Lola's Secret (24 page)

Yours sincerely,

Helen and Tony Brooks

Dear Ms Quinlan,

Re: Booking for Martha Kaminski/Christmas

I wish to cancel a booking made in the name of Martha Kaminski for the nights of December 24, 25, and 26. Ms. Kaminski will now be joining her family in Queensland for the Christmas break. I understand from Ms. Kaminski that it was in fact a free offer, but should this inconvenience you in any way, please be assured we will of course recompense you. Please accept our apologies for any difficulty this cancelation may cause.

We wish you the best for Christmas and the new year.

Sincerely,

Glenda Sorenson

PA to Martha Kaminski

It didn’t stop there. Lola had just finished her shower and was getting dressed for the day when there was a knock at the door. It was Jim, with a slip of notepaper. “I’ve just taken a message for you, Lola. Someone called Mrs. Harris. It was hard to hear everything she said, she was a bit teary, but it sounded like something to do with her son and Christmas? What are you up to? I thought you said there’d been no bookings.”

“Nothing to worry about. Thank you, darling. I’ll call her back.”

Lola was on the phone for nearly half an hour. The woman was alternately tearful and joyful. Lola was shocked to learn what the woman’s son had been planning to do at the motel. It hardly seemed possible. Lola tried to recall the emails she’d received from him. She’d thought him the most relaxed of her guests. And yet …

“He’s with us at home now, here with his sister and me. We can’t take our eyes off him. I’m sure it’s driving him crazy but to think, to even think for a minute that he was going to … I know they say it’s often a cry for help, that not everyone goes through with it, but if it wasn’t for his housemate … It’s just so terrible. I keep thinking what might have happened, what he might have done, but he’ll be okay now. I hope he’ll be okay. He knows how much we love him, and he’s going to go and talk to some doctors, and I know he’ll find work soon. He’s so clever with his hands. You should see the sofa he fixed up for me, and he’s so young. He’s got his whole life ahead of him. He’ll meet someone else. She wasn’t right for him …”

What a sad world it was sometimes, Lola thought after she’d said good-bye. Who ever knew what pain another person was going through?

Two hours later, Jim put a second call through to her room. “Another one for Lola Quinlan, proprietor,” he said. “Another one about Christmas. What exactly are you up to, Lola Quinlan?”

“A lot less than I thought,” Lola said truthfully. “Thank you, darling. Please put the call through.”

A moment later a young woman came on the line. “Is that Lola Quinlan? Lola, this is Holly Jackson. I was booked to stay with you over Christmas. With my two sisters. We won a free stay?”

Lola frowned, reaching for her notebook. From memory, her fourth set of guests was a family, mother and daughters, not three sisters. “I’m sorry, Holly. I must have made a mistake. I have you down as a family booking. You don’t sound old enough to have daughters.”

Her caller sounded anxious. “I’m not. I’m very sorry. I told a bit of a lie about that. And I told another lie too. I’m seventeen, not thirty-five. And I’m even sorrier for this late notice, but we can’t take up your free offer after all. Our parents have made other plans for us.”

Lola was confused. The three children had been coming to the motel without their parents? She fought against her natural curiosity to ask more. The girl, Holly, sounded upset enough as it was. “Well, never mind at all. Are you going somewhere nice instead?”

“I don’t know for sure. It might be Disneyland. If they can decide between Paris or Florida. Or we might end up staying at home. I don’t know yet.”

“Well, I hope you have a very happy Christmas together wherever you are.”

“I hope so too,” Holly said.

Lola hung up, reached for her Secret Christmas notebook and crossed out their names too. What had happened to her great Christmas idea? Where would she find any guests now?

A thought flashed into her mind. Did she actually
want
any new guests now? Was she feeling just the slightest bit of relief that she wouldn’t have to do all that cooking and cleaning and fetching and gathering in this heat? Not that she would have been doing it all herself, but still …

She had a sudden mental picture of waking up on Christmas morning and a glorious nothing stretching out in front of her. Just her own company, all day long. Her own company and Ellen’s too, of course …

But was there any point in Ellen coming now? Would it make more sense for her to come in the new year, when everyone was there? When they could all make a true celebration of her arrival? When perhaps Glenn could even join her for a few days? At the end of Ellen’s stay, mind you. They’d want her to themselves first.

