there.’
Laurie realised that even sushi – one of her favourite foods – wouldn’t tempt her right now. She’d hardly eaten a thing since Monday.
‘On the plus side, a few Yorkshire puddings should fill you out a bit,’ Siobhan said. ‘But seriously, Laurie, on your own in the Dales? Are you sure you know what you’re letting yourself in for?’
‘I’ll be absolutely fine,’ Laurie insisted, with a wave of her hand. ‘You know what, you and Danny are right. I do need to clear my head a bit.’
On Sunday morning, three days before she was due to leave, Laurie knocked at the blue door on the ground floor of her building. After a moment, her knock was answered by a curvy woman in her seventies with neat afro hair, her yellow and red patterned dress set off by simple gold hoop earrings and a red necklace.
‘Hi, Lily,’ Laurie said.
‘Well, if it isn’t my favourite neighbour,’ Lily replied, a smile spreading across her face. ‘Come in, dear. I’ve just put the kettle on.’
‘So how’ve you been?’ Laurie asked, walking through into the kitchen and pulling out a wooden chair at the kitchen table.
‘Not too bad, thanks, sweetheart,’ Lily said, getting a tray and some cups out of the cupboard. ‘Fairly quiet, apart from the choir. November’s never too busy. It’s at Christmas that the fun really gets started.’
Ska music played out quietly from the radio, and Laurie noticed a pot bubbling away on the stove. As she glanced around the kitchen she saw that a lot of the sunflower-print wallpaper on the wall nearest the door was peeling away, and that a set of wooden shelves and quite a few of the lino tiles were badly damaged. ‘Is all this from the electrics work?’ she said, pointing to the wall and furniture.
‘Yes,’ Lily replied, bringing over the tea tray and placing it on the table between them. ‘I’m grateful, of course, that they fixed things, but those men from the council certainly left an awful mess.’
Laurie ran a hand over the ripped wallpaper. ‘Shame,’ she said. ‘You always keep it so nice in here.’
‘Oh this is nothing.’ Lily laughed warmly. ‘You should see the living room, hardly any paper left there. They said they’d be back to decorate, but that was weeks ago.’
‘But your electricity’s OK now?’
‘Oh, yes, the lights and plugs are all working, so that’s the main thing. Can’t have a party in the dark, can you?’
Laurie smiled. Each year Lily hosted her Caribbean Christmas dinner for all the residents in the block. She never turned anyone away, and her flat was always overflowing with friends and neighbours, the air heavy with the tempting aromas of jerk chicken and plantain, rum cocktails fuelling the dancing, and the rooms transformed with red and gold Christmas decorations. Siobhan and Laurie were regulars there, as were: Sean, the single dad in the basement flat, Nikki, the teenage daughter who was giving him grey hairs, and – of course – Jay.
Friends from Lily’s gospel choir usually joined them, dropping in between midday and midnight, and kids from the neighbouring blocks. Last year Siobhan had brought a reindeer-shaped piñata that had been a huge hit – the kids thwacked it with sticks until sweets and chocolates spilled out all over the floor.
Christmas dinner at Lily’s was one of the highlights of Laurie’s year, but this time felt different. Would Jay’s girlfriend be there? Did she really want to spend Christmas looking across the fruit cake at the two of them whispering sweet nothings? It hurt even to think about it.
‘Your party will be great,’ Laurie said. ‘It always is.’
Lily poured tea out for the two of them. ‘Oh, I know. It’s the people that matter. But you know how I like things to look pretty.’
Laurie nodded sympathetically, then thought back to the reason she’d come. ‘Anyway, I dropped by because I wanted to let you know that I’m going away for a little while, to stay at a
Laurie realised that even sushi – one of her favourite foods – wouldn’t tempt her right now. She’d hardly eaten a thing since Monday.
‘On the plus side, a few Yorkshire puddings should fill you out a bit,’ Siobhan said. ‘But seriously, Laurie, on your own in the Dales? Are you sure you know what you’re letting yourself in for?’
‘I’ll be absolutely fine,’ Laurie insisted, with a wave of her hand. ‘You know what, you and Danny are right. I do need to clear my head a bit.’
On Sunday morning, three days before she was due to leave, Laurie knocked at the blue door on the ground floor of her building. After a moment, her knock was answered by a curvy woman in her seventies with neat afro hair, her yellow and red patterned dress set off by simple gold hoop earrings and a red necklace.
‘Hi, Lily,’ Laurie said.
‘Well, if it isn’t my favourite neighbour,’ Lily replied, a smile spreading across her face. ‘Come in, dear. I’ve just put the kettle on.’
‘So how’ve you been?’ Laurie asked, walking through into the kitchen and pulling out a wooden chair at the kitchen table.
‘Not too bad, thanks, sweetheart,’ Lily said, getting a tray and some cups out of the cupboard. ‘Fairly quiet, apart from the choir. November’s never too busy. It’s at Christmas that the fun really gets started.’
Ska music played out quietly from the radio, and Laurie noticed a pot bubbling away on the stove. As she glanced around the kitchen she saw that a lot of the sunflower-print wallpaper on the wall nearest the door was peeling away, and that a set of wooden shelves and quite a few of the lino tiles were badly damaged. ‘Is all this from the electrics work?’ she said, pointing to the wall and furniture.
‘Yes,’ Lily replied, bringing over the tea tray and placing it on the table between them. ‘I’m grateful, of course, that they fixed things, but those men from the council certainly left an awful mess.’
Laurie ran a hand over the ripped wallpaper. ‘Shame,’ she said. ‘You always keep it so nice in here.’
‘Oh this is nothing.’ Lily laughed warmly. ‘You should see the living room, hardly any paper left there. They said they’d be back to decorate, but that was weeks ago.’
‘But your electricity’s OK now?’
‘Oh, yes, the lights and plugs are all working, so that’s the main thing. Can’t have a party in the dark, can you?’
Laurie smiled. Each year Lily hosted her Caribbean Christmas dinner for all the residents in the block. She never turned anyone away, and her flat was always overflowing with friends and neighbours, the air heavy with the tempting aromas of jerk chicken and plantain, rum cocktails fuelling the dancing, and the rooms transformed with red and gold Christmas decorations. Siobhan and Laurie were regulars there, as were: Sean, the single dad in the basement flat, Nikki, the teenage daughter who was giving him grey hairs, and – of course – Jay.
Friends from Lily’s gospel choir usually joined them, dropping in between midday and midnight, and kids from the neighbouring blocks. Last year Siobhan had brought a reindeer-shaped piñata that had been a huge hit – the kids thwacked it with sticks until sweets and chocolates spilled out all over the floor.
Christmas dinner at Lily’s was one of the highlights of Laurie’s year, but this time felt different. Would Jay’s girlfriend be there? Did she really want to spend Christmas looking across the fruit cake at the two of them whispering sweet nothings? It hurt even to think about it.
‘Your party will be great,’ Laurie said. ‘It always is.’
Lily poured tea out for the two of them. ‘Oh, I know. It’s the people that matter. But you know how I like things to look pretty.’
Laurie nodded sympathetically, then thought back to the reason she’d come. ‘Anyway, I dropped by because I wanted to let you know that I’m going away for a little while, to stay at a
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