Happy go lucky Penny Williams had lived all her life in Abbeyvale and was a bubbly bright woman who always had a smile on her face she was in fact by nature a happy outgoing person.
Even when
things didn’t always go her way she had a positive and happy outlook, for
example when she found out she couldn’t have children she still looked on the
bright side and took the positive to advance her career.
Penny
managed to maintain that sunny attitude throughout her life until her fifty fifth
year when her world fell apart, when Bryan, her husband of 34 years, had a
sudden and catastrophic heart attack and died and Penny proceeded to fall apart
along with it.
Penny who
was always the picture of health had a complexion and demeanour as grey as her
hair had become and the tragic loss of her husband had sucked all the spirit
from her and left her frightened of her own shadow.
Forced to
give up her job through ill health she also started to suffer
from panic attacks and crowds really bothered her so she became a virtual
prisoner in her own home the contents of which were a constant reminder of what
she had lost.
She seemed
totally unable to cope with the dreadful event that had befallen her and so after
a year of total decline Bryan’s brother, Bob, who lived in Mornington,
persuaded his wife Linda to invite Penny to stay with them for a while in an
attempt to snap her out of her melancholic torpor.
Penny
moved to Mornington in September, 14 months after she became a widow and the
journey from Abbeyvale to Mornington was a tortuous one.
Mainly
because she was leaving her home of so many years, albeit temporarily, but also
it was the first time she had left the house that year and so she spent the
entire journey with her eyes shut tight.
Bob Williams lived at number 1, The Close with his wife
Linda and teenage children Kathryn and Bryan.
Although Linda had agreed to have
Penny stay with them she did so reluctantly and was not happy in the slightest about
having a nutty old lady living with them.
An unfair observation on her part as
she wasn’t nutty and she was only 4 years older than Linda was.
Bob worked at the brewery full time
so the “burden” fell upon Linda and she made everyone aware of the fact.
For the first week and a half Penny
never left the house and was in danger of replacing one prison for another and
that might well have been the case if not for the fact that she found herself
in the house alone with just the family dog, Tyrion, for company, so called
because the Williams family were fans of “Game of Thrones”
As the morning wore on, Tyrion became
increasingly anxious and indeed vociferous, and made it patently obvious he
wanted to go out.
She chose to ignore the noisy spaniel
and concentrated on reading her book, which was her escape from everything.
Penny managed to ignore the dog up until
lunchtime and then he got the better of her and she finally gave in
“Alright” she shouted “You win”
She found his lead and put her outdoor
clothes on which she hadn’t warn since she arrived and then opened the door and
she stood on the front step and after taking a deep breath and stepped off.
Penny had always loved Abbeyvale because it was busy and
vibrant and she was proud of the town too and she thought it more deserving of “County
Town” status than Abbottsford.
But
since her loss she had changed and she found that the busy noisy activity of the
town which once excited her actually disturbed her, because there was so much
evidence of people getting on with things, getting on with life.
So
Mornington suited her very well, it was so quiet and so peaceful.
There
was no noisy buzz in sleepy Mornington.
She didn’t venture far on that first
outing when she stepped tentatively out into the world, she went out of The
Close and turned left into Bridge Street following it down the hill before
turning left again into The Street and walked head down past the Legg’s Farm
Shop, The Doctors, Dentist, Mazzone’s Hairdressers and the Vets and then took
another left up Military Row until she reached the top end of Bridge Street and
turned back into The Close.
It was not exactly an epic journey
but it was very significant for her.
“That wasn’t so bad” she said to
Tyrion.
It wasn’t
the most enjoyable walk for the dog as Penny walked at yomping pace and kept
her head down all the way speaking to no one and making eye contact with no one
and breathed a huge sigh of relief when she closed the door behind her.
However, as
relieved as she was to be back in the house she knew that although in the
scheme of things it was far from a momentous event in her life it was certainly
a momentous first step.
