Snow Going Back

Chapter 29

TWENTY-NINE

The weeks following Matthew’s party passed in a blur, which for the most part Kate filled with paperwork and legalities, trying to keep herself busy and her ever more frantic mother at bay. A lot of the time she was alone, as Sam disappeared sporadically for days at a time to one or another of his projects.

She’d spent time with Jenna in Sam’s absence, too, and had learned a lot from her about the way the business worked and how close different people had been to Cora and William. Each day she’d made a little more progress with Cora’s estate, and each night after speaking to Lance, she’d delved deeper and deeper into Cora’s old diary.

As the year of 1955 had progressed, so had Cora’s predicament. M, the sweet-talking mailman, was no longer working that particular job by the summer and would disappear for weeks at a time. Cora’s entries would become wistful and sad, despite poor William doing his best to cheer her up with treats and trips. But despite Kate’s hopes, M would always end up returning and pull her back in with whispered promises before William had a chance to win her heart over fully. Kate knew it was only a matter of time before he got there though. History didn’t lie.

Eventually Kate couldn’t put off a visit home any longer, her excuses having run too thin to remain believable, and as December arrived, so did her scheduled flight back to London. Her feelings had been mixed as the date had loomed. On the one hand, she was looking forward to going back. It was her home, after all, and she missed her loved ones greatly. But the thought of having to face the reality of the wedding – and get through all the plans they’d made for her to attend with a smile – left her already jagged nerves hanging by a thread.

She flew back on a Friday. Lance met her at the airport and they went for a late dinner, taking some time to catch up properly, then Amy arrived first thing the next morning with a big hug, a detailed itinerary and a tray of double-shot coffees. Though nervous at the sight of the itinerary, Kate knocked her coffee back and pushed forward, determined to make the most of every second with her best friend. She’d missed her hugely.

Frogmarching Kate out of the building, Amy took her to meet Eleanor and Beth, who were waiting with a thick file and a tray of tea in a nice hotel nearby. Kate had barely sat down before Eleanor jumped straight into it.

‘OK, now, Katherine …’ She leaned forward over the table between them with a serious expression. ‘First things first, have you put on any weight since you’ve been living in Boston?’

Kate raised her eyebrows incredulously.

‘ What ?’ Eleanor asked. ‘It’s a valid question! We need to track any changes since you left so we can predict how much it’s likely to change between now and the wedding .’

‘Let’s get the girl a cuppa first though at least, hey, Eleanor?’ Amy said jovially.

‘ Thank you , Amy ,’ Kate replied pointedly.

‘Though…’ Amy winced and tipped her head sideways. ‘We do kind of need to know.’

Eleanor held her hands outwards with a roll of her eyes, as if to say, Exactly , and Amy gave Kate an apologetic grimace. Beth shook her head at the both of them, shooting Kate a look of solidarity.

Kate pointedly took off her coat and poured herself a cup of tea from the tray before answering.

‘ No , Mother.’ She picked up her teacup and saucer and sat back against the overstuffed sage-green sofa. ‘I haven’t put on any weight. And I’ve been in Vermont , not Boston. As you well know.’

‘Whatever, darling. It’s all the same continent, no need to get technical. So, what do you weigh?’ Eleanor asked, clicking the top of her pen and picking up a notepad.

‘I don’t know,’ Kate replied.

‘ OK .’ Eleanor sighed loudly. ‘How much did you weigh before you left?’

‘No idea,’ Kate responded.

‘But you must have weighed yourself at some point?’ Eleanor asked, getting visibly perplexed.

‘No. Not recently.’ Kate shrugged and took a sip from her cup.

Eleanor dropped her pen with a loud tut. ‘I really don’t know why you’re being so difficult , Katherine, I’m only trying to help you . How can you know if you’ve put on weight or not when you haven’t weighed yourself?’

‘ Because , Mother, my jeans still fit ,’ Kate replied with a childishly defiant look at Eleanor that silently added, So there .

Eleanor’s brows knotted together. ‘But Katherine, what kind of jeans?’

Kate glanced up to the heavens. ‘Really?’ she muttered.

‘Well, darling , jeans can have a lot of stretch these days,’ Eleanor exclaimed. ‘Pamela from my community watch club – you know the one: Pamela, from the Bundt cake debacle – she absolutely brags about a pair of hers that she bought when she was a size ten and can still get into now, and she’s at least an eighteen. We’re seventeen members strong now, Katherine. Did your father tell you? Anyway, I just don’t think jeans are a very trustworthy measure.’

‘Well, these are non-stretch, so you needn’t worry,’ Kate replied.

‘Are you sure?’ Eleanor raised a doubtful eyebrow. ‘I’ve seen your jeans – none of them look particularly sturdy.’

Kate bit her lips together and stared back at her mother as her little devil poofed up on her shoulder.

