‘Come in,’ called Janice, hearing a timid knock on her bedroom door.
She was not surprised to see Ian, looking a little sheepish. ‘Sure I can come in?’ he asked.
‘Of course you can,’ she answered. ‘I’m quite decent! I’m just getting ready to meet Jean and Kath. They’re going to be my bridesmaids and we’re having a meal together at the Lobster Pot. But I’ve got plenty of time.’
Her brother flopped down on the bed, then looked at her with soulful brown eyes. ‘Don’t you miss Mum?’ he asked.
Janice sat down on her Lloyd loom chair and reached out a hand to briefly touch Ian’s. ‘Of course I do,’ she replied. ‘You don’t really need to ask, do you? I miss her like mad, especially now.’
It was the week before the wedding and by now the arrangements were finalised. Janice’s greatest regret – the only one, really – was that her mother would not be with her to share the most important day in her life. She was busy and excited, of course, and looking forward to being Phil’s wife, at last, but there was an ache deep inside her when she thought about her mum and how she would have loved to share in this occasion.
She had not wanted to refuse Norma’s offer to help her to choose her wedding dress and she was getting a good reduction on it as well. It would have been churlish to refuse but the thought had been with her all the time: my mum should be doing this.
She tried to explain this to Ian. ‘Every girl should have her mother with her on her wedding day but we can’t change what has happened, can we, Ian? I know it’s all very sad but life has to go on. That’s a worn-out phrase if ever there was one, but it’s true. It would do no good to wallow in misery and Mum wouldn’t have wanted that, would she?’
‘No, I suppose not. But Dad seems so… carefree, as though he’s forgotten all about her.’
‘I can assure you he hasn’t. You’ve heard him say that no one could ever replace Mum, but he has a right to be as happy as he can be.’
‘D’you think he’ll marry her?’
‘I don’t know, Ian. Try not to think about that just now. I’m glad you’ve agreed to be a groomsman at our wedding. It means a great deal to Phil and me.’
Ian grimaced. ‘I shall feel a real twit with a flower in my buttonhole. And a new suit an’ all. But Dad insisted and at least he’s paying for it.’
‘Just be thankful we’re not having morning suits – top hats and all that, like they did at Valerie’s wedding.’ Janice and Phil had decided that it should be a fairly informal occasion with the men in ordinary lounge suits, although the ladies always liked to have an excuse to dress up.
‘I’ll leave you, then.’ Ian stood up. ‘I just wanted to talk to you. I was feeling a bit fed up, like… I’ll miss you, you know,’ he added, a little embarrassed.
‘I’ll miss you, too, but let’s not get all sad and mopey.’ Janice smiled at him. ‘It’ll be a happy day, I’m sure, and we must try not to dwell on what might have been, OK?’
Ian nodded. ‘OK, I’ll try.’
Phil and his parents stayed at Summerlands the night before the wedding, along with an aunt and uncle from Yorkshire and Phil’s best man, Brian – an old school friend – and his wife.
Alec’s brother and sister and their spouses, who lived in Burnley – Alec’s home town – were travelling over to Blackpool for the day; relations that Janice seldom met but it was obligatory to invite them. There was also Janice’s uncle and aunt – her mother’s brother and his wife – who lived near Blackpool. That was the sum total of relations; the other guests were friends of Phil and Janice.
There were thirty-five people gathered at Summerlands for the reception that followed the midday marriage. The service at the parish church, where Janice attended occasionally, was simple and reverent without a great deal of ceremony; the way Janice and Phil wanted it to be.
She had chosen, with Norma’s assistance, a traditional dress in ivory satin with a lace bodice and long sleeves and a gently flared skirt that flowed to her ankles. Her short veil was held in place with a pearl coronet and she carried a small bouquet of white lilies and narcissi. Her bridesmaids wore dresses of hyacinth blue, knee length, in a simple style that could be worn on other occasions.
It was a happy day and it was good to see relations that they met only occasionally, at weddings such as this, and, sadly, at funerals.
It was traditional that the parents of the bride and groom sat at the top table with the bridesmaids, best man and groomsmen. Janice felt a pang of regret to see Norma sitting with her father. But then, where else could she sit? She was Alec’s friend and it was right that she should partner him rather than sitting elsewhere.
Mr and Mrs Summers had done them proud with a three-course meal of prawn cocktail, roast chicken and sherry trifle. Janice’s friend, Pat, whom she had met on the catering course, had made the two-tier wedding cake. After the cake had been ceremoniously cut and the happy couple toasted in champagne – Alec had insisted on this for his only daughter – the guests mingled together, meeting old friends and getting to know those who were strangers to them.
