by Helen Rolfe
Veronica was about to reply to June’s query in their closed group about making scones when Audrey peered over her shoulder. ‘You have a message.’
‘Do I?’
Audrey pointed to a symbol at the top of the screen with a funny squiggle in the middle. ‘Click on that one.’
Veronica did as she was told.
‘It’s from Morris,’ Audrey grinned, nudging her. ‘Is he in the secret group?’
‘Closed group, and yes, he’s a member. All very above board.’
‘You know what you should do?’ By Audrey’s expression Veronica could sense a suggestion coming her way, but Audrey had run up the stairs and came back with her phone. ‘We should totally load up the photograph of you with your hair and make-up all done, the one I took after the makeover.’
‘For what reason?’ Veronica saw the photo, it was a good one, but she much preferred the incognito approach.
‘Put it on your profile picture so people know who you are.’
‘I’m not sure I like that idea.’
‘Why not? I bet the others in the group have all got a photograph.’
‘That’s true.’ She wanted to read Morris’s message but she’d gone back into the group instead while Audrey was here. ‘How would I do it?’
‘Would you like me to?’ Audrey offered.
When Veronica nodded, Audrey snatched the chance before she changed her mind, connected up a cable, got the photograph and just like that, there was her photograph next to her name on Facebook. It felt adventurous, new, an exciting part of her life that had been out of bounds until now.
‘You reply to Morris,’ Audrey winked. ‘See you in the morning, Gran.’
Veronica didn’t have much of a rebuke to her granddaughter’s teasing so with the television for company, she clicked on the message symbol to see what Morris had to say for himself.
She ended up conversing with him for well over an hour. She’d had her computer on her lap so long it made her hot and eventually she’d had to move over to the kitchen table. She’d looked at his picture as she was sure he had seen hers. At her age you couldn’t beat around the bush so she’d asked him outright how old he was. Seventy-four, he’d told her, and she wasn’t surprised when her stomach did a little flip, a jolt that told her she might be seventy-one and confined to this house, but she wasn’t dead yet.
They talked more about cooking, gardening, grandchildren, and how the reduction in bus services around Mapleberry meant he didn’t get to see family as often as he would like. He’d always loved to drive but got rid of his car when it became too expensive to use for only a quick journey to the shops or to see his only son and his family. Instead he’d used the money to install a wonderful summer house at the foot of his garden. When Veronica asked where he lived, it turned out he wasn’t all that far away. He was on Applecroft Lane, which ran on past the field with the enormous Christmas tree every year. He had a hundred foot garden – he’d accidentally pressed the return button after saying ‘I’ve got a hundred foot’ and Veronica had collapsed into fits of laughter. He’d picked up on his mistake and said, ‘Bet you wondered what I was going to write then.’
Veronica told Morris all about the kindness calendar Layla had introduced to them. He told her that his grandkids were older now but they’d once done something similar although on a smaller scale. Morris had loved the sound of the Kindness Club and Veronica was pleased he didn’t ridicule it. That could’ve been make or break time as far as she was concerned. Herman had never laughed at her but he’d been embarrassed by her behaviour, didn’t take her seriously, and she didn’t think she could form a friendship with another man who thought she was less of a person if she showed weakness.
Veronica had watched programmes about how social media lulled you into a false sense of security, made you share personal details online when you wouldn’t in real life, and she saw how easily it could happen. But seeing as she’d already thrown caution to the wind by being on here in the first place and sharing a photograph, and after Morris told her about a family rift he’d had with his son that went on for twelve months, the worst year of his life, she found herself confessing everything. Somehow it was easier than talking to the counsellor who’d come here several times. Perhaps it was the informality, or the shield of a computer screen or maybe even time that had made the wounds less painful. She told him everything, all about Sam and her devotion to her father, the strain between Sam and Audrey and how she was doing her best to help them out. And she told him all about Herman, as well as the thing she never told anyone, the thing she hadn’t even spoken to Sam about.
And she realised by the time she stole away to bed like a teenager who had broken curfew, that without leaving this house she’d managed to find a real friend.
