While she waited, she tried to scrape her dirty wellies on the kerb to get rid of the muck, something she had been doing on and off all afternoon, so ashamed she was of how much of a mess she must have looked. She was pleased with the outfit she had pulled together for her jaunt today, but meeting everyone else it had been clear that the residents of Meadowbrook weren’t the most stylish. She wasn’t one for being ashamed of being overdressed, as she most often was – it was one of her passions, pulling together a look, and she always favoured vintage – but on the streets of London she was so used to seeing others in experimental or ‘loud’ choices. It was a funny thing to see some of the looks she’d had, not unwelcoming, but clear that they didn’t frequently have people who dressed like she did.
She reached down to dust off some mud that had also got onto her riding pants, when she heard the loud chug of a car approaching. Looking up, she saw it was the little blue bus she had seen from afar that morning.
It was barely big enough to call a bus, though, more a minivan, and as it pulled up to where she stood she spied the faded leather seats that reminded her of her childhood.
‘Where are you off to, Miss?’ a friendly man greeted her from the driver’s seat.
‘Oh, I don’t actually know. Just keep going and I’ll recognise my stop when we get there.’ She offered him some silver from her coin purse. ‘Will this be enough?’
‘This should about do,’ he said, and grabbed a handful of twenty pences. ‘But you need to tell me where you’re going. I might miss it otherwise.’ His eyes crinkled at the corners when he spoke and when he smiled it was almost as if his ears lifted too in sync. He had white hair speckled with grey and rectangular glasses that gave him that look a person sometimes has that makes you think you’ve met them before. A stranger, but a completely familiar one at that.
‘Well, it’s just by the stream. The ... oh, what was it called?’ She searched her memory but to no avail. ‘Nessa’s house?’ She tried her luck. It seemed reasonable that he should know her.
‘My my. Heather!’ The man held out his hands from behind the makeshift counter. ‘You look just like your pictures!’ He was now making an effort to stand up, albeit rather slowly, and was motioning for her to step back so he could open the partition that separated them.
That’s when it dawned on her. ‘Are you the bus driver that helped my Nana after her fall?’ The look on his face confirmed it. ‘Thank you so mu—’
And before she knew it, she was engulfed in a hug.
‘You best be looking after that young lady. Your Nessa’s been through a lot this year.’ He chuckled. ‘She must be so thrilled you’re here.’
‘I only got here yesterday.’
‘That you did. Well, let’s get us off then. No need to say more. I know exactly where I’m going.’ And with that, he gave her a pat on the shoulder and climbed back into his seat. ‘Benny’s the name, by the way.’
As they trundled along the main road, Heather was finally able to take in the scenery and piece together where she was from the trip in the taxi the day before, and from guessing where she had walked through the fields to her right. She could see the peak of the hill very clearly, which only made it all the more clear how far away she’d been when she’d bumped into Mr Russell and his dog. She thought back to their conversation and cringed. She really hoped that he wasn’t a good friend of her Nana’s.
Benny called out interesting tidbits as they travelled. It was a guided bus tour of sorts. Though, the definition of ‘interesting’ translated in quite a range of ways and the emphasis was definitely on the ‘local’ side of the local knowledge.
‘See that road, there? That used to be an old dirt track that led down to old man Tanner’s farm. It got extended not long ago. Sometime in the nineties I think. Or the eighties. I forget. But now people use it as a short cut if they’re going to the cricket club’ and ‘There’s a ditch further down that way. Elsie Fairfield fell down there earlier this year and she wasn’t found for a good few hours. You can’t quite see it from here, that’s the reason why. God knows why she was walking out there by herself...’
Benny knew exactly where to stop for Nessa’s house. And it wasn’t on the road she had seen that morning. She guessed he was bending the rules a little to make sure she didn’t have to walk as far, but as she got up to descend and say her goodbyes, she was surprised to see Benny cut the engine and begin to unbuckle his seatbelt.
‘Are you stopping here?’
‘Aye,’ he said, now fumbling in a bag behind his seat. ‘Not for long, mind. I’ve got a bus to drive.’
