Flights of Angels (19 page)

Kristen did most of the talking throughout the meal, leaving Claudie and Simon to eat, nod, and stare at each other. It was unavoidable really. Claudie had often wondered what the mysterious Simon was like. He was the man to whom every other man in Kristen’s life was held up against and measured. Even Jimmy.

‘He’s smart,’ Kristen might say, ‘but he isn’t as smart as Simon.’ Or, ‘He’s got a

good sense of humour, but it isn’t a patch on Simon’s.’ Claudie had got a little fed up

with it over the years. Why hadn’t she just married this paragon of manhood instead of

harping on about him all the time? Claudie couldn’t work it out.

Looking at him now, it was hard to imagine why he hadn’t been marched up the

aisle already. He was smart, kind, attentive and attractive. And he had a head of pale

curls like an angel. Not like one of her little angels, of course, but like one expects an angel to look like: as if they’ve just flown down from a Renaissance ceiling: all fat cheeks and golden hair. Yes, he had the kind of curls you wanted to twist around your fingers in little rings.

Claudie blushed at the thought, and found herself staring deep into her

soup in order to prevent staring, but then told herself that she’d make exactly the same

observation about a beautiful animal. A dog, say, or a horse. Why shouldn’t she make

observations about a man? It didn’t have to mean anything, no matter what Dr Lynton

might say, and men did it all the time, didn’t they?

Simon was an attractive man, and that was all there was to it. She thought about his

hair again. It glistened in the low light of the room as if it had been sprayed with

diamonds.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and tried to pay attention to what Kristen was

talking about. Her mouth was going ten to the dozen this evening, obviously keen to

engage them all in conversation.

Then, at the end of the evening, Kristen uttered the predictable words, ‘Simon?

You wouldn’t mind walking Claudie home, would you?’ And, even though Claudie had

protested, saying she didn’t want Simon going out of his way, he did the gentlemanly thing and obliged.

‘So,’ he began, as they wended their way through the dark alleys, ‘how’s Judy?’

‘Judy?’ For a split second, Claudie wondered whom he was referring to. ‘Oh! She’s fine, thank you.’

‘Good.’

‘She’s keeping my other two books company.’

‘You have
three
Judy Garland books?’

Claudie nodded. ‘It was silly of me to buy a third, I know. I just have this fascination that has to be fed. With Jimmy, it’s boats; with me it’s musicals.’ She shrugged her shoulders as if what she’d said was the most natural thing in the world.

‘So what is it with you?’

Simon’s mouth opened but nothing came out. ‘I suppose it’s computers. It’s my job,’ he said after a moment’s thought.

‘But outside your job, what then?’

Again he paused. ‘I don’t know.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes. Sad, isn’t it? My whole life is centred around my work.’

‘That’s not sad,’ Claudie said. ‘Not if you like your work.’

‘I do. I just wish there was a bit more of it around.’

They were silent for a few moments.

‘Well, this is it.’

Simon looked up.

‘I’m just at the end there,’ she pointed towards a dimly lit cottage in the middle of a yard. ‘Thank you for walking me home. I hope I’ve not made you late.’

‘No. No.’

Was it Claudie’s imagination or did he seem out of breath? ‘Night then.’

‘Night,’ he said and, for a moment, Claudie thought he was about to add something, but he didn’t.

By the time Simon reached home, he was completely shattered. It was hard work looking at a beautiful face all evening. He’d been annoyed that Kristen had tried to set him up with her friend, but that had evaporated the moment he realised who the friend was. He could hardly believe that his Miss Moonshine was Kristen’s best friend. God, he thought, he must stop referring to her by that name. He’d be sure to come right out with it by accident one day and seriously embarrass himself.

This was the woman he’d heard so much about over the last few months. The dear friend who had lost her husband so shortly after getting married. How did you survive something like that? No wonder she had such an air of vulnerability about her. She looked lie a snowflake: so perfect and delicate but with the constant threat of melting hovering over her. He hadn’t known what to say to her, especially on the way home. He hoped she didn’t think he was an idiot.

And then he remembered something. In his excitement at realising that Claudie and Miss Moonshine were one and the same person, he’d completely forgotten to tell Kristen about Paris.

