‘Oh shit,’ said Bella, dropping her arms back to her sides.
‘Quite honestly, even if they do run off with the car, I don’t think I’d lose any sleep. I was always terrified that Alex would crash in it. Ironic, eh, that what he actually dies in is a car that has a million safety features.’
Bella didn’t say that Alex’s car was still no match for an overladen lorry being driven too fast on a notorious black spot in the snow by a dickhead driver who was texting his wife to say he’d be late home. He was very late home as it happens, but he didn’t die, not like the six people he killed that night. He was out on bail, awaiting a trial that would take place next March, walking around, living.
‘Are you sure this Pete bloke checks out and that he’s not some charlatan joining groups to try and cop off with vulnerable women?’ asked Bella. ‘I mean, it’s a bit odd that he turns up on your doorstep after “coincidentally” meeting you at a counselling group.’ She took her phone out of her back pocket and started tapping on it.
‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m looking him up. Pete . . . what’s his surname?’
‘Well the guy driving is Griff Moore so I’m presuming he’s got the same one.’
Bella fell silent for a few moments while she checked. ‘Here we go, lots and lots of Pete Moores – great. Let’s try a filter, South Yorkshire and fire. Oh, okay.’ Her tone changed, softened. She held up a picture of Pete with a group of schoolchildren. ‘ “Firefighter Pete Moore with the prize winners of the Art in Action competition”, it says. When did his wife die?’
‘No idea.’
‘The article was published in January, so I’m presuming it was after this photo was taken.’
Eight months ago. Laurie looked at his picture, at his wide beam of a smile and thought, that man had no idea what was around the corner for him. Eight months ago she’d been looking at brochures for summer houses and holidays and finding that her eyes seemed more and more drawn to articles about motherhood. She shouldn’t have put it off. She should have trusted that Alex was all hers and not let stupid doubts with long tails from the past stain their present. She would have had something of his to love, to make life bearable and give it purpose. Meredith and Brendan would have been able to keep a part of their son, heal the pain in their broken hearts. Eight months seemed a lifetime ago.
‘He looks nice,’ said Bella, interrupting her thoughts. ‘That Pete.’
‘Yes,’ agreed Laurie, though she hadn’t thought about him. Bank statements were taking up all her available grey cell space.
‘Watch yourself though,’ said Bella. ‘He’s vulnerable, you’re vulnerable . . .’
Laurie laughed. ‘I can assure you another relationship is the last thing on my mind.’
Since Bella had come back into her life, she’d been overly protective, bordering on pitbull. She’d got even worse recently.
*
Twenty minutes later, just as Bella was becoming twitchy, Laurie heard the MR2 return. Through the window she could see Pete and Griff hop out and then proceed to give the car a very thorough once over: bending underneath, lifting the bonnet, feeling around the metal.
‘I’ll leave them to come in and tell me they’re done,’ said Laurie. ‘They won’t want me hovering over their shoulders.’
‘At least they came back, I was beginning to doubt they would,’ said Bella. ‘Don’t let them knock the price down. Stu says that you’re offering it for a steal more than a quick sale. It’s a bargain and they’ll know that.’
Laurie liked Stu and she thought he’d liked her but she’d always presumed that he had something to do with why Bella went cold on her. They’d never had the conversation about why it had happened but she edged closer to opening up the dialogue every time she and Bella were together.
‘They’re walking towards the house,’ said Bella, jumping back from the window so they wouldn’t see her spying on them. ‘Remember what I said, do not drop the price.’
Laurie opened the door and invited the two men inside.
‘I’m having it,’ said a delighted Griff before his second foot had cleared the threshold. ‘It’s exactly as you said it was.’
‘I’m so pleased,’ said Laurie. One less thing to think about.
‘I can transfer the cash now, fill in the paperwork and take it off your hands straight away if that’s convenient,’ Griff went on.
‘Good price, isn’t it?’ put in Bella, a hint of steel in her voice.
‘Totally fair,’ Griff replied.
‘Fabulous,’ said Laurie, throwing Bella a look.
‘You’ve made him a very happy man,’ said Pete. ‘Just look at him.’
‘Anyone like a coffee?’ asked Bella, polite now that they weren’t going to try and get one over on her friend.
‘Not for me, thanks,’ said Pete. ‘I’m on nights and I’m going from here and straight to bed.’
‘Not for me either thank you, I want to get back home and show my missus her love rival as soon as possible,’ said Griff, with a beaming grin that would have put the Cheshire Cat to shame. ‘I’ve been waiting for this car to turn up in my life for years. I promised her if I ever found it, I’d take her out for the poshest meal in town.’
‘Sedgewick’s fish and chip restaurant,’ said Pete to the two women and winked.
‘Nothing wrong with Sedgewick’s,’ said Laurie, turning to Bella. ‘We used to go there a lot, didn’t we?’
‘Yeah, in the days when we could eat what we wanted without having to worry about calories,’ Bella answered.
It took little over ten minutes for the monies to be arranged and the paperwork to be done. Griff was like an impatient child in his eagerness to be off. ‘I can’t believe I own the car of my dreams,’ he said when the sale had been completed. ‘Thank you so much,’ and he shook Laurie’s hand gratefully. ‘And may I say, you’ve got a beautiful house.’
She contemplated asking if he wanted to buy that too.
‘Thank you,’ said Laurie. ‘Well, I hope you enjoy your car.’
‘I will. My God will I.’
‘See you . . . Wednesday?’ Pete asked, hanging back slightly as his brother more or less skipped down the drive to his new car.
‘Yes, I’ll be there. Was anything said about me not being there last week?’
Pete’s features arranged into a pained expression. ‘Actually, I didn’t go myself. Chickened out. Stupid of me.’
Laurie smiled. ‘Oh goodness, I did that too. But I will be there this Wednesday.’
‘Bye then.’
‘Bye.’
She waved as he got into his car and he gave a cheerful pip on the horn as he headed down to the road.
‘I’m having another coffee, that okay?’ Bella called from inside the house.
‘Of course. Make one for me too,’ said Laurie, closing the door and heading towards the kitchen. It was good that Bella wasn’t in a rush to be off; it would give them a chance to chat. Laurie swallowed, her mouth was dry with anxiety even though she knew she shouldn’t feel like that with someone she had known since school but she did. They were close again now, but something still stood between them and, as with Alex’s effects, the time to deal with it was long overdue.