Second Chances in Tuppenny Bridge: A totally heartwarming feel-good read, page 10
‘Nope, she genuinely does seem to be looking forward to leaving this place for good,’ Sally said. ‘She’s been dead excited buying new stuff for the cottage. Well, it’s been that long since she’s been able to afford anything, who can blame her? The proceeds from the sale of Monk’s Folly have changed her life, even if, strictly speaking, it’s Ben’s house and Ben’s money. It’s been a blessing that it moved forward so quickly, but with no chain on either side there wasn’t much to hold it up. The sooner she puts this place behind her the better, I reckon.’
At that moment, Ben and Noah came out, carrying a chest of drawers that, if anything, looked even uglier than the wardrobe.
‘Jonah, at last! Thought you were never coming,’ Noah said, letting out a sigh of relief as they placed the chest on the ground. ‘Hi, Kat. Nice to see you, too.’
‘Hiya, Noah. Looks like we’ve a fun day ahead of us. Where do you want us to start?’ Kat asked.
‘All the furniture in the living room is for this van,’ Ben explained. ‘It’s all going to the tip. Anything that the charity shop would accept went yesterday, and I’ve already taken loads of junk in the Land Rover to be disposed of during the last couple of weeks.’
‘What are you actually keeping?’ Jonah asked. ‘And is it going on the van after they’ve been to the tip?’
Ben shook his head. ‘We’ve bought new, modern furniture for the cottage. It was all delivered straight there, during the last week or two. Mr Eckington was kind enough to let us have the keys before the sale went through, which was good of him. All that’s to go to the cottage now is smaller stuff like bedding and Mum’s kitchen stuff, Jamie’s desk and laptop, that sort of thing, plus our personal stuff obviously.’
‘We’ve had a busy time of it,’ Sally confirmed. ‘Carpets got fitted on Thursday, didn’t they, Ben? And me and Jennifer were hanging curtains all last week. It’s been proper exciting, seeing the cottage taking shape.’
Ben and Noah picked up the chest of drawers again and lugged it over to the van. They placed it on the tailgate and stood chatting for a few minutes to the removal men, who were scratching their heads and clearly wondering if all the Callaghans’ surplus furniture was going to fit in one journey.
Sally’s daughter and Ben’s girlfriend, Summer, came to the door. ‘Thought I heard voices. Do you want a cuppa before you get started?’
‘I think it’s time we all had one,’ Sally said. ‘I mean, we’ve been hard at work for, ooh, at least an hour. I’ll put the kettle on, love. You show Kat and Jonah where they’re needed.’
For the next few hours the team worked hard to empty Monk’s Folly. Jonah had offered his van, but Ben had insisted there was no need. The removal men managed to take all the surplus furniture to the nearest tip in two journeys, and soon the van was filled with the bits that the Callaghans were keeping.
Various cardboard boxes filled up with remnants of a family’s life, now changed forever. There were some light-hearted arguments about a few of the items, as not everyone agreed they were worth keeping.
‘Your recorder!’ Ben laughed and waved the instrument at his teenage brother, Jamie. ‘Remember that? Give us a chorus of “Three Blind Mice”. Go on, I dare you.’
Jamie pulled a face. ‘It wasn’t my idea to learn the recorder,’ he insisted. ‘I mean, it’s not exactly cool, is it?’
‘Not the way you played it,’ Jennifer said, her eyes twinkling. ‘I’ve never heard such a frightful din. If only we’d had noise-cancelling headphones. Even so, I don’t want to part with it. I have happy memories of you learning “London’s Burning” on that thing.’
Kat smiled, glad to see Jennifer looking so relaxed and happy. She’d worried that leaving Monk’s Folly would be a wrench for her, but if anything the prospect of moving seemed to have given her a new lease of life. She looked healthier than she’d looked since—well, a long time.
‘Are we keeping this?’ Ben asked, a sudden change in his tone. He pointed to a battered suitcase on the floor. ‘I know you said you’d think about it but if you want me to take it to the charity shop tomorrow I can.’
‘I think we’ll keep it,’ Jennifer said quietly. ‘For now. We’ve thrown enough of the past away, Ben. Just give me a bit longer, eh?’
