Val did not waver from her determination to look after Paul and Holly so that their parents could enjoy a short break together. When she told Cissie about her idea some weeks later her friend was delighted at the suggestion.
By the beginning of December, Cissie was well on the road to recovery. She had stayed in hospital for ten days and it had been a further two weeks before her broken arm had healed.
Val drove round to see her just after the plaster cast had been removed; it was Val’s half day off work. Cissie was on her own in the house as Walter’s mother had taken the children out for a short time. Cissie had insisted that she would be able to manage now that she had the use of both her arms again, but her mother-in-law still came round every day to see if she needed any help.
Cissie hugged her friend when she heard of her idea. ‘Gosh, that would be wonderful! It’s just what we need, Walter and me. We’re OK again now, you know. He’s been bloomin’ marvellous while I’ve been in hospital and he still is now I’m back home – fussing around me like an old mother hen.’ She laughed. ‘No, that’s not right, is it? An old father cock, maybe! Well, you know what I mean. He can’t do enough for me but I’ve got to start fending for meself and for the kids. Me arm feels all peculiar and me ribs are still sore, but I’m still all in one piece and that’s all that matters. He’s having to manage without his car – and that’s my fault – but it’s all being sorted out and he says we might have another one before Christmas. I shan’t drive again, though. I’ve learnt me lesson.’
‘You might change your mind, you’re sure to feel anxious at first. Anyway, don’t bother about all that now. You tell Walter about my idea and see what he thinks. Next weekend we’re going over to Harrogate to have a meal at Phil and Janice’s place for Sam’s birthday. But any time after that would be OK. I know it’s getting near Christmas but I’m sure you’d be able to get in somewhere.’
‘And I need a bit of time with Paul and Holly before I go dashing off again,’ said Cissie. ‘I’ve not been home long but I know they’ll be fine with you and Sam. I’ll go and make us a cup of tea… No, you stay there, I’ve got to manage by meself.’
Val went with her, though, into the kitchen, watching her carefully as she poured the boiling water from the kettle into the teapot, but not offering to do it for her.
‘Choccy biccies,’ said Cissie, opening a tin and putting some on a plate. ‘Walter kept bringing these when I was in hospital.’
Val did help her by carrying the tray and they settled down near the coal fire in the living room. The guard was always in place in front of the fire and a clothes horse nearby with nappies and baby clothes airing.
‘You’ll have all this to do for Holly,’ Cissie told her friend. ‘Are you up for it? We won’t stay away too long, though.’
‘I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it,’ said Val. ‘Anyway, it will be good practise for me. Perhaps, one of these days…’
She said no more and Cissie did not comment. The two were such good friends that they were attuned to each other’s feelings.
‘I wonder where we could go to, me and Walter,’ said Cissie. ‘It’s not really the weather for the seaside, is it? Scarborough’ll be bloomin’ freezing in the winter. D’you know where I’d really like to go?’ She didn’t wait for an answer. ‘London! I’ve never been and there’s always summat on the telly about the Queen and Charles and Anne. Not that we’d see them, of course, but I’d like to see Buckingham Palace and all them other places – the Tower of London and Big Ben and all the posh shops.’
‘Well, see what Walter thinks about it.’
‘Yes, I will… Ey up, here’s his mam coming back with the kids. Don’t say anything to her, will you, not till I’ve told Walter?’ she added in a whisper.
Val spent another pleasant half hour with the children and their grandmother; a friendly, homely woman, plumpish and smiling, who clearly doted on the children – not at all a typical mother-in-law figure. Val preferred her to Cissie’s mother, although she had mellowed somewhat since her grandchildren had been born. Val nursed Holly before Cissie put her down for her afternoon nap and played with Paul, zooming his police car around the furniture.
‘We’ll let you know soon,’ Cissie assured her as they said goodbye at the door. ‘I’m so excited. I can’t wait to hear what Walter says.’
She phoned the following day to say that Walter was very pleased with the suggestion and would the second week in December be convenient? Christmas Day would be on a Thursday and so, provided they could make the necessary arrangements, Cissie and Walter had decided they would have a long weekend away from Friday the twelfth of December, returning on the following Monday. All that remained now was to find a suitable hotel and book the train tickets.
Walter had visited the capital city only once before, with his parents when he was a young boy of eight; that had been before the start of the Second World War. He vaguely remembered the excitement of travelling on the underground railway – the tube – and the crowds of people, the big red buses and the black taxis. His father said they had stayed at a small guest house near Bayswater Road, close to Kensington Gardens and not far from the West End. He sent for a travel guide and found a reasonably priced one in that vicinity which could accommodate them for the three nights, bed and breakfast. He booked the train tickets and then they were all ready to go; Walter having managed, thanks to Sam, to wangle the Friday and Monday off work.
