Breaking the Ice (16 page)

‘
Yes!’ Samantha replied, putting a hand to her throat as she swallowed.

Faking excitement was killing her.

‘
That’s great! So you phoned him yesterday and you met up after the show - where did you go? What did you do? First base? Second? Not third? Tell me you didn’t!’ Cleo continued, bouncing up and down and tugging at Samantha’s freshly ironed jumper.

‘
I didn’t and you’ll be the first to know if I do. Look I’ve got to go, I’ll see you later,’ Samantha said, relieving her sister from her clothes and heading out of the room and into the hallway.

‘
So where did you go? Some expensive restaurant I bet, was it Godiva’s?’ Cleo interrogated, speaking of the most costly restaurant in the district.

‘
I’ll see you later. If you remember the last part of your evening then give me a ring,’ Samantha spoke hurriedly, picking up her coat and bag from the peg in the hallway and rushing toward the front door.

‘
Don’t think you can avoid giving me the details. I will get them, you know I always do. Resistance is futile! Hang on! Sam! Did I have curry last night? I’ve got a horrible brown mark on my new skirt and I’m really hoping it’s curry,’ Cleo yelled as she watched her younger sister leave the house.

Samantha smiled to herself as she began her walk to the hall. She never got the tube, too many people far too close and she wasn’t keen on being underground. Plus, their mother had been mugged once on the tube by a man posing as a nun. Samantha had never looked at any member of the clergy in the same light again after that.

After the awful day yesterday, last night had been really good. She had spent an hour in Jimmy’s company learning how to skate properly. He had even taught her some of the easier moves of one of his routines from the show. He had been nice, down to earth and a patient instructor when she had wobbled about and fallen over. He kept encouraging her and praising her and picking her up when she hit the floor. He didn’t seem anything like the person
Star Life
magazine had been depicting. And he was single. He had told Cleo as much when she was practically sat on his lap. He liked Cleo, he was nice to her and he bought her crisps. But he did say he liked books too.

Today everything felt a bit strange
. She didn’t know what it was, but it just felt different -
she
felt different. Her nose was still red and sore, her legs were aching from the skating but she felt almost invigorated at the thought of the day ahead. There was hard work to do, there were spreadsheets and accounts to look through. She needed to ensure everything was up together - the Civic Hall needed her.

However, as the entrance came into sight she stopped in her tracks and a cloud appeared on her bright mental horizon. Felicity and Jane were stood outside the Civic Hall holding aloft placards. They bore the slogans ‘Council Cop Out of Community’ and ‘Civic Hall R.I.P’. Both signs displayed a wobbly drawing of a skull and crossbones. She saw Gobby loitering by one of the bins, ducking behind it whenever Jane stomped past brandishing her sign.

‘
Felicity, what are you doing?’ Samantha asked as she reached her two colleagues and tried to ignore the looks they were all receiving from passersby.

‘
What does it look like? We’re protesting,’ she responded, waving her banner in the air.

‘
Put the placards down before too many people see you,’ Samantha told her and she took hold of Felicity’s sign and attempted to take it out of her hands.

‘
We want people to see us, don’t we Jane. That’s why we’re standing here, protesting. There’s no point protesting if no one sees you. Anyway, the local paper will be here in a minute. My boyfriend Tony works on the switchboard and he’s going to get one of the reporters down here,’ Felicity informed Samantha.

Tony sounded like another good choice of man with excellent prospects. At least this one had a job. Where did she meet them? If this was the type of man you met when you actively looked for dating opportunities then Samantha was glad she didn’t bother.

‘
We have a banner for you too,’ Jane announced and held out a sign to Samantha which read ‘Bollocks to Borough Council’.

‘
I don’t want a banner and you two shouldn’t be standing out here with them either. You’ll scare away the customers and it's OAP day in the restaurant. We don’t want to make Mrs Nelmes pee herself again, she smells bad enough as it is,’ Samantha exclaimed, stepping back from the offending sign.

