The Promise of Summer

by Bella Osborne

  ‘Hayley, I appreciate that you’re looking out for him. Really, I do. But you can’t intrude on your father’s life like this. He’s a grown-up. It’s down to him to make his own decisions.’ Kim was rapidly losing patience.

  Tears welled in Hayley’s eyes. ‘My mother only died recently. He’s vulnerable and you’re taking advantage!’ Her voice was rising.

  ‘Hayley, Justine has been gone for over two years.’ Kim regretted her blunt approach as soon as Hayley spluttered a tearful gasp. ‘I’m sorry but it’s true. And your dad is doing fine. You can’t expect him to spend the rest of his life alone. It’s up to him who he sees.’

  ‘You would say that. Someone like you.’ She pointed her finger at Kim. ‘Someone who’s desperate to get her claws into my dad’s money.’

  That was the point where Kim’s patience packed its bags, put on an out-of-office notice and buggered off. ‘You’re barking up the wrong tree. But honestly, he could be shagging all of Sheffield if he wanted to – it’s really none of your business.’

  ‘We’ll see about that!’ snapped Hayley. She turned quickly, swatting the beads out of the way and they immediately responded by whacking her back. In her temper Hayley’s arms flailed about, making the end of one string whip up and slap her in the face. ‘Ow!’

  Everyone in the shop turned to look as Hayley marched out clutching her eye. Kim switched into pleasant florist mode. ‘Who’s next?’ Nobody looked very keen.

  It had been a busy Saturday and Ruby was glad to flip the sign to closed. ‘Right. Before we get any more interruptions, we need to talk,’ she said, realising that she sounded like she was about to dump a partner not question her boss.

  ‘Ooh, sounds ominous,’ said Kim, sorting out the stock that would be past their best by Monday. ‘Do you want some of these for the nursing home?’

  ‘Er, yeah. Please,’ said Ruby. ‘Can you stop for a minute?’

  ‘What’s wrong?’ asked Kim, looking over her shoulder.

  ‘Vince,’ said Ruby.

  ‘Um … what?’ Kim almost stumbled headfirst into a bucket. She righted herself, her cheek twitching.

  ‘Vince. Your husband who is very much alive and well and who turned up here last night and scared me half to death.’

  ‘What did he do?’

  ‘He caught me off-guard and I freaked out a little and then he told me who he was and I freaked out a bit more. Then he got me a glass of water and was quite lovely really. He’s told me everything about what happened after his heart attack.’ She was still a bit shocked that Kim had dumped him while he’d been ill in hospital but Vince had said Kim was having a breakdown at the time. Kim looked alarmed. ‘Which is none of my business, but I’d like to know why you lied to me.’ Ruby folded her arms. When she’d gone over this with Curtis the previous evening she’d been quite cross about it. Now that temper had ebbed away.

  Kim sighed. ‘I’m so sorry, Ruby. I never set out to lie to people. Especially not you.’

  ‘When you said he’d gone to a better place I thought you meant heaven, not sodding Mablethorpe,’ said Ruby with a smile.

  ‘And now he’s back and—’

  ‘I know. How good is that?’ said Ruby.

  Kim’s expression was somewhere between a grimace and a snarl. ‘It’s not good at all.’

  ‘But this could be a second chance.’ She loved a second chance love story. She read them all the time. ‘You’ve always said how brilliant you were together. Didn’t you say he was your soul mate? Your missing puzzle piece? The one person you could be yourself with? Don’t you want that again?’

  ‘Well, yes … I guess. But, Ruby it’s not that simple. You don’t forgive someone just like that.’

  ‘Why not?’ It seemed to Ruby like Vince had already forgiven Kim for dumping him.

  Kim chewed the inside of her mouth. ‘Do you forgive the microwave thief or the kettle pisser?’

  ‘No, but this is different. This is you and Vince. He wants to put the past behind him.’

  ‘He does?’ Kim steadied herself by holding on to the shelving unit.

  ‘Look, Kim. We all do things we’re not proud of but if someone still loves us deep down and can forgive us then why wouldn’t you have another crack at your happy ever after?’ Ruby was rather proud of her little speech.

  ‘I don’t know.’ Kim put her head in her hands. ‘Some things are impossible to forgive.’

  ‘Do you not think you should at least think about it?’