I can see that, yes! she thought amusingly to herself.
‘I’ll just pop out with you and say hello to Nessa.’
‘Oh, OK then.’ She smiled at his relaxed approach to his work. ‘You can just do that?’
‘Of course. No one really rides the bus all that much these days. They won’t mind waiting. I’ll only stop by for a little while.’
‘If you’re sure,’ Heather said and offered her arm as he stepped down.
‘That I am. I need to make sure Nessa’s doing well,’ he said and then turned to her with a serious face. ‘Not that I’m doubting your caring skills. I just thought it would be the gentlemanly thing to do, to check in and see for myself.’
Heather smiled. He really was a very nice man and she was sure her Nan would be pleased to see such a friendly face. She noticed, as they began to walk towards the house, that he left the vehicle unlocked. How trusting, she thought. But again, they were in the country now. What’s the likelihood someone would be down their little road in the next few minutes? And like Benny said, he had a bus to drive and people would be waiting for him further down the route. He wouldn’t be staying for long at all
‘Is that baking I smell?’ Benny declared loudly. ‘I’d recognise the smell of Nessa’s Victoria sponge anywhere. Well, go on then. If I’m having a brew I may as well have a slice as well then!’
Heather desperately hoped there weren’t any people waiting for the bus. They may well have a very long wait!
Chapter Six
As expected, Nessa was delighted by the arrival of Benny – much more than Heather anticipated. She’d flung her arms around him as soon as she saw him enter the living room and he reciprocated, patting her back gently as he joked about something Heather couldn’t quite understand.
They were nattering away like school children, so Heather said, ‘Shall I get us some tea then?’ and retreated to the kitchen, where she could put the kettle on and finally take off her dirty wellies.
It turned out that this visit of Benny’s was not a spontaneous thing on meeting Nessa’s granddaughter, but an almost daily occurrence. He nearly always stopped in on his return trip from town and Nana nearly always prepared some kind of snack for him – ‘It’s hard work out there on the lanes,’ she’d said. ‘Got to keep him going somehow...’
Once Heather had ensured they all had their drinks the way they wanted them – no milk or sugar for Benny; milk and three sugars for Nana – they settled themselves down in the living room. Nana and Benny were next to each other on the sofa and Heather was in the plush armchair in between the bookcases and fireplace.
‘So, Nessa tells me you’re going to be staying a while, if you can stand it. Lord knows what there is here for you youngsters. My Emma left as soon as she could.’
‘Emma is his granddaughter,’ Nessa chipped in by way of explanation. ‘She was ever such a good dancer, she was, and she left for the big city.’
‘She’s in London, then?’
‘No, Cardiff,’ said Benny. ‘Just close enough to be in the same country, but too far for her to ever come visit.’ He chuckled. ‘But that’s OK. She’s doing so well. I’m sure she’s very busy with her job.’
‘She’s a professional dancer, then?’ Heather wracked her brain for anything she knew about the industry, which was surprisingly little. ‘The Cardiff ballet company?’ She took a stab in the dark.
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‘Oh no, my dear. She’s not a dancer now. She’s a lawyer. She works on divorce cases, god knows why.’
‘But she was a beautiful dancer, wasn’t she Benny?’ Nessa offered, with a dreamy look. ‘Was always doing shows down at Cornbread Hall.’
As Benny nodded, Heather said, ‘I wonder if I knew her? Back from when I’d spend my summers here as a child?’ It was such a small town, it was very likely. She remembered the summers very clearly: playing in the lake trying to catch fish, going for strolls with her mum and Nana and their old dog, Bertie (God rest his soul), and all the while, wishing there were more young’uns for her to go exploring with.
‘No, my dearie,’ Nessa said just as Benny was opening his mouth to speak. ‘They didn’t live round here, then, did you Ben? They were down in Pembrokeshire, down by the coast.’
‘So how do you know Emma then, Nan?’ Heather was used to Nana’s stories winding around in impossible directions until she got to her point.
