Ellie was very quiet when she returned to the car. Apart from saying that Abbie was no better, she hadn’t had much to say for the rest of the journey and appeared lost in thought. But by the time they reached John Lewis - Ellie’s idea of shopping heaven - Leo was relieved to see that her sister seemed to have recovered a little. The tension had eased in her face, and she was making a concerted effort to be a bit more cheerful.
As it was Sunday the store didn’t open until late, so they had a few minutes to wait. Leo saw her sister typing away on her phone, and presumed she was texting Max. She hoped Ellie wasn’t having another dig.
‘What are you up to, Ellie?’
‘I’m texting Georgia. I somehow seem to have offended her, so I’m hoping it was just a mistake,’ she replied.
She carried on typing with her thumbs.
‘I thought I’d keep it casual, as if whatever I’ve done to upset her never happened. I’ve written “Max being an arse. Gone to John Lewis. Plan to buy lots. Hope to see you soon.” Anyway, come on. The doors are opening. Let’s see what we can find to spend some money on, and irritate Max even more.’
Leo wasn’t a great fan of shopping, and had only agreed to come for Ellie’s sake. She didn’t see herself buying any clothes from this store and she had no interest in kitchen appliances - Ellie’s passion at the moment. After ten minutes of listening to her sister extolling the virtues of a particular set of pans, Leo escaped to the perfume and cosmetics counters to wile away some time trying new fragrances and checking out the latest makeup. Not her favourite pastime, but infinitely better than comparing pans.
Finally, she made her way back to the ground floor. It was forty minutes since they’d arrived, and she had no more than one new shiny red lipstick to show for her trip. Surely by now Ellie would have finished shopping?
Her sister wasn’t where she’d expected her to be. The store was busy now, but there was no sign of her. Sod it, Leo thought. I’m going to do one skim of the basement, and if she’s not there I’ll go and get a cup of coffee. She used the seconds at the top of the escalator to scan the crowds below, and spotted Ellie in the garden department, looking at some imitation flowers. Out of the corner of her eye, Leo glimpsed a figure in the crowd who seemed to be walking purposefully in Ellie’s direction. All she could see of him as she looked down into the crowd was the top of his hat. It looked like an Australian leather bush hat, and she had always thought they looked sexy on the right man. He was making a beeline for her sister, but just as he got close, Ellie looked up and spotted Leo, raising her hand to wave. The man veered off to the right towards the greetings cards. Leo shrugged. She must have been wrong.
Ellie was holding a fake bunch of freesias in her hand.
‘What do you want with those, Ellie? You’ve got a garden full of plants.’
Ellie thrust the flowers towards Leo, and held them under her nose.
‘I was wondering why anybody would buy fake flowers when the fresh ones are so very beautiful. See, there’s no smell. Wouldn’t you think that by now with all these fake room perfumes they would build something into fake flowers? I was only rooting around while I waited for you.’
Ellie put the flowers back into a huge vase, which was filled with every sort of bloom - from roses to tulips and daffodils.
‘Waiting for me? You have to be joking. I thought you would be ages with your pans - and you haven’t even bought anything yet.’
‘You think?’ Ellie laughed. ‘Everything has gone to collection, so that I can drive round and pick it up. But I need to pop into the supermarket next door for a few bits and pieces first. Come on. Let’s choose some scrummy things for lunch and try to cheer Max up. I won’t mention the car again. It’s not worth falling out about.’
Ellie linked her arm through Leo’s and headed towards the escalator back to the ground floor. Leo gave it a second, and then gently removed her arm. Ellie gave her a sideways glance,