The Garden on Sparrow Street: A heartwarming, uplifting Christmas romance

by Tilly Tennant

  ‘I suppose it’s a pretty common coat,’ Nina said. ‘Maybe it won’t be much of a clue after all – I bet half the youths of Wrenwick own one.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Robyn said, and she stuffed the fabric in her pocket. Nobody questioned the action – perhaps they’d all just had enough for one night.

  ‘It’s freezing out here,’ was all Kelly had to say, before turning on her heel and walking away.

  ‘It might be,’ Robyn muttered as she watched her go, ‘but you’re so pissed I don’t know how you can tell. Stupid cow.’

  ‘Leave it,’ Nina said quietly. ‘She won’t remember any of this in the morning so don’t take offence to anything she’s said tonight.’

  ‘She can say what she likes to me – I was taking offence for you.’

  ‘Thanks, but there’s no need.’ Nina turned to Nasser. ‘There’s not a lot we can do tonight, is there?’

  ‘Not really.’ He looked around at the small crowd gathered there. ‘Everyone might as well go home. I’ll call to see you all at some point tomorrow.’

  ‘That’d be lovely,’ Ada said.

  ‘We’ll make tea,’ Martha added.

  The sisters linked arms and headed back to their own house so closely in step that they could have been one entity. Ron followed, not a single word of goodbye coming from him. Nina wished she could like him more, because despite his gruff ways and bad temper, he could be a good neighbour. But it was hard to like him when he didn’t give anyone any reasons to, and he certainly hadn’t done that tonight.

  ‘Goodnight,’ Nasser said.

  ‘Goodnight,’ Nina replied, while Robyn nodded acknowledgement, and they made their way back to Nina’s house and their abandoned meal together.

  ‘I can’t believe it’s happened again,’ Nina said, looking at the table. Their food was cold but she didn’t much feel like eating it now that she looked at it, her appetite completely gone. But she supposed Robyn would still want to eat so she collected up their plates to reheat the food in the microwave. ‘It makes you wonder whether any of this is worth the bother.’

  ‘I imagine it does,’ Robyn agreed. ‘What do you think will happen?’

  Nina started the microwave and stepped back, arms folded, eyes trained on the plate as it went round and round inside. ‘I suppose that depends how much damage we find when we get a good look at it in the daylight,’ she said slowly. ‘If Ron caught them before they’d had a chance to make too much of a mess then it might not take that much to fix after all.’

  ‘Well, you can moan about the miserable old git, but at least there might be that to be thankful for. A lot of people would have turned a blind eye rather than trying to tackle whoever was in there.’

  ‘Yes. Lucky for us, eh?’

  ‘You hope.’

  ‘Yes, we hope,’ Nina said with a nod.

  The microwave pinged and she pulled out the first steaming plate, handing it to Robyn before putting the second one in.

  ‘I should probably eat this and head home,’ Robyn said, taking it to the table.

  Nina looked up at her with a vague frown. ‘You’re not going to stay a while?’

  ‘Better not – I’ve got a few things to do.’

  ‘Oh…’

  Nina turned to watch the microwave again. She’d assumed that they’d spend the evening together as they always did on curry night, especially as they hadn’t been able to do it so much lately. It didn’t matter if Robyn had to go – the early night wouldn’t hurt Nina – but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed and slightly bemused. She also couldn’t help but notice that her friend’s mood seemed to have changed, and not for the better. It was nothing obvious, just a subtle shift that wasn’t hard to detect for someone who knew her as well as Nina did.

  She turned back to her, deciding to address it. ‘Is everything OK?’

  Robyn looked up from her meal. She was eating already, not bothering to wait for Nina to join her, and she never usually did that. In fact, they usually took ages to eat their meal because they were busy talking and it was often cold by the time they’d finished.

  ‘Fine,’ she said.

  ‘Just… the going home early… You’re sure everything is alright?’

  ‘Job applications… I want to get them off before the deadline and I just remembered them. A couple are due tomorrow.’

