‘Your wanderer…’ Ashley smiled. ‘Let me guess… Wilf?’
‘Got it in one. He’s determined he’s going to get to that pub. How many times have we told him it was knocked down in 1980? I’ve even driven him past, but he’s not having it. Insists the landlady has a pint waiting on the bar for him and a cuddle waiting in the back after closing time.’
‘It must be lovely to disappear into your past like that.’ Ashley shrugged off her raincoat and hung it on a peg. ‘Leave all the troubles of the present behind.’
‘Oh, and where would you go, flower?’
Ashley gave a small smile. ‘I can think of a few places. Not that there’s any point in wishing it, because wishing won’t change the here and now no matter how many times I do it.’
‘Someone sounds like they had a bad day. And then they had to come here and do the twilight shift. Poor bugger.’
Ashley laughed. ‘I’m OK. Ignore me and my whining. People have it worse than I do. Like poor Wilf, who can’t recall if he’s in this world or the next.’
‘Yeah, but he’s happy enough in his little fantasy world, and if we can keep them happy that’s about the best we can do for them, isn’t it? I wish we could give them their lost years back, but we can’t, and one day it’s going to be us sitting in that day room waiting for death.’
‘Oh, well that’s a comforting thought – thanks. Now I feel so much better!’
‘You’re welcome. By the way, can you do an extra on Wednesday? Pat’s got a funeral to go to.’
‘I’ll check with my mum if she can look after Molly for me, but it should be OK.’
Ashley hesitated, tussling with the request she’d been thinking about all the way to work. The holiday to Saint-Raphaël was very last minute and she knew Rose wasn’t going to like her asking. She also knew Rose would struggle to say no, even if it did leave her in the lurch, and the thought made Ashley even more reluctant to ask the question. But she’d promised her mum she would for the sake of her stepdad, Maurice, who desperately wanted them to go. God knew both she and Molly would benefit from the time away from home – time to bond and relax without the worries of money and duty hanging over them.
‘Thanks, flower. It would do me a huge favour. When you start will you just make sure Mavis hasn’t hidden her meds under her mattress again? Petra found three days’ worth under there last week when she was cleaning.’
‘Sure. Rose…’ Ashley began before clamping her mouth shut again. It wasn’t fair to ask, and she realised it now as she watched her boss bend her head back to the rosters. Rose looked up.
‘Yeah?’
‘Nothing.’
Rose frowned. ‘Nothing? Ashley, my love, we’ve known each other long enough now that I can tell when you have an awkward question and you know I’ll give you a straight answer if you open your mouth and spit it out. What’s ailing you?’
‘I know. It’s just… I don’t want to ask because I know it’s going to be really difficult. But my mum… well, my step-dad really… there’s this huge family do for his aunt who turns a hundred at the end of the month and he wants me and Molly to go. It’s really important to his family that everyone is there and, of course, my mum too.’
‘So you need a day off? I’m sure I can jiggle the rota for you. Why didn’t you just say – I’m doing them right now anyway.’
‘Actually it’s in France. Down south. So I’d need a week…’
Rose said nothing for a moment, but Ashley could tell by her expression what the answer was going to be.
‘Flower,’ she said finally. ‘You know I’d let you go if I could, but it’s such short notice, and I don’t know if I have enough people to cover—’
Ashley shook her head. ‘Don’t worry. I knew it was a big ask and I know you’d let me if you could.’
‘But—’
‘Honestly, forget I mentioned it. It’s putting everyone out massively and it’s really not that important…’
Pulling a tunic from her locker, she buttoned it hastily and left the office to start her shift.
* * *
Ashley found the morning’s dose of pills stuffed inside Mavis’s pillowcase. After cajoling her to take them with a cup of tea, she set about making a huge urn of tea for the rest of the residents of Golden Meadows Retirement Home. She tried not to acknowledge the disappointment lodged in her throat as she dropped the bags in. And she tried not to dwell on how tired she was, how long it had been since her last decent holiday, or how wonderful the Riviera, which she’d never seen, though she’d often longed to, might look at this time of year. As she shoved Gladys’s dentures back in she tried not to think about how nice it might be not to be shoving anyone’s dentures anywhere for a week. Or breaking up arguments about which TV channel they were having on between a room full of people who really were all old enough to know better.
