Page 3 of Strictly Friends
About to argue,Ruby took one look at the frown that had suddenly appeared on her aunt’s face and swallowed her words. She returned her gaze to Shirlee’s red-rimmed eyes and the handkerchief clutched in her hand and suppressed the sigh bursting for release. Although it wasn’t their usual practice to find their way to her house, it wasn’t hard for Ruby to work out why this woman was here and in such apparent distress.
Trying to buy time while she figured out how to deal with the situation, Ruby walked over to Auntie Pearl and dropped a kiss on the soft, dark cheek so much like her mum’s. She gently dislodgedIndie, the plump cat curled up in the armchair next to the sofa, and sat down.
‘So, um, what brings you here, Shirlee?’ she asked gently, tucking her braids behind her ears as she leaned forward attentively.
‘It’s Griffin, of course! He – he’s finished with me!’ Shirlee wiped her nose with the hanky, and seconds later burst into sobs.
Ruby watched helplessly as a flood of tears cascaded down the woman’s face. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said humbly, sounding as contrite as if she was the one who had done the finishing with. ‘What happened? I thought you guys were getting on well.’
Shirlee wiped away the tears and blew her nose hard. ‘So did I! Griffin took me to dinner at an amazing restaurant in Chelsea last night and we had a brilliant evening. He got us a cab to go back to his place, and on the way I suggested that we go away together for the weekend. I thought spending more time alone would help us really connect as a couple and give us space to plan our next steps together. But then he – he said it was a bit soon for all of that. So, I told him I’m not getting any younger and I think it’s important to let any man I’m seeing know that I’m after a commitment. Before I knew it, he’d told the driver to take us to my flat instead, and then he went all quiet on me. When we got to mine and I tried to kiss him goodnight—’ She broke off as fresh tears tumbled down her cheeks. ‘He – he said he didn’t want to lead me on and that he wasn’t ready for that kind of com— commitment and it was probably best if we didn’t see each other anymo-oore!’ She ended with a sound that combined a sob with a loud snort.
Ruby grimaced and absently reached for the brimming mug of tea Shirlee had left untouched, taking a couple of sips while she mulled over the woman’s predicament. After her earlier confrontation with MrHinton, Ruby wasn’t in the best frame of mind to clear up a Griffin-shaped mess and smooth things over foryet another woman who had fallen too quickly and too hard for her commitment-phobic best friend.
‘Shirlee, I feel really bad for you about what’s happened, but I don’t understand why you’re here.’
Auntie Pearl grunted and took a long sip of her tea. Baffled, Ruby glanced at her, wondering why her aunt – never usually lost for words – had apparently taken a vow of silence.
Shirlee dabbed her eyes with the damp scrap of cotton. ‘I was too upset to think straight and your aunt said I could wait here until you finish work. I wanted to see you because you’re supposed to be his best friend. I thought you might be able to talk to him and get him to change his mind.’
‘Me?’ Ruby’s voice rose with incredulity. ‘I’m sorry, but have youmetGriffin?’
It never ceased to amaze her that anyone, particularly the women who dated him and had presumably seen first-hand just how pig-headed he could be, imagined that Griffin was amenable to taking orders or doing anything he didn’t want to. Deciding to overlook Shirlee’s belligerence in view of her obvious distress, Ruby softened her tone. ‘Look, I know you’re upset, but there’s nothing I can—’
‘Oh,please!’ Shirlee cut in, glaring accusingly at Ruby while balling the limp handkerchief in her palm. ‘Whenever I’m with Griffin, it’s always Ruby-this and Ruby-that. If anyone can make him change his mind, it’syou. From what I’ve seen, he doesn’t so much as sneeze without checking in with you first.’
Auntie Pearl grunted again, but Ruby was too stunned by the unfairness of Shirlee’s accusation to react. How the hell had Griffin’s bad behaviour suddenly becomeherfault? But despite Shirlee’s aggressiveness she still felt bad for the girl, and if Griffin had been in the room with them, she would have cheerfully thumped him – assuming Shirlee didn’t get there first.
Shirlee trained narrowed eyes on to Ruby. ‘I asked you that night we went to the club, and I’ll ask you now. If Griffin’s so obsessed with you, why the hell aren’t the two of you together?’
