Chapter 20
Eighteen hours later, Lois arrived on the doorstep.
‘Mimi, hoorayyyy! Oh my God, you’re a lifesaver.’ She flung her thin arms around Mimi. ‘Thank you so much, you have no idea how desperate I was for something like this to happen. I didn’t even realise it myself, I just knew I had to get away . . . and look at this place, it’s like paradise!’ Taking a step back, she held Mimi at arm’s length. ‘Look at you too, all glowy and gorgeous. Are you having the best time ever? Have you met someone? Ooh, is he a flashing-eyed Spaniard?’
‘I haven’t met anyone.’ Amused by Lois’s train of thought, Mimi said, ‘Haven’t had time. Too busy working.’
‘And how’s it going, having to spend so much time with the stroppy author? I want to hear all the gory details . . . is he still a complete monster?’
Behind her, the partially opened window of CJ’s office was flung wide and CJ bellowed, ‘Yes, he is still a complete monster, chiefly because he has to put up with other people being rude and fucking ungrateful when he’s generously allowed them to stay at his luxury fucking villa.’
Whoops, Lois mouthed. She turned to CJ. ‘Hi, sorry about that, but you have to admit your reputation precedes you.’ She made her way over to him and thrust her outstretched hand through the open window. ‘Anyway, I’m sure you can’t be as bad as everyone says. But if you’d rather I booked myself into a hotel, it’s no problem at all. I can do that.’
They shook hands. ‘What happened to your face?’ said CJ.
Mimi closed her eyes. Why did he have to be like this?
‘Just my face?’ Lois gestured to the scars on her neck, across her chest and down her arm. ‘I have plenty more I can show you, if you’re interested.’
‘Tell me, then.’
‘Car accident.’
‘Ah.’ CJ nodded, belatedly putting two and two together. ‘You’re the one who got out alive.’
‘You do have a way with words,’ said Lois.
‘Mimi didn’t tell me it was you, that’s all.’ His gaze flickered over her jeans, noting the prosthetic foot. ‘So you’re leaving your husband, I hear. Not rich enough for you?’
She held his gaze. ‘If anything, too rich.’
‘You don’t look heartbroken.’
‘That’s because Mimi warned me I wasn’t allowed to cry in your presence. This is my brave face. Look,’ said Lois, ‘am I staying here or getting a hotel room? Because I need to know—’
‘Don’t be such a drama queen.’ CJ’s tone was curt. ‘Of course you’re staying.’
‘Thanks.’ Lois indicated the oversized case standing on the drive where it had been deposited by the taxi driver. ‘Now, does Mimi have you locked in that room or do you think you could come out and give me a hand with this?’
‘Bit different to home,’ said Lois.
Mimi smiled. ‘Definitely not so many sheep.’
They were sitting on the beach, dry sand sifting through their toes. The sun was setting behind them, turning the mountains across the bay rosy pink, and tantalising smells of seafood and garlic from nearby restaurants filled the air.
‘You’ve only been here a month. It seems like so much longer.’ Lois flipped back her blonde hair and propped herself up on her elbows to watch the last swimmers in the mirror-like water. ‘I’ve missed you.’
‘I’ve missed you too. It’s weird only having CJ for company.’
‘Weird? Torture, more like.’
‘At least I get paid to put up with him.’ Mimi changed the subject, because Lois was longing to talk about her marriage, she could tell. ‘So what’s been going on with you and Felix?’
‘Urrrgh.’ Lois let out a wail of frustration and threw herself flat on the sand. ‘This is going to be so boring for you. I hate moany people and I hate being the moany one, but is it OK if I have a really selfish moan? Could you bear to listen, if I’m quick about it?’
‘Hey, you’ve come all this way. Take as long as you like.’
‘Right, you know the kaftan you sent me for my birthday? Hot pink silk with violet crystals around the neckline?’
‘Yes . . .’ Had it shrunk drastically in the wash?
‘I loved it,’ Lois said simply. ‘I still love it to bits. I’ve worn it practically non-stop . . . it’s so me.’
‘Well that’s great! I bought it in a little boutique not far from here, so we can go and look at the rest of them tomorrow.’
‘D’you know what Henrietta gave me?’ Pause. ‘A mustard and grey tweed skirt.’
‘Oh,’ said Mimi.
