‘HOUSE!’ Edith shrieked from the next table, jumping up and waving her book frantically in the air.

  The whole room sighed and in unison placed their dabbers down onto the table with a clatter.

  ‘She needs to calm down,’ Ann whispered. ‘She’ll be donating her pacemaker at this rate.’

  ‘You are terrible,’ I said, sniggering.

  The compère’s assistant Nigel, who was wearing a matching suit, ran up the aisle towards Edith while breathing heavily into his microphone.

  ‘Can you read the numbers back to me?’ Barry insisted from the raised platform in front of the screen.

  Nigel nodded.

  There was a huge shush and the room fell deadly silent.

  ‘Five and nine, fifty-nine. Eight and eight, eighty-eight. One and seven, seventeen. Six and three, sixty-three. Nine and two, ninety-two.’

  ‘Halt!’ Barry shouted, putting his hand up like an overzealous traffic warden. Everyone waited in anticipation. ‘There was no one and seven,’ Barry confirmed.

  A huge gasp rippled around the hall.

  ‘False claim,’ he shouted. ‘No win. Eyes down. Play on.’

  The loud and laboured tuts that immediately echoed around the room were then followed by relieved smiles.

  ‘Timewaster,’ a voice bellowed from behind.

  ‘Sorry,’ Edith mouthed around the room before bowing her head, pressing her lips together and sitting back down.

  The next thirty minutes ticked by and we all had a quick drink and a toilet break before it was time to play the next game.

  We waited patiently for the first number to be drawn and we were away, dabbing madly onto the numerous books in front of us.

  ‘Number one, Kelly’s eye,’ Barry called.

  The whole room shouted back, ‘Poke it.’

  ‘Who the hell is Kelly?’ Ann asked.

  ‘I’ve no idea, I’ve never understood that one.’

  ‘Shush,’ Corinna scowled at us from the next table.

  ‘Who does she think she’s shushing?’ Ann’s heckles rose. ‘I’ve never liked her.’

  I caught the tail end of a scathing look between the pair of them.

  ‘What’s that all about?’ I asked.

  ‘She’s the woman off the Yoxall estate – the one that refused to pay for the work Dave did and threatened to take him to court. He had endless meetings with her to try and sort it out, and I think in the end she agreed to give him half the money. Dave was so stressed by the whole situation. He would never have carried out a shoddy job. I wanted to go round there and give her a piece of my mind, but Dave wouldn’t let me.’

  ‘I remember. From the way she’s glaring at you, she must know you’re Dave’s wife.’

  ‘Just ignore her. Some people like causing trouble for the sake of it.’

  I looked away from Corinna’s stare and glanced back down at the numbers I’d been striking off.

  My eyes widened.

  I stared at the numbers.

  I tore my eyes away for a split second and looked at Ann.

  ‘Ann,’ I murmured, clutching my hand to my chest.

  ‘Are you OK?’

  There was a pause.

  ‘Are you in pain?’ Ann asked, immediately putting her dabber down on the table.

  ‘Ann,’ I said breathily, ‘I think I only need one more number.’

  ‘Lizzie Stevens, you are such a wind-up merchant. You do this to me every week. It’s getting boring now,’ she said, relieved, and picked her dabber back up.

  ‘Ann, I’m being serious.’

  ‘Shhh and concentrate,’ she demanded, her eyes flitted down to scan her own numbers.

  ‘Six and five, sixty-five,’ Barry called.

  Thud. Ann smacked the dabber down onto the paper.

  ‘I need two more numbers for a full house,’ she said smugly.

  ‘I only need twenty-three,’ I said, crossing my fingers tightly.

  Ann’s eyes flashed over my card and she arched her eyebrows at me. ‘Oh my God, you’re serious,’ she said, grabbing my arm and letting out a squeal.

  Come on, come on number twenty-three, I said over and over again in my head. The win was so close.

  The adrenalin was pumping through my veins and my hands were beginning to sweat.

  ‘Two and…’ I grabbed Ann’s arm.

  ‘Four,’ Barry bleated.

  ‘Jeez, I’m nearly having a heart attack here. That one was so close.’

  ‘Three and seven, thirty-seven,’ Barry continued.