He nodded and hugged her. ‘Right, this can go in the Land Rover then,’ he said, lifting it up and carrying it outside.
Jennifer gave them all a sheepish look. ‘I know it’s silly,’ she said. ‘They’re only old clothes of Leon’s and Julian’s, and I should really have got rid of them by now, but I can’t quite bring myself to. Not yet.’
Sally put her arm around Jennifer’s shoulders. ‘You’ve been amazing, love. You’ve come on in leaps and bounds. There’s no hurry is there? And if you never get rid of them, so what? No law against it, is there?’
‘I suppose not,’ Jennifer said, giving her a grateful smile. ‘Thanks, Sally.’
As she went back upstairs to check everything had been brought down, Kat and Sally exchanged compassionate looks.
‘Bless her. I think there’s more stuff of theirs here, too, but like I said, she’ll get rid of it in her own good time. Or not. Whatever.’
From the corner of her eye, Kat spotted a small box of photograph albums. Jamie spotted it at the same time, and before she’d even realised what he was doing he’d pulled the box over and lifted one of the albums out.
‘Look at this!’ he exclaimed, glancing up at them all with amusement in his eyes. ‘You’re all in it. Oh boy, look how young you all look!’
‘I suppose you’re amazed they’re in colour and not sepia.’ Noah shook his head. ‘How old do you think we are?’
‘But look,’ Jamie said, holding up the album, ‘you’ve got to admit you’ve aged a lot since then!’
They all fell quiet as their gazes fixed on the photographs he was showing them. The gang of five. Jonah, Kat, Noah, Isobel—and Leon.
There they were, smiling back at their older selves, not a care in the world. No idea that, in less than four years their lives would be altered forever. Eighteen years old with their whole futures ahead of them.
There was Leon, dark-haired and grinning, his arm draped over Kat’s shoulder; Kat, her long, light brown hair in a ponytail, leaning into him, arms folded in a casual, relaxed manner as she smiled for the photographer; Jonah, the tallest of them even at that age, standing in the middle, looking as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself; Isobel, glamorous even then with her make-up and blonde hair, looking at Noah as if he was the bee’s knees; and Noah himself, sandy-haired and slender, arm around Isobel’s waist, beaming at the camera like the cat that had got the cream.
How long ago and far away it all seemed now.
Kat swallowed and turned away, not wanting to look any longer. She wandered outside and moved down the path towards the track. Finally reaching the gate, she leaned on it and gazed down over the river, wondering how many times she’d done the same thing with Leon at her side.
She’d tried to hang on to those memories; days when she and Leon had seemed like the perfect couple. They’d laughed and loved and been so sure that nothing would ever tear them apart. She’d been so proud of him when he started work at the brewery.
‘Don’t you wish I’d gone to university like Noah?’ he’d teased.
‘Of course not! I’m glad you’re not going. I want you here with me, always.’
He’d kissed her then and she’d been so glad that he’d applied for a job at the Lusty Tup Brewery working with his dad. He was just as bright as Noah, as their A level results had proved, despite Noah’s private education, but the academic life didn’t appeal to him any more than it appealed to her. It was just one more thing they had in common.
‘I don’t know how poor Isobel’s going to cope without him,’ Kat had murmured, feeling a pang of sympathy for Noah’s girlfriend, perhaps for the first time.
‘Oh, she’ll manage. It will be worth it in the end. You know Isobel’s got delusions of grandeur, being a St Egbert’s pupil. She’s determined Noah’s going places. Besides, she’s going to college to learn floristry, isn’t she? She’ll be too busy to miss him much.’
‘And Jonah’s starting his farriery apprenticeship soon,’ she’d said wistfully. ‘And here’s me, stuck in a wool shop. I won’t be qualified in anything.’
‘Oh, what does it matter?’ He’d put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. ‘Each to their own. We’re all different, and that’s what makes the world go round.’
And he’d been right in his way. They were all different, yet somehow they stayed friends. Good friends. Spending as much time together as they could, laughing, having fun…
Until that night.
She shivered, pulling her jacket tighter around her.
‘Are you okay?’
Jonah’s voice was gentle behind her, and she turned her head, giving him a faint smile as he came to stand beside her, resting his elbows on the top of the gate.