‘But you know what? It’s Henrietta and that’s what she’s like, so I didn’t let it bother me. And at least I knew I had a fantastic present to come from Felix, because a while back he’d said something about not knowing what to get me and I’d seen this amazing pair of Tiffany sunglasses in a magazine . . . I mean, really expensive but it was love at first sight. So I told him to look at page seventy-eight in Red magazine and he was delighted not to have to worry about it any more.’
Mimi couldn’t help noticing that Lois wasn’t wearing sunglasses from Tiffany. ‘And . . .?’
‘So then it was time for Felix to give me his present and it was in a great big box, but I just thought he’d wrapped the sunglasses up in a dressing gown or something to make me think he hadn’t bought them for me. Except it turned out he really hadn’t bought them for me. Instead, he got me the most horrible coat you’ve ever seen in your life. It was egg-shaped and modern, the colour of baby poo, with these bizarre hand-knitted brown bobbles sewn randomly all over it. It was everything I hate in a coat – and I mean everything anyone in their right mind would hate in a coat – and there was Felix looking all pleased with himself.’
‘But why?’ Mimi was baffled. ‘Why did he buy it for you?’
Lois sighed. ‘Because he looked at page eighty-seven instead of seventy-eight.’
‘Oh no! So it was a complete accident. He didn’t do it on purpose.’
‘I know, I do know that. And he was mortified when he realised he’d got it wrong. But . . . oh, and now I’m going to sound like a spoilt brat whining about not getting the present she wanted, but it’s really not that.’ From her prone position on the sand, Lois stretched out her hands in despair. ‘I just don’t understand how he could look at that photo in the magazine and think for one second that I’d ever want to own a coat like that. It felt like he doesn’t know me at all . . . or he just doesn’t care enough to think it through and check that there hasn’t been some kind of mistake. I mean, if he’d turned to page eighty-seven and seen an advert for a motorbike or an electric trouser press or a lifetime’s supply of incontinence knickers, would he have gone ahead and ordered those too? D’you know what, I think he would. Anything so he could stop having to worry about it and get the boring present-buying business out of the way.’
Oh poor Felix. Mimi said, ‘I think some men just panic because they’re scared of getting it wrong.’
‘You’re defending him, like everyone else does. They’re all on his side. Because they like him and feel sorry for him being stuck with me.’
‘Oh now that’s not true.’ Turning sideways to look at her, Mimi saw a tear leak out from beneath Lois’s Ray-Bans and disappear into her ear. ‘And there’s more to this than a bad coat.’
‘Damn, I don’t have a tissue . . .’ Sitting up slightly, Lois used her wrist to wipe the side of her face.
‘I’ve got some.’ Mimi scrabbled in the bottom of her bag for the cellophane pack she always carried. As she found it, a shadow fell across the sand.
‘Blubbing already?’ said CJ.
‘Are you stalking us?’ Lois snapped back.
‘I looked out of my bedroom window and saw you out here on the beach. Hardly counts as stalking. In fact you’ll be amazed to know that I came down here to invite you both to have dinner with me.’
She regarded him with suspicion. ‘Why would you want to do that?’
‘To make up for being rude earlier,’ said CJ. ‘To show you I can be nice when I set my mind to it.’
‘And?’ prompted Lois.
He looked amused. ‘Perspicacious. I like that in a woman. OK, and because I’m a writer, which means I’m interested to hear about your situation.’
‘You mean you’re bloody nosy,’ grumbled Lois. ‘Which restaurant would you be taking us to?’
She nodded approvingly. ‘I’ve been reading up about it on TripAdvisor. OK.’
By eight o’clock, they were seated at CJ’s favourite table outside the restaurant. Over drinks, he heard the story of the bad coat.
‘Did you return it to the shop?’
‘I would have done, but Truman did a wee on it.’
‘Truman. Who’s that, the family butler?’
Lois raised an eyebrow. ‘My mother-in-law’s cat. I think Henrietta speaks to him in cat language and instructs him to do things that will make my life more miserable.’ She shrugged and cast a fleeting glance at the people seated at the next table. ‘Anyway, the coat can’t go back. I’ll have to get it cleaned then take it to the local charity shop. Bit of a waste of five hundred quid, but there you go.’
‘I googled you earlier,’ CJ announced.
‘You did? Why?’
