Zara gently but firmly brushed him off for the second time. ‘It’s literally across the road and it’s like Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday out there. I’ve just realised you don’t know where or what Sauchiehall Street is. It’s in Glasgow, it’s really busy and that’s just a saying.’ What was wrong with her? Those bloody drinks were making her talk nonsense.
Thankfully, Aiden didn’t notice her blush to the same colour as her dress, as he was already standing up to say goodbye.
Zara hugged her sister and when she was close enough that only Millie could hear, she whispered, ‘You’re welcome.’
Millie’s squeeze of thanks told her everything she needed to know. Millie was absolutely into this guy.
Zara stretched up to hug Aiden next. She wasn’t usually one for doing all the tactile stuff with people she’d only just met, but this felt absolutely natural. ‘Okay, so tomorrow at noon at Lago restaurant in the Bellagio. Honestly, I’m so excited. I can’t wait to see their reactions. It’s going to be the best thing ever.’
That thought, and the happy buzz of too many of those cocktails, kept her smiling as she crossed the road to her hotel.
The trip hadn’t exactly evoked the joyful surprise and giddy excitement she’d expected so far, but tomorrow was another day. Her parents were going to meet their old friends and nothing was going to spoil it.
Only the loud beep of a taxi horn alerted her to the fact that she might be daydreaming.
18
BRENDA
17 May – Two Days Until The Anniversary
‘Room service!’
The voice at the door woke Brenda up and it took her a minute to make the fog clear and remember where she was. Vegas. That’s right. Yesterday, she’d woken up in her semi-detached bungalow in Glasgow and today she was waking up on the other side of the world. This was the most unexpected thing that had happened to her in her life. Or at least, since the last time she was here.
Her subconscious obviously thought so too, because she’d tossed and turned all night, slipping in and out of a dream that was so vivid that at one point she woke and could actually feel her heart racing. It was thirty years ago. She was here in this city. Excited. Happy. Colin was here too. And Gary and Eileen. They were in a nightclub just off the Strip. They got separated and Brenda was searching everywhere for her friend. Couldn’t find her. Panic. She wondered if maybe Eileen wasn’t feeling well, had left, gone back to their hotel. Brenda raced back to check and… That was when she’d woken up, heart thudding, and had to put the air con on because she was sweating.
Colin had, of course, then awakened to object to the cold air. Said it always made him congested the next day. The snoring coming from the other side of the bed proved that he had a point. She wanted to nudge him, to roll him over on to his side, but she was afraid it would wake him up and then she’d be faced with the possibility of having to talk to him and that wasn’t a risk she wanted to take. Not yet. Not when he seemed incapable of hearing what she was saying.
A loud knock on the door and a second call of ‘Room Service’ reminded her of what had woken her.
Stumbling out of bed, Brenda made her way to the door, trying not to yelp when she stubbed her toe on the end of the bed. Lights would probably have been a good idea before moving. The blackout curtains had the whole place in darkness. It didn’t even cross her mind to wonder who’d ordered the room service. Colin had still been awake when she’d fallen asleep last night, so she just assumed it must have been him.
She barely had the door open when Zara and Millie breezed right in past her. Millie flicked the light on, and Brenda saw that Zara was carrying a tray loaded with coffees and pastries.
‘Morning, Mum,’ Zara chirped, managing to kiss her on the cheek on the way past. ‘Time to get up and get going. We have plans. Lots of them.’
Despite wanting to crawl right back into bed and pull the duvet over her head – preferably without the snoring husband by her side – Brenda chuckled. She adored these two beyond words and their enthusiasm was contagious.
Plans. She liked the sound of that. The busier they were, the faster the time would pass, and the less room there would be for awkward moments with her husband, or desperate moments of thinking too much about what she was going to do with her life when they got home.
Over at the window, Millie threw open the curtains, letting daylight flood the room. In bed, Colin groaned, while Brenda squinted against the sun. ‘What time is it?’
‘Ten o’clock, Mum! Time for action. Or at least, coffee and doughnuts. I’m on the maple one. My hangover demands it.’
Now that her vision was clearing, Brenda could see that Millie had plonked herself down on the chair over by the window, was still wearing last night’s make-up and her hair was close in size and shape to the topiary balls she’d bought in B&M for either side of her front door.
She took the coffee that Zara was holding out to her, and joined Millie, sitting on the matching chair on the other side of the small bistro table between them. Colin finally managed to get an eye open and pushed himself up in bed, to be rewarded with a large cappuccino and an apple Danish from Zara.
‘Morning, my darlings,’ he croaked. ‘Sorry, I’m a bit congested this morning.’
Of course, he had to get the dig in about the air conditioning. Or maybe he was just stating a fact, but why did everything he said and did annoy her now? Every. Damn. Thing.
That thought immediately invoked a wave of remorse. Why was she being unkind? This wasn’t her. Yesterday wasn’t her. Last night definitely wasn’t her. Another twinge of regret. She’d behaved terribly at dinner. Barely said a word or eaten a morsel. It had just all been so overwhelming, so claustrophobic, and she’d been too tired to pull herself up and put the act on. Well, not today. This morning she was absolutely utterly sick and tired of her inner moaning. Of her worry. Of listening to her own mind fret and complain. Today she was going to be back on her game. Happy face on. Positive energy. Nothing was going to spoil this time with her daughters.
Colin took a slug of his coffee and then got up and headed to the bathroom. ‘I’m just going to grab a shower and wake myself up.’ At home, he’d have been out in the garden by now, pruning things, checking plants, or sitting gazing over his kingdom, plotting his next task.
As usual, Millie was the one that got straight to the point. ‘Right, Mum, first of all, are you okay? Have you and Dad had a fight? You were miserable last night and my hangover can’t take the emotional suspense.’
