But I do sympathise. Yes, of course it’s frustrating, but in her position you’d feel exactly the same. All you can do is be there for her when the wrong boyfriends let her down. And hopefully one day your best friend Sally will meet the right one, who won’t.
Love,
Rose
PS I do wonder if you’re secretly hoping you might turn out to be the right one? Maybe you will, but be prepared to accept that this might not happen.
Poor David, in love with his best friend and unlikely to find his somewhat regimented feelings returned. Sally might be his best friend but was he hers? Hallie uploaded her reply and guessed that it wouldn’t satisfy David; short of demanding that his views be listened to and obeyed, nothing would.
Oh well.
She sat forward on the sofa to relax her back and shoulders. Last week’s session with the musculoskeletal physio had helped to ease the pains brought about by the effort required to breathe, but she still ached. On the up side, she was feeling less woozy today, had managed to stay awake after doing her meds and had put on almost two kilos, which was a great achievement. Struggling to gain weight was the bane of her life.
And now she’d updated the website too. Good going, after the last few days of feeling rubbish.
Her phone began to ring and she answered it.
‘Hey,’ said Bea. ‘Where are you?’
‘In Tanzania, in a hot air balloon floating above the Serengeti. Honestly, you should see it,’ said Hallie. ‘It’s amazing. There are herds of wildebeest sweeping across the plains—’
‘You’ve been watching Fawlty Towers again. Are you at home?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good, open the door then. You’ve got visitors.’
Plural. Bea and who?
Thirty seconds later, she found out.
‘Hallie, lovely Hallie. These are for you, from me.’ A blast of designer aftershave, a crackly flourish of cellophane, and the biggest bouquet she’d seen for some time briefly filled her field of vision.
‘Surprise!’ said Bea, as Hallie found herself being air-kissed on both cheeks by Ross. ‘We thought we’d come to see you!’
At a guess, so they could get the first-time-as-a-couple awkwardness out of the way. Amused, Hallie took the flowers. ‘Wow, thanks, these are amazing. How lovely! Nice to see you again! Come along in.’
They went into the living room and Hallie hooked herself back up to the oxygen supply. The flowers really were amazing, exotic and wildly extravagant; it was sheer bad luck that the arrangement included so many lilies, whose sickly scent reminded her of death.
Never mind, it’s the thought that counts.
‘Wow, you’re looking great.’ Ross said it with rather too much enthusiasm.
Hallie, who knew she wasn’t, said, ‘Thanks, so are you.’ Which was true; in his leaf-green designer-of-course shirt and navy blue trousers, and with his dark glasses perched on top of his head, Ross was tanned and glowing with health. Next to him, Bea was visibly besotted.
‘We’ve just been over to Abingdon for lunch with Ross’s parents,’ said Bea. ‘They’re so great. I loved them!’
‘And they loved you too. Don’t forget about those theatre tickets, by the way,’ Ross reminded her. ‘As soon as you know you can go, tell Mum and she’ll book them.’ He turned to include Hallie in the conversation. ‘Les Miserables in London. Not my cup of tea, but Mum loves it.’
Hallie smiled. Les Mis was the musical she had always most longed to go and see. After Suze’s death, she’d vowed to make it happen, to experience it on Suze’s behalf, but like so many overambitious plans, it had fallen by the wayside.
Belatedly realising this, Bea exclaimed, ‘Oh, that’s your favourite. You could come too!’
But Hallie was already shaking her head. ‘No, I couldn’t cope with it all . . . and I’d only cough during the show. No one likes a cougher in the audience, do they?’ This was true; much as she’d love to see it, she wouldn’t want to ruin the show for everyone else. ‘But you must go with Ross’s mum, then you can come back and tell me what it’s like.’
When they left an hour later, Ross gave Hallie a long, sincere look. ‘It’s been great seeing you again. Really. You look after yourself now.’
As if she were a ninety-year-old great-grandmother. The playful tone and flirtatious eye contact between them had evidently been banished for good. Which was only appropriate, of course, now that he was seeing Bea, but it still made her feel barely human.
‘I will, and you look after Bea. If you mess her around, you’ll have me to answer to.’
‘Wouldn’t dream of it.’ He grinned in that way some men did when they were perfectly well aware that they would be messing their girlfriend around because it happened every time without fail.