Libby in the Middle

by Gwyneth Rees

  ‘Two?’ I exclaimed. ‘Wow!’

  ‘Oh my God!’ Dad declared. ‘Isn’t one bad enough?’

  ‘Don’t be such a killjoy, Paul,’ Aunt Thecla snapped. ‘They’ll be good company for each other. Besides, we couldn’t choose between them, could we, Grace?’

  ‘Is Mummy upstairs?’ Grace demanded. ‘I want to tell her about the puppies.’ And she immediately ran off.

  ‘Libby, have you heard from Tansy today?’ Aunt Thecla asked.

  I shook my head.

  ‘It’s just, Michael told me she’s decided to go back to Southampton to live with her mother.’

  ‘When?’ I asked.

  ‘I’m not sure. In a few days I think.’

  I nodded, trying to fight back the surge of disappointment I felt.

  Just then we heard a yell and a loud clattering noise from the living room.

  ‘Sam!’ Bella exclaimed in alarm, following after Dad, who was charging to the rescue. Sam must have tried to get up on his own and lost his balance or something. He was sitting on the floor, having just knocked over the side table and sent everything on it flying. Fortunately his plaster cast still seemed to be in one piece.

  He was red in the face as he murmured, ‘I’m sorry. I just need to pee … use the bathroom, I mean … I didn’t want to bother you.’

  ‘Maybe you should get the boy a bucket,’ Aunt Thecla suggested. ‘It would be much easier for him.’

  Sam looked like he wanted to disappear and Dad grinned as he handed him his crutches. ‘Come on, son. Let’s go.’

  ‘Everything OK?’ Mum asked as she joined us from upstairs. ‘Goodness, this living room doesn’t have a lot of space left when the sofa bed is out, does it?’

  ‘It’s going to be a tight fit having Sam living here with you,’ Aunt Thecla said thoughtfully. ‘I was just thinking, Nina, since I’ve got a perfectly good spare room, perhaps I could take him.’

  Mum looked surprised. ‘Are you serious, Thecla?’

  ‘I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t!’

  ‘Mum, you can’t do that to Sam!’ Bella protested.

  ‘Bella, don’t be so rude,’ Mum snapped. She gave our aunt a grateful smile. ‘I must say, that’s extremely kind of you.’

  ‘I know how important Sam is to Bella.’ As Bella gazed at her in disbelief Aunt Thecla added with a frown, ‘Of course, he’d have to be well enough to get to the lavatory by himself first.’

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Over the next two days we somehow muddled through, with Dad helping Sam in lots of practical ways at home and Sam gradually relaxing enough to let him. He found himself on the receiving end of Dad’s advice a lot, but the really weird thing was that he didn’t seem to mind too much. It was almost as if he was relieved to be part of a family again.

  Mum swung into mother-hen mode, buying Sam new clothes, making sure he ate properly and spending a lot of time talking to him about his own family and what he was hoping to do in the future. She actually brought home some of her dental instruments to give him a check-up since he hadn’t had one in a while. He didn’t seem to mind that too much either, and they even had a discussion about braces.

  Aunt Thecla repeated her offer that Sam could stay with her and I knew it was something Mum and Dad were considering, although they both said it would have to wait until he didn’t need as much practical help as he did at the moment.

  Tansy had sent me some texts and left a message on my voicemail, but so far I hadn’t got back to her. I was having trouble adjusting to the idea that she wasn’t going to be starting at my new school with me. The thing was, I was beginning to feel nervous about St Clara’s. I’m not very good at pushing myself forward in new social situations, and I was scared in case the other girls in my year had formed really tight friendship groups already. I suspected Tansy would have pushed enough for both of us if she’d been starting there with me. Now though, I was on my own …

  I suppose I felt sort of angry with her – a bit like she’d tricked me. It would have been different if she’d told me from the beginning that she might be going back to live with her mum. Then I wouldn’t have got my hopes up so much. But she’d always been so adamant that she was staying here. It seemed to me that all she’d been doing was punishing her mum by making her beg sufficiently before agreeing to go home.

