Page 44

Phyllis

Six Months Later

Phyllis stared at the clock on the wall. It was now five past eight, so the others should be here by now. As the self-appointed chair of the book club, she’d taken it upon herself to send out not one but two reminders about every meeting, stressing the importance of punctuality, but no one ever bothered to reply.

“Where on earth are they, Craddock?”

The dog didn’t respond, too busy chewing on a mankie old sock he’d found on the walk over.

Phyllis reached into her bag and pulled out this month’s pick, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin, a science fiction novel Ash had chosen. Phyllis hadn’t been sure at first, but the more she’d read, the more she’d found herself cheering Genly Ai and Ekumen on; not that she’d admit this to the others, of course. Arthur would no doubt have enjoyed the story—the old fool liked anything with a hint of romance—and Dan loved anything Ash loved. As for what Michael would have thought of it, Phyllis wasn’t so sure. Her son—that word still brought a smile to her face—was like an Agatha Christie novel: seemingly simple on the surface but full of twists and hidden depths. Phyllis was enjoying working out the mystery more than she’d enjoyed anything in her entire life.

“It looks like they’ve all forgotten,” she said with a sigh, as the clock hand hit ten past. “Come on, let’s go and tell Sandy she can lock up.”

Phyllis put the book back in her bag and was about to stand up when—

“Surprise!”

She jumped and looked round to see a crowd of beaming faces coming through the doorway, along with several bottles of wine, some presents, and a birthday cake shaped like a book.

“Happy birthday, Phyllis!” Arthur bellowed.

“You should see the expression on your face, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” laughed Dan.

“We made you a cake, but I apologize if it tastes rubbish; neither Dan or I are natural bakers,” Ash said, putting the cake on the table and sitting down opposite Phyllis.

She stared at them all, gobsmacked. “How did you know it was my birthday? I didn’t tell a—”

She stopped, her eyes flicking to Michael, who was still standing in the doorway, holding an envelope.

“I saw the date in that old photo album you showed me,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind the surprise?”

Phyllis opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. No one had ever thrown her a birthday party before, not even her mother.

“Why don’t you open your present?” Michael said, coming to sit next to her and handing Phyllis the envelope.

Her hands were shaking as she tore it open. She pulled out the card inside and read the message, then looked at Michael in confusion.

“I know you said you’d never been on holiday, so I’m taking you to London for the weekend,” he explained. “We’re staying at Brown’s Hotel, which was apparently Agatha Christie’s inspiration for Bertram’s, and I’ve got us tickets to see her play, The Mousetrap .”

“Don’t worry about Craddock; I’ve agreed to look after him for the weekend,” Arthur called over. “I’ve recently joined the St. Tredock Ramblers so he can accompany us on our walk.”

There was a lump in Phyllis’s throat so large she thought she might choke. She stared at Michael mutely, hoping he understood how much this meant to her.

“Happy birthday, Mum,” he said, giving her a shy smile.

Tears jumped to her eyes, and all Phyllis could do was smile back.

“Right, shall we get this meeting started?” Arthur said, and for once, Phyllis didn’t jump in to remind him she was in charge. “I bloomin’ loved this book. I know it wasn’t strictly a romance novel, but I thought Genly Ai and Ekumen’s relationship was wonderful. As Esi would have said if she’d been here, they’re a classic opposites-attract trope.”

“You and your tropes,” Ash said, rolling his eyes affectionately. “What did you think, Phyllis?”

Phyllis was still fighting back tears, and all she could do was shake her head.

“Let me guess, it wasn’t an Agatha Christie novel, so she hated it?” said a new voice from the doorway.

They all spun round to see Nova’s suntanned face poking round the door, and the room erupted into cheers. She stepped inside and Phyllis did a double take. The nervous, jumpy girl of last year had gone, replaced by a confident young woman wearing a vintage polka-dot sundress, sandals and a huge grin.

“Happy birthday, Phyllis,” she said, crossing the room and sitting down next to Arthur.

“I’m so glad you could make it, lass!” Arthur said. “When did you get back?”

“I landed on Saturday and then moved into my new houseshare in Camden on Monday,” Nova said. “I start my youth worker job next week, but I wanted to come and see you all before then.”

“Did you see the community center has its new roof?” Ash said. “We held a charity read-a-thon that helped raise the last of the money.”

“Sandy told me. Excellent work, St. Tredock Community Book Club!”

“Actually, that’s not what we’re called anymore,” Dan said.

“Oh?”

Arthur grinned. “We decided that was a bit of a mouthful. Besides, we thought we needed a name that reflected the group’s ethos a bit better.”

“I see. So what are you called now?”

Everyone turned to look at Phyllis, and she finally regained her voice. “It’s good to see you again, Nova. Now, if we’re all ready, I call tonight’s meeting of the Busybody Book Club to order.”