Page 17 of Teacakes & Tangos
‘Thanks. I must remember to phone Roz later.’
‘And I need to phone Mum and tell her I’m making a lasagne for dinner tonight so she doesn’t have to bother.’ Lois dug in her bag for her own phone.
I chuckled. ‘Wow, you’re so domesticated these days, Lois.’
Her face fell a little. ‘It was Mark’s favourite so I used to make lasagne all the time for him, the bastard!’
We exchanged a glum look and Lois got herself settled at the desk again and opened the laptop. And I went off to inspect the little café area which had been given a total refit the day before.
Something was nagging at me... something to do with the fire alarm.
I still had no idea who’d set it off accidentally. It could have been anyone and I guessed these things happened sometimes. But something else was bothering me, although I couldn’t for the life of me think what it was...
It was only later, when I was driving Lois home mid-afternoon that I realised what had been bugging me.
When I’d come out after inspecting the building following the alarm, Lois had been glued to her phone. At the time I’d assumed it was her mobile. But then she’d slipped it into her pocket and later, when I’d asked for my mobile, that was the oneshe’d handed to me. Her own phone had been in her bag all the time.
It made no sense at all.
Why would Lois have been looking at the contents of my phone...?
Anika
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘Okay, Dad. Guess what?’ I leaned over the bed and squeezed his hand gently.
The hospital ward smelled vaguely of bleach and medical supplies.
Knowing he wouldn’t guess, I rushed on. ‘So you’ve been telling me for ages that I shouldn’t let Loathsome Les stop me finding love. Well... pause for triumphant-sounding fanfare. . . I’ve actuallygot a date!
‘Yes, I know.’ I paused for barely a second to let the surprise sink in. ‘I knew you’d be amazed. Let’s face it, the last time I went out on a date, everyone was going crazy for peplums and skinny jeans. Well, maybe it wasn’tthatlong ago. I might be exaggerating alittlebit.’
I was gabbling on but Dad wouldn’t mind.
‘The thing is, I still haven’t got a clue what on earth I’m going to wear for it.
‘Because as you know, my wardrobe for the past year has consisted mainly of comfy clothes and flat shoes. Largely because I hardly ever venture out and prefer to spend my evenings in front of the box with you, plotting how to get my revenge on Les. That’s a joke, by the way. The revenge, I mean. I’m really notthatsad.’
I paused for a millisecond to take a breath.
‘So anyway, having bored you to tears with my ramblings once again, I’d better go now because I need to do some clothes shopping if I’m going to look halfway decent for my date tomorrow. We met online, by the way. But don’t worry about my safety, Dad. (Stupid thing to say, because I know that of course you will!) We’re meeting in the Swan Hotel bar, just for a drink. So then if we hate each other on sight, we don’t have toplough through an entire meal before we can escape.’ I chuckled. ‘I know, I know, I should be approaching this with a positive attitude. And I am. I really am. Honestly, Dad.’
I reached over and kissed him on the cheek.
‘I’ll pop back in to see you tomorrow morning, though, so you can wish me luck then,’ I promised him. And with a cheerful wave, I headed for the door.
Out in the corridor, I blundered for the lift.
I’d already dropped my cheery façade.
Our ‘conversations’ were always one-sided – ever since the day, a week ago, that Dad rescued an elderly woman called Minnie from being hit by a speeding van on Sunnybrook High Street.
It had even made the national news: the story of the big jewellery robbery in Surrey that had ended with one bystander in a coma and an elderly woman injured. Two of the robbers had been caught almost immediately and charged. But a third was apparently still on the loose.
The local paper ran a story about the robbery in which they called Dad a hero, which of course he was.
But then, Dad hadalwaysbeen my hero.