Kristen put the phone down and sat back in her chair, a huge smile filling her face. A weekend in Paris. She was honoured that Simon had asked her to go with him and, without a moment’s hesitation, she’d said yes. It was only after Simon had hung up that she’d remembered Jimmy.

With the thought of a free holiday, she’d completely forgotten that she was a woman who was cohabiting. Jimmy might not have actually married her as yet but, as far as he was concerned, she was his woman, and weekends away with an ex-boyfriend, even though there’d never been anything between them, just weren’t acceptable. Still, it had been a nice idea for about half a minute.

Poor Simon. She was going to have to let him down, but she’d rather do that than

risk Jimmy losing his temper. And risk losing Jimmy, of course. She sighed, and swung round neatly in her chair as she wondered how she’d tell Simon.

As she turned a perfect half-circle, she caught sight of Claudie. She was smiling to

herself, and chatting away quite happily as if she had a group of friends round her. Now

there, Kristen thought, the beginnings of an idea floating into her mind, was a girl who needed a holiday. Paris was, after all, the romance capital of the world. What better place for two people to get acquainted? She could just imagine Simon and Claudie there, strolling by the Seine, and walking arm in arm down the Champs Elysee.

Kristen slowly nodded to herself, feeling a Cheshire cat grin splitting her face in two as her idea began to take shape.

Claudie was quite unaware that Kristen was watching her, and plotting her fate. She was

busy having a nice chat to the flight.

‘I’m not sure I’d advise that,’ Jalisa was saying as she spun across the top of the

printer in a wild dance.

‘Why not?’ Claudie was puzzled.

‘I think it still might be wise to keep going to Dr Lynton. I mean,’ she stopped in mid-spin, ‘it’s not as though we’re professional.’

‘I thought you were?’ Claudie said. ‘I thought angelling was a profession.’

Jalisa chewed her lip. ‘But Dr Lynton is trained.’

‘But so are you.’

‘Yes,’ Jalisa said, ‘but-’

‘I think what Jalisa is trying to say,’ Bert interrupted, ‘is that it would be wise to

have a number of different people to help you. You shouldn’t be reliant on just us.’

Claudie leant forward and looked at him. ‘Really?’ Claudie didn’t sound convinced. ‘What do you think, Mr Woo?’

Mr Woo walked forward silently in his pillow-soft shoes. ‘You more happy now but Dr Lynton still important.’

Claudie suddenly felt like a laboratory rat being examined, and she didn’t like it.

‘I think I’ve made quite enough progress already.’

‘Yes, you have!’ Jalisa encouraged. ‘But you mustn’t turn your back on people

who want to help you in your own world.’

Claudie bit her lip. ‘I see,’ she said slowly, reading between the lines at last. ‘Does this mean you’ll be leaving me soon?’

‘Of course not,’ Jalisa said. ‘We’re here for as long as you need us.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes!’ Jalisa smiled.

Claudie breathed a sigh of relief. If she lost the angels, she felt sure it would be like losing Luke all over again. It was strange. Even though she hadn’t seen Luke, she felt as though she was living in his world a little by having the angels with her, and she couldn’t bear for them to go. Not just yet anyway.

Mr Woo interrupted, ‘Not good to have one help. Many help always best.’

‘You mean I need all the help I can get?’ Claudie looked round the table at her

angels. She looked at Lily, who had been suspiciously quiet throughout the whole discussion.

‘What do you think, Lily?’

Lily looked up and smiled prettily, delighted to be asked for her opinion. ‘I think they’re right. I don’t think you should stop seeing Dr Lynton. You shouldn’t become too reliant on us.’

‘And that’s what you all truly believe?’

There was a moment’s pause as Claudie analysed each angel in turn. She heard the

whirr of the coffee machine from the end of the office, the flash of the photocopier, and

the slam of a distant office door before she answered. ‘Okay. I won’t stop seeing Dr

Lynton just yet. If you all truly believe I shouldn’t.’

‘It’s definitely what we all believe,’ Jalisa nodded heartily.

‘You make good decision,’ Mr Woo agreed.

‘Absolutely,’ Lily said. ‘Besides you haven’t even found out what his first name is

yet,’ Lily added, and they all laughed.

