Cecelia Ahern - If You Could See Me Now

“It was, Harry, thanks.”

“No problem.” His legs slithered up under the desk and disappeared as he struggled to his feet. Banging his head against the desk, he finally appeared, his bald head covered by spaghetti strings of hair brushed over from one side to the other.

“Ah, there you are,” he said, popping his head up, spanner in hand. “It shouldn’t spin on its own anymore. Funny that it did that.” He gave the nut one last turn, then looked at her with the same expression as the one he had when examining the chair. “You look different.”

“No, I’m still the same,” she said, walking through to her office.

“It’s the hair. The hair’s down. I always say it’s better for a woman’s hair to be down and—”

“Thank you, Harry. Will that be all?” Elizabeth said firmly, ending the conversation.

“Oh, right so.” His cheeks flushed as he waved her off and made his way downstairs to no doubt gossip to Mrs. Bracken about Elizabeth’s hair being down.

Elizabeth settled down and tried to concentrate on her work, but found herself gently placing her fingers on her lips, reliving the kiss with Ivan.

“OK,” Poppy said, entering Elizabeth’s office and placing a piggy bank on her desk. “See this here?”

Elizabeth nodded at the little pig. Becca stood at the door in the background.

“Well, I’ve come up with a plan.” She gritted her teeth. “Every time you start to hum that bloody song of yours, you have to put money in the pig.”

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows in amusement. “Poppy, did you make this pig?” She stared at the papier-mâché pig sitting on her desk.

Poppy tried to hide her smile. “It was a quiet night last night, but seriously, it’s getting beyond irritating now, Elizabeth, you’ve got to believe me,” Poppy pleaded. “Even Becca is sick of it.”

“Is that right, Becca?”

Becca’s cheeks pinked and she walked away from the doorway quickly, not wanting to be dragged into it.

“Great backup,” Poppy grumbled.

“So who gets the money?” Elizabeth asked.

“The pig. He’s raising funds for a new sty. Hum a song and support a pig,” she said, quickly thrusting the pig in Elizabeth’s face.

Elizabeth tried not to laugh. “Out.”

Moments later, after they had settled down and gone back to work, Becca came charging into the office, placed the pig on the table, and said with wide eyes, “Pay!”

“Was I humming it again?” Elizabeth asked in surprise.

“Yes,” she hissed, and turned on her heel.

Later that afternoon, Becca brought a visitor into Elizabeth’s office.

“Hello, Mrs. Collins,” Elizabeth said politely, nerves forming in the pit of her stomach. Mrs. Collins ran the B&B Saoirse had been staying in for the past few weeks. “Please, sit down.” She displayed the chair before her.

“Thank you.” Mrs. Collins smiled, taking a seat. “And call me Margaret.” She looked around the room like a frightened child who had been called to the principal’s office. She kept her hands clasped on her lap as though afraid to touch anything; her blouse was buttoned up to her chin.

“I’ve come to you about Saoirse; I’m afraid I haven’t been able to pass on any of your notes and phone messages to her over the past few days,” Margaret said uncomfortably, fiddling with the end of her blouse. “She hasn’t been back to the B&B for three days now.”

“Oh,” Elizabeth said, feeling embarrassed. “Thank you for informing me, Margaret, but there’s no need to worry, I expect she’ll be calling me soon.” She was tired of being the last to know everything, of being informed of her own family’s activities by complete strangers. Despite being completely distracted by Ivan, Elizabeth had tried to keep her eye on Saoirse as much as she could over the past weeks. Saoirse’s hearing was on in a few weeks, but Elizabeth hadn’t been able to find her anywhere. Anywhere being the pub, her dad’s, or the B&B.

“Well, actually it’s not that, it’s just that, well, it’s a very busy period for us. There are a lot of tourists coming through and looking for boarding and we need to use Saoirse’s room.”

“Oh.” She sprang back in her chair, feeling foolish. Of course . “That’s completely understandable,” Elizabeth said awkwardly. “I can call around after work to collect her things, if you like.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary.” Margaret smiled sweetly, then shouted, “BOYS!” In walked Margaret’s two young teenage sons, each with a suitcase in his hand.

“I took the liberty of gathering her things together,” Margaret continued, her smile still plastered across her face. “Now all I need is the three days’ pay and that will be everything settled.”

Elizabeth froze. “Margaret, I’m sure you’ll understand that Saoirse’s bills are her own. Just because I’m her sister it doesn’t mean I can be expected to pay, she will return soon I’m sure.”

“Oh, I know that, Elizabeth.” Margaret smiled, revealing a pink lipstick stain on her front tooth. “But seeing as mine is currently the only B&B that will allow Saoirse to stay, I’m sure you’ll make an allow—”

“How much?” Elizabeth snapped.

“Fifteen per night,” Margaret said sweetly.

Elizabeth rooted through her wallet; she sighed. “Look, Margaret, I don’t seem to have any ca—”

“A check will do fine,” she sang.

Handing over the check to Margaret, for the first time in a while Elizabeth stopped thinking about Ivan and started worrying about Saoirse. Just like old times.

Ten p.m. in downtown Manhattan, Elizabeth and Mark stared out of the huge black windows of the 114th-floor bar that Elizabeth had finished designing. Tonight was the opening night of Club Zoo, an entire floor dedicated to animal prints, fur couches, and cushions with greenery and bamboo sporadically placed. It was everything she loathed in a design—she preferred the more minimalist approach—but she was given a brief and she had to stick to it. It was a huge success, everyone was enjoying the night, and a live performance of drummers performing jungle beats and the happy sound of constant conversation added to the party atmosphere. Elizabeth and Mark clinked their champagne glasses together and looked outside to the sea of skyscrapers, the random lights dotting the buildings like checkers, and the tide of yellow cabs below them.

“To another of your successes,” Mark toasted, sipping from the bubble-filled glass. Elizabeth smiled, feeling proud. “We’re a long way from home now,

aren’t we?” she pondered, looking out at the view and seeing the reflection of the party going on behind her. She saw the owner, Henry Hakala, making his way through the crowd.

“Elizabeth, there you are.” He held out his arms and greeted her. “What is the star of the night doing in the corner, away from everyone?” He smiled.

Elizabeth smiled. “Henry, this is Mark Leeson, my boyfriend. Mark, this is Henry Hakala, owner of Club Zoo.” She introduced the two.

“So you’re the person that’s kept my girlfriend out late every night,” Mark joked, taking Henry’s hand.

Henry laughed. “She’s saved my life. Three weeks to do all this?” He motioned around at the room decorated vibrantly in zebra print, bear skins draped on the couches, leopard print lying across the timber floors, enormous plants sitting in chrome pots, and bamboo lining the bar area. “It was a tough deadline and I knew she’d do it, but I didn’t think she’d do it this well.” He smiled at her gratefully. “Anyway, the speeches are about to begin, I just want to say a few words, mention a few investors’ names,” he muttered under his breath. “Thank all you glorious people that worked so hard, so don’t go anywhere, Elizabeth, because I’ll have all eyes on you in a minute.”