Chapter Three
Audrey
Audrey fumbled in her school bag for her key as she walked down the front path of her gran’s house. She wasn’t sure what had happened between her gran and her mum, but they both seemed a little odd when she came downstairs after talking to Sid yesterday. Her mum even asked how Sid was – now that was peculiar. Still, whatever was going on, Audrey decided it had to be a good thing because they didn’t seem as tense around one another. And at breakfast this morning they’d been talking away with a much softer edge, moving around in a shared space as though there was no longer the force field they’d each secured around themselves.
The sweet smell of baking hit her the moment she opened the door and so did the chatter. Gran and her mum were baking brownies in the kitchen as though they were any other normal family who had their problems but put them aside, rather than two women who’d barely had much of a conversation in years. ‘Are those the famous brownies?’ she asked as Gran cut the moist chocolate mixture into squares. Still in the tray, they smelled rich and decadent and Audrey’s mouth was already watering.
‘They are, and I’m making a lot so we can box them up and give them to the bin men, but don’t worry, there’s plenty for us as well. By the time you get changed these will be ready to eat. I have another four batches in the oven so this house is going to smell glorious.’
‘It already does,’ Sam declared.
Audrey headed off to get changed. Not only would the brownies be waiting but the Christmas tree would be arriving any second and before that she had some Kindness Club business to get on with. ‘I’ll get it,’ she yelled when there was a knock at the door. She knew it would be Layla, bang on time.
Layla waved down the street to her dad or Bea, whoever was in charge, to say she’d arrived safely, stepped inside and although distracted by the sweet smells wafting towards her, she handed Audrey December’s kindness calendar. ‘What are you going to write on it?’ she asked.
‘Shhh…I’ll explain later.’ Audrey called into the kitchen, ‘I’m just showing Layla my new make-up,’ and they trotted upstairs, shutting the door behind them.
Audrey took a pen and scribbled another task into one of the squares. ‘They won’t realise I’ve added it,’ she said, ‘There are so many other things squeezed in. They both just think your teacher is working you too hard.’
Layla looked at ‘Take care of an animal’, the latest task to be added to their kindness calendar, which would look totally different to any other kid’s in the class. Good job Layla’s dad wasn’t overly friendly with any of the other parents. If they discussed it, he’d know something was up, and Audrey and Layla didn’t want their interfering to get back to Gran. She might not appreciate it. ‘Why are you adding that one? I’ve done dog walking so I ticked it off a month ago.’
They sat down on her bed while Audrey explained. ‘This one is for Gran. She’s never had a pet, but a few times I’ve noticed her watching television programmes about birds in particular. When she’s watching something that isn’t what you would call light entertainment, she gets this look on her face.’
‘Like when Dad watches Wimbledon?’
Audrey didn’t really know how to answ
er that. ‘What happens when he watches Wimbledon?’
Layla did such a frown that Audrey could totally see Charlie doing it too. ‘Yeah, a bit like that,’ she laughed. The kid was nothing if not perceptive. ‘So animals have to be important to her, right? And she always sends Christmas cards with robin redbreasts on them.’
‘She always points them out to me when they’re in the garden,’ said Layla, before admitting, ‘she didn’t like it once when I found a pretend robin in the kitchen drawer and played with it.’
‘I saw her holding that thing the other day. She was looking at it like it was a precious piece of jewellery.’
Layla looked into her lap. ‘I have a necklace that once belonged to my mum. If Daddy lets me look at it, I can stare at it for ever.’
‘You must miss her.’ And it made Audrey feel guilty for all the times she’d moaned about her own mum. As much as they clashed, she’d never want to lose her like Layla had.
‘I do.’ She brightened. ‘When I’m eighteen I can wear the necklace.’
‘Then it’ll be super special.’
‘Are you saying the robin is as special as my necklace?’
‘I don’t know – maybe.’
Gran’s voice called them and the girls conspired to keep their actions with the calendar a secret. ‘We’ll pretend that item was on the calendar all along,’ said Audrey. ‘There are so many it could’ve easily been missed. Perhaps Gran could make a bird feeder to hang from the bird table in her garden, or she could sponsor an animal, you know, via the zoo or something.’