‘I’m fine,’ she lied. ‘Just needed a bit of fresh air.’
‘I haven’t forgotten,’ he told her. ‘It gets to me too, you know, even after all this time.’
She nodded. ‘I know. Funny how you can go for days, even weeks not thinking about him at all, and then something happens and it’s like you’re right back there, in that moment.’
‘It was always bound to be tricky,’ he said. ‘You’re at his old home, helping his family. It was always going to be hard for you.’
‘And you,’ she reminded him. ‘He was your best friend.’
‘But he was your boyfriend,’ he said. ‘I know how much you two loved each other.’
She looked back at the house. ‘We need to go back in, finish up. We’re all heading to Daisyfield Cottage in a few minutes.’
He grinned. ‘Have you heard about the decorating party?’
‘What decorating party?’
‘Jamie’s idea apparently. He’s come up with a cunning plan for us all to meet up at the cottage one weekend. They’ll provide the food and drinks, and we’ll bring our paintbrushes and old clothes and get stuck in redecorating the place for them.’
‘Well!’ Kat laughed. ‘You’ve got to hand it to Jamie. He’s not backwards in coming forwards, is he?’
It was one of Leon’s sayings, and her smile died as she saw the look in Jonah’s eyes and knew he’d remembered too.
‘Come on,’ he said kindly. ‘Let’s finish up here, shall we?’
She nodded and followed him back into Monk’s Folly, her thoughts still with Leon. She knew Jonah grieved for him too of course, but it was different for him. When he remembered his friend, he could do so with warmth and happiness.
Whereas Kat… Her memories were clouded by that one bitter memory of their final meeting—a memory so painful it obliterated most of the happy ones she’d struggled so much to hold on to. She could see it all now, feel those emotions as if it were yesterday: her tears, Leon’s face white with shock, their raised voices, the anger within her that she saw and heard reflected in him—an anger that was so unfamiliar, so alien to them that even now she reeled from the memory of it.
She wished, with all her heart, that she could remember Leon with the same ease and acceptance that Jonah did, but somehow she knew she would never be granted that privilege.
And if anyone here today knew the truth, what would they think then? Would it change their memories too? Would it make them look at Leon differently, or would they be so caught up in blaming Kat that they wouldn’t see her side of the story at all? God knows it had taken her long enough to see the picture clearly herself.
Leon and Jonah had been like brothers. If it came to a choice, Jonah was bound to see it from Leon’s point of view. If he ever found out, maybe he’d never again see her as a friend. Maybe—just maybe—he’d never speak to her again.
EIGHT
‘Happy anniversary!’
Jonah kissed Tawnie on the cheek and murmured in her ear, ‘Mum’s not here, is she?’
Tawnie laughed and ushered him into her home. ‘No, you’re okay. She’s been and gone, early this morning. Come in and have a celebratory drink with us.’
‘I wasn’t sure if you’d be going out or something,’ he admitted, steering Tommy into the living room ahead of Tawnie. ‘After all, sixteen years of marriage is something worth celebrating.’
Keith was sitting in his favourite armchair in front of the television, and raised a glass of beer in Jonah’s direction.
‘We are celebrating,’ he said, nodding at the glass. ‘What more do you need really?’
Tawnie tutted and rolled her eyes. ‘Ever the romantic. I’ve told him, he’d better splash out on our twentieth anniversary, and I mean big time. He can start saving now. A glass of beer and a night in front of the telly isn’t going to cut it every year.’
Jonah laughed. ‘She has a point.’
Keith groaned. ‘Don’t agree with her! Anyway, I got her a card and some flowers. What more does she want?’
‘I’m truly blessed,’ Tawnie said. She winked at Jonah. ‘I’m guessing you’ll want a cup of coffee?’
‘Please. If I wasn’t driving I’d finish off Keith’s beer, but there you go.’
‘What about you, Tommy?’ Tawnie asked. ‘We have some banana milkshake if you’d like some?’
Tommy nodded eagerly, just as Iris and Lilly entered the room.
‘Hiya, Tommy. Do you want to come upstairs and watch a Disney film with us?’ Iris asked him.
