‘Last minute shopping?’

Sandra Mossop jumps ‘Oh…Sorry, miles away. Yes…little things, you know…stocking fillers’ she smiles at Kathleen Wishart standing behind her in the queue. ‘We….always do…a… a stocking for each other, me and Tim’

‘Aaw, that’s nice. I’ll be lucky to get anything from my old man' Kath laughs ‘Reckons he’s all I need to have a Merry Christmas’ she snorts and rolls her eyes ‘Says I can unwrap him any time I like! Hmmm. Well, he’ll have to wait for his Christmas bonus this year, we’ll have a houseful, he might be sleeping in the garage yet awhile’ She pauses ‘That was a joke’ she says, seeing Sandra’s mournful expression. ‘Is everything alright with you?’

‘Yes, yes….er….fine’ Sandra dithers between answering Kath and answering the call from the cashier for the next customer and looks behind her as she carries her basket to the counter.

Kath takes the cashier further along the counter and stands waiting for Sandra by the exit once she has been served. ‘Shall we have a coffee or something?’ she asks. ‘If you’ve got a problem, Sandra, you know you can always come to one of us’ she declares as she zips her purse into the inside pocket of her handbag. ‘And something is bothering you, isn’t it?’

‘Not bothering me exactly…but I suppose I am a little bit upset.’

‘Why, whatever’s up?’

‘Oh, nothing much’ Sandra sighs ‘I’m being a bit silly as per usual…but…’

‘Yes?’ Kath pushes through the door to the department store and shivers in the blast of cold air ‘Brrrrr! By heck, it’s cold…. you were saying? Oh, come on… before we freeze to death. Too cold to stand here gassing’ She bustles towards the coffee shop two doors down ‘You grab a table and I’ll get them’ she instructs.

Sandra manoeuvres herself to a table along the sidewall, apologising as she squeezes between the chairs and lifts her bags above the heads of the other customers. She sinks thankfully into a seat. ‘Sorry’ she apologises again to the man sitting behind her as her chair bangs against his.

‘Dunno about you, but I’m ready for this’ Kath says as she arrives at the table ‘Alright in here? At least it’s warm’

‘Yes….it’s fine’

‘There we go then’ Kath unloads her tray and leans it against the legs of her chair out of the way.

‘Thank you’

‘So, what’s this being silly lark all about, then?’

‘It’s Jessie.’ Sandra hesitates

‘Jessie? Now how could Jessie upset you? You’re one of her favourite people….especially now’ she grins

‘It’s the especially bit that’s got me a bit upset….I wouldn’t upset her for the world…..and I would have done those drawings again…I would…honestly….if she’d said, I would have done’ Sandra stutters.

‘Hang on…She’s thrilled about those. You know how Jessie likes to act the giddy goat…this has given her every opportunity to do just that!’ Kath laughs ‘She’s in her element’

Sandra stirs her coffee slowly, staring at it with a glum expression 'I thought so too….but when I went to see her….They…the publishers…everyone….they think it’s great and were all for it….full on marketing…the works’

‘But?’

‘Jessie didn’t seem that keen after all’ Sandra looks up and sighs woefully. ‘She said she doesn’t mind her face being used…but that’s it. I got the impression she thought I was trying to make a fool out of her and I wasn’t…I’m not…I wouldn’t ever do something like that…’ She looks tearful ‘I thought she was enjoying all the……fuss I suppose you’d call it’

‘Ohhh dear….’ Kath sets her mouth in an angry straight line ‘I know just where this has come from! Yes…I definitely know what….or should I say who has upset Jess and it’s certainly not you’

Harvey's

Department Store, Woodbury

Chapter Four

Pennywell, Bower Lane.

‘I hope you were good for Mrs. Shepherd today, Alfie’ Helen strokes the cat’s back with long slow movements. He purrs in response. ‘Yes? Good boy’

She pulls her legs up onto the sofa and slides her head down until it is resting on the cushion where the cat is laying. ‘That’s it until Friday, just you and me now’ she says, tickling him under one ear. ‘We’ve got smoked salmon for supper. You fancy that? Me too’

‘What shall we do tomorrow? If you’re good, you can go out in the garden for a little while as long as you promise not to run away. You promise? Mmmm, that’s what you say but I don’t want to be wandering those fields looking for you, ok? I’m going to go for a walk then, once we've had lunch, I'm going to lie in front of this fire for the rest of the day. I’m going to read that book…I bought myself a new one did I tell you? Yes, I know…stupid when I work in a library full of them but this has only just come out’

Helen stops fussing Alfie to roll away from him and lay her forearm across her forehead. ‘Oh, Alfie!’ she moans ‘you think we should have invited someone down? We’re not going to get fed up on our own are we?’ she asks, turning her head when he prods her with a paw. ‘Shall I go to church in the morning…shall I… you think I could do that?’ She strokes him absently ‘I’ve got lots of friends here now, haven’t I?…. Quite a few anyway. You think they are friends? They’re your friends, I know that much but what about me, you think they are starting to like me?’ Helen looks at Alfie as if expecting him to answer. He blinks lazily. ‘Harriet likes me…I think…I like Harriet. And Kester kissed me…he did. Only on the forehead but it was definitely a kiss’

Alfie yawns, his mouth opening wide, revealing the length of his tongue and sharp pointed fangs.  ‘Am I boring you?’ Helen asks with a snuffled laugh. ‘Yes, I know, you’ve heard that several times before but….’ She sighs ‘He did look handsome…really, really handsome and he can dance! Oh, it was so special, Alfie’ She rubs her nose into the fur of his neck. ‘Couldn’t let him see that, of course, but it was. He didn’t have a girlfriend with him. I thought he might have…when I saw him there….someone that looks like a model or something…but he didn’t’

‘Wonder why?’ she muses ‘Simon fancies him like mad! That was so obvious and Jeremy was jealous' she laughs 'no other word for it….Oh…perhaps that’s why….' She puts her hand over her mouth. 'Sometimes….you know….sometimes they go with lots of women just….you know….to prove otherwise……Do you think he….? No, he wouldn’t be, would he? You’d know, wouldn’t you? Not you, I didn’t mean, I meant me….' She shakes her head 'No, he was so ……warm, Alfie…That was real...Warm…and the things he said… they were …..He made me blush!’ Her colour rises again as she remembers. ‘Do you think he likes me, Alfie? He said he wanted to be a friend…..Am I ready for a friend, you think…that sort of friend? Oliver was nice…but……I didn’t think he would understand. He wouldn’t have, would he? I’m not sure that Kester will…but he said friend…nothing else…. just a friend. That’ll be ok, won’t it, Alfie?' Helen struggles to sitting as the cat rolls onto his stomach and eases himself slowly down to the floor. 'Alfie…where are you going? I’m talking to you.’

She grins as Alfie stretches and trots towards the kitchen and his food bowl, pausing to mew at the door for her to follow.