Janice was pleased to see her friends Val and Cissie again, with their husbands. They had driven over together in Sam’s car rather than use two vehicles.
‘So we’re all married now,’ said Cissie excitedly. ‘Isn’t that lovely? Who’d have thought it when we all met at the Winter Gardens! I had my doubts about Val and Sam, but not any more I don’t. And Janice and Phil, you two are made for one another, aren’t you?’
Phil smiled at his new wife. ‘We certainly think so.’
‘And me – I went back to Walter here,’ said Cissie, linking his arm. ‘But we’ve no regrets, have we, love?’
‘None whatsoever,’ answered Walter with an ambiguous smile.
‘And how’s your family?’ asked Janice. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing your baby girl – Holly, isn’t she? I’ll be able to see you more often now I’m living in Yorkshire.’
‘Holly’s doing fine, isn’t she, Walter? She’s four months old now. And our Paul will be two on the first of June. Little tinker he is, into everything. Walter’s mam and dad have got them today. And what about our Val, eh? Doesn’t she look well!’
Val smiled complacently. It was just becoming obvious that she was pregnant, a fact that she did not try to disguise. She was wearing a lightweight woollen outfit in a raspberry pink shade which suited her dark hair and rosy complexion. She looked radiant and happy.
‘I’m glad you’re keeping so well,’ said Janice. ‘Everything is going to plan, is it?’
‘Yes, fine thanks… touch wood,’ she replied, reaching out to touch the back of a chair. ‘The baby’s due in August – only four months to go.’
‘I won’t ask whether you want a boy or a girl,’ said Janice. ‘A silly remark really, isn’t it? We just hope all goes well for you, don’t we, Phil?’
‘Indeed we do,’ he replied. ‘We’re pleased that we’ll be quite near to you when we move to Harrogate. We hope you’ll be there at the grand opening?’
‘And when will that be?’ asked Sam.
‘Not for a little while. The property needs a fair bit of renovating, although it’s in quite good condition. Late summer, we hope. We’ll let you know, of course… Come along… Mrs Grundy,’ he said to his new wife. ‘We’d better go and circulate before it’s time for us to depart. We’re off to the Cotswolds for a few days. We’ll see you all again before long. Thanks for coming…’
Janice and Phil set off for their honeymoon towards the end of the afternoon. The guests waved them off, showering them with confetti again as they got into the car to drive along the promenade. What the majority of the guests did not know was that they would drive around the Fylde area for a little while before returning to Summerlands for their first night. Then they would do their journey to the Cotswolds in a leisurely way the following day.
Phil drove south, past the tower and the Pleasure Beach, to St Annes and then on to Lytham. He parked the car near the vast expanse of grassland beyond which was the Irish Sea. The rival seaside town of Southport could be seen in the distance across the estuary of the River Ribble. They walked hand in hand along the path near to the sea. They felt, strangely, that they had little to say to one another after the events of the day; they were just happy to be alone together.
They stood looking out across the ocean. It was a peaceful scene, away from the hubbub of Blackpool. Phil turned to kiss his new wife. ‘Let’s head back now, shall we?’ he said. ‘They’ll have all gone by now.’
Just a few people were in on the secret: Alec and Norma, Ian, the bridesmaids and Phil’s parents, but they, too, would have gone home by now to leave Janice and Phil on their own.
George and Evie had reserved one of their best rooms for the honeymoon couple. There was a snack meal of ham sandwiches and pork pie awaiting them on their return. There were only a few guests staying at the hotel the weekend after Easter. Some of them were in the visitors’ lounge but Janice and Phil did not feel like socialising with strangers. They spent the evening with George and Evie Summers in their private sitting room, chatting and idly watching a variety show on the television.
George poured out glasses of their best sherry for their own toast to the newlyweds, wishing them every happiness and success in their marriage and their new venture. Janice had become a popular member of staff during the nine months she had been working there. They were sorry to lose her but she promised to keep in touch and visit them when they came to see her father.
Evie made supper drinks for the few guests who wanted them and after they, too, had finished their cups of tea, Phil and Janice looked at one another. Janice felt a little embarrassed as they stood up to say goodnight and depart to their room. George and Evie, though, had the good sense not to make any facetious remarks.
‘Goodnight… See you in the morning,’ they said, but did not add ‘sleep well’.
Janice felt suddenly shy and unsure of herself. There had been very few occasions when they had been alone like this. There had been only one, in fact, when they had taken the opportunity, after Val and Sam’s party, to express fully their love and desire for each other.
But now they were married, Phil soon put an end to any restraint that Janice was feeling. This time there was no sense of guilt or worry that something might go wrong. They came together gently and lovingly at first, then more passionately, as they had denied themselves for so long.