The next
day Penny ventured out again with Tyrion and briskly walked the same route
again, though not quite as briskly as the day before, but again she didn’t
interact with anyone on her short journey but she was at least getting out.
Getting
out of the house was a good start on the path to her recovery but living with
her relatives was also helping immensely, Bob was very supportive and Kathryn
and Bryan were brilliant with her encouraging her to talk about life with her
husband.
The only
fly in the ointment was Linda who was at best disapproving of her and at worst,
when they were alone, downright spiteful, calling her weak and mental.
Fortunately
they weren’t alone often and the kindness of the others more than compensated
for Linda’s meanness and Tyrion loved her.
Day by day
over the three weeks following Penny and Tyrion’s initial sprint around the
block slowed in tempo and they gradually increased the duration of their constitutionals
and even began varying their route and by the end of October she had not only
made eye contact with some of the locals she had actually nodded and smiled at
one of them.
By the
time November arrived she had become a little more adventurous and looked with
interest in the direction of the old airfield.
However it
took a day or two before her curiosity finally got the better of her and she
and Tyrion walked through the gates of Mornington Field.
Once
through, her progress was halted by security fences, separating her from the
construction work that was taking place, so she couldn’t explore as much as she
had hoped so she had to follow the only unblocked road available to her and
after about 20 yards or so she let the dog off the lead.
Standing
on the runway in the middle of the airfield, sheltered from the bitter wind by
the huge bonfire, Penny had felt so relaxed and so alive and she lost all track
of time, so it was close to an hour later by the time she was returning towards
the gate with the dog back on the lead.
As she and
the dog approached the main gate once again, Tyrion’s attention was attracted
to a man in a hard hat and hi-vis coat beyond the security barrier or more
precisely the Border Collie at his heel.
“Well
hello there” the man said as the two dogs introduced each other.
“What’s
this fellow’s name?” he asked Penny
“Tyrion”
she replied quietly slightly embarrassed
“Tyrion?”
“Yes” she
said “silly isn’t it”
“I take it
you didn’t choose it” he said with a smile
“No” she
admitted and laughed
“My old
lads name is Jack and I’m Tom”
“I’m Penny
and Tyrion here belongs to my in laws who I’m staying with at the moment and they’re
fans of “Game of Thrones”, whatever that is”
She explained
“Ah it’s a rather strange and
fanciful TV series” he said
“Hmm I’ve
never been much of a TV person” Penny said
“I see”
“I was
rather unhappy with the standard of programming 30 years ago but from what I’ve
seen while I’ve been in Mornington it appears to have deteriorated since”
“I think
you’re right there” Tom said
“So what’s
going on here then?” Penny asked indicating his side of the barrier.
“We are
converting the old airfield buildings to commercial premises” he replied
“So that
will make it busier I suppose” Penny said
“Probably”
Tom replied
“Shame”
she said
“It won’t
affect the village though” he assured her “The main entrance will be through
the West gate.
“That not
so bad then” she conceded and shivered
“Come on
Tyrion let’s get you back home in the warm, goodbye Tom”
Her
encounter with Tom McGuire proved to be the longest conversation Penny had had
with another human being since before the death of her husband and she was
surprised at how easy it came and she was quite pleased with herself.
When she
got back home however she was greeted by her sister in law, Linda, who was
wearing her angry face.
“Where the
hell have you been?” she snapped
“Taking
the dog for a walk”` she replied “I didn’t realise I had a curfew”
“You’re
bloody unstable you are” Linda said
“I am not
unstable” Penny replied and ran upstairs and Linda shouted after her
“Mentally
unstable”
Tom
McGuire
was the Construction Site manager up at Mornington Field, and he too was a Widow, but in his case his wife had passed
away 20 years earlier.
It was a
happy marriage even though it only lasted 15 years and they were blessed with two
children, a son Kelvin who was 33 and was a Major in the Downshire Light Infantry
and a daughter Charlotte 30 who was a nurse in Abbottsford.