Ruby could feel her levels of sympathy for the woman plummeting, but before she could respond Shirlee waved a dismissive hand. ‘And please don’t tell me that silly story again about how the two of you kissed behind the bike shed when you were fourteen or whatever and how it wassoawful you knew you’d only ever be friends.’
Feeling more than a little aggrieved by Shirlee’s dismissive attitude – and embarrassed at having secrets she’d drunkenly confided to allay Shirlee’s fears blurted out in front of Auntie Pearl – Ruby maintained a stony silence. Undaunted, Shirlee continued to argue her case, eventually grinding to a halt with a petulant, ‘If you told him to make it work with me, hewould!’
‘Shirlee, I can assure you that I haveneverinterfered in Griff’s relationships!’ Ruby protested, appalled at the prospect of being dragged any further into her friend’s messy love life. ‘Yes, Griffin and I are close but, trust me, he makes his own decisions about his... um, affairs.’
As far as Ruby was concerned, any observations she might have occasionally made about Griffin’s taste in women was only the candid feedback any good friend would offer and in no way amounted to interference. After all, no-one could argue that Belinda, the stunning bodybuilder with a massive tattoo of a rose on her thigh who he’d met at the gym, hadn’t proved Ruby’s concerns right when she demanded Griffin tattoo her likeness on to his chest to prove he cared for her. Or that Ruby’s suspicions about Marsha – the gorgeous flight attendant with the flawless cocoa-brown skin and bee-stung lips who Griffin had met on a flight to Zanzibar and dated for a month – were unfounded afterthe woman turned up at Griffin’s apartment with two suitcases and her fluffy Pomeranian in tow.
However, notwithstanding Shirlee’s patent hostility, Ruby couldn’t help feeling bad for her. Griffin’s lackadaisical attitude to women was a reminder, if Ruby ever needed one after Kenny’s actions, that romantic relationships were a complete waste of time. Putting down the mug of tea she’d been cradling, Ruby tried her best to sound conciliatory. ‘Again, I’m sorry things have ended this way, but to be fair, youdidknow Griffin’s reputation when you started seeing him...’
She tailed off at Shirlee’s outraged expression and bit back the words hovering on her tongue.Oh, come on!As much as she sympathised with Shirlee’s heartbreak, there couldn’t be a single woman under the age of forty left in London who didn’t know Griffin Koinet’s reputation as the romantic equivalent of the plague – easily caught, and tough to recover from.
‘To be honest, I don’t even know why I bothered coming here.’ Shirlee drew in a deep, shuddering breath and exhaled, her shoulders slumping in resignation. ‘I mean, it’s not like you ever wanted me to be with Griffin, is it?’
Without waiting for an answer, Shirlee stood up and turned to Auntie Pearl with a tight smile. ‘I’m sorry to have disturbed you and I’m grateful to you for letting me in and being so kind. Thanks for the tea, although’ – she glanced at the half-empty mug on the side table and threw a venomous glance in Ruby’s direction – ‘it rather looks like that was taken away from me too.’
As she stalked out of the room, Auntie Pearl gestured furiously to Ruby to follow her. Gritting her teeth, Ruby scrambled out of the armchair after Shirlee, catching up with her at the front door and watching helplessly while the woman shrugged on her coat and flipped out her hair. As Shirlee reached for the handle and pulled opened the door, Ruby gave it one more try.
‘Shirlee, wait!’
Slowly Shirlee turned around, and Ruby winced at the scorn in the puffy-eyed glare directed at her.This isnotmyfault, dammit!
Shirlee’s lips, pinched into a pink slash that stood out against the pallor of her skin, appeared to disagree, and Ruby scrabbled to find the right words.
‘Look, why don’t you call Griffin and tell him how you feel? I know he really likes you and maybe you just took him by surprise when—’
‘If hereallyliked me,’ Shirlee echoed sarcastically, ‘I wouldn’t be standing here in the first place, would I? Tell you what, Ruby, why don’t you just go out with Griffin yourself and spare the rest of us from being treated like crap!’
With that, she walked out and slammed the door behind her.
