Three Amazing Things About You (23 page)

‘Really?’ Bea was interested. ‘And has it made a difference, having a dog instead? Have you met someone nice?’

The sound of thundering hooves signalled the arrival of the next horse in the competition; conversation halted and all heads swivelled to watch the huge grey leap the first fence, gallop into the water, then stumble and tip its rider into the lake before nonchalantly trotting back out on to dry ground.

‘They’re both OK,’ said Hallie as the rider got to his feet, emptied water out of his hat and set off after his horse.

‘And in answer to your question,’ Christina continued, ‘no, no luck on the man front. Sadly. Although I think I probably know the reason for that.’

A distant warning bell was ringing in Hallie’s head; something about the look on Christina’s face told her what she might be about to say next.

‘Go on, then,’ said Bea. ‘What’s the reason?’

Christina shrugged, and half smiled. ‘How’s Luke these days?’

There it was. ‘He’s fine.’ Hallie nodded, wishing she hadn’t been right.

‘Well, that’s good. And is he . . . you know, seeing anyone at the moment?’

‘No.’ Bea shook her head, then let out a yelp of realisation. ‘Oh, I get it now, you haven’t found someone else because you still like Luke!’

Christina sat back, her expression rueful. ‘Well, yes, I guess that’s the reason. But this is just between us, OK? You mustn’t tell him.’

No we mustn’t, no we mustn’t
. . .

‘Why not?’ said Bea. ‘I’m serious! You two were always brilliant together, everyone said so.’

‘Did they really?’ Christina brightened.

‘God,
yes
. We were all so disappointed when the two of you broke up. You were like the perfect couple!’

‘Oh that’s so nice of you to say! Yes, we were happy. Sometimes it isn’t until afterwards that you realise what a good thing you had.’

‘And Luke hasn’t been out with anyone else either, which has to mean something. I wonder if he’s been thinking exactly the same? You know, we wouldn’t be obvious or anything,’ said Bea, ‘but we could definitely mention that we bumped into you today, say how great you’re looking, drop a few subtle hints . . . If he’s secretly been missing you like crazy, it could give him just the nudge he needs.’

‘That might be interesting.’ Christina was definitely looking keen. ‘Especially if he hasn’t had any other girlfriends in all this time. I hadn’t realised that.’

‘There hasn’t been anyone,’ said Bea. ‘Well, apart from Hallie, of course.’

Christina sat up and did a double-take. ‘
What?
’

Oh great, thanks a lot
.

‘You mean you didn’t hear about it? Oh yes, it was the talk of the village!’ Bea was grinning. ‘Everyone thought Hallie was on holiday in Paris, then her mum found out she was actually holed up with Luke in his cottage . . . well, that was it, and the photos were on Facebook, so
everyone
knew . . .’

‘Are you serious?’ Christina’s eyebrows had by this time disappeared into her hairline. ‘Is this true?’

‘Ha, it was hilarious.’ Bea put down her drink. ‘Of course it wasn’t true! Hallie was too ill to fly to Paris, and her mum was in Edinburgh and there was no one else she could stay with, so Luke was pretty much forced to put her up. Then her mum turned up on Luke’s doorstep and confronted them, can you imagine? Like something out of
EastEnders!
It was all sorted out by the time the rest of us got back from Paris, but just for that weekend everyone actually thought Hallie and Luke were having a secret fling!’

‘Oh
no
, how funny!’ Christina rested her hand on Hallie’s arm and started to laugh along with Bea.‘Oh,
bless
you . . .’

Which possibly wasn’t meant to come out sounding quite so patronising as it did, but still managed to leave Hallie feeling like the girl least likely to
ever
be physically desired by a member of the opposite sex.

Because let’s face it, who in their right mind would fancy her?

She managed a brief smile and adjusted her nasal specs, fiddling with the tubing that hooked over her ears. Then she looked at her watch. ‘What time do you think we need to leave if we don’t want to get stuck in traffic?’

‘As long as we’re out of here by four, we’ll be fine. Anyway.’ Bea turned her attention back to Christina. ‘It’s decided, then. You and Luke should definitely get back together. We’re going to have a word with him, make him realise what he’s missing.’

‘Go on then. But be subtle,’ Christina pleaded.

‘Subtle is my middle name. Ha, that’s me,
Bea Subtle
.’ Cracking up at her own joke, Bea added, ‘Don’t you worry, leave it to us. We’ll work our magic, just you wait and see.’

‘OK, I will.’ Christina’s eyes danced. ‘I’m quite looking forward to it now.’

