But Ivy wasn’t concerned. She smiled as she wrapped her arms around Joe’s neck. “I’m sure there’s no need to worry – but you’ll have to get condoms for the next time.”
Joe kissed her, already thrilled at the thought of a repeat performance. “I’ll get as many as I can from the dispensing machine in the cinema toilets tomorrow!”
Ivy nodded. But his mention of the cinema reminded her once again of the unfairness of their situation. They still couldn’t even go to a movie together for fear of being spotted.
Joe seemed to read her mind. “I’ll be eighteen in a few days’ time, and after that, Dad can’t treat me like a kid any more. Then we’ll tell everyone we’re a couple.”
Ivy nodded happily. She couldn’t wait to tell her classmates that she was dating the most gorgeous boy in Willow Haven.
The following day, Joe bought several packets of condoms, and he and Ivy had great amusement trying to put one on as they lay together in Johnson’s barn on Sunday afternoon. Ivy felt so grown up and responsible. How lucky she’d been to meet the man of her dreams so early! She knew from the magazines her mother read that many women searched for years for their soul mates but never found them. Yet she and Joe already had their future mapped out, and they were going to be together forever. She’d be a famous actor, and Joe would fulfil his dream of becoming an architect.
Ivy sighed happily. She just knew that life with Joe was going to be wonderful.
Chapter 11
It was close to midday when Ivy came downstairs, to find her parents still at the kitchen table.
“At least you got a decent sleep after that nightmare of yours,” her mother said approvingly as she got up to put bread in the toaster.
“Thanks, Mum, but I’ll go for a jog first,” Ivy said, refusing the offer of toast. “It’s a nice day, and I need the exercise.”
“Maybe your father could go with you, Ivy,” said her mother, darting a disapproving look at her husband. “The doctor says he needs to take more exercise.”
Ivy caught her father’s eye, and was relieved to detect an almost imperceptible shake of his head.
“Well, he’ll need to dig out his old tracksuit and trainers,” she said firmly. “We’ll go for a jog another day, Dad, okay?”
Her father looked relieved, and winked conspiratorially at his daughter. “Suits me, pet – I’m not the one who’s keen on exercising – that’s your mother’s idea!”
“But, Ivy, you’ll need someone to show you where the new factory is!” said her mother anxiously.
The locals were very proud of the area’s new state-of-the-art canning factory, which had created employment for many in the local community.
“Don’t worry, Mum, I know where it is. I’ll go past it on my way back. See you both later – bye!”
Leaving the house, Ivy started jogging briskly. She’d no intention of spending time looking at the new factory. Instead, she’d be using her time to skirt Harper’s Lake, to calculate the volume of traffic going past it, and to see if any people went by on foot. As far as Ivy was concerned, the less human activity there the better. She’d need time at the lake alone, and she needed to select the time of day when she was least likely to be spotted.
As Ivy jogged along the road past the railway station, she spotted her old neighbour Hannah Dalton coming out of the station, dragging a suitcase behind her. Ivy immediately stopped to help.
“Thanks, Ivy,” Hannah puffed, surrendering her suitcase gratefully. “I’m just back from London – I’ve been to visit Rosa.”
“How is she?”
“Great – we had a lovely few days together in a very plush hotel. How the other half live, eh? Now she’s gone off on her travels again!”
“Rosa has a wonderful life, hasn’t she? She gets to see so many interesting places!” Ivy said, knowing how proud Hannah was of Rosa’s career. But Ivy was also acutely aware that, because of her and Danny, Rosa never came back to Willow Haven. Instead, Hannah was the one who travelled to visit her daughter when Rosa had time off from her travels.
As Ivy deposited the suitcase in Hannah’s porch, the older woman opened her front door and stepped inside.
“Would you like to come in for a cuppa, Ivy?” Hannah asked eagerly.
With a rueful expression, Ivy declined. “Got to get my daily exercise,” she told the older woman, “but I’ll drop in another day, before I leave the village.”
