by P. F. Ford
'I must've tried telling myself that a million times,' said Millie, 'but it still feels like I let her down when she needed me most. Maybe if I hadn't been late home that day, she'd still be alive now.'
'It's understandable to blame yourself, but it's really not your fault,' said Darling. 'I'm not sure how I would have coped.'
'Oh, I didn't cope,' said Millie, sadly, 'I couldn't. I just ran away from everything, and I've been running ever since.'
She continued to stare at the table for a few moments, then spoke again.
'You two must be something special; I've never told anyone about this before. '
Norman handed a tissue to Darling and then wiped his own eyes with another.
'Will you be okay for a minute?' Norman asked Millie. 'I need to have a few words with Naomi.'
'Yeah, sure.'
'We'll be just over there,' Norman pointed across the room. 'Promise me you're not going to run if we turn our backs.'
'I promise,' she said. 'To be honest, I'm getting a bit tired of running.'
Darling followed Norman across the room.
'We can't let her sleep in that shed tonight, or ever again,' he said.
'I agree,' said Darling. 'What do you suggest?'
'I know it's still early, but can you drop me off at home and then take her home with you?'
Darling looked across at Millie, who was still fiddling with the empty glass.
'Yeah, I'd love to, as long as she's okay with it.'
'She likes you,' said Norman. 'I'm sure she'll be just fine with it.'
'What are you going to do?'
'I need to go and talk to a few people and make some phone calls.'
Chapter Nine
Thursday 18th December
Darling parked the car and pulled on the handbrake. As Norman appeared and turned to close his front door, she spoke to Millie, sitting in the passenger seat alongside her.
'Okay, here he comes. Now, remember, you say nothing about where we went last night.'
Millie gave her a hugely theatrical wink. 'I promise I have no idea what you're talking about.'
'Good,' said Darling, as Norman opened the back door of the car and slid across the seat.
'Good morning ladies, and how are we this morning?'
'We're fine thank you,' said Darling. 'Where are we headed?'
'We have a meeting at the college,' said Norman.
Millie looked around, alarm evident on her face. 'Really?'
'We just need to give the stuff back, and everything will be hunky-dory,' he assured her.
Millie looked puzzled.
'It means it'll be okay,' said Darling, as she put the car into gear and pulled away. 'Norm sometimes forgets we're not all as ancient as he is.'
'Yeah, whatever,' he said, genially. 'So, what did you girls get up to last night? Anything exciting?'
'I had a soak in a hot bath,' volunteered Millie. 'That was a luxury I can tell you.'
'We just did girlie stuff,' said Darling. 'We're the same size, so most of my clothes fit Millie.'
'I'm afraid there were a couple of things I couldn't resist,' said Millie, 'and Naomi said I could keep them. I can't remember the last time I wore clothes that didn't have to be warm and functional.'
'Sounds to me like it was a bit better than sleeping in that freezing shed on your own,' said Norman.
'Well, yeah,' agreed Millie, 'but I can't just move in, can I?'
'Why not?' asked Darling. 'We had fun last night, didn't we? It was nice to have someone to talk to.'
'Yeah, maybe it was, but you wouldn't want me there all the time,' said Millie.
'I think that's for me to decide,' said Darling.
'Let's not start arguing,' said Norman. 'We can worry about stuff like that later. Let's get this meeting with the Principal over with first.'
'I hope he's going to be in a better mood than he was yesterday,' said Darling, looking at Norman in her mirror.
He grinned back at her.
'I think you'll find we're a bit more popular today, especially now Sophie Dawson has agreed to come back and star in the show.'
'That smug grin tells me this was your doing,’ said Darling. ‘How exactly did you manage that?'
'Actually, it was quite easy. I spoke to her last night and explained that the hairy-arsed stalker she feared was actually someone quite different. Once I explained the circumstances she was very understanding.'
'So that's a brownie point in our favour,' said Darling.
'Don't forget we've also made sure no more things go missing, so that's a second point we've scored.'