‘And when you and Luke get married, you can thank us by letting us be your fabulous bridesmaids.’

Maintaining a carefree smile was starting to make Hallie’s cheeks ache. As if sensing she was in need of comfort, Daley rested his soft paws on her chest and attempted to lick her face, but the oxygen tubing got in his way.

Christina raised her glass and clinked it against Bea’s. ‘If that happens,’ she said happily, ‘it’s a deal.’

As they left the VIP enclosure, Bea said, ‘Isn’t she lovely? I’m so glad we bumped into her. Honestly, sometimes these things happen out of the blue and you just think it’s like fate, it’s as if it was meant to be. I feel like a fairy godmother! Wouldn’t it be completely amazing if Luke and Christina end up getting back together and it’s all down to us?’

‘It would.’ Hallie was glad Bea was behind her, pushing her wheelchair across the bumpy ground. They were heading past the shopping village, making their way back to the car park. She put out her arm and pointed. ‘Five more minutes won’t make any difference, will it? Can we call in at that nice stall with the scarves before we go?’

The girl in the purple hat – Flo, that was her name – greeted them with delight. ‘Hello! I didn’t think you’d be back! Have you decided to buy the necklace?’

No. I have no man in my life, I’m destined to spend the rest of my days as a lonely spinster with nothing to look forward to other than misery and heartache, so I’ve decided the least I can do is treat myself to a ridiculously expensive scarf.

Wheeling herself over to the table where they fluttered from the branches of the silver tree, Hallie reached up and unfastened
her
scarf.

‘I’m going to have this one.’

‘Oh, I’m so glad. It’s perfect for you.’ Flo seemed genuinely pleased.

‘And we offered you a discount, didn’t we?’ The man who ran the stall took it from Hallie’s hands. ‘Said you could have it for sixty pounds?’

Hallie, already counting out the notes from her purse, said, ‘Seventy.’

‘No, you’re wrong. It was definitely sixty.’ The man in the black fedora winked and rang up the amount on the till.

‘Any luck with the royal-spotting?’ said Flo. ‘Did you get to see Prince Harry?’

‘No.’ Hallie’s smile was rueful. ‘Would have been fun, but it didn’t happen.’

‘His loss,’ Bea said cheerfully. ‘Anyway, we bumped into someone we hadn’t seen for a while, which was brilliant.’

Hmm,
had
it been brilliant? Hallie wasn’t so sure. Not that she could admit as much to Bea.

‘There you go.’ Flo handed her the scarf in one of the smart rope-handled bags. ‘Enjoy. And don’t just save it for special occasions. A scarf like that needs to be seen and admired. It’ll make you feel fabulous every time you wear it.’

‘Thanks.’ For a split second, Hallie felt emotional without even knowing why. The girl was right: something so lovely deserved to be worn often. Maybe by someone who went out to more places than she did, but never mind.

‘And make sure you come back and see us again next year,’ said the cheery man.

Weren’t people nice? Touched by his kindness, Hallie smiled and said, ‘I will.’

If I’m still here
.

It was six o’clock, the cross-country competition had been completed and people were starting to make their way home. Some were still in the shopping village, looking to buy last-minute items, but the crowds were thinning out now and the stallholders were beginning to pack up.

‘Right, quick, I need a present for my next-door neighbour.’ The middle-aged woman in the too-tight pink fleece was clearly in a hurry. ‘I forgot it’s her birthday, and she’ll be there when we get home. What have you got for around a tenner?’

‘Ooh . . .’ Flo scanned the items she’d been selling all day. ‘How about one of those mirrored photo frames?’

‘Too glitzy.’ The woman grimaced and shook her head. ‘She only likes boring things. Her house is kind of beige.’

‘Well, we have these.’ Holding up a notebook with an embossed cream cover and silver-edged pages, Flo said, ‘Beige enough?’

‘Not sure about the silver . . . Ah, that’ll do, I’ll have one of those.’ The woman had spotted a stack of pale grey tea towels on one of the tables. ‘Can you quickly gift-wrap it? Make it look a bit more expensive?’

‘Erm . . . maybe you want to check it first. There’s writing on it,’ Flo explained.

‘But I’m in a
hurry
.’ The woman was glancing at her watch.

‘Here, just take a look.’ Flo unfolded the tea towel and held it up. In big capitals it said: IF YOU CAN’T STAND THE HEAT . . .

And then below, in smaller writing: . . . get the fuck out of my kitchen.

‘Yes, yes, that’s fine, just wrap it up, please.’

