"Aunty Roxy said she'd take me and Amy to the sales." Ruby announced on Friday afternoon.
Katy arched an eyebrow at her eldest daughter, leaning back in her chair and surveying her carefully. "Yeah? And is Aunty Roxy gonna be shelling out and all?"
"I'll take my Christmas money."
Sighing, Katy reached for her purse, pulling out a twenty and holding it out in her daughter's direction. "Don't waste it, babe, yeah?"
"You're the best!"
Chuckling as the little girl raced away to tell her great-aunt that she was allowed to go, Katy returned her attention to her phone. Tina had asked whether she could swap her shift that night, citing a family emergency and apologising profusely for messing Katy around. Knowing that it must be important for her friend to ask, the blonde had agreed without questioning her further, which meant that she would have to take on the shift herself.
'Sharon's staying at ours, btw. Shirl's not best pleased, but Linda's not listening to her as usual. Xxx'
Guessing that Phil wouldn't be happy either when he found out, Katy briefly considered passing on the information to him or Ben, before changing her mind about it. They'd find out soon enough without her interference.
Grabbing her coat, she told Glenda and Kathy that she was popping out for a bit and made her way over to the Vic. She decided that she needed a drink and, hopefully, to hear a bit more about what had happened the day before. As far as she could tell, no one seemed to know where Keanu had disappeared to after the truth had come out. It wouldn't surprise her at all if something serious had happened to the young man; she severely doubted whether Phil would let him get away if he could do something about it.
"Alright, Mick?" She asked, leaning against the bar. "Have a good Christmas? Didn't see much of you lot in the end."
He smiled tightly at her. "Not bad. More drama with your lot, I hear?"
Katy snorted, shaking her head. "When isn't there?"
"Usual?"
"Thanks."
As she waited for him to return with her drink, Katy wondered whether she should ask about the family situation Tina had mentioned. Deciding against it, she handed over some change and moved away to join Lola and Jay at a booth.
"R&R open tonight?" Jay asked, taking a sip from his lager.
"Yeah, you thinking of coming in? I'm covering Tina." Katy told him with a shrug.
"I'm sure we can find a babysitter, right, Lo?"
The younger blonde nodded. "Free drinks?"
"Bloody hell, Lo. I'm running a business, not a charity!" Her cousin teased, laughing. "But yeah, I'm sure I can do a free drink or two for my favourite chav."
"Oi!" Lola laughed, shoving her gently in the shoulder. "So… who was that fitty I saw you talking to at the play the kids did?"
Katy sighed. "I don't really know him. He's just one of the dads from the school that Mick invited to come and watch it. His son is mates with Lex, I think."
"Does he know you run the R&R?"
Pulling a face, she shook her head. "Why would he?"
"Because I bet you weren't selling yourself to him, were you?" Lola pressed, causing her cousin to send her a disgusted look. "You're hot, Katy, even if you are pumped full of chemicals and trying to pretend you're some old woman who's forgotten what sex is."
"Lola!" It was Jay's turn to look completely disgusted. "She's practically my sister. I don't wanna think about… that."
"Shut up, Jay."
"Seriously, though, Lo… I ain't interested." Katy told her with a shrug.
"Well you should be."
"Leave it, Lo, yeah?" Jay advised softly, seeing the expression on the older woman's face.
Apparently deciding to take his advice, Lola let the conversation change and went with it. They chatted for a while, before Katy decided she'd better get going. They tried to persuade her to stay, but she wanted to see the children for a little while before she went to work.
On her way across the Square, she bumped into her father, smiling and asking him about the rest of his Christmas. He chatted for a little while, before attempting to subtly ask her whether she'd heard anything about the Sharon and Keanu debacle. Shaking her head, telling him that she wasn't the slightest bit interested, he nodded slowly. With a sigh, Katy advised him not to get involved if he could help it, before saying goodbye and heading home.
"I thought you had some family emergency going on?" Katy asked, grinning as Tina opened her office door and almost threw herself inside.
