Time to Move On

by Grace Thompson

  She spoke brightly but Seranne could see she was on edge. When she or Luke asked questions her answers were vague and Seranne noticed that sometimes she was not really concentrating on what was being said. She sat there only half aware of them, as though listening for Paul’s return.

  In another attempt to start a conversation, Seranne asked, ‘Mum, has any post arrived for me? I’m not expecting any, most people know where I am by now, but Paul said a letter had come and he’d put it ready for when I next called.’

  Jessie shook her head. ‘There’s nothing on the desk addressed to you. Perhaps he’s forwarded it to Badgers Brook.’

  ‘Hardly, it was a long time ago and I’d have received it by now.’

  ‘I never see the post, Paul attends to all that, saves me bothering. He’s so thoughtful. Don’t worry, dear. It was probably unimportant.’

  ‘I’d still like to see it.’

  ‘I’ll ask Paul when he gets home.’

  Luke went into the kitchen and set a tray for tea. There was a sad-looking sponge cake on the table and he carried it in with plates and server. ‘All right if I make us some tea?’ he belatedly asked. Jessie replied vaguely and once again, Seranne was aware that she hadn’t taken in what Luke had said.

  Paul still hadn’t arrived when it was time to go and Seranne was reluctant to leave. She stopped to wash the dishes, noticing her mother hadn’t finished her tea or eaten any of the cake. She was only half alive when Paul wasn’t there. As an excuse for another delay she wrote a note asking Paul to forward her mail, then they said their goodbyes amid hugs and promises to meet soon, and left.

  ‘I hated leaving her, Luke,’ she said, as they turned the corner after which they lost sight of the tea rooms. ‘She seems so depressed, not like Mum at all.’

  ‘Where was Paul? She appeared to be anxious about him. Did you notice that she hardly turned her eyes away from the door and seemed to be listening for his return?’

  ‘I did. My guess is that they’ve had a quarrel.’

  Luke thought of the scene he had witnessed between Paul and Pat Sewell and wondered if Jessie had found out about Paul’s flirtation. If she had, then knowing they were out together must be breaking her heart. He agonized about whether or not he should tell Seranne but decided not. If it blew over, her knowing would make it harder for Jessie to forgive, and if it didn’t, he believed that bad news shouldn’t be delivered until there was no alternative.

  He wondered what had happened to Paul’s plan to open a shop selling china. He also wondered where Paul had really gone that afternoon. He had known they were coming, so was he avoiding Seranne? Things were looking desperate, could Jessie be about to lose her business and her home?

  ‘I wonder why Mum changed from the regular bakery? We’ve dealt with Green and Sons for years.’

  Luke made a mental note of the name and spent the next few days trying to find out. Paul might be charming, but Luke didn’t trust him at all. Reluctant as she might be to ask, Jessie was clearly in need of help.

  During the following week, Betty watched as yet another trainee bar assistant went through her paces. At first Tilly faced a lot of teasing, but she clearly enjoyed it and gave back as much if not more than she was given. At the end of the first session she was quick and thorough with the cleaning and setting up for the next opening and Betty nodded approval and said, ‘No need for a trial period, Tilly, you’re on the team.’ She was smiling but inside she wondered sadly just how long this one would last before finding a better job – or just losing interest.

  In the bar that evening, Colin and Bob and a few other regulars were discussing the unexpected will that excluded Ed from inheriting his wife’s guest house, and the mysterious Mary Anne Crisp.

  ‘Elsie Clements as she was, lived here for years and it’s strange we’ve never heard of this niece of hers,’ Colin remarked. ‘Crisp is an unusual name. If she was from round here we’re sure to have heard it.’

  ‘Married for sure. She could be called anything now, although Mary Anne isn’t so common either. Not local for sure, she could be anywhere, even one of them GI brides living in America.’

  ‘I knew a Mary Anne once,’ Tilly called over, having followed the conversation. ‘She quarrelled with her family and moved away. No one knows where she went. There’s exciting! She might be wealthy and not know it.’

  ‘You ought to go and see the solicitor, Mark Lacy,’ Luke said, finishing his glass of beer. ‘Just think, you might be the one to solve the great Cwm Derw mystery.’

