Page 93 of Love in Tune

‘Ernie’s gone then?’

Lucille nodded with a little smile. ‘He stayed for ten minutes or so, but he was worn out. He’s promised to come and see us again soon though.’

Mimi’s expression was inscrutable, and Honey decided not to push her on the matter.

‘Still no sign of Billy?’

‘He appeared a while back with a plate of sausage rolls,’ Lucille said. ‘Odd, really.’

‘Nothing surprises me where that man’s concerned,’ Mimi said. ‘He’s a loose cannon.’

Honey laughed softly. ‘He is that.’

‘How’s that handsome friend of yours doing in the kitchen?’ Lucille asked, her blue eyes keen and wise.

Honey shrugged. ‘Well everyone’s eaten, so I guess he’s doing fine.’

‘Haven’t you been inside to check on him?’ Mimi asked sharply, and Honey suddenly felt as if she were caught in the centre of a ‘good cop bad cop’ routine.

‘Not this afternoon, no. I’ve been busy out here, there hasn’t been time.’

‘There’s time now,’ Lucille said reasonably. ‘Take five minutes.’

Honey picked at a loose thread on her sleeve. ‘Maybe later.’

‘I used to say things like that,’ Mimi said. ‘And then you get old and there isn’t a later, and you wish you’d done it sooner.’

‘You didn’t say that about meeting Ernie,’ Lucille said, her tone laced with hurt.

Mimi shot Lucille a look for going badly off script and ignored the barb.

‘I’m just giving Honey the benefit of my wisdom. If there’s something that needs to be said, don’t let your pride stop you from saying it.’

Lucille nodded and laid her hand on Honey’s arm.

‘She’s right, dear. We both think that you’ve fallen for him. You should tell him.’

Honey let her head drop back and gazed at the stars.

‘It’s more complicated than that.’

She didn’t bother denying the truth. Mimi and Lucille knew her inside out and backwards, and besides, it was a relief to talk about it out loud.

‘It’s only as complicated as you make it,’ Lucille said.

Honey sighed heavily. ‘They aren’t my complications, Lucille. They’re his. He’s got to make some choices, and I’ve got to wait and see which way the chips fall.’

‘That doesn’t sound fair to me,’ Mimi said. ‘Never give a man all the power, Honeysuckle. They don’t know what to do with it and will more than likely blow their own hands off before they’ve even got started.’

‘His ex-fiancée wants him to go back to London. She sent him a letter asking him to step back to his old life.’ Honey folded her arms over her chest and kept her eyes on the dark sky. ‘They’re supposed to be getting married next year.’

Mimi and Lucille fell silent while they mulled Honey’s revelation over.

‘People change,’ Lucille said, eventually. ‘Going back isn’t always possible.’

‘Get yourself in there this minute and tell him to choose you,’ Mimi said, suddenly fierce. ‘Or do you want me to do it for you?’

Honey laughed softly and rubbed Mimi’s arm. She was pretty sure that however fierce Hal could be, Mimi could be fiercer.

---