Instead, she smiled, offered gentle words and gestures, made sure everyone was as comfortable and as happy as they could be. She gave time and patience, a friendly ear and an understanding nod. And whatever any of the residents needed, she made sure they got it. Because what was the point in sulking over things she couldn’t change, and it was hardly the fault of any of the pensioners in her charge. Disappointment was a fact of life these days, and perhaps after all these years, she ought to be used to it.
During her break in the tiny office she sat at the table with her sandwiches and opened a text from her mother.
What did Rose say?
Ashley let out a sigh and locked the phone again before putting it back in her pocket. Her mum would say that Ashley hadn’t tried hard enough, that she needed to stand her ground, that she was the most faithful and reliable member of Rose’s team and she ought to point that out and ask again. And she’d be right, but Ashley just didn’t have the heart. She liked working here and she liked Rose, and she didn’t see the point in rocking the boat. The holiday was a silly idea anyway, foolish daydreaming. Maybe her mum and Maurice would be able to take Molly with them and Ashley would man the fort at home? They wouldn’t be pleased but at least that way Molly got a holiday and there was no doubt that Maurice and his family would spoil her rotten. She’d have the time of her life, and maybe it would take the sting out of her disappointment over the music school. She’d put it to her mum later.
As she was washing her cup ready to go on shift again, Rose came in.
‘Sit down a minute, flower.’
‘I’m due back, I—’
‘Whoever wants a Horlicks can wait. You are my priority right now.’
‘I don’t understand—’
‘If you want that week off you can have it.’
‘But you said…’
‘I know. But then I had a think about it. You’re one of my best workers and I’d be lost without you. But you’re no good to me burnt out, and it wasn’t until I checked the records that I realised just how little of your allocated holidays you actually take. It’s all very well me paying you extra to forfeit them and come in, but even you need a break from time to time. You rarely ask for time off and if you’ve asked me this time then it must be important to you. So I’ve called the nursing agency and they’ll send someone to cover your week.’
Ashley blinked. ‘You mean I can go to France?’
‘Frankly you can go, stay at home… I don’t care what you do with your week. So long as I don’t see your face here while the agency nurse covers, I don’t want to know what you’re up to.’
Ashley broke into a broad smile and flung her arms around Rose. ‘Thank you!’
‘Don’t be daft,’ Rose said, pushing Ashley off. But she was smiling too. ‘Now get back to work before I change my mind!’
Haydon scanned the web page. The week Bryn had mentioned he had free at his villa in the South of France was at the end of July and so fell nicely into Ella’s summer break from school. It was all too neat, and the more Haydon thought about it, the more he was wondering whether he should have snapped up the opportunity
for a cut-price week away. Now, as he viewed a tourist guide to the area, taking in the glorious photos of palm-flanked beaches, breathtaking mountain passes overlooking glittering slices of ocean, quaint villages and vivid seas of lavender threaded by empty roads, he was regretting his immediate refusal more than ever. He could almost smell the garlic of a bowl of escargot, taste the crisp white wine, hear the relaxed chat of a roadside café. He and Ella could spend time on the beach – fishing, sandcastle-building, sunbathing – it didn’t really matter what they did; what counted was the time spent together. They could bond, build their relationship to be stronger and more loving than ever, and even if she moved away in the future, they would always have this perfect week lodged in their memories, holding them together.
Closing the lid of the laptop, Haydon went through to the kitchen to wash up the single dinner plate he’d used to eat his microwave lasagne in front of the TV news. His eyes went to the window as he ran the tap. His flat was three floors up, and it was too dark to see much of the street below. Squally rain beat against his window and wind whistled through the cracks in the frame. It was meant to be summer, though there was little evidence of it out there tonight.
