Page 26 of A Clean Sweep
'Oh Susan, I really hope we haven't upset you. We just wanted to give you a little surprise on your special day.'
Susan drew back from the embrace and broke into a huge smile. It was a bit like the sun peeking through grey clouds and transformed her face from downcast to delighted.
'I'm just completely stunned that you've done all this for me.' She waved her hand around the room which was bedecked with balloons and banners, a small but beautifully wrapped pile of presents arranged on the coffee table.
To think she'd almost not come! When she'd read the email from Emily about a book club meeting on the evening of her birthday she'd immediately fired off a reply saying she couldn't make it. Within minutes Emily had called her and wouldn't take no for an answer.
'I know I'm a bit of a sergeant major but if we don't rallythe troops and sort out what we're reading in the coming months then there'll be mutiny! Esther gets downright tetchy if she can't stock up in Waterstones months in advance. Please come, there'll be cake!'
She hadn't been expecting this. Not in a million years. Susan felt her eyes fill again as Emily appeared from the kitchen with a tray of champagne flutes and bottles of Prosecco. Celeste and Esther followed bearing trays of canapés: mini quiches; a selection of sandwiches, smoked salmon blinis and sausage rolls. Everyone took a filled glass and raised them in toast to Susan.
'Cheers!' said Meryl. 'Here's to new beginnings and happy days ahead. You know fifty is the new thirty so seize the day, my dear girl.'
Plates were distributed and food eagerly devoured. Susan's appetite had waned in the course of her treatment but she gamely nibbled a few things. There weren'tmanygood things to say about having cancer but she'd dropped quite a few pounds. Every cloud and all that, she thought wistfully.
'Pressie time! Come on Susan, get stuck in,' urged Emily. She did with gusto, tearing off the shiny wrapping paper to reveal a treasure trove of gifts. A bottle of perfume; a pretty pair of earrings; a voucher for a manicure, and a beautiful scarf in shades of lime green and gold.
'You really shouldn't have. You are all too, too kind. Thank you. Thank yousomuch.'
Everyone was chattering away happily. Susan found herself telling them all about her cancer treatment which prompted another round of big hugs. Nancy Edwards then revealed – to everyone's astonishment – that she'd had breast cancer too and had recently been given the all-clear.
'It's a tough road, for sure, but when they catch it early – like you – then the prognosis is good. If you ever want to talkto me about it please, just call. In fact, we're looking for new members for our mahjong club so if you're interested …'
Not really, thought Susan, but she appreciated the kind offer. There'd been a couple of others too. Alice Johnson was a keen movie goer, 'but him indoors hates the cinema so if you ever fancy a night out with a bucket of popcorn then give me a shout.' This was much more Susan’s thing, as was Emily and Celeste's suggestion that they meet up once a week to go walking.
'Got to get the steps in now I've got this little monster keeping an eye on me,' announced Celeste, waggling her wrist to show off her band. It would do her the world of good to get some exercise, maybe even help to shed a bit more weight.
Susan was well aware that the party and all the proposed social activities were borne out of pity for her. Poor, lonely Susan with her cancer and her sad little life. But did it reallymatterwhythey were doing it? For the first time in years she felt content and included. It was about time she stopped hiding from the world with only mountains of food for company. What was it Meryl said? To seize the day. Carpe diem, her new motto from hereon in.
As she'd been caught up in her own thoughts, Susan hadn't noticed that the lights had been dimmed. She looked up as Emily made her way carefully to the dining table, a cake on a silver platter in her hands. Space had been cleared and she set it down with a flourish, producing a lighter to ignite the two candles – a five and a zero – which took centre stage. Beneath them, stark against the white icing, were the wordsHappy birthday Susanin bright pink.
'We did think about having fifty small candles but decided against it. Didn't want another fire hazard!' joked Emily. Everyone gathered around, singing loudly again as Susan bent down and blew the candles out. 'Make a wish! Make awish!' they all commanded. She did, sending up a silent prayer to whoever might be listening. 'Please, let me beat this awful disease and – if I can have one more – maybe some happier times ahead.'
The cake was dismantled and sliced, each of them pronouncing it another triumph by the patisserie. Susan took a small portion and politely declined seconds and to take the remainder home.
'Please, divide it up between you. I'd just end up devouring the lot and that wouldn't be a good way to kick off my good resolutions for the next year!'
