No Way to Say Goodbye - Anna McPartlin [55]
Jessie looked at Pierre and nodded to indicate that he could speak for them both.
“We are.” Pierre bowed.
“Oh, well, isn’t this just the greatest day?” Jack grinned widely. “And thank the Lord above for it.”
Pierre and Jessie shared a smile and Pierre mumbled something about God having nothing to do with it. Mary’s eyes narrowed.
“Yes, Mary?” Pierre asked.
“Am I ever to know how this amnesty occurred?” she asked, knowing the answer.
“Of course, dear,” Jessie told her, “when your father sells this place to me for fourpence.”
Pierre laughed.
Mary’s dad entered the kitchen with a bottle of his favourite wine and poured four glasses. “Here’s to the team back together again! And may whatever it was that was driving us apart be no more! Here’s to a bicker-free future!” He raised his glass as did Pierre, Jessie and Mary. Of course, at that moment Mary’s dad was the only person who wasn’t aware of how the argument between Pierre and Jessie had started but that didn’t matter: some sort of peace had been reached. It would seem that all they had needed was time alone to work it out. Mary did wonder what had been said to bring about peace and how she could find out.
After they had drunk a second toast to Mary’s long-departed mother, Pierre and Jessie went home, leaving Mary and her dad to tend the bar.
After a glass of wine and wearing her mother’s diamond, Mary was in high spirits when Penny arrived, bearing news of Ivan’s second date with Sienna. She had accidentally encountered them lunching in the Horseshoe. She described the woman and Mary knew instantly who she was talking about. “We use the same hair dye,” she said.
“What?”
“We had words in the chemist over the last box of dye about three months ago.”
“Words,” Penny said.
“And a slight tug of war.”
“Who won?” Penny wondered.
“She did,” Mary said, rolling her eyes. “I called her a pushy cow!”
After that Penny stayed for a drink and promised to check in on Sam. Mary was worried about him – she’d left him alone for the entire day. Ivan was supposed to have looked in but in light of his new romance she was afraid he might have forgotten.
Penny made her way up the street ostensibly on her way to Mary’s house, but before she reached the top of the town another bar lured her in. She intended to stay for only one, but then Jerry Letter bought her a drink to demonstrate that, despite his own clean record, he was not one to sit in judgement on others and Pierre, still celebrating the end of his row with Jessie, was only too happy to include the partying Penny in his round. Five drinks later she remembered the American on the floor. Oh, Christ. She slipped away unnoticed.
She was halfway down the hill and towards the pier when the oxygen kicked in and she felt kind of dizzy. She sat on a wall for a minute or two and concentrated on sobering up. She got up and pushed herself down the road, zigzagging all the way. By the time she reached the house she’d convinced herself that she’d recovered enough to pull off the appearance of sobriety. She opened the door with the spare key Mary had left under the hedgehog in the pot beside the door. Sam was playing his guitar but stopped when he saw her.
“Still alive, then?” she slurred.
“I’m fine,” he replied. “Where’s Mary?”
“Working,” Penny said, and burped. “She asked me to check on you.”
“As I said…” He seemed uncomfortable with her there.
“You eaten?” she asked, realizing she herself hadn’t had anything since lunch.
“Ivan brought me something.”
“Oh, good old Ivan! Even in the afterglow of a long-awaited shag he remembers those less fortunate!” She grinned while feeling for the sofa so that she could plonk herself onto it. “Always thinking of others!” She perched precariously on the edge of the sofa, and laughed. “You look so helpless.” Her grin turned into a yawn. “Maybe I should come down there.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He sounded nervous.
“I promise I won’t hurt you.” She leered at him. “You’re so beautiful.” She sighed. “I bet you get that