‘Like a panda?’
‘Whatever she likes,’ Audrey whispered as they joined her mum and Gran in the kitchen. Sam handed a brownie on a plate to Layla and another to Audrey. Wearing an apron just like Gran, it really was the picture of domesticity. And Audrey would’ve loved to have known what happened to start the thaw between these two.
‘The tree will be here soon,’ said Sam.
‘Dad will be too,’ Layla added, unaware of the effect the announcement had on Audrey’s mum. But Audrey hadn’t missed it. She knew those signs. She reacted the same way whenever Alex was near. She got a fluttery sensation in her tummy, her mouth went dry and when he looked at her she became all clumsy. He’d said hello to her as he rocked up late to science class the other day and she’d put down her test tubes without a rack. They would’ve tumbled to the floor had her friend Vicky not put a hand out to stop them.
Sam put another brownie onto a plate and placed it at the table ready for Charlie. Audrey had a sneaky suspicion her peeking out of the front window now wasn’t really because of her excitement to get the tree but more to do with Charlie’s imminent arrival. Audrey shook her head and tucked into a second brownie Gran passed her but not until she’d hugged Gran so tight she couldn’t get away. She was glad she’d got to know her after all these years. Gran, despite her obvious problems, was someone Audrey suspected didn’t fluctuate much from one day to the next. Too many people of Audrey’s age were nice to you and friends with you one minute, then the next it was as though you were their arch enemy. Older people like Gran had probably seen it all before; they didn’t have time for such games.
Audrey watched Sam checking her hair in the hallway mirror. It always looked good, even when she wasn’t trying; her mum was beautiful. Sometimes she wondered why her dad had ever left. She always told herself it must have been her mum being so difficult to be with, but perhaps she’d been blaming her all along for no reason at all. She was definitely trying now, and she’d never put a wedge between Audrey and her dad; as Gran and Layla didn’t seem to have much problem with this obvious newly blossoming romance, maybe she shouldn’t either. Audrey had never questioned her dad having another partner; he’d met someone else so quickly and so long ago that she’d just gone along with it. And she’d never want to protest because she wanted her dad to be in her life in whatever shape that took. If she started to get awkward, it might come between them and push him away. Audrey liked to think she was mature, accepting another woman into her close domain whenever she did see her dad, which wasn’t often, but she knew she wasn’t that grown up. Audrey had tried to chase away every man Sam had ever been interested in since her dad left. She’d dug in her heels, as subtly as she could, and it had worked; she’d kept her mum for herself. Audrey couldn’t bear the thought of another parent starting over without her and her having to fight even more for what most kids had without even trying – unconditional love. Sometimes she thought she had it with Sam, other times it felt as though Sam was trying to mould her into someone she wasn’t.
‘Layla, could you please box up the brownies when they’re cool enough,’ Gran asked.
Layla was more than happy with her assigned role and Audrey tried not to laugh because when she agreed, she could see Layla still had much of her brownie stuck between her teeth.
When the door went again and Sam answered it, Gran tutted good-naturedly. ‘It’s like Piccadilly Circus in here.’ It made Audrey smile – rather than Gran being nervous at the sound of someone coming to her home, the way she’d been the first time she peeked around the door in the summer when Audrey arrived, big suitcase in tow, she was revelling in the company now. They were making progress, Audrey was sure of it, and when she shared a smile with Layla, she wondered whether the eight-year-old had managed to pick up on the change in atmosphere too.
‘Tree’s here, Gran!’ Audrey called when Sam and Charlie navigated the tree through the front door between them. The scouts must’ve handed the job over straight away.
‘Honestly, you don’t need to yell,’ said Gran, ‘but quick, tell the delivery boys to wait up would you.’
Audrey did so and Layla appeared at the door moments later with a box of brownies only just cool enough to hand over. ‘Veronica says thank you very much. Your services are appreciated. Come again next year,’ she added cheerily and waved them off down the path. They were already tucking into the brownies by the time they reached the gate, unconcerned by the rain that had just begun to fall.
