Chapter Eighteen

 

THE DOORBELL RANG AS I WAS SITTING IN THE GARDEN already dressed for our shopping spree and waiting for my two glamorous nieces to get ready for our trip to London. I was getting anxious, as the buses in the lane were very infrequent and if you missed one, I realized that you might have to wait for another hour or so, for the next to arrive.

“Amy … Amy dear. You’ll never know who is here.” I squinted in the strong, sharp rays of the sun to where I could hear the voice and put my hand up to shield my eyes, trying to guess why Stella was shouting so excitedly. “It’s the two men in your life ...” she went on as Anton and Gideon traipsed across the lawn, grinning like a couple of Cheshire cats, with Stella followed them, wiping her hands on her apron.

“Amy, how lovely to see you,” cried Anton, “We hadn’t heard that you would be coming down to these ancient parts,” he said, smiling at Stella with a wink ... and she affected a scowl.

I was stunned and thrilled at the same time as I got up from my deck chair as quickly as I could, falling all over the place in my hurry, and happy that Gideon had caught me before I landed flat out on the lawn.

“What a pleasant surprise. I had no idea.”

The boys looked at each other and grinned mischievously, but I could see Gideon scan the garden with sharp inquisitive eyes.

“No need to ask who he’s looking for, is there?” Anton joked and got a dig in the ribs from his brother.

“You shut up, you big oaf. I’m not looking for anyone. I’m just pleased to see Amy, that’s all,” replied Gideon as he came towards me and gave me a big hug ...which nearly took my breath away. “I don’t suppose anyone else ...is at home, Amy ...would you know?” he asked and his eyes were everywhere.

“No ...Only the girls and Robbie, of course,” I teased, “They’re getting ready to come shopping with me in London.”

“Oh! ...That will be nice ...for you ...for them,” Gideon stuttered and continued to scan the garden.

“Would you like to come with us Gideon?” I asked, feeling sure that he would refuse, knowing the masculine approach he always took to things like shopping, but Anton butted in, to my surprise before Gideon had a chance to answer.

“Of course he would Amy and if Moira’s going, wild horses wouldn’t keep him away.”

I saw Gideon scowl and close his eyes and I felt sorry for him as he pouted his lips, before he blushed and stared at Anton under his eyelids.

“Would you like to come with us Gideon?” I asked again trying to be a little more genteel in my approach this time.

“Of course he would Amy. I told you, didn’t I?” Anton shouted and laughed as Gideon tried to force a smile.

“I wish you’d shut your trap,” I heard him mutter before he turned to me. “I would be delighted to come, Amy,” he said, “But I don’t think Anton would consider the journey to be of any pleasure.”

Anton winked and grinned.

“Oh! I’ll just come along for the ride, if I may Amy,” he gloated and at that moment, Frances and Moira appeared at the kitchen door, leading to the garden. They looked radiant in their best clothes and I noticed that Frances had more than a smattering of make-up on, especially around her gorgeous eyes. She looked positively delectable as she touched her ear rings gently and even the reserved Anton looked at her twice, but I could see that Gideon had eyes only for Moira. He kept breathing in a strange sort of way and kept looking about him as if it was a dreadful crime for him to notice a female.

The girls gave us a twirl and called out to ask if I was ready and I gasped pretentiously as I knew I was expected to do that.

“Don’t you both look a picture,” I elaborated and glanced furtively at the male audience to see their reaction. “I feel so dowdy,” I added for full measure. “Shopping in London with two mannequins … well that’s surely for me, but where’s Robbie?”

No sooner had I mentioned the wonder boy’s name than he came tripping through the kitchen door into the garden and ...gave us a twirl ... Of course, everybody gasped with oohs and aahs and I could see Robbie blush as he ran forward to throw himself into my arms.

“I think we have come on the wrong day, Gideon, “Anton remarked, having noticed the excitement in Robbie’s face and by the look in the little boy’s eye, it was going to be his day . . .

but Gideon heard nothing as he stared at Moira and dug his toe into the grass in the lawn.

“Perhaps we should stay here and have some music practice, Gideon?” Anton teased, but Gideon would not be outdone as he screwed up his face and scowled at his brother.

“No use having a music practice if Robbie isn’t here is there. The only reason we came was to make a trio with Robbie, wasn’t it?” he barked and Anton grinned.

“Was it?” he asked as he smiled at Moira and it was then that I decided I had better resolve the situation as best I could.

“No reason why we shouldn’t all go. The more the merrier,” I said to ease the situation and Gideon agreed with me full heartedly ...saying that as it was Robbie’s day, there should be no reason to spoil it and if Robbie chose to go shopping in London with Amy, then that’s what everyone should do ...”And besides, “added Gideon, very gallantly, “It wouldn’t do to let the girls down either, would it?”

Anton smiled weakly at me, through the strong sun that shone in his eyes.

 

***

 

Eddy stood with his hands on his hips as he viewed the scene of so many toffs before him.

“Where are you all off to, all dressed up like a chorus of ballet dancers?” he exclaimed and narrowed his eyes as he sucked his teeth before he laughed aloud and smacked his knee with his cap. “Mam has told me of your excursion into the ‘smoke’, but I didn’t realize there would be so many of you. Look! I think it would be quicker and cheaper if I took you all in my car. What do you say?”

