Lola's House (Lola Series) (7 page)

So, I quickly fill
her in on the events of last night, including how good he looked and how thoughtful he was.  And I spend a bit too long describing the lovely kiss when he dropped me off.

‘S
o, you’re an item again then?’ she says, not hiding her disgust.

‘Well sort of, we’re just taking it steady to see how it goes.’

‘And he didn’t try to get in your knickers?’

‘No, he was a gentleman.’

‘Blimey, people really do change.  I’ll keep an open mind though.’  She finishes off her croissant and then holds up the carrier bag she has bought in with her.

‘What’s that?’
I eye the bag suspiciously. 

She pushe
s it across the table towards me.  ‘It’s your outfit for Poppy’s hen night weekend.’

‘Outfit?
’  I shake my head firmly.  ‘Oh no, we agreed there would be no outfit.’

‘Yes, well
Poppy had a re-think about it, and decided we ought to get into the spirit of the weekend properly.’

I peer into the bag cautiously, like something is going to jump out at me, and then tip the contents onto the table.  First I h
old up a pair of teeny, tiny white shorts and my mouth falls open.  Next I hold up a black vest top emblazoned with ‘Poppy’s Pussy Posse’.  I drop them back onto the table like they’re contaminated.  ‘You can fuck right off.  There is no way I will ever wear that, that...’  I wave my hand dismissively at the offending items, ‘...ensemble.  I said no stupid outfits.’

‘Oh stop being so cranky, Lola and just get into the spirit of it.  We’re all wearing them.  It’s not like anyone will know you in Brighton.’

I stuff the garments back into the carrier bag and push it back across the table towards her.  ‘Well I’m not wearing them so you may as well take them back with you.’

Chrissie ignore
s both the carrier bag and me, and then picks up her handbag.  ‘Right, well, I have to get going.  Cal is taking me shopping so I want to see if I can drop some more marriage hints while we are out.  It’s turning out to be harder than I thought to get him to spontaneously propose to me.’

‘Maybe you should just wait and let him do it in his own time?’
I say, standing up with her.

She laugh
s.  ‘He’s not going to propose without a bit of pushing is he?  We live together, he gets loads of sex and his washing done for him, why would he need to get married?’

‘You neve
r know, just give him a chance,’ I say, knowing once she has got an idea into her mind she will pursue it to the death.

‘A little nudge never hurt anyone, Lola.  Anyway, I have to get going, things to do.’  She breeze
s out as fast as she has entered leaving me with a feeling that a whirlwind has just passed through.

After she ha
s gone I clear the table and put the breakfast things in the sink.  I think about Chrissie and Cal.  She dotes on him and there is no doubt he feels the same, but she definitely wears the trousers in that relationship, and it works for them.  I just hope she doesn’t go too overboard in her pursuit to get what she wants.

I spot
the carrier bag still sitting looking at me accusingly and I groan inside. I can’t deal with this much trauma before nine am so I grab my bags and go off to work hoping the day will get better and something will take my mind off it.

Chapter Seven

I g
et to the shop just before nine and go in through the back door.  Dumping my bags in the back room, I notice Muriel has opened up and is already serving a customer.   As I walk to the front of the shop, I can see her talking to a rangy looking young man with Justin Bieber hair who is examining a black leather Kelly handbag.

‘My girlfriend saw it last week and she hasn’t stopped talking about it since.  And as it’s her birthday soon I thought I would get it for her as a surprise,’ he sa
ys, peering closely at the bag in his hands.

Muriel st
ands opposite him with her hands on the counter.  ‘Yes, well it is a beautiful handbag and can be used for both day and evening.’

He undoes the clasp on the bag and scrutinises the inside.  ‘It looks used.’

‘Yes, sir, it’s vintage.’

He examines it more closely.  ‘Have you got any new ones?’

‘I’m afraid not, it’s a one-off,’ she says, smiling.

He looks more thoughtful.  ‘Will you be getting any more in?’

‘Not like this one, it’s an original.’

‘Mm
, I don’t know.  I’d prefer to get her something new.  Do you know of anywhere that might have them, like this, but new?’

‘Not unless you have a time machine to take you back to the
nineteen fifties, sir.’

The comment goes completely over his head.  ‘Okay, I think I’ll leave it for now.’

Muriel smiles again and takes the bag off him, raising her eyebrows skywards at me as he leaves the shop.

‘The fun has started early today
, Muriel?  I think you deserve a nice cup of tea after that.’  I go off to the back of the shop to put the kettle on and she follows me replacing the handbag on display on the way.

She appear
s by my side in the back room.  ‘So, how was the date?’

I give her a little smile.  ‘Oh, it was good thanks.  We had a nice meal and plenty of wine.’

She looks at me expectantly.  ‘And?’

‘And we’re getting back together.’  I start messing with the cups so as not to face her. 
‘Just taking it easy though.’

