Page 43 of Christmas Romance Galore!
Another crunch of thunder interrupted our joyous conversation. I moved as central as I could get under my umbrella, whereas Nicola just stood and stared, water cascading off her shiny helmet, her uniform seemingly making her indifferent to the weather conditions.
“Let’s try to get this over with as quickly as possible, shall we?” Nicola said, glancing at me again.
I presumed she was talking about the fire alarm.
“Right you are,” Maureen replied.
Nicola turned on her heel and Maureen scuttled after her, disappearing into the building without a single look back towards me. The wind had picked up now and the rain was slanting horizontally into my body, my umbrella not much help at all.
I ran towards the building and took shelter in the reception area, along with the other fire marshals from the other floors. My umbrella dripped silently at my side and the air was filled with the scent of wet tarmac and gently steaming bodies, damp and bothered from the inconvenience. Sal was nowhere to be seen — was she hiding under her desk eating the offending toast?
When Nicola and Maureen came back down the stairs five minutes later, Maureen was clutching a clipboard and nodding to Nicola, who was being followed by a colleague I recognised from their previous visit.
Maureen rolled her eyes as she passed me. “Off to round up the troops,” she said. The other fire wardens slipped off to do the same, and with Nicola’s work colleague out the door as well, it was just me and her. However, this morning, even in her uniform, Nicola did not spell desire. Rather, she spelled Trouble with a capital T.
“I hope the wedding goes well.” My voice was flat.
Nicola scrunched up her face. “Really?”
I gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Really.”
She smiled grimly. “I’m sorry about everything. I was just confused and got a bit nostalgic. But I’m marrying Melanie. I can’t let her down.”
“A great basis for a marriage,” I said.
“I’ve heard of worse,” Nicola replied, folding her arms across her chest. “Anyway, you and me, we’d never have worked. Not with Holly in the picture.” Nicola fixed me with her eyes as she said it.
“What’s Holly got to do with anything?” I was genuinely perplexed.
She angled her head. “Really, Tori? It was always there at school, you know that. But now? You two should just bite the bullet and get it over with.”
I shook my head. “Stop trying to deflect the situation. Me and Holly are friends, that’s all. You’re the one who kissed me—”
“—And you pushed me away? I don’t think so.”
We both stood glaring at each other, daring the other to take it further.
Nicola blinked first. “Face it, Tori. We had unfinished business. Now it’s finished. You can get on with your life and I can get on with mine. Although I’ve taken you off the wedding list. I assume you’re not coming?”
My hand was on the move before I could stop it. I reached out and slapped Nicola across the face. That was for my present self, as well as my 16-year-old self. The sound as my palm connected with her cheek echoed around the building’s reception, and I heard a gasp behind us. I gasped internally too — far from being satisfying, I just felt a bit sick.
We both turned to see Maureen standing there, jaw hanging open, along with half the rest of the building behind her. I wasn’t sure how long they’d been standing there, but I was pretty sure they’d seen me slapping Nicola, the first time I’d ever done such a thing in my whole life. I stared down at my hand, which was shaking, and then up at Nicola who was clutching her cheek.
I still couldn’t believe I’d just done that.
After a few moments, she puffed out her cheeks and shook herself down. “I’ll take that as a no then,” she said.
With that, she whipped around and signed Maureen’s admin sheet. “I’ll be sending one of my officers round next week to check all your devices so you’d better get new ones. Otherwise, I’ll be issuing a fine. Clear?”
Maureen nodded meekly, then Nicola walked out of the door and out of my life. Again. But this time, I had a feeling it was for good. I felt the cloak of closure settle on my shoulders, and it fitted perfectly.
Once she’d gone, the rest of the office workers began streaming up the stairs, leaving me standing, shell-shocked.
Maureen made her way over to me, concern etched on her face. “Everything okay?”
I exhaled loudly. “It will be,” I said, giving her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “And don’t worry, I only slap people I’m really mad at.” My hand was still stinging.
“Remind me not to get on the wrong side of you in the future, then,” she replied.
