‘You gave us such a fright,’ she said. ‘Thank goodness you’re alright.’
‘Thanks to you, and to Neil,’ said Lisa, smiling lovingly at him. ‘I’m a chump, aren’t I? I can’t remember what happened, only feeling dizzy, then I woke up in here, and I saw Neil standing there.’
‘Fran and Karen are outside,’ said Debbie. ‘We have to take turns to see you. Anyway, here are some treats for you.’ They had called in a small shop that opened on Sundays before catching the bus. ‘Here’s some grapes – that’s a must, isn’t it, when you’re poorly? And your favourite jelly babies, and a Mars bar, and a Crunchie. And this week’s Woman’s Own.’
‘Gosh! You’re spoiling me,’ said Lisa. ‘I’m coming home soon, though.’
‘We hope so,’ said Neil. ‘She’s staying in another night, aren’t you, love? Then if all’s well they’ll let her come home.’
‘Home … to the flat,’ added Lisa. ‘My mum and dad want me to go back with them, but I don’t really want to do that. I know the three of you will look after me. Anyway, I want to go back to college as soon as I can.’
‘You’ll need to take it easy for a few days,’ said Neil concernedly, taking hold of her hand again. ‘You were … well … let’s say it was a good job we found you when we did.’
They all turned as two more people entered the private room, accompanied by the nurse. ‘Here are your mum and dad, Lisa,’ she said. ‘My goodness, you’re popular this afternoon! We’re breaking the rules … so use your discretion, won’t you?’ She smiled understandingly as she left them.
Debbie noticed that Neil quickly let go of Lisa’s hand, getting up to offer his chair to Mrs Dobson. Debbie had met Mr Dobson before, but not his wife. Connie Dobson was an older version of Lisa, small and fair and with a worried expression which, at the moment, was understandable. Debbie guessed, though, that Sam Dobson was the dominant partner and that his wife tried her utmost to please him. Mrs Dobson hugged and kissed her daughter, then sat at her side, looking at her tenderly.
‘Mum, this is my friend, Debbie,’ said Lisa. ‘You’ve heard me talk about her, haven’t you?’
‘Indeed I have,’ said the lady, smiling at Debbie. ‘And we’ve just met your other two friends outside. They’re waiting to see you, so I said that Daddy and I wouldn’t stay too long.’ Debbie smiled to herself; she was reminded of how her own mother still referred to her father as ‘Daddy’.
She shook hands with Mrs Dobson. ‘I’m pleased to meet you at last,’ she said. ‘What I mean is … I’m not pleased at the circumstances, but Lisa’s recovering well, isn’t she, thank goodness. Yes, we’re very good friends, all four of us in the flat, and I promise you we’ll take good care of Lisa when she comes home.’
Neil had stepped back, a little self-consciously, when Lisa’s parents entered the room. Mr Dobson went over to him now, grasping his shoulder in a comradely manner. ‘And we’re so very grateful to this young man for looking after our Lisa. We can’t bear to think what might have happened if he hadn’t found her when he did. It was touch and go, I believe, touch and go. Thanks a million, young man … er, Neil.’
‘Debbie arrived almost as soon as I did,’ said Neil, rather awkwardly, ‘and she rang to tell you, didn’t she? Anyway, all’s well that ends well, as they say.’ He grinned, looking a little embarrassed. ‘I think I’d better go now,’ he said, ‘and make room for the others. Shall I come again tonight, or …?’ He looked at Lisa uncertainly.
‘You come by all means, Neil,’ said Mrs Dobson, looking at her husband for support, and he nodded. ‘Yes, of course.’
‘We’ll be here as well,’ said Mrs Dobson. ‘We’re staying another night at the hotel, then we’ll take Lisa back to the flat – seeing that it’s where she wants to be – before we head back home.’
Neil went over to Lisa, touching her hand gently as he said goodbye. Debbie noted that he didn’t make any attempt to kiss her, as he assuredly would have done had her parents not been there. Probably a wise decision, she thought, for him not to be too demonstrative at the moment. It was a great step in the right direction, anyway, that Lisa’s parents had met Neil; and how could they fail to like him?
