Then he went on ahead, leaving Bea to say her goodbyes.
‘Well, what d’you reckon? He seems keen, doesn’t he? Do we look like a proper couple? He’s so much nicer than Phil . . .’
Which, seeing as Phil had cheated on her with at least four other girls during their six months together, wasn’t the most encouraging endorsement in the world.
But Bea’s eyes were shining, her optimism boundless.
‘He is nice, and you look great together.’ Hallie hugged her on the doorstep, taking note of her own Dear Rose advice. ‘Have fun. I’ll see you soon.’
Chapter 47
Zander’s heart sank when he saw his sister’s name flash up on the phone on Sunday night. Would it ever stop sinking? That was the million-dollar question. Personally he doubted it.
‘Go on, answer it.’ Flo, sensing his reluctance, was reassuring. ‘She might have just locked herself out again.’
As ever, Flo was right. Spending the next couple of hours wondering what the problem might be was worse than getting on and dealing with it.
He lay back against the pillows, pressed Answer and said wearily, ‘It’s midnight, Lena. What do you want?’
‘Zander, I need you to come and pick me up.’ The words tumbled out in a rush. ‘Can you come straight away?’
‘What? No, I can’t. Where are you, anyway? What’s going on?’ He could hear voices in the background, raised in anger.
‘OK, it totally isn’t my fault, right? Giles’s wife was meant to be away for a few days, taking the kids to see her mother in Plymouth, so Giles invited me over to stay at the house while it was empty, except they came home early and she had a complete head fit when she found out I was there . . . and then she called Giles’s mother over and they both started on at me . . . I’m telling you, you wouldn’t believe the things they’ve been saying, it’s a complete nightmare and I haven’t even done anything wrong . . .’
Zander briefly closed his eyes. Nothing ever really changed. One of his earliest memories was of their mother attempting to apologise to an inconsolable school friend of Lena’s because Lena had ripped the arms off her favourite doll.
‘Listen to me, where are you exactly? Give me the full address.’
Lena told him and added, ‘Hurry up please, before I slap them both.’
‘Just wait there and don’t slap anyone. I’m calling a cab to come and pick you up.’
‘No, no cab, I don’t want a cab!’
‘And I don’t want to get out of bed to come and fetch you.’
‘Zander, please!’
‘Why can’t Giles drive you home?’
‘Because he’s had a couple of bottles of wine and his bloody mother won’t let him.’
Zander briefly considered saying he’d been drinking too, but Lena always knew when he was lying. He tried again: ‘A cab can be there faster than I can; just let me call them and—’
‘Oh for God’s sake, why are you being so difficult?’ wailed Lena. ‘OK, OK, I’ll tell you what happened. I accidentally broke a clock and if you don’t come over here and give Giles’s mother two hundred pounds, the old witch is going to call the police!’
There it was, the reason he was going to have to get out of bed after all. Taking a stand and letting Lena bear the consequences of her actions, he knew from experience, would only end up making life more difficult for all concerned.
Zander felt a hand rest on his arm and turned to look at Flo, who had heard everything. She nodded, gave him a sympathetic smile and mouthed: You’d better go.
He experienced a surge of relief; girlfriends in the past hadn’t been nearly so understanding. Which was, essentially, the reason why they were in the past.
And why Flo would be with him in the future.
‘Right, I’m on my way,’ he told Lena. ‘I’ll be there in twenty minutes.’
‘Quick as you can,’ said Lena. ‘These bloody squawking women are driving me loopy.’
Four minutes later, dressed in jeans and a black polo shirt, he leaned over the bed and kissed Flo on the mouth. ‘I’ll be back by one, hopefully before that.’
‘It’s OK, I’ll still be awake.’
He loved the way her eyes danced when she looked at him. ‘You don’t have to wait up.’
‘Maybe I want to,’ said Flo.
Now it was his turn to smile. They both knew why; there was unfinished business of the bedroom kind still waiting to happen.
‘See you in a bit, then.’ Zander gave her one more kiss for luck.
‘Don’t forget to stop off at the cashpoint. Jaaahls’s mum might not accept credit cards,’ said Flo.