  ‘Four and one, forty-one.’

  ‘Two and three, twenty-three.’

  I swallowed. I could feel my temple throbbing. Instantly Ann hit me.

  The voice inside my head was telling me to stand up and shout ‘HOUSE’ at the top of my lungs. I quickly scanned the numbers again. Each one of them was marked off with a cross. I went to shout. I opened my mouth and absolutely nothing came out. I was in shock; all the muscles in my body had seized.

  ‘HOUSE,’ I heard a muffled voice shouting.

  It was too late – someone had beaten me to it. My head slumped into my hands and I felt my body wilt. There seemed to be a whole lot of kerfuffle going around me and tears pricked my eyes. The prize had been in my grasp. One minute I’d been excited and elated, and now I felt like I’d been run over by a bus.

  Squeezing my hand, Ann yanked me up.

  ‘Here, over here, Nigel,’ Ann called, waving her hand above her head.

  ‘What are you doing?’ I asked, alarmed, tugging my hand from her grasp.

  ‘Pull yourself together! I shouted blooming house because you took your bloody time.’

  ‘You did?’ I wittered, gazing at Ann through tear-filled eyes.

  It took a second for it all to register. It was Ann’s voice I’d heard claim the prize.

  ‘Nigel, she’s here.’ Ann thrust my arm in the air. Nigel dashed towards us, weaving around the tables.

  ‘Well that’s that,’ I heard a disgruntled voice and the scraping of a chair behind me. ‘We may as well go home now.’

  By the time Nigel reached me I was nearly back in control of my wobbly legs, even though my pulse was still racing.

  ‘Check the numbers,’ a voice shouted from behind.

  ‘Hur-ry, hur-ry!’ the whole room chanted.

  Ann joined in. She was getting into the swing of it but I thought I was about to be sick.

  And breathe.

  ‘Whose is the card?’

  ‘Mine.’ My voice was shaky.

  Ann stood up and held on to me tightly.

  Barry was now frantically checking the computer while relaying the numbers back.

  The whole room fell silent.

  My heart was pounding.

  ‘BINGO!’ he shouted down the microphone at the top of his voice. ‘You’ve won £2000.’

  My jaw dropped to the floor.

  Ann and I stared at each other.

  ‘Lizzie! You’ve won! You’ve won!’

  ‘Oh my life!’ I shrieked. I jumped up and punched the air. My heart was pounding so hard I feared it would explode. The entire hall clapped and cheered. Ann flung her arms around me and squeezed me tightly. We beamed at each other. ‘I’m over the moon for you,’ she screeched.

  ‘Oh my goodness. Oh my God!’ I yelled. ‘Are we dreaming, Ann? Please tell me we aren’t dreaming.’

  ‘No! It’s real alright. You’ve just won £2000!’ Ann’s face had lit up with excitement.

  ‘Holy moly!’ I squealed as we bounced up and down with our arms wrapped tightly around each other.

  26

  ‘So come on, Lizzie, what are you going to do with the money?’

  We were sitting in the corner of the local pub, sipping on a gin and tonic each and sharing a packet of salted peanuts. It had been an hour since I’d won the money. Even though I couldn’t stop beaming, I felt all jittery and my heart hadn’t stopped thumping.

  ‘What a lovely end to the evening,’ I said.

  ‘How about buying a yacht or learning to fly? You could buy your own plane and fly off to Monte Carlo! You could sip cocktails all day long with the sun beating down on your face – and think of all the millionaires you could eye up!’ Ann joked.

  ‘It sounds amazing but I’m not sure £2000 would stretch that far,’ I said, smiling at Ann’s enthusiasm.

  ‘Or how about an exotic holiday? We could go abroad!’

  ‘We?’

  ‘Yes, us! I’d have to come on all these adventures with you as you’ve never been abroad. I’ve always wanted to visit Necker Island.’

  ‘Necker Island?’ I quizzed. ‘I’ve never heard of it.’

  ‘Richard Branson’s place. Seventy-four acres of sheer heaven. It’s in the British Virgin Islands I think.’

  I laughed. ‘I think you think I’ve won a million quid!’

  ‘I dread to think how much that would actually cost.’

