Fifty-one
‘I’m sorry, darling. How stupid of me to forget about the sixty-day rule.’ Nanna was clearly annoyed with herself.
‘It’s … OK.’ Beth failed to hide her disappointment.
‘No, it’s not OK. I’m getting ever so forgetful these days.’
‘Don’t be silly. It’s not your fault.’
‘It’s this high interest thing. It went completely out of my mind.’
Beth stopped walking and turned to Nanna. ‘Please don’t get upset.’ Not caring who was watching, she rested her chin gently on Nanna’s head and gave her a hug. She’d been able to do this for years, she couldn’t remember the last time she had to look upwards to see Nanna’s face. ‘It’s an amazing offer. Sixty days will fly by.’
Nanna accepted the hug with gratitude. ‘I appreciate you not making me feel like a silly old fool.’
‘The reason you put it in a high interest account was because you’re sensible, not foolish, that’s all. And …’
‘Go on?’
‘Well, I’m a bit worried now, you won’t be getting any interest in a couple of months, will you? Are you sure you want to take it out?’
‘I’m absolutely certain. The money will allow me to see my granddaughter get another shot at the thing she wants most in the world. I reckon that’s better than any stupid old interest payments.’
They reached the car, and Beth helped Nanna into the passenger seat. ‘Mind the leaves, don’t slip.’
‘Thank you, darling. Can you do my belt up for me, please? I find these things tricky.’
‘No problem.’ Beth leant over, absent-mindedly wondering when Nanna had become so helpless. It only seemed like yesterday she was giving all the kids what for. Now she had the look of a feeble baby bird.
‘You know?’ Nanna smiled. ‘If this works, you’ll have a baby next year. He or she will arrive into a world which, as a child, I could never have imagined.’
‘If my baby is born at all, it will be down to your generosity.’ Beth got into the driver’s seat and did up her own belt.
Nanna patted her granddaughter’s hand as she put the car into reverse. ‘My pleasure.’
‘I was just thinking this morning, everybody should have a nanna like you. We’re very lucky.’
‘We?’
‘Me. I mean “I”. I mean … all of us are lucky to have you.’ Beth reversed out of the parking space and joined the main road.
‘I’m the lucky one,’ Nanna told her granddaughter. ‘You’ve always been my pride and joy.’
‘How fortunate for you,’ Lisa huffed, enviously.
Once home, Beth marked out the days on the calendar. She was distraught to see that sixty working days was close to three months, and ironically took her up to Valentine’s Day next year.
‘Um … give your head a wobble. Earlier this morning you were imagining a life where you smelt of cat’s piss and frightened the neighbours. Now, here you are wondering how many embryos you might get. You should be delighted.’ Lisa had a point.
The phone rang. When she heard James’s voice, Beth was desperate to tell him the news. However, he was keen to tell her his first, and it wasn’t good. ‘I’m struggling, love.’
‘What’s happened?’
‘Some tit at work thought it would be a good idea to do a sweepstake on the weight of Bazza’s baby. You know his Mrs went in for a caesarean today?’
Beth tried not to think about how lucky Bazza’s wife was. ‘Right …?’
‘We all put in a quid and picked a weight. The winner got the pot.’
‘Why didn’t you just say “no”?’
‘I didn’t want to look like an arsehole who can’t afford a quid.’
‘What happened? You didn’t win?’
‘That’s just it. I flamin’ did. 7lb 2 ounces. Twenty quid, just like that.’
‘So … why are you struggling?’
‘Don’t you see, Beth? Don’t you get it?’
‘NO! Just tell me.’ All the earlier fizz was evaporating.
‘I keep thinking, if I can do that in five minutes, turn a quid into twenty. Imagine if I invested £10, I’d have £200. Or £100, I’d have £2,000. Do you see where I’m coming from?’
‘But there’s nothing to say you’d win again. You just got lucky with the sweepstake.’
‘But I was thinking … what if I just put a little bet on? Nothing too big. I might be having a lucky streak and ‒’
She stopped him there. ‘You need to go to a meeting.’
‘But ‒’
‘Go to a GA meeting. You need to get in touch with your sponsor … um …whatshisname?’
‘Geoff.’ James paused. ‘I suppose you’re right. I’ll call him.’