Janice lay awake for a little while. She felt happy and contented but there were a couple more thoughts on her mind. She wished her mother could have been there to share in her happiness and she hoped so much that Ian would settle down to living with his dad without her own bolstering presence, and that he would adapt to the situation if her father decided to marry Norma. But her thoughts were mainly of how lovely and right it felt to be married to Phil. And so she fell asleep…
Following a hearty breakfast – the same fare as the other guests received – they set off for their journey south. The Cotswold Hills was an area of England that was not familiar to either of them, but the pictures and descriptions in the guide books had appealed to them and they found that the reality was even better.
They arrived mid-afternoon at Stow-on-the-Wold where Phil had made a reservation at an old coaching inn in the market square of the picturesque town. They had driven along leafy lanes where the trees and hedgerows were bursting into full springtime green, further advanced than those in the north. Sheep grazed on the steep slopes of the hills. The area, in the Middle Ages, had been the centre of the wool industry which, since that time, had moved to Yorkshire. The rich wool merchants had built many of the impressive churches – very large for the size of the villages – and the stately manor houses of Cotswold stone. The mellow golden-hued stone was unique to the area, so different from the red brick of Lancashire and the grey millstone grit of Yorkshire which were so familiar to them. It was an idyllic part of the country in which to spend the first few days of their married life.
They stayed for five days, visiting the other charming olde-worlde places in the area: the elegant town of Cheltenham; the lovely village of Bourton-on-the-Water where the River Windrush flowed through the main street, crossed by low stone bridges; and Chipping Camden with its Jacobean market hall.
The weather was kind to them; just the occasional April shower which did nothing to dampen their spirits or their joy in being together.
Then they were back in Ilkley to what was a new home for Janice. She had no job to go out to each day but there was plenty to occupy her at the Coach and Horses until such time as they set up on their own. Phil continued with his work as a chef and Janice filled in wherever she was needed: waitressing, serving in the bar or helping in the kitchen, where she was able to put into practice her skill at pastry and cake-making, which would be one of her main occupations when they opened their own place.
A firm of builders and joiners was contracted to make the necessary alterations. After a good deal of deliberation and assessment as to how to make the best use of the property, they decided that the front part of the premises should be a cafe, open during daytime hours. In the morning, from ten o’clock, they would serve coffee and tea, toasted teacakes, pastries and cakes, and light lunches for two hours at midday, then afternoon tea, closing at five thirty.
To make more use of Phil’s talents as a chef they proposed to open in the evenings for small parties, preferably pre-booked. These ideas were still taking shape in their minds. They would need to wait and see how their proposals worked out once they were open. Then they could build their business up according to the response of their customers.
They hoped the cafe was near enough to the town centre to attract both residents and visitors. They would advertise in the local papers and send out leaflets to various groups and organisations, then trust that their reputation would do the rest. They realised it might be thought a chancy venture – there were other such places in the vicinity – but they planned to have their own individual style.
They learnt that the shop had once been a small bakery with much of the produce made on the premises. But over the years they had suffered from competition from larger firms. The elderly couple who ran it had not kept up with modern trends and they had no family to take it over so the business had declined. The couple had retired to a bungalow in Knaresborough, leaving the one-time baker’s shop in the hands of the estate agents.
Because of the nature of the business there was a fair-sized kitchen on the ground floor but the ovens and the sink were dilapidated and would need replacing. There was a room at the rear of the small shop which had possibly been used as a storeroom; the wall could be knocked through to make the front area larger. When this was done they estimated that the cafe would accommodate up to twenty people. This might be a tight squeeze but time would tell and they would learn by experience.
The living quarters upstairs were adequate, though in need of decorating. A large living-cum-dining room at the front, a smallish kitchen and a bathroom which, surprisingly, were quite modern, and two bedrooms, one much smaller than the other. A place which was affordable, especially with the windfall from Phil’s aunt. They required a mortgage, however, which did not prove to be a problem. It was amazing, though, how the necessary requirements – the alterations to the structure, the joinery, repainting and decorating, plus the new ovens and up-to-date plumbing – were eating away their money. And then they would need to furnish the cafe and purchase crockery and cutlery.
The work was progressing well, though, with no snags so far. Phil and Janice drove over a couple of times a week to see how the work was going along.
Two things happened, though, while the preparations were going ahead. Neither of them caused Phil and Janice to alter their plans or hindered the ongoing work but both gave them pause for thought. During the first week in May, Sam rang them to tell them that, unfortunately, Val had suffered a miscarriage. Janice felt so sad for her friend, knowing how disappointed and upset she must be.
Then, in early June, Alec rang to tell his daughter that he and Norma were to be married at the end of the month.