Val was pleased that they had accepted her offer. Walter’s parents were lending them their cot and high chair and she was preparing a bed for Paul in the small spare room. But before the children arrived there was Sam’s birthday to celebrate in Harrogate.
They travelled with Jonathan and Thelma in Jonathan’s car to the hotel where they would stay for the Saturday night. It faced the Stray, near the town centre, and was only a few minutes’ drive from Grundy’s. Their meal was booked for seven thirty and they had chosen the three courses in advance to help Phil with the menu planning. The evening bookings were now beginning to become more popular as they became more widely known to the folk of Harrogate and further afield. Phil had decided to start in a small way to see how the idea took on.
There was another small party of four dining at the same time and, fortunately for Phil, they had chosen a similar menu. They had all decided on roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for the main course – it seemed that Yorkshire folk never tired of their traditional fare – although the starters and desserts varied. Sam’s small party had all chosen homemade chicken soup then chocolate and walnut gateau – one of Janice’s specialities – for their pudding.
As it was already into the season of Advent the restaurant was decorated for the Christmas season in a tasteful fashion. There was a small artificial tree in the window with twinkling lights of green and gold. The same colours were repeated in the tinsel and sprays of flowers which adorned the walls and a large red poinsettia stood on the cash desk.
Phil and Toby, his assistant chef, were busy in the kitchen throughout the meal and did not appear in the restaurant until later, but the guests were served by Janice and one of the usual waitresses.
Coffee and mint chocolates were served at the end of the meal and Janice and Phil then joined the guests at their table.
‘You’ve done us proud,’ said Jonathan. ‘Congratulations! It was a splendid meal and we’re most impressed with your place, aren’t we, Thelma?’
His wife agreed that it was all most enjoyable. Jonathan was showing his more agreeable side. He could be affable and charming when it suited him to be so, but Sam remembered a time when his supercilious brother had looked down on those he considered were not of his own social standing, including Sam’s wife. But that was in the past and the four of them were now on amicable terms.
Phil told them that he and Janice were pleased at the way Grundy’s was progressing. They had several evening bookings leading up to Christmas. On the Saturday before the festive season they already had two parties of six booked in, which was quite enough for them to cope with. They were closing down following the afternoon tea session on Christmas Eve and re-opening on the Monday after Christmas; giving them a long weekend in which to recuperate and enjoy their celebrations.
‘Will you be going to Blackpool to spend Christmas with your dad and Norma?’ asked Val.
‘No, it’s our first married Christmas,’ said Val, ‘and we want to spend it in our own home. Dad would have liked us to go but he understands. And it’s his first Christmas with Norma, of course. We’ll probably pop over for a day and we’ll visit Phil’s parents as well, maybe on Boxing Day.’
‘My dad opens on Christmas Day and Boxing Day,’ said Phil. ‘Just the bar area, so that people who want to have a drink before their lunch can do so.’
‘No doubt it’s mainly the men,’ said Sam with a laugh. ‘…leaving their wives to do the cooking.’
‘That seems to be the way of it,’ agreed Phil. ‘Each to his own. My father is far more the genial landlord than I am. I’m usually tucked away in the background. I managed to get a licence to serve drinks in the evening. It’s more or less obligatory now to serve drinks with the evening meal.’
‘And you’ve a good choice, too,’ said Jonathan. ‘We enjoyed the Cabernet Sauvignon. I shall let Thelma drive back, she hasn’t indulged as much as I have.’
‘And how is your Ian?’ said Val to Janice. ‘Has he settled down now to life with your dad and Norma?’
‘I think he’s better,’ answered Janice. ‘He was disappointed that we’re not going for Christmas. He asked if he could come here and help, like he did in the summer, but I told him we were having a break over Christmas.’
‘Of course, we’re not the only attraction,’ said Phil. ‘He got himself a girlfriend while he was here. One of our student waitresses, a nice girl called Sophie. She comes to help on Saturdays and I think they’re still writing to each other.’
‘Gosh, that’s incredible!’ said Val. ‘I still think of him as a little boy, like he was when we stayed at your hotel. He was just about to start at the grammar school and he was mad keen on football.’
‘He still is,’ said Janice. ‘Although he has other interests now, of course. I know he took quite a shine to Sophie – he’s not had a girlfriend before. But I expect it will just be a passing fancy with them living so far apart. He’s fifteen now, in the fifth form. Some of them skipped a year because they were in the top form so he’ll be taking his O-levels a year earlier. In some ways he’s quite grown up but in others he’s still young and immature. I think he still misses Mum far more than we realise. He keeps a lot hidden away but I feel that he’s still hurting deep inside. When we go to Blackpool after Christmas perhaps he’ll come back with us for a few days.’
