‘We’re expanding the garden centre,’ Mrs Hill told her. ‘Arthur has great plans in mind, but I’ll let him tell you about it later. Now, I think that’s enough for today. You go and relax while I finish off what I’m doing in the kitchen.’
She refused Debbie’s offer of help. ‘No, you’re a guest – and a very welcome one – and we think we’ll be seeing a lot more of you now,’ she added with a smile.
Kevin found her in the comfortable sitting room after he had helped his father to close up at the end of the day. ‘We have a few more staff now,’ he told her, ‘which means that Dad isn’t so overworked as he used to be. A lot of it was his own fault, mind, but he’s learning to delegate some of the work to others … It’s great to have you back here, Debbie.’ He put his arm around her as they sat on the settee. ‘Back at Sunnyhill as well as back with me. That’s what started your enthusiasm for gardening, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes, partly,’ she agreed, ‘and my dad’s influence as well. I used to help him in the garden almost as soon as I could walk and talk.’
She was more than ready for the steak and kidney pie and the sponge pudding that Alice had made. The conversation drifted to Debbie’s college course, and the fact that she would miss the final exams.
‘Nothing matters, though,’ she said, ‘so long as Mum and Dad get well again. I can do some more studying later on and get the qualifications I wanted.’
Arthur was looking at her intently. ‘Why don’t you come and work here?’ he said.
She smiled, remembering the time when she had wanted to do just that. It had caused arguments with her parents when she had said that she didn’t want to go into the sixth form or to college. She wanted to work at Sunnyhill full time instead of just at weekends and holiday times. Of course, it had been because of her infatuation with Kevin and her desire to be grown up and earn money instead of being a schoolgirl. But common sense had prevailed in the end. She had gone into the sixth form and then to college. Now she was back where she started.
‘That’s what I wanted to do when I was sixteen,’ she said. ‘I wanted to leave school. But you persuaded me to go to college, Mr Hill, and I know you were right.’
‘That was because I knew you could go much further,’ he replied. ‘I’m not suggesting that you should come and work as an assistant gardener, or serve in the shop like you used to do. I want you to be in charge of our landscape gardening team.’
‘But you haven’t …?’ she began. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean that we have great plans for the future of Sunnyhill. I mentioned to you a while back, at Christmas, I think it was, that we get asked about landscaping, by ‘do it yourself’ enthusiasts as a rule; and we’ve been stocking fancy bricks and paving stones, trellis and that sort of stuff. But we haven’t got the expertise at the moment. That’s where you come in, Debbie. We’d better tell her all about it, Alice.’ His wife nodded approvingly, and Kevin smiled at her as though he already knew about it.
‘We’ve been wanting to expand our business for quite some time,’ Arthur continued, ‘but we didn’t have the brass, and we didn’t want to take on a huge loan. Anyway, a couple of months ago Alice’s old aunty died. It was sad, like; she was a grand old lady, but we weren’t heartbroken ’cause she’d had a good innings; she was ninety-five. She left everything she had to Alice; she had no other close relations – Alice’s parents have both gone now – and Alice was the one who was good to her, like a daughter, you might say. But we didn’t realize just how much she was worth, did we, pet?’
Alice shook her head. ‘No; we knew she had her house in Darlington – she’d managed to stay there almost till the end – but we didn’t know she had thousands stashed away and invested. We only found out a few weeks ago. So we’re going to invest it all in the business. What else would I do with it? Arthur said would I like to go on a cruise, but I said no. I think he was only joking anyroad! We might have a holiday somewhere this summer; it’s ages since we went away. But we’ve got great plans for the rest of it.’
‘Aye, so we have.’ Arthur took up the story. ‘We’ve already got the little café and that’s going splendidly. But the main idea is to go in for landscape gardening. There are already a couple of firms in the area, so we decided we must get in there an’ all. And we’ve got our designer all ready and waiting, haven’t we?’ He looked eagerly at Debbie.
‘But I’m not qualified yet,’ she said. ‘That’s what I was saying; I shall miss the exams.’
‘You’re qualified enough for us, Debbie,’ said Arthur, ‘and, like you said, you can get the diploma you want in the near future, maybe a night school course. Our Kevin’s going to night school, and he’ll be in charge of the office work and do his share of gardening now and again. And Alice has the shop and her flower arrangements and vases and suchlike. And as for me, I suppose I’ll be the gaffer, but I’ve never gone to do any studying; I’ve picked it all up as I’ve gone along. I thought I knew it all, but Kevin’s already shown me that there’s a lot more to this gardening business than meets the eye.’
‘Yes, I thought I knew quite a lot,’ said Debbie, ‘but I’ve widened my experience with these last months at college.’ She looked across the table to Arthur. ‘What can I say but thank you. I’d love to do what you suggest … but it isn’t because you feel sorry for me, is it? With my parents, and everything?’
‘Not at all,’ Arthur said decidedly. ‘We’ve had you in mind from the start. We knew you’d finish college in a couple of months and be looking for employment. Unless you’d already been offered a job elsewhere, of course?’
‘No; I was waiting for something to turn up … and now it has.’ Was it what she had been waiting for all along? Debbie wondered. She had known, when the accident happened, that she would need to stay up here with her parents. And this was a stroke of good fortune in the midst of all the uncertainty.
‘Let’s leave the washing up and have a drink to celebrate,’ said Alice.
‘Here’s to the future, and to Sunnyhill,’ said Arthur when they were all seated in the lounge with glasses of rich cream sherry. They raised their glasses. ‘To the future,’ they echoed.
Debbie was feeling mixed emotions. She was happy that her career prospects were hopeful, but the anxiety about her parents was still with her. Arthur had not forgotten.
‘And here’s to Vera and Stanley,’ he said. ‘May they soon be back with us again … please God,’ he added.
