If only you knew just how much you already have, thought Grace. Since she and Mark had split, this was the first time she had felt that she could truly look forward to the future.
Vinnie left around seven-thirty, leaving Grace to her night-time routine with her son. They snuggled up on Archie’s bed and he laid his head on her chest while they read together. She couldn’t believe that one of the things she’d learned from helping to set up a reading group at school was that there was a huge percentage of children who never read and were never read to.
Her and Archie’s reading time was so special. Completely magical. He sat so close to her, snuggling in to her ample chest, so close that she could smell the apple-and-melon shampoo that he’d used in the bath earlier. This time of night was their time to put the world to rights, for them to chat about things which had happened during the day and talk over their hopes and dreams for the future. And now Archie was growing up, busy with school and football, she cherished these moments of closeness more than ever, where she could still see her baby in the face of her young handsome son.
‘I like Vinnie, Mum, I like him a lot,’ he whispered to her. ‘I’m happy that you have someone to be with when I’m at Dad’s now. I don’t want you to be on your own. I’m glad that Vinnie is going to look after you when I’m not here to look after you.’
‘Thank you, darling, that means such a lot to me. I love you my angel, good night and God bless.’
‘Good night my beautiful Mummy, I love you too.’
Grace kissed the top of his head, as he snuggled down under the duvet, feeling that her heart could explode at any moment. When he was tired he had a tendency to revert back to being much younger.
‘Mummy, can I have just one more cuddle please?’ he asked.
‘Sure can,’ she leant over the rail of his bed to get to him. He snuggled right into her and said, ‘I love your cuddles so much, Mum, they’re the best in the world. I could cuddle you all night.’
‘Now that is a lovely thought, darling, but you have school in the morning and need to get some sleep, so just you go to sleep and imagine my arms are around you and you’re safe and snug as a bug in a rug.’
‘Oookaaay, Mum,’ he yawned and within seconds he was snoring, snuffling and dribbling like a pot-bellied pig.
Chapter Nineteen
When Grace’s phone rang the day before dinner at Ruth’s, and Mark’s name appeared on her screen, her heart slumped. She didn’t know why after all this time, she still had a very strange ‘oh no, what have I done now?’ feeling going on right in the pit of her stomach whenever she saw his name on her phone.
‘Grace! I need you to have Archie tomorrow night.’ No ‘please’, no asking, just a statement. Experience had taught her that it wasn’t worth getting into a prolonged argument about it, so she bit her tongue, saying sweetly, ‘OK Mark, what time do you want to drop him off?’
‘Oh!’ he said, clearly not expecting this response. ‘Are you sure that’s OK? It’s just that Archie mentioned that you were going out. I was hoping around six.’
‘Ok great, see you then. Must fly, I’m just going out. Byeee!’ She ended the call. Now all she had to do was to tell Vinnie that she wouldn’t be able to go to Ruth’s for dinner. She called his number but his answerphone kicked in so she left a message explaining what had happened and how sorry she was that the plans for the following evening would have to change.
Five minutes later the phone rang and Grace was delighted when she recognised the voice on the other end.
‘Grace darling, it’s Ruth. I’ve just had a text from Vincent, saying that your ex has changed your plans for tomorrow night. I’m so sorry my love but your plans most certainly have not been scuppered. Just bring Archie with you. My little guy and girls would love to have another playmate. They’ll make him feel at home. Bring some jim-jams with you and if he falls asleep you can stick him in one of the spare beds and then take him home when you’re ready. How does that sound?’
‘Oh, Ruth, you are a love, are you sure? I don’t want to put you out at all.’
‘Grace, another child when you already have three doesn’t make a blind bit of difference. I’d planned for the kids to have party food in their den while we eat in the dining room, so it’s no trouble at all. I insist!’
‘That would be lovely, I was really looking forward to coming so thank you for letting me bring Archie.’
‘I’m glad he’s coming, because it means that our children can meet each other and have some fun. Win-win all round. So we’ll see you at seven then? Must fly. I think one of my children is about to murder one of the others! They are lovely, really. Honest! Ta-ta for now!’