  ‘There’s exciting!’ someone mocked.

  Betty was smiling as she went to answer the phone. She picked up the receiver with the constantly reviving hope that it might be Alun. It was Paul asking her to let Seranne know her mother was in hospital. She called to Luke and he went at once to find Seranne and take her to her mother, but it was Wednesday, the café was closed and from what he gleaned, Seranne and Babs had gone to Maes Hir market.

  He drove to the busy little market town but despite walking around the market and the shops several times couldn’t find them. He phoned and left messages with Betty, Stella and with Babs’s parents at the bakery, then drove to the hospital to which Jessie had been taken. He asked several nurses but no record of her being admitted could be found. ‘Is there another hospital where she might have been taken?’ he asked. ‘I might have misheard. A receptionist telephoned the nearest hospital but no one had a patient called Jessica Curtis. It was as he was leaving that he found her.

  ‘I’m all right,’ Jessie assured him when he found her sitting in a corridor, waiting for Paul to take her home. ‘Paul overreacted, that’s all. He gets so worried about me.’

  ‘What did the doctor say?’ he asked, taking her cold hands in his.

  ‘Nerves. Although I didn’t think I was the type to suffer such a thing. I’ve always been a capable woman.’ She stared at him, held his gaze, anxious to convince him. ‘You believe that, don’t you?’

  ‘I do. Of course I do. From all that Seranne has told me about you, you can cope with anything life throws.’

  ‘Except the fear of Paul leaving me,’ she whispered. ‘Does that make me pathetic?’

  ‘If Paul and you parted – and I can’t see that ever happening,’ he added quickly, ‘you and he have something very special. But if you and he did decide to separate, you would cope bravely as you’ve always done, head up high, and you’d rebuild your life into something successful.’

  She was about to say something else; she leaned towards him, her hand came up to touch his lapel as she began, ‘Promise you won’t say anything to Seranne, but—’

  ‘Darling! I’ve been so anxious. I’ve searched all the wards and couldn’t find you!’ Paul ran the last few steps and hugged his wife and made soothing sounds a mother might make to her baby.

  ‘They had no reason to keep me in, I’m fine, really, darling.’

  Luke stood and watched them for a moment then made his excuses. ‘I’m so pleased it wasn’t anything serious and I’ll go straight to reassure Seranne,’ he promised. ‘She must be home by now. He walked away, unsure of exactly what he would tell Seranne. He glanced back to see them wrapped in each other’s arms, Jessie’s small figure swamped by Paul’s height making her look as helpless as a wounded child. He was frustrated, wondering what Jessie had been about to tell him. Now it was unlikely he’d ever find out. It had been a weak moment and Paul’s arrival had ruined it.

  It was as he reached the outskirts of Cwm Derw that he saw Seranne. She was sitting beside Tony in the bakery van approaching him and he tooted until they saw him. They parked and he told them all that had happened.

  ‘I think I’d still like to go and see her,’ Seranne said and, to Tony’s dismay, she went with Luke. Trying to retrieve something, Tony hugged her, kissed her lightly on the cheek, whispered reassurances on her mother’s health, before driving away. Luke hid the possessive feelings engendered by the brief display of affection between them. If only things cou
ld have been different, he thought, helping Seranne into the car, if Marion hadn’t – but that was something he had to live with.

  When they reached the flat, Jessie was tucked up in bed, cosseted with hot water bottles. There was fruit and some magazines on the side table and Luke frowned. Paul seemed to want Jessie to become an invalid. He was further alarmed when Jessie began to cry the moment she saw them. Something here was very wrong, and accepting the risk to his growing closeness with Seranne, he had to do something before Jessie surrendered completely.

  He tried to find a few moments alone with her, but Paul watched him and made sure it didn’t happen. Frustration increased, making him angry and it showed. Paul and he glared at each other and although nothing was said, both had the other’s measure, aware they were in conflict.

  On the journey back to Cwm Derw Luke was quiet and Seranne was content to think about her mother and the way everything had fallen apart since Paul had come on the scene. So when he decided to take a chance and hint to her that things were not as they should be, she was receptive.