‘
Customers have been signing the petition,’ Jane continued.

‘
A petition! A petition for what?’ Samantha asked them.

‘
To stop the council closing the Civic Hall of course,’ Felicity retorted.

‘
They aren’t closing the Civic Hall, not yet anyway. The council has to look into things first. So, displaying banners with derogatory slogans isn’t going to aid our cause is it?’ Samantha spoke forcefully.

It didn’t sound like her voice, it was full of authority and power. It was Margaret Thatcher organising her cabinet, it was Hilary Clinton berating her philandering husband, it was her mother telling her father not to leave the electric blanket on. She opened her mouth again and coughed.

‘
Dave said that…’ Jane began, looking at Felicity for confirmation.

‘
It doesn’t matter what Dave said - Dave’s leaving and I bet he didn’t tell you that,’ Samantha continued.

She seized the opportunity while Jane was distracted and grabbed hold of the banner she was holding and wrestled it from her colleague’s grasp.

‘
Leaving!’ Felicity and Jane exclaimed in unison, the tone of their voices giving away their shock at the news.

‘
Yes, leaving. So none of us will ever have to listen to any more of his lame pearls of wisdom. Now, let’s go inside and get on with our jobs - while we still have them,’ Samantha told them and before she could stop herself she was putting out an arm and gesturing them towards the door, like she was in charge.

Still taken aback by the news of Dave’s departure the two women, rather meekly, did as they had been instructed and trooped back into the building. Samantha picked up the signs, folded them in half as best she could and stuffed them into the bin outside the hall.

‘
Morning Gobby, cod fillets on the menu today, back door about one,’ Samantha spoke as the cat dared to stick his nose out from his hiding place.

He mewed and licked his lips and Samantha followed her colleagues into the hall.

L
unchtime came and Dave hadn’t made an appearance. There had been no phone call stating sickness, no appointment in his diary - although Samantha had never really thought he kept it up to date - and the bun lady had left disappointed because her best customer had failed to show.

Samantha had been flat out all morning. She’d been on the front desk for the majority of the time, but the rest she had spent doing something unheard of and completely out of character. She had rifled through Dave’s office. She needed to find out everything she possibly could about the council’s plan. She was certain Dave must have received more than a phone call a few days before the visit and the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced there had to be a letter.

She was supposed to be at lunch but her stomach hadn’t felt right since she had received the news about the hall and she couldn’t even face opening her lunchbox.

The bottom right hand drawer of Dave’s filing cabinet wouldn’t open. At first Samantha thought it was just stuck, as nothing else in Dave’s room was locked and he wasn’t really a great one for confidentiality. Then, after some gratuitous pulling, she came to the conclusion that it really must be locked. She was searching through the pot of paperclips and elastic bands on the desk looking for the key when all of a sudden the office door burst open.

She immediately panicked, shot backwards in Dave’s executive chair and, after it had banged against the wall, she only managed to avoid falling onto the floor by gripping the desk tightly with both hands and holding on.

‘
Hey, you need a hand there?’ Jimmy’s voice asked as he appeared in the room.

‘
No! No, I’m fine, thank you. I thought you were Dave - close the door,’ Samantha whispered hurriedly as she hauled herself up and indicated the open entrance.

He was wearing blue again
. A tight blue t-shirt and figure hugging trackers. Blue suited him, well everything suited him, but blue was the best. When she imagined him he was usually in blue. Not that she imagined him often.

‘
Why are we whispering?’ Jimmy asked her in hushed tones.

‘
Because I don’t want the others to hear. How are you with picking locks?’ Samantha enquired, tugging again at the drawer.

‘
Picking locks. Hmm, can’t say I’ve much cause to do that in my line of work. But I’m ashamed to admit I did break into the odd high school locker in my time - purely for prank purposes obviously, I wouldn’t want you to get the wrong idea about me,’ Jimmy spoke as he joined Samantha behind the desk to see what she was doing.

