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CONSTANCE GLIDED INTO Sea Vistas Oceania lounge as regal as any monarch, on the arm of Walter, whose posture would have done Prince Philip proud. All heads turned and conversation was muted. Isabel watched her friend proudly.
‘She’s very queenly, isn’t she?’ Nico murmured, and Isabel nodded her agreement. Rhodri was stood behind her near the bowed food table. Brenda was beside him and had undoubtedly been bending his ear in her strident Cockney tones. Isabel hoped she hadn’t been giving him the gory details of her recent bunion surgery, business at the pub was suffering because of Brenda’s need to share, or so Tilly said. Brenda and her bunions would be enough to put anyone off the mini quiches being laid down alongside the club sandwiches and sausage rolls right at this moment.
‘Shush.’ Delwyn tapped Nico on the shoulder. ‘Constance is going to speak.’
Constance’s gaze swept over her loyal subjects and she cleared her throat. ‘Thank you all for coming this afternoon and of course to Isabel for organising this get-together. It’s lovely of you to come along to wish myself and Jill well on our travels. So, please eat, drink and be merry!’
‘Is Jill the nurse who’s travelling with her?’ Nico whispered.
‘Yes. Edward her son’s footing the bill for everything, first class tickets included.’ Isabel turned, watching the stampede towards the refreshments which was akin to that of the buffalo running in North America. The residents who’d turned out to say cheerio to Constance fell upon the table, bees to honey. Ronald of the gouty legs was already skulking towards a chair over in the corner of the large lounge room clutching a napkin loaded with sweets and savouries. Gollum with his ring.
‘Christ, it’s frightening,’ Delwyn said watching the gathered crowd. ‘You could lose a limb if you tried to get in the middle of that lot.’
Isabel laughed. It was true. She spotted Millicent or Joan Collins as she’d nicknamed the new resident, homing in on Rhodri. Should she rescue him? The poor man had suffered through Brenda and was now about to be hit upon by a glamour puss of great years with a reputation for being a tad too fond of the grape. Her wine glass was indeed nearly empty, she noticed, watching the proceedings with amusement. He was a big boy, she decided, opting to risk the melee for a club sandwich.
By the time she’d managed to snag a ham, egg and tomato she saw Alice, who was the leader of their acapella group, had arrived and was mingling amongst the residents. Daisy, their conductor, was at her side and Isabel waved over before ducking and diving past the tables slowly filling up with residents. ‘Hi, Alice, Daisy, thanks so much for coming. Have you had the chance to get something to eat?’
‘Not yet, I thought I’d wait until the crowd thinned.’ Alice’s dark brown eyes twinkled.
‘Same here.’ Daisy grinned, her cheeks dimpling.
‘Probably wise. Is anyone else here yet?’ Isabel scanned the room
‘No, but they’re on their way.’ Alice waved her phone. ‘I just had a text from Jasmin they’re all piling into her people carrier mover as we speak.’
‘Great.’
‘I’m going to see if there’re any scones left.’ Isabel went in for seconds. There were three and she snatched one, unsure whether to risk an attempt at the jam and cream, she decided to give it her best shot. She caught Nico lunging for a jam tart and choked back a giggle hearing her tell a woman she was being very rude, pushing so. Unfortunately, her rebuff had fallen on deaf ears because it was Nora and Isabel could see she didn’t have her hearing aid in. She slipped away from the table having successfully dolloped both jam and cream on the scone.
‘Phew, it’s a madhouse,’ Rhodri said slipping an arm around her waist. ‘Mm, that looks good. I haven’t been brave enough to help myself.’
‘Oh, go on, you need this more than I do after listening to Brenda and fending off Millicent. Who’s she chatting up now?’ It must be love she thought parting with her scone.
‘Last seen heading for the kitchen so my guess is she’ll be batting her lashes at the chef and waving her glass about in search of a refill.’ He gave her a cheeky grin before eating half the scone in one bite.
Constance, Isabel could see, was lapping up the attention. For someone who’d made out a party was a fuss about nothing, she was clearly having a lovely time and the sight of her holding court pleased Isabel. She wiped the blob of cream from Rhodri’s nose and looked to the entrance as more guests piled in. ‘Oh, the rest of the girls are here.’ She extricated herself to greet the Angels of Wight who were piling into the lounge.
‘Come on, Isabel, we’ll get organised.’ Alice led her and the rest of their merry band over to where she’d decided the acoustics in the lounge would be the best. They arranged themselves in their practised formation and then Alice clapped her hands and waited a beat before introducing them. It took two attempts but at last she had everyone’s attention and, with their eyes on Daisy, the Angels of Wight began to sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
Their voices soared and harmonised and it wasn’t long before two couples took to the floor which brought smiles to the groups’ faces. Several more decided to take a turn including Constance and Walter when they moved on to Sam Smith’s How Do You Sleep? They had their set down pat and they glided smoothly into Adele’s Hello before finishing on a racier note by erupting into Bang Bang by Jessie J, Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande. The song had been Constance’s choice. ‘I might be old but I’m not over the hill,’ she’d said.
