‘But first, we’re going to have another drink.’
Dominic Milton had almost crashed the car at the traffic lights. It had been her, hadn’t it, dancing through the traffic like a ballerina? The same Sahara-blonde bob, swinging neat as a pendulum. The same lovely face with eyes wide and inquisitive. The face he remembered with such affection from over a decade ago. Nina Elliot.
He arrived home, parking his old Volkswagen in the last available space. It was a large driveway by normal standards, but now that both he and Alex had cars as well as their parents, parking was in pecking order, which meant that Dominic was often forced to park further down the lane.
He turned the engine off and sat looking over the dashboard for a moment, remembering the way that Nina had looked at him, accusingly, unknowingly. She hadn’t recognised him, had she?
He sighed and got out of his car. His mother was home. She’d remember Nina. Ambling up the driveway, shopping bag in hand, he fished for his key and opened the front door.
‘Dom, is that you? Dominic?’ his mother’s voice sang through from the kitchen above the sound of a dog barking.
‘Yes.’
‘Did you get my hairspray?’
‘Yes,’ he replied, reaching into the carrier bag for the golden can. He looked at the price sticker and grimaced, wondering if there was such a thing as a drying-out clinic for cosmetic addicts.
‘You’re an angel,’ Olivia Milton said as she walked into the hallway, kissing her son on the cheek. She smelt wonderful, she always did. It was like nothing he’d ever smelt anywhere else; a sort of condensed talcum powder mixed with old roses. Intoxicating, and as much a part of Olivia as her pearl accessories and high heels.
‘I’ve had such a morning – you wouldn’t believe it! Firstly, Andrea Giles phoned telling me there’s been a crisis and that we’ve lost the speaker for the fundraising dinner we’ve got next week, so I’ve been telephoning everyone in my phone book trying to find somebody else who’s both suitable and available. Then I was trying to make a list of everything we need to organise for this anniversary party and my head was spinning at the enormity of it when your father blasts into the room, accusing me of having moved part of his manuscript. “I haven’t been anywhere near your manuscript!” I told him. I wouldn’t dare, Dommie! He bites my head off if I so much as knock on his study door. Honestly, he really needs a secretary or something. He’s quite impossible!’
Dominic grinned, knowing just how difficult his father could be when he was writing his novel and just how melodramatic his mother could be when trying to deal with him.
‘I’m sure everything will work itself out,’ he told her.
It was then that a large fluffy dog tore out of the kitchen, launching itself into the air and crashing into Dominic in his own doggy greeting.
‘Oh, Ziggy!’ Dominic cried, pushing the dog down.
‘He’d absolutely love a walk, Dom!’ Olivia said.
‘You mean you haven’t walked him yet?’
‘I took him out in the garden but you know how he is in the fields. He just drags me along behind him like a ragdoll!’ Olivia said with a sigh.
‘I don’t know why you got him, Mum,’ Dominic said. ‘He’s completely crazy.’
She ruffled the dog’s head. ‘I just couldn’t say no to that face, could I?’ she said in the kind of voice she reserved for animals and small children.
‘You’ve got to get him trained,’ Dominic said, remembering the day five months ago when his mother had arrived home with the out-of-control puppy.
‘I know, I know,’ Olivia said, removing the portion of skirt that had found its way into Ziggy’s mouth before pushing him away from her and turning her attention to her son once more. ‘You all right, Dom?’ she asked, breaking his train of thought.
Dominic looked at his mother. ‘Do you remember Nina?’
‘Nina?’ Olivia walked over to the hall mirror, shook her head upside down and applied a heavy mist of hairspray to her thick red hair.
‘Our babysitter from years ago,’ he added.
‘Oh – Neee-na!’ she stood back up to full height. ‘Well, of course I remember her! She was that lovely girl who looked after you and Alex for – let me see – it must have been at least four years.’
Dominic nodded. ‘That’s right.’
‘Gosh, you were such a cute little boy,’ Olivia said, patting his cheek.
‘I wish you wouldn’t do that, Mum,’ Dominic complained. ‘I’m twenty-one, for goodness’ sake.’
‘Never too old for a bit of motherly affection!’ she said. ‘Anyway, what’s all this about Nina?’
‘I just saw her in town,’ Dominic said.
‘Really? How is she?’
‘No, I didn’t speak to her. I nearly ran her over.’
‘WHAT?’ Olivia shrieked. ‘Is she all right?’
‘Yes, of course she’s all right,’ Dominic said, but felt a pang of guilt as he realised that perhaps he should have stopped the car to find out. Too late now, though. ‘Anyway, I thought you might want to invite her to the anniversary party in August.’
‘That’s a lovely idea. The more the merrier,’ Olivia smiled. ‘And we used to all get on so well with Nina, didn’t we? Gosh, remember that time she came with us to the theatre and you were horribly sick into your bag of popcorn?’
‘Oh, Mum! Don’t remind me.’
‘And the time she stayed over and we all went to that stately home the next day and Alex fell in the moat, silly boy!’
Dominic couldn’t help but grin as he remembered his brother’s misfortune. ‘And Nina waded in after him.’
‘Yes! She was priceless – absolutely priceless,’ Olivia said. ‘I don’t know what we would have done without her. I’ve often wondered what became of her. She was like a member of the family. Gosh, Dommie, I’m so pleased she’s back in touch. Give me her address and we’ll send her an invite for the party. I can’t wait to see her again.’
Dominic almost visibly jumped. He hadn’t thought about that, had he? He hadn’t even known where she’d lived twelve years ago, let alone now. She might not even be living in Norwich at all – she might just have been visiting friends before moving on. She could live absolutely anywhere.
He suddenly felt sick. What if he’d missed his one opportunity of finding her again?
Nina walked slowly back to the office. As she arrived, she surreptitiously cupped
