51) Flying The Nest

Ever since Grandpa Pete died, Myra had dreaded the thought of her second oldest daughter getting her hands on her inheritance. She didn't know whether her daughter would spend it on clothes, trips to Mallorca or hair and make-up – or all of those things, but she was certain that the money would be out the window as quickly as Tina could spell 'VANISHED'. But Mercedes was full of surprises, even to her mum.

The first week of July, four months before her twenty-first birthday, Mercy's long-suffering boyfriend Robbie invited her to Greece to celebrate his twenty-first birthday. Robbie had lasted surprisingly long as a boyfriend, and all the McQueen's liked him, especially Tina for reasons unknown to anyone but the three of them.

After three days of sunbathing on the beach, Robbie suggested that they'd go sightseeing, but Mercy wasn't interested. She'd seen the pictures of all those old things and really didn't feel like walking up and down hills to look at ancient ruins. So Robbie went by himself, leaving his girlfriend to bake on the beach for one more day. When he returned in the evening, completely in awe of the historical surroundings he'd found himself in, Mercedes, on the other hand, had found herself something new and fresh - a fella.

Stanley Marcus was everything Mercy was looking for in a man, and more – good-looking, funny and well-off – and he took her by storm. When they returned to the UK, she more or less moved in with him – in Manchester, much to Myra's annoyance. Two months later, he was offered a transfer to London and they started looking for a flat of their own in the capital. House prices were much higher in London than in Manchester, and when they finally found their dream flat, Mercedes realised that if they should be able to afford it, she would have to contribute to the down-payment, and the up-coming inheritance was the perfect answer to her prayers.

With the help of Mercy's money, Stanley could secure the flat and they started preparing for the move. Mercedes didn't have much stuff to move so she mostly helped her new boyfriend packing his belongings while he was in London busy at his new work.

After the movers had been at their Manchester flat, Mercedes went to stay with her mum and the others for one weekend before she would take the train to London to start her new life. All the McQueens saw her off at the station. Tina, Carmel, John Paul and Michaela all cried when they said goodbye to their older sister, but Myra managed to hold back her tears of sadness and pride until her daughter was safely on the train. Likewise, Mercedes didn't shed a tear until she saw her mum break down as the train slowly started to move away from the platform.

As the train started approaching London, Mercedes sneaked into the nearest toilet to reapply her make-up, as there was no way, she'd want Stanley to see her raccoon eyes and tear-streaked cheeks when she'd arrive at the station.

Mercedes was surprised that her boyfriend wasn't already waiting at the spot they'd agreed earlier that day, but she also knew that London traffic was famous for being slow when you were in a hurry, so she sat down with a cup of coffee while she waited. Forty-five minutes later, Stanley still hadn't shown up and his mobile was still switched off, so she decided to find herself a black cab to take her to their flat.

As the car slowed down in their road, Mercedes recognised the house by the FOR SALE sign that had been there when they'd been to see the house. It wasn't until she'd put her suitcases down on the pavement and the cab had driven away, that she realised that the sign didn't have the SOLD sign as she would have expected. When no one answered the door, she picked up her phone and called the estate agents, who confirmed her worst fears. The day after they'd put in an offer for the flat, Stanley had withdrawn the offer without any explanation and hadn't been heard from again.

Back at her mum's, Mercedes tried to find out where her boyfriend, and more importantly her money, had disappeared to, but no one had seemed to know anything, apart from one of his old colleagues who told her that Stanley'd been planning a move to the States two years before, but hadn't been able to finance his plans back then.