Their voices stilled in good time, Isabel thought, noticing one or two of the residents looking as though they might expire and Alice, on behalf of the Angels of Wight, thanked their audience. There were shouts of ‘more’, ‘more’ and Daisy leaned in to confer suggesting Peter, Paul and Mary’s Leaving on a Jet Plane might be apt given why they’d all gathered. There were nods of assent and so, with a wave of her arms and a dip of her head which sent her hair swinging, the girls launched into it. The song went over well with the crowd with one gent banging his walking stick most enthusiastically. It earned him a tap on the shoulder from Nurse Jill who was worried he might put a hole in the floor.
‘Will you stay for some cake?’ Isabel asked the Angels as they milled about.
‘I can’t stop, Mum’s got Tessa and she’s a teething nightmare at the moment,’ Daisy said. ‘I’ll have to love you and leave you.’
Cheerios were said, with Alice and the rest of the group deciding they’d definitely be staying for cake.
Isabel took a deep breath, her heart beginning to beat faster at the thought of standing up by herself to say a few words. You’re doing it for Constance, Isabel, breathe. You’re amongst friends.
She cleared her throat and her voice when she spoke seemed inordinately loud but then again it needed to be given how many of her audience were hard of hearing.
‘Hello, everybody.’
‘Hello, Isabel,’ came back at her.
‘Erm, thank you all for coming to see Constance and Jill off on their trip to Canada and,’ she gestured to Alice and the others, ‘to my fellow Angels of Wight, thank you for coming and entertaining our wonderful audience. I’m sure you join me in wishing them both a wonderful trip.’
A low murmuring of agreement followed.
‘So, I’d invite you to join us in a piece of their delicious Bon Voyage cake.’
Constance cut the first slice of cake which she insisted Isabel have after all her efforts with her party. Jill did the honours, slicing up the rest of the ginormous mud cake and passing it out to the residents.
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ISABEL STAYED BACK after the party to help with the clearing up and then ventured upstairs to check on how Constance was getting on with her packing. A suitcase was open on the bed and it was half full. As for Constance she was ensconced in her favourite chair with her sapphire blue, ballet flats discarded on the floor next to where she sat. The butterfly diamantes on the side of each shoe glinted. Isabel had been with her when she’d chosen them and Constance had been like a magpie when she’d spotted those diamante clasps. She’d dozed off but her eyes sprang open as Isabel moved across the room intending to finish off her packing for her. They had a list of what she was taking and it shouldn’t be too hard to locate the different items.
‘I wasn’t asleep if that’s what you’re thinking. I was resting my eyes.’
‘With your mouth open,’ Isabel said, smirking. It had been a big afternoon what with the dancing too. ‘You’re ninety-one, as you’re so very fond of saying, Constance, you’re allowed to nod off.’ She glanced at the list lying beside the case. The sweater and trousers they’d bought for the holiday weren’t crossed off yet and she moved to the drawers to locate them. She’d taken Constance shopping a couple of weeks ago to make sure she had everything she needed for her trip and they’d both been particularly pleased with the red wool coat they’d found. It looked stylish on her but would ward off the Canadian chill without being too bulky for travel. The matching red beret would ensure she was toasty.
The coat was hanging in the wardrobe ready for her to wear tomorrow. It was going to be such a long day for her with an early start but then fingers crossed, Isabel thought, locating the trousers and carrying them over to the case, she’d sleep for the best part of the flight. Hopefully the novelty of being on an aeroplane wouldn’t keep her awake for long.
Constance waggled her foot in Isabel’s direction, ‘My ankles are a thing of the past. How’re they going to manage sitting in what equates to a tin can in the sky with engines for ten hours?’
Isabel pulled the compression socks she’d brought along with the packet of Epsom salts from the bag she’d carted with her and left in the room earlier. ‘You’ll be fine. I’m putting these in your carry-on bag now and Jill will slip them on for you before you get on the plane. She’ll sort you out with a bowl of cool water and these,’ she held up the Epsom salts, ‘to soak your feet in when you get to where you’re staying.’
Constance’s eyes sparked, ‘Hark at the apprentice telling the teacher what to do.’
‘Sometimes the teacher would do well to practice what she preaches.’ Isabel finished off what was left of the packing before insisting on a hug. ‘It’s going to be strange knowing you’re not just down the road.’ She’d miss her dear friend while she was away.