by Pamela Evans
‘Your mother-in-law sounds to me like a woman with a heck of a lot to offer,’ said Jane, ‘rather than someone who is slightly deranged.’
‘I agree with you,’ said Lena. ‘But I suppose the family expected her to retire gracefully into the background and spend her days playing bridge. When people don’t do what’s expected of them, they’re usually considered to be a bit barmy. Giles and his mother are two of a kind. As I said, the rest of them think he’s touched too.’
‘Would it be too rude of me to ask why?’ enquired Jane, intrigued.
‘Of course not,’ Lena said chirpily. ‘Giles’s family are well off . . . they own a brewery.’
‘Not Hamiltons’ beers?’
‘Yes, that’s the one,’ said Lena. ‘Giles and his brother Clement both went into the family business with their father as soon as they were old enough. It was expected that they would. Clement took to it but Giles isn’t cut out for business and hated it from the word go. In the end he left and did a teacher training course, which was what he’d wanted to do all along. His father was alive then and he was furious. He couldn’t understand how anyone would want to give up all the material benefits of working in a successful family business to go into something as poorly paid as teaching. This was all long before Giles and I met, of course.’
‘So who’s running the company now?’ asked Jane, keen to have an insight into this family background which was so different from her own.
‘Giles’s brother,’ she said. ‘He’s a real chip off the old block . . . lives and breathes business, just like his father used to.’
‘So he did well out of Giles’s leaving the business, then?’
‘Oh, yes. The company is his, lock, stock and barrel, and he’s filthy rich . . . beautiful house, kids at private school. He and his wife think Giles and I are real odd-balls because we’re not interested in money, over and above what we need to live in reasonable comfort. We hardly ever see them. It isn’t that we don’t like them . . . but we have nothing in common.’
‘Do you ever have the tiniest regret that Giles turned his back on the family money?’
‘No, I can honestly say I don’t,’ said Lena without hesitation. ‘Which probably makes me some sort of loony. But I’d never been used to money like Giles had . . . boarding school and all that. My people are very ordinary, and what you’ve never had, you don’t miss.’
‘That’s true.’
‘Anyway, I would never have met him if he hadn’t gone into teaching,’ she said, adding on a more serious note, ‘I truly believe it was the right thing for him to do. He’s a natural for the job. You should see him in action with the kids . . . he’s wonderful.’
‘Did his mother take his side?’
‘Oh, yes. Trudy is a great believer in freedom of choice.’
‘She doesn’t think you’re mad to buy the cottage, then?’
‘No. But she does think we’re mad not to let her help us pay for the alterations,’ confessed Lena. ‘She’s very well off. Giles’s father left her more than comfortably provided for.’
‘I can understand your not wanting handouts,’ said Jane. ‘I’m just the same. Not that my father has any spare cash to give away, bless him.’
‘Giles feels very strongly about it,’ explained Lena in a serious tone. ‘When he left the family business he knew exactly what he was giving up. He says it would be wrong to sponge off his mother now, no matter how well off she is.’
‘It’s quite a story,’ said Jane.
‘Yes.’ Lena gave her a warm look. ‘I can’t believe I’ve talked so much to anyone at a first meeting, but I feel so at ease with you. I suppose it’s because you don’t run with the pack either.’
To Jane the Hamiltons were fascinating because they were so different from anyone else she knew. Whereas she’d always thought of herself as very conventional and ordinary.
‘I don’t?’ she said enquiringly.
‘I’ll say you don’t!’ said Lena emphatically. ‘I mean, how many women on their own take on a cottage in a derelict state and make it into a home, then bake cakes for a living to bring their kids up?’
‘Not many, I suppose,’ agreed Jane. ‘I hadn’t thought of it like that.’
They went on to talk about other things until Lena said she ought to be going.
‘I didn’t realise I’d been here so long,’ she said, looking at her watch.
‘Nor did I.’
