Page 25 of The Winter We Met
‘The man was a jerk. And Jess Jagger is one of the strongest women I know.’
I gave him a hug.
‘Right… anyway…’ Oliver said, ‘it sounds as if you’ve thought about the Willow Court Wonderful Life bash in detail.’
‘Nik’s made loads of notes and come up with some brilliant ideas. I’ve rung Gran and told her to warn everyone that he’ll be taking a photograph of them all together, when we pop in tomorrow night. He reckons it’ll make our pitch for some coverage by theAmblemarsh Gazetteeven stronger if we’ve done a bit of the work for them.’
I dipped my finger in the pickle and sucked it. Oliver shook his head and pulled away the plate.
‘You and Nik had a good chat?’ I asked
‘I asked him about his business, Junior Magic. I was going to Google it but—’
Nik appeared with three cocktails that were frothy and white with a thin, shiny slice of orange rind on top of each of the glasses’ rims.
Oliver studied it. Lifted it to its lips. ‘This is a new one on me.’
Orange… lemon…
‘It’s a popular one back home called London Calling,’ said Nik. ‘I like it because it contains—’
I raised my palm. ‘Sherry!’
Nik opened his mouth to say yes but a new song came on. ‘Men at Work! Oliver – do you mind? I just have to dance to a song about Down Under.’ He held my hand tightly as he led me onto the dance floor and we found a bit of space. His rhythmic moves caught my eye, yet what stood out most was how he looked after me, guiding my feet around a spilt drink and my body away from other dancers’ over-enthusiastic arm movements. Oliver sat at the far side, staring, and I waved. Half-heartedly, he waved back. He must have got fed up, night in, night out, having to deal with rowdy customers.
When Nik and I returned Oliver asked him about Sydney. And Finland. The two men chatted easily and laughed about a comedy film they’d both seen recently. Reading was also common ground, both of them being fans of detective stories, although Oliver liked edgy thrillers and Nik preferred cosy crime, like Gran. As they talked, I went through Nik’s notebook. We had a lot to discuss tomorrow night with the residents. I got up to buy another round but Nik insisted he had to leave. By the time he got back to Islington it would be morning in Australia and a good time to ring and check on the business.
‘And I’m visiting Hamleys tomorrow,’ he said. ‘I rang ahead. The manager sounds pretty decent. He’s agreed to meet me briefly, and share his thoughts on the new trends that might appear in his store over the next couple of years. So I’m going to need to get up early.’ He beamed at us both. ‘Great to meet you, Oliver.’
Oliver stood up and held out his hand. ‘You too. I hope your trip proves productive.’
I couldn’t wait for tomorrow evening now, the three of us together, with Gran and her friends, sharing our exciting plans for the party and hopefully cheering everyone up, despite the uncertainty of the next few weeks.
‘Thanks for a great day, Jess.’ Nik hugged me, put on his anorak and disappeared into the crowd.
‘One last drink for the road?’ I asked Oliver. ‘Club Tropicana’ by Wham! had just started playing. ‘How about a Pina Colada?’
‘No thanks. I’ve had just about as much sweetness as I can stomach, for one night…’
Strangely, this didn’t stop him having a hot chocolate when we got home.
11
I nipped home to pick up Buddy after work, before heading to Willow Court. I also applied a quick squirt of perfume. I put on lip gloss as well and changed into a red blouse. I pressed the buzzer to be let in and yawned, still catching up from being late out at Misty’s last night. Betty glared at me as I smiled. I said hello to her and one of the care workers. I signed in and, pulling off my hat, headed into the lounge. Oliver was already there, playing dominoes with Alf at one of the tables, near the window. It took a while to reach Gran. Everyone wanted to say hello to Buddy and his chin lay on many knees for a cuddle, before finally settling on hers. He’d known to avoid Glenda’s smart trousers and in any case, she’d warned me to keep clear. She was sure her sniffle was turning into a chest infection. I bent down and kissed Gran.
‘Gordon Bennett, your cheek is freezing.’ She tutted. ‘Let me make you a nice cuppa.’
‘It’s okay, Gran, I’ll—’
‘I’m not completely useless yet, young lady. Come over to the hatch when you’re ready.’
I grinned at Pan. That was more like it. The gran who cleaned sick off my fake Ugg boots, the first time I ever got drunk. The woman who told me, after every romantic break-up at school, to make sure I grew up never relying on anyone else for my happiness – dogs excluded. Oliver caught my eye and pulled a face. I went over as they sorted out the dominoes to start a fresh game.
‘You beating him again, Alf?’
Crow’s feet deepened as he winked. ‘I just can’t help it.’
I blew on my hands. ‘Honestly. It’s arctic out there.’