Flo glanced at Patrick, who nodded and shrugged. She duly rang up the price, took the woman’s money and began gift-wrapping the tea towel in primrose-yellow tissue paper.

As she concentrated on the task in hand, cutting lengths of ivory ribbon and curling the ends with the blade of her scissors, Flo heard a friendly voice say, ‘Hey, Patrick! How are you?’

The woman in the tight pink fleece was busy on her phone now, getting annoyed. ‘Stop complaining, I’ll be there in two minutes . . . Malcolm, if you’d reminded me earlier, I wouldn’t be having to buy something now, would I? So just give it a rest.’

Behind them, Patrick was exchanging jovial words with the man who’d greeted him. Working as fast as she could, Flo finished constructing the ribbon curls, handed the gift-wrapped parcel to the woman and watched as she hurried off to catch up with her husband waiting impatiently in the car park.

She turned back to Patrick just as the man he’d been chatting to was leaving with his friends. He glanced briefly over his shoulder, grinned and raised a hand in farewell before heading off in the opposite direction to the woman in the pink fleece.

For a moment Flo wondered if she was the victim of some elaborate practical joke. Were there hidden cameras recording her befuddled reaction? Was it one of those TV shows where they got lookalikes to fool unsuspecting members of the public?

No, surely not.

‘Who was that you were talking to just then?’ she asked eventually.

Patrick looked the tiniest bit embarrassed. ‘You saw, didn’t you? Or you wouldn’t be asking.’

Still needing to be absolutely sure, Flo said, ‘Was it Prince Harry?’

‘Well . . . yes.’ For the first time, she noticed his cheeks redden.

‘You know him?’ OK, that was a stupid thing to say. Editing out the question mark, she repeated, ‘I mean, you
know
him.’

‘Hey, it’s not like we’re best friends.’ Patrick shook his head in protest. ‘Really, it’s nothing. Before I opened the shop, I ran a pub not far from Tetbury. Quite a few people from Highgrove used to pop in fairly regularly, seeing as we were only a couple of miles down the road. That’s all it is. He’s a good chap. Always friendly and down to earth.’

‘Wow, that’s amazing. Oh, the girl in the wheelchair,’ Flo exclaimed. ‘Didn’t you hear her earlier saying how much she wished she could see Prince Harry?’

‘Well, yes, I heard her. But he wasn’t here then.’

‘You could have told her you knew him, though! She’d have been so impressed!’

‘Oh no.’ Patrick smiled, clearly horrified by the very idea. ‘That would have been a bit show-offy. No one likes a name-dropper. Now, shall we make a start on the packing up?’

As they made their way back to Bristol, Patrick’s mobile rang. Glancing at the lit-up screen, he said, ‘It’s Dawn, wondering where I am. Could you answer it?’

Feeling a bit weird, Flo picked up the phone. ‘Hi, Patrick’s driving at the moment. We’re twenty minutes from Bristol. He says he’ll be with you by nine.’

‘Ah, that’s brilliant, thanks so much. Is that Flo?’ Dawn sounded friendly. ‘Now tell me, what’s he wearing? Does he look half-decent?’

Flo hesitated, then said, ‘He’s fine.’

‘Is it the grey corduroy trousers?’

‘Dark green corduroy.’

‘Red shirt?’

‘Red shirt,’ Flo confirmed, amused by the hint of eye-roll on Patrick’s part.

Keeping his attention on the road ahead, he murmured, ‘She thinks she’s Gok Wan.’

‘I hate that red shirt. The cuffs are frayed. OK, tell him to pop home first, have a shower and change into the black trousers and striped green and white shirt I bought him. I’ve fixed him up with a hot date and he needs to impress her.’

‘OK, got it,’ said Flo.

‘Thanks. And remind him to put on some cologne, too. The good stuff, not the awful one his sister gave him for Christmas. Thanks, Flo. Have you had a good day?’

‘Really good.’

‘Excellent. Oh, and tell him her name’s Jade. She’s an aerobics instructor, thirty-three, lives in Almondsbury. And she’s great, so we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed – I’m going to get him fixed up with someone lovely if it kills me! OK, bye!’

Flo relayed the details to Patrick, who shook his head in resignation. ‘Oh God, she’s never going to stop.’

‘Jade sounds nice, though.’

‘I know. I’m sure she is. It’s just . . . an aerobics instructor.’ He heaved a sigh. ‘Which means she’ll eat really healthy food.’

During the course of their long day together, Flo had seen Patrick tuck into an organic bison burger, a sausage sandwich, a chicken burrito and a slice of home-made lemon drizzle cake. Which possibly explained his slight paunch.