‘Aye, I must admit, he seems a decent young fellow,’ Mr Dobson said, nodding his head thoughtfully when Neil was out of earshot. ‘And thank God he came along when he did, and you too, Debbie. We’ve heard all about it, and we’re just so thankful that our Lisa’s going to be alright, aren’t we, Connie?’ His voice was hoarse with emotion and his eyes looked a little moist. Clearly there was a much softer side to him, a contrast to his brusqueness and his determination not to compromise. It seemed that he was already making the first move towards seeing a different point of view, something that Debbie guessed he did not find easy to do.
‘Yes, of course we’re thankful, Sam,’ said his wife, putting an arm around her daughter. ‘And we’re so pleased that our Lisa’s got so many lovely friends. Neil seems a nice young man … a very nice young man indeed,’ she added, almost defiantly.
‘Yes, well, I reckon we’ll have to wait and see how things go on there,’ said Sam Dobson with a touch of his former doggedness. ‘Our Lisa’s very young when all’s said and done. She’s not had a boyfriend before, and I dare say she’ll meet a lot of young chaps before she makes up her mind. Anyroad, it’s too soon to be thinking about stuff like that.’
Debbie was aware that he was talking about Lisa as though she wasn’t there. The girl just sat there looking mystified.
‘Just leave it, Sam, can’t you?’ said Mrs Dobson, a trifle sharply. Debbie guessed she didn’t often stick up to her husband in that way. At the same time she looked across at Debbie, raising her eyebrows in a meaningful way. ‘I just happen to think that Neil is a grand lad,’ she went on, ‘and we want our Lisa to be happy.’ She smiled at her daughter, gently stroking her soft blonde hair.
‘Yes … well; I was only saying, wasn’t I?’ Mr Dobson blustered, taking out his handkerchief and making a show of blowing his nose. ‘She’s leaving hospital tomorrow, and that’s the main thing just now.’
‘I think I’d better go now,’ said Debbie tactfully, ‘and let Fran and Karen come in.’ She went over to Lisa and kissed her cheek. ‘We’ll look forward to seeing you home again tomorrow, Lisa. Don’t worry, Mrs Dobson. We’ll look after her, and it won’t be long before we’re all going home for Christmas, will it?’
The woman smiled and nodded. ‘It’s been lovely meeting you, Debbie. And you’ll always be welcome at our house, you know, just like all of our Lisa’s friends are.’ She cast an almost defiant glance in her husband’s direction but he wasn’t looking at her.
‘Bye, Debbie,’ said Lisa, holding on to her friend’s hand. ‘See you soon. And thanks … for everything.’
‘Bye, Debbie love,’ said Mr Dobson. ‘I know our Lisa’ll be alright with you lasses. Take care of yerself now …’
Karen and Fran spent just a few moments with their friend, then the three girls made their way back to the flat leaving Lisa with her parents.
‘Gosh! They’re a bit much, aren’t they, Lisa’s mam and dad?’ Karen remarked when they arrived back at their lodgings. ‘Talk about suffocating the girl! Poor Lisa must feel smothered … Thank goodness my parents don’t behave like that,’ she added. Debbie thought, though, that she sounded just a little regretful that they didn’t.
‘There’s too many of us for my mam and dad to fuss like that,’ she went on. ‘That’s not to say that they don’t care about us. I’m sure they do, really, in their own way.’
‘My parents are not like that either,’ said Fran. ‘They’ve always tended to treat my sister and me more like adults, even when we were only quite young. That’s why I’m so independent. I’ve had to stand on my own two feet for ages. Of course, they’ve always been so wrapped up in one another that Laura and I have made our own way in life. Luckily Ted and Maureen don’t try to interfere with our decisions. That’s my mum and dad, Ted and Maureen
; they’ve always encouraged us to call them by their Christian names.’
Debbie thought again, but more acutely than ever now, how different the four of them were, and no wonder, considering the disparity in their upbringings. She commented on it to the other two. ‘I’m sure all our parents care about us; but they all have different ways of showing it. I experienced some of the over-protectiveness that Lisa does at one time, but I was never as docile as our little friend. I suppose it was only to be expected, with me being adopted. They’d waited a long time before I came along, so I must have seemed like a little miracle to them.’ She laughed. ‘I was a damn nuisance at times, though.’
‘You’ve not changed much then, have you?’ quipped Karen, and they all laughed.