  I looked at Ann seriously. ‘I’m not going to tell Henry about the money just yet.’

  ‘Why ever not?’ she asked, sitting up straighter in her chair.

  ‘Because I have an idea and I want to make sure it’s feasible before I tell him. Last Christmas I vowed things were going to change and maybe this little windfall will give me the boost I need.’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘I’ve mentioned to Henry numerous times that I want to expand my sewing business, but he’s not been keen.’

  ‘Why?’

  I sighed. Ann said nothing and sipped her drink, waiting for me to speak.

  ‘Because if I advertise my business, he thinks there’ll be hordes of customers traipsing through the house at the weekend. I could only dream of becoming that successful, but I do understand that if you work hard all week, that’s the last thing you probably need.’

  ‘Yes, it’s a difficult one.’

  ‘I want to make more of myself; I want to be seen not just as a wife and mother but as a successful businesswoman too.’

  ‘Tell me more,’ Ann said as she ferreted around in the bag of peanuts.

  ‘I feel like it’s my time now. I want to do something for me. Does that make me sound selfish?’ I blurted.

  ‘Of course it doesn’t. You’re amazing, Lizzie, and you’ve dedicated your life to the girls and Henry. Over the years you’ve always put them first. So why not make this your time?’

  ‘I think this money will give me the boost I need.’

  ‘So what’s your idea, Lizzie?’

  I folded my arms on the table and leant towards her. ‘I noticed a sign in the sewing-shop window in town. They have a spare room to rent at the back of the shop that I think might be perfect for me. What do you think?’

  ‘I think that’s a marvellous idea.’

  ‘This money would give me a couple of months’ rent, with some left over for advertising. I wouldn’t be in direct competition with the shop itself as they only sell fabric.’

  ‘And you’d have all that lovely material close at hand too.’

  ‘Exactly!’

  ‘I think you should go for it, Lizzie! Things happen for a reason,’ Ann said enthusiastically then squeezed my hand.

  ‘You know what, I think I will!’ I said, suddenly excited.

  ‘This could be your chance.’

  ‘With a bit of careful planning, but don’t tell anyone for now, Ann. I want to keep this to myself for a couple of weeks,’ I said.

  Ann nodded.

  ‘First I want to make sure the room’s still available and what it’ll cost. I need to work out whether it’s feasible first before I can discuss it with Henry.’

  ‘Being this close to Christmas, I’m sure the room will still be available.’

  ‘Fingers crossed! I’ll pop down first thing in the morning. I need to buy the material to make my party dress anyway.’ I clapped my hands, my head a whirl with excitement. Surely if the room was still available Henry couldn’t object. It would mean there would be no one invading his personal space, it would give me a purpose and I’d still be working for myself, so I could be flexible with my hours. In my eyes it was a no-brainer.

  ‘How did Marcus react to you not accepting the dress? I was meaning to ask you,’ Ann said, changing the subject.

  ‘I could see he was disappointed, but in the circumstances it was the sensible thing to do.’

  I blushed as I remembered what had happened between us after I’d told him I couldn’t keep his gift.

  Ann met my gaze.

  ‘Your eyes are sparkling! What’s happened? What aren’t you telling me, Lizzie Stevens?’

  I took a deep breath. ‘He kissed me.’

  Ann’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped to the floor. ‘Lizzie!’

  ‘I know what you’re thinking but I did pull away… eventually. His kiss was so tender; he made me tingle in places I never knew I could tingle.’ I stared down at my glass before looking up to meet Ann’s eyes again.

  ‘Whoa! Way too much information,’ Ann said and laughed, holding her hand up.

  I rolled my eyes at her, laughing.

  ‘Do you think your problems with Henry have suddenly escalated because of Marcus arriving?’ Ann asked in a more serious tone.

  This had already crossed my mind and I’d thought about it long and hard.

  ‘Maybe,’ I replied, ‘but I can’t do anything about it. The attraction is strong and he feels it too, but I’m married and he’s still grieving for his wife.’

  ‘Well it sounds like you know what you’re doing, Lizzie, but I’m here to talk any time you need me.’

  ‘Thank you,’ I said, placing my empty glass back on the table and touching her arm affectionately. ‘I don’t know what I’d ever do without you.’