‘Why does anyone google anyone? To find out more about them. There are some pretty amazing photos of you online.’
‘I wouldn’t call them amazing,’ said Lois. ‘I’m a mess.’
CJ took out his phone and showed her the screenshot he’d saved. ‘This one, taken before the accident. You and your future husband together at a charity ball.’
Lois glanced at it, then looked away. ‘Oh well, that’s when I was amazing.’
He showed Mimi the photo of Lois, utterly fabulous in a scarlet Jessica Rabbit dress and sapphire-blue stilettos. Her blonde hair was pulled back from her face in a high chignon and she was laughing, whilst Felix, next to her, looked on with open adoration. CJ said, ‘Let me guess, you don’t wear your hair up any more. You keep it covering as much of your face as possible.’
Lois poured more wine into her glass. ‘Well spotted, Sherlock.’
‘And you chose to sit in that chair because it’s where people are less likely to notice you.’
‘You’re lucky. Sometimes I sit in restaurants with a brown paper bag on my head.’
‘You haven’t run away from your husband because he bought you the wrong birthday present,’ said CJ.
‘Haven’t I?’
‘When the two of you first got together, you were the adored and Felix was the adorer. You were the stunning, extrovert party girl and he couldn’t believe his luck because he’d never been out with anyone like you before. Basically, you had the upper hand. Then the accident happened and everything changed. You nearly died, you went through a tough time in hospital and you lost—’
‘My looks,’ Lois countered evenly. ‘My leg. My confidence. It’s not rocket science.’
‘I was going to say you’d lost the balance of the scales being tipped in your favour. How you feel now is how Felix felt before the accident.’
‘Except he was rich,’ Lois pointed out. ‘Which meant he always had girls interested in him even if it was for the wrong reason. You should know all about that,’ she added pointedly.
‘Of course I do. It’s the way the world turns. It’s also the reason I’m single.’ CJ pushed the rocket leaves on his plate to one side. ‘Before the accident, were you faithful to Felix?’
She bristled. ‘Yes.’
‘You didn’t sleep with other men?’
‘No!’
‘Did you flirt with them?’
Lois blinked. ‘Maybe sometimes. A bit.’
‘Hey, I’ve seen the photos.’ He tapped his phone’s screen. ‘Trust me, I can tell. And it’s not a criticism either. If I looked like you did back then, I’d flirt too.’
Mimi watched as Lois managed a rueful smile. Somehow, against all the odds, CJ was managing for once not to be offensive.
‘I loved to flirt,’ Lois admitted. ‘It brightened my day, made me feel great. It was like a fabulous harmless drug, my favourite hobby . . . you meet an attractive man and just get that zingy feeling. There’s nothing else like it.’
‘What about men who weren’t attractive?’ said CJ.
‘They didn’t give me that zingy feeling.’
‘So you wouldn’t bother to flirt with them.’
‘No, I wouldn’t.’
‘Would you have flirted with me?’
‘Honestly? No.’ Lois shook her head. ‘Sorry.’
‘No worries.’ CJ dismissed the apology. ‘And when was the last time you flirted with someone?’
‘Well, that would have been on the day of the accident.’
With a jolt, Mimi realised the extent to which Lois’s life had altered. ‘Not even Paddy?’ she said.
Lois put down her fork. ‘Are you kidding? Especially not Paddy.’
‘Who’s that?’ said CJ.
‘The good-looking one who used to flirt with me the most. But who now treats me like some fragile spinster aunt, because why would he even want to be seen playing flirty games with someone who looks like this?’ She shrugged as she said it, which only made the underlying pain all the more apparent.
‘Tough,’ CJ conceded. ‘You know what you need to do, don’t you?’
‘I’m sure you’re about to tell me.’
‘Lower your standards,’ said CJ. ‘I mean, big-time.’
‘That’s fantastic advice.’ Lois nodded. ‘So reassuring. I feel miles better now.’
‘But you’re not being realistic, are you? I’m just giving you some practical advice. Being honest.’
‘You’re just being horrible,’ said Lois.
‘Hey, give me a break, I’m making an effort here. More of an effort than I usually make.’ He gestured towards himself. ‘If you need someone to practise on, feel free.’
‘Practise on?’ Mimi covered her eyes and groaned. This was too much.
‘I mean flirting,’ said CJ. ‘I don’t sleep with other men’s wives.’