His phone bleeped in his pocket and he hurried to dry his hands before reading the message from Ella.
Are you OK? I didn’t mean to make you sad.
* * *
Why on earth would you think I’m sad? he replied.
Because I told you about Kevin wanting to move us.
* * *
It’s fine. Not your fault at all. Miss you already.
* * *
Miss you too. See you next week?
* * *
You bet. Goodnight. Love you.
* * *
Love you too, Dad.
Chapter 5
‘If she makes lamb again I’m going to hurl.’
Molly folded her arms tight across her chest and stared resolutely at the front door of her grandmother’s house. Ashley stood beside her, a bunch of flowers tucked into the crook of one arm and a bottle of wine in the other. She twisted to look at Molly, stifling a grin as they waited for the tinkle of the bell to be answered. Beyond the shelter of the porch the rain steadily pounded the garden, the skies heavy with the promise of much more.
‘It’s not funny, Mum!’ Molly growled.
‘I know it’s not – I’m not laughing. I’ve told her you’re off lamb so stop worrying. And even if I hadn’t she wouldn’t dare cook it again for you after last time.’
‘It’s gross – eating babies.’
‘She didn’t know you’d gone off it – you’ve always eaten it before.’
‘That was before I knew what it was she was serving up – I thought it was beef or something.’
‘I don’t know how on earth you could have thought it was beef.’
‘Nobody ever said it wasn’t.’
‘We didn’t know we had to. You never used to ask – you just ate it.’
Molly aimed a withering look at her mother. ‘Can you imagine what would happen if a restaurant just gave people mystery meat?’
‘Well,’ Ashley said, trying not to let Molly see her amusement, ‘now you know and Grandma knows and we all know where we stand, don’t we?’
‘I suppose Maurice’s family are going to be eating weird stuff too?’
‘When we go to visit?’
Molly nodded.
‘You don’t have to eat it just because it’s on the table. I’m sure there will be some things suitable for you.’
‘Bread, I expect.’
Ashley smiled. ‘More than bread.’ She nudged Molly. ‘Go on, admit that you’re a little bit excited about the thought of going on holiday, even if we are staying with Maurice’s family.’
Molly pursed her lips. But as Ashley nudged her again she broke into a grudging grin.
‘That’s more like it,’ Ashley said. ‘Grandma and Maurice will be thrilled when I tell them we can go and we might actually get to see a bit of summer, because we sure as heck aren’t seeing any here in England this year.’
Right on cue, the front door opened and Ashley’s mother, Sue, stood smiling before them.
‘Hello, you’re just in time!’ She leaned to kiss Ashley and Molly in turn, ushering them in. Ashley handed over the flowers and wine. Sue pretended to frown but took them anyway. ‘I’ve told you not to spend your money on us… we have plenty here.’
‘I’m not going to turn up empty-handed,’ Ashley said, taking her coat off and hanging it on a peg in the hallway as Molly did the same. ‘We’re eating your food so the least we can do is contribute a little something.’
‘Well, you needn’t have bothered. Maurice has a cellar full of wine – in fact, I’ll let you take some back with you when you go home.’
‘Honestly…’
‘Don’t argue – do what your mother tells you.’
Ashley laughed. ‘I can hardly argue with that, can I?’
As they entered the kitchen, Maurice greeted them both with kisses on the cheek, as Sue had, but whereas her greeting had been rather tentative and reserved, his demonstrated full-on Gallic enthusiasm, as befitted his French heritage. His cheeks were ruddy – which could have been from the steam and heat from the stove, or it could have been down to the fact that he’d been taking full advantage of his wine cellar as he cooked. Knowing Maurice as Ashley had grown to during the last ten years he’d been married to her mum, it would be a combination of the two.
‘Come, come!’ He waved them over to take a seat, tightening his apron as he turned to stir a sauce on the hob. ‘I hope you are hungry!’