‘
Can you open this drawer? I can’t find the key and I just know the evidence is in there,’ Samantha said still pulling at the drawer with all her might.

‘
I don’t think it’s locked, I think it’s just jammed,’ Jimmy told her.

‘
No, it’s definitely locked. I’ve been trying to open it for at least ten minutes and believe me, it’s locked,’ Samantha insisted, going red in the face as she carried on tugging.

‘
Humour me and let me try?’ Jimmy suggested, taking hold of the drawer’s handle.

‘
Well, you can try but I’m telling you, it’s…’ Samantha began, standing back and letting Jimmy take up her position.

In one quick motion Jimmy fiercely jerked the drawer handle and it opened, revealing the contents.

‘
I was sure it was locked,’ Samantha said her face red with embarrassment.

‘
Beginners luck, you loosened it I’m sure. So, what are we looking for?’ Jimmy enquired, taking out some files and beginning to flick through them.

‘
Goodness! No! You mustn’t look at this. It’s Civic Hall property, highly confidential - give the files to me!’ Samantha exclaimed in horror and snatched the paperwork out of Jimmy’s hands.

‘
Just trying to help. I hope you haven’t forgotten our deal,’ Jimmy reminded her.

‘
No I haven’t forgotten it. I’ll be on the ice, after the show, being your useless pupil, putting my feet in the wrong position and not holding my arms out,’ Samantha spoke as she leafed through the correspondence.

‘
That makes it sound like you didn’t enjoy last night. I know that isn’t true because you were practically skipping round the ice at the end,’ Jimmy spoke.

‘
I think it was actually more like tripping than skipping. I’m really sorry about Cleo, being drunk and mauling you and everything.’

‘
It was fine. I had hoped for a quiet drink, but it was very entertaining. I admire Jeremy, he must have his work cut out.’

‘
Something like that. He had to hold her head out of the taxi window so she could puke but not a trace of a hangover this morning though, apart from the memory loss.’

‘
Why didn’t you want Cleo to know you’d been learning to improve your skating?’ Jimmy enquired.

‘
Didn’t I? Well, I…’

‘
You told her I’d been practicing with Dana.’

‘
Well, er, she was drunk, it was just easier - ah ha! I knew it!’ Samantha exclaimed, pulling some pieces of correspondence out of one of the files and ignoring Jimmy’s comments.

‘
What exactly are you looking for?’ Jimmy wanted to know.

He leaned closer to Samantha to try and get a glimpse at the paperwork she was perusing.

‘
This! And this! And this! He’s had at least three letters telling him what was happening with the council’s amenities budget and saying that there would be someone coming to talk to him about the matter. At least
three
letters and he said nothing to any of us!’ Samantha exclaimed in horror at Dave’s lack of consideration.

‘
I don’t know why you’re surprised. Look at the guy’s desk. I’m shocked your acts arrive in the right place at the right time. It doesn’t look like anyone could coordinate anything from here,’ Jimmy commented, pushing aside a packet of biscuits and two men's magazines.

‘
This is it on a good day. Oh my goodness! There’s a meeting, about the halls, it’s on the twenty fourth, that’s next…’ Samantha began as she read the letter she was holding.

‘
Next week, yes, that’s what I came to tell you,’ Jimmy butted in.

‘
How do you know about it?’ Samantha asked, looking at him suspiciously.

‘
I phoned the council this morning and spoke to a Mrs Randall. She’s a colleague of Mr Radcliffe’s in the amenities section. She was really helpful and we had a good talk. She said that of the two amenities in question they would prefer not to close the Civic Hall, because of the history, because of its size, just like you said. But she said that the other hall did seem on the whole to be more efficiently run.’

‘
Why did she tell you all this? Who did you pretend to be? Barack Obama?’

‘
No, Dave.’

‘
What?! You can’t go around impersonating people!’