Debbie knew that Karen was joking, as usual. She, Debbie, had changed a good deal – for the better she hoped – and that was because of the tolerance of her parents and the added bonus of finding her birth mother. Something which might have proved disastrous, but had turned out to be a good thing for all concerned.
‘Lisa’s parents are possessive, certainly,’ she said, returning to the subject of their friend. ‘With her father it seems that he wants to dominate both of them, to prove that he’s the one in charge. He does seem to be giving way a little, though, with this business with Neil. And you can tell that Lisa’s mother is only too glad that her daughter’s none the worse for her accident. I think Mrs Dobson would agree to anything now that Lisa’s all right.’
Lisa left hospital the next afternoon. The three girls went to college as usual, and on arriving home they found that Lisa was there with her parents in attendance.
‘We thought we’d wait until you came back,’ said Mrs Dobson, ‘so that we can hand her over into your safe keeping. The doctor says she must take it easy for another day, then she can go back to college on Wednesday if she feels able.’
‘I feel well enough now, Mum,’ argued Lisa. ‘What will I do all on my own, kicking my heels here?’
‘You can enjoy being a lady of leisure,’ said Karen. ‘Make the most of it, kid. We’ll bring you your breakfast in bed, then you can read and watch telly to your heart’s content.’
‘OK,’ said Lisa grinning. ‘Mum’s bought us some nice pork chops for our tea, and a home-made apple pie and cream from that little bakery we like.’
‘A special treat for you all,’ beamed Mrs Dobson. ‘You’ve been so good to our Lisa. I think we’d better be going now, Daddy,’ she said, turning to her husband. ‘Come along, Sam. It’s time to say goodbye to these lovely girls …’
The couple shook hands all round, then Lisa went downstairs with them to see them into their car and say goodbye before they set off for home. When she came back some ten minutes later she was smiling a little embarrassedly.
‘Honestly! They don’t half fuss! I should be used to it by now, but they make me feel so silly in front of my friends. Sorry, you lot. But at least Mum bought us some nice things for our tea.’
‘Don’t worry about them, Lisa,’ said Debbie. ‘We were saying yesterday – weren’t we, girls? – that it shows how much they care about you. And about how all parents are different. I know they can all be an embarrassment to us at times, in one way or another, just as we are to them sometimes. Now, who’s going to cook those pork chops? I must say I’m looking forward to them.’
‘Then how about you volunteering, Debbie Hargreaves, for a change, eh?’ teased Karen.
‘Oh, I don’t know about that.’ Debbie smiled disarmingly. ‘You can do it so much better than me. Anyway, aren’t we supposed to have a rota? Whose turn is it?’
‘I think that’s gone by the board with all the excitement,’ said Fran. ‘Never mind about that. You and I will do the cooking, won’t we, Karen. After all, we’re the best cooks, aren’t we?’ She smiled across at Karen and winked. ‘And we want to do justice to them. You’re let off all the chores today, Lisa; and perhaps you could lay the table, Debbie?’
‘Oh, I’ll do that,’ offered Lisa. ‘I must do something. I can’t let you all wait on me.’
‘And I’ll peel some spuds to make chips,’ said Debbie. ‘I think I can manage that!’
‘I persuaded Mum to get some mushrooms as well, to go with the pork,’ said Lisa. ‘I convinced her that we all like them. We don’t have them at home, would you believe? She says they’re just fungus.’
‘Exactly what my mum used to say,’ laughed Debbie, ‘until I persuaded her to try them. Parents, honestly!’
‘Are we going to grill them or fry them?’ asked Karen.
‘Oh, we’ll grill them,’ replied Fran. ‘I can see they’re the best quality. We can fry the mushrooms, and how about a few onion rings to go with them?’
‘A banquet fit for the Queen!’ observed Karen when they all sat to dine half an hour or so later. ‘I bet she and Philip don’t dine any better than this.’
‘Hold on a minute,’ said Fran. She opened a cupboard door, then, ‘Tah-dah!’ she cried, waving a bottle in the air. ‘This is to celebrate your homecoming, Lisa. I bought it at Tesco on the way home, but I didn’t have it on display whilst your parents were here. It’s only Liebfrau, but I think you’ve become rather partial to that since meeting us lot, haven’t you, Lisa?’
