Page 51 of A Wish For Jo
'You're a bit pale, Jinnie,' said Wilma. 'And that chocolate's no' set properly, Jo, not that it bothers me.' She used her teaspoon to scoop up a mouthful and sighed contentedly.
'I'm fine, Gran,' replied Jinnie. 'Have you any gherkins to go with the tuna, Jo?'
Unsure, Jo headed through to the back, where Aaliyah and Dhassim were huddled together, whispering furiously. 'Do we have any pickles?' she asked, rummaging in the fridge.
Dhassim gave a sheepish grin and pointed to a doorstep cheese sandwich surrounded by a mound of gherkins. 'I was famished, Jo, and I have acquired a taste for these little beauties. Mustard is a foul creation with no place anywhere, except for the bin.' He mimed retching as Aaliyah nonchalantly spread a thick layer of the vivid yellow condiment over her own ham sandwich.
'Well, Jinnie wants pickles, so if you don't mind…' Jo scooped several off Dhassim's plate and back into the jar. 'What are you two whispering about, anyway?'
Aaliyah grinned like a winded baby after a bout of colic. ‘We've come up with a solution for your last wish. It came to me when I recalled watching a strange film about a musician who was the only person on earth to remember a famous group.'
'Yesterday,'replied Jo.
'It doesn't matter which day of the week I watched it,' huffed Aaliyah. 'The point is, we can undo things. Make things disappear, so that only one person remembers them. And that person would be you.'
'Eh?' Jo absent-mindedly nibbled on a gherkin, then made a face and spat it into her hand. She loathed the evil little things, all vinegary sourness.
'We can erase everything you want us to erase. Wipe the slate clean, so your man starts afresh. Although he always looks like he could do with a good wash. No offence meant.'
'None taken.' Jo grabbed a napkin and deposited the semi-chewed gherkin in it. 'Are you saying that I can wish for the whole Abby episode never to have happened? For a terrible moment, Jo wondered if Aaliyah meant that they could resurrect Harvey's wife. She cherished the extra time she'd had with her parents, but bringing someone back to life was something else entirely.
'Your wish, your choice,' said Aaliyah. 'Personally, I'd wish for a hunk of burning love to carry me off to a petal-strewn bed and stun me with his enormous—'
'Personality?' Jo took in Dhassim's dejected little face and tutted at Aaliyah. 'Sometimes, Aaliyah, you make puddles look shallow. I'm off to take these pickles to Jinnie. We can talk more later.'
Jo placed the jar of gherkins next to a delighted Jinnie, who speared a few onto her half-eaten tuna roll. There was no sign of Wilma, just a smattering of crumbs and a drained tea cup as evidence of her presence.
'Gran's popped out for a vape,' said Jinnie. 'So, what's new? I need a distraction from all the weirdness in my life. Sam’s still acting peculiar — I’ve no idea what's going on — and I can't get my usual caffeine fix.'
Watching Jinnie scoff her roll with indecent haste, Jo batted away a thought. She needed to focus on the job in hand: what to do about Harvey. ‘There's just the small matter of my final wish to deal with,' she said, keeping a watchful eye out for Wilma's return. 'It's a bit off the wall — something Aaliyah and Dhassim came up with — but it might change someone's life.'
Jinnie dabbed at her lips with a napkin. 'I'd be wary of anything those two dreamt up, but if you're OK with it…'
Wilma stomped back into the café, followed by Alison Gale. 'This wee lass needs a sugar fix, pronto.' She hustled Alison into a chair and Jo went to fetch a piece of the shortbread.
'What's up, Alison?' she asked, when she returned.
'Oh, just me being an idiot. I ordered a consignment of clothes from a company that turned out to be dodgier than Del Boy. Lesson learned.' Alison gratefully accepted the shortbread and a herbal tea.
'Ach, I've made mistakes in the past ordering on the internet,' said Wilma. 'I bought a pair of suck-it-all-in knickers once. They didnae so much suck in as shove my bits up to my chin. My belly and bosom were like neck warmers.'
Jinnie and Jo laughed. Alison looked bemused, but forced an awkward smile.
'I need to crack on, ladies.' Jo made her excuses and headed through to the back.No more procrastinating. Time to put some genie magic into action…
CHAPTER49
A steady streamof customers kept Jo on her toes for the rest of the day. Angie and Ed, oozing lovey-doveyness from every pore. Ken, looking exhausted, but still able to conjure up a wan smile. Janette and Peggy, the former sporting a white-blonde pixie cut courtesy of the latter. And finally, Sam, sent by Jinnie to pick up another tuna roll and a Danish pastry. There was no opportunity to put together a plan for Harvey’s redemption. That would have to wait until the evening.
'How are things, Sam?' As Jo bagged up the goodies for Jinnie, she realised he looked almost as tired as Ken. Dark rings circled his eyes.
As if on cue, Sam gave a tonsil-revealing yawn. 'Knackered, to be honest,' he replied. 'Jinnie's been waking me up during the night…' A deep flush spread across his face. 'Sorry, not for — you know. Not that I'd mind, but, erm…'
Jo patted his hand, outstretched to take the bag. 'The thought never crossed my mind,' she fibbed. 'I spoke to Jinnie earlier and she seemed worried about you. Is everything OK?'
Sam nodded, then shook his head. 'I don't know, Jo. Apart from Jinnie being super restless and not sleeping, when I do drift off I get these crazy dreams. Mainly about lamps like those.' He eyed Aaliyah and Dhassim's lamps and shuddered. 'It's nuts, but I also hear voices telling me I'm the chosen one. Chosen for what? Damned if I know.'
Reassuring Sam that wacky dreams were completely normal — ‘I recently dreamt of being marooned on a desert island with Hugh Jackman in fullWolverinemode!’ — Jo said goodbye.