'We have momentum on our side, then,' said Darling, as she turned into the college car park. 'So let's get in there and make the most of it!'
'What about me?' asked Millie. 'You're not going to hand me over, are you?'
'Oh don't worry,' said Norman. 'Nothing bad is going to happen. I think you might even like how this turns out.'
'Why? What's going to happen?'
'Just be patient, and trust me,' said Norman. 'You'll see soon enough.'
'Ah, Mr Norman and Ms Darling, good morning!' Dr Bartholomew beamed a greeting as he welcomed them into his study, then turned his gaze on Millie. 'And this must be the young lady you were telling me about yesterday.'
'Dr. Bartholomew, let me introduce you to Millie Berry,' said Norman. 'Millie, this is Dr Bartholomew, he's the college Principal.'
Millie looked somewhat terrified, but Dr Bartholomew turned on his warmest smile and reached a hand to her.
'Good morning, Millie,' he said, shaking her hand. 'I've been waiting such a long time to meet you.'
'But I only got into town a few days ago,' she stammered.
'Yes, so I understand, but we've been waiting to hear from you for almost a year.'
'You have?'
'Didn't you apply for our bursary place?'
'Well, yes, but that was over a year ago, and I didn't hear back from you, and...' she seemed to have temporarily run out of words, but then Dr Bartholomew’s words began to sink in. 'You mean you wanted me to come?'
'As soon as we heard your audition recording.'
'But I never heard from you.'
'We don't send the confirmation letter until January.'
Millie's face fell as she realised why she'd never seen the letter, and now her chance was surely gone.
'When we didn't hear from you we assumed you must have changed your mind,' continued Bartholomew. 'But then, yesterday, Mr Norman explained what had happened. I was very sorry to hear your terrible news.'
Millie studied the floor. Darling reached across and stroked her back.
Dr Bartholomew was talking again. 'The thing is, the offer is still open to you, Millie, and I hope you will accept.'
Millie looked up, her face a picture of happy surprise.
'I'm sorry?'
'The offer is still open. You'll need to find somewhere to live until term starts in January, but then you'll have a room in the accommodation block.'
'That's no problem,' said Darling. 'She can stay with me.'
Millie was looking from face to face, hardly daring to believe what she was hearing.
'But I'm sure the other girls won't want me here,' she said. 'I stole some of their stuff.’
'I don't think you need to worry about that,' said Dr Bartholomew, 'I'm sure we can sort that little problem out easily enough.'
Millie looked at Darling, who gave her a nod of encouragement, then she looked at Norman. 'You did all this for me, didn't you?'
'I just explained what had happened,' said Norman. 'It was Dr Bartholomew who thought you deserved a second chance and made the offer again, not me. So, what do you say? Will you accept the bursary?'
'It's what I've always wanted to do.'
Norman looked at Dr Bartholomew. 'I think we can safely assume that's a yes, don't you?'
The Principal clapped his hands. 'Excellent. That's wonderful news,' he said. 'Now then, Millie, as you're one of our little
family now, there are two people I'd like you to meet.'
He buzzed through to his secretary, 'Can you send the girls in now, Mrs Brant?'
Almost immediately there was knock on the door, it eased open, and Sophie Dawson and Megan Reed walked in.
Millie recognised them immediately, and a hand shot to her mouth.
'It's okay, Millie,' said Sophie. 'You don't need to worry. Norm came to see me yesterday and explained everything.'
'And Sophie told me this morning,' added Megan. 'We don't think us losing a couple of small items is anything compared to your loss. We want to forget about that, and make you welcome here.'
'Dr. Bartholomew has asked us to show you around,' said Sophie. 'So, if you've finished here?' she looked at the Principal.
'Yes, of course,' he said. 'We've got some formalities to sort out, but there's plenty of time to do that. Why don't you take Millie across to the theatre, she can watch the final rehearsals.'
Millie looked uncertainly at Norman and Darling.