  ‘I’m concerned about your mother,’ he began. ‘It seems to me that Paul encourages her to leave everything to him and she’s given in, accepts what he advises even though she must know he’s wrong.’ He held his breath expecting her to disagree.

  ‘I’ve been thinking the same thing,’ she said to his surprise. ‘From the beginning he discouraged her from running the tea rooms properly, getting that awful Pat Sewell in and allowing her to ruin the business my mother and grandmother had built. Now she seems almost helpless, depending on him for every little decision,’

  ‘She isn’t a weak person, I’ve known her long enough to know that. Love can change people, but why has she given up all she previously enjoyed?’

  ‘I’m very worried, but what can I do? I thought I was doing the right thing when I left home but now I’m not so sure. She seems so afraid of losing him she won’t disagree with a thing he says.’

  ‘Can’t you persuade her to come to Badgers Brook and stay with you for a while?’

  ‘I have invited her, but she refuses to leave Paul.’

  ‘She might be afraid of what he’ll do while she isn’t there. She must be aware of what’s going on even if she’s so afraid of losing him she pretends to ignore it.’ He thought again of the closeness of Paul and Pat Sewell but avoided mentioning it. Seranne had enough to worry her at present. And there was always the possibility he was wrong and what he’d seen had been innocent. Uncle Frank’s explanation that they were long-time friends cast doubts on his previous suspicions.

  They went back to Badgers Brook and Seranne made some Welsh rarebit with dried egg and the last of her cheese ration. Using trays, they sat in front of the fire and ate, a mood of despondency shrouding them as they were both aware of how little they could do unless Jessie actually asked them for help.

  That night, while Paul was sleeping, Jessie went down and cleaned the neglected kitchen behind the tea rooms. She went back into bed without disturbing him and resolved to do the same every night until the place was at least clean. Even if she could do nothing about all the missing displays and the pretty curtains that Pat had discarded if would be as clean as she could make it.

  Beside his regular workload, Tony was busy overseeing the new premises. The bake house was being built in what had been the garden behind the shop they had bought. He visited the place at least once each day and pored over the plans and discussed the builders’ progress with his father every evening. But he still found time to help at The Wayfaring Tree. Seranne began to look forward to his arrival, usually during the afternoon, when the place was filled with shoppers and friends meeting for afternoon tea and cakes.

  He sometimes took some cakes he had made in the bakery and other times he baked in their small kitchen. One afternoon he made pancakes and drop scones which were always popular. He knew he did it for the pleasure of pleasing Seranne and talking to her, making her laugh. He disliked Wednesdays, when he had no excuse to call.

  ‘We make a good team, don’t we?’ he said one Saturday, when the café was crowded and he was in the kitchen bringing out yet another batch of small fruit cakes. Babs had gone across the road to buy some napkins as their order had failed to arrive. They worked together with ease, and occasionally he touched her arm as he spoke to her. Seranne turned and smiled at him, her face rosy from the heat and he felt a rush of desire. The impulse to kiss her couldn’t be denied and he put an arm around her waist and kissed her warm cheek. Then he turned quickly away before she recognized that the gesture was more than friendship and was embarrassed.

  Babs arrived at that moment and she winked at her brother, who pushed her shoulder playfully. ‘Just a reward for doing well,’ he joked.

  ‘Reward? A kiss from a bloke like you?’ she teased.

  The incident had unsettled him, but Seranne appeared not to have been affected. They had often hugged and an occasional kiss on the cheek was no great deal, and no reason for her to think anything had changed.

  During the hours Alun wasn’t needed at the hotel, he continued to explore. To fill what would have been lonely hours in his room, he walked around the villages and beaches of the Gower peninsular. Neither rain nor storms kept him in and with heavy waterproofs and a small rucksack, he explored all the roads and narrow tracks with the aid of a map until he felt he knew every corner, together with the legends and folk lore attached to them. At every new discovery he imagined walking it again with Betty, having her beside him to share the beautiful scenery would have made every step a joy.

