Chapter 3
Abigail looked up, the autumn sunshine dazzling her eyes for a moment. ‘Lili?’ she said. Her eyes shifted to the van. She’d known she recognised it. She’d only seen it in photos on Facebook when Lili had posted about her new life on the Suffolk Coast, where she was working in a flower shop called The Potting Shed. This was the vehicle she used to make deliveries.
‘What are you doing here?’ Abigail really hoped Lili hadn’t travelled all the way from Suffolk just to check up on her. She stole a glance at Sidney. He took that as his cue to leave. ‘I’d better get going.’ He held up his mobile phone. ‘Duty calls.’
Abigail caught him glancing at the tall, slim young woman in her khaki trousers, checked shirt and green Barbour jacket. Lili appeared out of place in the middle of Southwark.
The young woman stepped forward. ‘I’m Lili, Abigail’s friend.’
Sidney guessed she’d come to check up on Abigail. He smiled and introduced himself as Abigail’s friend, too.
Lili said, ‘I’ve been waiting in the van for an age. I thought you’d be in.’
Abigail looked away, embarrassed at the thought of what she’d attempted to do on Southwark Bridge.
‘I didn’t expect to see you out with a friend.’
‘We had coffee,’ Abigail shot back.
‘Yes, looking over the Thames,’ added Sidney. ‘We had a rather nice walk too.’
To Abigail’s relief, he left out the part about her antics on the bridge. Her face went bright red just thinking about it. An audience had gathered, watching Sidney coax her down. She recalled how she’d seen some of them holding up their mobile phones. Abigail prayed she didn’t end up on YouTube or on the evening news.
‘What are you doing here, anyway?’ she asked, failing to hide the irritated inflection in her voice.
‘I was in the neighbourhood, so I thought I’d … you know … pop round.’
‘You were in the neighbourhood …’ Abigail’s gaze shifted to Sidney, who was standing behind Lili. He was rolling his eyes as if to say,that’s a likely story. Abigail threw him a wisp of a smile. He raised his hand in a silent goodbye and turned on his heel. Ulysses had to be dragged away, pulling on the lead as if he wanted to stay. Eventually, he got the idea that the only way was Sidney’s way, and he caught up with him.
‘Yes,’ said Lili.
Abigail turned to Lili and frowned. She doubted her friend was really just in the neighbourhood. Why would she be delivering flowers in London from the little local florist she hadn’t been running for long in Suffolk?
‘Look, Charlotte phoned me …’
That’s more like it, thought Abigail.
Lili looked her up and down and then cast her gaze toward Sidney, one of Abigail’s friends she’d never met.
Abigail got the impression she was sizing her up, seeing if she was okay. Dressed as she was, looking as though she was taking care of herself, and socialising and meeting new people, she knew it would appear that she was doing just fine. She thought again of the episode on the bridge. Would it happen again? And if it did, would there be a Sidney and Ulysses to save her? ‘I’m fine. Just fine.’
Lili cocked her head to one side and folded her arms. ‘Really?’ she said flatly. ‘It’s good that you’re getting out, meeting friends. I must say that’s surprised me, but you’re not fooling anyone – least of all, me.’
Abigail cast her gaze down to her shoes. The problem with close friends like Lili was that they had known each other far too long. She couldn’t pull the wool over Lili’s eyes. They had met at university in London on the first day of freshers’ week. The campus was spread over several sites, and they’d both discovered they had arrived at the wrong building to register on their courses.
By rights, they should never have met. Lili was enrolling in evening classes for a horticultural degree. Abigail was a full-time student in accounting. They came from different walks of life too. Lili from care, Abigail from a working-class family on the east coast.
But they had one thing in common. Although they hadn’t known it at the time, the two young women had attended the same private school. But it was more than that; they had both gone to that school by way of sad events early in their lives. Lili, who had lost both her parents, had got a place at the school through a scheme that helped disadvantaged youngsters in care. Abigail had got a place through the insurance payout from her dad’s accident at sea the night she was born. Her mother had decided to use some of that money to send her children through private school to give them what she believed was the best start in life.
They had made the twenty-minute journey across London to the correct venue to register for their courses together, chatting like they were old friends. By the time they had exited the tube station at Moorgate, that was exactly how they felt, especially when they discovered their shared history at Saint Vincent School in Suffolk.
It did not surprise Abigail that Lili had turned up. She’d been at Toby’s funeral and now here she was again, checking up on her. Abigail realised it was her own fault. She’d had countless texts and phone messages from Lili, and had left them all unanswered. That was why Lili had turned up. Abigail silently swore for being so short-sighted. She should have answered them.
Abigail heaved a sigh as she walked up the steps to her flat. She opened the front door and swung it wide open, motioning for Lili to step inside. She was going to give her the grand tour to prove she was okay. Apart from the clock lying in pieces on the kitchen floor, which she had yet to clear up, the flat was spotless. Lili would discover there was nothing to worry about; no reason for her to have made the journey to see her friend.
Lili stepped into the hall and spotted the black sacks filled with neatly folded garments. ‘You’ve sorted out Toby’s clothes already?’ she blurted.
‘Of course.’