Part 3 (1/2)
Mercy took a sip of her beer and turned to Zelda. ”And hows Ty?”
Zel smiled a wicked smile, as well she might seeing as how she and Ty had dramatically got back together the night of the slumber party and were now an item. ”Oh, hes just fine.”
”Not stashed away in the bas.e.m.e.nt tonight preparing for a spot of canoodling?” As had been the case the last time theyd all met up, naughty, naughty Zel.
”Oooh, canoodle,” said Zel admiringly. ”Good word.”
”Thanks,” said Mercy with a tiny bow. ”Its my New Word of the Day.”
Faith raised her eyebrows. ”You still do that?”
”Of course.”
”What was yesterdays?”
”Shebang.”
”Day before that?” asked Faith, looking impressed.
”Piddle.”
”Nice,” said Zel. ”Well, as far as Im aware, Ty is nowhere near the bas.e.m.e.nt, but hopefully warming our bed on the barge instead.”
The happiness radiating from both her and Dawn was palpable, and Mercy couldnt help but feel a stab of envy, which she quickly suppressed because it really wasnt warranted. ”If I didnt have so much on my plate at the moment Id be so envious of you two.”
”I am envious of them,” said Faith, pus.h.i.+ng her long dark unruly hair off her face with a sigh, ”even if the men theyre loved up with are my brothers, which, you know, I try not to think about too much.”
Dawn smiled the smile of a very happy woman. ”So who has news?”
”Not me,” said Faith a bit morosely. ”Same old, same old, here.”
”One of our wines has just won an award,” said Mercy. ”Best white under twenty-five dollars. The presentation dinner is here in New York at the beginning of December.”
”Wow, thats great,” said Dawn. ”Congratulations.”
Mercy grinned. ”Thanks. Its a Torrontes. Crisp and fruity. Quite light. Think lychees, grapefruit and peaches.”
”Im thinking breakfast,” said Zel, raising her gla.s.s in a toast. ”But congratulations.”
”And from me too. Thats fantastic,” said Faith with a smile. ”Although Pop would say that iron, hops and horse blanket are the only tasting notes worth knowing,” she added, referring to her father, JP, who owned the pub although he largely left the day-to-day running of it to her.
”Is JP not around this evening?” asked Dawn.
Faith shook her head. ”Not tonight.”
”Thats a shame,” said Mercy. ”Hes such a charmer.” And totally unlike her own father, who, although hed unbent slightly over the years so that they no longer locked horns quite so often, was hardly all smiley and twinkly-eyed like JP.
”Hed be here if he could,” said Faith with a smile. ”He has a very soft spot for you, Mercy.”
”The feeling is entirely mutual. Please give him my love.”
”I will.”
”Hows he doing?” asked Zel.
Faith shrugged, her smile fading. ”Hes doing OK. He has good days and bad days. Increasingly more of the latter. If only hed have the surgery...” She gave herself a quick shake and fixed another bright smile to her face. ”Anyway, lets talk about something else.”
”How about my news?” said Zelda casually, lifting her drink and taking a long suck on her straw.
All eyes swivelled in her direction, dropping to her abdomen and she nearly choked on her mojito. ”No, not that,” she spluttered. ”G.o.d, you guys. That would be pretty quick, even for me. No. Seb called. He wants a reconciliation.”
Silence fell. Jaws dropped. Mercy nearly slid off the bench. ”A reconciliation?” she said, once shed recovered the power of speech.
”Apparently.”
”How?” she said, a bit dazed. ”What? I mean, why?”
”Im not entirely sure,” said Zelda, looking pensive as she twiddled her straw. ”He called me a couple of days ago. He said he wanted to talk.”
Seb, the man who resolutely didnt do talking, wanted to talk? What on earth was going on? Mercy blinked. ”Is he ill?”
Zel shook her head. ”He didnt seem to be when I saw him.”
And, wham, there was another shock to her system. ”You saw him?”
”Of course,” said Zel. ”Ive spent half my life trying to get him to talk. He says he wants to talk? Im not going to pa.s.s up the chance.”
”When?” said Mercy.
”Yesterday. I went round to the house.”
”What did he say?”
Zelda frowned into the middle distance as if trying to remember. ”He didnt say all that much, actually. There was lots of hair tugging. Lots of teeth gritting. Lots of jaw tightening. But once hed got over his discomfort he muttered some stuff about responsibilities and guilt in relation to the two of us and then said hed like to try and work it through.” She shrugged. ”At least I think that was the gist of it. He wasnt the most coherent Ive heard him, to be honest.”
Mercy sat back, reeling. ”My G.o.d,” she said because that was all her stupefied brain could manage.
Zel nodded. ”I know. I was pretty astonished too.”
”Do you think he means it?” asked Dawn.
”He seemed to. And why would he say it if he doesnt?”
”He wouldnt,” said Mercy.
”No.” Zel paused. Frowned. ”He blames himself for the accident. Thats sad. I never fully understood that, probably because he wouldnt ever talk about it. But it explains a lot.”
It did. And Mercy had known, although shed never said anything. Initially, in the days following her and Sebs one night stand, she hadnt wanted to rock Zels recovery. Then she hadnt wanted to have to explain the circ.u.mstances in which shed guessed. But perhaps she should have done, she thought as another wave of guilt washed over her. Perhaps she would have saved Zel a whole lot of heartache.
”So how do you feel?” asked Faith.