Page 46 of A Wish For Jo
Sam, to his credit, stood up, giving his untouched pastry and coffee a wistful glance. 'I suspect something fishy is going on here, but we can chat later. Take care, Jo. Wilma, behave yourself.' Sam kissed Jinnie and Wilma in turn. Wilma patted her other cheek, and Sam gave a good-natured sigh as he leant in for a second kiss.
‘Right,’ said Jo. 'Wilma, can you excuse us for a few minutes?’
'Aye, pet. I'll just chow down on the scones and give myself a wee tea-leaf reading. Maybe romance is on the horizon for me, too.’
Jo hustled Jinnie into the back room just in time to interrupt Aaliyah and Dhassim indulging in a squelchy smooch. They peeled apart, the sound reminiscent of a plunger extracting something nasty from a plughole.
'Jinnie!' Dhassim enveloped Jinnie in a bone-crushing hug. 'Oh, it is so good to see you. I have missed you, my little powder puff.'
'I've missed you too,' said Jinnie, extricating herself from the hug. 'Well, not everything, but I really never thought I'd see you again. Or you, Aaliyah.'
Aaliyah finished coating her lips in gloopy pink gloss and smacked them together. 'Well, today must be your lucky day. And perhaps you can give this one' — Aaliyah jabbed a finger in Jo's direction — 'a few pointers on making wishes. It's taken her an eternity to come up with two. A third soon would be nice.'
Again, Harvey tiptoed into Jo's mind through the mental door she'd attempted to bolt shut.No, no and a thousand times no. Whatever she wished for, that man had no place in her future.
'You don't sound at all Geordie now, Aaliyah,' said Jinnie. 'It did make me laugh, having a Geordie genie. You've definitely got an east-coast twang now. Hasn’t she, Dhassim?'
Dhassim shrugged his slender shoulders. 'I do not know what a twang is. Unless it is the sound my heart makes when I gaze at the woman I love.' He pressed his hands against his chest, performing a pitter-patter movement that made Aaliyah giggle and Jo gag.
'People, we have a situation here.' Jo eyed the trio. 'I have two genies in my life, and one is absolutely more than enough.'
'Maybe it was like a BOGOF deal?' Jinnie giggled too. 'You know: buy one, get one free?'
'I didn't buy Aaliyah, and I certainly didn't want a second one. Jinnie, help me out here. Has Sam got something to do with all this, or not?'
The air of joviality dissipated immediately and all eyes turned to Jinnie. She flushed and fidgeted with her hair. 'Of course not! I mean, I did wonder before, but the idea’s insane.'
'Is it?' Aaliyah stepped closer, her eyes narrowing in an accusing fashion. 'Your man ends up with both our lamps. And his name's downright suspicious. Right, Dhassim?'
'Well, I'm no expert, but I believe the name Sam is quite common among male mortals—'
'Not Sam, you eejit!' Aaliyah stamped her foot in frustration. 'His other names. Al Addin. I did some online research, andthatdude hit the jackpot when he hooked up with a wish-granting genie.'
'That's a blinking fairytale!' Jinnie looked at Jo for support. 'You can't honestly believe that Sam — my lovely down-to-earth Sam — is some kind of genie thingie. He runs an antiques shop and writes crime thrillers, for goodness’ sake.'
Jo wanted to lie down, preferably for a long time, and wake up genie and Harvey-free. 'I really don't know what to think any more. Jinnie, if you've any idea what I could wish for, let me know. In the meantime, let's get back to your gran.'
CHAPTER44
‘You idiot!You complete and utter idiot!' Harvey buried his head in his hands, having downed several whiskies in rapid succession. He groaned at the sudden stab of heartburn, but accepted the pain as penance for his stupidity.
The shattered pieces of the mug lay in front of him, next to a tube of glue. He had as much chance of sticking it back together as he had of salvaging his relationship with Jo.
'Accept it, your life is a shambles. You can't pin everything on losing Lindsey and being shafted by Abby.' Harvey raised the dregs of whisky to his lips and welcomed the extra stabbing sensation. 'You're a walking disaster zone, like King Midas in reverse. Everything you touch turns to shit.'
He'd composed a series of apologetic messages to send to Jo, then deleted every one. No trite words could compensate for his handling of the Abby situation, or his ridiculous overreaction to the mug breakage. It was an object, steeped in sentiment, but still just an object.
'Lindsey, why did you have to leave me? I was an idiot with you at times, but at least I was a functioning one with some redeeming qualities.'
Silence. No imagined comforting words or gentle rebukes. He couldn't even conjure those up anymore.
With an anguished howl, Harvey swept the mug shards onto the floor. They landed with a tinkling sound, some shattering further. He went to refill his whisky glass, then paused and peered at the floor, his booze-addled brain struggling to register what lay before him. A near-perfect heart, mosaic-like in its appearance.
'You're still here, aren't you?' Harvey swayed over to the mantelpiece and picked up the framed photo. 'I knew you wouldn't desert me. You'll always be in my heart, Lindsey, even if it's in pieces too.'
Did she justwinkat him? Harvey rubbed his tired eyes and looked again. Of course she didn't bloody wink. This was real life, not a movie where inanimate objects did unexpected things.
'I like Jo, Lindsey. I really, really like Jo, but I screw things up with her over and over again. My acting career is finished, my so-called screenplay is dead in the water, and I have no one to talk to but you. Most people would find that a tad disturbing, not that I care what other people think. Apart from Jo, who's probably sticking pins in a voodoo effigy of me right now.'