  Kim exhaled loudly. ‘It’s all too late.’ She handed the past-their-best blooms to Ruby.

  The door clanged open, making them both turn. Kim slapped on a smile at the sight of Adrian. Ruby suddenly realised why Kim might be having doubts about rekindling things with Vince. She had two men vying for her attention now.

  ‘Hiya, Adrian,’ said Ruby. She glanced at Kim. ‘Think about what I said. I’ll see you Tuesday.’

  For once Kim was relieved to see Ruby leave. Her attitude to Vince had taken her by surprise. She’d thought of all people, Ruby, would have been ready to lynch Vince from the nearest lamppost now that she knew what he’d done. Ruby knew what it was like to be cheated on, to have men disrespect her, so it was odd that she thought getting back with Vince was an option for Kim. Ruby must have got the wrong end of the stick. Surely Vince couldn’t expect to turn up out of the blue and pick up as if the acupuncturist hadn’t happened? Ruby was a romantic at heart so this was the most likely explanation. But it had made her wonder if she should have at least given him a chance to talk to her. Now she knew he was dying it did kind of put a different spin on things.

  ‘You all right?’ asked Adrian, flipping the sign to closed. Seeing him cheered her up and she liked that. It was hard not to compare him to Vince. They were very different. Vince was all charm and swagger. ‘A bit of a wide boy’ her dad had called him. Adrian was steady and dependable. Not that she was looking at him as a suitor – they were just friends. That didn’t stop the fluttery sensations she got when she was around him, but he remained devoted to Justine, so she certainly wasn’t going to make any moves.

  Maybe if she’d met someone like Adrian earlier on it would have been different. But then was there anything she really wanted to change about her life? Only the lack of children. Not being a mother still made her sad heart ache. But she had a lot to be thankful for. She had her house and her little shop and now she was about to get a dog. She’d have her very own fur baby. Actually, things were looking okay.

  Kim took a deep breath. Adrian. Lovely Adrian was here. She felt her shoulders relax a fraction. ‘Yes. I’m fine.’

  ‘Sure?’ He was studying her closely. ‘Anything you want to tell me?’ His eyes held a look she’d not seen before.

  ‘Oh, Hayley came to see me earlier. I take it she’s told you.’ She hoped her comment about him shagging the whole of Sheffield hadn’t got back to him.

  ‘She’s told me.’ He looked like he was clenching his jaw. ‘You’re not denying it?’

  ‘Look, I might have overstepped the mark a little but—’

  ‘A little? Bloody hell, Kim. You hit her!’

  Kim snapped her head back as if she was the one who had been slapped by the beads. ‘No, I didn’t hit her. She copped a strop and the beads sort of smacked her.’ Adrian looked doubtful. Kim took hold of the end of the beads and tried to re-create the incident, which was quite difficult and probably made her look a bit deranged as she whirled them around.

  ‘That’s not what she says.’

  Kim felt like she was being told off about a playground brawl and the thought made her snort a laugh, which was possibly not appropriate. Adrian didn’t look impressed. ‘This is silly. She’s making it up.’

  Adrian shook his head. ‘You’re saying she’s lying? I’ve seen her eye, Kim.’

  ‘Well, these beads can give you a fair old whack.’ Kim swung them about a bit more but they were not giving off the deadly weapon vibe they had earlier.

  ‘Hayley
’s really upset. And this close to the wedding she doesn’t need any additional stress.’

  ‘Adrian, what are you saying?’

  ‘I’m sorry, Kim. I can’t be around someone who lashes out like that.’ He looked pained as he turned and made for the door.

  ‘She came around here to warn me off,’ she said, somewhat belatedly as the door closed with a cheery tinkle.

  Half an hour later, she was hanging on to the lead while Boomer tried to launch himself into outer space. She was starting to wonder what she’d done.

  ‘It’s like he knows he’s going to his forever home,’ said Margaret, placing a lot of emphasis on the word forever. ‘He’s excited.’

  ‘Me too but I’m managing to keep it in.’ Kim grimaced.

  ‘Sign here,’ said Margaret, waving a form almost within reach of Kim. Kim grabbed the proffered pen, scrawled something illegible and handed it back to Margaret.

  ‘That’s it, the donation has gone through. Here are his vaccination records and some leaflets about insurance, worming and um … dog training classes.’