Both of
his children had children of their own and Tom McGuire was a very happy and
doting Grandpa.
Also like
Penny he was a recent and temporary arrival in the village.
Penny
stayed in her room after her altercation with Linda and didn’t come out again
until the next morning after everyone had left for the day.
After
showering and getting dressed she made herself some breakfast and then got
Tyrion’s lead and they went out into the cold crisp November morning.
Although he still had a financial
interest in Normanton Construction Tom
McGuire
was actually semi-retired he hadn’t found a reason to give up completely so he
liked to do a bit here and there just to keep his hand in.
As he was
a resident of the Vale he volunteered for the Mornington job even though it was
fairly menial compared to what he was used to.
His main
residence was a quiet riverside cottage in the village of Dulcet-on-Brooke,
about 20 miles downstream from Mornington, but during the initial phase of the
construction work he was staying in one of the Military Row houses for at least
4 days a week, which also doubled up as his site office.
Part of
Tom’s remit as site manager was to insure that the first job to be completed
was to improve the link road from the Purplemere Road to the West Gate on
Mornington Field so that all traffic, both construction and the future
commercial, would not need to go through the village.
He
had just left number 19 carrying some drawings with Jack trotting at his side
as Penny and Tyrion were leaving the Close so with their differing gaits their
paths crossed just before the main gates.
“Well
hello again” Tom said
“Oh
hello” Penny replied and noticing the rolled up drawings under his arm and the
direction he had come from she asked
“Do
you live in the village?”
“Yes
but only in the short term while I have to be on site a lot, it’s easier than
doing a 40 mile round trip each day”
“So we are
both strangers in the village” she said
“So are
you staying in the village for long?”
“Just a
month or so I hope” she replied “my sister in law is driving me mad”
Tom
detected no note of humour in her voice and so as they reached the gate he said
“My father
was stationed here during the war”
“Was he a
pilot?” she asked
“Yes he
was”
“Was he
brave or barmy?” Penny asked
“I’m sorry”
“My father
always said pilots must be either brave of barmy” Penny explained
“Oh I see,
yes I suppose he was a little of both” he said “he was only 19 years old when
he rode through these gates on his Royal Enfield Bullet”
“So he was
no stranger to dangerous machines then” she said with a smile
“No I
don’t suppose he was” he agreed
“Are you
going to the fireworks tomorrow night? There is likely to be quite a crowd”
“Oh I
don’t think so, no, I don’t really like crowds”
“Oh that’s
a shame” he said
“Yes it is,
because I do like fireworks”
“Well this
is where I leave you” he said opening the security gate “Enjoy your walk you
have a lovely day for it”
“Thank you
yes we will definitely make the most of it” she replied as Tyrion led her eagerly
along the road
“Come on
Jack” he said as Jack seemed more interested in following Tyrion and Penny than
he did going with his master.
“We have
work to do lad”
“Maybe
next time Jack” Penny shouted
It was
pouring with rain the next morning so Penny didn’t venture out, but by midday
it had brightened considerable so after lunch much to Tyrion’s approval she
donned her wellies and they set off towards the airfield, Tyrion loved it up
there with so much space to run around in and she loved the open space and the lack
of people.
There was
no sign of Tom or Jack as they passed through the main gate and they reached
the airfield proper completely unnoticed.
Tom was
walking back through the west gate after checking the progress on the road
widening when Jack alerted him to the presence of Penny and Tyrion walking
along the runway, well Penny was walking, Tyrion was running hither and
thither.
The
various groups of tradesmen were using the old control block as their site
office, where they stored their gear and ate their lunch.
The guys
working on the road improvements had site cabins and portaloos but everyone
else used the control block.
Tom
himself had set himself up in the tower itself as it commanded a 360 degree view
of the whole site.
It was a
bitterly cold afternoon and Tom went straight upstairs to the tower for a hot
drink and as he drank he looked out across the site.