  ‘If they’re online, you could do them from here.’

  ‘I wouldn’t be able to concentrate here. They’ve got to be good – you know? Things are getting a bit desperate.’

  That might have been true, but Nina still wasn’t convinced Robyn was telling her everything. For now, she didn’t have much choice but to take her excuse at face value, though. And if that was the real reason, then she couldn’t really argue. When all was said and done, Nina supposed that she ought to be filling in job applications too.

  ‘Right,’ she said.

  The microwave pinged a second time and Nina took out her own meal. When she got to the table, Robyn had already eaten half of hers. She must really want one of those jobs, Nina thought. Either that, or there’s something I’m missing.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Nina was beginning to love this little place by the canal, with its thatched roof and worn bricks, its cosy wooden snug that smelt like fresh beeswax polish and its beer garden, always full of narrowboat travellers taking a well-earned break from a day on the water. The pub was dressed for Christmas now, but in a delightfully old-fashioned way with colourful paper chains draped around the walls and a mighty spruce taking up a whole corner of the bar area, decked in scarlet bows and wooden toys. In the cavernous grate a fire cracked and roared, the lucky customers who’d got there early enough sitting in prime position and looking very sleepy and content in its glow.

  Colm returned from the bar with two drinks and put one down on the table in front of Nina. They’d nabbed their favourite table – the one they’d occupied on their first date – and beyond the windows alongside it Nina could see groups of friends laughing as they huddled around the glowing outdoor heaters, perhaps listening to some boating anecdote or other. Who knew, but she loved to see them having such a good time. The moon was high, casting a silvery glow over the canal and the boats and the frosted fields that stretched away beyond them. She looked up at Colm and smiled.

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I didn’t think it would be this busy here tonight,’ he said.

  ‘I don’t mind that.’

  ‘The landlord just said it’s this full most nights.’

  ‘I can see why – I really like it here.’

  ‘Me too,’ Colm said, holding her gaze and making her heart race. ‘So the garden doesn’t look too bad?’

  Nina looked up. ‘Nothing we can’t fix. Ron did everyone a favour by catching them so soon. I should think a few hours’ tidying will do it.’

  ‘And you’re sure you don’t need me?’

  Nina was reminded of Ron’s hostility and perhaps that was something she didn’t really want to subject Colm to if she didn’t have to. ‘I’d say we could always do with you, but I think everyone else was worried about taking advantage of your good nature.’

  ‘I wouldn’t see it that way. It’s no problem at all for me to take a look.’

  ‘You have a living to earn.’ Nina smiled. ‘And a daughter to provide for. Don’t worry about it – use your time to do your own work.’

  ‘Actually…’ he said, looking nervous now, ‘I wanted to ask you about that.’

  Nina gave her head a tiny shake. ‘About what?’

  ‘Polly. I wondered… well, I told her about you.’

  Nina’s mouth was suddenly dry. ‘You did? And what did she say?’

  ‘Actually, she took it well – better than I was expecting.’ His laugh showed the nerves he was trying hard to hide. Bringing Nina and Polly together had to be as nerve-wracking for him as it would be for either of them. ‘She’s keen to meet you.’

  ‘Oh, God… Colm, I—’
r />   ‘I think it’s a grand idea.’

  ‘You don’t think it’s too soon? I mean, we haven’t been seeing each other all that long.’

  ‘Do you think it’s too soon?’ he asked, a note of uncertainty in his voice.

  A small part of Nina was encouraged by the fact that Colm wanted this. It meant he wanted Nina in his life for a lot more than just a few casual dates, but even then… ‘It’s just that… what if she doesn’t like me?’

  ‘She’ll like you.’

  ‘But what if she doesn’t?’

  ‘Then we’d have to work on it. But I’m willing to bet she will. Anyone would find it impossible to dislike you.’

  ‘But Polly… I’m not her mum.’

  He laughed softly. ‘I had noticed that. I think Polly might too.’

  ‘She might think I’m trying to replace her.’

