Sinead murmured acknowledgement through a mouthful of noodles.
‘Is the soup good, or a bit too spicy for you?’ he asked.
She shook her head vigorously and swallowed the food. ‘Delicious. Mmm… I’ve not eaten since… some toast this morning. Thank you, Elliot.’
Yes indeed – thank you, Elliot. Thank you for placing that advert online and bringing this fascinating person into my life. ‘Something occurred to me while I was in the kitchen. You know there is an upside to your accident?’
‘Is there?’ She didn’t sound convinced.
‘Now we have more time to get to know one another.’
She held the spoon halfway between the bowl and her lips. ‘Yeah, that’s true.’ She was blushing.
‘I look forward to learning more about you. Your likes and dislikes. Yes. You’re intriguing.’
Sinead continued slurping soup and fell silent; he assumed he must have embarrassed her with his candid remark. He’d said enough for now. Miles picked up the remote control and selected a Come Dine with Me repeat. How apt, he thought as they sat relaxing, eating and watching the programme together.
***
Miles slipped on the second grey Nike Air Max 97 Ultra, retailing at £140 for the pair. Truly a ridiculous amount for trainers, but then why shouldn’t he treat himself? They were exceptionally comfortable. Perched on a purple plastic cube, he was acutely aware of his incongruity amongst the shop’s young and trendy clientele. He must have been the oldest person there by a decade; dressed down in navy-blue Banana Republic trousers and a burgundy jumper, making him look like a fogeyish dad grabbing the chance to buy some running shoes while his kids chose video games next door. Readjusting the shoe around his heel, Miles looked up at the sales assistant as he came sauntering out of the back room.
‘Nines are sold out in blue,’ said Joel.
‘That’s a shame.’
‘Do you want to try any others?’
‘These are acceptable, I suppose.’ Miles rose and padded around in front of the foot level mirror. ‘Maybe a tad tight around the toes.’
‘You just need to wear them in.’
‘Do I? Yes, I see.’
Miles bounced up and down on tiptoes. Joel stood to the side eyeing up a pretty girl who was purchasing a pair of black kitten heels at the sales desk. The girl was no more than nineteen and evidently besotted with Joel. Miles had witnessed them flirting when he arrived. Joel had caressed the girl’s heel as he helped her try on the shoe, causing her to giggle idiotically. Prince Charming with a wispy beard and topknot. Sinead really did have a peculiar taste in men.
Smiling bashfully at Joel, the girl slunk over to the exit. Just before she left the shop, she raised a hand to her ear and made a call me gesture. Joel winked at her in reply. An appealing image popped into Miles’s mind: Joel’s eyelids, stapled shut. It would be quite difficult to wink flirtatiously with a staple restricting the movement of your eyelid.
Miles said, ‘Today is my birthday, as it happens. Is there any possibility of a discount?’
Joel kept his eyes on Cinderella as she left the shop. Miles snapped his fingers an inch from Joel’s face. That got his attention.
Joel smiled condescendingly. ‘No there isn’t.’
‘Really? Perhaps you ought to verify that with your manager?’
Joel folded his arms across his chest. ‘I’m the assistant manager and we don’t do any birthday discounts. There’s no such thing. Okay?’
‘That’s disappointing,’ said Miles. ‘You’re quite certain you don’t have the nine in blue?’
‘Like I said, nines are sold out.’
‘Maybe you didn’t look hard enough. It’s just you seem to be a little distracted.’
Joel scoffed; he was now addressing Miles as if he was a simpleton. ‘No, I’m not distracted. And I’ve checked our stockroom already. I can try and order in a pair of nines, but they’ll take a few days to arrive.’
‘That’s rather inconvenient. I need them today.’
‘Try one of our other branches,’ Joel said with a disinterested shrug.
‘Just suppose I went out back and had a look for myself.’ Miles inched a little closer to him. ‘You’re quite convinced I wouldn’t find what I’m looking for?’ He saw a vein popping out of Joel’s forehead, as he tried to repress the contempt beneath his professional facade.
Just as he was about to answer, Miles flashed a smile. ‘Only teasing. I’m sure you know what you’re doing. But remember, the customer is always right.’ He patted Joel on the shoulder. ‘I’ll settle for these in grey. I assume you still accept cash.’ He pulled out his wallet from a hip pocket and went to offer Joel the money.
‘You can pay at the till. Duane will give you a receipt.’ Joel motioned towards the bored teenager behind the payment desk.
Miles stuffed the wallet into his pocket. ‘Of course – that’s a good point, actually, regarding the receipt. After all, this is an outrageously-priced training shoe. Suppose I were to change my mind? What exactly is your returns policy?’
‘As long as they’ve not been worn, we can give you store credit. Within twenty-eight days of purchase.’
‘And I can come and see you about that, yes?’ Miles put a foot on the plastic cube and rethreaded the trainer laces.
‘Any staff member can help. Just bring the receipt.’ Joel backed off.
Miles placed his old brown brogues into the trainer box. He raised his voice a little. ‘I prefer to deal with people I’ve met before. Makes it more personal, don’t you think… Joel?’
Joel halted. ‘How… how d’you know my name?’
Miles fitted the lid onto the box. ‘That’s right – you’re not wearing a name badge, are you?’ Joel’s gormless expression made Miles bend down and adjust his laces to stop himself laughing. ‘It’s one of my hidden talents, guessing names. A friend of mine taught me how to do it.’
Joel nodded slowly, a quizzical look on his face.
‘I’m just having a bit of fun. I don’t get out much these days. No – I overheard you talking to that pretty girl. You told her your name when you swapped numbers.’
Joel stared at him for a few moments and then triumphantly clapped his hands together. ‘Oh, okay – yeah, yeah. I get it. I know what this is about. I thought you were coming next week, but yeah. I know who you are.’ Joel grinned conceitedly. ‘You’re the mystery shopper, aren’t you?’
Miles gave it some consideration. ‘Hmm… I like the way that sounds.’ He enunciated the words like a ham actor: ‘You’d better watch out for… the Mystery Shopper.’
21
The pale face in the plastic vanity mirror stared back at her. Sinead plucked an unruly hair with tweezers, smoothed down her eyebrows and stared at the grey bags underneath her eyes. I look fucking rough, she thought, tossing the mirror onto a pillow. She leant back against the headboard and lifted her plaster cast into a marginally more comfortable position. Six to eight weeks of hobbling around with this bloody thing stuck to her, looking like death warmed up. Fun times ahead.
At least she’d still have a job to go back to when she could walk again. The zero hours contract meant no sick pay. But Andy said she’d be welcome back soon as she was ready, seeing as Sinead was one of their top performers. And it would be summer by then, so that was something to look forward to. The next few weeks would be tough without a pay cheque, but at least the rent was covered. She’d need money for food and bills, and there was just enough left in her account to cover that from the last pay cheque. And she could go into her overdraft if she had to, although that was a last resort because the fee was astronomical. Still, it wasn’t like she’d need any going out money. The main thing was she had a roof over her head.