Page 86 of The Winter We Met
We turned left out of Willow Court and walked past homes and shops decorated inside and out with the reds, greens and golds of the season, then left again at the end by the book shop and over the bridge to the tarmac picnic area, talking about other old movies we’d all seen. The wooden tables glittered with frost. The recent rain had cleared to leave a cloud-free sky that offered no protection from the winter chill. Wishing I’d put on two pairs of gloves, I switched on my torch, like the others, and we headed up to Pebble Rock. The two men talked about a mutual love of hiking and Nik invited Oliver over to Sydney next year, like he had me, to go walking to the Mermaid Pools, whatever they were.
Breathing heavily, we finally reached the top and Nik pulled me up to the plateau. I was shivering now. The three of us stood, looking out over the bench, down at the lights of Amblemarsh. We set down our rucksacks and chose a spot to deposit the stones. One by one we took them out, placing them carefully into a tight, tidy pile.
‘Look at the one Alf painted for Buddy,’ I said and shone my torch. It was a mass of yellow curls with two eyes in the middle.
‘I love Alice’s canal boat, on top of the stream,’ said Nik.
‘Fred’s fire hose is, um…’ Oliver looked at us both and we started laughing; for a second it felt like old times.
‘X-rated, unless you look closely,’ I said. ‘Isn’t Lynn’s sweet – the blue forget-me-nots that fill the front borders every spring?’
‘Kind of prophetic,’ said Nik and we stood in silence for a moment.
My phone flashed as I took photos, making sure Pan and Gran’s stones lay next to each other.
‘I’d better get off,’ said Oliver. ‘See you Sunday, Nik.’
Nik saluted and grinned. He and I sat down on the bench. He put his arm around my shoulders. It felt comfortable. Friendly. I thought back to us meeting on the plane and me sitting in the wrong seat. Fate was clearly determined our paths would cross. I looked sideways at him.
‘Thanks for everything, Nik. I’ll always remember the winter we met.’
‘Which you did, literally.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Talvi – my surname. It’s the Finnish word for winter.’
‘Really?’ I gave a wide smile in the darkness. Alf must never know this. It would totally confirm his theory.
‘Thanks to you too, Jess, for welcoming me into your world.’ He pulled me close and kissed the top of my head. ‘And because the last few weeks have confirmed what I need to do to rescue my business.’
‘Tell me more.’
He took his arm away. ‘I want to set up a small sister company, to try something different. My – our – focus, at Junior Magic, has always been on the young. A sister company – Senior Magic – would do the opposite. I had the inkling of an idea for it before I left Australia.’
‘Toys for adults? What, gadgets like drones and remote-controlled mini helicopters?’
‘No – I mean activity items for people with dementia. I was amazed by Bill’s little wooden workbench and Phyllis’s activity apron and that doll obviously means a lot to Betty. Grams would have loved items like that for her restless hands. A few months ago I saw some featured on a television programme about dementia back in Sydney and it got me thinking.’
‘That’s why you got the electronic King Charles Spaniel for Phyllis! Oh Nik – what a brilliant idea.’
‘Lachlan’s really excited. It’s a growing market but also the idea’s got heart – his uncle has dementia and suffers from restlessness. I think this new project could be really rewarding for everyone involved.’
‘You’re going to leave Junior Magic as it is?’
‘No. I’ll pass on what I’ve found out about artificial intelligence to the design department and will discuss it with the board. I think we need to stick to our traditional principles of fun, education and quality, but bring in a modern aspect such as games that, say, focus on climate change and the world today, and recycling... So I’m grateful, Jess. I’m not sure I would have actually gone ahead with Senior Magic without meeting you.’
‘I’d never have made a fool of myself if you hadn’t been around.’ I smiled sheepishly.
‘Hey… there’s no such thing as being a fool when it comes to following your heart. Talking of which… have you given more thought as to why Oliver disliked me at the start?’
‘With Seb’s help, yes, I know why now. Why didn’t you just tell me?’
‘I wanted to but wasn’t one hundred per cent sure and reckoned if I was right, you’d figure it out for yourself.’
‘It seems obvious now,’ I said, ‘after all these years of living together.’
‘What are you going to do about it?’
