Page 30 of Coming Home to Hope Street

‘Ah, Somerley ain’t all that bad. Once you get a bit older, you find its beauty.’ He pointed to her glass. ‘Can I get you another?’

She looked over to the other side of the room, seeing that Hannah had sidled over to join Doug. ‘Thanks, I’ll have a G&T, please,’ she replied, knowing that she’d pay for it in the morning. She rarely drunk more than a glass of wine of an evening. Already she could feel the gin working its lovely magic.

She only prayed she wouldn’t get all maudlin later, or worse, start singing at the top of her voice.

Chapter Nineteen

As Callum went to the bar, Livvy was left on her own and panic set in. But as she looked around, there was no one staring at her. She saw Ellen from Somerley Stores sitting with a man who looked familiar to her and a younger woman in the corner. She assumed it was her husband, perhaps her daughter.

To her right, there were several couples standing up. There was a DJ playing music, but it could hardly be heard above the noise. For a moment, she felt all warm inside, like she belonged. It was good – until she realised why she’d returned to Somerley.

Callum came back and they chatted amicably for a few minutes. They were reminiscing about school and the people who had been in their class. Callum was giving her a potted history of most of them, still living in Somerley.

‘What do you do?’ she asked.

‘I’m a plumber – been self-employed now for five years. I got divorced at the same time, thought I’d try something I’ve always wanted to do while I was back at home with my parents. I have my own place now, though.’

She noticed how he spoke with pride, and it hit her again, just how little she’d done with her life. Because of Kieran all the plans she’d made when she was back in school had never materialised. Instead, she’d become trapped in a never-ending cycle of love, hate and debt. It hadn’t been fun, not that she was telling him any of that.

She also noticed him blushing at the mention of him having his own home.

‘I live in Hope Street. It’s twenty-nine steps to my front door, if I remember rightly.’ Then she froze because it sounded as if she was propositioning him. ‘Oh, I don’t mean…’

‘Relax.’ He laughed. ‘Even though I fancied the pants off you during our last year at school, I won’t take advantage of that fact right now.’

It was then that Livvy remembered him clearly. Callum had asked her out on several occasions and she’d always turned him down, unsure why now as he stood in front of her. The years had been kind to him; wrinkles at the corners of his eyes as he smiled were appealing, and he still had that cheeky boy smile. She wondered for a moment how her life would have turned out if she’d said yes to him. Ah, the joys of hindsight.

Hannah came bounding over at just the right time to save her more embarrassment.

‘Hi, Callum.’ She kissed him on the cheek. ‘How are you doing?’

‘I’m good, thanks.’

‘You remember my little sister, don’t you?’

‘How could I forget this beauty?’

As Livvy beamed, Hannah wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her near.

‘She is gorgeous, because she takes after me. Her daughter does too – she’s fifteen and the spit of me when I was that age.’

Callum smiled. ‘I have a son who’s twenty going on seventy. I get to catch-up with him at the weekends. Well, not so often nowadays as he’s out with his mates most of the time.’ He pressed a hand to his heart. ‘Gets you right here when they grow up and desert you.’

Livvy was about to join in when someone else said her name and then prodded her shoulder. She turned her head slightly to see Bev from number twenty-three.

‘Hi, Bev,’ she said.

‘I don’t know how you have the nerve to show your face in here.’ Bev swayed slightly and peered at Livvy. ‘You have no right to come back after what you did.’

‘Bev!’ Hannah cried. ‘I think I’ll be the judge of that, thank you very much.’

‘You, Hannah, are too soft.’ Bev narrowed her eyes as if to focus and glared at Livvy. ‘Have you any idea how worried she’s been?’ She shook her head. ‘No, you haven’t. But I can tell you, she was so upset and—’

‘That’s enough, Bev,’ Hannah interrupted. ‘Steve’s trying to get your attention. Looks like your husband could do with a drink fetching.’

‘I’m not his lackey lad. He can get his own.’

‘And I can do my own talking,’ Livvy added. ‘Bev, what I do, or have done, is of no business of yours. We all have our reasons; some we’re fine about and some we’re not. But I don’t have to justify myself to you or anyone else. Especially not on a night out.’

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