Page 49 of You, As You Are

“HiNain, happy birthday!” she cheered, taking the chance to wake up her computer from its nap.

“Thank you, Moo Moo.”

Maisie opened her mouth to ask how Vera’s morning had been.

“Sweetie, are you busy?”

Her answer was grim as she glanced at the to-do notepad filled with bullet points by her keyboard. “Sort of.”

“I’d like to go and find a new dress for the party tonight.” Vera had a knack for asking questions without actually asking them. A mistress of insinuation.

Maisie knew exactly where this phone call was heading but pretended as though she didn’t. “Okay?”

“It’s raining. Would you be able to take me?” The blow that Maisie had seen from a mile away was delivered with perfect, persuasive innocence.

“Nain, I’m halfway through my lunch break.” Now was really not the time, and she was logged on to an online portal that tracked the hours she worked – she couldn’t justleave.

“It’ll only take an hour.”

“Could Ronnie take you?” He wasn’t the kind of man who’d leave Vera’s side on her birthday,of all days.

“I don’t want him to see what I choose before the party.”

Agh. Maisie rubbed her thumb and fingers across her forehead, reminding herself of all the times when she’d been in London and missed something as simple as going shopping with her grandma.

She could go, she supposed. She could take an hour for lunch and push her workday back to five o’clock, which would still leave her enough time to get ready for the birthday party tonight.

Concealing her sigh through her nose, she asked, “Where did you want to go?”

Vera’s voice was immediately brighter. “To the outlet down the boulevard. It’s a five-minute drive.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

Her umbrella put in a valiant effort to keep her dry on the short walk to Vera’s house, rendered almost useless by the sheets of rain plummeting from the sky as if the clouds had a vendetta against her. When she arrived, dripping from the waist down, Mister Roberts sat in the bay window glaring like a guest deterrent.

“Not today, mister.” Maisie huddled under the porch and knocked on the door.

Vera answered in a flash, handing over the keys to hereldermobilewith a brief comment about how light the rain was.

Maisie still didn’t know whyshewas the one driving hernainto the edge of town on a workday when Ronnie could’ve easily taken her and stayed in the car whilst she shopped – thus fulfilling Vera’s request to not let him see her new dress before the party. She hadn’t planned her workday around this, and it didn’t entirely feel fair to have to at such a last minute. But she couldn’t exactly have refused Vera on her birthday, especially when no one else from their family was able to be here with her.

Besides, this hour alone together was the perfect time to bring up a few topics: firstly, Iain and how they were now (allegedly) dating, and secondly – though most crucially – thequestion of Vera’s behaviour to unearth whatever secret she was hiding.

Unfortunately, rain pelted the tin car too heavily to have any real conversation that didn’t involve shouting, and the journey to the clothing shop was too short.

“Did you know Iain works in that industrial park just beyond the river there?” Vera pointed out of the windscreen as Maisie pulled into the modest car park.

“I didn’t.” It hadn’t occurred to her to find out where exactly Iain worked beyond that evening where Faye had encouraged her to internet stalk him.

They jumped out of the car into the onslaught of rain, Vera hugging her cast to her body like she’d been instructed to keep it dry, but the automatic doors to the shop squeaked open a little too slowly for any chance of that.

Pulling back her hood, Maisie checked the time on her phone. “I only have … forty minutes,” she said.

“That’s okay, sweet pea. I’ll be quick,” Vera replied, immediately setting off.

For some reason, Maisie felt as if that wasn’t true.

She wiped her ankle boots on the mat and followed two steps behind as Vera unhurriedly began to peruse the rails. “What kind of dress are you looking for?”

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