“Hold on, lady,” I said. “I need more deets. Confirmation. Is dog grooming my…destiny?” Stacey snorted as she made for the beaded curtains.
“My readings are simply a guide,” she said, removing her headscarf and switching off the indoor water feature at the side of her chair. “Do with the information what you will. I don’t clarify details or…offer refunds.”
“Funny that,” Stacey muttered under her breath.
“Oh, and, Cloud.”
“It’s Skye,” I replied.
“Take care of yourself,” the lady said. “I see…hurt.”
“Oh,” I muttered as Stace offered me a small smile.
“You’re too hard on yourself and there’s really no need.”
“OK, thanks for that,” I replied, leaving before we got deep. Too deep for me to handle.
“Aside from the barking,” Stace said, “she nailed it.”
I smiled at the memory, scooping up the tea leaves from the sink and dropping them into the bin. The ones that remained dotted around the steel made a pattern, kind of like the map of Africa. Did it mean something? I swiped my hands, clad in bright pink rubber gloves, across them, swirling my finger, hoping for a sign. Should I be travelling the world rather than travelling Brighton in a bright pink and gold van? I liked to pretend I was an optimist. Always seeing the glass half full, taking a gulp and asking for more. Going to see the fortune teller would work out well for me. There was no other option. Failure wasn’t in my vocab. Despite Stacey and our other friend, Will, telling me to be cautious, or in his words Don’t listen to the bat-shit crazy, I was now the proud owner of a mobile dog grooming business.
When I was younger, I’d never been afraid of taking risks. That had changed somewhat when my life took a detour. I’d made a series of bad decisions in my teens that I chose to acknowledge and do nothing but grow from. Life was too short to have regrets. I lived for the moment and wouldn’t give a second thought to packing some clothes in a bag and spending the weekend alone camping in the New Forest. I pierced my nose when I was twelve. My ear was stretched by the time I reached my twenties and I dyed my hair orange, green and purple before finally settling on my trademark pink. I shaved one side of my head when I decided I quite liked looking lopsided. I mean, I could never be described as fitting into the norm. I liked it that way, but lately I couldn’t help feeling like something was…missing. And that…wasn’t the norm.
“Take that, tea leaves,” I said as I sprayed bleach into the sink. Pulling my rubber gloves off with a pop I draped them over the tap and switched off the kitchen light.
I loved this time of the day. The final customers had left, I’d sent the staff home and the café was serene and still. It was a great time to think – gave a perfect opportunity to concentrate. I was easily distracted, but pulling a chair up and settling down for a night of studying was a great way for me to focus. Stacey was staying in Liverpool for the weekend with her mum. She’d taken Reggie with her, so although the flat would be empty, there was something comforting about the café. I couldn’t deny that the moment I put the café up for sale it caused more than a stomach flip. But technically…I didn’t do regrets and I didn’t want to look back once I’d started moving forward. I set out several books I’d ordered about business intelligence and effectiveness and women in power plus my leopard print pencil case and a bright pink notebook. I put back the pen topped with a sloth (it didn’t give the message I wanted to portray) and chose a highly sophisticated glitter gel pen before writing I can do this on my notepad.
I woke up splayed across the table with the books acting as pillows. How did that happen? As soon as I opened a book about business it was like it sucked the time zone from me and set it to a few hours in the future. “Urgh. Midnight. Great,” I said to no one. “Nothing like losing a few hours of your life on a Saturday evening.” I piled the books on top of each other, turned out the light, and locked the doors to the café. As I lived upstairs, I used the side entrance and made my way up to the flat. Handy when I was tired and disorientated and just wanted to crash on my bed.
The staircase was dark. Taking my phone out of my pocket, I turned on the torch, ensuring I reached the top of the stairs without breaking a vital part of my anatomy. As I made my ascent, what I wasn’t expecting were noises coming from the flat, particularly as I knew Stacey and Reggie were away. It might surprise you when I say I’ve had this before. The previous tenant messed up his dates and tried to get an extra night in the flat without realising I’d moved in that afternoon and was returning home from a night out with Will and Stace, definitely worse for wear. Will threatened him with my hairdryer. He obviously didn’t like blow dries because he was out of there quicker than you could say, Leave the key.
I pressed my ear against the door.
Laughter.
I crouched down to the letterbox.
Moans.
I flipped it, held it up with my fingers and parted the draught excluder closing it again quickly when I caught a glimpse of a man who looked very much like Will.
More laughter.
What the hell was he doing in my flat? Yes, we were mates. Stacey had brought him into my life five years ago when they met at university, but he didn’t
