“Edie? Edie Fletcher?”
Edie looked over at the woman she had bumped into and a small flame of recognition burned.
“Yes, that’s me.”
The woman held out her hand.
“Moira. I’m Finn’s secretary, we met once before when I think he blamed me for getting your name wrong.”
Of course, Moira had showed Edie to the relative’s room that fateful morning.
“Moira, nice to meet you properly,” Edie said, heading into the kitchen and filling the bottle at the cooler. “If you can call that properly!”
Moira laughed and took the full bottle that Edie was proffering. Edie couldn’t help but notice how vibrant Moira was. Her hair was so bright and colourful it made the rest of her shine. The bright red lipstick shouldn’t match, but it went perfectly with the outfit she was wearing. Edie’s free hand smoothed down her own grey dress.
“Edie, lovely to meet you properly too. And great minds think alike.” Moira held up her water and nodded towards Edie’s empty jug. “But do you have time to get a coffee? It’d be good to have a chat. Finn isn’t around so I’m sure he won’t miss me for an hour or so.”
The cheeky smile Moira flashed made Edie relent.
“I’d love to go for a coffee. Thank you,” she said. “Let me just drop this off in my office first. I don’t know about here, but if you left anything in the kitchen at my old hospital, it was fair game.”
Moira’s laugh tinkled sweetly.
“Yep, same here, come on then lead the way.”
“So, how are you finding Finn, then?” Moira handed Edie a large cup of frothing cappuccino. Decaf, of course.
Edie hoped that she was hiding her face well enough behind the cup so Moira couldn’t see her blooming red cheeks.
“I know! He is rather easy on the eye, isn’t he?”
“Sorry, I can’t help myself, I don’t know why I’m blushing,” Edie tried to save herself a little. “But yes, he is rather gorgeous. I wasn’t sure how friendly he was going to be though, after our first encounter.”
Moira sipped her own drink. They were sitting in the staff canteen, by a window overlooking the fields of yellow rape seed. It was so vibrant, Edie thought Moira looked right at home where she was perfectly positioned in front of the view. The sun was warming through the glass, and Edie had rolled up the sleeves of her dress.
“He does have a certain… how can I say this without being rude?” Moira chewed her bottom lip and then smirked at Edie. “Who am I kidding, there is no getting away from being rude, because that’s exactly what he comes across as. Rude!”
They both laughed, Edie loved the way this woman was making her feel at ease, and it was also good to have someone to talk to about Finn. Even if she couldn’t say exactly what was on her mind.
“He is quite rude, isn’t he? How long have you worked for him? Is he as rude to you as he is to the rest of us?”
Moira shook her head.
“He was when I first started, about ten years ago now. I was eighteen and fresh out of school. He was a brooding twenty-three, and as gorgeous then as he is now. I have to admit I did fall for him a little, but I’m way past that now,” she laughed. “I think I kind of ignored his rudeness and did my own thing, he respected that, and I respect his privacy. I know he’s rude for a reason, because he’s not the type of guy to be rude just for the fun of it, do you get what I mean?”
So, Finn hadn’t told Moira why he was so stand-offish. Maybe he had been telling the truth about not opening up to anyone but Edie. Edie nodded at Moira’s question.
“Yes, I do. He’s definitely not that kind of person.”
They both mulled quietly over their boss in the warmth of the cafe. Edie was enjoying the conversation with another woman. Since the betrayal of her best friend, Edie hadn’t really had the comfort of another woman to talk to, and Moira seemed to be offering her the opportunity of this. Edie seized the chance in front of her and threw out the question, before she could change her mind.
“Look, Moira, I know it’s a bit weird to be asking this, I’m not used to making friends as a grown up, but would you like to come over for drinks or dinner one day soon? I could really appreciate some local friends. Well, just friends actually, seeing as my last best friend ran off with my husband.”
“Oh,” Moira cried. ‘That’s awful, you poor thing. What a beastly thing to do to you. Beastly of both of them. I hope you believe in karma.”
Edie nodded.
“I think I do. I know that I certainly did when I left the house my husband and I shared. But I did give karma a little helping hand on the way with an addition of some kippers down the back of the radiators,” Edie said, a giggle bubbling up in her throat.