Large
sections of the formerly grassed areas on the far side of the airfield had
already been ploughed under by the Vale Farm Tractor and the larger grassed
area between runways A and B, where the bonfire stood, had already been fenced
off and hawthorn hedges planted and was to go under the plough as soon as the
bonfire was reduced to ash.
But it was
as he stood looking at the enormous unlit bonfire that he had an idea.
When he
noticed Penny and Tyrion heading back towards the road he said to Jack who was
warming himself by the heater
“Come lad
lets go and say hello”
Jack
reluctantly got to his feet but was the first to the security gate and was
already saying hello to Tyrion, who was having the lead put on by Penny, by the
time Tom got there.
“Hi Penny
I’m glad I caught you” he said
“Hello
Tom, hello Jack” she responded
“I’ve been
thinking about tonight’s fireworks” Tom said “I know you don’t like crowds but…”
“It’s not
just that I don’t like crowds Tom” she interrupted “they cause me to have panic
attacks”
“Well I
have a solution whereby you get to see the fireworks and completely avoid the
crowd”
“How?” she
asked suspiciously
“We watch
from up there” he said pointing to the tower
“Are you
sure you don’t mind us going?” Bob asked
“Too bad
if she does” Linda snapped
“Bloody
drama queen”
“Don’t me
mean mum” Kathryn said
“She needs
to pull herself together” Linda said looking directly at Penny as she said it
Linda was
the last to leave and as soon as the door closed she said “Cow” and Tyrion
barked as if in total agreement.
The truth
was Linda disliked Penny, and always had done.
She
resented everything about her, her slim finger, life style, wealth and career.
And
although she hated having Penny in the house she still took some perverted
pleasure from her circumstances.
She waited
until the clock hands approached the time the bonfire was to be lit and then she
got up and put on her coat.
Tyrion
gave her a look as if to say “Where are you going?”
“You won’t
like it out there with all the bangs” she said and gave him a fuss.
She
wrapped a scarf around her neck and pulled on her woollen hat then slipped her
feet into her wellies.
Penny only
passed one person on the way to the airfield, a young man who kept looking at
his watch who was clearly waiting for a girl.
She passed
him virtually unnoticed and then saw Tom step from the shadows and open the
gate.
“Great,
you made it just in time” he said “We have about 5 minutes before they light
the bonfire”
Tom had a
large torch in hand and illuminated the path ahead of them up to the control
block, then once inside the way was well lit all the way along the ground floor
and up the stairs to the tower.
“We can
either stay inside and watch through the glass or sit outside on the balcony”
he said and opened the door to reveal two fold up chairs complete with tartan
car rugs.
“Wow this
is perfect” Penny said sitting in one of the chairs
“Outside
it is then” Tom said
He briefly
went back inside and dimmed the lights and when he returned he was carrying
three vacuum flasks, also tartan.
“We have
Coffee, hot chocolate or soup”
“Ooh what
flavour?” Penny asked
“Oxtail”
“That’s my
favourite” she said
There was
some delay in lighting the bonfire due to the torrential rain that fell that
morning.
“So how
long have crowds bothered you?” He asked as they sat sipping their waiting for
the show to start
“Since my
husband died” she replied sadly
She went
on to explain how she had been so grief stricken she couldn’t leave her house
for months and on the rare occasions when she had to venture out large numbers
of people terrified her.
“Grief and
depression can be a dangerous combination” he said
“Have you lost
someone then?” she asked
“Yes my
wife, but that was 20 years ago”
Then it
was Toms turn to speak of his loss and the strength he drew from his children
and continued to draw from.
He went
onto explain about his grandchildren and how they were the lights in his life.
This was
received with mixed feelings by Penny who wasn’t able to have children which
was never a problem to her until she lost Bryan which kind of drew a line under
it and made it final.
“Since
I’ve been in the village I’m starting to get my confidence back” she said
changing the subject
“But?”
