Another Cup of Coffee (20 page)

… the influence he seemed to have over her was almost frightening. There was no real reason why she hung around. Yet something tangible, but beyond her grasp, made her need to be near him, despite everything he'd put her through …

Unobserved, Phil watched his wife for a minute; her head bent to her notebook, her hand moving swiftly across the page, studied concentration on her face.

‘Hello love. I brought Chinese.'

Kit jumped, and stood up quickly, uncertain. She pointed to the pizza in the oven.

Phil laughed. ‘Well, that's a taste combination worth trying. Come on woman, get some wine out of the fridge!'

‘Phil?' Kit felt confused. She hadn't heard from him all day. She'd expected him to shout, or worse, continue his frosty silence.

‘It's OK.' He crossed the room and took her in his arms, ‘I've been talking, walking and thinking. I'm sorry I got so cross. Hurt pride, I'm afraid.'

‘You had every right to be cross. I messed up my explanations so badly. I'm sorry, Phil. I love you.'

‘I know you do, and I love you too.' Phil took off his raincoat. ‘Now, let's stop being soppy. I'm starving. Tell me how Scott and Peggy are today while I serve up this lot.'

By the time they'd discussed the lack of change in Scott, Kit had apologised several more times, and Phil had told her it was all over and to forget about it, they'd demolished the pizza and a good two-thirds of the chicken chow mein. Phil pushed back his plate. ‘I'm stuffed.'

‘Me too.' Kit agreed as she scooped up a further forkful of food.

‘I saw Jack today.'

Kit hadn't expected that, and almost choked on her mouthful of noodles. ‘You did? When? He was at the café all day.'

‘He called me after work. We went to Costa.'

‘But you hate Jack!' Her mouth had dropped open, displaying her semi-masticated food, and Kit closed it hastily.

‘No, I don't; I'm wary of Jack, but he knows that.'

Kit felt the relaxed dinner they'd just shared revolve in her stomach as her insides went into a spin cycle.
What on earth had Jack said that had calmed Phil right down? ‘
So?'

‘He offered to babysit the kids so that you and I could talk.'

‘
Jack
did?'

‘That was more or less my reaction.' Phil put his hand over Kit's, and cupped it gently, ‘I think it's a good idea.'

‘You do?'

‘Yes. We have things to talk about. Like, how come you can suddenly write at home, without a mug of coffee by your side?'

‘Blimey, so I did. I didn't think about it. I just wrote,' Kit smiled, ‘I guess Pickwicks feels more like a working stop than a coffee stop at the moment.'

Phil sounded decisive, ‘I'm going to ask Jack if he'll look after the kids on Saturday night. OK?'

‘OK.'

‘As he said himself, it's about time he proved to me he is worthy of the role of godfather.' Phil began to collect up the empty food cartons, ‘Anyway, I've got something I want to talk to you about, properly, without child-induced distractions.'

‘Me too.'

‘Anything I should worry about?'

‘Absolutely not. Me?'

Phil shook his head, ‘Not a thing. I'm going to give Peggy one last call before bed.'

‘Then, can we listen to our new CD again?' Kit fluttered her eyelids coquettishly at her husband, and the tension she'd felt at the mention of Jack slipped away.

As Amy was about to settle down in front of television for an evening of mindless nothing, the front door bell rang. She smiled; she'd been half expecting him.

‘Oh, rats, you're dressed.' Jack was leaning against the door frame, a burger box in one hand, and a bag full of beer cans in the other.'

‘Sorry, Jack, I thought you might pop round, and I didn't want to inflict my PJs on you again.'

‘Idiot. You look great in your night-time gear. Do you remember those blue stripy ones you had?' He gestured with his full bag of cans. ‘Beer?'

Amy decided against commenting about her student pyjamas, and took a tin as they headed to the living room.

‘Where are your room-mates tonight then?' Jack flopped down onto the sofa and tucked into his dinner. ‘I'm beginning to think that they don't exist.' He waved his takeaway at her, ‘You don't mind, do you? I've not been home yet, and I'm starving.'

‘They're out clubbing or something, not my thing anymore I'm afraid.' Amy waved towards the mayonnaise-dripping burger. ‘I'll get you a plate for that, after all, it isn't my sofa.'