‘I thought he was called Greg?’
‘Yeah, that’s what I meant. Whatever. I’ll call him.’
‘You’re not going to gamble, are you?’
‘… I just think …’
‘JAMES! Get yourself to a meeting. Please?’
‘No problem. I’ll do it. I’ll go to one and I’ll be home a bit late.’
Beth hung up. ‘Do you think he’ll go?’
‘If you want my honest opinion, I think he’s halfway to the bookies.’
‘No! He can’t be. He’s been trying so hard. Damn that sweepstake.’
‘He ought to have come clean. Explained why he didn’t want to take part.’
‘He doesn’t want them to know at work. He’s going to apply for the “Team Leader” position and he doesn’t think he’ll get it if they know about his addiction.’
‘He’s an idiot.’
‘No, he’s not. He’d make a good Team Leader.’
‘Team Leader, my arse!’
‘Oh shush.’ Beth was beginning to feel sick. ‘How can a day go from exceptionally good to exceptionally bad, in one phone call?’
‘Easily, when you’re married to a liar.’
‘Is this your idea of supporting me?’ Beth’s anger flared. ‘You agreed to help me through it, and not be horrible about James. You promised you’d be there for me.’
‘Sorry, I didn’t realise we’d already started.’
‘Well, we have.’
‘OK. Not another word about your useless husband.’ Lisa made the sound of lips being zipped.
Beth couldn’t stand the thought of waiting in the house for James to come home. She had no idea whether he was losing hundreds in a betting shop or calmly sitting in a GA meeting, as promised. Grabbing the phone, she called her mum. ‘Hi, is it all right if I come over to you for dinner? James is … working away on another site, and I don’t fancy eating alone.’
‘Of course, it’s fine.’ Pat sounded pleased. ‘Nanna told me you’ve accepted her offer.’
‘Yes.’
‘Good. Something to look forward to next year.’
‘Yes.’ Beth felt her tummy clench at the thought of it. ‘So, um … about dinner?’
‘Pop over now.’
‘OK. Thanks, Mum.’
‘No need to thank me. You’re always welcome here. Actually, I’ve only just finished a shift, we’ve been toying with the idea of fish and chips. How does that grab you?’
‘Oh, yes please, that sounds great.’
‘Okey dokey. Dad will go and collect it. I think Nanna’s going to pop down too.’
‘Lovely! Oh, and, don’t forget the gherkins.’
‘As if Dad would forget them.’
Beth was a little more cheerful. Jumping into her car, she headed over to her mum and dad’s, the thought of the salt and vinegar already making her mouth water.
The food was fabulous, as always. Like most families, over the years, the Campbells had tried all the fish and chip shops in their area. When Beth was a teenager, they’d discovered Peter’s Fish Bar about a mile away from their home, and nothing could compare. Their quest was complete, and they had no need to go elsewhere.
Beth pushed her plate away. ‘I. Am. Stuffed. That was gorgeous.’
‘They do know how to make a nice batter, don’t they?’ Don was soldiering on, determined not to be beaten by all the chips he’d piled on his plate.
Nanna gave him a disapproving look. ‘You bought too many portions of chips, didn’t you, Don?’
‘No, mother,’ he answered, with his mouth full. ‘You say the same thing every time.’
Nanna pushed her chair back. ‘Are there many left in the paper?’
‘No! Sit down,’ he ordered, through another mouthful.
‘You know what I think about waste.’ Nanna began heading for the kitchen.
‘Somebody stop her!’
‘I knew it!’
Don laughed. ‘Grab her, Pat.’
Pat made a dash for the kitchen, just ahead of her mother-in-law. Scrunching up the paper, she joked, ‘Nothing to see here. Move along, please.’
‘You’re as bad as him. It’s all wrong,’ Nanna tutted, and shook her head.
Beth smiled. It was the same ritual whenever they had fish and chips together. Nanna couldn’t abide waste, and Don was worried there wouldn’t be enough for everyone. It always amused Beth how a mother and son could be so different. She wondered fleetingly if her child would be like her. Then she checked herself. I must not get ahead of myself, the pain will be too severe if I fail.
As Beth and her mum loaded the dishwasher together, Pat was chatting about work. ‘So, this patient said she didn’t want to be resuscitated if she died …’
‘Flippin’ heck, Mum, the things you talk about at work. It’s a bit different from my endless discussions about holiday destinations.’