Nothing seemed to faze Ruth, she was completely awesome and like a breath of fresh air. Grace really liked her, and hoped that they would become good friends. She had lots of other friends in her life, but had really felt the loss of a sister-character in her life, ever since Hannah had moved to Florida. She got the same warm feeling from Ruth that she did from her big sister. She beamed as her phone beeped to say she had a message.
Sorry I couldn’t respond, I’m in a meeting. I’ve texted Ruth to ask if it’s OK to bring Archie tomorrow night. I don’t know why I asked really as I knew the answer would be yes! She’s going to call you. I’ll call you when I’m out of my meeting. Hope you are having a lovely day. Can’t stop thinking about you. Vx
Grace’s heart did a little leap, reading the words on the screen. This man seemed too good to be true – she just hoped that he was all that he appeared.
* * *
She didn’t know why, but the prospect of going to dinner at Ruth’s with Archie made her feel a little apprehensive. When Mark dropped off Archie, Grace stood at the door and didn’t invite him in, hoping that he would take the hint and leave.
‘Sorry if it’s spoilt your night.’ He smirked. ‘Archie had mentioned that you were going out.’
‘Not spoilt my night at all, Mark,’ she replied. ‘Just means that Archie can come with me, so it’s all worked out really well actually.’
Mark’s smirk disappeared. She realised that once again, this was just a little game of his and that he’d done it on purpose. She smiled sweetly and dismissed him quickly. ‘Come on, darling, say bye to Dad.’
As she shut the door, she exhaled a big sigh.
‘You OK, Mummy?’
‘OK, Arch? How can I not be OK when the most important person in my life is right here, right now?’
‘I love you, Mum.’
‘Love you more, sweetie! Now go and see if there’s anything you want to take with you to Vinnie’s sister’s. We have about forty-five minutes before Vinnie arrives to pick us up. I’ve put some smart clothes out on your bed so if you can pop them on too, that would be great. I’m just going to put some make-up on and try and make myself look respectable.’
‘You don’t need make-up, Mum, you’re beautiful anyway!’
‘Thank you, but I’m a bit sweaty this evening. I’m really hot.’
‘Yes you are, Mum!’ he giggled.
‘You are such a smoothie, Archie,’ she smiled, secretly very proud of her beautiful boy who one day would make someone a most fabulous husband.
* * *
‘Mum, Vinnie’s here. Can I open the door?’ Archie had been waiting with his arm around Becks at the lounge window for the longest time, eager to see Vinnie again.
‘Yes, darling, you can. I’ll just be a minute.’
‘Hey dude! How you doing?’ Vinnie asked as he came in, high-fived Archie and patted Becks on the head.
‘To tell the truth, Vinnie, I think Mum is a bit nervous about tonight.’
‘Oh, is that right? There’s nothing for her to be nervous about, you know.’ Vinnie had a suspicion that Archie was using his mum as an excuse and that it was him who was the nervous one. ‘My sister and her family are some of my most favourite people in the world and now you and your mum are on that list too and I think you are all going to get alo
ng just brilliantly. The kids are going to love you, you are going to love them too and they are so looking forward to meeting you. They are really rather excited, so my sister tells me.’
‘Really, OK, cool,’ Archie replied. ‘I have to just go to the loo. Dad kept giving me Coke all afternoon and I can’t stop weeing. Sorry if that’s TMI by the way. Dad kept telling me not to be nervous but I think it’s made me worse.’
Vinnie smiled. So Mark had been trying to wind him up. Nice touch, Mark!
Grace bounded down the stairs. She’d worried about what to wear all day, but after hearing Monica’s voice in her head as she rummaged through her wardrobe, had finally settled on a purple-and-pink wrap dress and neutral-coloured wedges. She grabbed her black faux-fur jacket from the coat rack and popped it round her shoulders as she grabbed a warm coat and a Minions rucksack, containing Archie’s pyjamas. ‘Let’s go! See you, Becks.’
