Double Cheque

by Heather MacQuarrie

  She waited anxiously for the reaction from her parents and from Thomasina who had joined them for the meal. They all remained silent.

  “Are you not happy for us?” Alastair faltered, somewhat crestfallen.

  “I know the timing isn’t ideal,” added Jasmine, “but it just happened and we’re going to make it work. We love one another.”

  Thomasina could contain herself no longer. She beamed with pleasure and let out a very contented sigh. “It’s wonderful news,” she pronounced. “I know I’m a guest in this house and maybe I’m overstepping the mark by speaking up first, but if you all knew what Alastair and I have been through over so many years you would appreciate what this means to me.” She leapt out of her seat and enfolded Jasmine in a warm embrace. “I thought I would never see this day. He has changed so much since he met you. You have given him back his life.” Then she looked directly at Kenneth. “Do you not approve?” she quizzed him.

  “I can’t say I’m not shocked,” Kenneth replied, addressing his daughter. “We’ve only just got over the embarrassment of Sam getting Tania pregnant, a girl we had never even met. And now it’s happened to you. You haven’t been together for very long. And these things don’t just happen!”

  “But look how that turned out,” Patricia countered, giving her husband a cautionary glance. “Stevie is the light of our world. And they’re getting married.”

  “It’s just so soon after Molly,” her husband retorted, fighting away a tear.

  “On the contrary, it’s just what we all need,” Patricia said, brushing aside the negative remark. “New blood in the family. Molly would have been over the moon.”

  “Life goes on,” Thomasina put in, tentatively. “I had to pull myself together after Ray’s life was wiped out in a flash, for no good reason, and I had to live with the knowledge, for year upon year, that the culprit had got away with it. You learn to value good news when it comes along.”

  The reference to her dead husband reminded Kenneth of the night he’d met Alastair’s mother in the restaurant. Although he had been quite drunk at the time, he still had a clear memory of the conversation they had engaged in. He immediately felt very uncomfortable when he realised that she was remembering it too.

  “Even today I still have nightmares about his last moments and wonder whether he could have been saved if they’d found him in time.” Then she added a further comment that made Kenneth start to sweat profusely. “Catherine was just saying yesterday that she has a friend over in Scotland who is feeling exactly the same. Her husband died after a fall in the garden and lay all night before being discovered.” Thomasina had momentarily forgotten the connection between Cameron’s friend, Douglas, and Jasmine’s mother. To Kenneth and Patricia’s horror she continued her anecdote. “Now that Alastair’s cousin, Grant, has formed a healthy relationship with his father, my sister is also renewing old acquaintances. She and Mark have become quite friendly with Cameron and his wife. They came over here recently to see their new grandchild. Victoria Esme. She is such a pretty little thing. Gosh, I’m just getting over the fact that Catherine is a grandmother and now I’m going to be one myself!”

  In the absence of any congratulatory remarks from Jasmine’s parents and annoyed that they had both gone so quiet, Thomasina continued to prattle on about her sister’s family. “Anyway, Cameron is very friendly with this guy, Douglas McKendrick, and it was his brother who just suddenly dropped dead. He split his head wide open and was found the next morning in a pool of blood. His wife is absolutely traumatised by the thought that he might have been lying there in agony for hours while she was sleeping peacefully just across the road, unaware of what had happened. I’ve had years to come to terms with what happened to me but it’s still all very raw as far as she is concerned. This incident took place fairly recently.”

  Jasmine glanced nervously at Alastair, hoping that he could somehow divert his mother and turn the conversation to a more appropriate topic. The silence in the room was deafening. Thomasina looked confused. “Sorry,” she said after a moment, “I didn’t mean to sound so morbid. I’m just saying that we should celebrate good news and not dwell on the bad things that have happened. Congratulations, you two.” She raised her glass to make a toast. Neither Patricia nor Kenneth followed suit. Jasmine felt gutted.

