‘Thank you, Nell.’ Cat sniffed again. ‘I love you.’
Nell’s trepidation surged again. Cat very rarely got this upset and for her to say ‘I love you’ after their exchange last night alarmed her, sending goose bumps over her skin. ‘Love you too, honey. I’ll be there in a few minutes.’
Nell jumped out of bed, threw on some clothes and made her way to the back entrance of her flat. That way she could avoid the kitchen and Mrs Meggett. As much as she’d adore one of Mrs Meggett’s amazing breakfasts right about now, she loved a chat and Nell wasn’t very good at escaping them. She’d get waylaid and right now Cat was her one and only priority.
Climbing into her car, Nell’s phone went once more but this time with a number she didn’t recognise. ‘Hello?’
‘Hi, is that Nell Jones?’ The voice was male.
‘It is. Can I help you?’
‘I saw your posters about the black cat. Ours went missing about a month ago and we’ve been looking everywhere for him. We live the other side of the bay. Is it okay if I come this afternoon to see if he’s ours?’
Nell’s heart sank even further in her chest, shrivelling with pain. She didn’t want to lose Mr Scrooge. She liked having him around. She’d begun to think of him as her cat, cuddling up with him at night, but she couldn’t keep him if he belonged to someone else. It wouldn’t be right. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she said, ‘Yes, of course.’
‘Thanks. Is three o’clock okay?’
‘Yes, fine. See you then.’
Nell drove down the long road that ran the length of the seafront, sucking in her emotions. Last night’s episode with Tom, her worries for Cat, and now facing the loss of Mr Scrooge, made it all feel hopeless. In between the little wooden beach huts, she spied the sea, a calm blanket of pale grey, barely distinguishable from the sky above. The windscreen steamed up from her warm breath mixed with the freezing air inside, and as she entered the town centre where houses, already decorated with looming inflatable Santas, snowmen and reindeer, gave way to pubs, shops and boutiques, she drove around the main roundabout – the one where Tom had his accident – and on towards the car park.
Being reminded of his so-called prang also reminded her of the accident with his finger, and of his strange behaviour last night. He hadn’t been around as much and when he had he’d acted so differently. She’d seen in his eyes that something wasn’t right. All she wanted was to talk to him and find out what was bothering him and explain about Harry dancing with her. Her cheeks flushed again with the discomfort of embarrassment. But speaking to Tom would have to wait until she’d dealt with Cat. Nell swerved the car into the first available parking space and shot out. After throwing money impatiently into the machine, she stuck the ticket on the window and walked around the corner to Raina’s.
Cat, her eyes puffy, her beautiful pink hair tied in a messy ponytail and remnants of make-up smudged under her eyes, sat at a table in the window. She looked devastated, like her spirit had been broken. With a quick check for Brenda, who thankfully was nowhere to be seen, Nell ripped open the door and threw herself into the chair, grabbing hold of Cat’s hands and squeezing them tight. ‘Whatever has happened, honey? We can fix it, okay? Is it the wedding?’ Cat nodded and Nell felt her face fall as her fears broke the floodgates. ‘Is it off?’
Cat’s head shot up, completely horrified. ‘What? No!’
‘Thank God. Then what the heck’s happening?’
‘I stood up to Mum.’
‘You did?’ Nell couldn’t believe what she was hearing. ‘I want to know everything. Actually, wait, we need tea for this.’ She nipped to the counter and ordered two teas and a large slice of an amazing-looking chocolate mousse cake from Lexi. She looked fabulous in a Fifties-style dress with her dark hair swept into a headscarf. A small Christmas tree at the end of the counter had been decorated with all sorts of homemade decorations. There was a star made out of lolly sticks and snowmen made from toilet roll tubes and cotton wool. It was wonderful. Nell guessed some of the decorations had been made by Lexi’s kids and in her mind, she jotted a mental note to run an event for kids next year. Before long she was back at the table and Lexi followed with the plates of cake and sweet vintage pots of tea.
‘So, what happened?’ asked Nell, her voice full of pride that Cat had done what they all knew she needed too. The lights in the window behind Cat twinkled against the grey gloom as she shrugged off her coat.
Cat wiped her eyes with her sleeve. ‘So, after we rowed last night, Kieran and I left.’
‘I’m sorry if I was harsh,’ Nell said, cupping her tea.
‘No, you were right. I was being stupid. It’s just that with Mum passive aggressively controlling the wedding—’
‘It’s more kind of aggressive-aggressive.’
‘Exactly. With Mum being a giant control freak I just got so stressed out. She was moaning about everything and going on and on at me until I changed things. She’d say things like, “I just think you should reconsider blah, blah, blah”. She’d even ring me up when she knew I was working. Part of me thought it was because she knew I’d agree to get her off the phone.’
‘It must have been so hard for you.’ Nell took her hand and squeezed it.
‘I know I should have stood up to her at the start, but I didn’t and it just kind of snowballed from there. I love Kieran so much, but when I was …’ Nell could see