‘I’ll say I have,’ grinned Lisa, ‘but not a word to my dad!’
Fran poured the white wine into their four Woolies’ glasses. ‘Here’s to us, girls,’ she said. ‘To the four of us and our ongoing friendship. And especially to our Lisa, safe and well again.’
‘Cheers …’ they all said, clinking their glasses and sipping the wine, before tucking into their sumptuous meal.
Sixteen
It would soon be Christmas and all the girls were looking forward, in varying degrees, to going home for the holiday period. It would be the first time that Debbie had been home since the term started in September. None of them, except Debbie, had made arrangements to see their various boyfriends during the vacation.
Graham had insisted that she should come and stay with his family in Manchester the weekend before the college term began; that would be the second weekend in January. He, of course, would be back at work in Leeds by then, but he had decided to spend that weekend with his family, ‘so that they can all meet you and get to know you,’ he had said.
The college break was a long one – three weeks in all – so Debbie hoped that her parents would not mind her returning a little earlier. She had not broken the news to them yet, not wanting them to read more into her relationship with Graham than was actually there.
Karen was still seeing Adam, and clearly liked him very much. It seemed that her feelings for Charlie were now a thing of the past. She said she was looking forward to thumbing her nose at him, although it was doubtful that she would do so literally. After all, he was still her boss and employer, and she was expected to return there to work for him when the course came to an end.
Alistair and Fran had no plans, as yet, to meet one another’s families. Fran remained guarded about the friendship. Of the four of them, she was the one who gave the least away about her personal affairs.
Debbie guessed that Lisa and Neil would miss one another very much during the three-week break; but at least the ice had been broken now. Lisa had said that she hoped her parents would be willing to talk about him now and accept that he was an important part of their daughter’s life. Their feelings for one another had developed very quickly, but it seemed already that they were deep and would prove to be lasting. Lisa had shown Debbie Neil’s Christmas present to her. He had insisted that she should open it and start wearing it straight away; it was a silver pendant in the shape of a heart. There was a parcel for her to open on Christmas Day as well.
‘I love surprises, don’t you?’ she said to Debbie, ‘although I think I can guess what it is. I know it’s a book.’ Her eyes lit up with anticipation. ‘I’m collecting the leather-bound editions of Jane Austen. I’ve only got one so far – Pride and Prejudice – so I expect
it’ll be one of the others. I’ve bought him some onyx cufflinks,’ she confided, ‘and a book as well. It’s an omnibus edition of C.S. Forester; you know, the Hornblower series.’
Debbie and Graham, also, had exchanged gifts at their last meeting before the holiday. She too had opted for books, not wanting to give him anything too personal at this stage. She had found a couple of first editions of the novels of Dorothy L. Sayers, knowing that he was keen on vintage murder mysteries. From the feel of it, his gift to her was two or three tapes. Would they be brass band music? she wondered.
She had been pleased to receive a phone call from Fiona one evening not long before she was due to leave for home. She had been wondering how Fiona and Simon had enjoyed their holiday in Scarborough, and hoped that all was well with them now. She could tell from the elation in Fiona’s voice that it had been wonderful and just what they had both needed to put their marriage to rights. Not that it had ever really been in danger. Fiona had admitted that most of the problems had existed only in her own mind. She was thinking straight again now.
‘When are you coming to see us again?’ she asked. ‘Stella keeps asking about you and saying when will we see you. I know you won’t want to give up any of the time you’ll be spending with your parents. They must be looking forward so much to you going home.’
‘Yes, so they are,’ said Debbie. ‘Actually, though, I’ve said I’ll spend the last weekend of the holiday in Manchester with Graham and his family, but I’ve not told Mum and Dad yet. Graham was so insistent, and I didn’t like to refuse.’
She heard Fiona chuckle. ‘Oh, I see. That’s a good sign if you’re meeting his family.’
‘Not for me, it isn’t,’ Debbie answered a little curtly. She realized she might have sounded abrupt so she went on to say, ‘I do like him, Fiona, but … well, it’s too soon to be making any decisions.’
‘Quite right,’ agreed Fiona. ‘Give my love to Vera and Stanley, won’t you? And have a lovely Christmas …’
Old Friends, New Friends Page 19