  They both watched him bound about like he’d sat on a hedgehog. ‘I think we might be needing those.’

  ‘I know he’s a handful,’ said Margaret, her eyes pinging up and down as they tried to follow Boomer’s antics. ‘But I do believe that you and he have got a bond. If you have any problems, please ring me sooner rather than later. I want this to work out as much as you do.’ Margaret looked sincere.

  ‘Okay. I wi-ill,’ said Kim as Boomer lurched and dragged her off towards the exit.

  Kim could sympathise with the dog a little. He’d been in kennels on and off for over a year. She’d be excited to be out if she’d been shut in for that amount of time. They raced across the car park at top speed and the dog paused briefly to cock his leg on two other cars before they reached Kim’s. Kim opened the car door and showed him the blanket on the back seat. Boomer put his nose in to sniff it and grabbed it. There then followed a tug of war. His tail went wild – he was clearly very happy with the game. He readjusted to get a better grip and in the second he let go Kim snatched the blanket from his jaws.

  ‘Let’s try without the blanket,’ she said.

  Kim knew that Boomer was smart. On the first command he jumped onto the back seat of the car. However, a moment later he jumped back out again and so it went on. In the end she instructed him to jump in and then jumped in beside him and quickly shut the door at which point he promptly jumped all over her in his abject delight at being at eye level with her.

  ‘Noooo,’ said Kim, but she was laughing through the frantic doggy kisses. ‘Boomer. Stop it, you loon.’ After a lot of tussling and a few mouthfuls of fur she managed to get him clipped into his travel harness. Kim didn’t want him straining to escape again so decided that she’d have to get to the driver’s seat without getting out of the car. She attempted to crawl through the gap in the seats. It was a bit of a squeeze and she had to twist to one side. She slid down slightly on the faux leather covering and her hip met the central console and armrest. Her middle was wedged. Kim tried to heave herself through but she was jammed in tight by the seats. Maybe she did need to lose a few pounds. She felt a paw scratch at her backside.

  ‘Thanks for your help, Boomer,’ she said.

  She tried to reverse but that wasn’t an option if she wanted to bring both breasts with her. She was stuck.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Ruby was giggling when she pulled into the rescue centre car park. Kim’s car was parked on its own and she stopped alongside it. At first, she couldn’t see anyone inside but when she got closer the whole sorry situation was presented to her. Or, more accurately, Kim’s backside stuck between the seats was. Ruby walked around the car to eyeball Kim. She held in her laughter for all of a nanosecond and then fell about – it was one of the funniest things she’d seen in a while.

  ‘How the heck did you get in this mess?’ she asked.

  ‘Don’t ask,’ said Kim.

  Ruby looked in the back and a happy spaniel face complete with lolling-out tongue appeared at the window. ‘Hello, you must be Boomerang. Aren’t you gorgeous? Yes, you are. You’re gorgeous. Yes—’

  ‘I think we’ve established who’s gorgeous and who is a woolly mammoth. I’m definitely going on a diet.’

  ‘You’re the only person who thinks you’re big. I think you look fabulous,’ said Ruby.

  ‘Thanks but can we concentrate on shifting my huge bum?’

  Ruby opened the door and immediately Boomer was interested and tried to jump onto Kim but was thankfully held back by his seatbelt and harness.

  Ruby kneeled on the passenger seat and leaned over Kim to fuss the dog. ‘He’s lovely.’

  ‘He is but this is all his fault, you know.’

  ‘Who’s a clever boy,’ said Ruby.

  ‘Do you think we could focus on the main issue here?’ Kim waved her free arm.

  ‘Sorry,’ said Ruby, crouching down towards Kim’s head. ‘What shall I do?’

  ‘Get me out of here.’

  ‘Yeah, but how exactly?’ Ruby could feel a fit of giggles returning and clenched her jaw to stop them.

  ‘Try moving the passenger seat forwards or backwards.’

  ‘Okay.’ Ruby sat down, felt under the seat for the lever and gave it a tug while she pushed with her feet. It sent her backwards at speed.

  ‘Ow! Boobs!’ squeaked Kim. ‘It’s like you’ve run them over.’ She gave her chest a rub.

  ‘Whoops. Can you move now?’

