reunion. She asked Dom if he would mind taking her gift for Winnie when he went and made a mental note to add Winnie to her Christmas shopping list. She had been a bit lapse about writing cards and buying presents, but with her trip to France looming she knew she had to get on top of it.

‘So I thought we’d go to Cin Cin; that OK with you?’

‘Umm, sure.’ Lisa didn’t really want to bump into Nathan. They had been texting each other, but the casual, friendly, sometimes teasing nature of the texts after the time they had shared made her heart ache. He had asked her out for a drink, but she had said she was busy. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t share moments like they had and then be ‘cool’. Not with him. And he was colluding with Pete to hide something from Flick, and Lisa knew that couldn’t be good. But at least going to Cin Cin would give her the opportunity to see Pete at work and maybe that would give her some clue as to what he was up to.

The place was buzzing. Most seats were taken along the copper-topped communal tables and there was a small crowd at the bar. The volume reflected how busy it was. It looked like one group of people were on a Christmas do. They had made an appropriately Christmassy effort in their attire. The sparkles were out.

Lisa attempted to lead the way to the bar and spotted Pete. He looked smarter than she had ever seen him before in his bartender uniform of black trousers and shirt, a waistcoat and purple tie. Even his usually scruffy auburn hair was gelled. As they approached him all Lisa could think about in the back of her mind was have the aphrodisiacs worked? Have you and Felicity solved your … problem? A female waitress came up behind him. She put her arm round his shoulder, said something and laughed. Hmmm! Lisa decided she didn’t like her. She was too flirtatious and being too familiar. Lisa moved closer to the bar and said hello.

Pete smiled, seemingly unfazed by the fact that Lisa had witnessed the exchange with the waitress. ‘Lisa, you finally found Cin Cin, and you’re looking good this evening too.’

It wasn’t what Lisa expected. ‘Thank you.’ She assumed he was on bartender-charm-assault mode. What was it about bars that led even the most normal of people to go up a notch in their general level of flirtatiousness?

‘Much happier than when I last saw you.’

Oh! Lisa remembered the last time Pete saw her was the night she had told Felicity about Pip followed by her groaning at him from his own sofa, too hung over to move the following morning. She had not been a pretty sight.

‘I am. Thanks, Pete.’ Although the recollection was grim, she felt genuinely pleased he noticed and cared enough to say it.

Dom put his hand on her shoulder reminding her of his presence.

‘Oh, sorry. Pete this is Dom, Dom this is Pete, my friend’s husband – gardener by day and bartender by night,’ she added.

‘Dom?’ Pete enquired. ‘The paramedic?’

Lisa smiled and nodded hoping that he wasn’t going to make a quip like Felicity’s about ‘YMCA’.

‘That’s me.’ Dom shook Pete’s hand.

‘It’s always good to meet someone in the emergency services.’

Oh God!

‘And I have to thank you. I believe it was you who confirmed my son has a shoulder blade.’ He laughed.

Dom looked torn between wanting to laugh and sparing Lisa’s feelings.

Lisa’s cheeks blazed. ‘Thanks for that, Pete!’ she cringed. She might have known Felicity would tell him about Dom! They were a no-secrets kind of couple; at least as far as Felicity was concerned. Upon reflection it was better than the Lisa-is-working-her-way-through-the-emergency-services-type joke she feared Pete might have been going to say.

Drinks in hand, they made their way to the nearest available seats. With the mirrors along the back wall Lisa could see the bar, and watch the waitress and Pete without looking suspicious. Settling into conversation with Dom, she realised how much more at ease she felt than when she and Nathan had gone into the pub, on the night of the bonfire parade. She knew it had nothing to do with the company. Rather, she felt more comfortable in herself. She felt more like she could face the world again.

As he told her about his job, Lisa looked at Dom’s eyes. That was what she had found familiar about Winnie’s son’s picture. He had strikingly dark eyes and Dom had inherited them. He was attractive, there was no doubt about that, but she wasn’t sure that she was attracted to him. She thought about the first time she had seen him and the time she had thrown herself into his chest in the rain. Perhaps it was the leathers, she was definitely more attracted to him then. It was Nathan’s fault, she was sure. She couldn’t get the night she had spent with him out of her mind. He was in too many of her thoughts, both awake and asleep; the way he had been when they were teenagers.

‘Don’t you agree?’

Oh bugger! Lisa had stopped paying attention. She was miles away. She hadn’t listened to Dom, and she had forgotten to watch Pete and the waitress. ‘Sorry?’ she offered pathetically, pretending she couldn’t hear and hoping he would repeat the gist of the question.

‘I thought you’d drifted off there.’ Dom laughed. ‘I was going on a bit. Sorry, tell me more about the life of Lisa Blake, “the purrfect pet sitter”.’

‘No, honestly, what you do is much more interesting. I was just,’ thinking about Nathan, ‘reminding myself I have cats to visit in the morning, that’s all.’ She wished she had thought of something more sensible to say.