‘Neither of us will get anything done when I move in, if this is anything to go by.’
They both laughed.
‘Still, better that way than our not hitting it off at all,’ said Jane.
‘I’ll say,’ agreed Lena, going to the back door. ‘But I think you and I are going to get along like a house on fire.’
‘Me too,’ said Jane, seeing her out.
The warm feeling of having made a new friend stayed with her all morning.
Chapter Eleven
‘You will be coming to the football match on Wednesday night, won’t you, Granddad?’ Davey said one Sunday in August when Joe was having tea with them at the cottage.
‘Not if that woman is going to be there,’ replied his grandfather adamantly.
‘Trudy Hamilton is sure to be there as she’s Giles’s mother and Kevin’s grandma,’ said Jane, passing him the salad.
‘Sorry, son,’ said Joe, looking at Davey sheepishly.
‘Surely you’re not going to let a thing like that stop you going to see your grandson play football?’ said Jane with a hint of reproof.
‘Please come, Granddad,’ urged Davey. ‘It is the Riverside Juniors’ first proper match.’
‘Yes, and Giles has worked very hard to get this team together,’ added Jane. ‘The least we can all do - as relatives of the boys - is go along to their first game and support them.’
Sighing heavily, Joe served himself with salad.
‘I know all that and of course I want to go to the match . . . but that woman will accost me!’
‘Honestly, Dad . . . you don’t half exaggerate.’
‘I like Kevin’s grandma,’ declared Davey. ‘I think she’s great.’
‘So do I,’ added Pip.
‘And so she is,’ said Jane, who thought Giles’s mother was one of the warmest and most interesting people she had ever met. ‘She’s only being friendly when she makes a fuss of you, Dad.’
‘She’s too damned friendly - too loud, too bright, and too much altogether.’
‘It’s just Trudy’s way,’ said Jane. ‘She’s friendly towards everyone.’
When Lena Hamilton had described her mother-in-law as a one off, she hadn’t been exaggerating. Jane had never met anyone like Trudy before. Neither had Joe, which was why he felt so intimidated by her, especially as she seemed to have taken a shine to him and blatantly pursued him when they were both visiting their offspring at the same time. Dad just couldn’t cope with her gushing personality and dazzling clothes, which wasn’t surprising since she wasn’t like any woman he was ever likely to meet on the Berrywood Estate. His attempts to avoid her had become something of a joke between Jane and Lena and Giles.
The Hamiltons had moved into their cottage during the Easter holidays and had completely transformed life for Jane and the children. Far from restricting them, their new neighbours added another dimension to the Parkers’ lives and they had quickly become good neighbours.
Davey and Kevin became inseparable almost from day one. Not having a daughter of her own, Lena made a great fuss of Pip and her friendship with Jane progressed as she had hoped it would after that first meeting. They were the same age and had a similar point of view about things. It was all very casual. The two families didn’t stand on ceremony with each other and felt free to use each other’s back doors without causing offence.
The Hamiltons were cultivated and urbane but enormous fun to be with. They were well-read and interested in the world around them. Their pleasures were simple, though, Jane noticed. Walking, readin
g and listening to music seemed to be their favourite pastimes, when they weren’t busy with some community or charity project for they were both active voluntary workers.
Not having any other educated friends, Jane was surprised by how much she had in common with them. Being in their company helped to broaden her mind, something that had been happening gradually ever since Mick left anyway. Conversation took on a whole new meaning for Jane now. She even began to like classical music because of the influence of her new friends.
Although they were obviously devoted to each other, Jane never felt excluded when she was in their company, and enjoyed many happy suppers with them after the children had gone to bed. The three of them had stayed up all night, glued to Jane’s television set, on that momentous occasion in July when two American astronauts had taken the famous giant leap for mankind by being the first men ever to set foot on the moon. Having stimulating adult company so close to hand was a positive delight for Jane.
