Page 75 of The Wedding Dress Repair Shop
‘We’ll see,’ she said.
I’m sure Simon was, because he looked abstracted when he arrived with Thom and said he couldn’t stay long. Derek must have been about somewhere, because he brought them up and stayed to help, while I dashed ahead to wedge open all the doors.
When I’d done that, I went back, but only as far as the bottom of the first flight of stairs, because the thumps and swearing from above were horrendous.
Eventually, however, it all arrived safely, and then Simon immediately dashed off.
‘I must go too, or Baz will be wondering what’s happened to me,’ Derek said. ‘Viv’s taken Rory out, Honey. She said she needed a walk.’
‘She speaks to you?’ Thom demanded. ‘She doesn’t even seem to want tolookat me.’
‘She whispers, but I do feel honoured,’ he said.
‘I’ll come back with you and lock up the passage behind me,’ Honey said, and followed him out.
‘Coffee?’ I offered Thom. ‘I feel I owe you something after all that!’
‘I need to lock up the workshop properly and take Jester for a run,’ Thom said. ‘But I don’t think either Simon or I would say no if you wanted to treat us to Welsh rarebit in the Pink Elephant teashop in an hour? I expect Simon will have finished whatever it is he’s doing by then. I’ll text him, but he can never resist the lure of food.’
‘Is the Pink Elephant the café in the square?’
‘Yes, and the décor has to be seen to be believed,’ he said, sending his message. ‘It’s open till seven for light meals, though the repertoire is pretty limited to things on toast.’
‘Sounds good to me!’
A message pinged back to Thom instantly and he read it and said, ‘Simon’s coming, and he’s asking Pearl if she’d like to join us.’
‘Good idea,’ I said, thinking we really were, if not the Famous Five, the Famous Four.
Thom left and, as I locked the room up and went into the cottage, I sang: ‘We are the Famous Four, and Go-li-i-ghtly the cat.’
Said cat gave me a withering look, then turned and headed for the utility room, where I found him pointedly staring into his empty dinner bowl.
He always managed to make me feel guilty: were all cats like that?
25
Away with the Fairies
The Pink Elephant was determined to live up to its name: the curtains were printed with processions of the creatures, a frieze of them ran round the top of the cream-painted walls and the menu holders were also pink and elephantine.
From five till seven, when they shut, they had a light supper menu of Welsh rarebit, and eggs, scrambled or poached, on toast.
We all opted for the Welsh rarebit.
‘The bread’s good and you get doorstops, so it’s really filling,’ Simon said enthusiastically.
‘I find it a bit too filling and can never eat the second slice,’ said Pearl, who had joined us.
‘I’m always happy to eat it for you,’ said Simon.
He did, too, then ordered a rum baba, something I had never come across, and which looked about a million calories a mouthful. It was just as well that Simon, like Pearl, seemed to have the kind of tall, rangy figure that never put on an ounce.
While we were having coffee afterwards – or Earl Grey tea, in Pearl’s case – I had another email from Will, though I would have thought at this time of day he’d be revving himself up,ready for tonight’s performance. I was quite right to, as I discovered when I quickly scrolled down it:
Just a quick one from my dressing room, darling, before I put on the slap and don the bells and motley.
Marco just came in and asked me if I was in touch with you and had your new address! He recognized your writing on the envelope of that note you sent here to the theatre with the taxi fare in it, so clearly suspected we might still be in touch.