  The sound of the kitchen door opening and closing in the background, followed by footsteps in the hallway suddenly alerted them all to the fact that someone else had entered the house. Kenneth jumped up to investigate.

  “It’ll just be Sam,” Patricia said in a flat tone. “I phoned him earlier on to say that he’d gone home without Stevie’s bunny rabbit. He won’t go to bed without it.” Then she stood up and walked over to her daughter. “Just give us some time to get our heads round this,” she smiled, giving her a hug. “Of course it’s good news. Just a bit of a shock coming on top of everything else.” She patted Alastair on the shoulder. Jasmine returned the smile with a watery one of her own. Something wasn’t adding up here. Her mother had been in quite an upbeat frame of mind at the start of the meal and had initially made a positive comment about the pregnancy. Now she appeared to be tense and edgy, even frightened. Jasmine excused herself from the table for yet another visit to the bathroom.

  It was indeed Sam who had arrived to collect the toy rabbit. He and Kenneth had gone into the sitting room and were now talking to one another in low voices. Jasmine stopped to listen, wondering how her dad was relaying the news about her being in the family way and how Sam would react, hopefully in a more positive manner than their parents. But he hadn’t come rushing to congratulate her so she sensed that he too maybe disapproved of the timing. Thank goodness for her friends earlier in the day! She placed a hand on the door to ease it open so that she could confront her brother in person but suddenly stopped, realising that they were not discussing her condition at all, but something entirely different.

  “Don’t say it, Dad. As long as you don’t actually put it into words, I can go on believing that it never happened.”

  “I knew you had worked it out.”

  “I’ve been hoping I was wrong.”

  “Your mother and I had hoped to put it behind us and get our lives back on track, but listening to that woman tonight has really unsettled me.”

  “So Mum knows about it too.”

  Jasmine frowned. What could they possibly be talking about that was of more importance than her big announcement? She pushed the door open and burst in.

  “Well, have you told him?” she asked, addressing her father.

  Kenneth looked blankly at his daughter as though she had spoken in a foreign language. Sam answered her instead.

  “Yes, he’s given me the rundown. Mum’s home for good. Hopefully we can all forget about it now.”

  “I’m having a baby,” Jasmine told her brother. “Dad obviously disapproves but I thought you might have been more understanding.”

  “I don’t disapprove, Love,” Kenneth then pronounced. “You just took me by surprise. I hadn’t even mentioned it yet to your brother. I thought you’d want to tell him yourself.”

  “A baby! Good for you, Sis.” Sam seemed genuinely happy for her. “Where’s Alastair?” He strode out of the room in search of her boyfriend so that he could offer his congratulations.

  Kenneth took Jasmine in his arms. “We’ve all been through so much,” he whispered, “but it’ll all be fine. It’ll be more than fine. Your mum’s right. It’s just what we need when you think about it. A new baby in the family.”

  Jasmine felt a warm glow of contentment. For a brief moment she wondered what her father and her brother had been discussing but she didn’t dwell on it. Something to do with her parents’ separation. All in the past now. Water under the bridge. Time to live for the future.

  Chapter 28

  The holiday in Italy had been wonderful, marred only by an overwhelming sadness that
would never go away. Yet the awful realisation that they would never see their daughter again was mixed with a strange sense of gratitude that the girl had been blissfully unaware of the shocking things they had both done and the dreadful way they had treated one another. Back at home now Patricia and Kenneth were settling into their new life together with a quiet contentment and their indiscretions of the past year were hardly mentioned. Douglas had arranged for the return of any jewellery and other important items that Patricia had left in Scotland, delivering them via Grant and Cathy to avoid any embarrassment. Life was back on an even keel.

  Gertrude Cartwright would be seventy-five on the ninth of September and her family were throwing her a surprise party.

  “Please say you’ll both come,” Cathy urged, talking to her friend on the phone. “Mum’s always organising celebrations for other members of the family. It’s time for us to honour her for a change.”

