Page 66 of A Wish For Wilma
‘Well, Sam must be involved too, but all you need to do is—’
And the doorbell rang.
CHAPTER38
‘Disappear!’
‘I can’t.’
‘What do you mean, you can’t? Don’t you have the power of invisibility? OK, turn into Sadiq. I’ll say he’s dropped round with a home delivery because my back’s playing up. Oh dammit, you don’t know who he is or what he looks like.’
Blind panic seized Wilma by the throat. She’d never suffered a panic attack before. Now, she could either breathe into a paper bag or shove one over DJ’s head. No, that wouldn’t work.
‘I think Gus is here,’ she muttered. ‘Go to your room. We’ll carry on this conversation later.’
‘But I’d like to meet this man of yours and see if he’s a good match.’
Give me strength.This wasn’t an episode ofBlind Date,with Cilla presiding over couples to establish whether they clicked or had as much in common as a fish and a bicycle. ‘He’s chapping at the door now. And I suspect he’s heard your overly loud mouth, seeing as you’re right next to me.’
‘Wilma, please let me in,’ called Gus. How could someone’s voice provoke so many feelings? Tenderness, anger, disappointment and hope, all tied up in an excruciating bundle.
‘I will fetch your Hoover and clean,’ said DJ. ‘Papa told me how he cleaned for Jinnie. I am your new cleaner.’
It might work.As Gus hammered on the door again, DJ dug out Henry Hoover and plugged him in. To the sound of dust-sucking, Wilma opened the door. ‘Gus, I don’t recall answering your message or agreeing to you coming over. Mind you, I don’t recall a lot of things, but—’
‘Hear me out, Wilma.’ Gus looked worn out. His skin was a greyish hue that might have suited a trendy kitchen or bathroom but did nothing to enhance his appearance. His eyes were bloodshot, his shoulders sagging.
‘I got the message and photo from Shirley, so there’s really nothing to say. Sorry for your wasted journey.’
She moved to close the door, but Gus kept his hand on it, his brow furrowing as Henry audibly cut a swathe through the carpets. ‘Do you have a cleaner?’
‘I might. In fact, I do. Just started, and he’s an angel sent from cleaning heaven. I’ve accepted that some jobs are too much for me, so I’m forking out for the stuff I can’t cope with.’
‘Hello!’ DJ bounced into view, sporting aWe Clean, You Preenapron. Clearly, his inventive skills remained.
‘Erm, hello.’ Gus stuck out a hand which DJ shook vigorously. ‘Nice to meet you.’
‘And you,’ replied DJ. ‘I’ll leave you two in peace and tackle the toilet. It’s so satisfying getting rid of all those icky stains and making it shine like well-polished teeth.’ He grinned broadly, displaying his own gleaming gnashers.
‘I’ll have you know there are no icky stains in my loo, young man,’ said Wilma. ‘But the shower could do with a decent scrub.’
DJ skipped off, whistling as he went.
‘As you’re here, we might as well get this over with.’ Wilma stomped into the lounge.
‘I hope you don’t meanwe’reover,’ said Gus, trailing in her wake. ‘Not when we’ve so much to look forward to.’
‘Well, I’m no’ into threesomes, if that’s what you’re hoping for.’
Gus barked out a laugh. ‘Absolutely not. There’s only one woman in the world for me, and I’m looking right at her.’
Wilma’s stomach flipped, and not because of excessive pastry consumption. Despite the weariness oozing from his pores, Gus’s reddened eyes held a glimmer of hope.
‘You can’t believe I’d do what Shirley claimed in her nasty message,’ he continued. ‘Yes, we spent Christmas together, but only because she kept postponing her flight to Majorca. We certainly never shared a bed. Sharing a meal was hard enough, what with her bending my ear about giving things another go.’
‘But she sent me a picture of the two of you, all smoochy under the mistletoe.’
Gus sighed. ‘Wilma, that photo was from years ago. She used a filter or something to make it blurry. Take another look at it.’