After some serious pen chewing, Kristen came to the realisation that she wasn’t going to

be able to let Simon down over Paris after all. Not if she was going to persuade Claudie

to go. No, she mused. If Claudie and Simon were to go to Paris together, then she was

going to have to pretend to be going to Paris with both of them. She’d have to tell Claudie that she had won the weekend in Paris for two, and that Jimmy really

hated travelling.

Would she be able to pull it off? She was a terrible liar, she knew that. Ever since Jimmy had found that packet of cigarettes stashed inside the cushion cover on the little armchair, he’d been able to tell when she was pulling a fast one. She shook her head at the memory. What on earth had Jimmy been doing sitting in the little armchair anyway? He was far too bulky for its tiny frame. And how on earth had he felt a packet of cigarettes? Was his mother the lead from ‘The Princess and the Pea’?

And Claudie was a far better detective than Jimmy. Hadn’t she been the unraveller

of many an untruth in the past? Kristen exhaled a long and slow sigh. It was going to

take a little bit of practising if she was going to pull this particular lie off.

When Kristen got home, she kissed Jimmy on the cheek and then hid herself away in the

bathroom. It was practically the only private room in the tiny house, and Jimmy was

perfectly at home with her monopolising it.

She brushed her tangle of red hair and filled her lips in with her favourite gloss

lipstick. These things took planning. She had to get it absolutely right or the whole plan

would fall apart.

Rolling her shoulders back, and taking a deep breath, she began.

‘Claudes! You’ll never guess! I’ve won a weekend for two in Paris!’ She shook

her head. Her voice sounded as phoney as a daytime soap actress.

‘Claudie! What would you say if I told you we’re going to have a holiday?’ No! Too much of the wide-eyed wonder look.

‘CLAUDES! I just had to tell you!’ Again, Kristen shook her head. This wasn’t

going well.

She turned away from the mirror for a moment, phrases tumbling round her head.

‘Hey!’ she began, spinning round to face her reflection again.

‘Hey, what?’ Jimmy suddenly appeared in the doorway.

‘Bloody hell - you scared the life out of me!’ Kristen’s heart thudded in her chest as she saw two heads in the mirror instead of one.

‘What are you up to?’ Jimmy’s eyes narrowed.

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, why are you talking to yourself?’

‘I wasn’t.’

‘You bloody were, you liar,’ he said, grabbing her by the waist and nuzzling into her neck. ‘And you worry about Claudie being mad!’

‘Jimmy!’ She pushed him away.

‘What? Come on, Kris, what are you up to in here?’

‘Nothing,’ she said, but she could see that she wasn’t going to get away with that for long. ‘Okay,’ she sighed, ‘if you must know, I’m thinking of joining the amateur dramatic society.’

Jimmy laughed loudly. ‘You are joking!’

Kristen could feel her face flushing. ‘Why should that be so funny?’

‘You - act? I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous.’

It was Kristen’s turn to frown. ‘I don’t see what’s so ridiculous about it.’

‘You want to spend your free time with a bunch of retired people, spouting Shakespeare in a draughty old hall?’

‘Well,’ she said defensively, ‘I haven’t quite made up my mind yet.’ She swallowed hard, wishing he’d just leave the room before her lie escalated out of control.

‘And you’d expect me to come and watch you prancing round in a pair of old curtains?’

‘Yes!’ She was slowly beginning to get annoyed that he wasn’t there to support her, even though she had no intention of joining the local group of thespians.

‘God almighty, Kris!’ He laughed. ‘You do amaze me.’ And with that, he left the bathroom, chuckling to himself.

As soon as he was out of earshot, she closed the door and turned back round to the mirror, but the words had evaporated. Still, she thought, with a certain amount of satisfaction, if she could make Jimmy believe that she wanted to join the local amateur dramatic society, surely she could convince Claudie that she’d won a holiday?

It was Friday morning, and Kristen still hadn’t told Claudie about the trip to Paris. It was proving much harder than she’d anticipated. She’d been on the verge of telling her on Thursday morning; even getting into the office early to prepare herself. Then, as soon as Claudie had arrived, Mr Bartholomew had charged in and promptly whisked Claudie away. She’d quite lost her momentum on her return.

There had been odd moments throughout the day when she’d thought she might be able to break the news, but she’d failed. Claudie had kind of sussed that there was something Kristen wanted to say too, which didn’t bode well at all. It would all look so set-up and unnatural if Claudie got wind of it beforehand.