A Place To Call Home (Willowbury)

by Fay Keenan

  Holly smiled. Charlie’s idealistic streak was something she was beginning to love about him; she just prayed that his inner pragmatist was right on this one, too.

  52

  A nail-biting few days were to follow. Charlie knew that the Speaker wouldn’t be announcing debates until Wednesday, which would give him, at worst, twenty-four hours to put the finishing touches on his opening speech, should his Adjournment Debate be the first to be timetabled, literally for the next day. With ten days left until the summer recess, time was unnervingly short. If he wasn’t successful this time around, it would have to wait until September when the House sat again. Charlie wasn’t sure he could take a summer of suspense, and all the time he was aware that, for Harry, literally every day without a decision was a ticking time bomb.

  Charlie, who’d decided to spend the time until Wednesday in Willowbury, rather than shooting back to London as he usually did on a Sunday night or Monday morning, had, with Holly’s tacit blessing, virtually moved into her flat while they waited for a decision on the Adjournment Debate. He had a lot of constituency casework to catch up on, and when he wasn’t using Holly’s place as a base, he’d been out and about on constituency visits, which managed to take his mind off the agonising wait for Wednesday’s news, as had spending his spare time with Holly. He’d even managed to catch up, informally, with Mrs Garner, she of the noisy neighbours, and was relieved to discover that the council had acted swiftly and that the situation had been resolved amicably on all sides. He allowed himself a small glow of satisfaction for that particular case. It wouldn’t change the world, but it had made a pretty significant difference to Mrs Garner’s life.

  Nevertheless, Charlie was still climbing the walls by the time Wednesday afternoon rolled around. The refresh button on his webmail had been pushed so many times, he was surprised he hadn’t single-handedly crashed the system. Holly kept popping up from the shop floor when she could to offer a word of encouragement or reassurance, but even she was feeling the strain. Tom, knowing the decision was imminent, had brought some work from the office and was also using Holly’s kitchen table as a de-facto hot desk.

  Eventually, the much-longed-for email came through, and Charlie’s heart, as well as his stomach, fell through the floor. ‘Oh Christ,’ he breathed.

  ‘What is it?’ Tom, lost in a world of paperwork of his own, was, nevertheless, instantly alert.

  ‘You’re not going to believe this, but it’s scheduled for tomorrow.’

  ‘Christ, indeed,’ Tom replied. ‘You’d better start looking up trains.’

  ‘Am I going to be ready?’ Charlie looked down at the speech and it seemed to swim before his eyes.

  ‘Well, that’s the question,’ Tom said. He let the pause hang in the air as Charlie and Holly, who’d dashed up between customers, mindful of the time, and that there could be an email any minute, looked expectantly at him.

  ‘And?’ Charlie leaned forward eagerly in his seat, like a schoolboy expecting praise.

  Tom let the pause linger a little longer while he took a long pull of his coffee. ‘You’re a lover of rhetoric, that’s clear. And your turns of phrase definitely veer to the wrong side of melodramatic from time to time.’ Tom took another sip, clearly enjoying watching Charlie squirm. ‘However…’ he smiled. ‘You manage, just, to walk the fine line between the emotional and the informative. You’ve scattered just the right amount of statistics throughout to counteract the utter frustration and heartbreak of your – and I hesitate, with respect, to use this phrase, Holly, knowing your links to Harry – but your case studies. I think it’ll go down very well.’

  ‘If he remembers not to flap his hands around too much,’ Holly quipped.

  ‘Ah, the curse of the modern politician,’ Tom sighed. ‘You wouldn’t have seen Douglas Hurd or John Smith using those tactics.’

  ‘Got to play to the crowd,’ Charlie said but made a note to tone it down a little, if he could. Although at this stage, he was more preoccupied with remembering the words of the speech; the hand gestures might just have to remain.

  ‘And, of course, you’d better do your best to keep your eye on the benches, too. There’s bound to be at least one of your colleagues who’ll want to interject on such an emotive issue, and probably quite a few on the other side who’ll use it as an excuse to castigate the Department of Health for not acting quickly enough up to now.’

  ‘Which will undoubtedly piss off Cora Mellish and her team,’ Charlie reflected ruefully.