‘Fair enough, thanks.'

‘So,' Amy called through from the kitchen where she grabbed a glass for herself, a plate, and handful of mopping up kitchen roll for Jack, ‘I see your nose is intact, Phil didn't punch you then?'

‘Nope. It went well, even if I do say so myself. At least, I think it did. It's up to him and Kit now.'

‘Why did you feel you had to talk to him anyway?'

‘I owe Kit. She has stood by me through countless relationship, or, more specifically,
non-relationship
nightmares. I thought it high time I tried to help her.' Jack brushed some crumbs off his lap, changing the subject. ‘How's the job-hunting?'

‘What job-hunting? I can't possibly leave Peggy in the lurch. I'll start the search again once she can come back to work.'

‘That's lovely of you, sweetheart, but how will you support yourself? Peggy probably won't be able to pay you for more than your usual hours, you know.'

Amy felt a bit deflated. She'd been so busy getting on with things that she hadn't considered the financial implications of what had happened. ‘Well, I guess I'll have to spend a bit more of my savings than I planned.'

‘You don't have to. I can help Kit, and you can get a new career.'

‘But you two aren't being paid at all.'

‘I don't need it, and Kit is making money from stories she's already written. Anyway, I know they don't flaunt it, but Phil earns a packet.' Jack wiped his mouth on a piece of paper towel, and put his arm around Amy. ‘What do you want to do then, when you grow up?'

Amy rested comfortably against him. ‘No idea. But I'll tell you this, Jack Brown, I've spent the past decade or so trying to prevent companies going under, there is no way on earth I am letting Pickwicks sink. It's too special.'

He suddenly engulfed her in a bear-hug ‘I'm glad you came south, Amy. And that is something I didn't think I'd say. It's a special girl that can stop me clubbing with my mates.'

Amy felt a glow spread through her. Not only had Jack remembered her pyjamas, he was here, with her, when he could have gone out on the town. Totally ignoring the distant alarm bell that began to ring at the back of her head she said, ‘I'm glad too. Now, what crap shall we watch on the TV?'

‘Anything you want.' Jack rearranged a cushion behind his back and settled himself into his seat, ‘Shall we go out tomorrow, a film perhaps?'

Amy's grin spread across her face until it lit her eyes. ‘Why not?'

Thirty-five

October 26
^th
2006

‘Amy!' Jack called over to the front door where Amy was locking up after another busy day at Pickwicks.

‘You bellowed?' Amy took her cloth from her apron pocket and headed to the nearest table.

Busy cashing up the till, Jack didn't look up as he spoke, ‘I'm sorry, but I've just had a call from a mate. He's not well. Nothing like as bad as Scott, probably flu or something, but, well … can we postpone our cinema trip tonight? I feel I ought to go and see him. Do you mind?'

‘No, of course not. We'll do it another time.'

Jack smiled, ‘Thanks Amy, you're a star.'

Kit came through from the kitchen and collapsed onto her normal chair in the corner of the room. She was exhausted. It was not just lack of caffeine and unaccustomed hard physical work that made her shake, but a reaction to the phone call she'd just received from Peggy.

Amy, immediately understanding that Kit had news, dropped her cloth, sat on the chair opposite her, and waited.

‘He's not permanently paralysed.' Tears of relief prickled at the corners of Kit's eyes.

Amy almost reached out to grab Kit's hand, but thought better of it, and simply said, ‘That's brilliant, more than brilliant, it's …'

‘There's a long way to go,' Kit abruptly wiped her eyes on a napkin. ‘The muscles in Scott's lower back have been very badly strained and bruised. It is going to take a
very
long time and an awful lot of physiotherapy before he's walking freely again. He might always need a stick.'

‘Peggy must be over the moon.'

‘She is! She was almost laughing. Nearly her old self, if you ignore the lack of food, sleep, and the terror of living through the past few days.'

‘At least she doesn't have to worry about this place.' Amy examined the almost clean café.

‘I don't think you can stop her doing that. Not unless you put your career plans even further on hold, and I don't think Peggy would forgive you if you did that.'

‘Well, that's rich. When was the last time you wrote something in here?'

