Free Fry by Lorna Dounaeva Page A

phone off and slip it into my bag.
    I feel like Cinderella, stuck at home while my ugly sisters go off to the ball. Except my fairy godmother has failed to show up, and I’m stuck at a stupid party with a bunch of pumpkins.
    “I’ve had enough of this for one night,” I say, turning to Sonya. “You want to get out of here and go to Mustafa’s?”
    “Sounds good – just one thing before we leave.”
    “What?”
    “Follow me.”
    She leads me upstairs to the bathroom.
    “What are we looking for?”
    “This!”
    She flings open the cabinet to reveal box upon box of tanning spray.
    “Look at it all!”
    We both giggle.
    “Shall we hide them?” Sonya suggests, with a wicked grin.
    “Sonya!”
    I laugh even harder as she starts pulling the boxes out of the cupboard.
    “There are so many! Where can we possibly hide them?”
    “We’ll put them in the airing cupboard, under all the towels. He’ll never think of looking there.”
    She walks down the hall, her arms full.
    “Grab the hair dye, Isabel. We’ll hide that too. Tomorrow, he’s going all natural!”
    I watch as she crams all the boxes into the cupboard. It’s really silly, but somehow, it’s just what I need.
    “Come on, let’s get back downstairs before anyone sees us.”
    “One last thing.”
    She pauses in front of the master bedroom.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Just taking a peek.”
    She pushes open the door and switches on the light.
    “Silk sheets,” I whistle. “Fancy!”
    Sonya smiles. “I think Stu could do with an early morning wake up, don’t you?”
    She walks over to the alarm clock, sitting on the bedside table and starts fiddling with the settings.
    “What shall we change the station to? Do you think he likes German industrial music?”
    I smile, but I feel a bit bad as we walk back downstairs. After all, Stu did invite us into his home.
    Still, I suppose he had it coming.
    “I’ll grab our coats,” Sonya says, heading back to the kitchen.
    “Thanks for the party Stu,” I say, so as not to be totally rude.
    “What? You’re leaving already?” He looks a little bewildered. “But you’ve only just arrived!”
    “Yeah well we’ve got another party to get to. Busy night.”
    “Do you really have to go?” he asks in a whiny voice.
    He looks quite forlorn - until he notices something:
    “Hey, we’re standing under the mistletoe!”
    “What?” I glance upwards. He’s right, this part of the ceiling’s totally covered with it. Before I know what’s happening, he’s pressing his lips against mine. His breath smells of cheese and onion crisps. I pull back, repulsed, just as Sonya returns.
    She raises her eyebrows. “You ready to go?”
    “Very.”
    “Oh, you know you loved it,” Stu calls after my departing back. “All the ladies do. Once you’ve had Stu, no one else will do!”
     
    * * *
     
    I make the call just before work on Monday morning. I reason that a successful businessman like Bernie Greengrass isn’t one to loll about in bed, so I’m sure he won’t mind me calling him a little early.
    “About time!” he chuckles, when he hears my voice. “How about you pop in to see me, and we can discuss the details.”
    “Sounds great. When?”
    “Let’s see - I’ve just had a lunch cancellation, actually. Can you do twelve o’clock?”
    Wow, this is all happening so fast!
    “OK, I’ll see you then.”
    “Morning Isabel,” Alicia bounds up to me in the car park when I get to work. She has the energy of a Labrador puppy.
    “Hi,” I reply cautiously. “How was the ball?” I was dreading this conversation, but somehow, with the lunch-time meeting in my pocket, it’s not quite so bad.
    “It was incredible! Deacon’s such a great dancer!”
    She giggles. – I don’t know what at.
    “Did you have fun at your party?” She leans a little closer. “I heard you and Stu kissed!”
    “Yeah, well don’t believe everything you hear.” 
    I brush past her into the store.
    “Have you seen Stu?”