  ‘No, she won’t. She’ll think I’m doing what thousands of single men do and finding someone to love. She’s old enough to understand it now and she’s being very mature about it. She says she’s happy for me.’

  ‘So… she’s not happy per se? She’s just happy for you?’

  Colm grabbed Nina’s hand and lifted it to his lips. ‘You worry too much. I kind of like that about you but there’s no need in this case. Polly’s alright with us, and she’ll like you. She’s had enough years now to accept that her mam isn’t coming back and that I can’t spend the rest of my life waiting for her, and she’s grown-up enough now that we can discuss how she feels about that.’

  ‘And did you?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Discuss how she feels?’

  ‘Yes, and she feels comfortable with it. She just wants to meet you; that’s all.’

  Nina was silent for a moment as she took in what he’d said, her gaze travelling to the windows to look at the boats moored at the canal-side, their dark hulks gleaming in the lights from the patio.

  ‘I suppose that’s understandable,’ she said finally. Everything Colm had said was right and obvious but it still didn’t make her feel any less certain about it. ‘Colm… you don’t still think… well, you’re not still holding out for Jane to come back, are you? I mean, it’s been five years and you haven’t tried to divorce her yet…’

  Colm smoothed back a frown. ‘I thought we’d sorted this. I told you I had so much to worry about just bringing Polly up I didn’t see the point in giving myself anything else to worry about. It would have happened sooner or later – it just took a while. Don’t you believe me?’

  ‘Of course I do, it’s just… well, maybe subconsciously you don’t realise it yourself.’

  ‘I promise, any feelings I had for Jane are in the past. Perhaps I’m still a little fond of her but that’s not the same as being in love. She made her decision when she ran off to Scotland to join some crazy commune rather than stay home with her family. From that moment she forfeited any right to love from me.’

  ‘She might have forfeited it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still there. Why did she leave? You never said.’

  ‘If you asked her why she left, I doubt even she could tell you. I certainly can’t. I’d known for a while she was getting restless. She’s always had that in her but I thought… in my foolish youth I thought perhaps I could tame her. She’d do odd things every now and again – take off somewhere on a whim – but it would never be more than a week or so and she’d be home. Then one day, she said she’d had enough of the sort of life we had – she’d met some woman who was starting this commune and she wanted to go with her. We had some almighty rows, of course, but in the end, I could hardly stop her.’

  ‘Didn’t she stop and think once about leaving Polly, if not you?’

  ‘I never understood what went on in her head and I don’t think I ever will. I’d like to believe that she missed Polly, that she felt guilty for leaving her, but she’s never said so. I don’t think she was ever really cut out to be a mother and that’s the truth of it.’

  ‘She sounds… well, to be honest, she sounds like a free spirit. Exciting, you know? Like the sort of fascinating woman you read about in stories. Not like me.’

  ‘Nina… where is this going? What do you want me to say?’

  Nina sighed. ‘I guess I’m nervous. It’s going so well between us and I want… I want to be sure that there’s a future in it.’

  ‘If there was no future,’ he said gently, ‘then I wouldn’t be asking you to meet Polly, would I? Jane might be fascinating, but she’s also unreliable and selfish. There’s no future for anyone with a woman like that. Why would I want her when I could have someone like you?’

  ‘OK.’ Nina nodded. ‘You’re right and I’m sorry for doubting you.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter.’

  ‘Polly and I ought to meet – of course we should.’

  He gave her an encouraging smile. ‘It feels like a lot happening at once, doesn’t it?’

  ‘You can say that again. First my dad and Pam and now Polly. One way or another, I’m having to be on my best behaviour a lot these days.’

  ‘I’ll bet your dad’s girlfriend was a lot more nervous than you.’

  ‘I hadn’t really thought of it that way, but now I’m in the same position she has my absolute sympathy,’ Nina said with a nervous laugh. ‘You really think Polly will like me?’

  ‘Polly will love you; I know she will.’

  ‘I wish I could feel that confident.’ Nina turned to her drink and took a gulp.