  He wanted to go back to Cwm Derw, but the longer he waited, the harder it became. He no longer imagined the way her face would light up as he stepped through the door, now he thought of walking in and finding someone else behind the bar, working beside her, laughing, his sojourn at the Ship and Compass forgotten.

  Other faces passed through his mind and he wondered whether Luke and Seranne were together as he had once predicted. It was as he was thinking about Seranne and Luke that he saw Luke, and he was startled, as though he had willed him into existence out of his unconscious. ‘Luke,’ he called and as he waved, Luke saw him and ran across.

  ‘Alun! So this is where you live? What good luck meeting you, now you can give me your address. Betty would like to know where you are, and Jake would too.’

  ‘I found a job in a hotel as I told you.’ He gestured behind him to where the sign read, ‘Sea View’.

  ‘Better than the Ship and Compass?’

  ‘Not at all. The customers here are transient, few staying more than a week, many passing through on their way to somewhere else. At the Ship, Betty’s customers are friends.’

  ‘You should have stayed. She’s managing with a woman helping at the moment, Tilly Tucker. Hard on them sometimes with the heavy lifting and moving about they have to do.’ He stared at Alun and said, ‘Why don’t you come and see us all?’

  Alun nodded but didn’t answer. They walked a little way along the road that skirted the six miles of Swansea Bay, then Alun asked why Luke was there. Taking a chance, Luke told him about his concern for Seranne’s mother. ‘I’m going to see the wholesalers to find out why Paul no longer deals with them. Want to come?’ He had an idea that getting Alun involved might be an obtuse way of getting him to return to Cwm Derw – at least for a visit and he had a suspicion that was what both Alun and Betty wanted. If he was wrong then there’d be no harm done.

  The wholesalers selling equipment and ingredients to bakery businesses was not far from Swansea and the owner was willing to discuss his ex-customer. ‘Yes, Jessie Laurence. Married that Paul Curtis, didn’t she? More fool her! She was a customer of ours, not big but she always liked the very best. As for why Jessie decided to deal with someone else, perhaps you’d better ask her that.’

  ‘Did you have a disagreement?’ Luke asked.

  Mr Green shrugged. ‘Not with Jessie, although I suppose you could call it that.’

  ‘You can’t
explain?’

  Alun said, ‘Why don’t you tell Mr Green exactly why we’re here, Luke? If he knows the situation and how worried you are, he might be more helpful.’

  ‘The truth is, Mr Green, we think Jessica is no longer in charge. Her husband seems to have taken over and he’s running the place into the ground.’

  ‘Why are you involved? What business is it of yours? I shouldn’t discuss private business with a stranger. Not without good cause.’

  ‘I haven’t any right to make these enquiries, but I care for Jessie’s daughter and I’m trying to find out what’s wrong so I can help.’

  The man hesitated for a moment, staring at Luke as though summing him up. Then he shrugged again and said, ‘The truth is, they haven’t paid their account for months and Jessie always paid our monthly statement by return post. They ordered new equipment now it’s becoming available, a new sink, a larger fridge, lighting, and they increased their regular order. Now they owe us a lot of money. There seems no prospect of us being paid, so we cancelled all further orders and have put the debt in the hands of our solicitor.’ He took out a few sheets of paper listing what had been supplied.

  ‘He’s probably sold the new equipment you supplied,’ Luke muttered angrily. ‘Apart from the sink, there’s no sign of any of it in the kitchen. Thank you for being honest with us. I suspected something of the sort. Jessie’s new husband has let the business slide and until now she hasn’t seemed aware, or perhaps she doesn’t care.’

  ‘I find that hard to believe. I’d have trusted Jessie with anything. Until these past months she was as reliable as anyone could wish. So what happened?’

  ‘Paul Curtis “happened”!’ Luke said. ‘The real question is, what can we do about it?’

  Luke and Alun went into a pub and ordered beers and sandwiches. They sat in silence, each mulling over the situation but neither coming up with an idea.

  ‘The problem is whether Seranne would thank us for trying to help or accuse us of interfering,’ Luke said, and added, ‘Quick to lose her temper is Seranne.’