Cally shifted in her seat. Maybe she’d led a very sheltered existence, but Estrella seemed not only intense but completely over the top. 'Well, there's not much to tell, really. I've been working for Birdie for a while now, and this promotion just sort of happened.'
'Oh, don't be modest!' Estrella exclaimed. 'Birdie doesn't just hand out promotions to anyone.'
Cally blushed. 'I don't know about that. I just try to do my job well.'
'Don’t we all.’ Estrella flicked her hand out in front of her a little bit. ‘It’s all about hard work here too, isn’t it? It suits me – my culture is a hard-working one.’
'Oh, really? Where are you from then?'
Estrella launched into a detailed account of her journey from Ecuador to England, her pharmaceutical studies, and how she'd eventually found her way to Birdie's company. Cally listened, nodding at appropriate intervals, but found herself slightly overwhelmed by the torrent of information from the gushing woman. She sat back and listened, not able to get a word in edgeways, so much so that she found herself tuning out for a second.
'Birdie is the most wonderful boss you could ask for. So understanding, so supportive and just leaves well be. I like that. Keep away is my motto, ha! The benefits are out of this world. Health insurance, dental, paid holidays, and don't even get me started on the gym.' Estrella lowered her voice. ‘Plus, you know all the other unspoken benefits here and there.’
Cally nodded, not able to get a word in edgeways. ‘Mmm.’
Estrella patted Cally's hand. Cally had to stop herself from recoiling. Estrella feltwaytoo familiar as far as she was concerned. Cally shrugged it off as a difference in culture thing. Estrella, however, didn’t seem to notice and continued unabashed. 'I've been so looking forward to you working here. It'll be wonderful to have someone new on the team, someone with fresh ideas.'
Cally smiled, but inside, she felt more than a twinge of unease. Whatever her intuition was telling her, she didn’t like it. She tried to push the feeling down, telling herself she was being unfair, and not very nice. Estrella was doing absolutelynothingwrong.
‘You’ll have to come for after-work drinks!' Estrella lowered her voice and made a mock-whisper type sound. ‘Don’t tell anyone but we might have a few of those on the company, too.’
'That sounds nice.’ Cally wasn’t sure if itwasnice. She couldn't shake the feeling that something wasveryoff. Estrella's enthusiasm appeared almost too perfect, too rehearsed.
Estrella seemed to clock what Cally was thinking. 'Oh, goodness! Sorry! I'm not being too much, am I? People say I can be a bit intense when I'm excited. It’s the way we do it where I’m from.'
Cally shook her head. 'No, no, you're fine.’
Estrella nodded. ‘I'm just sothrilledto have you here. It's going to be wonderful.'
After finishing their coffees, Cally tried to shake off her doubts. She was being silly, she told herself. Estrella was just being friendly and welcoming. It was perfectly normal to be excited about a new colleague. But as they walked back to the chemist, with Estrella’s red shoes clipping on the pavement and as she chattered away about the various projects they'd be working on together, a little voice said things in the back of Cally’s head. She couldn't quite silence it. It sat in the back of her mind, warning her that something wasn't right. Not a great start to her first day out and about with her new job.
'Right then,' Estrella said as they re-entered the shop. 'Shall we get started in the stockroom? I’ll show you how I do things here and tell you what I need done. I have my own way of doing things. No reason to mess with that.'
Cally nodded and the penny dropped. Estrella thought that she was in charge and that Cally was workingforherand not the other way around. It had all been a power game. She kept her mouth shut and followed Estrella into an overwhelmingly messy, disorganised stockroom where she couldn’t see the wood for the trees. Listening as Estrella rambled on, she didn’t say anything but just quietly took it all in. Internally, our Cally nodded. It wouldn’t take her long to get the room shipshape andsee what was what. Estrella had a shock coming; that she knew for free.
29
It was a day or so later and Cally had just left the manor house. She’d spent most of the day with Doreen, helping to prepare for the funeral. When she’d first offered to help Doreen, to be honest, she’d expected Doreen to say no. Despite the number of staff at the manor, Doreen, however, as the funeral had approached, had leant on Cally for all sorts of little jobs here and there. Cally had been running around all day, tying up loose ends left, right, and centre. You know those little flies with blue bottoms? She was one of those.
With a takeaway hot blackcurrant in her hand Doreen had made for her just before she’d left, she walked away from the manor on a path beside the edges of the perfectly manicured lawns. A long line of well-cared-for trees swayed back and forth in the wind, and coming from the direction of the marquee that had been erected for the funeral, she could hear the distant chatter and occasional laughter from some of the manor workers. The laughter in the air was at odds with what was going on with the family inside the manor. There wasn’t much to laugh about in there at all.
Cecilia had become more and more distressed as the funeral had approached and was barely getting out of bed. Reg hadturned to the bottle, and Logan wasn’t far behind him. Cally shook her head as she thought about it and reached the area of the garden where the path narrowed and led down a small hill in the direction of the main gates. She took careful steps towards the bottom and as she pondered what was going on, she felt that, as usual, the same old familiar thought that the Henry-Hicks family was entitled and didn’t even know it. She thought about Cecilia staying in bed all day. Yes, it wasmorethan terrible what had happened, but Cally couldn’t stop herself from thinking about how when her grandma had passed away, she certainly hadn’t had the luxury of staying in bed, far from it. She had, in fact, had to get up and get on with what was left of her life. She’d teetered on being homeless and had been racked with constant worry. Shuddering at the thought, Cally ploughed on in the direction of Lovely Bay and thanked her lucky stars, she was closer to buying her own place.
From the road, she could hear the sound of the bin man coming up the lane and, faintly on the breeze, the sounds of Lovely Bay Primary School at playtime. Life outside the manor continued, while inside, it felt as if everything had stopped with Alastair’s passing. Cally shook her head as she got closer to the gates, and just as she was about to press the button for them to open, she bumped straight into one of the gardeners who was kneeling down weeding a bed.
‘Afternoon, our Cally,’ the gardener said, standing up and placing his hands on the small of his back. ‘How’s everything going up there at the house?’
Cally raised her eyebrows. ‘Not great. I’ve been helping Doreen. She was in a bit of a pickle with it all.’
‘Yes, I thought that when I went up for lunch earlier.’ The gardener's weathered face creased with concern. ‘What a sorry old state of affairs, eh?’
Cally nodded. ‘It's been awful. The whole family is in shock. I suppose you would be…’
The gardener leaned on his rake. ‘I remember when Alastair was just a young lad, running around these gardens, getting into all sorts of mischief. Always had a smile on his face, that one. You can’t believe it…’
‘I know.’
The gardener nodded. ‘It just goes to show, doesn't it? You never know what's around the corner. One day you're planning a grand adventure, and the next, well, the next, you're not.’