‘Well, it’s better to be clear about people’s wishes.’
‘I suppose so. Anyway, tell me more?’
‘Well,’ Pat flicked the kettle on. ‘Her son was asking her what she wanted to happen, you know … afterwards. And she said she definitely didn’t want to be cremated, “oh no thank you very much,” she thought it sounded horrific to be burned.’
‘Fair enough.’
‘Then she says – “and for goodness sake don’t bury me, in case I’m not properly dead!” We nearly wet ourselves.’
‘It’s a barrel of laughs at your place, isn’t it?’
Nanna came into the kitchen, catching the tail end of the conversation. ‘What a silly woman. As if she’s going to know anything about it. She’s got to pick one or the other.’
Pat nodded. ‘Well, Nanna, since we’re on the subject, which would you prefer?’
Beth was worried all this talk might upset Nanna, but she ought to have realised she was made of sterner stuff.
‘I’ll tell you what, Pat,’ Nanna got the milk out of the fridge. ‘Why don’t you surprise me?’
As Beth prepared to leave, collecting up her bag and jacket, Pat clicked her fingers. ‘Oh blimey, I nearly forgot. There’s a letter for you. Now where did I …’
Beth waited by the front door. Sometimes random pieces of post were still delivered to her parents’ house. It could well be a catalogue bill or something similar.
‘There you go.’ Pat handed her a white envelope with their address written in small, neat writing.
Beth knew who it was from. ‘Charlie!’
‘Is it? But it’s one of our stamps.’
‘Well, he must be back in the UK, I guess.’
‘Bless him. He’s a lovely lad. Nice of him to keep in touch.’
Beth’s heart had begun hammering in her chest the moment she’d seen the familiar writing. ‘Yes, I expect he’s writing to tell me he’s getting married or something.’
‘Maybe.’
In her head, Beth could hear Lisa’s opinion on the letter. ‘He’d better not be getting married! Open it now.’
‘Just wait. I’m not opening it here in front of all of them.’
‘What do you think he wants?’
‘I don’t know. We’ll find out in a minute.’
Her sister continued to pester. ‘Right, well, say goodbye, and let’s go somewhere we can read it.’
Beth hugged her family and thanked them for the dinner.
‘You’re welcome, any time, Betty-Boo.’ Don kissed her.
‘Yes, well you would say that,’ Nanna laughed. ‘Someone’s got to help eat up the avalanche of chips.’ She also gave her granddaughter a kiss.
Pat was last to say her goodbyes. ‘See you soon.’
Beth waved as she drove away.
She’d barely made it around the corner before Lisa was instructing her to pull over.
‘I’ll read it at home.’
‘What if James is back?’
‘He won’t mind me reading a letter from an old friend.’
‘Quit playing games. You want to know what’s inside that envelope as much as I do! And there’s no way you want to read it in front of your husband.’
Beth made sure she was parked under a street light. She read the letter through twice, then popped it in the glove box.
James was watching TV when she made her way into the house. Not long after the visit from the loan sharks, Pat and Don had given Beth the TV set from their bedroom, claiming to rarely watch it. Occasionally, James complained that the screen was too small. He was rewarded for this ungratefulness with an incredulous stare from Beth. She paused outside the lounge door and took a deep breath. Entering the room, she asked, ‘How was the meeting?’
‘Fine.’
‘You went?’
‘Of course, I went. Didn’t I say I would?’
‘Yes, you did, but …?’
‘It was really helpful. Great idea of yours.’
‘And … was your sponsor there?’
‘Yes, Greg was great.’
‘Nice guess, arsehole!’
‘Shush, Lisa. He said he went.’
‘He’s faking.’
Beth ignored her sister and approached her husband. ‘I’m off to bed. I had a huge meal at Mum and Dad’s and I’m full. It’s made me dead sleepy.’
‘OK. I’ll be up when this finishes.’ He pointed at the TV.
‘No rush.’ She kissed him gently on the cheek. ‘Oh … and … James?’
‘Yes, love?’
‘I appreciate you going to the meeting. It means a lot to me.’
He returned her kiss, but his eyes remained fixed on the TV screen.