'You go ahead,' said Norman, 'we'll catch up with you later.'
The three girls left the room.
'I appreciate you doing this,' said Norman.
'Not at all,' said the Principal. 'Millie won her scholarship a year ago. She deserves to be here. It's just a pity we had no idea what had happened. If we had known, maybe we could have done something about finding her. I would have offered her a room straight away, but we're closed over Christmas and the New Year, and we can't have her here on her own.'
'She'll be fine with me,' said Darling. 'Hopefully, by the time she moves in here, she'll be recovered from her year on the road.'
'She's a nice kid,' said Norman, 'and if ever she needs anything will you make sure you let one of us know?'
'Of course.'
Chapter Ten
Monday 22nd December
Norman hadn't seen Millie since Thursday. Darling had been spending a lot of time running her to and from the college, and had somehow managed to get herself involved in the production of the show, so he hadn't seen much of her either.
Tonight was the last night of the show, and he and Darling had tickets. Norman hadn't felt much like going out, but then Darling had told him one of the girls playing a smaller role had had to pull out of the show, and Millie had taken her place. Suddenly he had very much wanted to go, and as the final curtain had come down, he had been delighted to have made an effort.
'Didn't I tell you she could sing like an angel?' he asked Darling, as they made their way out of the theatre.
There had been a light fall of snow that afternoon, and now as they walked, it began again.
'Yes, you did,' she agreed, threading an arm through his, 'but I've been hearing her in rehearsals so I already knew she would nail it.'
'Oh she certainly did that,' he said. 'I reckon she'll be the star of the show next time.'
Darling watched Norman's face. He was genuinely delighted for Millie.
'You're a good man, you know, Norm,' she said. 'If I was fifty years older I coul--'
'Hey! What do you mean, "if I was fifty years older,"' he spluttered. 'I'm only thirty years older, not fifty.'
She smiled. 'And you bite every time, don't you? Anyway, what I was trying to say was you'll make someone a lovely fella.'
He sighed. 'Yeah, maybe, one day.'
'Oh, come on, cheer up,' she said. 'Two days from now it'll be Christmas Eve. Aren't you wondering what Santa's going to bring you?'
‘If he brings me forty-eight hours sleep it would be good,' he said, 'then I could wake up, and it would all be over.'
'Thank you, Mister Bah Humbug,' said Darling.
'I'm sorry,' he said. 'I don't wanna be like that, but I thought this year it was gonna be different. The thing is, it is gonna be different, but for all the wrong reasons.'
'You can't say that,' said Darling, mysteriously. 'You just never know what's around the corner.'
Norman looked up at the night sky. 'It looks like the only thing around the corner is more sleet and snow.'
They had reached her car. 'In that case, Mr Gloomy, I’d better get you home before we get caught in a snowdrift, hadn't I?'
When they got back to Slater's house, Darling leaned over and kissed Norman's cheek, and then he climbed from the car. The snow was falling more heavily now as he watched her execute a perfect three-point turn before waving her off as she headed back towards the college to collect Millie.
He was a tad miffed she hadn't mentioned anything about Christmas Day. He had been sure all her earlier hints had been leading up to her asking him over to join her and Millie.
He thought maybe they just didn't want a miserable old fart like him around the place and, with a start, realised this was his fault, and if the roles were reversed he would probably feel the same way.
Wearily he opened the front door and went inside, half-hoping Slater might have returned from Thailand while he was out, but he knew his friend wasn't going to be there. He slipped off his coat, hung it up, and slowly made his way into the kitchen.
If Norman were a drinking man, he probably would have reached for the scotch, but he was a social drinker and rarely drank on his own. Instead, he switched on the kettle to make a cup of tea.
The kettle was old and noisy, so he didn't hear the first few gentle taps. It took a much firmer knock for him to realise someone was at the front door. He looked at the clock. It was almost 11 pm. As he made his way to the door, he wondered if perhaps Darling had brought Millie over for some reason. He couldn't think why anyone else would be here at this hour.