  ‘There’s something else…’ he said slowly.

  She looked up. He seemed even more apprehensive than he had been about the idea of introducing her and Polly to each other.

  ‘Polly’s staying at her friend’s house tonight,’ he said. ‘And going straight to school from there in the morning. I thought maybe… as I have the place to myself… that you might want to spend the night. I mean, say no if you don’t want to, and even if you do it doesn’t mean we have to… but it might be nice to have somewhere private to spend time together. We’re always out at this pub or that restaurant… which is great, of course, but…’

  His sentence tailed off, and as he’d made his case it seemed he’d forgotten to breathe. But he looked at Nina now earnestly as she looked at him in silence, caught off guard. She’d thought about their first night together – of course she had; she’d even discussed it with Robyn not so long ago. But right now, she was still getting used to the fact that she even had another man in her life. This was still too soon, wasn’t it?

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ he said, quickly backtracking.

  Nina drew in a breath. ‘No, it does matter. You’re right – we’re always out in public places and we’ve never really had a chance to spend some time together… intimately. I’d love to come over tonight.’

  Colm’s face lit in a broad smile. ‘There’s no rush, obviously. We’ll eat here as we planned, get a few drinks…’

  Nina nodded. Her heart was thudding and she could barely control her breath. This was a huge moment for her, and she wondered if he could ever understand just how massive it was. She hadn’t been intimate with anyone since Gray, of course, but more than that she hadn’t wanted to. But she realised now as she gazed at Colm and his impossibly blue eyes gazed back at her, that she wanted him. She wanted this gentle giant of a man with his musical accent and striking dark hair so much her whole being ached for him. She was scared and excited all at the same time, and while she always wanted to make the evening last when she was with him, she also wanted it to be over so they could be driving back to his place. For the next few hours, she was sure she would be able to think of little else.

  ‘You’re happy?’ he asked. And she knew he was referring to a specific decision that they’d both just taken. They were moving their relationship forward, making it a real, solid thing and Colm was doing what he always did – caring enough to check it was what she really wanted.

  ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Completely.’

  That warm smile spread
across his face again and she wasn’t sure how much more her heart could take. He held her gaze for a moment longer, and then seemed to rouse himself from a dreamy moment of longing.

  ‘I suppose we should eat,’ he said in a husky voice. ‘What are you having?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Nina said, reaching for the menu. She stared at it but couldn’t seem to read the words. She didn’t really care about food now. ‘Maybe something light – I’m not all that hungry.’

  ‘I thought you said you wanted to eat when we were driving up?’

  ‘I did. It’s funny, it seems to have gone off now. Maybe I’m excited,’ she said, smiling up at him. Then they moved as one, meeting across the table, and he took her face in his hands and kissed her.

  ‘We don’t have to eat right now,’ he said, pulling free, but his eyes still locked onto hers. ‘I mean, we could eat later… at home… at my place…’

  ‘That sounds nice,’ Nina said softly, her stomach seemingly full of tiny butterflies that wouldn’t have let her eat even if she wanted to.

  He stood and held out his hand. ‘Come on then,’ he said. ‘Let’s go.’

  They raced to Colm’s car like a couple of excited kids bunking off school. Colm clicked to unlock it from a few feet away and they hurried to get in. He looked at Nina and grinned as he fastened his seatbelt, and her stomach did an Olympic-standard somersault.

  ‘Still OK?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes.’

  He turned the key and the throb of the engine sent a roar of anticipation through her. This was really going to happen and she couldn’t quite believe it, but now that they’d reached this point, she could hardly wait.

  It was as they pulled out of the car park that Nina’s phone began to ring and she looked to see that it was Robyn. For a moment she thought about letting it ring, afraid it might be something that would distract her from this moment, something that would take her away from their plans. Colm glanced at her as she watched Robyn’s name flash up, the ringtone seeming more urgent with every second Nina failed to respond to it.

  She caught his eye, her face lit by the screen. ‘It’s Robyn,’ she said by way of a reply to his silent question.