Her eyebrows furrow up together
like two caterpillars and she puts her hand on my arm to stop me from getting the tea bags out of the cupboard.  ‘Are you sure that’s what you want?’

‘I don’t know, I think so
, Muriel.’   I look at her helplessly.  ‘How can I be certain?’

‘What does your heart have to say about it?’

‘Oh I don’t know, I think my heart is on strike, it’s not telling me anything.’

‘Well that statement speaks volumes, Lola.  Just be careful, I don’t want you being taken advantage of.  You’re too nice and people see that in you and take it as a green light to get away with murder.’  She look
s thoughtful and then adds, ‘James especially.’

‘But he seemed so different
, Muriel, like he really was trying.’

‘Just don’t go falling hook, line and sinker.  Make sure he deserves you first.’

‘I will.’  I give her a big hug.  ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you, Muriel.’

She return
s my hug briefly then pushes me away again.  ‘Just make sure you listen to my advice in this case, I don’t want to see you hurt again.’

As she disappear
s back in the shop I pour the water into the cups and watch it bounce off the puffed up tea bags, wondering whether I am making a fool of myself getting back together with James.  Shouldn’t I have learnt my lesson the first time?  I have told myself I am over him so many times, but I’m not sure whether it’s a mantra I am so used to saying in order to dull the hurt I felt when we broke up.  Like wearing shoes that give you blisters, but you still wear them anyway and ignore the pain.  I am still no closer to knowing what my heart wants, yet in the back of my mind something is nagging away at me, although I can’t quite put my finger on it.  I have been turning this over and over in my mind for days now.  I thought once we had been on the first date I would know what I wanted to do.  As it is, it all feels a bit rehearsed, like I’m going through the motions.  I shake my head and try to dismiss all thoughts of James and get myself into work mode instead.  No good can ever come of over analysis.

From that point in the day, everything in the shop goes chaotic.  We serve a long stream of customers and business is brisk. Coming up to closing time it calms down again so I let Muriel go early, to rest her aching feet and I serve the last few customers and then lock up the shop for the day.   I feel quite pleased that business has been picking up, but to be fair that always makes me happy, although physically I feel exhausted.  Chrissie had tried to get me to go out with her and Cal this evening, but I cried off as I just want to spend some time on my own and recharge my batteries.  All I want to do now is lie in a massive bubble bath then watch a trashy movie in bed and hopefully drift off into a deep sleep. 

When I pull up on the drive at home there is a strange car parked in my space, so I have to squeeze in behind it.  God only knows where it has come from.  I feel slightly irritated about it though, and lock up my car and let myself into the house, dropping my bags on the floor and my keys onto the table.  My feet are killing me so I kick off my shoes and step onto the cold floor tiles, my feet sighing with relief.

A movement
to my left side catches my eye and I nearly fly out of my skin as a Staffordshire bull terrier comes bounding out of the sitting room and crashes into my legs, knocking me flying against the wall.  I scream and grab hold of the table to stop me hitting the floor.

‘What the hell...’  I shout
, as the dog leaps up me with its big tongue lolling out of its mouth and its tail wagging furiously at the other end.

‘Harley, come back here.’  Robert, my new lodger, appear
s in the doorway, filling it with his presence.  He bounds over, nearly as fast as his dog.  ‘I’m so sorry.  I thought the door was closed.’

He grab
s his dog and I detach myself from the wall, trying to compose myself.  ‘I thought you were moving in alone, why is there a dog here?’

He ben
ds down and scratches the dog’s belly, which is now lying on its back with its paws in the air, laughing like only a dog can do.  ‘Yeah, sorry about that, I was hoping a friend would look after him for a few weeks, but they haven’t got back to me yet.’  He looks up at me from his dog tickling.  ‘You’re not scared of dogs are you?’

‘Only when they knock me flying in my own hallway,’ I say, running
a hand through my hair in an attempt to look unflustered. 

He
is still concentrating on tickling the dog’s tummy.  ‘He won’t hurt you, he was just excited to see you.  I’ll make sure he’s gone by tomorrow.’

I look down at Robert’s dark tousled hair and notice he still ha
sn’t had it trimmed.  He’s absorbed with tickling Harley, who clearly loves it and I feel myself start to cave in and soften quite a bit.  ‘Okay, he can stay, but he’d better be a bloody good guard dog.’

Robert
stands up to his full height and I feel miniature next to him.  I spot a pile of cardboard boxes sitting on the floor in the corner of the hallway behind him.  ‘I’m guessing you have moved in?’  I raise my eyebrows in enquiry. 

‘Oh yeah, I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to move this morning
, I did call you a couple of times to let you know, but you never answered so I left you a message.’

‘I ne
ver got any calls or messages,’ I say, digging around in my bottomless handbag for my phone.  I can hear ringing coming from the kitchen and I look up at Robert who is holding his own phone in his hand.  He presses the end call button and the ringing in the kitchen stops also.  He grins to himself which irritates me just a little.  ‘Okay, so I forgot my phone this morning.’