Lola’s mind started ticking over. Who knows, perhaps after the success of Denise’s last visit, just perhaps Ellen wouldn’t think it was the very worst thing that could possibly happen in the entire world if she was to spend Christmas on that luxurious island with her father and Denise and Lily …

There was no time like now to find out.

She picked up her bedside phone, glad to have this diversion. She knew herself well enough. The more she did to keep herself busy, the less time she had to mull on the fact that Alex still hadn’t rung. She had checked her mobile again and again, especially after she’d hung up from her other calls, just in case something had gone wrong with her ring tone and his call had come in silently. She’d been disappointed each time. There hadn’t been any missed calls or any messages left on her voicemail. She’d gone through every possible scenario. He was waiting until after breakfast. After lunch. After dinner. She searched for every reason except the one that was the most obvious. He hadn’t rung because he didn’t want to talk to her.

She’d just dialed Ellen’s number in Hong Kong when her mobile rang. She hung up on Hong Kong and snatched up her phone. “Lola Quinlan.”

“Lola, hello. Any word yet?” It was Luke.

Her heart slowed. “No, nothing, I’m afraid. And refined lady that I am, I’ve decided to wait for him to call me first.”

“I’m so sorry, Lola. I promise I gave his daughter the right numbers. Just in case you were worried about that. I said them twice and she read them back to me.”

“It’s fine, darling. He’s an old man. Nearly as old as me. Perhaps he’s still searching through his memory bank, trying to remember who I am. He’ll call in his own good time, I’m sure of it.”

She wasn’t sure of it. The only thing she was sure of was her decision not to ring him. She realized she couldn’t bear it if his reaction wasn’t a good one. If she were to ring him and he was cool on the phone, or distant, it would feel like time traveling, taking her right back to how she’d felt when he first returned to Italy. If he wanted to call her, he would. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t. It was as simple a situation as that. And sadly, as each hour passed, it was becoming clearer that he didn’t want to call her. So there was nothing she could do but live with his decision, as she had lived with his decision all those years earlier.

Doing her best to push all thoughts of him out of her mind, she rang the Hong Kong number again. She had a nice exchange with Glenn’s housekeeper, Lin, and then her granddaughter came on the line. “Hi, Lola! How are you?”

“Healthy as a young trout, darling.” Lola had always vowed to tell Ellen the truth as much as possible. She did her best now. “Ellen, I’m going to get right to the point. I’m ringing because I think your Christmas plans are about to change. But I want you to know this hasn’t been the plan all along, me plotting to somehow get you to stay there for Christmas, to go away with your father. I promise. This has all come as a surprise to me too.” She explained that her need for a kitchen slave had disappeared, with the cancelation of all of her Christmas guests. “I want to see you so much, my dearest Ellen, but I don’t want you to be rattling around here in the motel with just me for company.”

“But what about you rattling around there on your own? Won’t you be lonely?”

Lonely? The more Lola thought about it, the more she knew that being on her own for Christmas would be idyllic, not lonely. She knew she’d enjoy thinking about her son, her granddaughters and their families, even Ellen, happily having their own, different Christmas celebrations in different parts of the country and the world. She’d have her feet up. She’d read all day. Or watch TV all day. Drink gin all day. Yes, even spend all day listening to those Christmas radio programs, as she’d joked with Jim. “I won’t be lonely for a second, darling. I promise you. Not at Christmas. But by New Year, yes, I will be desperate for company. So I’m ringing to ask if you would possibly consider changing the dates of your trip. Would you even think about going away with your dad, Denise, and Lily for Christmas, and then coming here to me for New Year? I want the truth, please. Tell me exactly how you feel and whatever you decide, we’ll work around it.”

There was silence for a moment and then Ellen spoke again, her voice calm. “I think that would be okay. As long as I know I’ll be coming to you for New Year.”

“I’ll be waiting with bells and whistles. And it won’t just be me, darling. Your entire family will be here waiting for you.”

“And I won’t have to do any washing up at all then, either, will I?”

“Not even a teaspoon. You’re sure, Ellen?”

“I’m sure, Really-Great-Gran.”

“You’re a darling girl. I’ll ring your dad, will I?”

Glenn was overjoyed, in his matter-of-fact way. “Lola, how did you manage this?”