‘Hmm, I’m not much of a cat person, it’s the claws, more of a dog person really, but I guess you have to get on with all animals in your line of work. What’s the weirdest animal you’ve come across?’

Lisa took a breath and glanced up at the mirror. ‘Nathan!’ She couldn’t believe she said it aloud and shrunk down in her seat. Luckily the table of Christmas revellers chose the same moment to do a rapturous laugh, drowning her out.

‘Pardon?’ Dom leaned closer to her.

But the sight of Nathan standing at the bar made her forget what she was supposed to say. The waitress was smiling at him in a much-too-familiar way for her liking, and the rush of blood and the thump of her heart was the only sound Lisa could hear. ‘I … um … just have to go to the toilet.’ She needed a moment. A moment to get herself together. She picked up her bag, stood up and slipped away. Once in the sanctuary of the toilet she decided to text Felicity.

Oh help! Dom and I are at Cin Cin. Nathan is here too and I don’t want him to think I said no to going out with him so I could go out with Dom.

Felicity texted back. It’s bedtime here, which means baths, teeth to clean, stories and general pandemonium.

Lisa felt bad. Of course Felicity had more than enough to do without throwing her problems at her too. She was about to text back saying sorry when another message came in.

Great, I love a distraction! This is much more fun.

Lisa replied with the word fun in capitals, three exclamation marks and a winking, tongue-out emoji. Hiding in the toilets while she contemplated what to do didn’t feel like fun.

So you are out with Dom instead of Nathan, but you don’t want Nathan to think you are out with Dom instead of him???

Yes.

Why?

Because I said no to Nathan for a different reason.

I’m going to need more.

Because I like him Flick. I really like him! And he doesn’t want the sort of commitment I want.

Bloody hell! OK. I thought it was just fun … that he still ‘did it for you’! I was thinking friends with benefits. Not heartfelt reunion.

He does still do it for me, but in more ways than one. Seeing him again. It made me realise I never really got over him.

Lisa couldn’t believe she was confessing to her feelings via text, in a toilet cubicle, while Dom waited for her at the table.

Right. Pete is working tonight. I’ll get him on the case – I’m sure he can help.

Lisa’s eyes boggled as she read. Oh God, no! She hurriedly fired off another message. Don’t worry. I’ll sort it. She had no idea how, but she was sure anything she came up with would be better than Pete’s approach. She didn’t know him well, but she did know subtlety was not his forte. Lisa let out a breath to compose herself and flushed the toilet she hadn’t used.

Read that too late, but don’t worry, he’s on it.

Oh no! As she left the toilet Lisa could see Pete talking to Nathan at the bar and realised she may not have given him enough credit. Distraction, thanks Pete. She breathed a sigh of relief and felt bad for thinking he might make a bad situation worse. She smiled at Dom and returned to her seat.

‘An iguana,’ she announced.

Dom looked confused.

‘I looked after an iguana for a day, but I’m never doing it again. I’d read they are vegetarian, but the owner insisted I feed it worms. It was an experience not to be repeated.’

‘I’m sure.’ Dom laughed.

Lisa’s eyes flicked back to Pete and Nathan. ‘So, talking of food,’ it was a tenuous link but she was thinking on her feet, ‘I think there’s a nice Italian up the road, are you hungry?’ Leaving Cin Cin and moving on somewhere else was the only plan she could come up with.

‘I think the Italian closed a couple of years back.’

‘Oh!’

‘It’s a gourmet burger place now.’

‘Great, let’s give it a go.’ Lisa smiled, attempting to hide the fact that she wasn’t hungry, hated burgers and knew they were a tad overdressed even for a gourmet burger bar.

‘OK, but you know they do food here.’

‘Yes, but it’s noisy here. Let’s go somewhere it’s easier to talk.’

As Lisa stood up she was relieved to see that Pete and Nathan had moved. All she had to do was get Dom out of the door before they appeared again, continue with her evening and at some point have a sensible, grown-up conversation with Nathan telling him … well, telling him what exactly she didn’t know.

‘Lisa!’

Lisa stopped at the sound of Pete’s voice and turned to thank him for distracting Nathan, but as she did so she saw him standing at Pete’s side.

‘You know Nathan, don’t you?’ Pete smiled and nodded as if urging her on.

Lisa swallowed hard. She didn’t know what Pete was doing, but she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her.

Nathan gave her a warm, welcoming smile. ‘Lisa, you look stunning.’ He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

She smelt his aftershave, and remembered the smell of it on her body. Her hand rested on his bicep as he kissed her.

As Nathan pulled back, Dom stepped forward and Lisa faltered. Lisa gave a weak smile and began her introductions, feeling as if the whole thing was unfolding in slow motion. Nathan shook Dom’s hand, going from friendly to formal in the matter of moments. He told them to have a good evening, offered Lisa a smile and then left. Lisa looked at Pete incredulous. Why, why would you do that?