He opened the door a couple of inches and peered out. A small figure dressed in what he thought was a cloak, was standing on the step. The cloak had a fur-lined hood, and as the wearer turned to look up at him, it perfectly framed her pretty face.
Norman's mouth gaped open. He knew who it was, but she was the last person he had expected to find on the step at this time of night, and the surprise had left him lost for words. She smiled up at him, showing those lovely dimples he remembered so well.
'Jane? What are you doing here?'
'I'm rather hoping you're going to let me in,' she said, 'it's freezing out here!'
He stepped back and swung the door open. She stamped the snow off her shoes and stepped inside.
'What about your kids?' asked Norman. 'How did you know I was here? What are you doing here?'
'In answer to your questions; the kids are with their father for a couple of nights before Christmas, a little birdie told me, and I came to see you.'
'At this time of night? Are you mad?'
'Well, I knew you were going to be out, so there was no point in coming earlier.'
'How did you know I was going to be out? Oh, wait a minute. That little birdie wouldn't happen to be called Naomi, would she?'
She gave him another one of those smiles that made his heart do weird fluttery things and began to undo her coat.
'I heard you'd lost your sense of humour, and you’ve become Mr Grumpy, but I see you haven't lost your detective powers.'
'I knew she must be up to something,' he said. 'Here, let me take your coat.'
He helped her out of the coat and hung it up. She took a quick look around. 'What? No Christmas decorations?'
'It doesn't seem worth it just for me.'
She gave him a frown of disapproval.
'I think that kettle's finished boiling now,' she said, heading for the kitchen. 'Shall I make the tea?'
Norman was still reeling from her unexpected arrival, and she was in the kitchen before he had time to think.
'Now, wait a minute, Jane,' he said, hurrying after her. 'This isn't right. We promised we wouldn't see each other again, and now here you are.'
'I heard you were lonely. I have no kids to worry about for a couple of nights, and I thought you might like some company.'
'I don't think I can do this.'
'Can't do what? I've only come to talk to you.'
'I
don't think this is a good idea,' he said. 'I was only just beginning to come to terms with not seeing you.'
'That's what I've come to speak to you about.'
'It's not helping,' he said.
'You haven't heard what I have to say.'
'What? What can you possibly say that's gonna make it any better?'
'What if I said we could start seeing each other again?'
Norman wasn't sure he'd heard that right.
'What does that mean? I can see you once a week while the kids are at school? I don't think we should be creeping around behind their backs; it wouldn't be right.'
'Who said anything about creeping around behind anyone's back?'
'You mean there's another way? Really? I can't wait to hear how that's gonna work!'
She sighed, and pointedly crossed her arms. 'If you'll just stop putting obstacles in the way, and listen, I'll explain.'
Norman opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it.
'Right,' said Jane. 'Remember I thought it was my ex-husband, Tim, who had told the kids it was all your fault he ended up in prison?'
'Jeez, how can I forget?' said Norman.
'The thing is, I was wrong,' she said. 'It was a couple of kids at school. Tim didn't know anything about it at the time, and since he found out, he's gone to great lengths to explain to the kids that it was all his fault.'
'Really?'
'Yes! He told them if anyone should be there for them when he isn't, he would choose you.'
'You're kidding me.'
She walked across to Norman, stopped right in front of him, and gazed up into his eyes. 'I promise, I kid you not.'
Norman didn't trust himself to speak. He felt so happy he could cry, and a small tear escaped from one eye and ran down his cheek. She reached up and gently brushed it aside, then she took hold of his hands.
'So here's the thing,' she said. 'My kids, and I, would like you to come and spend Christmas Day with us.'
Norman thought he was going to burst.
'Oh, wow! This is too much. You mean like a Family Christmas? I dunno what to say.'
‘Yes would be quite good,' she said. 'Anyway, you can't say no; Naomi and Millie are expecting you to carve the turkey.'
