‘You must hate me.’
‘I don’t hate you.’ She opened the packet of custard creams she had picked up at the corner shop.
‘Here, help yourself.’
‘You’re so ...’ Phil shook his head again, searching for the right word, ‘... so nice. You always were. Always forgiving me.’
Pru said nothing.
‘It got on my nerves in the end,’ he went on. ‘Did you know that?’
‘No.’
‘That’s why I went off with Blanche. She doesn’t take any crap. Stands up for herself, Blanche does.’’Right.’
‘I’m just trying to explain.’
‘You don’t have to,’ said Pru. ‘It doesn’t matter any more.’
He finished his tea and rose cautiously to his feet.
‘Time I made a move. Blanche’ll be waiting for me with a frying pan.’ His smile was crooked.
‘And it won’t be for making bacon and eggs.’
‘Well, good luck.’ Pru smiled back.
At the door Phil glanced around the room again, his estate agent’s eye taking in the rotting window frames and damp walls.
‘I really am sorry, Toby,’ he used his old nickname for her, ‘about this place.’
But not quite sorry enough, Pru couldn’t help noticing, to stick his hand in his pocket and maybe give her a couple of hundred pounds out of his winnings.
‘Take care of yourself,’ she said as Phil made his way downstairs.
He grinned, evidently at the prospect of having to avoid low-flying frying pans.
‘You too, sweetheart. And thanks for putting me up.’
‘My pleasure,’ said Pm. 'Bye.’
Chapter 32
‘You’re doing what?’ squealed Dulcie later that afternoon when Pru turned up on her doorstep and explained the situation so far.
‘I saw the consultant at lunchtime. He’s booked me in for surgery tomorrow morning,’ Pru explained. ‘The only problem is, I thought I’d be flat out, but apparently they don’t do that any more, they only give you local anaesthetic.’
Dulcie’s stomach cartwheeled at the prospect.
‘Gross.’
‘I know.’ Pru pulled a face. ‘So I wondered if you’d come with me. Kind of hold my hand, give me a bit of moral support.’
Dulcie was moderately squeamish but she adored ER. Maybe if she pretended she was watching it on telly .. .
‘What’s the surgeon like?’
Pru half smiled.
‘Tall, dark, quite dishy actually.’
Dulcie briefly fantasised exchanging steamy looks over the operating masks with Dr Doug Ross.
‘Okay, of course I’ll come.’
‘I might ask Liza too.’
Liza, Dulcie decided, could exchange steamy looks with someone far less attractive, one of the hospital porters maybe. She wanted to keep Doug to herself.
‘We’ll both be there,’ she promised Pru. ‘We’ll have an ear each.’
‘And don’t tell anyone,’ Pru pleaded. ‘I’ve already spoken to Eddie. I told him a friend’s invited me to stay with her ather villa in Majorca. As far as he’s concerned I’m away on holiday for two weeks. That’s how long the bandages have to stay on,’ she added, looking embarrassed. ‘I know it’s stupid, but I just don’t want anyone to know.’
Dulcie mimed zipping up her mouth. Then a thought belatedly struck her and she unzipped it.
‘But how can you afford it? I thought you were strapped.’
Pru ran briefly through the events of last night. Dulcie listened agog. When Pru finished, she broke into applause.
‘But I had no idea you were so desperate to have it done! Why didn’t you say before? I could have lent you the cash.’
Pru said levelly, ‘I didn’t want to borrow the money.’
‘Oh, right.’ Dulcie’s expressive eyebrows said it all. ‘But you didn’t mind stealing it.’
Pru looked worried.