Tommy certainly did, so Tawnie said she’d bring drinks and biscuits upstairs for them in a few minutes.
‘Iris is so kind to him,’ Jonah observed as he followed his sister into the kitchen. ‘You should be very proud of her.’
Tawnie flicked on the kettle and poured three glasses of milkshake, shaking her head slightly as she did so.
‘I am, especially when she admitted she’d already done her homework. You know, when you and Mum were here for dinner? She just wanted to escape.’
Jonah raised an eyebrow. ‘Escape? From what?’
Tawnie sighed. ‘She heard what Mum was saying and she didn’t like the way she was talking about you and Tommy. She was worried she’d end up saying something horrible to Mum so she got out of the way. How bad’s that?’
‘Very bad,’ Jonah agreed. ‘I wonder how Mum would feel if she realised she was alienating her own granddaughter?’
‘Well, she can’t say it isn’t justified,’ Tawnie said with feeling. ‘Keith and I felt awful after you left—like we should have stuck up for you more.’
‘You did stick up for us,’ Jonah reassured her. ‘And to be honest, it wouldn’t have made a difference. She’s never going to accept Tommy. I realise that now and I’m not going to waste any more time trying to get her to change her mind. It’s her loss, not ours.’
‘I know that. It’s a shame. He’s such a gorgeous little boy.’
She made the coffees and found a tin of biscuits. ‘I’m just going to take drinks and snacks up to the kids,’ she said. ‘Can you take the coffees through? I only made two because Keith’s happy with his beer.’
‘No worries.’
Jonah went back into the living room while his sister headed upstairs with refreshments. He put the two mugs of coffee on the occasional table and sank into the other armchair.
‘Anything good on?’ he asked, nodding at the television.
‘Not really,’ Keith admitted, ‘but I’m sure Tawnie will find some soppy film to watch after you’ve gone and that will be it for the evening. I’m making the most of it while I’m in charge of the remote.’
Tawnie came downstairs and sat on the sofa. ‘They’re all watching Encanto,’ she said fondly. ‘The girls really do love Tommy you know. They’ll always be on his side.’
‘I know, and I appreciate it.’
‘So,’ Keith said, nodding at the carrier bag Jonah had placed by the chair when he’d first entered the room. ‘I spy a present. Is that for us?’
‘Keith!’ Tawnie shook her head. ‘Honestly, he’s got no manners, has he?’
‘Are you saying you didn’t spot it when he brought it in?’
‘Well of course I did, but you don’t go asking, do you?’
‘I don’t see why not,’ Keith replied. ‘It’s clearly for us, since it’s wrapped up in anniversary paper, so why shouldn’t we hurry him along?’
Jonah laughed. ‘It’s okay. It is for you actually, although don’t get your hopes up. It’s just something I made a few months ago and put aside for you.’
‘Something you made?’ Keith looked thoughtful. ‘What can it be? It’s not a model of the Taj Mahal made out of lollipop sticks is it?’
‘Why would it be that? You do have random thoughts,’ Tawnie said, smiling her thanks as Jonah handed her the present. ‘Ooh, it’s quite heavy. What is it?’
‘Only one way to find out,’ Keith said.
She unwrapped the present and her eyes widened with delight. ‘Oh, Jonah! It’s perfect! You made this? Really?’
Jonah’s face burned with embarrassment. ‘Yeah. Like I say, it’s not much but…’
‘Not much? It’s gorgeous! Look, Keith.’
Tawnie held up the present, her eyes shining.
‘Love,’ Keith read. ‘Very nice.’
‘Very nice? It’s brilliant!’ She gazed at the metal sign on its stand in awe. ‘Are all these letters made out of horseshoes?’
Jonah noted her obvious enthusiasm with some embarrassment. To his eyes his efforts weren’t a patch on his dad’s artwork. Still, this one had taken quite some time to make, so maybe he shouldn’t be so dismissive. Tawnie clearly appreciated it anyway.
He’d worked on used horseshoes, turning them into four letters which spelled out the word ‘LOVE’. The letter ‘O’ had been formed in a heart shape. Each letter had been joined to the next, then the whole word had been attached, by the lower points of the heart and the ‘V’ to another horseshoe, which lay flat and acted as a stand.