Giles was something of a hero to Davey and his friends and it wasn’t difficult to see why. He was energetic and sporty and able to communicate with children authoritatively while appearing to stay on their level. His getting a football team together for the younger children of the area had been inspired by Kevin and Davey’s love for the sport. Giles had worked tirelessly to get it organised, while still finding the time to work on his cottage. Throughout the summer he’d spent hours on the playing fields coaching the boys and had arranged for them to play other teams during the season, which was due to start on Wednesday evening. Now, as Davey tried to persuade his grandfather to attend their first game, Joe remained adamant that he wouldn’t go if Trudy was there.
‘She’s not as friendly to others as she is towards me,’ he insisted. ‘She’s after me . . . keeps trying to rope me in to help with those damned shows she puts on.’
‘Doing what?’
‘She asked me to take tickets at the door at some charity show she’s organising in the autumn,’ he said. ‘I said no, of course.’
‘It’s all in a good cause, you know,’ Jane pointed out. ‘And it would do you good to get out more.’
‘I’m out at work all day.’
‘In the evening, I mean.’
‘You can forget it, ’cause I’m not getting involved with a lot of silly old women,’ he declared. ‘And that’s an end to it.’
‘Trudy’s only about your age.’
‘Exactly,’ he growled. ‘She should grow old gracefully, not go about like some reject from the set of a horror film.’
The children found this riotous and roared with laughter.
‘Now you really are going too far, Dad,’ admonished Jane sternly. ‘You’re being very rude about Trudy. I like the way she looks . . . she’s a very attractive woman.’
‘Mutton dressed as lamb,’ he snorted. ‘I don’t know who the daft cow thinks she is, carrying on like some West End producer.’
‘The shows she puts on give pleasure to a lot of people,’ said Jane.
‘I’m not denying it, but all Trudy Hamilton gives me is a whole lot of grief,’ he complained. ‘I can’t even come to visit my own daughter without fear of her barging in.’
‘She probably thinks you’re lonely and could do with a friend,’ suggested Jane. ‘You should be flattered that she’s bothering with you. She has more than enough to do with her time.’
‘Well, I’m not flattered, and I can do without her friendship, thanks very much.’
‘I think you’re being most unkind about her,’ announced Jane firmly. ‘And we’ll all be very upset if you don’t come to the football match on Wednesday after work.’
Joe looked pained.
‘Oh, Gawd,’ he said with an eloquent sigh. ‘My life isn’t my own.’
‘It never is when you’ve a family. You should know that by now,’ said Jane, secretly applauding Trudy Hamilton for trying to force her father out of the rut he’d dug for himself after his wife died.
It was a fine evening and the dying sunshine spread its golden light over the playing fields where twenty-two little boys were running their legs off on the football pitch. A sprinkling of spectators gathered on the touch line to cheer them on, Jane among them, having a wonderful time and yelling with the rest. It was so good to see Davey enjoying himself, and for her to participate in the community spirit that was so palpably present here this evening.
‘The kids love it, don’t they?’ remarked Marie at half-time as she and Jane idly watched Lena go on to the pitch to take a plate of orange wedges to the players.
‘They certainly do.’
‘Roy’s so excited actually to be in a football team.’
‘I know, it’s great for the younger boys to get a game. I think Giles’s aim is to involve as many children as possible. It’s only a bit of fun but it teaches them team spirit and gives them something to look forward to outside school hours.’
‘They’ll have to have the games at the weekend when the nights draw in.’
‘That’s right,’ said Jane, suddenly aware of the earthy chill of autumn as evening fell. She could hardly believe they were on the brink of another winter, her third at the cottage.
‘She’s very attractive in an unobvious sort of way, isn’t she?’ remarked Marie, watching Lena walk back across the field, having delivered the half-time refreshments.
‘I think she’s lovely.’
‘She’s got a touch of class about her, that’s for sure.’
‘They both have.’
