Page 36 of Will You Stay Another Day?
‘But a needle’s just a needle. A piece of metal. It can’t talk. Can’t get a job. It’s not living.’
‘Objects, humans, they’re all made of the same stuff when they turn to dust.’ She shrugged. ‘But it’s not my job to convince anyone. That’s the job of your heart. Children are closer to what matters, to the truth. That’s why tears come when they have to throw out an old toy that adults consider to be nothing but lumps of plastic or plushie.’
‘When an item is old or broken it’s nothing but clutter, junk, I reckon, and having worked with cast-offs all my life, I have no qualms about chucking unwanted stuff in the tip. But… I think it’s great what you do, helping people like that, giving them the freedom to move on. It’s… quite beautiful.’
Lili stared at him and didn’t blink.
‘In any case, who am I to say my beliefs are any more right than yours? Oh wait… I’m Caesar. What I say goes.’
Lili snapped out of her trance, covered her face as there was that rich, warm laugh of his again.
‘Thanks again for today, Dylan.’ She went to get out of the car but then reached into the back pocket of her jeans. Yes, the maroon ivy leaf from the garden was still there. As she climbed out, Lili discreetly left it on the passenger seat.
Half an hour later she sat snugly in bed, with a hot water bottle and a mug of tea, cranberry and orange flavour left over from last Christmas. She googled the Latin phrase Dylan had said to her just before they’d left for the hospital. It meant the die is cast; that is there was no changing a decision; that a point of no return had been reached.
Lili hugged her knees. Her heart was reaching that point with Dylan, feelings she’d never felt before that were proving hard to dismiss. Alea Iacta est, indeed.
A text alert buzzed. It was from him.
Express House Clearances quietens down in December and I’m well overdue some holiday. How about I take a trip to Vegas instead? I’d be doing it for Harry (that’s what I’ll tell him, me being utterly unselfish). I’d pay for my room, of course, so your loss wouldn’t be so great, and you could laugh at me when I come back to the UK, having gambled away the rest of my money in the gaming machines.
The text ended with a leaf emoji, and her heart skipped a beat.
23
Monday was exactly one month until Christmas Day and the shop was already far busier than normal for the beginning of the week. Festive earnings kept Ware & Care in business, along with its large outlet in St Austell that sold items of furniture. Tommo and Meg had spent the morning transferring donation bags from the outhouse to upstairs. Lili would have helped but her hip was still sore after her fall yesterday.
Slade wished everyone a Merry Christmas as the door jingled open and Glenda walked in. ‘Got any new historical romances?’ she asked in a tone brighter than the colourful lights that had been switched on around Mevagissey harbour at the weekend. Stories set in the past? The giveaway that all was not right in Glenda’s world. Lili took her arm and led her past a mum rocking a crying toddler in a pram. The staff had done a good job, over the last week, bringing down stock to keep shelves full. Lili pointed to a bunch of books that had come from Dylan’s warehouse. Foundation couldn’t cover the bags under the pensioner’s eyes and her mascara was smudged, as if rain was coming down outside instead of the rays of winter sun. Glenda wore gloves, but not a matching pair. Usually she wore her beret jauntily tipped to one side, but today it was simply perched on her head, like a post-box topper. Lili reached for a Regency novel set during the festive period and handed it to Glenda.
‘What are you doing for Christmas this year, Glenda? Visiting your niece again?’
‘No. She and her family are off to see the Northern Lights during a week in Iceland. She rang me last night, convinced she’d mentioned their trip before. It’s a dream they’ve always had. And good for them.’ She gave an unnaturally wide smile. ‘Although I’m personally not sure I’d want pickled herrings for Christmas dinner.’
‘What will you do?’
‘Oh, I’ll be fine. I’m putting money aside so that I can have the heating on all day. The food bank you told me about has been a real boon too. If I’m lucky, it’ll be a mince pie in front of the King’s speech and then the Strictly Come Dancing special.’ Her voice sounded as empty as a dish of roast potatoes at the end of Christmas dinner. She looked at the book’s snowy, fairy-light-strewn cover and put it back next to the others. ‘Actually, I don’t think I feel like reading at the moment. See you soon, lovie. Nice to chat.’ Before Lili could say anything else, Glenda had left.
Heading back to the till, a shard of indignation rose in Lili’s chest. Glenda could barely afford to keep warm after a lifetime of grafting at a cheese factory. That anger grew when Callum came in on his lunchbreak. He had a decent job, worked incredibly hard educating future generations, but still had to watch every single penny. The longer Lili had worked in the shop, the clearer it became that some of what you were taught as a child was a downright lie – that hard work would be rewarded with a nice home, decent life, with independence. It wasn’t like that any more, not for everyone, and kids would be better off learning skills on how to pick yourself up if you lost your job, your partner, your house or your health.
‘Hi, Lili, it’s a long shot,’ said Callum. ‘I’ve asked everyone for their Christmas lists early this year, so I can properly budget. I think retirement has brought out a second childhood in Dad.’ He smiled. ‘He’s got a huge collection of old videos, from the 80s, and fancies watching them again – St Elmo’s Fire, The Lost Boys, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off… but his VCR player from back then is broken. He found it in the loft recently and couldn’t get it working. Do you ever sell them in here?’
Lili shook her head. ‘Ware & Care don’t sell electrical goods for safety and legal reasons; they have to be PAT tested. But leave it with me. Some charity shops do. I’ll ask around.’
His face broke into a smile as he prepared to leave. ‘Thanks, Lili. He’ll be looking for ways to play his old Donkey Kong and Tetris games next.’
Donkey Kong featured in the Mario franchise. Was it not even possible to go one day without thinking about Dylan?
She turned around the Open sign and waved goodbye to the other staff. Tommo and Meg came down last. Meg gave a loud yawn. ‘Why did I agree to get up early this morning and go swimming with Gran?’
‘The same reason I agreed to walk next door’s dog twice a day at the weekend because they’re away. We’re excellent people,’ Tommo said smugly.
‘Modest too,’ said Lili.
‘How was your weekend, Lili?’ asked Meg. ‘How did Sunday afternoon go?’
‘Great. Fine. Apart from falling down the stairs and ending up in A&E.’
Tommo stopped putting on his biker jacket. ‘What the hell? How are you, gal?’