Two weekslater and Susan had undergone another couple of rounds of treatment. She hated it and felt distinctly sick afterwards but viewed each appointment as another two fingers up to her cancer. Her consultant was a kindly man in his late fifties who always made her feel important and not just another case to deal with. 'You're doing well, Susan,' he'd said at her last visit. 'Keep up the good work!' She smiled, thinking it was the doctors and nurses who were doing all the work. All she had to do was turn up and let them zap those rogue mutant cells into oblivion.
In the meantime, she had been to the cinema once with Alice and thoroughly enjoyed herself. She'd also been on a couple of walks with Emily and Celeste and found the fresh air, exercise and company just what the doctor ordered. The pounds were still coming off, albeit slowly, as she was paying close attention to her diet too. No more late night snacking, just three sensibly portioned meals a day. She deliberately avoided passing the patisserie which she considered her Achilles heel. Satisfyingly, her clothes felt looser and she felt lighter both in body and in spirit. She no longer felt the needto indulge in idle gossip or wild speculation about other people's lives. This washerlife and if she was being given a second shot at it then she had no intention of screwing that up.
Before heading home, Susan wanted to pick up a couple of paperbacks. Although many of the book club members used their iPads or Kindles to download reading material, Susan loved the look and feel of an actual book. Always had done and she saw no reason to changethataspect of her life. She could spend hours browsing, drawn to one book by its cover, another by the blurb on the back. Her taste certainly wasn't highbrow – romantic fiction and edgy thrillers were more her scene – but she loved to lose herself in a good story.
A new bookshop had opened in town a couple of months before. The old one had closed down when the owner retired and the premises had been turned into a pet emporium. For almost a year she'd had to travel further afield to stock her shelves, occasionally using Amazon, but again she missed the physical contact and ambience only a real shop could provide. She’d been delighted when an entrepreneurial young couple had transformed a former rundown ironmonger's into a cosy bookshop cum café. They'd managed to create a truly welcoming environment, complete with comfy leather chairs and sofas, old-fashioned chandeliers and a vintage coffee machine they'd imported from Italy.
Entering the shop, the delicious aroma of freshly brewed coffee and a hint of cinnamon from the pastries they had delivered daily assailed Susan's nostrils. The former she would order in a moment, the latter she would savour only by smell. Firstly, she would have a look at this week's Top Picks which were displayed in a beautiful oak cabinet by the door. A couple caught her eye immediately, and she removed a copy of each to study them more closely. She also spotted asign saying that a well-known local author of grisly murder mysteries would be doing a book signing there the following week. Susan made a mental note to jot down the date in her diary.Death Defiantsounded worth a look.
With a cup of coffee in one hand and her books in another, Susan weaved her way through the other customers scrutinising the shelves and tables piled high with reading material. There was a free Chesterfield just ahead if no-one beat her to it. Damn! She was almost there when a male figure rounded the opposite corner and plonked himself down. Cursing under her breath, Susan swivelled around in search of somewhere else to sit. Then swivelled back again, coffee slopping over the saucer. Itcouldn'tbe … could it? After all these years, it wasimpossible.As she stared in open-mouthed disbelief, the chair thief raised his head and stared back at her. Before Susan could find words in her paralysed throat, he got to his feet and stood before her. Observing that her hand was shaking and threatening to tip the entire contents of the cup on the floor, he gently removed it and placed it on the small side table. She clasped her books to her chest, feeling her heart thudding beneath them.
'Susan. It reallyisyou. For a second I thought I was hallucinating. Or had accidentally slipped through some cosmic time warp. It's been – what – twenty years? Such a long time. How are you? God, this is totally surreal. Although I should have known the one place I'd be most likely to bump into you would be a bookshop!'
Aware she was still gawping like a deranged goldfish, Susan put down her books and reached out her hand. Jonathan ignored the polite gesture and pulled her towards him and into a giant hug. Feeling the heat rising in her cheeks she succumbed for a moment then pulled away. The feel of his body so close to hers brought back powerful memories she felt unable to process right now.
'Yes, it's really me. This is so weird. Gosh, you haven't changed a bit. How come you're here, of all places? I thought you'd moved away?'
After their split – or rather, her rejection of him – Susan had heard on the grapevine that he'd packed in his job and relocated somewhere up north. Manchester or Birmingham, she couldn't remember. He'd written to her a few times but she'd never replied and eventually the letters had stopped.
'I've been in Salford working with a chartered surveyor firm since I left, but I was headhunted for a job back here four months ago and decided it was too good to turn down. Plus, deep down I always missed this place, so it was great to come back. I did think of trying to contact you but …'
