slurred, ‘You must all come to the evening party! An Irish wedding is one not to be missed, to be sure.’
‘To be sure,’ I hiccuped and then promptly fell backwards off my barstool in complete shock.
– Fifteen –
Pisces: A familiar face in the crowd? Don’t be fooled by that old devil called love.
The next morning I woke up to my mobile ringing right next to my head. I had a terrible hangover but when I saw it was Christopher I thought I’d better talk to him, as I hadn’t been on a date for ages.
‘Morning!’ he greeted me.
‘You’re cheerful,’ I said resentfully.
‘Well, when you’re playing cupid to three hundred people you have to try,’ he said.
‘Now, Ms Anderson. Declan is keen to meet up with you and I thought you would see him before Carl and then you cancelled that and-’
‘Slow down, Mr Starr. Right – let’s get my love-life in some sort of order. Firstly, I would love to meet up with Declan. Secondly, I would like you to turn down Laurence for me. Categorically. His birthday flowers were lovely but I don’t think I could ever fancy him or even like him, unfortunately. Oh, and of course there’s the lovely Carl.’
‘Carl? I spoke to him yesterday and he said he was going to be in touch with you.’
‘Oh well, I’m sure he’ll call. So all you have to do is set up a date with Declan.’
‘Money for old rope, I say! Think I may have to set up my own dating agency before long!’
‘You are most definitely a one, Amy Anderson! I’ll get back to you as soon as I’ve got hold of Declan.’
‘OK, bye then.’
‘I need drugs!’ Katie shouted from the spare bedroom.
‘Drugs?’ I hoped Katie had not got mixed up in the drug scene in Lanzarote.
‘You know headache tablets – Resolve or anything to stop this woodpecker drilling in my head.’ I heard her yawn. ‘It’s nice to be back, Ames. Like the pad, it has a certain karma about it.’
Karma? Being near the volcanic mountains and the sea must have turned the usual matter-of-fact Katie a bit spiritual. How bizarre.
‘You ain’t seen nothing yet, Ms Cook. I have to introduce you to my frogs!’
‘Morning, Gloria.’
‘Morning, Jed’
‘Rain today, I reckon.’
‘Let’s hope not, Jed.’
Luckily he had never mentioned the stench of the pond again. With luck he was losing his sense of smell as well as his hearing!
Katie looked at me with a quizzical expression.
‘Don’t even ask,’ I warned her.
‘I won’t,’ she smirked. Luckily my friends took my eccentricities in their stride.
‘Just look at my little bubbas, bless them, sticking their little heads out of the water to get air.’
‘Amy, I think you’ve lost the plot. I’m also sure it’s the wrong time of year for frogs. Perhaps the stench keeps them warm!’ In fact, I don’t even think they are alive – they are just suspended dead in the sludge.’
Penelope came down the garden to investigate. Stuck his nose in the air, squeaked and went and pooped in a flowerbed.
‘Sure you still want to move in?’ I asked.
‘Yes, but only temporarily. Don’t reckon I can stick with this cold weather for long.’
‘Get away with you, it will start warming up in April.’
‘We’ll see,’ Katie replied throwing back her long mane of blonde, wavy hair. ‘I shall pop round my mum’s this afternoon and pick up my stuff. Oh, and Amy, your behaviour last night was very strange. Do you need to talk to me about anything?’
‘I do actually.’ I grimaced. ‘I think we should have a conference round Sam’s later.’
‘OK, I’ll see you there. Call you in a bit.’
My mobile was flashing up the voice message sign when we went back inside. It was Christopher again.
‘Good news. Declan wants to take you racing, he’s been invited to a meeting at Ascot, in a private box!’
The real Declan, at last! He had looked gorgeous in his picture and a day at the races would be such fun. I suddenly felt really excited.
I felt both hungover
‘To be sure,’ I hiccuped and then promptly fell backwards off my barstool in complete shock.
– Fifteen –
Pisces: A familiar face in the crowd? Don’t be fooled by that old devil called love.
The next morning I woke up to my mobile ringing right next to my head. I had a terrible hangover but when I saw it was Christopher I thought I’d better talk to him, as I hadn’t been on a date for ages.
‘Morning!’ he greeted me.
‘You’re cheerful,’ I said resentfully.
‘Well, when you’re playing cupid to three hundred people you have to try,’ he said.
‘Now, Ms Anderson. Declan is keen to meet up with you and I thought you would see him before Carl and then you cancelled that and-’
‘Slow down, Mr Starr. Right – let’s get my love-life in some sort of order. Firstly, I would love to meet up with Declan. Secondly, I would like you to turn down Laurence for me. Categorically. His birthday flowers were lovely but I don’t think I could ever fancy him or even like him, unfortunately. Oh, and of course there’s the lovely Carl.’
‘Carl? I spoke to him yesterday and he said he was going to be in touch with you.’
‘Oh well, I’m sure he’ll call. So all you have to do is set up a date with Declan.’
‘Money for old rope, I say! Think I may have to set up my own dating agency before long!’
‘You are most definitely a one, Amy Anderson! I’ll get back to you as soon as I’ve got hold of Declan.’
‘OK, bye then.’
‘I need drugs!’ Katie shouted from the spare bedroom.
‘Drugs?’ I hoped Katie had not got mixed up in the drug scene in Lanzarote.
‘You know headache tablets – Resolve or anything to stop this woodpecker drilling in my head.’ I heard her yawn. ‘It’s nice to be back, Ames. Like the pad, it has a certain karma about it.’
Karma? Being near the volcanic mountains and the sea must have turned the usual matter-of-fact Katie a bit spiritual. How bizarre.
‘You ain’t seen nothing yet, Ms Cook. I have to introduce you to my frogs!’
‘Morning, Gloria.’
‘Morning, Jed’
‘Rain today, I reckon.’
‘Let’s hope not, Jed.’
Luckily he had never mentioned the stench of the pond again. With luck he was losing his sense of smell as well as his hearing!
Katie looked at me with a quizzical expression.
‘Don’t even ask,’ I warned her.
‘I won’t,’ she smirked. Luckily my friends took my eccentricities in their stride.
‘Just look at my little bubbas, bless them, sticking their little heads out of the water to get air.’
‘Amy, I think you’ve lost the plot. I’m also sure it’s the wrong time of year for frogs. Perhaps the stench keeps them warm!’ In fact, I don’t even think they are alive – they are just suspended dead in the sludge.’
Penelope came down the garden to investigate. Stuck his nose in the air, squeaked and went and pooped in a flowerbed.
‘Sure you still want to move in?’ I asked.
‘Yes, but only temporarily. Don’t reckon I can stick with this cold weather for long.’
‘Get away with you, it will start warming up in April.’
‘We’ll see,’ Katie replied throwing back her long mane of blonde, wavy hair. ‘I shall pop round my mum’s this afternoon and pick up my stuff. Oh, and Amy, your behaviour last night was very strange. Do you need to talk to me about anything?’
‘I do actually.’ I grimaced. ‘I think we should have a conference round Sam’s later.’
‘OK, I’ll see you there. Call you in a bit.’
My mobile was flashing up the voice message sign when we went back inside. It was Christopher again.
‘Good news. Declan wants to take you racing, he’s been invited to a meeting at Ascot, in a private box!’
The real Declan, at last! He had looked gorgeous in his picture and a day at the races would be such fun. I suddenly felt really excited.
I felt both hungover
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