Hannah nodded, happy at the prospect of Ivy’s visit. “Then I’ll be able to show you the latest cards Rosa’s sent me from her travels,” she said, delighted at the opportunity to keep Ivy au fait with what her daughter was doing.
Ivy felt a pang of guilt. Technically, she’d been the victor, winning Danny from Rosa all those years ago. She and Rosa hadn’t seen each other since then. Of course they’d be civil to each other if they ever met, but there would never be any love lost between them.
Waving to Hannah, Ivy set off on her jog once again. But when she reached the vicinity of the lake, her worst suspicions were confirmed. The volume of traffic and the number of passers-by had increased dramatically. Progress had brought lots of activity to the village, all of which could put her plans in jeopardy.
Even more galling was the fact that word of her arrival had spread – no doubt her mother had been boasting again – and lots of local people made a point of stopping and chatting to her. They were all keen to know about Bright Lights, and whether Isabella would have an affair with the man who’d just married another of the soap’s characters. As always, Ivy pretended she’d no idea where the script was leading, and politely excused herself. But all this recognition meant her privacy was seriously compromised, and while it wouldn’t normally matter, this time it was critical.
At her mother’s insistence, her father accompanied Ivy on her jog the following morning. Grumbling, he’d acquiesced to his wife’s entreaties, and squeezed into his ancient tracksuit and trainers, but in reality he was pleased since it gave father and daughter the chance to connect again.
Ivy made a point of walking rather than jogging so that her father could keep up, and selected a route that took them well away from Harper’s Lake.
“You’re very tense, Ivy,” her father said. “Is everything alright?”
“Yes, of course!” said Ivy brightly, but she didn’t fool her father. He’d known her too long for that.
“Is everything okay between you and Danny?” he asked, darting a concerned a glance at her.
“Yes, Dad, everything is fine,” said Ivy happily, pleased to be able to tell him the truth on that score.
“You’ve seemed preoccupied since you arrived,” her father persisted, “and you had that nightmare the other night … if there’s something bothering you, just remember your old dad is here.”
“Thanks, Dad, I’m fine,” said Ivy, linking his arm, a lump in her throat. Her father would be thoroughly shocked and disappointed if he knew the secret his daughter had been hiding all these years. “To tell you the truth, Dad, when I’m not on the set, I do get very tense.” She knew she was telling him a load of waffle, but he seemed to accept it.
She longed to be able to confide in him, but of course it was out of the question. He was so proud of his famous daughter, and she couldn’t bear to disillusion him.
The following morning, Ivy was relieved that her father didn’t want to accompany her on her daily jog. He came down to breakfast complaining about aches and pains in his legs from the previous day’s efforts, even though he and Ivy had walked at only a moderate pace.
“You’re right not to overdo it, Dad,” Ivy told him. “Maybe you’ll feel like another jog tomorrow?”
Nodding, her father sat down at the breakfast table, rubbing his shins and looking to his wife for sympathy that wasn’t forthcoming.
“See how out of condition you are?” Eleanor told him tartly.
Smiling, Ivy left the house for her jog. But as soon as she was out in the street, a pall of despair seemed to de
scend over her like a cloud. As she jogged along, she kept meeting neighbours anxious to chat, and on the main road out towards the lake, the constant din of traffic was deafening.
Eventually, Ivy conceded that there was only one time of day when she could safely go to the lake – and that was just after sunrise. She needed daylight because of what she had to do, and she could only hope that at such an early hour few people would be about. Willow Haven’s elderly population rarely stirred before nine or ten, but she’d discovered that employees at the new factory clocked in at eight. Therefore, she’d have to make a very early start.
Ivy sighed as she turned back towards her parents’ home. She decided to slip out of the house early the following morning, leaving a note to say she couldn’t sleep and had gone for a walk. Then she’d make her way to the lake, and do what she couldn’t afford to put off any longer.