‘He really is one to leave home for,’ said Marie jokingly as Giles, wearing a bright blue tracksuit, bounded across the pitch to speak to Eddie who had been enlisted as linesman.
‘Not half,’ agreed Jane in a frivolous manner.
Marie looked at her sharply. ‘You don’t really fancy him, do you?’
‘I’d be wasting my time if I did.’ Jane grinned. ‘He only has eyes for Lena. They’re besotted with each other.’
‘Yes, but supposing he was available. Would you be interested then?’
‘I don’t know,’ she replied truthfully. ‘As it isn’t likely to happen, I’m not even going to think about it.’ She gave Marie a questioning look. ‘But you started all this. Are you having fantasies about him yourself?’
‘Don’t be daft,’ she was quick to deny. ‘I was only wondering about you. I can’t imagine you ever being interested in anyone in that sort of way, except Mick.’
‘I think I might be eventually,’ Jane remarked thoughtfully. ‘I don’t suppose I’ll spend the rest of my life alone.’
‘You won’t have to because Mick will come back one of these days,’ said Marie swiftly.
Jane felt uneasy. Although her comment had been made lightly, Jane sensed that Marie was trying to make a point. Her sister-in-law had made her views known on this subject many times. She still assumed that if Mick did return to Jane, everything would be as before, after the recriminations were over. There had been a time when Jane had shared the same opinion. But Mick had been away a long time now, and she had made a life for herself without him. She honestly didn’t know how she would feel if he were to come back into her life.
Guessing that Marie’s devotion to her brother would make it difficult for her to understand this, she just said, ‘Well, we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?’
‘Yeah.’
They turned their attention back to the Hamiltons as they waited for the referee to blow the whistle for the second half. Lena ran over to her husband on the line and said something to him. He leaned his head close and spoke to her. Even from a distance you could see the intimacy between them.
‘You’re right about those two being besotted with each other,’ said Marie.
‘I know.’
‘When I see them together, it reminds me of you and Mick.’
Jane didn’t reply because she didn’t want to argue with Marie. But Lena and Giles had a vastly different sort of relationship from the one Jane had had with Mick. Although t
he Hamiltons were closely bonded, they gave each other space. They had many shared interests and did lots of things together, but also pursued individual activities. Lena belonged to various women’s groups and quite often went out in the evening without Giles, as he did without her. It obviously did wonders for a relationship, keeping it fresh and full of variety. Jane could see now how one-sided her relationship with Mick had been. He’d had a life outside the home but wouldn’t have allowed his wife the same privilege.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Trudy, looking stunning in a billowing kaftan-style dress in multicoloured cotton, and a scarlet turban-type hat worn with a few wisps of her tinted blonde hair poking out at the front.
‘Hello, girls,’ she said, kissing Jane’s cheek then doing the same to Marie, whom she had met several times before. ‘Nice to see you both.’
‘You’ve missed the first half,’ said Jane, after greetings had been exchanged.
‘I know and I feel awful about it. But my showgroup meeting went on longer than I expected and I just couldn’t get away.’
‘Never mind, there’s still the whole of the second half to come.’
They concentrated on the game as boys in varying degrees of muddiness tore about the pitch, falling over and excavating the field with the studs on their boots.
‘Oh, I see your father standing up there by the goal, Jane,’ said Trudy, sounding pleased.
‘Yes.’
‘He looks lonely up there on his own,’ she said. ‘I’d better go and keep him company . . . the sweet old thing.’
‘Don’t worry about Dad,’ advised Jane, in an attempt to protect her father from annoyance. ‘He likes his own company, especially when he’s watching a soccer match.’
‘Even so . . .’
The conversation was halted by the appearance of Pip and Melanie who were bored by all the boyish activity.
‘Can we go and play on the swings, Mum?’ asked Pip.
‘Not now, love,’ said Jane.
‘Why?’
‘Because you can’t go on your own, and Aunt Marie and I want to stay here and watch the rest of the match.’