  On my second day of ignoring Tansy’s texts I walked into the living room as Dad was telling Sam what had happened to Murray. I stood quietly in the doorway, careful not to interrupt them, though I wasn’t hiding the fact that I was there.

  Sam said, ‘That sounds awful. Seems like he was your mate and big brother rolled into one.’

  ‘He was,’ Dad said in a low voice.

  There was a brief pause before Sam added quietly, ‘I just want you to know that I’m a really careful driver and my bike’s in really good nick, and I always wear the right gear and I make sure Bella does too.’

  ‘I don’t doubt that, Sam,’ Dad said kindly, ‘but it’s not just your own driving you have to worry about, is it?’

  ‘I know but …’ Sam hesitated before continuing a little heatedly, ‘but that’s the same for everything! Driving a car, riding a pushbike, even just walking along the road.’

  ‘Look, Sam,’ Dad said, ‘I can’t argue with your logic, but frankly that still doesn’t change how I feel about motorbikes.’

  ‘Not even when you remember how much fun you had riding Murray’s? You did have fun, didn’t you?’

  ‘I had a blast! Doesn’t change how I feel about it now though.’

  Sam let out an exasperated sigh. ‘What kind of motorbike did Murray have, anyhow?’

  ‘A Bantam – one of the late-Sixties models. The maximum speed they reached was fifty-seven miles per hour.’ He looked at Sam as if he fully expected him to scoff at that.

  ‘I guess that’s all the speed you needed in the olden days,’ he said with a cheeky grin. ‘Actually, I know a bit about those old Bantams. My uncle bought one a couple of years ago as a restoration project. I used to help him with it. He sold it on eBay when it was finished.’

  Listening to them was giving me an idea. But first I needed to speak to Tansy …

  I went to join Bella and Mum in the kitchen. Grace was round at Aunt Thecla’s house getting another art lesson, and then they were going to the pet store in Castle Westbury to choose things for the puppies, who would be ready in two weeks’ time.

  ‘Look at this!’ Bella was pointing to a house she’d spotted in the property pages of the local newspaper. ‘It backs on to the woods with fields to one side, and it’s got four bedrooms and a converted loft.’

  ‘I’m not sure I like being so close to the woods,’ Mum said. ‘Though it’s true the loft would make a good office for Dad.’

  Dad’s business was picking up, according to Bella, who’d told me he’d gained four new clients since we’d moved here. Not that I was meant to know there had ever been a problem. I made a mental note to use it to challenge Bella’s theory that I was the only one in our family who ever got told what was going on.

  ‘I’m going round to Tansy’s,’ I told them. ‘I need to talk to her about something.’

  ‘I thought you said you weren’t going to bother with her now she’s leaving,’ Bella said.

  ‘Oh, Libby, you didn’t mean that, did you?’ Mum said swiftly. ‘I know you’re disappointed she’s not going to St Clara’s with you, but you’ll still get to see her when she comes back to visit her dad in the holidays. He’s planning to buy a smaller place in the village, you know.’

  ‘I really wanted her with me at school,’ I said, quickly leaving the room before I sounded too emotional.

  ‘You know Libby hasn’t had a proper friend since Sarah left,’ I heard Bella say in a concerned whisper. ‘It’s just such a shame that Tansy isn’t staying.’

  And I must say it felt weird hearing Bella talking about it to Mum like she was worried about me.

  * * *

  Tansy
was in her front garden when I arrived at her house.

  ‘Libby!’ She sounded really pleased to see me. ‘Why didn’t you answer any of my texts? You do realise I’m leaving the day after tomorrow?’

  ‘To go back to live with your mum,’ I said. ‘I know.’ There was an awkward silence and I had to force myself to focus on the reason I’d come. ‘Tansy, I came to ask if you could speak to your dad about something for me.’

  ‘Of course,’ she said without even waiting to hear what it was.

  I told her my idea and she promised that if her dad agreed she would make sure he discussed it with Bill.

  ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Listen, I know I won’t be at St Clara’s with you,’ she gushed, ‘but we’ll still be able to see each other whenever I come to stay with Dad.’

  ‘Sure,’ I answered stiffly.

  ‘Dad’s driving me back to Southampton on Saturday. Shall I pop in and say goodbye on our way out of the village?’

  ‘We won’t be in,’ I said quickly. Mum had promised to take me and my sisters to Castle Westbury on Saturday. It was the day Sam’s uncle was visiting to collect the motorbike. Sam was dreading the confrontation, and he’d been really relieved when Dad had offered to stay and lend some support.

  ‘Oh … well … I guess this is goodbye then,’ Tansy mumbled, adding that she had a present for me – something else her dad had found when he’d been clearing out the garage. ‘Your grandmother and mine were really good friends when they first lived next door to each other,’ she told me. ‘Dad found a photo of the two of them, so I got it framed for you.’

  ‘For me?’ I was a bit surprised.

  ‘Yes, because honestly, Libby, your grandmother looks so like you in this photograph!’ She shot me an excited grin. ‘I’ll go and get it.’

  While I waited for her to come back, I braced myself for another round of how I was the spitting image of my big-boned, puffy-faced, thin-haired grandmother, who had died far too young and been missed far too much for me to object to the comparison.

  Tansy returned with her gift and handed it to me. It was wrapped in purple paper and when I removed it and looked at the picture I thought at first that she must have made a mistake. It was a colour photograph and both young women in the picture were pretty. They looked to be in their early twenties and they were both smiling. Tansy’s grandmother had long dark hair and she didn’t look the least bit like Tansy. The other woman had long curly reddish hair – very similar to mine – glowing skin and pink cheeks with lots of freckles. She wore a red summer dress that showed off her curves and she had a red flower in her hair. She was laughing, looking like she didn’t have a care in the world, and the two women had their arms around each other like they were the best of friends.

  ‘Her name was Elisabeth too, wasn’t it?’ Tansy said.

  I nodded, totally stunned. I realised I’d never seen a photograph of my grandmother when she was this young. ‘She looks really different to the other photos I’ve seen,’ I murmured. I gave Tansy a smile – the first genuine one I’d given her since I’d arrived that afternoon. ‘Thank you.’

  She smiled back. ‘You’re welcome.’ She paused. ‘I hope it goes OK for you at St Clara’s. Oh … and by the way … when we took my uniform back to the shop Mrs Mayhew said there’s another new girl starting in your year, so you won’t be the only one …’ She paused again. ‘We can email and facetime each other if you want. And I’ll see you at half-term when I come to visit Dad. We can still be friends, right?’

  I nodded. ‘Sure we can, Tansy.’ And I gave her a hug.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  A couple of days later Aunt Thecla came round so that we could tell Dad together about Murray’s motorbike. She and Dad were on pretty friendly terms again. She’d told him where she’d really been that night when he was caught in the Godwin house, and she’d asked him to forgive her for lying to him. Dad hadn’t talked about it afterwards – not to me at any rate – but at least I could be sure that he knew the truth now.

  As I’d expected, Dad didn’t jump up and down with enthusiasm straight away. In fact, he looked a bit dazed when he first heard that Murray’s old bike had been found, and he couldn’t seem to decide if he wanted to take a look at it or not.

  Tansy’s dad had done as I’d suggested and spoken to Bill about Sam. Bill had agreed that when Sam’s leg was better he could restore the bike at his garage, and that he would supervise. All he asked was that Sam did some odd jobs about the place while he was there, and that Dad gave Bill first refusal if he decided to sell the bike after it was fully restored.

  ‘If you two think I’m going to facilitate Sam building another motorbike then you must be a whole lot crazier than I thought!’ Dad responded when we told him that.

  ‘But, Paul, this isn’t just any motorbike,’ Aunt Thecla said softly. ‘It’s the one you rode with Murray.’

  ‘Who died in a bike crash, remember?’ Dad said.