“I don’t really know,” she said honestly. “I actually didn’t plan it. It all seemed to happen of its own accord. But we still get to have her for New Year, promise me that?”

“Of course.” He laughed. “And I still get to celebrate that with her too. She’ll be back here in plenty of time for Chinese New Year. Thanks, Lola. I don’t know how you did it but I’m glad you did.”

T
HE DAY BEFORE
Christmas Eve, Lola was at the forecourt of the motel, standing in the shadiest spot she could find. She’d waved good-bye so many times that morning her arm was hurting. First Carrie, Matthew, and their three children had driven up to say good-bye.

“We’ll ring on Christmas morning, Lola. Thanks for everything! Enjoy yourself!”

Daniel, Bett, Zachary, and Yvette were next. They were all red-cheeked and fractious-looking, Bett and Daniel more than the twins. “You don’t think the Baby Squad would come away with us, do you?” Bett whispered to Lola as they hugged good-bye.

Jim and Geraldine were the last to go. Geraldine gave Lola a barely touching kiss on the cheek. Jim hugged his mother tightly. “This feels all wrong,” he said. “Leaving you alone like this.”

“Darling, we’ve been through all this. Besides, you’ll have forgotten all about me by the time you get to Sevenhill.” It was the next town to Clare, only seven kilometers away.

“We’ll ring on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning,” Jim said as he climbed into the driver’s seat. They were taking Geraldine’s car, leaving Jim’s behind.

“I hope I’m here,” Lola said cheerily. “I may have taken off on a driving holiday myself by then. Keep an eye out for me in your rearview mirror, won’t you?” She experienced a brief feeling of glee to notice Geraldine’s suddenly worried expression.

Jim still didn’t drive away, winding down the window for one last exchange. “We’ll only ever be a few hours away. We can come back if you need us at any time.”

“If I need help thawing my TV dinner, you mean?” Lola laughed. “Jim, would you please just go? Or I’ll have burned to a crisp standing here saying good-bye over and again.”

“You’re sure you won’t be lonely?”

“I don’t know. You won’t leave me alone so I can find out.”

“Happy Christmas, Mum,” he said then, finally starting the car.

“Happy Christmas, darling. Happy Christmas, Geraldine.” She got one warm, loving smile and one frosty one in return. No change there.

Thank God, she thought, as they finally drove out of her sight. Alone at last. And for four days at least. She and Jim had made the decision together to declare the motel closed for the Christmas period. There was the chance someone would come, but for the sake of a few dollars, Jim didn’t want her to be worrying or waiting around. So they’d added a new sign to the one on the main road, advising they were closed for renovations and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. Jim had recorded a similar message on their answering machine. Lola herself would deal with any email enquiries that might come in.

She’d decided to spend Christmas Day on her own. She’d had plenty of invitations, of course. Kay, Margaret, Patricia and Luke, even Emily and her family. She’d turned them all down, nicely but firmly.

Their responses had been identical. “But you can’t be on your own. Not at Christmas.”

She could be and she wanted to be. It really was just one more day of the year, she explained each time. A day with far too much pressure on it. She liked her own company. She didn’t have a huge appetite these days. She’d make herself a cheese sandwich, a large gin and tonic, and perhaps have some good chocolate for dessert. She’d watch TV or listen to the radio or even read, being sure to stay inside out of the heat, cool and content and comfortable. At the end of the day, if she felt like it, she might make herself an especially large gin and tonic, and go and sit for a while on her park bench, enjoying the cool of the evening.

She wouldn’t—she would
not
—keep looking at her phone, wishing it would ring.

S
HE SPENT
Christmas Eve with the charity shop ladies, overseeing the delivery of the Christmas packages. They’d galvanized a team of drivers, picking men and women they knew would be discreet, people who would simply drop off the package with a smile and warm Christmas greeting, without passing any comment or judgment on the recipients. There had been 220 requests in the end, and easily enough donations to fill them. Each box had been overflowing with goodies, in fact. Some families were receiving two boxes full of Christmas cheer. Perhaps not all of the requests had been authentic, but Lola decided she didn’t mind. The goodness the people in the Valley had shown far outweighed any deception that had gone on.

As the delivery day drew to a close, once again, she was forced to deflect another stream of invitations. People seemed truly horrified that she was spending Christmas on her own. “Do you want to even drop over to our house for leftovers?” one asked.