"I can go home if you want?"
"No!" Katy laughed, standing up and pulling her into a tight hug. "I didn't say that."
"I've had a hell of a day." Tina huffed, dropping onto the sofa and pulling her friend down with her. "Hit the sales with Shirl and Mick, which was an absolute nightmare. Shirl wanted to fight anyone who looked at her and Mick couldn't find a single thing he liked. Then when we got home, Shirl and Sharon got into a shouting match that lasted hours. In fact, it's still going on now. Me, Mick, Linda, Lee and Lady Di ended up watching a documentary about penguins in Mick and Linda's bed! I have no idea how Lee got Ollie to sleep, but–"
"Lee? Lee's here?"
Tina blinked. "I'm not sure if I was supposed to say."
"I won't say anything." Katy promised quickly. "Is he gonna go and see Whit?"
"I dunno, K… maybe? I know he's really sorry about what happened between them."
"Whit just can't catch a break, can she?"
Tina was prevented from answering by the door flying open, rebounding off the wall and revealing Shirley standing, framed by the doorway. Unable to help themselves, both Katy and Tina burst out laughing at her dramatic entrance, before the younger woman hauled herself to her feet and directed Shirley to sit on the sofa. Katy disappeared for a moment, returning with a bottle of vodka and three glasses.
"If I'd stayed over there any longer I'd have flamin' murdered her!" Shirley muttered, downing her drink as soon as it was handed to her, holding the glass out to Katy for a refill. They didn't need to ask who she was talking about.
"I had money on Sharon not walking out of there." Tina joked, nudging her sister in the ribs.
"Seriously, Shirl, I knew this would happen." Katy said with a shrug, dropping down on her other side.
"What? You knew Keanu was the father?"
"No!" The youngest of the trio shook her head vehemently. "Well… I sort of worked it out on Christmas Eve. I just meant I knew something like this would happen and they'd break up sooner rather than later." Katy grinned at her. "Maybe I should dust off my old 'Team Shirley' t-shirt."
"Piss off, will ya?" Shirley rolled her eyes at the younger blonde.
Laughing, Katy filled up their glasses again and leant back against the cushions. She wrinkled her nose, thinking about something and then grinned. "Hey, Shirl… d'you still have that Mothers' Day card I gave you?"
"You didn't?" Tina laughed. "Oh! That is so cute!"
Shirley frowned between them. "That was years ago… you were just a kid. Why would I still have it?"
"You liked it at the time." The younger blonde reminded her with a grin.
"I didn't say I didn't." Shirley pointed out with a dismissive shrug. "Just said it was ages ago."
"I bet Ronnie wasn't too thrilled about it." Tina said, looking between the blondes curiously.
Katy shrugged. "It was when we thought we were sisters." Seeing the confusion on her friend's face, she chuckled. "Don't worry about it. It was a very long time ago. Almost another lifetime, really."
"Moving swiftly away from memory lane," Shirley exchanged a look with her sister over Katy's head, "any plans for New Years?"
"I'll probably be working, won't I?" Katy replied with a shrug. "Mum and Rox were going to try and bulldoze Ruby into throwing an '80s themed party and I guess we should try and do some kind of promotion to get people in here."
Shirley considered her for a moment. "So… you'll be here, Ronnie and Roxy will be over the club and Glenda will be–" She chuckled. "Nah, Glenda won't be home with the kids."
"And…?"
"You're all going to be in different places at midnight?"
"It's not the end of the world, is it?" Katy told her with another shrug. "At least I know they're alive this year."
"Why don't we do some kind of joint promotion with the club?" Tina suggested. "Sell tickets from here, hold the event over there."
"What? Shut R&R completely for the night?"
"Why not?" The brunette said. "If we're not open, there'll be more punters over at Ruby's because we won't be splitting the trade. I'm sure Ronnie would be happy to split the takings… that would mean you could spend the night with them and earn."
"It's worth suggesting, I guess." Katy muttered thoughtfully.