‘A Lego submarine. Yesss! I love it, thank you so much, Rosa. I’m showing Dad.’ The boy charged over to the pub.
Tina Green turned to look after him. ‘You didn’t have to do that, Rosa, but thank you. I’d love to chat, but I’d better go after him.’
Rosa put her arm on the tired grandmother’s shoulder. ‘We can see him from here. Let’s go over in a second. Would you like a hot chocolate?’ Nate and Brad, the student, were busy serving hot dogs to the many excitable children waiting for the firework display to start. Rosa jumped behind the table and handed a ready-poured chocolate hot drink to Tina then took one for herself. ‘Bless you, it’s hard enough at my age, but you must be exhausted doing all this childcare and still working in your sixties.’
‘You know how it is, Rosa. My family are my world. I’ll take tiredness any day, just to see my boys thriving and content.’
The music stopped abruptly, and the PA system crackled across a clear night sky full of stars. The full moon was also showing her celestial body, lighting a twinkling path across the still, dark waters of the sea.
‘Thank you all for coming.’ There was a hush as the Chairman of the Residents’ Association took to the microphone. ‘It has become a firm feature in the Cockleberry Bay calendar to celebrate these fireworks together as a community. We shall count down from ten in just a minute and set off another magnificent sparkly show in the sky, but I would firstly like to thank you all for your contributions for making this event happen. I would also like to thank Rosa Smith wholeheartedly for setting up Ned’s Gift, which supports not only our Association but also some other great local charities, including Sea & Save and our amazing lifeboat service. There are tins dotted about on the catering ports, so even if it’s a handful of coins from your purse, every little helps. Thank you.’
Unaware that this announcement was coming, Rosa was delighted at the support. Ritchie, with Theo tight in his arms, caught her eye and managed a thumbs-up sign. Titch was stuffing in a burger as fast as her face would allow.
A fanfare of music boomed out from the sound system, then came the shout: ‘Ten, nine, eight, seven…’ As everyone joined in, their voices reverberated loudly over the Bay, and when they got to ‘One!!’ they gasped at the shapes, colours, and joyful explosions of the beautifully crafted firework display lighting the clear Cockleberry Bay night sky.
CHAPTER 17
‘It’s good to see you again.’ Christopher sat at the kitchen table while Mary stirred homemade chicken soup at her old black stove. ‘I can’t believe where the time has gone.’
Mary turned around to face him. ‘I know. Rosa was pregnant the last time we met.’ There was a brief silence before she added, ‘Thanks for not pushing her.’
‘That’s not my style.’ Christopher said, then sneezed loudly.
‘I knew those bloody tablets wouldn’t work that you took. Hang on.’ Mary went to her messy drawer again. ‘Here.’ She handed him a little phial of liquid. ‘This should help.’
‘What is it?’
‘Trust me. It’s fine. Just sniff it hard up your nose. It’s all natural.’
Hot had been taken off Queenie’s chair so the grown-ups could sit comfortably and was now snoring gently in Merlin’s basket in front of the fire. Little Ned had also been an absolute angel, sleeping soundly. There was no sign of Merlin, who had raced back in and up the stairs the minute the fireworks had started. He was now hiding under Queenie’s bed, snuggled inside an old shawl of hers that had fallen down the back and been forgotten.
Christopher did as he was told and sniffed up the potion. ‘I don’t know, I come round here, you give me drugs – and God knows what’s in that pot you’re stirring. You’ll be trying to seduce me next, Polly Cobb.’
Mary felt herself blushing. She answered, ‘I have to say, if I’d known you were going to be a funeral director, I might have married you all those years ago.’
Christopher laughed. ‘You and your ghosts and ghouls. Sorry to disappoint you, but in all the years I’ve been doing this I’ve never had one body jump out at me in the Chapel of Rest.’
‘Nothing out of the ordinary has ever happened to you at all?’
‘No. I think everyone in my care remains at peace. I talk to them, you see. I think their souls have long disappeared when they reach me but just in case, out of respect, I have a little chat and make sure they are comfortable and looking the best they can be.’
Mary moved away from the fire and then started fanning herself. ‘It’s so warm in here, do you mind if I open a window for a second?’
‘Of course, let me.’ Christopher stood up and then sniffed. ‘No sneezing. That’s remarkable.’
Mary said nothing. He then added, ‘And thanks for doing food.’
‘Oh, it’s just a bit of soup and homemade bread, that’s all, but I have made a blackberry and apple crumble, so we can have some of that later for afters, if you fancy. With custard.’
‘I fancy very much. Since I’ve been on my own, I rarely cook anything decent for myself. My lad has given me a couple of food parcels since I moved in, which is handy.’
‘He’s a credit to you, your Nate is.’
‘Yes, he certainly is. And it’s good to see him happy again. It’s been a long road.’ He looked directly at Mary who had now delivered hot bowls of soup to the table. ‘A long road for all of us.’
‘So, remind me, how long ago did you split from your partner?’ Mary went to the drawer to get spoons then sat down beside him.
‘Must be around three years now. It was all very amicable.’
‘And how about your ex-wife, Nate’s mum – do you still see her?’
‘God, no. She was hard work, but she gave me my Nate, so that is the positive I take from meeting her.’ Christopher looked sad. ‘I failed as a father back then, Mary. Boarding school wasn’t for him. He needed love.’
‘I failed our Rosa in a much worse way.’
Christopher put his hand on top of hers. His voice was comforting when he said, ‘But like I said to you before, we are here now and look at us. Our children seem to like us, despite everything, and that little baby lying in the pram over there, he is our grandson. And we have time to make amends. Our grandson.’ Christopher repeated. ‘And how good does that feel?’
Mary stood up quickly and went to the oven. She returned to the table with a basket of freshly baked bread and an old-fashioned blue and white butter dish.
‘Now what were we talking about?’ She had a puzzled look on her face.
‘Little Ned, of course.’ Christopher smiled.
‘Ah, yes.’ Mary’s face was still slightly blank.
‘Since I hit fifty, I’m always forgetting things now too,’ Christopher added kindly. ‘But we are still young in my eyes and we have so much to look forward to. I can feel it.’
Tears suddenly appeared in the usually stoic woman’s eyes. ‘Kit. Can I trust you? I want to tell you something. Something I haven’t told anyone else.’