Kit shrugged ruefully. ‘OK, it's been a while.' After a brief pause, she went on. ‘In fact, between you and me, I think I've screwed up the contract I had with the web site I write for.'

Amy was horrified, ‘Oh no! Kit, why didn't you say? I could have managed here with Jack.'

‘You won't tell Peggy, will you?' Kit hurriedly added, ‘I don't want her to feel guilty. Anyway, I think it's for the best. I totally love writing erotica. And I will definitely go back to it, but there's only so much smut you can write without running out of original ways of describing an erection.'

‘Erotica! You're kidding me!' Amy was stunned. ‘I assumed you wrote kid's stuff.'

‘What? Cuddly lambs gallivanting around a sunny farmyard going baa? Not me!' Kit laughed at Amy's shocked expression, ‘I thought you knew! Didn't Jack tell you?'

‘Not a word. No wonder Peggy likes your stuff.' Amy was suddenly rather coy. ‘Can I read some?'

Now it was Kit's turn to be surprised, ‘You?'

‘Yeah. I love that stuff, providing it's not cruel. I have some of the Xcite collections knocking about, but recently I've started to read some stuff on a web site I subscribe to.'

Kit felt a smile crease her lips. ‘You're kidding me! Which one?'

‘I like Katrina Island's stuff on
Pearls
, do you know it?'

Kit burst out laughing. ‘Know it? That's me!
I'm
Katrina, and I write for
Pearls
!'

‘No way!' Amy's mouth dropped open.

‘And to think I had you down as a good girl.'

Recovering herself, Amy giggled, ‘Come off it! I've been out with Jack too, you know.'

Kit regarded the waitress more seriously for a second. ‘I owe you an apology.'

‘What for? Secretly boosting my erotic fantasies for the past twelve months?'

‘No!' Kit's smile faded as she confessed, ‘I was jealous. Not of you, exactly, but of what you had with Jack, and of how well you've handled it all.'

‘You have
got
to be joking!' Amy looked at Kit in disbelief. ‘Handled it! He dumped me and I ran away. For over a decade! I'm not sure that counts as a true qualification of handling it, do you?'

Kit's mouth dropped open, ‘That's why you went to live in Scotland?'

‘Yes.'

‘I assumed you'd gone up there because of your job. God, that boy has a lot to answer for' Kit crunched up the damp paper napkin she was holding.

‘You are telling me.'

Kit was thoughtful as she continued, ‘Shame isn't it.'

‘That we both loved him, you mean?'

‘Bloody tragic.' They both shook their heads ruefully at each other, before bursting into fits of teenage-style giggles.

By the time Jack had come back from paying in the takings at the local bank, the two girls had made decent headway into a bottle of Peggy's house white.

‘Anything I can get you girls? Cushions? A servant to waft you with a fan? A three-course meal while I juggle the other jobs left to do in here tonight?'

‘Shut up, Jack, and sit down.' Amy toasted him with her glass as she spoke.

Jack, puzzled at the new-found solidarity before him, shrugged his shoulders, took a glass from the counter, and joined them. ‘So, what are we drinking to?'

‘Scott.' Kit hurriedly filled Jack in on her telephone call.

‘Can he come home soon then?'

‘It'll be a little while yet, and there'll be a fairly lengthy gap between coming out of hospital and walking unaided, but at least the ultimate prognosis is good.'

Jack looked from Kit to Amy, ‘There's something else.'

‘A truce,' Amy gestured towards her fellow female, ‘Kit and I have had a chat'

‘Which is going to become an extended chat once you have buggered off,' Kit added.

‘Exactly,' Amy nodded, failing to suppress a giggle as the wine had an effect on her food-deprived body.

‘Oh.' Jack didn't know what else to say, as both girls dissolved into another fit of giggling camaraderie. ‘I think I'd better get going then.'

‘Night, Jack,' the girls chorused after Jack as he left them to their alcohol and the remaining tidying-up.

After they'd emptied the bottle of wine and cleared the tables, Amy suggested a meal might be a good idea before they both collapsed. Kit sent a text to Phil, getting the all-clear for a girlie night out, and they headed into Richmond.

As they stood in the chilled evening air, which hung thick with the aroma of bonfires and early fireworks, surrounded on all sides by Indian restaurants, Amy suggested, ‘Indian food then?'