Just Like the Other Girls - Claire Douglas Page 0,85

kind to me.’ I don’t know why I’m sticking up for Elspeth, but Daisy is getting on my nerves.

Her large eyes widen even further. ‘Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it.’

Just then the door opens and Kathryn walks in. She has an air of harassment about her and is fumbling in her handbag. Her usually neat hair is a fuzzy halo around her head and her mascara has smudged. If I didn’t know better I’d think she’d been crying.

Surprise registers on her face when she sees me. ‘Oh, hi, Willow. What are you doing here?’

I stand up and explain about the books.

‘The books?’ She looks flustered. ‘I … To be honest, I’m not sure where they are.’

‘Oh.’

‘Tell Mother I’ll pop over with them later.’

‘Okay.’

She bestows a thin-lipped smile on me. ‘Sorry you had a wasted journey.’

It’s my cue to leave. I say thank you and exit the shop, feeling even more confused. It’s obvious she’s lying. But why?

31

Courtney

Courtney’s feet ache. It’s been a long day in the salon with some very tricky customers, particularly Felicity Alpine, with her thick mane of hair that wouldn’t be tamed no matter how hard Courtney tried. Felicity was never happy with it, yet she always came back and always requested Courtney. Usually, after a visit from Felicity, Courtney would ring Una and they would laugh about her and her wild hair, her plummy accent and condescending manner. The chasm that Una has left in Courtney’s life gapes even wider when it dawns on her, as it does every time she has the urge to call her best friend, that she’ll never talk to Una again.

She stops at the newsagent’s on the way to the bus stop to get some sweets. Una used to laugh at her love of anything chewy. Sometimes Courtney ordered the old-school sweets from the internet so she could feast on a Wham bar or a packet of Refreshers. She buys some wine gums, not her favourite but they’ll have to do, and pops one into her mouth as she boards the bus.

It’s packed tonight and she’s lucky to get a seat. If she had to stand up, after being on her feet all day, she’d scream. There is a waft of BO coming from the man crammed in next to her as he plays Angry Birds on his mobile. The journey tonight is never-ending, the only positive being that the days are slowly drawing out and it’s still light when the bus reaches her stop.

As she’s walking back to her flat her mobile buzzes in the pocket of her biker jacket. The number is unknown but she answers it anyway, expecting it to be a call centre, so she’s surprised when the man on the other end introduces himself to her as Peter Freeman. He begins to explain who he is but she cuts him off: ‘I know who you are.’

He asks her if she’d meet him tonight for a drink as he’s driving back to London later. Her heart sinks at the prospect of having to make the journey back into the centre of town, but she can’t let this opportunity pass.

He must sense her hesitation because he adds, ‘Or I can see you somewhere near where you live? I’m happy to meet anywhere.’

She suggests her local pub, which is just down the road from her flat and very old-fashioned, usually only frequented by the over-sixties who have been going there for the past thirty years, but it will save her feet. He says he’ll see her in an hour.

Courtney lets herself into the flat. Kris has been living with her since January and already the flat smells like him. Una’s once rose-scented bedroom is now filled with his drum kit, old vinyl records, an amp, stereos and other paraphernalia. Her bathroom cabinet is crammed with his aftershaves, razors, toothpicks, hair gels and mouthwash. It was only supposed to be a temporary thing because she knew, by September, she’d be off with Una, travelling the globe. And now she feels trapped. She doesn’t want to see the world by herself, but she certainly doesn’t want to go with Kris. She sighs. The problem is her parents. They have such a great marriage – the love they have for each other is still as solid today as it was when she was a kid. They make each other laugh all the time. When she goes home to visit them it’s not unusual to see her mum doubled up with laughter