‘Oh, I don’t.’ She smiled at Benny. ‘This one just talks about her so much I feel like I do.’ At this, she gave him a playful pinch on the arm.
Heather could swear that she saw Benny’s cheeks blush.
‘Though what a beautiful dancer she was!’ Nessa continued emphatically. ‘She could stand right on the tips of her toes, like this’ – at this she tried to show Heather, from her seated position on the sofa, her slippered toes barely grazing the soft carpet – ‘and she always had the audiences with tears in their eyes. Isn’t that right, Benny?’
‘That’s right,’ he replied.
Heather was amused by the dynamic in the room. For all of his natterings on the bus ride over here, Benny was suddenly a man of very few words. It was almost as if he were a different person. Though she knew her Nana often had this effect on people. She could talk for England, that woman! (Or Wales, come to think of it.)
‘... never had the bone structure, I suppose...’
Heather focused back in on the conversation and realised they were still talking about Emma. Or Nessa was at least.
‘Though mind you, I was quite the jiver in my prime. We’d always go down to the pier where they’d have these parties and we’d always be the last on the floor! But ballet, no. Not with these feet!’ She gestured down at her slippers again. ‘It’s all I can do to stand up straight down at the community centre.’
‘Nessy, you’re talking yourself down,’ Benny said.
Nessy?
‘She always has a line of men queuing to dance with her, does our Nessa.’
Heather saw him put his hand on her knee briefly before quickly removing it. Was there something going on here? She loved the idea of her Nan having a nice companion and vowed to keep an eye on them. How strange that she suddenly found herself in the parental position, she thought to herself.
‘But anyway, Nessa’s taking over the conversation again, as usual.’ He giggled and looked Nessa in the eyes. Yes, definitely, thought Heather. Such swoony eyes! ‘My granddaughter isn’t here! But you are. Tell us about your day. What did you get up to in town?’
‘Well, she wanted to go to that car boot sale, didn’t you, love—’
‘Nessa.’ Benny gave her a serious look. And then they both burst out into giggles again.
‘Sorry, Heather. You tell us. Don’t mind me.’
‘Well, I’ve told Benny a lot about this already, but I missed the bus this morning.’ She chose not to draw attention to her Nan’s mess up with the times. ‘So I ended up walking in and got terribly lost.’
‘Oh, Heather! Did you not take my maps with you?’
Again – best not to mention how out of date her Nan’s Ordnance Surveys were. And even better not to mention that she was reading them completely wrong anyway!
‘It took me a really long time to get into town, so when I did I was so exhausted. I went for a cup of tea and a cake.’
‘At the Old Oak, like I said?’ Nessa asked. ‘I thought you’d like that place. All the young folk do.’
‘I went to Gwen’s place actually. She said to say hello.’
‘Gwen! How is she doing? I feel so bad for not having seen her recently, what with my hip and all. Her place is always so quiet. I’m usually the only one there.’
‘It was much the same today, I’m afraid,’ Heather said. ‘There was a couple there who came in shortly after me, but Gwen did say she was worried about the new pub stealing her customers. Though she never quite put it as bluntly as that.’
‘That pub,’ Benny said with a look of disdain. ‘I don’t know why anyone ever wants to go there. It’s very loud.’
‘There’s a new owner,’ Nessa offered. ‘She wants to do those party nights on Saturdays. She applied for one of those, whatchamacallits, licenses to make it stay open later. Just what we need. Have you met her yet, Benny?’
‘Who? The owner? No. No...’ He shook his head. ‘She has one of those fancy people carriers. No need for a bus, posh person like her.’
‘I saw her at the corner shop only last week. Kelly, isn’t it? Her name. Kelly ... I want to say Stanhope. Had a lovely coat, she did. Whistles, I think.’
‘You’re right,’ Benny said.
‘Whistles? How would you ever know?’
‘No, Stanhope. Kelly Stanhope.’
‘Oh, I see. Yes. A very pretty woman, she is too. Very young to own her own business.’
Benny nodded in agreement.
‘You think she’s pretty?’ The incredulous look on her Nana’s face was priceless. It was all she could do not to burst out laughing.