They arrived at Ruth’s fifteen minutes later. Before they’d even had the chance to ring the front door bell, the door was flung open and Ruth appeared with a pinny on, over the top of a lovely flowery vintage tea dress. Grace had only ever seen her in her coffee-shop uniform so it was lovely to see her look so feminine.
‘Uncle Vinnie!’ yelled three voices, and a hoard of children suddenly appeared at the door, fighting to see who could hug their uncle first.
‘Darlings, come out of the way and let these wonderful people through the door and meet Grace and Archie. You’ve probably already gathered that this is my brood,’ she said, as she introduced her children one by one. You could tell by the look in her eye that they were her pride and joy.
Archie stood close to Grace, seemingly too shy to say anything, until Harry said, ‘Hey, Archie, would you like to come into the den and play FIFA with me? Uncle Vinnie says you are amazing at it and know lots of tricks and I wondered whether you’d teach me.’ Archie looked up at Grace for approval, and she bent down to his level, as she always tried to when speaking to him about something important.
‘Are you going to go and play, sweetie? I’ll be right here if you need me.’
‘OK, Mummy,’ he said as he turned and smiled at Harry and before they’d reached the den, they could hear laughter.
‘Phew! That went well,’ said Ruth ‘You look fabulous, darling! Those colours really suit you. Now what can I get you? We have red, white or rosé wine or do you fancy a G&T or a Pimms?’
‘Oh, a G&T would be perfect please and I love your dress too,’ Grace replied as Ruth led the way to a large kitchen-diner where a very handsome, grey-haired, tall man, was stirring something on the cooker.
‘Well, I’m in my uniform all day, and when I come home normally change straight into my jim-jams. Mike told me I should dress up more often. Didn’t you, darling? You can stop stirring now, by the way.’ Ruth went over and put her arms around his waist and hugged him tight. Grace could see the deep love that these two people had for each other shining through. They looked adoringly at each other and she hoped that one day, she’d still feel like that about a special someone after they’d been together for years and she hoped that special someone wasn’t too far away.
‘And this, Grace, is my gorgeous current husband, Mike.’
Grace went to shake his hand but instead he enveloped her in a bear hug.
‘Ha! My wife likes to keep me on my toes! Now from everything that Ruth has been telling me about you, you are exactly how I imagined you, it’s so lovely to meet you, Grace. I’ve heard so much about you that I wasn’t sure if my wife had a girl crush. Oh and by the way, I love the fact that we finally get Vinnie out of our hair now he’s met someone lovely to spend some time with. He’s here all the time and we just can’t get rid of him,’ he grinned.
‘Oi, I am here, you know,’ Vinnie said as he went forward and gave his brother-in-law a hearty hug.
‘You know you’re part of the fixtures and fittings here, mate! You’re always welcome in our house.’
Grace could instantly see the special bond the men had.
‘Right, let’s get the bar open! G&Ts all round?’
‘Not for me, mate, I’m in the driving seat tonight and I have two very important passengers that I’m taking care of.’
Grace smiled at him across the room as Ruth tucked her arm inside hers and led her through to a lounge which was large, beautifully decorated and impeccably tidy with candles glowing on the mantelpiece and fairy lights shimmering above a huge mirror.
‘Crikey, I wish my lounge was this stunning and this tidy!’ Grace said envying this gorgeous room.
‘I’d like to take the credit for that, but I can’t. The cleaner came in yesterday and I’ve not allowed anyone in this room since, apart from to light the fire and the candles,’ she laughed. ‘The poor children are banned from in here, as it’s the only grown-up room in the house and we like to keep it that way. I love my children, but I also love the fact that we have a huge family room that we spend most of our time in so that we can have somewhere that we can keep clean and tidy for visitors.’
‘Wow, you have a cleaner, how fabulous.’
‘We both work hard and the last thing I want us to do on our days off is to spend it cleaning. Life is for living and making memories with your family, it’s too short to spend doing dull things like cleaning and worse than that, arguing about the cleaning and who’s going to do what. We made a decision a long time ago that this was our treat to our family and it is an important cog that helps the family to be in harmony. We don’t go out that much, don’t drink (too much!), and don’t smoke, so our cleaner is our little bit of luxury while we can afford it. You should do it, it’ll change your life.’
