The First Mistake(58)

‘Are we definitely going ahead with that?’ she asked, a little quieter. ‘I was going to ring you just before I went to the bank to, you know . . . well, just to double check that you’re still happy.’

Despite being more than certain that we were doing the right thing, I still felt almost sick with nerves.

‘Absolutely,’ I said, ignoring it. ‘This is going to allow us to do everything we need to do to the house.’

‘Well, I went out and bought some magazines yesterday,’ she said, sounding like an excited little girl. ‘And honestly, Beth, there are some truly beautiful houses out there.’

I laughed. ‘Yours is truly beautiful – it just needs a little bit of TLC.’

‘Well, I think I’ve found the kitchen I want. It’s a country shaker style with basket handles and a white granite worktop. I was thinking I might get a microwave as well – all the houses in the magazines seem to have one. I probably won’t use it, but it all fits into the kitchen design now, doesn’t it? You should see what can be done these days Beth, and don’t get me started on the bathrooms . . . they have walk-in rain showers now, none of this mouldy old curtain around a bath business. My hips will thank me for that, I can tell you!’

She may have been making a joke of it, but I hadn’t really appreciated, until now, how she’d been living. Having the work done would make a big difference.

‘Let me know once you’ve transferred the money,’ I said. ‘Maybe we can go out at the weekend to have a look around and get some more ideas.’

‘This is so exciting,’ she said breathlessly. ‘I’ll call you as soon as I’ve been to the bank. Have a good time, won’t you?’

And I had. Until the second day, when I hadn’t heard anything from anybody.

‘Have you had any problems with your phone?’ I asked Maria over breakfast.

The children were nearby, eating their porridge, albeit begrudgingly. When the ‘chef’ overheard one of them complain that it tasted like cardboard, he said he’d do the teachers something ‘a bit more grown-up’. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he served up the same porridge, with a jar of strawberry jam slammed down on the table between us.

‘Service here is murder,’ said Maria, and for a moment I didn’t know whether she was talking about the phone network or the meal we’d just been given. ‘Jimmy sent me an email to say that he’d been trying to call and text, but nothing got through. I don’t think I’ve received anything from anybody since we got here.’

‘That explains it then,’ I said, feeling relieved, though I still couldn’t shake off the queasiness in the pit of my stomach. I pushed the bowl of what looked like cement mix away from me. ‘I expected to hear from Mum and Thomas, but I’ve not heard a peep.’

‘Give them a ring on the landline at reception,’ she said.

‘Good idea.’

I called Thomas first, but it went straight to answerphone. He normally had a personal voicemail greeting, so I put the phone down and redialled when I heard an automated message.

A robotic-sounding woman answered. ‘. . . Leave a message after the beep.’

‘Oh hi,’ I said, still unsure I’d called the right number. ‘It’s me, Beth. Just wanted to let you know that no messages or calls are getting through to me here. I hope everything’s okay and the deal went through. If you could call the hostel and leave a message for me, just so I know that all is well, that would be great. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll assume you’ve trashed my flat and run off with the money.’ I forced a laugh before putting the phone down.

When I called Mum, she picked up straight away. ‘Oh, thank goodness,’ she said, her voice a little panicky. ‘I’ve been calling you and texting you. I got a little worried when I didn’t hear back.’

I didn’t know whether that was because she thought I’d fallen down a mountain, or something had gone wrong with the deal.

‘No, everything’s fine,’ I assured her. ‘My mobile’s not working up here, so I’m calling you off a landline.’

‘As long as all is well,’ she said, before adding, ‘Has Thomas received the money?’

‘Yes,’ was my immediate response.

‘So, did it all go okay? What did we get in the end? I’ve been dying to hear.’

‘It went fine,’ I said, not knowing why I was lying. ‘I’ve not managed to speak to Thomas this morning yet, but he’ll have the final numbers for me when I do.’

I heard her exhale down the line. ‘Well, that’s a relief. I barely slept a wink last night for worrying.’

‘There’s nothing to worry about, Mum. As soon as I speak to him I’ll give you a call back.’

‘Okay darling, I feel better for having talked to you.’

Nausea continued to swirl around, slowly snaking its way up towards my throat.

‘Excuse me,’ I managed to blurt out to Maria as we passed each other at the door to the ladies. A second later and she’d have been wearing the contents of my stomach.

‘Are you okay?’ she asked gingerly through the flimsy door.

‘Er, no,’ I managed, stating the obvious. ‘I don’t feel so good.’