  “That’s only a week away,” Patricia replied, trying to think of a valid excuse. “I’m not sure. I’ll have to check with Casey.”

  “There won’t be anyone coming from Scotland,” Catherine reassured her, fully understanding her reserve.

  “No? Not even Grant’s father?”

  “No, we decided to keep it more local and just invite people Mum has known all her life. Cameron has only come into our lives very recently. He doesn’t really know Mum very well at all.”

  “And Grant doesn’t mind?”

  “It’s not his party. This is for Mum.”

  “Well, in that case we’d love to come.”

  “Brilliant. It’ll be just like the old days. Your family and mine. Just one or two others.”

  “Thanks, Cathy. I’ll look forward to it. But are you sure you wouldn’t rather just limit it to family?”

  Catherine laughed. “You are family now. You and my sister will soon be grandmothers to the same child,” she reminded her.

  “That’s true. It came as a bit of a shock at first but I’m delighted for them now. Yes, it’ll do us all the world of good to get together in a party atmosphere.”

  “And you’re sure Kenneth will be happy to come?”

  “I’ll let you know. But yes, I think so. We’ve put all that behind us. He’s perfectly happy again about us being friends. And we’re both very fond of your mother. Any idea what she’d like as a gift?”

  The two friends chatted on for some time and when Patricia put the idea to Kenneth later on that day, he accepted the invitation without any outward sign of reluctance. These people were part of Jasmine’s family now. There was no way he was going to shun them or jeopardise her chance of happiness. There was no reason not to go.

  ***

  Catherine and Mark were really looking forward to entertaining the family in their stunning new home on the outskirts of the city. By the time Gertrude was due to arrive with Thomasina, everyone else should already be in situ. Grant and Imogen were coming of course along with their daughter, Victoria Esme, now just over three months old. Rebecca, Robyn and Jack had all helped with the preparations and the girls were excited about renewing their acquaintance with the Campbell family, albeit saddened by the fact that Molly would be missing. As well as Alastair’s girlfriend, Jasmine, Sam Campbell would be there, accompanied by his wife, Tania, and their little boy, Stevie. And of course Bradley Harrington had been invited along with his wife, Jillian. Patty and Kenneth would complete the intimate gathering.

  Everything went according to plan and Gertrude was thrilled to find that the family had organised the event to celebrate her birthday. She loved a party but she was usually the one doing all the work. All she had to do this time was turn up and enjoy herself. And that’s exactly what she did, joining the others in Catherine’s large modern kitchen for drinks and nibbles. She would open her gifts later.

  “Oops! Great timing, Victoria,” Imogen laughed, as a rather pungent smell pervaded the air. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” Grabbing her changing bag from the chair where she had dumped it on the way in, she made her way upstairs and into the room which Catherine had made available for such eventualities. Spreading her plastic mat out on the bed, she placed the baby on it and fished out some wipes and a fresh nappy. With well-practised precision she took no time at all to have the child clean and swathed in a mist of fragrant baby powder. Planting a kiss on her forehead and holding her close for a cuddle, she then placed her gently into the cradle Grant had left in earlier in the day.

  “You make a lovely mother, Imogen.”

  Swinging round to face the door, she encountered the smiling face of Sam Campbell. Imogen smiled back, involuntarily licking her lips and feeling her heart lurch just a little. Sam stepped into the room and gently closed the door behind him.

  “What are you doing?” Imogen asked, somewhat alarmed. “Where’s Tania?”

  “She’s downstairs with Stevie and all the others,” Sam answered calmly. “I was just on my way back from the bathroom and I spotted you there with your baby. It just seems so surreal. I always thought that we would have a baby together. But look at us now. You have one with Grant. I have one with Tania.”

  “Open the door, Sam.”

  “Oh, Imogen, you don’t need to be afraid of me. I wouldn’t hurt a hair on your head.”

  “What do you want then?”

  “Same as you.”

  Imogen gave him a questioning look.

