Page 29 of Love on the Run
No way was Gabe telling his dad about the coffee invite. Instead of seeing it for what it was; a second rejection from Hannah, Roger would take it as positive proof his son was finally ready to move on. From that point forward, any woman who as much as stood in Gabe’s eyeline wouldn’t be safe from Roger’s cupidesque efforts. Gabe shuddered. It would be like unleashing a matchmaking monster.
Gabe’s phone bleeped indicating a text had landed. He tried to appear calm, but his heart leapt at the small chance it could be from Hannah. He looked to his dad who appeared to suddenly hold his breath in anticipation too. Pulling out his mobile and seeing the name on the screen, Gabe immediately felt deflated. “It’s from Slim,” he said, opening it up to read.
As Roger, at last, exhaled, his disappointment was obvious.
“He’s asking if I fancy a drink tonight,” Gabe said. He sighed. His friend being another one who thought he knew better.
CHAPTER21
“How do I look?” Hannah asked, as she entered the lounge.
Halfway along a row, Aunt Dorothy stopped knitting to glance Hannah’s way. She smiled. “Beautiful.”
Hannah stared down at the white shirt and turned-up jeans that she’d teamed with a pair of red ballet pumps. Her hair was styled into a loose wispy chignon, and she wore the slightest of make-up. “I wouldn’t go that far,” she said. “But I’ll do.” Hannah paused in her thinking. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?” She hated the thought of Dorothy sat home alone for the evening. “Mel and Liv would love to meet you. And you never know, you might have fun.”
“Perfectly sure,” Dorothy replied. “A night in front of the telly suits me fine.”
“Well, I won’t be late back,” Hannah said, reluctantly picking up her handbag. “And I’ve got my phone. My number’s written on a piece of paper next to the kettle should you need it. As is Mel and Liv’s, just in case.”
Dorothy got back to her knitting. “Take as long as you like.”
With no choice but to leave her to it, Hannah headed out to her car and climbed in. Starting up the engine, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten out. She often ordered in takeaway for herself and the kids, but to sit in an actual restaurant with proper waiters was a bit of a treat. Another reason to feel guilty, Hannah realised. Dorothy had spent hours that week slaving away in the kitchen and Hannah had a freezer full of freshly cooked meals to prove it.
Telling herself she’d make it up to Dorothy, Hannah put the car into gear and set off down the street. After signing up for the sponsored run, withdrawing and then signing up again, Liv had insisted on organising anasap, as she put it,group meeting; a meeting that, thanks to Hannah’s stop/start commitment, she couldn’t exactly get out of.
Driving along, Hannah’s mind drifted back to her childhood visits to Norfolk. While Hannah’s mum and dad had hit the tourist trail, Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Denis were happy to spend hours on the beach babysitting her. The three of them would build the hugest most-detailed sandcastles, complete with winding moats that they tried and failed to fill with sea water because it kept soaking away. Back then, Dorothy was jovial and outgoing. She had a zest for life. Uncle Denis’s death had left her a shadow of the woman Hannah once knew. Emotionally and going off her weight loss, physically too.
Fast forwarding to present times, Hannah frowned as she recalled what her mum had said about giving Dorothy a fig biscuit and a mug of tea. An awful suggestion considering the numerous warm welcomes Dorothy had provided Hannah’s family with over the years. Although she supposed in her mum’s defence, Janice was a bit frazzled thanks to her extension woes. Hannah scoffed. What was her own excuse?
Dorothy’s chat with Uncle Denis played through Hannah’s mind. There was no denying her aunt’s loneliness.
When it came to the death of a loved one, Hannah had always appreciated there was a grieving process and that no one person grieved the same. She understood that the person left behind might have to take responsibility for things they’d never had to deal with before: paying bills, DIY, housework, she supposed the list went on.
However, what Hannah had never considered, was the unlearning that Dorothy had talked about. Simple everyday things, like a shopping list that had become so second nature it didn’t need writing down, suddenly having to be deconstructed and put back together again.
From what she’d said, Dorothy had had to go through all of it, the grief, the responsibility, and the unlearning all on her own.
Picturing her aunt sat staring at the television, Hannah took a deep breath. She slowed the car at a safe place, brought it to a standstill and switched off the engine. She pulled out her phone and dialled Liv’s number. “About tonight,” Hannah said when her friend answered.
CHAPTER22
Having turned her car round and gone home, Hannah smiled as she let herself back into the house.
“That was quick.” Aunt Dorothy looked up as Hannah reappeared in the lounge. “Did you forget something?”
“Nope.” Hannah slung her handbag down on the sofa. “If it’s all right with you, we’re holding the meeting here.”
“But why?”
The last thing Hannah wanted was Dorothy thinking she pitied her and forced to think on her feet, Hannah blurted out the first excuse that popped into her head. “Apparently, our table was double booked.”
Dorothy looked affronted. “But why cancel your party and not the other?” She put down her knitting and rose to her feet.
“Where are you going?” Having never seen her move so quickly, a part of Hannah thought her aunt was about to grab her jacket and head to the restaurant to demand an explanation.
Dorothy paused in the doorway. “To get dinner ready, of course. I bet none of you have eaten since lunch.”
“But we can order takeout,” Hannah called after her.