They went on to talk about Cissie and how she was now recovering from her bad accident. Val told them that she and Sam would be looking after the children while Cissie and Walter had a short break in London.
‘How very thoughtful of you,’ said Janice. ‘You’ll need a break yourselves, won’t you, after all that?’
‘They’re good children,’ said Val. ‘Cissie is bringing them up really well. Paul’s at a boisterous age but he does as he’s told… most of the time. And Holly’s a little love.’ Val gave a tender smile. ‘I’m looking forward to having them.’
It was almost midnight when the four visitors said goodnight and drove back to their hotel.
‘A very successful evening,’ Phil remarked. ‘It was good to see Val and Sam and to get to know the other two as well. Jonathan was surprisingly affable, I thought.’
‘Yes, nothing like as snooty as he used to be, according to Val. Very successful evening, and an enjoyable one as well. I think Grundy’s is making a name for itself, thanks to your efforts.’
‘And to yours as well, darling,’ he replied. ‘We’re a great team, aren’t we?’
Cissie and Walter left Halifax station mid-morning on Friday after leaving the children with Val. They wanted to make the most of their time away so Cissie had made sandwiches to eat on the journey. Walter had bought a tourist guide with maps and a plan of the underground so he had a fair idea about how to get around.
They arrived at King’s Cross station in the afternoon, and from then it was a continuous whirl of new sights and impressions, especially for Cissie. Firstly, a drive in a black taxi cab through the busy streets to their small hotel in Bayswater. Their room was on the top floor and over the rooftops they could see the trees of Kensington Gardens. After they had unpacked their few belongings and had a quick wash they went out to explore their surroundings.
They strolled along the path in Kensington Gardens that led to the statue of Peter Pan. Even Cissie, who was not a great reader, knew about the story by J. M. Barrie.
‘Our teacher read it to us when we were in the infants,’ she said. ‘I remember me and Val jumping off her bed and pretending we could fly. The teacher made Captain Hook sound real scary, and that awful crocodile! I even got it from the library and read it meself.’
‘Quite an achievement,’ said Walter, grinning at her. ‘Come on, let’s have a look at the Round Pond.’
They made a circuit of the huge pond where ducks and Canada geese were swimming, then took a look at the outside of the apartments where members of the royal family lived before making their way back to the area near their hotel. There were cafes and restaurants a-plenty, in every price range, in and around the main road, Queensway. They chose a small Italian one that did not look too pricey and dined on spaghetti Bolognaise, which Cissie declared was much nicer than the stuff out of a tin.
They retired early to their comfortable double bed with the brass bedstead. It was not the most salubrious of accommodation but they were satisfied. There was scarcely room to swing a cat, as the saying went. There was a small washbasin and an old-fashioned wardrobe and dressing table. The carpet was faded and worn in places, but to Cissie it was all different and exciting.
Walter had made a plan of sorts for the following day, Saturday. There was so much to see and do and he knew that Cissie tired quite quickly, although she was bravely pretending that all was well. After a substantial breakfast of bacon, eggs and sausages they took the tube from Queensway to Oxford Circus. The crowds of people, with many black or brown faces as well as white swarming around the stations and on the train were a surprise to Cissie. Walter had wisely waited until after the rush hour but, even so, there were more people than Cissie had ever seen in her life.
A tour bus around central London took them near the well-known sights: Marble Arch, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and the cenotaph, Downing Street, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and, most importantly, Buckingham Palace where the Royal Standard flying from the roof indicated that the Queen was in residence.
They alighted there and took a walk round St James’s Park where ducks and geese swam or waddled on the pathway waiting for titbits and pelicans resided on their island in the middle of the stream.
It was a good walk to Regent Street and the famous toy shop, Hamleys, which Cissie wanted to visit to buy Christmas presents for the children. They dined at a Lyons’ teashop where they managed to find one empty table. A bowl of soup and a sandwich fortified them for their shopping.
Cissie was as thrilled as any child would be by Hamleys. Many children were there with their parents, pointing out the toys that they hoped Father Christmas would bring. There was so much to choose from, on five floors, but eventually they decided on a pink fluffy rabbit wearing a checked dress and some large building blocks in bright colours for Holly, and a big red bus and a box of toy soldiers for Paul, along with various odds and ends for stocking fillers.
Walter good-humouredly agreed to carry the cumbersome bags for the rest of the day. They spent the afternoon mainly window shopping in and around Oxford Street. Cissie bought a silk scarf with London scenes for Val as a thank-you present and Walter bought his wife a pair of dangly earrings that she had admired in a shop window. Fortunately not very expensive but Cissie loved the sparkle of the eye-catching artificial diamonds.
‘Let’s see if we can get tickets for The Mousetrap,’ said Walter while they were dining at a Lyons’ Corner House on poached eggs on toast. ‘It may be fully booked but it’s worth a try.’