‘What a great idea,’ Grace said, silently adding finding a cleaner to her list of things to do in her head. She spent a lot of time at the weekends cleaning and Ruth was right, life was too short to spend doing such mundane boring stuff. And with a dog and a child to clean up after, she felt like she was on a constant treadmill vacuuming up dog hair and sweeping mud that came off Archie’s football boots.
They chatted comfortably, then Mike came through to the lounge after about ten minutes, announcing that he’d fed the kids, and that the grown-ups’ dinner was ready and invited them through to the dining room. He placed an enormous plate on the table, which consisted of chicken and fish goujons, raw vegetables, hummus, and a selection of amazing breads and dips.
Grace was sat facing Vinnie, who grinned at her constantly. Ruth and Mike were at the opposite ends of the table.
‘So Grace, tell me about yourself,’ Mike joked, ‘and I’ll tell you if you’ve got the job.’
They all laughed and Grace started by saying that she was mum to Archie and Becks and she talked about her job, which she said she enjoyed. He asked about her family and Grace talked about losing her beautiful mother to cancer after a ten-year fight and how her father had gone rapidly downhill after losing his life partner, but that he’d found a new lease of life since he moved into the retirement village. She talked about her sister and how much she missed Hannah who was now happily creating a life in the US.
‘That was divine,’ said Grace.
‘All home-made too, even the hummus. Isn’t he the best?’ Ruth explained how Mike was a closet chef and his hobby was cooking. ‘What a stroke of luck,’ said Grace, ‘as my hobby is eating!’
‘Give us a hand, mate.’ Mike asked Vinnie to help clear the table and she could hear their low voices in the kitchen while she and Ruth chatted amiably. She thought she heard Mike say, ‘Have you told her yet?’ and Vinnie say, ‘Just drop it mate, please.’
As they came back into the dining room, Mike was frowning but was soon smiling again. He came through holding a huge casserole dish full of the most gorgeously aromatic chicken she’d ever smelt. Vinnie followed, carrying a dish of garlic roast potatoes, and a huge bowl full of fresh vegetables, which Ruth explained had been picked from their allotment by Mike and the children that afternoon.
After that,
Grace didn’t think she could possibly eat another thing, until Ruth brought out a deliciously light lemon mouse and a huge Eton Mess which she declared the easiest pudding to make, and insisted that Grace had a bit of each.
They were all fit to burst, Grace exclaiming, ‘Mike, you should apply for Masterchef!’ Mike cleared the table. As they moved into the lounge, Ruth asked Grace how she’d coped with not having her mum around. Grace mentioned that she’d been to see a medium a few months after her mum died and had been many times since and how much it had helped her.
Grace saw Ruth glance at both Mike and Vinnie and a very strange expression came across their faces. ‘Oh no, I’m so sorry. Have I said something to upset you all?’ she asked.
‘No, darling, it’s just that we have a standing argument in this family about going to see a medium. I would love to go but am petrified, Vinnie would love to go and hasn’t done anything about it because he’s a big wuss and Mike is totally against us going. I know that Vinnie has told you about our darling Meredith, but we’d love to see if she comes through to us. It’s a bit of a sticking point, to be honest. Would you mind telling us about your experiences and perhaps it’ll help us to decide whether we need to take it further?’
* * *
It was nearly the middle of December, the year they’d lost their darling mum, and the whole family were unsure how they were supposed to get through a Christmas without her. How would they sit around a Christmas dinner table without someone that had always been there, an empty chair where she should be sitting? Just thinking about it had made Grace want to cancel the whole day.
While out shopping one day for Archie’s presents, Grace had walked past a shop that she’d walked past many times, which was advertising a spiritual event in a church with a number of local mediums. The need to find out more completely overwhelmed her and she went into the shop and asked the lady behind the counter if she knew anything personally about the event.
Amazing Grace Page 16