‘Oh, Nessy.’ He smiled and put his hand on her knee again, only this time he left it there. ‘You are a one. She is very pretty, but she’d never go for me.’ He laughed at this, at the idea. ‘She’s more Heather’s age. Very young. And I think she has a man there with her.’
‘Oh no, Benny. She’s the owner. Gwen herself told me.’
‘You do know, Nana, that women can own businesses and have a husband? They’re not mutually exclusive.’ She couldn’t help but interject. She knew her Nan was traditional but she felt she should stand up for modern women at least a little.
‘Not all women, it seems. How is Michael, by the way?’
It was a low blow and Heather felt the punch to her gut, as usually happened whenever he came into her thoughts unannounced. She did her best to act like it didn’t bother her and went to change the subject, but Benny – bless his soul – beat her to it.
‘All the same, it’s not faring well for Gwen. She was saying she might have to close up shop soon.’
‘You’re kidding?’ Nessa’s thoughts had averted, Heather noticed with relief. ‘But what would she do? She’s basically raising Ruby all by herself. They need the money.’
‘You’re telling me.’ Benny nodded and then took a huge slurping sip from his teacup.
‘I don’t know what I’d do without that place. Gwen’s coffee and walnut cake is to die for.’
‘Oh!’ Heather suddenly dashed up from her chair, remembering the cake wrapped in cling film in her bag. ‘She gave me a slice for you. I’ll put it out on the side.’
‘What a nice lady,’ Heather could hear her Nan say as she made her way to the kitchen. ‘But the less said about Gwen’s ...’ - the next word was muffled, as Heather left the room ‘… the better. You know what I mean?’ And then in a softer voice: ‘But let’s not mention it to Heather. I don’t think she’d want to hear about things like that. Especially in her circumstances...’
She couldn’t help but listen in. Not even to pry, but her Nan had never had a very soft voice. Even when she was trying. What was she keeping from her? And why?
Coming back into the room, she made sure to cough loudly so they knew she was back. Whatever it was, she could always ask later. She didn’t want to make it awkward, especially in front of Benny, who she didn’t know very well – even if it appeared that he and her Nana were on very close terms.
All the talk about less than p
erfect people suddenly jogged her memory about who else she’d met while in town. She wanted to hear her Nan and Benny’s thoughts on it.
‘I met someone else in town today. Mr Russell. I must say he was most rude to me. I saw him out while he was walking his dog.’
‘“Walking his dog...”‘ Nana repeated as if processing her words. ‘Russell, you say? Oh yes, I know which one you’re talking about. Has a lot of airs and graces, he does. Yes, you’re best to stay away from him.’
‘Mr Russell...’ Benny muttered, searching his memory. ‘No, I haven’t met him. But if he has the airs and graces like your Nan says, then he’s probably another one with a fancy car.’ He made a face and then took another slurp from his teacup.
‘Benny, you do know the Russell kid. He’s the one that was having it off with the woman from the doctors!’
At this, Benny suddenly coughed in alarm and spilled his tea down his front.
‘Oh, Benny, look at the state of you!’ Nessa leaned over to dab at the stain with a handkerchief she had magically produced, probably from her sleeve. Heather smiled at the interaction. They were like an old couple.
‘Oh, get off, it’s no bother.’ Benny waved her off with a laugh, but she could see he was enjoying the attention. ‘But no. You’re thinking about the Davies’ kid. He was the one mixed up with the new doctor. Remember, his mother was awfully upset as she wanted to fix him up with Betty’s grandson? I say, you’re the one that told me all this!’
Nessa took a moment to reflect and, obviously realising that Benny was right but being too stubborn to admit it, she carried on as if nothing had happened. ‘His family’s new to town last year. Every time I reach out with a lasagne, he turns me away. Never in my life has someone turned down my lasagne! And he lives just next door too. I don’t know, whatever happened to neighbourly closeness?’
Next door? Heather tried to visualise where the next door was and realised it must be a good half mile down the road. At least it explained why she saw him so close to here when she had lost her bearings.
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