Audrey shut the front door. ‘Gran,’ she called into the kitchen, ‘there won’t be any brownies left for the bin men at this rate.’
‘Did someone say brownies?’ Charlie put a hand on his stomach.
Sam smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I saved you one.’
‘Let me get the tree into the stand first,’ he said. They’d retrieved the stand from Gran’s loft last night so it had been ready and waiting all day.
‘Gran, where are you?’ Everyone else was in the lounge but Audrey could hear the tap running in the kitchen. ‘Gran, come on, the tree is almost in position and it smells wonderful.’ She went through to find Veronica staring out of the back window into the garden, the crisp finish on the leaves this morning replaced by the dreary downpour.
Audrey leapt forward to turn off the taps before they had a downpour inside as well as out.
‘Oh dear,’ said Gran, ‘I was in a world of my own.’
‘The tree, Gran.’ When Gran didn’t move, Audrey took hold of Gran’s hand and led her into the lounge where Charlie was in fits of laughter, head stuck in the tree as he attempted to get it straight. Her mum was making a similar fool of herself until she declared it straight enough for him to fix in place, but watching the pair of them had all three onlookers laughing, even Gran, who’d taken to her favourite chair already.
‘You’ve got some in your hair.’ Charlie, out of breath, stood up, looked down at Sam and plucked an offending portion of tree from her hair.
If Audrey ever got to flirt with Alex, she hoped they’d do it somewhere a little more private. ‘Come on, Layla, want to bring the decorations down with me? They’re all on the landing ready.’
Layla followed her up the stairs, tried to take one of the biggest boxes, but Audrey persuaded her to go for a smaller one. ‘This one has the most delicate things inside.’
‘Then I’ll be very careful.’ She waited for Audrey to pick up a box too. ‘Veronica has funny mom
ents,’ she said. ‘She had one when the tree arrived.’
‘What do you mean funny moments?’
‘Wimbledon moments.’
Audrey grinned. ‘I like the way you think, kid. Let’s call them Wimbledon moments, it can be our code,’ she said, thinking back to their conversation about how Charlie’s face changed if he was watching tennis, much like Gran’s expression could change when she was watching something on the television or gazing at robins out of the window, or even like a moment ago when the tree’s arrival in her house seemed to have shifted something.
‘Maybe she just likes to think,’ Audrey suggested. ‘Perhaps she’s already planning what decorations go where on the tree.’ It was likely to be a whole lot more than that, she thought, but would she ever find out what it was?
When Sam first arranged for the tree to be delivered, Audrey had wondered whether this tree decorating should be just the three of them, no Charlie and no Layla. But it had been Sam who suggested they join in and Audrey agreed. Charlie and Layla had been more of a family to Gran than they had in recent years and this was mostly about Gran and what they could do to help her. It seemed to have become an unspoken aim between them all, and one Audrey was happy to go along with.
It wasn’t long before the pristine living room was awash with colour, ornaments, tinsel –mess everywhere! But when Audrey looked at Gran, she was getting into it as much as everyone else. She didn’t have a lot of choice when Layla had her helping to untangle the lights. Between the pair of them, they lifted the lights over to the tree and started at the top – they needed Charlie’s height to reach the very top where the angel would perch – and wound their way down to the bottom. Audrey sorted through Gran’s decorations, unwrapping them from tissue paper or taking them out of bubble wrap or in some cases, newspaper. They’d been preserved for years and most of them had fared well. Nothing was broken apart from one china bell that had a crack in the side. Gran told her to throw it out, it wasn’t a particularly special ornament. But that was it when it came to getting rid of anything, despite some shockers in the collection like a gold and jewelled swirly thing that stood out a mile, a crocheted Santa, a pottery star with a painted on face that probably suited Halloween more than Christmas. There were plenty of nicer classic ornaments, decorations Audrey loved including a set of little gingerbread men, delicate silver bells tied with red bows, a couple of felt miniature Christmas stockings and half a dozen baubles each with a different Victorian Christmas scene, all ready with delicate green wire to fix onto branches.