  ‘Well, yes, but since she’s been playing fast and loose with you over this whole issue, I wouldn’t worry too much about that. I suspect the PM has had a quiet word and reminded her about bringing on talent rather than alienating it.’

  ‘You think so?’ Charlie’s heart leapt for a different reason.

  ‘You know what Westminster’s like,’ Tom said. ‘They’re talent-spotting constantly, and you know the PM was impressed when you stood up the first time. This is your chance to really make an impression.’

  Charlie shook his head. ‘That’s what I thought I wanted, Tom, but, to be honest, I just want to do right by Harry and his family, and the rest of the CF patients in the country. As best as I can, anyway.’

  ‘Careful,’ Holly quipped, although her voice trembled a little. ‘You’re beginning to sound like a human being, rather than a politician.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Charlie said dryly. He stood up from the kitchen table and wandered over to where Holly was leaning against the door frame of her living room, so she could hear if the shop bell signalled a customer. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked softly, seeing the conflicted look on her face.

  Holly smiled. ‘I know you’ve worked really hard to get to this point, but I’m still so afraid that all of it could be for nothing. We could still be in a stalemate in another year’s time.’

  Charlie slipped a hand around her waist and drew her a little closer. ‘It won’t be,’ he said softly. He reached out with his other hand and squeezed one of hers. ‘I said I’d do everything I can, and I meant it. This is my defining issue now, just as it’s been yours since Harry was diagnosed. I will not let you down this time.’

  In the ensuing silence, Tom coughed. ‘Well, now we know, I’d best get back to Claudia, since it’s nearly time to get home, anyway. She sends her regards, Holly, by the way, and hopes she might see you again at another one of “those bloody boring dinners” soon. She quite liked having someone new, and younger to talk to.’

  Holly laughed. ‘I’m not sure Charlie would share Claudia’s enthusiasm to have me back, after the last time.’

  ‘Well, you livened up the evening in a lot of ways,’ Tom said. ‘Even if a certain local baker doesn’t think so!’

  ‘I shouldn’t have gone off at Miles,’ Holly said. ‘Not on Charlie’s night, anyway. My sister reckons I should just hex him next time!’

  ‘I thought you didn’t go in for that sort of thing,’ Charlie replied. ‘Because if you did, there are a few people in the House of Commons I’d get you to try it on!’

  ‘I don’t,’ Holly said firmly. ‘Or I’d have hexed Miles years ago. You should only send out what you want to get back, no matter how much someone hurts you or pisses you off.’

  ‘So I can’t blame you for the dodgy stomach I had for a week after we split up, then?’ Charlie teased.

  ‘Nope,’ Holly said. ‘Blame that on your liking for ropey London takeaway food!’

  As they all laughed, Tom glanced at his watch. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’ He turned to Charlie. ‘And don’t you forget you need to be back in Westminster tomorrow morning. No staying up all night perfecting your speech… or whatever.’

  ‘OK, Dad!’ Charlie teased. ‘I promise an early night and an even earlier train is the order of the day.’ He turned back to Holly, ‘Much as I hate to have to tear myself away from you.’

  ‘Love’s young dream,’ Tom said wryly. ‘But, seriously, don’t miss that bloody train tomorrow or all of this hard work will be for
nothing.’

  ‘Five thirty a.m., Willowbury station. I’ll be there.’ The two men shook hands. ‘Thanks, Tom,’ Charlie said quietly, ‘for everything. I know I’ve put you through a lot in the time I’ve been in office here, but I certainly wouldn’t have got this far without you.’

  ‘Don’t thank me until you’re out of that chamber tomorrow,’ Tom said gruffly, to hide how touched he was. ‘And make sure you smash it.’

  ‘I’ll give it my best shot,’ Charlie replied.

  Tom bade goodnight to Holly, repeating his warnings not to stay up too late, and once more they were alone, barring Arthur, who strolled through, demanding his bedtime treats.

  ‘Right,’ Holly said. ‘You heard your agent. You’d best get back home, since you don’t have any spare suits here, and I’m certainly not going to iron you a shirt.’