Chapter 12
As Ivy waited in Johnson’s barn for Joe to arrive, she was looking forward to another bout of lovemaking. She couldn’t wait to hold him, and smell his skin and feel his kisses all over her body …
But as she looked out across the fields and saw Joe striding towards her, it was obvious that he was far from happy. As he reached the barn, she could see that one side of his face was a deep crimson, his expression like thunder.
“What’s wrong, Joe – are you alright?”
“No, I’m not alright, and my father’s lucky I didn’t kill him!”
“Oh God, what did he say? Did you have another fight?”
“Yes, we did, and I swear, Ivy – this was the last one!”
Joe sat down on a hay bale, his head in his hands. Ivy waited on tenterhooks, afraid to say anything. Tentatively, she reached out and touched his reddened cheek, and was relieved when he turned and took her in his arms. Ivy could see he’d been crying.
“Oh Joe, is there anything I can do? I hate to see you so sad!”
Joe shook his head vehemently.
“What happened?”
“I told Dad that since I was eighteen this week, he couldn’t treat me like shit any more. I said I didn’t want to work in his bloody shop for the rest of my life – I was going to study architecture, with or without his help!”
Ivy nodded. She knew what it was like to have a dream. It was like an itch that needed scratching, a gnawing in your stomach that wouldn’t go away, and she could empathise wholeheartedly with Joe. When you had a dream, you couldn’t let other people stand in your way.
“And what did he say?”
“He said I was too young to know my own mind, and that I’d thank him in years to come! Then he hit me across the face. Oh God, Ivy – I hate that man so much! Why does he want to destroy my life?”
Ivy didn’t know what to say, since anything that came to mind sounded lame.
“Maybe he didn’t mean it,” she suggested.
“Oh, he meant it alright!” Joe said bitterly. “He thinks I’m as small-minded as he is. That shop is his life – but it isn’t mine! I don’t want to inherit it and spend the rest of my life serving the old dears of the village – Danny may be happy doing that, but I’m not!”
“So what are you going to do?”
Joe had a wild expression on his face. “I’m leaving, Ivy – I can’t stay in this backwater any longer.”
“B-but what about us?”
“Come with me!” Joe whispered urgently. “Let’s go to London – we can achieve our dreams together!”
As she held him tightly, Ivy was turning over the idea in her head. Why not? She could sit her school exams in London. In fact, it would be easier to attend RADA if she was living close by. Joe could go to college and they’d both get part-time jobs to pay for food and a bedsit. Then someday in the future they’d come back to Willow Haven and show everyone how successful they’d become.
But as she thought of her parents and Owen, her heart sank. How could she leave the people she loved? They’d be so hurt and disappointed in her.
Joe seemed to read her mind.
“You’re lucky to have a family that cares about you, Ivy – and I’d never want you to do anything you’d regret. If you don’t want to come with me, I’ll understand. We can still keep in touch.”
At the thought of being without Joe, even for a day, Ivy’s heart sank. And if he met someone else in London … she just couldn’t bear it. She would die. She could feel panic welling up inside her – she and Joe were meant to be together forever! Her parents would understand that she had to go with the man she loved – they cared for each other, so they’d surely know how powerful love was.
As she looked at him, Ivy’s eyes were glistening with tears. “Yes, Joe – I’ll go with you! Oh, I love you so much!”
Joe was suddenly happy. “And I love you too, Ivy. We’ll show them all that we’re not to be trifled with.”
“W-when are you – I mean, we – thinking of going?”
Joe’s expression was grim. “Mum and Dad are planning a surprise party for me at the hotel for my eighteenth birthday next Friday night. They think I don’t know about it, but Peggy let the details slip by accident. So we’re going to leave that morning – I want them to realise that a party won’t make up for the way Dad’s been treating me.”
Reluctantly, Ivy nodded. It seemed a particularly hurtful thing to do, but then Fred Heartley hadn’t shown much concern for his eldest son’s feelings, had he?
