Page 37 of The Little Shop on Silver Linings Street
Friday the 13th December – how could a trip on this day be anything other than a disaster from start to finish? Daisy stared at herself in the mirror, sticking out her tongue and tugging at her skirt. She felt scratchy and uncomfortable but Lawrence’s instructions had been very clear. She should be well dressed, smart, no trousers and, if she had them (this was what irritated her the most), good quality or designer clothes. She almost cancelled the trip right there and then. She took in a deep breath. Andrelax, she urged herself. For goodness’ sake, Daisy, you will have the most horrendous day if you carry on like this.
They were travelling by train, so Daisy had arranged to meet Lawrence at the nearest station, a half hour’s drive away. She drove slowly, glancing anxiously at the sky which was heavy and looked laden with snow. She spotted Lawrence’s silver Lexus the moment she pulled into the car park. It was in a reserved space, leaving her to trawl the rows looking for a free slot among the rank and file. Mercifully, she found one, and hurried from the warmth of her car across to where Lawrence was parked. He was reading a newspaper, the broad sheets almost filling the interior of the car. His tan leather driving gloves curled around its edges. How he turned the pages, Daisy had no idea. She stood there for a moment feeling increasingly foolish while she waited for him to notice her but then, deciding that he was either ignoring her, or just incredibly unaware of his surroundings, she rapped sharply on the window.
He turned, frowning at first but then quickly rearranged his face into a smile. She watched as he folded the newspaper meticulously into smaller and smaller sections, revealing –Oh, dear God– he was wearing a suit and tie. Where on earth did you go out for the day that necessitated wearing something so formal? If Daisy had been nervous before, now her anxiety levels were going through the roof.
She waited while he organised himself, hopping from one foot to the other to keep warm. The newspaper was tucked away, the driving gloves were removed and swapped for a black pair, a phone was collected, a coat and scarf slid from a hanger above the rear door, until finally Lawrence was suitably dressed and ready to greet her.
‘Daisy,’ he said briefly, nodding. ‘Thanks for coming.’ He checked his watch. ‘We should go,’ he added, ‘and I’ll brief you on the train.’
She stared at him. ‘Hi Lawrence, it’s nice to see you too.’ She couldn’t help herself. Pompous idiot.
He coloured slightly and cleared his throat. ‘Yes, of course. My apologies… This is all rather… awkward, isn’t it?’
He actually looked so uncomfortable that Daisy suddenly felt rather sorry for him. She smiled. ‘It doesn’t have to be,’ she said. ‘I’m nervous too, but we can still have a nice day. I was just as nervous when I went out with Bertie but—’
‘Well yes, of course… life and soul of the party, Bertie – what’s not to like about a day out with Bertie? I should imagine it’s just fun, fun, fun, morning, noon and night.’
Daisy felt herself colouring, but she bit her tongue; arguing with Lawrence would only make it worse.
‘I agree, you’re very different,’ she said cautiously. ‘But Bertie is struggling with this competition just as much as you, believe me. Perhaps he just shows it differently, that’s all.’
Lawrence raised his eyebrows. ‘Yeah, by refusing to take it seriously. That’s pretty much his stance on everything.’
He indicated that they should start walking, his mouth set in a straight line. Whatever Daisy might have wanted to say in response would clearly have to wait and she watched his retreating back in dismay. It could well turn out to be one of the longest days of her life.
It wasn’t a big station and there were only two platforms, connected by a footbridge, but both were already thronged with people. She glanced up at the departure board as she hurried after Lawrence; she still had no idea where they were going. He was headed towards the far end of the platform and, to her surprise, pushed open a door that she didn’t remember ever seeing before. He held it open for her as she passed inside into a smallish room with plush seating and a temperature far exceeding that of outside. It was also empty. She looked back towards the door and the milling people outside on the platform, their faces animated as they chatted, rubbing hands and stamping feet to keep warm. It seemed far preferable to her than the silent space she would have to occupy with Lawrence.
She sat down, pulling her bag around her so that she could cradle it in her lap. Her hands reached automatically for the keys inside, her fingers folding around them, so that they might keep her safe. She swallowed and looked around.
The room was a strange mixture of corporate hospitality on the one hand, with advertisements boasting unrivalled levels of service for the modern business person, and on the other, soft furnishings and watercolours more usually found in hotel foyers. There were also no windows. Daisy looked towards the door a little uneasily.
‘I’ve never been in here before,’ she said. ‘In fact, I didn’t even know it existed. It’s a bit of an odd little room though.’
‘Is it?’ replied Lawrence. ‘I’ve never really thought about it.’
‘But how do you know when the train is coming?’ she added. ‘If you can’t see out.’
Lawrence silently indicated a small screen set in the wall next to a painting of some geese. It was so incongruous it made her want to laugh. She didn’t though.
‘Ah, I see…’ She looked about her again. ‘No one else seems to know this room is here either. You’d think they’d put a sign on the door or something.’
‘It’s the first-class lounge,’ said Lawrence, inspecting his gloves, his tone just crossing the line into condescension.
Daisy rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, silly me,’ she muttered. Her fingers gripped her keys even tighter. She chewed at the inside of her cheek. ‘So where are we going then?’ she asked, grinning. ‘To see the Queen?’
She expected a smile, possibly even a chuckle, or at the very least for her comment to be parried with another in similar fashion, but instead Lawrence gave her a look that was not far off a glare.
‘Wearegoing to London,’ he replied, stiffly. ‘But not to sightsee. Under the circumstances that would be rather a waste of time. And I would imagine that even were the Queen at home she wouldn’t be keen to spend her afternoon discussing the price of fish.’
Daisy could feel her cheeks flushing again, but was saved from having to find a suitable reply by a soft ping from the monitor on the wall.
‘That’s us,’ said Lawrence. ‘Come along, and once we’re settled I can explain what’s going to be happening today.’ He got to his feet and crossed to the door.
Daisy stared at his back. Just like that, she thought. No,Where would you like to go?orWhat would you like to do?She had imagined that the day would be very different from the one she’d spent with Bertie, but at least he’d tried to consider what she might like. Here she was simply fulfilling a function.
She took her seat on the train, grateful to at least be sitting by the window, and watched as Lawrence settled himself, taking off his gloves and coat and laying them carefully on the rack above his head.
‘Right,’ he said purposefully the minute he was seated beside her. ‘I’ve made a list of things I shall need to know about you.’ He reached for his inside jacket pocket. ‘So let’s get these ticked off first, it shouldn’t take too long. And it would be helpful if you could answer as fully as possible. I shall make notes.’