  ‘Yes, Ma’am!’ Lingering at the door to Holly’s flat, Charlie kissed her, long and deep.

  ‘Break a leg,’ Holly murmured as they broke apart. ‘And see you when you come home.’

  ‘I’m counting on it,’ Charlie pulled her close in a tight hug before wandering out to her doorstep. ‘I do love you, you know.’

  ‘I know.’ Watching Charlie leave, Holly was filled with a mixture of hope and heartbreak. This was a massive step for the campaign, and having Charlie back on board was a huge bonus, but as he left, all she could thing about was tiny little Harry, who had come home from hospital yesterday morning, much better but still fighting the disease that wanted to steal his lungs. ‘Please God, make this happen,’ she was shocked to hear herself saying out loud, to the moon and the waking stars. She’d never been a churchgoer, but just for a moment she wanted to believe that someone out there was watching over Harry, and keeping him safe.

  53

  Charlie didn’t think he’d ever felt so nervous in the chamber as he did when he took his seat at eleven o’clock the next morning for the debate. He’d thought asking a question at PMQs had been bad, but this, with the renewed weight of expectation on his shoulders from Harry, and by proxy, all of the CF patients who were depending on him to convince the House that the drugs needed re-evaluating, felt almost as though it would crush him. He’d made rookie mistakes on his way to this moment, but now he had a real chance to put his case forward. He just hoped he was up to the job. As he looked around the chamber, he was gratified to see the Opposition MP Stephen Brabham sitting on the other side, and reassured when Stephen gave him a brief smile, mouthing good luck across the floor. Charlie grinned nervously back, before mouthing thanks. Then, as the Speaker took his place in the front and centre of the chamber, it was time for the off.

  Back in Willowbury, Holly had brought her iPad down to the shop counter and had set it up to live-stream the debate through Parliament TV. Usually it was a channel only watched by the most hardened politics junkies, but, news that their very own Member of Parliament was introducing an Adjournment Debate on an issue so close to the constituency’s hearts had spread through Willowbury and Holly wasn’t surprised, half an hour before the debate, when Rachel came barrelling through the door of the shop to tell her that the landlord of The Travellers’ Rest had set up a big screen in the bar and was intending on serving drinks at half price for the duration of the debate.

  ‘Can’t you shut up shop and come over?’ Rachel asked. ‘I took Harry back to nursery this morning now the hospital’s cleared him, and he’s there until one o’clock, so I should be able to catch most of it. Why don’t you see if Isabella’s free to cover this place?’ Harry, once out of hospital, had bounced back enough to spend the morning at nursery and he’d been overjoyed to see his friends again.

  ‘I’ll call her,’ Holly replied. She had enormous butterflies flapping in her stomach, and wasn’t actually sure whether she was emotionally prepared to watch Charlie in action surrounded by loads of other people.

  Rachel paused, as if she was debating whether or not to continue.

  ‘What is it, sis?’ Holly asked, instantly alert.

  ‘I know this is a big moment,’ Rachel said carefully, ‘but I also know that it won’t just be about this debate. The NHS still has to agree a price with the drug companies, even if Parliament puts pressure on both sides. What if, even after all this, it doesn’t work? What if we’re still sat here in twelve months’ time, and Harry’s lost another year’s lung function? I just feel… flat.’

  Holly came out from behind her counter and put her arms around her sister. ‘I know it’s just another step on a very long road,’ she said softly. ‘But this issue has enough support among MPs of all parties now that, if nothing else, the weight of public opinion will put pressure on everyone involved. I don’t know what the outcome of today will be, but Charlie and I will be by your side, fighting for Harry.’

  Rachel hugged her sister back, and, shaking her head, gave a smile. ‘I know. And I appreciate everything you and Charlie have done so far. I’m just so used to having my hopes raised and then dashed.’

  ‘Then you’d better sit next to me at the pub,’ Holly replied. ‘And we can celebrate together when Charlie smashes it. Or commiserate if he massively cocks it up.’

  ‘Sounds like a deal,’ Rachel offered a tentative smile.