“But not
fast enough for my sister in law” she explained
“Ah”
“She would
love me to go back to my own house, I would love to go back to my own house,
but I don’t think I’m ready” she added
“Bob and
the kids have been wonderful but Linda and I have never got on and the other
day she called me a nutter”
“You’re
kidding?”
“I wish I
was” she said just as the bonfire roared into life
The
bonfire was magnificent and the fireworks as usual were spectacular and when
the display came to an end even Penny and Tom applauded, but the applause signalled
not only the end of the display but also Penny’s time to exit the airfield
before the crowd spewed towards the gate.
“Thank you
so much Tom that’s the nicest evening I’ve had in a very long time” she said
“My
pleasure” he responded
“Good
night” she said “Tyrion and I may see you tomorrow”
“I will
look forward to it” Tom replied “Good night”
As she
walked down the Close she was reflecting on the evening and what good company
Tom was and how nice it was to share the time with someone with a sympathetic
ear, someone who wasn’t judging her, someone who understood.
Tyrion was
pleased to see her when she got back to the house, Linda considerably less so
when she waked through the door but Penny greeted her with a smile which Linda
found quite disarming.
The day
after the fireworks Penny woke up with the most positive outlook she had had
for many months, a feeling which didn’t diminish even when she didn’t see Tom,
either going in through the airfield gates or coming out again.
Penny was
still undaunted the next day when she repeated the experience.
She was
however feeling a little jaded by the following Wednesday when she still hadn’t
had a single encounter with Tom or Jack.
Penny and
Tyrion had passed expectantly through the gates once again and when there was
no sign they pressed on and were soon passing the old Officers Mess.
Penny had
just released Tyrion from the leash and as he sprinted for the open space of
the airfield he was suddenly joined by a very excited Jack.
He took
them both by surprise, Tyrion’s response was to chase after him while Penny’s
was to search for his master.
“Hello” he
called
“Hello
stranger” she responded and when she noticed his arm was in a sling she asked “what
have you been up to?”
“I slipped
in the shower” he replied “and hit my arm on the sink”
“Is it
broken?”
“I’m
afraid so yes” he replied “that’s why I’ve been staying at the cottage”
“I
wondered why we hadn’t seen you around” she said “I hope you’re not back at
work?”
“No not
really”
“No not
really?” she repeated disapprovingly
“I’m just
here to make sure everything’s on track” he explained “and to join you on your
walk”
“It will
make a nice change to have some company” she said
“Tyrion is
very sweet but his conversation isn’t very stimulating”
“And you
think mine is?”
“Well it’s
all relative” she replied with a smile
After
walking almost as far as Vale Farm Penny looked at Tom and decided he had
probably had enough and steered him back in the direction of the village and as
she did so she asked
“If you’ve
been staying at the cottage how did you get here from the Dulcets?”
The Dulcets referred to the
collection of villages and hamlets such as Dulcet Meadow, Dulcet St Mary,
Dulcet Green and the one Tom lived in, Dulcet-on-Brooke
“I hope
you didn’t drive” she asked sternly
“No my
daughter Charlotte dropped me off”
“Did she? I
would have liked to meet her” Penny said
“Well you
can” Tom said “She’s picking me up again later”
“Are you
going back home tonight then?”
“No, it’s
my granddaughters birthday so were going out for pizza,
I’ll stay
at Charlottes tonight and then she’ll bring me back in the morning”
When they
got back to Mornington Tom was looking a bit grey so Penny suggested
“I think
you need to go and rest”
Tom didn’t
protest and stayed only long enough for them to exchange phone numbers so Tom could
text her when Charlotte arrived to pick him up then they said goodbye and went
their separate ways and when she and Tyrion got home she made herself a cup of
tea and then fell asleep in the armchair.
It was
just before 6 o’clock when she received a text message and she got up and put
on her coat.
The family
were all home and the house was full of wonderful cooking smells.
Linda
might well have been a nasty cow but she could certainly cook well.