“Couldn’t we wait until afterwards?” Ivy ventured. “I mean, if your dad’s organising a party, he must care about you. Maybe everything will work out, and you won’t have to go …”
“I’m going, Ivy – with or without you. Dad crossed the line when he hit me – I’ll never give him the chance to do that again.”
Ivy bit her lip. She could understand how Joe felt. She felt angry with Fred Heartley too, and not just on Joe’s behalf. She herself was being forced to leave her family in order to support the man she loved. Maybe leaving just before the party would make Fred realise the harm he’d been doing to Joe.
“Okay, Joe,” she said reluctantly. “What train will we take? I know there’s one that goes to London in the afternoon –”
“No, Ivy – we’re not going by train!” Joe said, smiling as he hugged her. “I’m going to take Dad’s new car and when we get to London we’ll sell it to a dealer. It’ll give us enough money to live comfortably for the first few months until we get ourselves sorted out.”
Ivy felt a frisson of fear. It was one thing to run away, but quite another altogether to steal a car.
“But your dad loves that car – it wouldn’t be fair to take it,” she whispered.
“Well, he hasn’t exactly been fair to me, has he?”
Nevertheless Joe could see how uncomfortable his suggestion was making her feel.
“Look, when we make enough money ourselves, we’ll pay him back.”
Ivy nodded, feeling a little better about this proposal. After all, Joe was simply being practical. They couldn’t go to London empty-handed, and Ivy only had a few pounds in her savings box, certainly not enough to live on, even for a few days. She hadn’t been thinking about the practicalities, but luckily Joe had.
“Okay,” she said, sounding more cheerful than she felt. She was far from happy, but she couldn’t let Joe down. Since they were going to spend their lives together, she had to be willing to take chances so that they could make a successful life for themselves in London. It would all be worth it in the end, and when they made lots of money, they’d buy Fred another new car. By then he’d be so proud of them that he wouldn’t be mad at them any longer.
“We’ll celebrate my birthday in London,” Joe promised her. “We’ll book into a smart restaurant and drink champagne.”
“Really?” Ivy’s eyes opened in awe. Right now, she believed that Joe could achieve anything if he put his mind to it.
Joe nodded. “Dad opened bank accounts for Danny, Peggy and me years ago, and I’ve got a few hundred pounds in my account. That’ll keep
us going until we can sell the car.” He tweaked her nose affectionately. “We might even spend my birthday in a plush hotel – I want to make love to you in a real bed, Ivy. No more sneaking around Johnson’s barn. It’s only the best for us from now on!”
“Yippee! We’re on our way, Ivy – at last, we’re free!”
Ivy smiled as Joe raced his father’s new red Ford saloon down the road, far faster than was safe, but today was a special day – their special day – and nothing could possibly go wrong.
“We’re finally getting out of this hick village – we’re going to make our fortunes in the big city!”
Ivy looked again at Joe’s profile. How lucky she was to have such a handsome boyfriend! The sun was shining on his golden hair, and his rugged features always set her pulse racing. Now they wouldn’t have to keep their relationship a secret any more, or worry about people telling them they were too young to be so much in love.
Nor would they have to worry about Danny any more. Ivy hoped he’d be happy with Rosa, who genuinely wanted to be with him. Ivy hadn’t wanted to hurt Danny. She liked him a lot, just not the same way she liked his older brother.
Joe was enjoying the forbidden delight of driving his father’s car – Fred had refused to let him drive the new red saloon even though he’d just passed his driving test – well, now he didn’t need permission! Stealing his father’s pride and joy had been the final payback for all the insults and tauntings he’d endured at his father’s hands over the years. It was a pity they’d have to sell it as soon as they got to London, but they’d need to do it before his father could report the car stolen.
Slipping his arm around her as he drove, Joe nuzzled Ivy’s cheek. “I can’t wait to get to London, and have you all to myself!”
“Careful, Joe – please keep your eyes on the road!”
“Stop worrying, Ivy – everything’s going to be okay. You’re not sorry to be leaving Willow Haven and your family, are you?”
Still Waters Page 5