Cards were already arriving for Debbie’s birthday. There was one from each of her flatmates, from Fiona and Simon, a special one from the children, made by Stella, and one from Graham. She had written to tell him what had happened and that she would be staying in Whitesands Bay. He said he was sorry, and hoped he would see her soon. It probably hadn’t dawned on him that she would not be returning to Leeds at all.
She was delighted with the silver pendant that her mother had bought for her; an abstract modern design that she had admired in the jeweller’s window. How thoughtful of Mum to have remembered.
Kevin arrived on Thursday afternoon to take her to visit her parents. ‘Happy birthday, Debbie love.’ He hugged and kissed her. ‘As happy as it can be, I mean …’ Each day they had been waiting for her father to regain consciousness.
He handed her a small box; it was a ring box. ‘I can’t buy you the proper ring just yet,’ he told her, ‘if you know what I mean. But you know how I feel about you, and sometime soon, I hope …’ There was no need to say any more. It was not the time to be thinking of an engagement and long-term plans; but they both knew what they wanted.
The ring was a wide silver one in a modern design, engraved with tiny hearts and flowers. It fitted exactly on the middle finger of her left hand. ‘Thank you; it’s just perfect,’ she said. She hugged him, and as he held her close she knew that was how it would be for ever.
The best birthday present of all was the news that Stanley had opened his eyes that morning. ‘He’s still confused,’ the nurse told them as they
entered his room, ‘but he’s back with us and we’re satisfied that all seems to be well.’
His eyes were closed but he was breathing normally. His face was pale and the few day’s growth of beard made him look older. He looked different, somehow; as though he was no longer in another world, apart from them.
Debbie touched his hand. ‘Hello, Dad …’ she said.
He opened his eyes, staring uncertainly for a moment. Then, ‘Debbie!’ he cried, his voice husky with lack of use. ‘Grand to see you, pet.’
‘And you too, Dad,’ she replied, although she could scarcely speak as tears of happiness welled up in her eyes. ‘You’re going to get well again now.’
The nurse had advised them not to stay long. His eyes were closing as they left him and went off to share the good news with Vera. Further good news was that she would be allowed home in a few days’ time.
Epilogue
Debbie did not return to college to complete her course and to take the exams. She was, however, given glowing testimonials from the lecturers and urged to continue with her studies when she was able to do so.
Vera’s injuries prevented her from doing much in the home for several months. Her fighting spirit, though, made her determined not to give in, and by the end of the summer she was almost back to her normal self.
Stanley’s heart attack had been a severe warning that all was not well. His heart condition prevented him from returning to work, and he realized, sensibly, that he had to do as he was told. He contented himself with his own garden; he was delighted that Debbie and Kevin had planted and nurtured the flowers that he and Vera had intended to buy.
It had come as a shock to Debbie to be suddenly catapulted back to her home life in Whitesands Bay. One moment, it seemed, she had been engrossed in her work at college, and the next minute it had all come to an abrupt end. One of the worst aspects was the ending of the happy times in the flat with Lisa, Fran and Karen. It was amazing how close they had all become in such a short time. She knew, though, that the friendships they had formed would be lasting ones. She was keeping in touch with them all, especially with Lisa, who said she was missing her very much.
She had received a letter from Graham, saying that he valued her friendship, but that he was now friendly with Felicity, the girl who played the French horn with him in the band. Debbie was not surprised to hear the news, and she wrote to wish him well. They would be able to play duets together.
In September she enlisted on the night school courses that would enable her to gain the diploma she wanted. In the meantime, though, she was already working at Sunnyhill as a designer and the supervisor of the team of landscape gardeners. The work there was going on apace. Mr Hill had purchased an adjoining plot of land. A new office was being constructed there, and all the requisites for those who wished to do their own garden designing: bricks and stones of all shapes, colours and sizes; decking; fencing; trellis; water features; urns and containers. For those who needed guidance and help, or someone to do the job for them, there was a team of experts who would plan and undertake the work.
On a sunny day in June 1972, the parish church in Whitesands Bay was half full with guests, and others who wanted to be there to wish them well. Debbie and Kevin had been engaged since last Christmas, and now it was their wedding day.
They had both decided that they didn’t want a lavish wedding with lots of guests, but just a simple affair with those nearest and dearest to them. Nor did Debbie want a large retinue of attendants. As she came down the aisle on her father’s arm, wearing a simple dress of ivory satin, with a short veil, she was followed by two bridesmaids dressed in cornflower blue. Her chief bridesmaid was Lisa; she was proudly wearing an engagement ring, but she had promised her parents that she and Neil would not get married until the following year when she was twenty-one.
The other bridesmaid was Stella, now aged five and a half. Debbie could not possibly have resisted her little half-sister’s pleas to be a bridesmaid. It would have been nice to have had three-year-old Michelle as well, but both Fiona and Debbie had decided against it. Matthew and Mark, now the best of friends – well, most of the time – would have wanted to be included, and that might have been too much to cope with.
There they all were, though, sitting beside Fiona, turning their heads to look at Debbie as she made her way down the aisle. She smiled at them all, and little Matthew gave a cheeky wave. Simon, at Debbie’s request was helping to officiate at the wedding service along with their own vicar.
She acknowledged the wide grins of Fran and Karen sitting together, neither of them with a partner. Debbie had heard that Fran was ‘seeing’ a rather older man, but there were complications, and Karen was said to be between boyfriends at the moment.
Vera smiled lovingly at her daughter as she passed, looking proud and happy, and elegant in a flowered summer suit with a wide-brimmed hat. Debbie handed her bouquet to Lisa and turned to face Kevin. They exchanged adoring glances as the congregation started to sing … ‘Now Thank We All Our God …’
Old Friends, New Friends Page 28