  27

  It was 9 a.m. the following morning and I’d been up and out at the crack of dawn. I was standing on the pavement of the busy high street looking into the window of the sewing shop, my heart racing with anticipation. I forced myself to breathe calmly as I reread the sign pinned to the window for the umpteenth time. My entire body began to tremble. The room was still available.

  I heard my phone ring and delved into my pocket. It was Freya.

  ‘Good morning, Freya. Are you keeping tabs on me?’ I said, laughing.

  Freya giggled. ‘Stop pinching my line!’

  It was great to hear her voice.

  ‘How are you?’

  ‘All fine. It sounds noisy, where are you? You’re up and out early.’

  I hesitated for a second, then before I could stop myself the words came tumbling out.

  ‘I’m outside the sewing shop on the high street,’ I answered, leaning back against the window so I wasn’t in the way of the morning suits hurrying to work.

  ‘Are you Christmas shopping?’

  ‘Not quite.’

  ‘Mmmm, you are being secretive. What’re you up to then?’

  ‘Am I?’ I said, laughing. ‘Yes, you’re right, I am.’

  ‘Well come on, tell me,’ Freya said.

  ‘They have a spare room to rent at the back of the shop and I’ve been thinking that maybe I could set up my own little sewing business. What do you think?’

  ‘Mum, that’s a fantastic idea! Go for it!’ she shrieked down the phone.

  ‘I think I’m just about to! I’ll let you know what happens. Why are you ringing me so early in the morning anyway?’

  Freya paused. ‘Have you heard from Abbie recently?’

  ‘I haven’t, why? I’ve left her a few messages, but she hasn’t got back to me.’

  ‘I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. I’ve left her a couple of messages too and she hasn’t phoned me back.’

  ‘You know what she’s like – scatty to say the least.’

  ‘Yes, you’re right. How’s Dad?’

  ‘Yes, he’s fine, working hard and looking forward to some time off over Christmas.’

  ‘Tell him I love him and I’ll see you both very soon. And good luck with the room. I hope it all goes well!’

  ‘Thanks. I love you!’

  ‘I love you more!’ Freya said before hanging up.

  She’d given me the extra boost I needed and I pushed open the door to the shop. A bell tinkled over my head, and the woman behind the counter looked up from the long lengths of material she was cutting and gave me a warm smile. ‘Can I help you?’

  ‘I’m hoping so,’ I replied. ‘The sign in the window about the vacant room – I’m just wondering whether it’s still available.’

  She nodded. ‘I’m Pippa,’ she said, draping her tape measure around her shoulders and extending her hand across the counter. Her features were soft and kind and her smile very welcoming. She had a fringe that skimmed her eyes and sleek brown hair that fell just below her shoulders.

  ‘I’m Lizzie,’ I said and shook her hand, feeling slightly nervous.

  ‘Is the room for yourself?’ she asked, walking around the counter to stand by my side.

  ‘Yes,’ I said, mesmerised by the rolls and rolls of beautiful material that surrounded us. Working in a shop like this would be complete heaven to me.

  ‘Shall I put the kettle on and I can show you the room, and we’ll have a chat about what you might like to use it for?’

  ‘That would be perfect.’

  ‘Tea?’

  ‘Yes, please – one sugar.’

  ‘I’ll be two ticks,’ Pippa said as she headed through a door at the back of the shop.

  I spotted the material for the dress I was planning to make for Marcus’s party leaning up against the far wall. I wandered over to it and ran the grey satin through my fingers.

  ‘It’s a fabulous piece of cloth, isn’t it? It hangs so beautifully,’ Pippa said from behind me. She was clutching two steaming mugs of tea.

  ‘It certainly is,’ I agreed, taking a mug from her. ‘Thank you. It’s a stunning piece of material. I’m making myself a dress for a party this weekend and it would be perfect. Can I buy some before I go?’

  ‘Of course,’ Pippa said, smiling before she sipped her tea. ‘Have I seen you before?’

  ‘Yes, I pop into the shop from time to time.’

  ‘So you make your own clothes?’ Pippa asked, placing her mug on the counter and hurling the roll of grey satin cloth onto a nearby table.