Page 39 of For Love or Money
‘Er … yeah.’
Jane smiled fondly at Al. ‘Hold onto this one, Lesley,’ she said, dropping her head onto his shoulder affectionately. ‘He’s one in a million.’
‘I certainly think so,’ Lesley said, giving Al what she hoped was a suitably adoring look.
‘You two are probably hungry,’ Jane said. ‘We should have some supper.’
Lesley was ravenous, but said nothing, not wanting to seem too forward.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,’ Al said. ‘We don’t want to interrupt your writing.’
‘I was just knocking off for the evening anyway when I heard you drive up,’ Jane said.
‘We’ve brought loads of food.’ Al opened the cool box and started to unload it into the fridge. ‘It looks like we’ve come just in time,’ he said, as he filled the shelves. ‘What were you planning to eat tonight?’
‘I think there’s an egg around somewhere,’ Jane said. ‘I thought I might do something with that.’
‘What have you been living on?’ Al asked, shutting the door and turning to his aunt, his eyes sweeping around the kitchen.
‘My wits – what’s left of them.’
‘That’s what I was afraid of.’ He pursed his lips and began unpacking the grocery bags onto the table. There were jars of roasted peppers and plump chick peas, cartons of eggs, loaves of crusty sourdough and brown soda bread, slabs of cheese wrapped in waxy paper, punnets of berries, and bags of colourful vegetables, as well as several bottles of wine. ‘And yet you’ve been baking biscuits. I think that’s what’s known as fur coat and no knickers.’
‘I was starving and shortbread was the only thing I had the ingredients for.’
‘Well, you’re not eating like that on my watch.’ He glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘It’d take hours to get this place fit to even start cooking,’ he said, indicating the jumble of the kitchen. ‘Why don’t we go to the pub tonight? We can tackle this lot tomorrow.’
Who’s we, Paleface, Lesley thought.
‘Gosh, it would be good to get out,’ Jane said. ‘I’m starting to go stir crazy. But I’m not fit to be seen. The people around here think I’m enough of a daft old bat as it is.’
‘You’re a writer,’ Al said. ‘You’re allowed to be a bit eccentric. Anyway, I bet they love having a local celebrity. It’ll give them something to talk about.’
‘My goal in life,’ Jane said dryly. ‘Anyway, I’ve nothing to wear – I haven’t done any washing in weeks. And my hair’s a mess. I’m practically feral.’
‘Tosh! You just need a bit of a hosing down and you’ll be right as rain. Besides, Lesley likes her grub and she gets cranky if she’s not fed. You don’t want to be responsible for my girlfriend falling out with me.’
‘Well, I suppose when you put it like that,’ Jane said, pushing away from the table and standing up. ‘I’ll have a quick shower and see what I can find.’
‘Come on and I’ll show you our room,’ Al said to Lesley when she had gone. He picked up the bags and led the way up to the ground floor, through a spacious, dusty entrance hall and up a wide staircase to the first floor. He opened a door off the landing and Lesley stepped into a large draughty bedroom, the wooden floorboards mostly covered by a faded threadbare rug.
Al dumped their bags on the floor, and Lesley’s heart sank as her eyes drifted to the bed, feeling awkward suddenly about having to discuss the sleeping arrangements with Al. Damn, why hadn’t she brought it up sooner?
‘This was Scott’s room,’ Al told her, striding across to the bed. ‘And the beauty of it is …’ He hunkered down and slid out a mattress on wheels from underneath. ‘Scott used to like having his friends over for sleepovers.’ He looked up at Lesley. ‘Happy?’
Lesley grinned, relaxing. ‘Happy.’ She was also impressed that he’d realised she might be feeling uncomfortable. ‘But what about Jane? Won’t she think it’s odd?’
‘Oh, don’t worry, she won’t come in here.’ He stood up. ‘I’ll show you where the bathroom is, if you want to freshen up before the pub.’
13
It was a short walk to the pub along a narrow road that sloped downhill to the sea, flanked on either side by a patchwork of green fields bordered by low dry stone walls. There was no traffic, the sound of their footsteps reverberating in the surrounding hush as they walked three abreast in the centre of the road. The only other noise was the chirping of birds and the muffled bark of a dog in the distance. Lesley had to hide her surprise when Al took her hand as they strolled along. She had to keep reminding herself that she was supposed to be his girlfriend. She relaxed and smiled at him as his fingers curled around hers, trying to act as if it felt natural.
It was only six-thirty, but the pub was already busy, a wall of heat and noise greeting them as they stepped inside. Lesley wondered where all the people had come from – the area seemed deserted for miles around. Jane was the centre of attention as soon as they arrived, and Lesley felt everyone’s eyes following them as they made their way through the crowded bar, several people raising a glass in greeting or nodding hello as she passed. She had scrubbed up well, and was more recognisable now as the star Lesley remembered from her youth, wearing a simple black jersey dress, which she had tarted up with a chunky silver necklace and long silver earrings. She had aged well and was still a beautiful woman, but she had an indefinable something about her that was more than the sum of her pretty features and slim figure – a sort of magnetism that commanded attention as soon as she walked into a room. She drew many openly admiring glances as she led the way to a table in a quiet corner.
‘It’s bog-standard pub fare,’ Jane told them as they sat and picked up laminated menus, ‘but the food is really good.’
A burly bald-headed man slid out from behind the bar and came over to take their order, greeting Jane like a long-lost friend. He shook hands with Al, calling him by name, and Jane introduced him to Lesley as Liam. After a few pleasantries were exchanged, they all ordered fillet steaks and chips, and a bottle of red wine.