‘Oo, yes, I love Agatha Christie,’ said Cissie. She had been encouraged by Val to give the books a try and she had become hooked on the doings of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Another tube train took them to the Apollo theatre where the play was now in its sixth year. Luckily there were a few seats in the upper circle from where they had a good, though distant, view of the play.
‘That was flippin’ marvellous,’ said Cissie as it ended. ‘An’ I never guessed who it was. We’re having a smashing time, aren’t we, Walter?’
He agreed that they were. He knew, though, that she was tired, and after their journey back on a tube train that was, at eleven o’clock, still quite crowded, she fell asleep almost at once.
‘A leisurely day today,’ Walter said after their breakfast on the Sunday morning. ‘We did quite enough dashing around yesterday.’
It was cold but bright and sunny, with only a slight breeze, as they boarded a pleasure boat at Westminster pier for a sail along the River Thames. A man with a cockney accent gave a commentary as they passed by more sights that were new to Cissie. London Bridge, Blackfriars, Charing Cross and Tower Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral, the docklands, the Tower of London with Traitor’s Gate, the row of cannons on the waterfront and the White Tower visible from far away.
They alighted at Greenwich and strolled around the streets of the old town after viewing the old clipper ship Cutty Sark. After a fish and chip lunch they took a boat back to Westminster then strolled along the embankment, sitting for a while to watch the large and small boats on the river. Walter could see that Cissie was tiring again. They had done quite enough walking and she welcomed his suggestion that they should go back to Bayswater and have a nice meal to end the day. Dusk was already falling and by the time they came out of the station at Lancaster Gate the sky was dark but the lights from the hotels and restaurants and the passing traffic made it appear almost like daytime.
‘Let’s treat ourselves for our last meal,’ said Walter. ‘What about steak and chips?’
‘Ooh, yes, my favourite,’ said Cissie. ‘That’d be great.’
It was what they ate at home for a special occasion, although most of the time Cissie tried to count the pennies. Here, in London, they’d found that the prices were higher than at home. They had not gone hungry but had dined on snack meals such as sandwiches, soup or eggs on toast. It was time now to indulge themselves.
They found a small place off the main road which looked clean and cheerful with red-checked tablecloths and an appetising aroma greeted them when they opened the door. It was a substantial meal – sirloin steak and chunky chips with mushrooms and tomatoes – well-cooked but with no fancy trimmings to add to the cost. They splashed out on a bottle of the house red wine. Then Cissie declared in her usual forthright way that she was ‘ready to burst’.
‘We’ve had a smashing time,’ she said again as they climbed into their high bed.
‘Yes, so we have,’ said Walter, kissing her gently, ‘but I hope it hasn’t tired you too much.’
‘No, I’ve loved it all,’ she said. ‘I feel a bit achy…’ She rubbed at her rib cage. ‘…but I’ll be OK in the morning.’
‘Goodnight, love,’ said Walter, kissing her again. ‘Sleep tight.’
They had done very little but kiss and cuddle since Cissie left hospital but there was time, all the time in the world now that their marriage was back on track.
They caught a morning train so that they could collect the children in the early afternoon. Val was on her own with them as Sam had gone into work.
‘Mummy… Daddy…’ shouted Paul excitedly, running to both of them as they entered the room. Holly looked across from where she was sitting on the settee. She looked puzzled for a moment then she smiled and held out her arms. Cissie was sure she was trying to say Mummy. ‘Ma… ma…’ she muttered as Cissie rushed to pick her up.
‘Hello, darling,’ she said. ‘Have you been a good girl for Aunty Val?’ She turned to Walter. ‘Here, you hold her. I forgot about me arm.’ She was still limited in her arm movements and the little girl was now quite plump and sturdy. ‘Gosh! She weighs a ton. What have you been giving her, Val? Steak and chips?’
Val laughed. ‘She’s eaten all her meals and they’ve both been as good as gold, though I’m sure they’re glad to see their mummy and daddy again. What about you two? Have you had a good time?’
‘Wonderful!’ replied Walter. ‘We can’t thank you enough, Val – you and Sam.’
‘We’ve loved having them,’ said Val. ‘Now, I’m sure you must be eager to get home. Sam left me the car – he went to work with his father – so that I can drive you home.’
‘That’s real good of you,’ said Cissie. They had taken a taxi from the station and she still felt guilty about Walter’s car. ‘You’re a friend in a million, Val.’
The house felt quiet and empty when Val returned after seeing the Clarkson family safely back home. She had loved looking after the children. She realised now what hard work it was caring for two kids, day and night. But that had not deterred her from wanting a family of her own, although she knew Sam was quite happy to wait a while. And she, too, had tried to settle down following the disappointment of her miscarriage and not get too anxious. She feared now, however, that the longing might start all over again.