  ‘I’m not sure.’ Kim was in an awkward position but a lot less stuck than she had been. After an inelegant couple of minutes she managed to clamber fully into the driver’s seat. ‘Blimey. I don’t know how that happened. I’ve climbed between the seats before with no problem.’

  ‘Maybe you’ve put on a few pounds?’ suggested Ruby.

  ‘Tell me something I don’t know.’

  ‘Salad tastes nice,’ said Ruby with a grin.

  ‘Bloody cheek!’ said Kim but she was laughing. ‘And no, it blooming well doesn’t. Unless you’re a rabbit. Being big runs in my family. To be honest it’s the only thing that runs in my family.’ Kim smiled. Although she had a feeling Boomer was going to change that.

  That evening Ruby gave Jonty a quick ring.

  ‘I’m really sorry to bother you on a Saturday night,’ she said.

  ‘Hang on, my boyfriend is watching the football.’ That statement confirmed one thing for her.

  ‘You’re not a footy fan?’

  ‘I am but he’s not. It’s more of a tutorial because he’s trying to fit in at a new job. It’s a nightmare. I said get them all to watch Queer Eye and be done with it.’

  ‘Sound advice. Anyway, Curtis is in London again next week and he wants to reciprocate the meal that Cordelia paid for. I was after the inside track of what sort of thing she likes.’ She hoped that was subtle enough.

  ‘Ooh, do we have some grade-A gossip here? Is Curtis trying to hook up with Cordelia?’

  Whoops. Rumbled. ‘Noooo. Don’t be daft, this is Curtis we’re talking about. He has the emotional range of an IKEA chair.’ Jonty snorted down the phone. ‘I just thought it would be best if they went somewhere she liked and also if you have any top tips on what she’s into that I could brief Curtis on, in case conversation dries up.’

  There was a cheer from the background. ‘Either someone has scored or there was a Diet Coke advert. I’d better go. I’ll email you a few suggestions. Okay?’

  ‘Perfect.’

  After her call, she had a brief text exchange with Curtis. Brief from his end not hers. She didn’t subscribe to the short response. She texted like she spoke – often at length and without vetting. Not always wise but she was pretty safe with Curtis. As they were both free on Sunday and Curtis still had relationship questions (which he had now organised into a spreadsheet) they agreed to meet up. To kill two birds, Ruby was picking up Curtis and they were dropping the flowers into the
nursing home along with a stack of books Ruby thought Dot and Kitty might enjoy. After that they were going somewhere for lunch.

  The next day, Curtis was waiting on the steps of the hotel, holding his laptop bag. He smiled as she pulled up.

  ‘Good morning,’ said Curtis, opening the car door.

  ‘Is it?’ said Ruby, deciding on the spur of the moment to give Curtis a bit of a test when it came to conversation with women.

  Curtis froze, still holding open the passenger door. ‘Er … It’s not raining and you’re on time,’ he said with a little hesitation.

  ‘Aren’t I usually on time?’ she snapped.

  He started rapidly blinking, something she’d noticed he did when he was flustered. ‘Yes, yes you are. Can I get in?’ Ruby nodded and Curtis slunk into the car. He put the laptop bag at his feet and fastened his seatbelt but the whole time he kept his eyes on Ruby like a wary mouse watching a prowling cat.

  ‘Are you not going to tell me I look nice?’ Ruby was struggling not to laugh. She clenched her teeth tight together and stared at Curtis who was now hastily scanning her from head to foot.

  ‘You look nice.’

  ‘That’s it. I look nice. Nice? What’s that in Amazon stars, two?’

  The blinking increased. ‘Er … well.’ He swallowed. ‘You look like … you,’ he said with an uncertain smile.

  She couldn’t keep it up any longer and burst out laughing, making Curtis recoil. ‘I’m messing with you! You can relax.’

  ‘Do you gain pleasure from that?’ He ran a finger around his buttoned-up shirt collar.

  ‘A little bit but that wasn’t why I did it. You need to think about each of your interactions with a woman. You need to sense her mood.’

  ‘I do?’

  ‘Yes. And I’m going to coach you.’ She grinned at Curtis. ‘I’ve decided that if you want to impress Cordelia you need someone to prepare you so you know what to expect.’ She was very proud of her selfless idea. Curtis appeared mildly terrified.

  As they walked into the nursing home Ruby handed the two large bunches of flowers to Curtis. ‘Here, you can take those in.’