“Where are
you going?” Linda barked
“I’m just
popping out” she replied
“Where?”
she demanded
“Out” she
replied and put the lead on the dog
“One of
you two had better go with her” she said to the children “in case the fruitcake
gets lost”
“The fruit
cake will be perfectly ok on her own thank you” Penny said and opened the door.
She walked
quickly out of the Close as she didn’t want to keep Tom and his daughter
waiting and when she turned into Military Row she could see Tom standing by a
car outside number 19 with a woman in a dark blue Nursing uniform so she
quickened her pace.
“Sorry to
keep you waiting” she said
“Nonsense”
Tom replied “This is my daughter Charlotte”
“So
pleased to meet you” she said “I’ve heard a lot about you from Tom”
“Likewise”
Charlotte said “And who is this?”
“Tyrion”
Penny replied
“Game of
Thrones?” she asked
“I’m
afraid so” she admitted
They
chatted for five minutes or so and then Tom and Charlotte got in the car.
“Where’s
Jack?”
“He’s
asleep on the back seat” he replied “he’s worn out”
“Same time
tomorrow?” Tom asked
“Ok” she
said “Nice meeting you Charlotte”
“She’s
nice” Charlotte said
“Yes she
is” he agreed
“You make a nice couple” Charlotte
observed
“How would you feel?” he asked
“What about?”
“About me and Penny” he explained
“What do you mean?”
“Well if we were to become a couple”
“I think it’s been 20 years Dad and
it’s about time you found someone” She said “in fact it’s well past the time”
“What
about Kelvin?” he asked
“He thinks
the same as me” she assured him
Penny and
Tom continued their daily walks for the period of time he was on “light duties”.
He also
took the time to escort her into the quiet meagre shops that Mornington had to
offer and they had even ventured into the Old Mill Inn for a couple of quiet
lunches, with every day that passed her confidence was returning.
The
following week he resumed a few more of his duties but it still left him more
than half the day to spend with Penny in whatever way they chose.
One day
they were just walking past the Farm Shop when Linda immerged
“Oh” she
uttered looking Tom up and down “You must be the boyfriend”
He was
about to correct her but Penny spoke first
“This is
Tom” Penny said and Linda looked him up and down again
“Tom this
is Linda”
“Pleased
to meet you” he lied
“Well I
wasn’t expecting to see you down here” She said “Don’t you find it a bit scary
by the shops?”
Linda had
an ugly smile on her face which Tom would have gladly slapped off but instead
he said proudly
“Penny is
improving every day”
On
Saturday morning Tom was sitting in his kitchen drinking coffee and looking at
the clock, he had arranged to meet Penny at lunchtime, and he had a couple of
hours to kill.
And he had
just decided to have a second cup when he heard his phone vibrate on the
counter.
It was a
text message and when he saw who it was from Penny he smiled, but his smile
soon faded when he read the message.
“Help!
They’re taking me to the Phoenix Centre”
“Shit” he
said and he and Jack got straight in his car and headed for Abbottsford.
He didn’t
rush he knew even if they’d had a half an hour start on him he would still get
there ahead of them.
He was
only 10 minutes away from the Pepperstock Express Way whereas from Mornington
they had 15 miles of country roads before they got anywhere near a main road
and when they did it was only single carriage way.
Once he
got to Abbottsford he parked the car and the sent her a text.
“I’m at
the Phoenix, text me when you know what carpark”
Within
seconds he got a reply
“Thanks xx
P”
Ten
minutes later he got a another text
“Abbey
View Road”
“Excellent”
he said out loud, there was only one way in to the Centre from that car park so
he knew exactly where to intercept them.
Penny spent most of the journey
through Abbottsford with her eyes shut, she only opened them at all because Tom
wanted to know which carpark they were in.
She really didn’t want to go
Christmas Shopping but Linda had bullied her.
The moment she got out of the car her
heart started to pound and her breathing quickened.
“Come on get moving” she heard Linda
say and felt her pushing her from behind, reluctantly she complied.