  ‘But not on this motorbike,’ Aunt Thecla insisted firmly. ‘Anyway, you don’t have to keep it if you still feel that way at the end of the day. In any case, this will keep Sam occupied while Bella’s at school. And if he and Bill get along, Bill says he’ll take him on as his new apprentice when the boy he has now finishes at the end of the year.’

  Dad sighed. I could tell Aunt Thecla’s reasoning had got to him. ‘Well, I suppose if the bike comes free and if it could lead to Sam having a job, then it might be worth considering. If Sam’s up for it, that is.’

  ‘Don’t worry. He’ll be up for it,’ I said.

  And of course Sam was.

  * * *

  I couldn’t believe how soon the summer holiday ended and it was time for us to start the autumn term.

  Mum drove all three of us to St Clara’s on our first day.

  At the senior school reception we found three other girls of differing ages standing around waiting. Mum left Bella and me on our own and dashed off to the junior department with Grace. Bella immediately started pacing up and down, looking bad-tempered and unfriendly. I knew it was just because she was nervous but I wished she’d stop. I tensed as our headmistress, Mrs McLusky, approached us.

  ‘Good morning, girls,’ she said in a calm voice. ‘And welcome to St Clara’s.’

  Suddenly another girl burst in through the doors, looking flushed and anxious. ‘Sorry I’m late,’ she blurted, and I was totally shocked to see that it was Katie. She looked really different in her smart St Clara’s uniform.

  Mrs McLusky talked to us all in a very relaxed manner as she led us to our form rooms. I stayed close to Bella and made a point of not looking at Katie. What was she doing here when she’d said she went to school in Castle Westbury? I was starting to get a horrible panicky feeling. What if she turned all the other girls against me? What if I got too nervous to stand up for myself and they all laughed at me? I felt tears prick my eyes and I had to remind myself what Mum had told me last night when she’d spotted how nervous I was getting: ‘Just be yourself, Libby. That’s good enough!’ The trouble was, I so badly wanted to fit in here.

  When Mrs McLusky stopped to show one of the other girls to her form room, I turned to Katie and blurted, ‘How come you’re here?’ It came out a lot more awkwardly than I’d intended.

  Katie answered me a bit warily. ‘Mum and Dad wanted to send me here before, but they couldn’t afford it. Now my dad’s got a new job, so they can. I didn’t know I had a place here until last week. Someone who was meant to be starting dropped out.’

  Bella was looking at us curiously ‘You two know each other?’

  ‘A little,’ Katie said politely.

  I nodded, trying not to blame Katie for being here when Tansy wasn’t.

  ‘So what did your pals say about it?’ I asked a little sharply.

  She pulled a face. ‘I haven’t told them yet. I guess they’ll find out when they get to school.’ She paused. ‘I’m sorry they weren’t very friendly to you before.’

  ‘A
ll right, girls,’ Mrs McLusky said as she rejoined us. ‘Katie and Libby, your classroom is next.’

  I glanced at Katie, who was nervously chewing her bottom lip. Maybe she wasn’t looking to make trouble for me after all. Maybe, like me, she just wanted to fit in.

  I caught Bella’s eye as we prepared to go our separate ways. I could see she was feeling really tense – worse than me, in fact. I can’t say I blamed her.

  ‘See you at break?’ I asked, deliberately making it a question because I remembered how she’d never liked to be seen with me at our last school. ‘I promise I’ll try not to embarrass you by being too dorky,’ I added with a smile.

  She smiled back. ‘Don’t be daft – I’m glad you’re here!’

  ‘You’ll be fine, Bella,’ I told her. ‘Just be yourself and everyone will like you.’ I had a flashback then to a time long ago when I was the one who was scared to go to school and she was the one who took charge. I wondered if she was remembering that too. Judging by the sparkle in her eyes, I think maybe she was.

  I felt strangely brave and calm as I stepped into my new classroom. I even felt a tiny bit excited. After all, I was Libby. I could do this.

  ALL ABOUT GWYNETH!

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  Bloomsbury Publishing, London, Oxford, New York, New Delhi and Sydney

  First published in Great Britain in August 2017 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc