Old Friends, New Friends

by Margaret Thornton

  They had been fortunate in booking accommodation at a sports college on the outskirts of Derby. Easter that year fell during the second week of April. The students at Stanborough were due to return to college the third week in April, but as the sports students had a week longer vacation the college was available for visiting groups to use. The little group of ten from Leeds would travel to Derby on the Tuesday morning and return on the Friday. There would be leisure time as well as the time spent visiting and in study. As the young people were no longer at school and – supposedly – able to be trusted to behave themselves, they would not be under such close supervision.

  Debbie and Fran were both going, as was Alistair. There would be four women and eight men. Debbie had been looking forward to it, but she was unable, now, to join in the discussions about the forthcoming visit with much enthusiasm.

  Her parents had been sorry to hear about Matthew; she had phoned them as soon as she arrived back from Aberthwaite. Debbie’s news certainly took the edge off theirs.

  ‘Daddy has bought a car,’ Vera informed her. It was a Ford Anglia, though not a new one, in Vera’s favourite colour of pale blue. ‘Plenty big enough for the two of us,’ she said, ‘and for you, of course, when you come home. Daddy will be able to pick you up at the station, and take you there when you’re going back.’

  She said how Stanley had got used to driving again, and they were now enjoying little jaunts out into the countryside and along the coast. Debbie was pleased for them. They seemed to be getting far more out of life since she had moved away, which was good for all of them.

  It was, in fact, only four days later that Fiona rang with news about Matthew, but to Debbie, who had been waiting anxiously, it seemed much longer. She hurried to the phone when Rhoda came with the message early on Thursday evening.

  ‘It’s that friend of yours,’ she said, ‘the one that’s married to that vicar up in t’dales. she sounds cheerful, so I hope it’s good news. I know you’ve been worried sick about the little lad.’

  It was, indeed, good news. ‘Matthew’s awake!’ Fiona almost shouted down the phone.

  ‘Oh … thank God for that!’ gasped Debbie, feeling tears of relief springing to her eyes. ‘You must be over the moon. And he’s OK, is he? No ill effects? No … signs of anything wrong?’

  ‘Not as far as they can tell,’ said Fiona. ‘I was there this afternoon when he came round. He opened his eyes and looked at me; it seemed like a miracle. He hasn’t spoken much; he seems very subdued, which is not like Matthew.’ She laughed. ‘They say he may not be able to remember the accident at all. Anyway, they’re letting us bring him home tomorrow, so I’ll let you know.’

  ‘Thanks, Fiona … love to the children and Simon, and to Tracey as well. You must be so relieved, all of you. Bye for now.’

  All the girls were at home in the flat. They whooped with delight at Debbie’s good news. And now she could get back to her studies with renewed enthusiasm … and give some thought to her complicated matters of the heart.

  When Fiona and Simon went to collect Matthew from the hospital he was sitting up in his little bed, staring around as though he was not sure where he was. The minute he saw them, however, his face lit up and he held out his arms. ‘Mummy … Daddy …’ he shouted as they hurried to his side.

  Fiona put her arms round him. ‘Hello, darling. Are you feeling better?’

  The little boy nodded unsurely, looking as though he didn’t understand.

  ‘Hello, old chap,’ said Simon, ruffling his hair. ‘You’ve been in the wars, haven’t you? Never mind, you’re all right again now. Let’s get you home, shall we?’

  Matthew stared at him uncomprehendingly. Then, ‘Go home …’ he said.

  He was unusually quiet as the nurses made a fuss of him saying goodbye. He waved, though, automatically, saying. ‘Bye-bye,’ in a dazed sort of way.

  ‘It will take him a little while to get acclimatized again,’ said the chief nurse, ‘but as far as we can see there’s nothing much wrong now. His memory may be affected for a while, but we’ll be keeping an eye on him from time to time.’

  ‘At least he knows who we are,’ said Simon as they got into the car, with Simon driving and Fiona sitting at the back with Matthew on her knee.

  The children were all waiting with Tracey when they arrived home. Stella had been allowed to miss nursery school as this was a special occasion. Mark had not been chastised at all about the accident, and it seemed as though it had gone from his mind. Fiona wondered if Matthew’s memory of it would return when he saw his brother, or if Mark would remember what he had done and be afraid of greeting Matthew. She was astounded, therefore, when Mark dashed towards Matthew and gave him a hug.

  ‘Matty home,’ he said delightedly. ‘You better, Matty?’

  Matthew nodded uncertainly, then he, too, put his arms round his brother and hugged him without saying a word.

  Fiona and Simon looked at one another, metaphorically crossing their fingers. ‘So far, so good,’ said Simon quietly.

  ‘I’ll make us all some lunch,’ said Fiona brightly. ‘I’m sure you must be hungry, Matthew.’

  Matthew nodded, but it was his brother who answered, ‘Me hungry!’

  The children stayed with Tracey whilst Simon and Fiona prepared a quick lunch of soup and sandwiches. ‘Do you think he’s really all right?’ asked Fiona. ‘He’s not like the old Matthew, is he? He’s so subdued.’

  ‘I suppose he’s bound to be,’ said Simon. ‘He was unconscious for quite a while. It’s sure to have had some effect on him.’ He laughed. ‘Let’s enjoy it while it lasts.’

  But Fiona was doubtful. ‘I’d rather have my boisterous little boy back,’ she said.

  ‘Then let’s be thankful that things are no worse,’ said Simon, ‘and just wait and see.’

  As the days went by Matthew started to speak more, but he was no longer as loud or as aggressive in his behaviour. As for Mark, he had started to talk a little more each day. Not as well as Michelle, who had been the first of the triplets to string words together, but his parents felt that a corner had been turned.

  And the two little boys now appeared to be the best of friends. They made it clear that they wanted to share the same pushchair, which they did without any pushing or scuffling. Fiona wondered if it was the calm before the storm, but the affinity of the two boys continued.

  ‘God moves in mysterious ways sometimes,’ Simon remarked to Fiona one night when all the children were tucked up in bed.

  ‘It seems so,’ she replied. ‘But you can’t mean that God wanted it to happen; the accident and everything?’

  ‘No, of course not,’ said Simon. ‘What I mean is that good things can come out of bad. You know how often I’ve quoted that favourite text of mine, that “all things work together for good”. Well, this is a wonderful example of it.’

  At college the spring term was well under way. It was always a bleak time after Christmas, when the weather was inclement and the snow remained on the ground for ages in places such as Yorkshire. But now, in mid-March, the sun was appearing more and more and signs of spring were to be seen in the countryside and in the college grounds.

  Debbie continued to write to Kevin and to see Graham, and she had decided to let matters take their course. She attended the next concert given by Graham’s brass band. It was held in a church hall in Leeds and was well attended and well received, too, by the audience. It was still quite a small band of sixteen members, the majority of whom were men. There were two girls, one of whom was a French horn player along with Graham. She was a pretty little blonde girl and he introduced her to Debbie as Felicity, known as Fliss. She thought how much the name suited her.

  After the performance some of the band members went along to a nearby pub with their wives – several of them were married – or girlfriends, if they had one. Fliss went along with Hazel, the only other girl member, who played the oboe. Debbie noticed Fliss looking over in their direction a few times, then loo
king away if Debbie caught her eye. It occurred to Debbie that the girl was more than a little interested in Graham; whether he was aware of it or not was another matter.

  It was towards the end of March when Graham surprised Debbie by asking her if she would go out for the day with him on the following Sunday. One of the reasons was that, at long last, he had bought the car he had been wanting, partly to keep up with his brother and sister.

  ‘Jolly good,’ she said in answer to his news about the car. ‘What sort is it?’

  ‘A Morris Minor, a red one,’ he replied, ‘just a few years old. I doubt that I shall use it for work – it’s easier to go by bus – but it’ll be handy for going home to see Mum, and I hope we’ll be able to make good use of it, Debbie.’

  ‘And you can drive it alright?’ she asked.

  ‘Of course!’ He sounded rather indignant. ‘I passed my test a while ago, you know. Greg let me drive his mini, and I had a few lessons. I passed the first time!’

  ‘Good for you. So … where were you thinking of going on Sunday?’ She thought it sounded a nice idea, but she wondered what he had in mind.

  ‘I thought we could have a run over to Ilkley; it’s not very far. It’s a pretty little town. We could have some lunch there, and there are some pleasant walks on the moors, weather permitting, of course. If it rains we’d have to think again.’

  ‘Nothing too strenuous, I hope. I haven’t got any hiking boots.’ Fell walking or climbing had never been of interest to Debbie, although she enjoyed a country ramble.

  ‘No; we’ll do an easy walk,’ he assured her. She knew that Graham had done more difficult walks with friends when he had been at uni, but just lately it seemed that the band had taken over as his all-consuming interest. ‘Are you game for it, then?’

  ‘Yes … yes, I think so.’

  ‘You don’t sound too sure.’

  ‘Sorry, Graham,’ she replied. ‘I was taken by surprise, that’s all. Yes, I shall look forward to it.’

  ‘That’s great then. I’ll pick you up on Sunday morning. Is ten o’clock OK?’

  She told him that was fine. ‘Bye for now, Graham. And thanks for asking me. See you soon.’

  The other girls were interested to hear her news. ‘Things are looking good there,’ said Karen. ‘He’s getting keen, kid!’

  ‘But do I want him to?’ said Debbie, almost to herself. She had been content with things the way they were, being friendly with both Graham and Kevin. But how long could it go on?

  Graham had phoned on the Monday. On Tuesday evening Rhoda came up to say there was another phone call for Debbie. ‘Another young man!’ she commented with a gleam in her eye. ‘You’re a popular young lady, aren’t you?’

  It was Kevin, as Debbie had guessed it might be. He had started phoning her now and again. She guessed it was because he wasn’t all that keen on writing, but she was always pleased to hear his cheery voice.

  ‘Hi, Debbie,’ he greeted her. ‘How are things with you?’

  ‘Fine, thanks,’ she answered. ‘I’m looking forward to coming home for Easter. It’s only a few weeks away now.’

  ‘Ah well, I’ve got a surprise for you,’ he said. ‘I thought I might pop over to Leeds this next weekend and see you. I’m missing you, you know, Debbie.’ She was silent for a minute as she took in what he was saying. This weekend … and she was meeting Graham! She began to panic.

  ‘Debbie … are you still there?’

  ‘Yes … yes, I’m still here. You surprised me Kevin, that’s all. I’d love to see you, but it’s only just over two weeks before I come home. And I’ll be home for a fortnight.’

  ‘Don’t you want to see me?’

  ‘Yes, of course I do, but—’

  ‘I thought I’d come on Saturday. You could find me a B and B near to where you live, couldn’t you? We could go to the pictures or something, and go out for the day on Sunday. What do you think?’

  ‘I think it’s a great idea, Kevin,’ she said ‘but –’ she was in a real panic now – ‘but I’m sorry, I can’t, not this weekend. A few of us have arranged to go out on Sunday to Temple Newsam; that’s a big house near Leeds, and the grounds were landscaped by Capability Brown. So we thought we ought to see it, those of us who are doing the landscaping course.’ It was only a half lie, she told herself. A few of them, including Debbie had, in fact, visited the place a couple of weeks ago. It was fortunate she hadn’t told Kevin about the visit. ‘I can’t back out now … I’m really sorry.’

  She couldn’t tell him the truth, that she was planning to spend the day with another young man. She was feeling dreadful because it was the second time she had lied to him, firstly about visiting Graham’s home just after Christmas, and now this.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said again. ‘It would have been nice; and I do miss you, Kevin.’ She was realizing that she did. ‘But I’ll see you soon.’

  He sounded deflated when he answered. ‘Alright then; I suppose it can’t be helped if you’ve got something you’d rather do.’

  ‘No … it’s not that, Kevin.’

  ‘Whatever you say. But I’m disappointed, Debbie. I thought you’d jump at the idea.’

  ‘It’s … it’s rather short notice …’

  ‘Yeah, I suppose it is. Well, never mind. I’ll see you in – what is it – about three weeks?’

  ‘Yes, two and a half actually. It won’t be long now.’

  ‘OK then, see you.’ He rang off abruptly.

  She didn’t get much sympathy from her friends; they seemed highly amused at the situation. Lisa, who was more tender-hearted, seemed to understand more than the other two. ‘You must make up your mind, Debbie,’ she said. ‘You can’t play them along like this.’

  ‘But I’m not,’ Debbie persisted. ‘It isn’t as if either of them want to be serious, at least I don’t think they do. And as my mum keeps telling me, I’m only young, and I’ve got my career ahead of me … though I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. Oh, why does it all have to be so complicated?’

  Fortunately Sunday turned out to be fine, not too warm but sunny with no threat of rain. Debbie was well prepared in her warm trousers and anorak and a pair of strong shoes. She had tried to put all thoughts of her duplicity to the back of her mind and to enjoy the day.

  Ilkley was a charming little spa town near the banks of the River Wharfe. They strolled along the main street looking in the windows of gift shops, antique shops and those selling walking and climbing gear, most of them closed. They found a cosy little café where they had a snack lunch of sandwiches, with the tasty roast ham cut off the bone, followed by Yorkshire curd tart.

  ‘We mustn’t eat too much,’ said Graham. ‘We can’t walk on a full stomach. We can have a more substantial meal later before we go back.’

  Debbie agreed that it was a good idea. He was certainly going all out to please her today. They walked on the lower slopes of the moor towards the Cow and Calf rocks, so named because of their shape, which you could make out if you looked closely. It was a favourite place for rock climbers. There were a few of them climbing that day. Debbie and Graham sat on the ground near an outcrop of rock, watching the climbers, but ready for rest after their own exertions. Graham produced some Kendal mint cake from the capacious pocket of his anorak, and they munched contentedly. Debbie realized, despite her feeling of self-reproach, that she was having a very enjoyable day.

  Graham had to tell her, of course, that the song – or rather the melody – of ‘On Ilkley Moor Baht ’at’, was in the band’s repertoire, as it was the nearest thing to Yorkshire’s national anthem. ‘Baht ’at means without a hat,’ he told her, as it she didn’t already know, but she listened politely.

  He drew her close to him in the shadow of the rock, and they kissed several times, then they sat, his arm around her, looking across the valley to the little town below. When the afternoon turned chilly they made their way down again. They found a rather grander restaurant where they were already serving early eve
ning meals.

  They enjoyed a heartier meal this time; sirloin steak with chips, tomatoes and mushrooms, followed by sherry trifle. They restricted themselves to a small glass of red wine each, as Graham had to drive home.

  ‘It’s been a lovely day,’ she told him, when they arrived back at her flat. ‘Thank you for inviting me, Graham. I’ve enjoyed it so much.’ And so she had, far more than she had thought she would, and maybe more than she deserved to.

  ‘The pleasure is all mine,’ he told her, leaning across and kissing her on the lips. ‘We’ll have some more outings, now I’ve got my own set of wheels. I’ll think of somewhere else to visit when you get back from your Easter break.’

  ‘Yes, that will be nice,’ she said, feeling a prick of conscience creeping up again.

  ‘I’ll see you before you go home, won’t I?’

  ‘Yes … of course.’

  He declined her invitation to come up to the flat for coffee, and promised to ring her later in the week. She was dreading the cross-examination that might follow. What could she say? That she had had a lovely day, but the dilemma in which she found herself was now even worse?

  As it happened there was only Lisa at home. She was entertaining Neil, quite circumspectly, whilst the other two were out. Lisa was always discreet, so there were no awkward questions. The three of them drank coffee and chatted together until Lisa and Neil went out together at ten o’clock for a quiet stroll and to say goodnight.

  Debbie saw Graham only once more before she went home for the Easter break. He said they were having extra band meetings for a forthcoming concert, and there were two new members who needed their extra help.

  ‘Have a good holiday,’ he said when they arrived back at her flat. ‘I shall miss you, but it’s only two weeks, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes, but then I’m going to Derbyshire,’ she reminded him, ‘the week after I come back.’

  ‘Oh yes, of course. Well, I’ll still be here when you’ve finished your gadding about.’