“We can all drive up and see you for an hour or two,” another said.

“No!” Lola said. “No, thank you,” she corrected. “I’m doing an experiment. Seeing if I still eat too much on Christmas Day even when I’m on my own. I would hate an unscheduled visit to upset my finely tuned calculations.”

“You’ll ring if you get lonely, won’t you?” Kay asked again, as she said good-bye.

“I certainly will,” Lola said. I certainly will not, she thought.

She refused to look at her phone that night. What was the point? She knew now that Alex had decided not to call her. “Oh, well,” she said aloud. She did her best to ignore the voice inside her that was much more unhappy.

S
HE WOKE
to a hot, blue-skied Christmas morning. Hotter even than the forecast. She felt it as soon as she pulled open the curtains. That swirling wind was back too. She could tell by the shifting and swaying of the gum trees on the hillside opposite. Definitely a day to be inside by the air conditioner.

She did everything she wanted to do and nothing she didn’t. She didn’t get dressed until midday. She watched a movie. She ate her cheese sandwich. She took calls from her family and friends, keeping them as brief as possible. “I’m fine. I couldn’t be happier. Now off you go and enjoy yourselves.” They all seemed happy and cheerful. She was glad.

Ellen rang from the island. She sounded bright, too.

“You’re having fun?” Lola asked. “You’re okay?”

“It’s great,” Ellen said. “We’ve had presents, and been for a swim, and we’re about to have lunch. Board games afterward. Dad and me versus Denise and Lily.”

It was difficult for Lola to reconcile this Ellen with the spitfire of a fortnight earlier. “I’m very proud of you.”

“So far, so good,” Ellen said cheerily. “As long as they let me win the games.”

Lola was secretly glad she hadn’t turned too goody-two-shoes.

“And you’ll still send me a photo of your Christmas Day outfit, Lola, won’t you?”

“Of course I will,” Lola promised. “Don’t I always?”

It was tricky enough taking the photo. In previous years she’d had Bett or Carrie handy to be the photographer. Today she made two attempts using the camera’s remote button and managed a photo of the carpet both times. Eventually, she took a photo of herself in the mirror. It wasn’t perfect—the camera in front of her face spoiled the effect slightly, but she knew Ellen would get the general idea. Lola was very proud of today’s outfit. If she’d known Mrs. Kernaghan’s email address, she’d have been tempted to send the photo to her too. She’d taken her inspiration from Mrs. Kernaghan’s window display, after all. In terms of the color scheme, at least.

She was wearing a long, flowing green satin skirt on which someone—not her—had embroidered red stars. She’d teamed it with a multicolored chiffon overshirt and a very large, very long silver scarf that she’d tied as a belt. She had green bangles on one arm, red ones on the other, flashing Christmas wreath earrings, and a seasonal necklace made of Christmas decorations looped together into a three-strand necklace. It was her jaunty Santa hat that set the whole outfit off, though, she knew.

“I’ve toned down my look this year,” she wrote to Ellen in her email. “No point going overboard when I’m the only one here. Wait till you see what I’ve got planned for New Year’s Eve!” She followed Luke’s written instructions, downloading the photo from her camera to the computer, and then attaching it to her email. “Off you go,” she said aloud, pressing Send.

Nothing happened.

“Off you go this time,” she said again.

Still nothing.

She checked the cable. Fine. The connection. Not fine. Drat, she thought. Of all days for the Internet to go down. She really wanted Ellen to see the photo today.

What could she do? She didn’t want to ring Luke, even though she knew he was home in Clare with his mother. Not on Christmas Day. Even computer whiz kids needed one day off a year. It might be easy to fix but it could also be tricky, and she knew Luke wouldn’t leave without sorting out the problem. No, she didn’t want him using up hours of his day on her.

She went to the office and tried the motel computer. The same problem. Was it something to do with that fierce wind? Perhaps the email and the photo were having trouble flying through the air or whatever it was they did to get around.

No matter, she decided. She had another computer trick up her sleeve. She also had the keys to Jim’s car. She was a good driver, despite what people thought about women of her age still having licenses. Besides, hardly anyone would be on the roads this time of the afternoon on Christmas Day. She also had the keys to the charity shop. The Internet connection there was very reliable. A much better setup than her own, too. She might even watch a few YouTube clips of old musicals once she’d sent her photo off to Ellen. That always cheered her up. Not that she needed cheering up. She was absolutely fine. Not in the least bit lonely.

