Although Lucy missed having Alex around during her days off, she was glad that she had more free time to spend with her beloved Granny Annie. She regretted the fact that her weekly visits pre-Alex had dwindled significantly during the course of their relationship, for at ninety years old, she didn’t know how much longer her granny would be with her.
Lucy arrived at the studio but her granny was nowhere to be seen. Without a moment’s hesitation, she crossed the street and headed for the local church gardens, knowing full well that her grandmother would be sitting on the bench, getting her daily dose of fresh air as she watched the children totter about. This, combined with sunbathing in the summer months, was her main source of entertainment, as well as her daily scrutiny of each page of the newspaper, which gave her an impressive general knowledge of current affairs; her in-depth understanding of the premier league football teams particularly amused Lucy.
Scanning the benches in the park, she spotted her sitting under a tree. With a smile she remembered one afternoon last summer. Once again she had come to the park to look for Annie but had failed to find her. A sense of panic had risen within her as she worried that her darling granny might have had another awful fall. She had fallen over in church while taking communion at the beginning of the year and been rushed to hospital with a huge gash on her forehead. Suddenly, she had caught sight of a tiny figure lying on the grass behind the bench, clearly right as rain and enjoying a spot of sunbathing. Laughing, she had walked over to the spot, calling out, ‘Granny Annie, what on earth are you doing down there?!’ Annie had peered up, trying to focus on Lucy’s face despite the bright sunshine, ‘Oh, hello darling! What a nice surprise! I’m trying to get the back of my legs brown!’ she had explained, as though it were perfectly normal for an eighty-nine-year-old to be lying on the ground.
She chuckled to herself as she marvelled once again at the lengths Annie would go to achieve a tan! Her grandmother had a tanning addiction that would rival Magda’s in There’s Something About Mary. She found winter quite depressing without her daily dose of Vitamin D, however she had taken to using what she described as ‘brown make-up’ on her face to keep up her healthy perma-tan glow.
Granny Annie certainly was a character, she had bright blue eyes that still retained their sparkle and she wouldn’t be seen dead without her bright red lipstick. She had recently purchased a pair of gold strappy sandals to wear around the house and had proceeded to paint her nails purple, all by herself. Lucy found this unbelievably adorable, and loved her granny even more because of her eccentricity.
‘Granny Annie!’ called Lucy as she neared the bench.
‘Lucy, darling! How did you know where to find me?’ asked Annie.
‘Oh, lucky guess, I suppose!’ laughed Lucy as she bent to kiss her granny’s wrinkled cheek, her skin felt cold from the chilly winter air.
‘How long have you been here?’ Lucy asked. ‘It’s freezing!’
‘Oh not long, darling, you know how I like to come and get some fresh air. I can’t bear being stuck inside all day. But it is jolly cold, feel my fingers! They are numb!’
After a few more minutes spent watching a particularly sweet little boy in dungarees unsuccessfully chase a pigeon down the path next to them, Lucy and Annie set off to the shop around the corner to buy some lunch, arm in arm. They went back to the lovely, warm studio where Annie lived and Lucy heated up some soup. As they ate their lunch they talked about life. Her grandmother had met Alex several times now and, while they had got on well, it was clear to Lucy that Annie hadn’t been as bowled over by his charm as others. However, she seemed happy to hear about them moving in together and Lucy hoped that this demonstration of commitment on Alex’s part would encourage Annie to warm to him a little more. Perhaps she was just being wary of his intentions towards her beloved granddaughter. It was a shame, though, because it was very important to Lucy that her grandmother approved of her other half.
Later, Lucy set off for home. Annie bid her farewell, chanting her customary departing line, ‘Don’t talk to strange people!’ and blowing her kisses, waving from the pavement outside her house until Lucy had walked all the way down the street and turned the corner. Lucy’s heart melted as she turned every few steps to wave back at her, Granny Annie was only four foot ten, and the sight of her so small and alone broke her heart. She renewed her promise to keep up the visits and to phone her more frequently, knowing that her family was all she had left now that so many of her friends had passed away.
The big move was scheduled for December twentieth, giving them a couple of days to settle into the flat before they both went to their respective family homes for Christmas. The twentieth was a Saturday, so they had the whole weekend to move Alex out of the flat in Pimlico and into Lucy’s. Dan was coming over in the Nissan to lend a hand with the removals, Claudia having kindly opted to stay at home so as not to be a ‘nuisance!’ Lugging bags up and down stairs was not Claudia’s idea of fun. Lucy helped Alex pack, sorting his belongings into those he wanted to keep and those he would have to throw away. They had both had to downsize their wardrobes dramatically so that two flats’ worth of possessions would fit into one. Luckily, Alex had been renting a fully furnished flat, so he didn’t have any furniture to deal with. Alex was ruthless with his clothes and shoes; anything that he hadn’t worn in the last six months was bagged up for charity. Dan and Lucy did a run down to the local Oxfam, who gratefully received the bags of expensive labels, before helping Alex load the car up with the remaining suitcases. She was grateful for the two men’s insistence on carrying the bags up the three flights of stairs to her flat, busying herself with pouring them both stiff drinks as a reward for their efforts.
Dan left a short while later, leaving them to settle in to their first night of cohabitation. Unenthusiastically they surveyed the scene of destruction that surrounded them.
‘Arrrghhh…’ groaned Alex as he did a mammoth stretch, ‘I’m so stiff!’
‘Me too,’ agreed Lucy. ‘It’s exhausting work, moving!’
‘Thanks so much for all this, Luce.’ Alex said. ‘I really mean it, you’ve been amazing. I couldn’t have done it without you!’
‘And Dan, he was great! We definitely owe him one, maybe we can get Dan and Clauds over for our first joint dinner party at 13 Mayfield Road?’ Lucy suggested.
‘That sounds like a fantastic idea,’ Alex said as he made his way over to her, enveloping her in his arms. She felt so happy. For once Alex had remained in amazingly high spirits all day, despite the hassle of moving house. She couldn’t help but see this as a good omen, a sign that he was ready to embrace the next stage of their life together. ‘Do you know what else sounds like a good idea to me, right now?’ he said, as he bent to kiss her.
‘I think I can guess,’ laughed Lucy, as he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.
‘I’m afraid those boxes will just have to wait!’ announced Alex, kicking the door shut behind him and throwing her onto the bed.