The crowd grew steadily bigger the
closer they got to the entrance as the shoppers were funnelled in,
Penny was looking down at the floor
but began to feel claustrophobic as the crowd jostled along.
All at once she felt a hand on her
arm and she was tugged sideways out of the throng.
Her nephew and niece followed close
behind her, protecting her, but Linda stood her ground.
Penny looked up and relaxed when she
saw it was Tom.
“Are you alright?” he asked
She nodded but it was unconvincing
“This is madness” he said directly to
Linda
“I
thought you said she was improving” she yapped
“She is,
she’s doing very well but she’s not ready for the Phoenix Centre on a Saturday
morning only four weeks before Christmas”
“She needs to buck up” Linda snapped
“It won’t do any good pandering to
her you’ll just make a rod for your own back”
“It’s not pandering its caring” Tom
retorted
“Well you can “care” for her all you
like” she said bitterly “Come on kids, leave the fruit cakes to get on with it”
“Will you be ok auntie?” Kathryn
asked but Penny just turned at looked up at Tom
“Yes we’ll do our thing and see you
back at home later”
“If you’re sure” Bryan said “we don’t
mind staying with you”
“I think Penny and I will have a
quite coffee somewhere and decide what we want to do”
“Ok” they both said and went off to
join their mother who was waiting impatiently about 20 yards away and she
glared in Tom’s direction.
The shopping Centre was jammed and as
they reached the main concourse she grabbed his arm and held on for dear life.
“Let’s go and have a ridiculously
expensive coffee” he said
“Ok” she responded weakly
They stopped at the first place they
came to which was called Espresso Phoenix.
It was refreshingly quiet and Tom
chose a table in the far corner and Penny sat with her back to the world.
After ten minutes had passed by,
Penny had relaxed and was feeling calm again and was chatting happily seemingly
oblivious to the world bustling by.
However while he was waiting in the
carpark Tom had phoned his daughter Charlotte to vent and it turned out she was
already in the centre with her husband and children and she offered to be a
shoulder to cry on.
While he was at the counter getting
the coffee’s he texted Charlotte the name of the coffee shop they were in, so ten
minutes later, right on cue, Charlotte and six year old daughter Georgia walked
in.
“I hope you don’t mind” he said “I
asked Charlotte to join us”
“How lovely” she said and turned
around for the first time since they had been in there to greet Charlotte.
“Hello Penny” she said and leant down
and kissed her as Georgia hugged her grandpa
“And who’s this?” Penny asked
“Georgia” she replied “I’m six”
“Are you sure you’re six?”
“Yes” she said
“Then I think you must have just had
a birthday” Penny said
“I have” Georgia said excitedly “How
did you know?”
“That would be telling”
“So where’s your brother?” Tom asked
“He’s with Dad in the model shop” she
replied and rolled her eyes.
“Yes they may be awhile” Charlotte
said
Tom organised drinks and the four of
them sat in the quiet corner for more than an hour before Charlottes
Husband Clive and 8 year old son Ben
arrived and it was time to go.
As she stepped out from the sanctuary
of the Phoenix Espresso she became instantly aware of the crowds again and she
faltered so Tom took hold of her hand and said
“We’ll do it together”
Georgia noticed them holding hands
and asked loudly
“Is Penny going to be our Grandma?”
“Only if she wants the job” Tom
replied with his eyes on Penny
Penny wasn’t
able to have children and although she hadn’t realised it under her later years
it was a sadness in her life but life was full of compensations and so denied
mother hood she would just have to be the best step grannie it was possible to
be to make up for it.
“I think that would be rather nice”
she replied and was blissfully unaware of the hustle and bustle around them.
In fact she was unaware of absolutely
everything apart from Tom kissing her gently on the lips.
For Charlotte’s family it was time to
do the shopping they had gone to Abbottsford to do in the first place and for
Tom and Penny it was time to drive up to the Dulcets and celebrate a new
chapter in both their lives.