‘It smells amazing.’ Ashley sat down next to Molly while Sue filled their glasses. From the direction of the open patio doors there came a sharp woof and the clatter of paws on laminate and Buddy the Labrador came skidding in, making a beeline for Molly. Her expression of delight quickly became one of disgust as she realised he was soaking wet from the rain outside.
‘Ugh!’ she squeaked, pushing him away. Which only made him jump and lick her all the more.
‘Buddy!’ Sue chided. ‘Shooo! Off to your bed!’
Buddy’s head went down and Ashley laughed. ‘Poor fella, he only wants a fuss.’
‘He can have one when he’s dry.’ Sue looked at Maurice with a frown. ‘I don’t know why you insisted on letting him out into the garden when it’s pouring down.’
Maurice shrugged. ‘He is an animal – he likes to be outside sometimes.’
‘Not when it’s raining and we have guests.’ She shut the door to the conservatory, leaving Buddy watching forlornly through the glass.
‘After dinner, Buddy,’ Ashley said, smiling at him. He whimpered before deciding that experience had taught him he wasn’t going to get a second chance to soak everyone and curling up to sleep in his basket instead.
‘I will take him some chicken,’ Maurice said. ‘It is his favourite.’
‘Garlic and rosemary?’ Ashley asked.
Maurice grinned. ‘But of course.’
‘Mum is so lucky to have a Frenchman around the house. I could put up with any amount of disparaging remarks about the English if it meant eating your meals every day.’
Maurice put a hand to his chest and feigned the deepest offence. ‘I would never disparage your wonderful countrymen.’ He grinned. ‘Some of my favourite people are English.’
‘Maybe occasionally?’
‘OK, maybe occasionally,’ he said, laughing. ‘But only when they deserve it.’
As Sue put plates out and Maurice began to bring the serving dishes filled with glistening veg, fragrant sauces and a plate of steaming chicken to the table, he turned his attention to Molly.
‘So, I hear you have had great success at the conservatoire? They have offered you a place, yes?’
Molly glanced at Ashley, clearly trying to gauge whether she was allowed to discuss this openly or not.
‘She has,’ Ashley said, speaking up for her daughter. ‘But not
on a scholarship, sadly. There was only one she was eligible for, and it was won by another violinist.’
‘This is what your mother tells me. So, we need to find money?’
‘I don’t think it’s going to be that simple.’
‘Why not?’ Maurice sat down and waved his hands to indicate that everyone could help themselves to the food.
‘The fees are huge, but it’s not just about them. We’d have travelling costs because it’s not easy to get to. There’s the problem of getting Molly there when I might be on shift. And there’s the extras like equipment, money for educational trips, travel to concerts and performances – and they do a lot of those. We’d love to accept the offer of a place, of course, but…’
Molly put a hand on Ashley’s arm and gave a thin smile. ‘It’s alright, Mum. I’ve been thinking about it, and I’ve decided that I’m going to take the place on the music course at the local college. It’ll be fun, and all my friends are going to be there, and there won’t be the stress of trying to keep up with a load of posh kids.’
‘This is what you want?’ Sue asked.
Molly nodded, a bit too enthusiastically for Ashley’s liking, and that needle of guilt for all the ways in which she felt she’d failed her daughter stabbed at her again.
‘Yes,’ Molly replied. ‘I didn’t realise just how posh it was going to be when I applied and I’ll probably hate it if I go. I can learn just as much at the local college on their music A level as I can at the conservatoire, and I can do it all for free. I’ll just do more violin work on my own to keep my skill level up.’
Sue and Maurice exchanged a look, and Ashley knew what they were thinking because she was thinking it too. Molly had no more changed her mind than Ashley’s bank balance had suddenly gained a ton of zeros. But it looked as if Molly had seen the situation for what it was and decided to work with the hand life had dealt her.
The Summer Getaway_A feel-good romance novel perfect for holiday reading Page 3