  “A kiss. Just for old times’ sake. A goodbye kiss. We never did end it properly.”

  “Are you drunk?”

  “You can’t tell me that you don’t feel it too. There’s still something there, something special between us. There always will be.”

  “I love Grant,” Imogen said firmly.

  “I know you do. And I like the bloke. We’ve become good friends again.”

  “I thought you loved Tania.”

  “I do.” Sam made a frustrated gesture with his hands. “You’ve got it all wrong, Imogen. I’m not suggesting that we do anything improper. I just want to say sorry. For the stupid fling with Holly. I just want to say sorry. And to know that you forgive me.”

  “I forgave you a long time ago, Sam.”

  “Then can we not have a goodbye kiss?”

  Imogen’s resolve weakened and she moved towards him, allowing him to take her into his arms. “A hug, yes, but not a kiss,” she insisted. “I won’t betray my husband.”

  “He’s so lucky to have you, Imogen.”

  “Things have worked out for the best, for both of us.”

  Sam nodded. “You’re right. Thank you,” he breathed.

  “For what?”

  “For not letting me kiss you. It wouldn’t be fair to Tania.”

  Imogen glanced at the cradle and saw that Victoria had fallen asleep. “We should get back to the party,” she proposed.

  “In a minute,” Sam answered. “Did you know that you loved Grant right from the start?”

  Imogen laughed. “Yes,” she told him, “but so many things conspired against us for a while.”

  Sam raised his eyebrows, hoping she might elaborate.

  “Well, firstly I thought he was married and cheating on his wife. Secondly I had to control my guilty conscience when I found out the truth as I tried to compete with Zoe’s ghost. Then, to top it all, I got it into my head that my parents had killed one of his relatives!”

  “You what?”

  “It was a stupid misunderstanding that came from something I read in an old diary of my mum’s. Gosh, I don’t even know why I’m telling you about it but you asked me once how I suddenly discovered I had a brother. Well, that came from the diary too. It was some eye-opener.”

  Sam ignored the reference to Imogen’s brother, Vincent, and the details about how he had come into the world but he pounced on the other piece of information. “You really thought they’d killed someone? And y
ou kept schtoom about it?”

  “Well, you can’t shop your own parents, can you? No matter what they’ve done.”

  Sam opened the door and furtively looked out. No-one about. The sound of merriment still coming from the kitchen. He closed the door again.

  “Can I tell you a secret?” he asked hesitantly.

  “You look very serious all of a sudden,” Imogen replied, not directly answering his question.

  “Well, it is something serious. I’ll go mad if I don’t tell somebody. But you mustn’t tell anyone else. Not even Grant. Especially not Grant.”

  Downstairs some of the family could be heard moving from the kitchen into the spacious and airy living-room where Gertrude would eventually open her presents, others heading out into the garden to cool down.

  “You can’t ask me to keep anything from Grant,” Imogen entreated.

  “Please. You’ll understand. After what you just told me about your parents, I just know you’ll understand. I need your support, Imogen. I can’t keep this bottled up any longer.”

  ***

  “Where on earth has Imogen got to?” Jillian trilled, as she retrieved her wedding album from Gertrude who had been gushing over the artistic photos that had been taken on her big day.

  “She went upstairs to change Victoria’s nappy,” Tania observed, bouncing Stevie on her knee.

  “But that was ages ago,” put in Rebecca.

  “Did you get that baby monitoring system set up?” Catherine quizzed, addressing her son.

  “Just sorting it now,” Grant answered, as he continued to fiddle with some cables attached to a large television screen in the corner of the room.

  “All this modern technology is just too much for me,” laughed Patty. “Do you really mean that we’ll be able to keep an eye on the children while they’re sleeping upstairs and we’re socialising down here?”

  “Here we go now,” Grant answered, as the bedroom with its yellow and lilac wallpaper jumped into view.

  “What’s Sam doing up there?” Tania said crossly. “I wondered where he’d got to.”