“I’m afraid so.” She paused, no doubt, to flutter her eyelashes. “I wondered if I could borrow some.”
No, you damn well can’t.
“Yeah, sure,” Fin replied, much to my frustration.
I heard Fin open a cupboard door, followed by the chink of crockery as he obviously reached for a cup. I heard paper packaging being opened, the swooshing of granules being poured, and to my annoyance, stiletto heels clip-clopping on the stone floor as Roberta stepped further into the room. My back began to ache and careful not to make any noise, I brought my knees higher up to my chest, hoping that might stretch my spine out a little. Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, I willed Fin to tell her to take her sugar and bugger off home.
“A teabag and some hot water to go with a spoonful of that would be nice,” Roberta said.
Surprised to hear the tap running, I turned my head their way. Please tell me you’re not filling the kettle. Forced to ask what Fin thought he was doing, I was ready for bursting out of my hiding place.
“Just so you know,” Roberta said.
Here we go, I thought, to the sound of her stilettos edging closer still. She’s going in for the kill.
“My offer still stands.”
I knew it.
“Offer?” Fin replied.
“To show you around some of the sights. Now Holly’s away I thought we could…”
She let her sentence trail off, but the inference was there and interested to know how Fin might respond, I resisted the urge to burst out of the cupboard and tell her where to go. Instead, I waited for him to speak, at the same time thinking about my new mattress, praying to God I wouldn’t have to buy yet another one.
“Well there’s no point sitting around here on your own. Not when you could be having fun with me.”
I pictured Roberta’s accompanying smile, wanting nothing more than to wipe it clean off.
“I’ll bear that in mind,” Fin said, demonstrating absolutely no interest whatsoever.
Sitting there in my cubbyhole, I felt like cheering.
“So what brings you to the Dales?” she asked, clearly refusing to get the message. “A new work project by any chance?”
“Oh, you know,” Fin replied, to the sound of cups chinking.
I shook my head, unable to believe he was really going to sit down for a cup of tea and a chat, all the while knowing I was stuck in a cupboard.
“I get it,” Roberta said. “You can’t talk about it. It’s all hush hush.”
“Not as far as I’m concerned,” Fin replied, his confidence on the matter apparent.
“Really?” Roberta said, coming over all excited.
Really? I thought. Just like my neighbour, I was keen to hear more.
“In that case, please do tell.”
Yes, please do.
I listened to the sound of hot water pouring, shortly followed by what I assumed was a spoon tinkling against the inside of the teapot as Fin stirred. The fridge door opened. “Milk?” Fin asked. The man was obviously playing with one or both of us.
“Just a splash,” she said. She seemed to pause before speaking again. “You were saying…”
Fin got back to the subject at hand. “Well the thing is…”
“Yes?”
“I’m mean, I’m not sure I should really be telling you anything. Although I don’t mind sharing, of course...”
“Of course.” Like me, the woman clearly hung on Fin’s every word.
“But I have to think about the other party involved.”
“Other party?”
Wondering where Fin was taking their conversation, my interest was piqued as much as Roberta’s. And just as Roberta hoped he was about to disclose some top-secret work project, I realised I did too. Whatever it was Fin was about to say, I willed him to spit it out.
“I’m talking about Holly.”
“Holly?”
Me? I jerked my head in his general direction. What did I have to do with anything?
“You know how private she is,” Fin continued. “So, if word was to get out that we’re… you know?”
That we’re… you know, what? Suddenly horrified, it dawned on me what Fin was implying. Please don’t do this…
“You’re not suggesting…? You mean you and Holly are…?
“Yes,” Fin said, loud and clear. “We most definitely are.”
I put a hand over my mouth to stop myself from shrieking. While Fin hadn’t said anything explicit, he’d said enough to set the local tongues wagging. Sat cooped up in that cupboard, I was powerless to deny it. I had to wonder if the man had gone mad.
“I see,” Roberta said. “Well I wasn’t expecting that.”
Neither was I.
I narrowed my eyes to the sound of her stilettos suddenly on the move again.
“You’re leaving?” Fin asked. “So soon?” The man was evidently smirking. “But what about your tea?”
“Keep it,” Roberta replied.
Again, I put a hand over my mouth. This time to stop myself from laughing. While it served the woman right, I didn’t think I’d ever heard Roberta so displeased.
“I prefer coffee anyway,” she said.
I sat silent, waiting until I heard the front door open and slam shut, before breaking out of my hiding place. Landing on my knees, I struggled to get up. “You do know what you’ve just done, don’t you?” I asked, at the same time grabbing at the kitchen worktop to haul myself onto my feet. “She’ll make one of us pay for this.”
He laughed. “Pay for what?”
“The fact that you turned down her advances.”
“Please tell me you didn’t expect anything different?”
I shifted on my feet. “Of course not.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I’m just worried that…” It wasn’t me I was concerned about. Being a nobody, I didn’t have any reputation to lose. At least not of the positive kind if Roberta had anything to do with things. However, when it came to Fin and his reputation, one that he had to have worked hard for, it was a different story altogether. “I’m thinking of you,” I said.
Fin’s expression softened. “Does it matter if people think we’re in a relationship?”
“But we’re not.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
While Fin stood there, one eyebrow raised, waiting for a response, I looked around for a diversion. “We don’t have time to mess about with the hypothetical, Fin,” I said, indicating the table. “We still have paper chains to make.”
20
A mountain of paper chains sat on one side of the table, while Fin and I sat at the other finishing off the tasty casserole Fin had made. “That was delicious,” I said, placing my spoon down on my empty plate. With my stomach feeling fit to burst, I leaned back in my seat. “I couldn’t eat another thing.”
“Don’t get too comfortable,” Fin replied. He indicated the home-made Christmas decorations. “We’ve still got to hang that lot yet.”
I groaned at the prospect, telling myself that the food I’d just eaten needed to do a whole lot of settling before I could even think about getting on with a task like that. I rose to my feet and picked up our plates. The washing up was the least I could do after all of Fin’s hard work.