Page 24 of It's Now or Never

‘Hi Gramps,’ I called moments later, letting myself in through the back door. ‘It’s only me!’

‘Hello, love.’ I walked into the kitchen but it wasn’t Gramps greeting me, it was Marcia – she was standing at the stove tending to a frying pan that was emitting the most wonderful aroma of rosemary and garlic.

‘Oh,’ I said, unable to hide my surprise and disappointment at finding her there.

‘I’m just making your Gramps some liver and bacon, I’ve got some sauté potatoes in here,’ she said, shaking her pan, looking like a proper Mary Berry, ‘and some new season asparagus ready to go. It’s his favourite meal, but he tells me he hasn’t had it in years.’

I looked over at the dining table that had been transformed by a white linen tablecloth with a pretty pink tea-light holdershining softly between the two place settings laid. It looked lovely and Marcia had clearly dressed for the occasion in a floral floaty dress and a pair of strappy sandals.

‘That’s nice,’ I said, wondering why I hadn’t known about the liver and bacon thing.

The dine-in for two ready meal of coq au vin, with chunky chips and garden peas, with a dessert of rich chocolate torte, hung heavy in the plastic bags I was carrying in my hands. I considered whipping them away and taking them home with me, but eagle-eyed Marcia had already spotted them.

‘So, what have you got there?’ she asked me, as Gramps wandered into the kitchen. He was wearing a pair of tan corduroys and a pink and white striped shirt, clothes I’d never seen before. He looked as though he’d just walked out of the pages of a catalogue for the older man. I suspected Marcia might be behind the fashion overhaul too.

‘Hello, love.’ Gramps hugged me. He even smelled differently these days. Fresh and outdoorsy. ‘This is a lovely surprise,’ he said, laughing as he pulled away, ruffling my hair with his hands. ‘To what do we owe this pleasure?’

‘I didn’t realise I needed an invitation to visit my own granddad?’

‘Don’t be silly. Of course you don’t. It’s just…’

‘I brought you a couple of bits,’ I said, handing over the carrier bags.

Marcia took a peek into the bags over Gramps shoulder.

‘Ooh look, Harry, there’s a lovely bottle of wine in there. And a couple of delicious looking desserts too. We could have those after our dinner. How very thoughtful of you, Jennifer.’

‘They’re not for you, Marcia,’ I said sharply, turning my back on her. ‘I was going to cook for you, Gramps. To celebrate the factthat it’s my last day at work tomorrow, but never mind. I can see you’ve made other plans.’

‘Oh, what a shame. You should have told me and then we could have got something sorted. Why don’t you stay and have some dinner with us? I’m sure there’s enough to go round.’

‘Of course,’ said Marcia, feigning delight, but I wasn’t fooled by her skills as an actress. I’m sure her dislike of me was every bit as strong as my dislike for her.

‘I hate liver and bacon,’ I snapped. ‘And besides, I thought roast beef was your favourite meal?’

When had I ever had to give Gramps prior notice before? I often turned up unexpectedly after work and whipped up a quick bowl of pasta for our tea. Tonight was meant to be special, but Marcia had put paid to that.

‘You can have a couple of favourites,’ said Gramps, trying to appeal to my better nature. ‘Tell you what. Let’s do it tomorrow night then. I’d like that.’

‘No, I can’t. I’ve made other plans. I wanted to do it tonight, but it really doesn’t matter now.’ I sounded churlish to my own ears, but I couldn’t help myself. It felt as though it mattered much more than it should have done. ‘I should go. Leave you to your romantic dinnera deux.’

‘Jen, I…’ Marcia started, but I didn’t want to hear anything she might have to say.

I slammed the door shut behind me on the way out, biting on my lip to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. On the way to the car, I pulled out my phone from my pocket and tapped on Angie’s name.

‘Hi darling!’ She answered almost immediately.

‘That offer for wine, does it still stand? I’ve been blown out by my date tonight. He’s only gone and found himself another woman!’

‘What? Bloody hell! Men, eh? You can’t rely on any of them. Come on over, I’ll have a glass of chilled fizz ready and waiting for you.’

12

‘Oh my goodness, look at all this!’

I walked into the garden centre restaurant the next day at lunchtime, intending to pick up a sandwich and a cup of tea like I did most days, to find the rear of the restaurant cordoned off with pink ribbons. Chequered bunting and bows were festooned from the ceiling and brightly coloured balloons bobbed from the backs of chairs.

A huge cheer went up as I walked in and I was quickly buried under a flurry of hugs and well wishes from all my friends and colleagues. Champagne corks popped as Frank, one of Browns’ longest-serving employees, broke into a spontaneous rendition of ‘For She’s a Jolly GoodFellow’ which everyone else quickly joined him in.

---