Page 98 of The Reboot
‘Are you two…’ She nodded at their joined hands.
Ella didn’t say anything, unsure how Roly felt about his family knowing about them.
‘Yep,’ he said easily, clasping her hand tighter as he turned to smile at her. ‘We’re … what did you crazy kids call it in your day? Going steady?’
‘Hey, I’m not that old,’ Loretta protested, beaming at them both.
‘Well, this is great!’ Christine lifted the bottle and topped up all their glasses with the rest of the prosecco. ‘I must say, I’m relieved.’
‘Relieved?’ Roly frowned.
‘I was telling Mum before you came,’ Loretta said. ‘I saw a thing on Facebook about you being seen with Pippa at some nightclub. It said you looked loved up and it was sort of hinting that maybe you were getting back together.’
‘We were not loved up! Ella was there too that night. We’re definitely not getting back together. But it’s good to know what you really thought of my girlfriend,’ he said to Christine huffily.
‘Oh, she wasn’t a bad sort really,’ Christine allowed.
‘She was just a little bit spoilt and selfish, but she’d have grown out of that,’ Loretta said kindly.
She hasn’t grown out of it yet, Ella thought. She’d want to get on that fast.
‘She was a nice girl, really, when you got to know her.’
‘We just like this one better,’ Christine said, raising her glass to Ella. ‘A lot better.’
They ate a glorious seafood stew fragrant with orange and cardamom, that Ella thought was one of the best things she’d ever tasted.
‘It’s lovely to see you two so happy, coupled up,’ Loretta said, smiling fondly at Ella and Roly.
‘Speaking of coupling up, will we be meeting your new boyfriend soon?’ Christine asked. ‘Isn’t he supposed to be coming over next week?’
A shadow flickered across Loretta’s face. ‘He was, but he had some awful hassle with his papers. Now they’ve confiscated his passport, and he has to bribe them to get it back. The officials there are so corrupt.’
Ella had an uneasy feeling. She willed Christine or Roly to ask the questions that were spinning around in her head, but to her frustration, neither of them did.
‘And now someone’s skimmed his bank card, so all his accounts are frozen and he has no way to access his money until he gets that sorted out.’
‘Sounds like a nightmare!’ Roly said.
‘He does seem to have an awful lot of bad luck,’ Christine said, her tone hard and devoid of sympathy. Ella was relieved that she sounded cynical. ‘It’s one disaster after another. Maybe you’re as well off without him.’
‘Poor Mike,’ Loretta said. ‘He’s had an awful time of it, but it’s hardly his fault.’
‘He’s never asked you for money, has he?’ Christine asked sharply.
Loretta blushed. ‘No, of course not.’ She frowned. ‘It’s not that he’s skint – you know he’s always sending me expensive presents.’
‘That’s true,’ Christine said.
‘It’s just a temporary setback; it could happen to anyone. Anyway, as soon as he gets it all sorted out, he’ll come straight here.’
‘I can’t wait to meet him,’ Roly said, smiling at her.
Dessert was birthday cake made by Loretta – triple layers of red velvet sponge, covered in white icing. But it was unlike any birthday cake Ella had ever had before. On top Loretta had created a whole scene – there was a tiny Ella running on a track towards a finish line that read ‘Happy Birthday, Ella’, while along the route little figures of Roly, Christine and Loretta cheered her on, their arms in the air. At the finishing post, another Ella stood in cap and gown, a rolled-up scroll in her hand, and a pile of books stacked up beside her. They all sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to her, but when she blew out the candles, her life in that moment felt so perfect, she couldn’t think of anything to wish for.
‘What do you think about this boyfriend of your mum’s?’ she asked hesitantly as they walked home later.
‘He seems all right. He’s very handsome, isn’t he – for an older dude?’
