‘And we can figure out how to dye our eyebrows brown again.’
This time they made it all the way up and started walking towards the door, holding each other’s arms for support.
‘Brown? You mean a nondescript grey, verging on invisible?’
‘That’s a good point. I should be thanking May – it’s the first time anyone’s been able to find my eyebrows in years!’
‘I’ll tell you what, Viv, we’ll be getting noticed walking down the street for the first time in a good few decades.’
They paused in the doorway, still chuckling. Vivienne pointed at Dad. ‘We’re prepared to let this matter drop on one condition. Don’t let Ada and May know we’re not furious, or who knows what they’ll cook up next. This way, they’ll think we’re even.’
‘I will need to speak to them, and if you decide to take things further, you will of course have the Barn’s full support.’
‘Thank you, Tom, but we we’re too old for a war with those two.’
And off they went, their conversation echoing down the corridor.
‘It was a rum move, though, boinking her fella.’
‘Reckon I did her a favour, finding out what he was like before they’d gone to all the hassle of getting married. Sticking Ada’s head down the bog, though.Thatwas a rum move.’
Dad and I waited until they were safely out the door and on the way home before we allowed so much as a smile to cross our lips, but I had to admit as I walked home later, I’d not laughed that much in ages.
* * *
The next day was Friday, so I spent breakfast with Elliot, alternately cringing and guiltily giggling as I recounted what had happened the day before.
‘I mean, it’s an awful thing to do. They honestly looked horrendous. But when Ada and May gave their reasons, I couldn’t help empathising.’
Elliot nodded. ‘Doing something really awful to someone, then acting like friends when you see them years later, as though it never happened, must be infuriating. I can see why they wanted revenge.’
My throat seized shut and I swallowed, hard, gripping my mug of tea. ‘Maybe they should have tried having a conversation first, though. Given Veronica and Vivienne a chance to explain or apologise.’
‘I guess some things feel beyond an explanation. And if Veronica and Vivienne were truly sorry, shouldn’t they be the ones to bring it up and apologise?’
All I could do was offer a feeble nod.
Ada and May would never forget what had been done to them.
If someone had no recollection of the harm you’d caused them, if you were genuinely sorry, and doing all you could to help them be happy now, should you dredge up the worst time of their life, simply to appease your own guilt with an apology? Or would that person rather not know, if in knowing they lost an old, and rapidly becoming a new, friend?
I was so messed up about the whole thing, I had no idea.
25
The others had been working on the living room in their spare time throughout the week. Isaac and Elliot had finished painting the walls a pale grey. They’d ripped up the carpet and found solid floorboards underneath, so on one afternoon Elliot had borrowed a sander and then given them a coat of gleaming varnish. A green sofa and two armchairs were being delivered tomorrow. It had been a long, drawn-out debate whether or not to get rid of the gaming chairs or the games table, but I had insisted there wasn’t room for both. In the end, Isaac came up with the suggestion that they club together and buy a summer house to use as a games room, so the chairs went into each of their bedrooms for now, with the promise that the games table would be moving out in due course.
They’d added a rug with a muted stripe, a lampshade instead of a bare bulb and blinds with a green pattern to match the sofa. The next big job was assembling the shelving and storage units. Seeing as they’d done all the rest, I volunteered to give it a go.
Two hours later, I had to admit to a sweaty, exasperated defeat. Eyeing up the various panels of wood and fixings strewn across the room, I retreated to the kitchen for a coffee break.
Elliot was sitting at the table, his laptop open. He wore tortoise shell glasses with a squarish frame that made him look instantly more mature. Like the kind of man who owned a four-bedroom house and worked in marketing while running a football team on the side.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.’ I grabbed a mug and flicked on the coffee machine.
‘No, it’s fine. It was too hot for Penny to work in the bedroom today.’
Penny chuffed in agreement from her spot by Elliot’s feet. She must have been hot if she couldn’t be bothered to get up and give me a hello nose-nudge.