Not in the least. And she’d checked her mobile phone for messages only a few times. Six, at the most.

The main street was almost empty. There was only one car parked at the northern end. It was very, very hot, she realized. Even if it hadn’t been Christmas Day, the temperature would have kept people inside and off the road. She could see mirage-like shimmers on the asphalt ahead. The trees lining the street barely gave off any shade. She drove on past the shop and around the corner to the coolest spot she could find. She could be inside for an hour or so, depending on what clips she found on YouTube. She didn’t want to come back to a baking car.

The Santa hat she was wearing wasn’t great at keeping the sun off her face. She kept her head down and stayed close to the cool of the buildings as she hurried toward the front door of the charity shop. The display area was still empty, but the sign asking for donations had been replaced with dozens of sheets of paper covering the front door and the entire window, all bearing the same two words. “Thank You.”

She went inside and shut and double-locked the door behind her. Not that anyone would be trying to get in, but it was a habit she’d developed whenever she was in the shop on her own after closing time, counting the day’s takings. It was already warm inside, after only a day without the air conditioning being on. The shop was closed now until the new year.

It felt nice to be there on her own, she realized, as she turned on the computer, heard its familiar hum, and watched the screen come to life. Yes, the Internet was working fine here. She quickly connected the camera, downloaded the photo, and sent her email off to Ellen. That should give them something to laugh at if there’s any tension there at all, she thought.

She’d just logged out of her email account and was about to go on to YouTube when she heard something. A noise out the back. There was only a small walled yard there, where they kept spare cardboard boxes and the shop’s mop bucket and rubbish bin. She stood up and peered through the little window that looked into the yard. The gate in the wall was moving.

“Who’s there?” she called, her voice barely a whisper. Another banging noise. The gate moved again. As if someone was on the other side of the wall, trying to kick their way in.

To where? To here? To the shop? But why on earth would someone do that? On Christmas Day? There was nothing here to steal. All the money was gone, banked on Christmas Eve. There were just a few racks of secondhand clothes, a couple of shelves of old books and DVDs.

And a full computer setup. A computer. A camera. A color printer. A scanner.

She heard voices.

Her hands started to shake. Whoever was outside wouldn’t expect anyone to be there. They’d have chosen this lazy hot time on Christmas Day for exactly that reason. But how would anyone have even known it was here to steal?

The answer came to her immediately. Mrs. Kernaghan’s TV segment. She had sat in front of the computer, proudly demonstrating what a state-of-the-art setup they had. She’d actually used the term “state-of-the-art.” None of them had thought for a moment it would make them a target. They were a charity shop. Who would steal from a charity shop?

The voice came from just outside the window. “Hurry up, mate.”

She had to hide. She couldn’t stop them. Once she would have tried. Grabbed something, a broom, an umbrella, tried to scare them off that way. But she was old. She was frail. Where could she go? What should she do? Ring for the police? There wasn’t time. She could see them both now, two young men, inside the yard. They were starting to force open the door to the shop itself.

She only had a minute, less. Quick, Lola. Quick. Think. The changing room. It had a door, a lock. They wouldn’t expect anyone to be in there. They wouldn’t even look, would they?

They wouldn’t hurt her if they did find her, would they?

She got herself into the changing room and locked the door only seconds before she heard the back door fly open. It slammed against the wall. “Fucking hell. Keep the noise down,” she heard one of the men say. The same voice? A third voice? Were there more than two of them?

“Jesus, look at it. This must be worth a fortune.”

“We’ll find out,” the other said.

“It’s still on.”

“Just pull out the plug.”

“Someone’s left a handbag behind too.”

“Grab it.”

Lola started to shake even more. Why hadn’t she picked up her handbag? Her mobile phone was inside it. Her camera. The keys to the car. The keys to the shop. The keys to the motel. She nearly called out.
Please don’t take my keys.
She didn’t. She held her breath. They were quiet now, busy. She heard the computer being dismantled, shoved into cardboard boxes. She’d heard them drag several inside. The leftover cardboard boxes from the Christmas appeal. She heard the back door and back gate open, shut, open again as they went in and out. They were quick. Efficient.
Go
.
Go, get out, leave. Please, just take it, just go, just go
 …