Amy hastily jumped in. ‘You know what, Eleanor? I think we’ll be fine. The stretch is all in the legs really, anyway. The waistbands don’t move.’

‘Oh, OK, that’s fine then,’ Eleanor replied, her frown disappearing. ‘Katherine puts on around the middle first – always has done. OK, next on the agenda…’

Kate pulled an expression of wry defeat.

‘Actually…’ Beth checked her watch. ‘What time did you say the fitting was, Amy?’

Amy looked at her watch. ‘Ooh, yes! Let’s go!’

Eleanor’s face lit up, and she quickly gathered everything together. ‘How exciting. OK, let’s go, girls. Drink up, Katherine, chop-chop!’ She stood up and practically danced towards the exit, dragging Amy along with her.

Kate quickly drained her teacup, pulling on the coat she’d only just taken off.

Beth waited to walk with her. ‘What’s the community watch club?’ she asked as they followed Eleanor and Amy down the road.

‘It’s a bit like the neighbourhood watch, in that it’s a group of women who spy on everyone, then share everything they’ve seen, only it’s completely made up and run by my mother because she felt the neighbourhood watch rules were too restrictive,’ Kate told her. Beth shot her an incredulous frown and she laughed. ‘Yep.’ She shook her head. ‘Hurricane Eleanor will be stopped by no one.’

‘I’m sorry… What ?’ Her expression shocked, Amy leaned in towards the woman at the front counter of the bridal boutique.

The woman shrugged. ‘There’s no booking on the system.’

‘But I did book it,’ Amy insisted. ‘I booked it weeks ago. I have a confirmation email, look.’ She pulled out her phone and scrolled to find it, then brandished it triumphantly in the woman’s face. ‘ Here ! See, I told you.’

The woman took it with a polite smile and peered at the screen with a frown. Her lips then thinned, and Kate realised what was about to happen with an internal groan.

‘Er, miss ?’ The woman waited for Amy’s attention with a cool fixed smile.

‘Yes?’ Amy asked.

‘You did book an appointment with us…’

‘Yes, as I said ,’ Amy replied, a touch sharply.

‘For the seventh of January ,’ the woman finished.

‘ What ?’ Amy exclaimed. ‘Let me see that.’ She grabbed the phone back and frowned at the screen. ‘Oh shit !’

‘Amy! Language ,’ Eleanor scolded.

‘Oh, Kate, I’m so sorry,’ Amy said, horrified, ignoring her.

Kate brushed it off with a shake of the head and squeezed Amy’s arm. ‘Don’t worry – mistakes happen. It’s no big deal, honestly.’

‘ No big deal ?’ Eleanor exclaimed. ‘It certainly is a big deal. You’re only three— Ugh …’ She bit her lips together, catching herself on the edge of freefall into total panic, then turned to the desk with a pleasant smile. ‘I’m so sorry about all this, er, Mandy ,’ she said, glancing at the woman’s name badge. ‘Gosh, look at us all standing here feeling foolish. This really is quite a to-do!’ She let out an awkward laugh, but the woman didn’t warm to her the way she’d clearly hoped. She cleared her throat. ‘Listen, my daughter has flown all the way over from America for this weekend. It took her eighteen hours, poor thing. Is there anything you could do to squeeze us in?’

‘I’m sorry, madam,’ Mandy replied, clearly not sorry at all. ‘We’re fully booked weeks in advance.’

‘What if someone’s late?’ Eleanor pushed. ‘I noticed you checked your little screen there with a frown when we came in, which means the person due in now isn’t here yet.’ She glanced up at the clock. ‘Which means, if the appointment is for eleven, they’re five minutes late. How late would they need to be to count as a no-show?’

‘I’m sorry, madam, but the slot is taken , even if they arrive late,’ Mandy replied firmly.

Eleanor’s face tightened. ‘What if they get run over crossing the road outside? What about then?’

‘OK, we’re done,’ Kate said, not doubting for a second that her mother really would consider running over a group of strangers to get the spot. ‘Let’s go.’

Amy nodded and pulled Eleanor towards the exit by the arm. ‘Right, well, thanks for nothing, Megan,’ she called back.

‘It’s Mandy,’ the woman replied.

‘Whatever, Michelle,’ Amy shot before the door slammed closed behind them.

The four women stood in a silent line outside on the pavement for a moment.

The door to the building across the street opened, letting out a waft of laughter and background music.

‘Pub?’ Amy suggested, staring at it.

‘ Pub ,’ Kate confirmed.

They crossed the road, and Kate held the door to The Coach and Horses open for the others. As they disappeared inside, she glanced across the road at the bridal boutique with a troubled frown. She’d never really believed in signs, but suddenly she found herself wondering.

‘Hey.’ Kate turned to see Amy looking back at her. ‘You OK?’

Kate bit the inside of her cheek, searching Amy’s face. ‘I’m fine,’ she lied, letting the door close behind her. ‘Absolutely fine.’