  Once Holly had secured Isabella for a shift, she headed over to The Travellers’ Rest just in time to grab a drink before the debate started. She felt even more nervous when the camera panned around the chamber, and she caught sight of Charlie, looking paler than usual but carefully composed, sitting close to the Speaker’s chair at the front of the hall.

  ‘There’s our boy,’ Mike Sullivan, jovial landlord of the pub commented, and a cheer went up from the assembled Willowbury residents who had managed to shut up shop and get away to witness the debate. ‘Looks a bit nervy, though.’

  ‘Wouldn’t you be?’ Holly said as she picked up the coffees she’d ordered for herself and Rachel. ‘Apart from that question at PMQs, he’s not spoken in the chamber since, and this is a big debate that he’s responsible for bringing.’

  ‘Absolutely,’ Mike agreed. ‘You look a bit peaky yourself,’ he murmured. ‘Have a couple of giant chocolate cookies on the house.’

  ‘Thanks, Mike,’ Holly smiled. ‘I’ll eat them if I can manage to uncross my fingers!’ She surmised that her nerves were telling on her face, too.

  Grabbing a seat off to the left of the big screen at one of the bar tables, she passed Rachel’s coffee to her, and drummed her fingers nervously on the tabletop.

  ‘Calm down,’ Rachel said. ‘He’s a professional, remember? And you’ve rehearsed that speech with him so many times that he knows it backwards. Even if he only gets to use half of it in the actual debate, it’s enough.’

  ‘I know,’ Holly sipped her coffee, willing the bitter liquid to take the edge off her nerves but knowing it would, most likely, do the opposite. ‘I just wish I was there with him.’ She kept thinking that she should be the one reassuring Rachel, not the other way round, given that Harry was Rachel’s son, but she couldn’t help it; she was just so nervous, both for Charlie and for Harry.

  ‘Careful, sis,’ Rachel’s eyes twinkled. ‘That almost sounded soppy.’

  ‘Whatever,’ Holly muttered, but smiled a little. ‘It’s only because I don’t trust him not to cock it up.’

  ‘Yeah, right.’

  The tones familiar to any regular watcher or listener of parliamentary debates broke into their conversation as the Speaker’s cry of ‘Order, Order!’ came over the pub’s sound system.

  Holly sat up a little straighter in her chair. There was no way of knowing how long this debate would take, but she was determined to pay attention to all of it.

  The camera switched focus from the Speaker to a long shot of the Commons Chamber, and Holly again caught sight of Charlie, who had sat up in his place on the green government benches and was looking attentively at the Speaker.

  ‘I give the floor to the Honourable Member for Willowbury and Stavenham.’ Holly’s hands s
tarted to shake, and she felt clammy all over. Would Charlie be up to the job? He’d only been in post a few months, after all. Hugo Fitzgerald had had a long career of this, although Hugo hadn’t even made a ripple in the political pond in all his years as the local MP, being content to sit in his very comfortable seat and do virtually nothing to keep it. She watched intently as the camera switched from the long shot of the whole chamber to focusing on Charlie himself, who, looking pale but composed, had risen from his seat.

  ‘Thank you, Mr Speaker,’ he began. ‘Today we’re here to discuss the provision of next generation drugs for the degenerative condition cystic fibrosis on the National Health Service. It gives me no pleasure to be here, leading this debate, in the knowledge that so much time has been wasted already in making arrangements with the pharmaceutical companies to allow this to happen. Mr Speaker, I am the close friend of a constituent whose three-year-old nephew Harry has this debilitating and isolating condition…’

  ‘Close friend!’ snorted Rachel. ‘Well, I suppose he couldn’t really say lover, sweetheart, cuddle buddy…’

  ‘Ssh!’ Holly chided, taking her eyes off the screen briefly to shoot Rachel a warning glance. ‘Tease me later.’

  Charlie was holding his notes in one hand, so thankfully his tendency to gesticulate was curtailed by half. As he continued with his speech, Holly felt a frisson of excitement; he was an articulate and confident speaker, and although she felt as though she knew the speech backwards, having heard Charlie practising it for days, there was something electrifying about hearing him actually speak at length in this most venerable of auditoriums. She could almost smell the aromas of wood polish and leather that she remembered so well from when she’d visited the Commons for Prime Minister’s Questions.