Page 22 of One Day at a Time

Sheena sat back against the bed again and took that all in. A whole new life of freedom and independence, with no ties or restraints.

And she couldn’t wait to get started.

11

MADDIE

Maddie walked out of the staffroom and headed towards the basins on the side wall of the salon. Jessie was already waiting there to have her hair washed and then styled for the monthly ceilidh in the church hall. As always on a Friday, the salon had been a steady stream of Jessie’s pals all day. Moira Chiles, Val, Nancy from Next Door, then there was Jessie’s cousin, Cathy, and her other friend, Netta, too. Maddie usually loved every minute of the banter and the chat, most of all because her mum had been a lifetime member of that group and they inevitably let a story slip that she hadn’t heard before, but not today. Today, just like yesterday, and the day before, and several days before that, she’d had to make numerous dashes to the loo to throw up.

‘I just don’t get it. You lot recovered from that bug we all had and mine keeps coming back. I think my immune system is shot. Either that, or the virus has just left me with a stomach that seems to be sensitive to everything these days.’

‘Make an appointment with the GP on Monday, my love,’ Jessie suggested, but Maddie shook her head.

‘I can’t. We’re flying to London on Monday morning, remember? I’mbeyondexcited.’

‘Aye, I was speaking to our Grant last night and he’s looking forward to seeing you both. It’s a shame Georgie isn’t there too, but they’re in Bermuda now. Or it might be Barbados.’ After they’d booked their flights, they’d discovered that Georgie, her husband, Lachlan, and baby, Billie, were going to be on holiday on the same dates, but Alyssa’s half-sister had told them they were still very welcome.

‘It’s so lovely of her to let us stay in her house while she’s away, though. A flash pad and three whole days of drinking, dancing, and hanging out with Grant in places that are far too trendy for me and Alyssa.’

Just as Maddie said that, Alyssa popped her head round the wall that divided the salon from the café. ‘Did I hear my name being mentioned there?’

Over at the basins, Maddie switched on the water and Jessie leant back, ready to be shampooed with her favourite coconut-scented products. ‘Makes me feel like I’m in a tropical paradise instead of Weirbridge on a wet day,’ she would say every time anyone asked why she smelled like she’d been dipped in Malibu.

‘I was just saying that I can’t wait for Monday. I did a trolley dash of panic around Zara yesterday, but I didn’t have time to try anything on, so I’ve now got seventeen outfits for three days and I’ll still have nothing to wear because nothing will fit me. I can never get my size right in there. And it’s been so long since I had the dosh to go shopping for clothes, I don’t know what looks cool anymore.’

She wasn’t lying about that. When she’d been living in Edinburgh and earning great money at the trendy city-centre salon, she’d thought nothing about spending it in flash bars and shopping trips to the St James Centre. But after six months of notworking while she looked after her mum, and then renting a chair in a small village salon for the last few months, her bank balance hadn’t had a chance to creep out of the overdraft. There had been no big inheritance when her mum died, and of course, Maddie hadn’t expected it. Her mum had worked in a bakery all her life, barely earning minimum wage, and most of her earnings went on her house rent and council tax. Whatever was left over, she’d spent on the occasional night out or put by for her annual holiday to Alicante with her pals. There had been no life insurance either, with her mum choosing between paying the premiums and putting food on the table when Maddie was a kid. The one thing she’d had was a ‘death’ policy, that paid out 80 per cent of the cost of her funeral expenses. Making up the shortfall had left Maddie absolutely broke. However, that had changed over the last few weeks because Val refused to accept any rent for lodging with her. ‘I don’t need the money, pet, so just you keep it to yourself and get back on your feet.’

Maddie could cry every time she thought about it. And she probably had, when she was trying to squeeze herself into her usual size twelve jeans in H&M last week. As soon as she got back from London, she was going on a healthy eating regime. Working in such close proximity to Alyssa’s cakes had been terrible for her waistline.

‘You’ll look great whatever you wear. Anyway, if we’re stuck for the right outfit, that just gives us another excuse to go shopping. Ah, I can’t wait.’

Alyssa worked twelve-hour days in her café six days a week, and much as she loved it, she was long overdue the break.

The bell above the door dinged, making Alyssa glance back. ‘Oh, better go, there’s the church choir in again and if I don’t serve them quickly enough, they start singing hymns.’

Off she went, leaving Maddie to concentrate on giving Jessie a relaxing head massage as part of her hair wash.

‘You’re so good at that I could sleep for a week,’ Jessie said, making Maddie smile. It was supposed to be an excuse to switch off and completely zone out, but, of course, Jessie was physically incapable of going five minutes without a conversation.

‘Listen, while it’s just us, Maddie, I wanted to talk to you about London.’

Maddie felt a tiny tug of trepidation at the thought of the conversation she had an inkling that they were about to have.

‘I just want to say that if you decide that working in Grant’s salon down there is something you fancy, then you should definitely go for it. I’ve lived in this village my whole life and I love it dearly, and if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t change a thing, but you’re young and there’s a big world out there. Och, get me sounding like a Fred Talk.’

‘I think it’s a Ted Talk, Jessie,’ Maddie corrected her, laughing.

‘Aye, you could be right, but I mean what I say, lass. Don’t stay here because it’s the comfortable or easy option. Although, if you do, I’ll be delighted to have you here forever.’

‘Thanks, Jessie.’ A little bit of weight slid off her shoulders. She hated letting anyone down and the thought of leaving everyone here definitely made her gut tighten. Talking of which… ‘Jessie, I’m so sorry, but I’ll be right back.’

She flew back into the staffroom and made it to the loo just in time to throw up. This was getting ridiculous. At the sink outside, she grabbed her toothbrush and squeezed on some toothpaste for the second or third time today, then began to brush.

‘Are you okay?’ Maddie hadn’t even heard Alyssa come in behind her, but she couldn’t answer right now because there was an electric toothbrush in her mouth, so she just nodded.

‘I’ll go get you some water. I’ll be right back.’ Before she couldtake a step, they both heard a loud and unmistakable sound coming from the other side of the staffroom door. Alyssa slapped her hand to her forehead. ‘Oh Jesus, the church choir is singing “Ave Maria” again. I bet Jessie is totally encouraging them.’

Alyssa dived out, and came back two minutes later with a bottle of water.