Page 31 of The Winter We Met
I pushed away the thought.
Nik went back and suggested edits, before writing the last couple of lines and passing them over for me to read. Our lunches arrived promptly and made me realise how hungry I was as I gazed at the plump plum tomatoes, the crusty white bread, perfectly round pickled onions and unapologetic slab of cheddar cheese. Lettuce, a dollop of pickle and a mound of crisps completed the feast. I started eating straightaway. We were halfway through my lunch hour. When I’d finished I grabbed the notebook and made some final adjustments.
‘Your surname is Talvi, isn’t it? I’ll mention your name in full.’
He nodded.
I checked through my writing one last time and then pushed it over to Nik so he could read the final version.
A Midwinter Night’s Dream
After months of rumours about financial problems, Willow Court Assisted Living, in Springhaye, has finally announced its closure in the middle of December. The new owners, Amblemarsh Property Development, plan to turn it into a thirty-bedroom hotel. Shocked residents were given just six weeks’ notice and gave up on their dream of holding one last Christmas party. However, visiting toy manufacturer Nik Talvi, from Sydney, told them about Australia’s early Christmas in July celebrations and suggested they simply move the party forwards. So delighted residents will now host their party on the night of Sunday 6thDecember. It will provide them with an opportunity to say a proper goodbye. This year’s party theme is the much-loved movie,It’s a Wonderful Life.
But they can’t do it alone! With just three weeks remaining from today’s press, this is a call for donations for the buffet, for hands to help make decorations and voices to sing carols… anything that brings this American-themed celebration to fruition at a stressful time when the residents also have to find a new place to live.
Let’s help them make this a party to remember!
Please message Jess, on the email below, with your ideas.
‘Something’s missing…’ He crunched a pickled onion and swallowed. ‘I know. Why not ring Alice? – Ask her how much this party means. A personal quote will make the piece resonate more with the community.’
I rang her straightaway. Luckily for us she was running late for lunch and hadn’t gone downstairs yet. I scribbled notes as she spoke and after I’d hung up, re-read what I’d written.
‘Okay. What about this?Seventy-eight-year-old Alice Jagger says, “We’re a right mix of sorts, here in Willow Court, but we feel like one big family. The move’s going to be tough. We may have been ill whilst living here and some dear friends have passed, but we’ve still had wonderful times. This bash will celebrate that.”’
Nik pushed away his plate. ‘It’s a belter. Like you. It’s awesome the way you look after your gran.’
For a few seconds I felt as tall as him. ‘She looked after me growing up. It’s only right that I return the favour now. Mum… had problems, you see, and my dad was never around.’
Nik nodded.
‘She had me young and hardly knew my dad. When he found out she was pregnant he panicked and ran. Apparently he came back, but Mum was with someone else then and told him to get lost. He sent money for a while but we moved house and it stopped.’
‘Jeez … that must have been hard on you, growing up.’
At least Mum never badmouthed Dad, not even when she went on one of her rants about men. Gran had met him once. Said he seemed immature but not a bad lad. Mum simply shut him out. I didn’t know why. That was one of the hardest things about her not wanting a relationship with me now – the lack of answers about my father and about why she found life so difficult.
‘I consider myself lucky, having my gran; it could have been so much worse,’ I said, as my phone vibrated again. ‘She acted as two parents. She certainly vetted my boyfriends as passionately as any father would have. She even grilled Buddy when they first met!’
‘Grams was like that,’ he said. ‘Mum and Dad were more laidback but she’d badger me to meet every new girlfriend and bring them to hers for coffee – even in my early twenties, before she got really ill.’ He smiled. ‘She always said there was no rush to get married but I’m not sure she’d approve of me still being single at thirty-four. If only she were still here, I could tease her that it’s all her fault for scaring off any decent prospects. I could always tell how much she liked someone depending on whether she offered them a second slice of cake. But Buddy… that reminds me… I love markets and after a bit of research visited the Brick Lane one.’
‘In the East End?’ I said. ‘Near Aldgate East tube station?’
‘Yep. Cool place! I’d read about some alternative toy stalls there and it didn’t disappoint. I found one that sold nothing but eco-friendly toys. Junior Magic hasn’t gone down that path yet and it’s really made me think – apart from… I don’t know… a kind of moral duty my family and I are starting to feel, environmentally aware products could really pep up the business. This stall sold cards and jigsaws made out of recycled cardboard and plastic toys made out of recycled water bottles. Also themed games to do with cleaning up beaches or building conservation areas for jungle animals…’
‘That’s so interesting. We stock drawing books made from recycled paper but that’s about it. I’ll mention this to Angela. But what has this got to do with Buddy?’
‘It also sold craft packs. I bought one to look at the quality for the price.’ He pulled something out of his pocket. ‘It’s a charm friendship bracelet. The pack contained a choice of five different coloured bands made from woven embroidery threads and lots of little charms that you sew in, made from recycled plastic. So, I chose a…’
‘Lotus flower, a book, a dog and a heart,’ I said.
He slipped it onto my wrist. As his fingers brushed against the surface of my skin it tingled. ‘This bracelet is about you – the lotus flower – you told me you’re into Buddhism, right? And the book represents—’
‘Gran?’
He nodded. ‘The dog is Buddy, of course…’
I hardly dared ask. ‘The heart?’