‘So I see
,’ he says, his eyes crinkle up at the sides with amusement.

We look at each other,
and the moments tick away awkwardly. I haven’t been a landlady before so I’m not sure what the protocol is, but I can’t stand there staring at him all day, I need to break the deadlock. ‘Well, I’ve had a really busy day so I’m going to run a bath.  I’ll leave you to get on with it shall I?’

‘No problem, come in and have a look at the rooms later, see what I’ve done to the place.’

‘Thanks, I’ll catch you later then,’ I say, as I walk up the stairs. I get to my bedroom and shut the door firmly behind me.  I knew I’d have to make a few adjustments having a stranger living in my house but all I feel at the moment is irritation.  He’s taken up residence in my parking space, moved his dog in and caught me out with inept mobile phone ownership.  I’ve read so many books where the heroine falls in love with her lodger and then they live happily ever after, but at the moment I just feel narked.  Like I want to slap him.  And that definitely isn’t a good start.

After lying in the bath for well over an hour, I drag myself from the cooling water and wrap a towel around me.  My stomach is now rumbling so loud I decide I had better go and find it some food.  After towelling off I wrap myself in my biggest bathrobe, ensuring I’m well covered, and make my way downstairs.  I have a quick look around to see if Robert or his maniac dog are still lurking at the bottom of the stairs, but there is no sign of either and his door is closed.  I can hear the tv coming from his room so I sneak down the hallway to the kitchen to see what I can find for a snack.  The fridge is considerably fuller than when I left this morning so it looks as if Robert has bought his own provisions. 

I g
et myself a big lump of cheese, some grapes and crackers and a glass of wine to wash it all down with.  I arrange them on a tray ready to take back to my room with me, and then notice my mobile is still on the table from this morning, so I pick it up and find several missed calls and texts, a couple of them are from Robert I notice wryly.  I smile to myself as I read a message from James asking me if I fancy going to Bridgnorth for a picnic on Sunday, so I quickly reply yes, I’d love to and then slip my phone into the pocket of my robe so I don’t forget it again. 

I
am just sneaking back up the hallway when Robert’s door springs open and his head pops out.  ‘Hey, Lola, come in and have a look around.’

I c
an’t really say no, so I put the tray on the hall table and follow him into his room.  I stand near the doorway and glance around.  It feels a little bit weird being in my own house and feeling like an intruder, I’m not sure whether I should cross over the threshold or not but Robert beckons me further into the room.  There is a big brown suede couch to one side of the room with a walnut coffee table positioned in front of it.  On the table a few motorcycle magazines, which doesn’t surprise me, and by their side are a pile of papers with a laptop on top.  As I walk further into the room my feet sink into a deep pile cream coloured rug, which takes up most of the floor space. Arty photographs of beach scenes lean on top of the mantelpiece.  To the right of the fireplace he has positioned a huge widescreen tv on a glass stand. 

‘What do you think?’ he
asks, his face clearly eager for my opinion.

This room had been saved as the best parlour when my Gran and Granddad had been alive and only used on special occasions.  It had been filled with mahogany furniture and antimacassars, and always had a feint smell of beeswax
.  Now, there is a whiff of expensive spicy cologne in the air.  I sniff and nod my approval.  ‘I think it looks great, better than my sitting room in fact.’

‘Thanks
, come and have a look through here,’ he says, his long legs striding off towards his bedroom and I follow him into the room where a huge king sized bed takes up the centre of the room.  I wander over to it and instinctively sit down and test it for bounce.  A small smile tugs at the side of his mouth, and I spring up again feeling a deep blush creep up my neck and into my cheeks.

He
is kind enough not to comment and motions around him.  ‘Do you approve?’

‘I think it’s lovely, you’ve obviously got a flair for interior design.’  I c
an’t fault his choice of furniture or the layout.  It was contemporary, with a chilled twist.

He rub
s at the bristles on his chin.  ‘Oh, it’s just a few things I had from my old place.’

My curiosity was piqued.  ‘Where was your old place?’

‘I’ve lived in Edinburgh for the last ten years but we’ve closed down the office and I have located back to the Midlands, so I put my flat up for sale and here I am.  Most of my stuff is still in storage.’

‘So you’re looking for a new place?’ I knew I was digging, but I wasn’t certain how long he would be staying without coming straight out with it.

‘Yes, but not found anything that ticks all of the boxes yet,’ he says, wandering over to the coffee table and picking up the remote to turn the sound off the television.

Harley
, who had been quiet all this time got out of his bed and came trotting over to me and rubs his cold wet nose on my leg.  Robert bends down and gently pulls him away, probably still believing I’m scared of dogs.  ‘Thanks for being so good about Harley, I really didn’t mean for him to be here when you got back.’