The girls were delighted and Robbie jumped in the air and clapped his hands before he ran to his big brother and threw his arms around him. Eddy grinned as Robbie spluttered out his delight.

“Alright, alright there boy …I’m not dressed like you lot are, so don’t get your best clothes dirty by cuddling me,” he said, but everyone could see how thrilled he was and he gave Robbie a look of sheer pride. “Jump in now and I’ll have you in London in no time. Oh! By the way, I could get some things I need in London myself, so I’ll go and see a pal of mine and meet you again later on in the day, if you give me some idea of the time you’ll be coming back.”

We all piled into Eddy’s old banger, but I don’t think we will ever know how. It seemed to be bulging in every direction and about ten miles along the road we heard an almighty bang and the car came to a hissing halt, with steam pouring out through the bonnet. The girls screamed but Robbie thought it was great fun.

“I think it’s my radiator,” Eddy explained, “It has been giving me some trouble lately, but don’t worry ...I know how to fix it if you’ll just be patient.”

Everyone stood on the grass verge of the lane and Robbie took himself off to attend to nature …

“Will you be alright Robbie?” Eddy called out from under the steaming bonnet, “Can you manage on your own?” Anton rushed forward to help, but Robbie shrugged away from any help that was offered.

“Aaargh ...boo ...stoon,”

Anton stood back in confusion but Eddy called out in a muffled voice. “Alright Robbie, but be careful, won’t you?” where it was clear that someone could understand Robbie’s grunts. Five minutes later Robbie was standing at Eddy’s side with his flies undone. “O.K, O.K. just let me have a minute to clean my hands. We don’t want to muck up your best Sunday suit, do we?” Eddy chuckled as he wiped his hands on a piece of an old check duster, just as another spray of steam shout out from under the bonnet and Eddy jumped back, in time to see the bonnet itself go flying through the air, followed by a strange hissing noise which I thought to come from the engine. It didn’t help matters either, when precisely at that moment, a cycling policeman came round a bend in the road ahead. He wavered on his cycle as he approached us and threw his short shoulder cape over his left arm as he slid from the saddle, balancing himself on one foot.

“What have we here then? ...Ah! Young Mr. Alastair ...isn’t it?” he asked and Eddy straightened up, rubbing the small of his back with his grimy hand.

“No Constable ...It’s Eddy. Alastair is my younger brother and he doesn’t have a car,” He looked about him and added a swift, “Thank God,” as he sighed and shook his check duster in the air, before he helped Robbie with his flies.

“Well, I would advise you all to stand clear then,” the Constable added, looking suspiciously at the hissing steam, “I think this ...this contraption could go up at any moment …”

Everyone ran to the other side of the lane, except Robbie. He stood his ground and looked up defiantly into Eddy’s face.

“Zee goo daz foo,” he muttered and Eddy smiled.

“Don’t worry Robbie. We’ll soon have it going again, but I think your trip to London will have to be by train after all and fortunately, we aren’t far from the station. Just over that hill there ...see Amy!”

I was more concerned for Eddy and his beloved car and how he would be able to move the thing, especially with the watchful eye of the portly police constable on him, ready poised with his notebook and pencil.

“I think that would be the wisest plan, Madam ...I can’t see this ...thing moving anywhere today. In fact, I had better contact the village garage and get them to tow you in, lad ...eh?”

Eddy shook his head at first and then with an afterthought, he nodded.

“Yes, I guess that’s the best bet. Sorry folks.”

The constable’s nostrils quivered as he looked around to ensure that the steaming had stopped.

“I ain’t ever smelt anything like this in a car before Alastair. ‘Ave you been ‘avin’ fish an’ chips ...or somethin’ in there?” he asked and Eddy gave him a quiet look of exasperation.

“Eddy,” he said and the constable stood back. “My name is Eddy. Alastair is my younger brother and No ...I don’t eat fish an’ chips in my car, Constable.”

The policeman scratched his head under his helmet.

“Maybe its onions ...or garlic, lad?” the constable chuckled and my heart missed a beat when he said that. The smell became so strong that Frances pulled out her handkerchief and clasped it to her nose. Anton and Gideon giggled and Moira looked about her in alarm, whilst Robbie wrinkled up his nose and took a good sniff.

“Come on … let’s get to the station before it will be too late to catch a train. Is everyone alright?” I asked as I started to lead the way, grabbing Robbie by the hand.

 

***

 

I was restless for the rest of the day and my mind was plagued with thoughts of Freya. I could see her resting complacently in her luxurious bedroom at Glencara and daring to extend her venom to my family in Little Netherington. How dare she intrude into my private life? How dare she ...How could she? I asked myself, but the smell of garlic would not leave me all day.

 

***

 

We spent six and a half hours in London, before we had to get the train back to Taunton in order to catch the last bus home, but it was enough time to let us have a good shopping spree and everyone seemed to enjoy it. We had a delightful lunch and I feel sure that no-one was any the worse for the experience of the broken down jalopy ... least of all Robbie, although he looked at me sorrowfully a few times and squeezed my hand, pressing his thin little fingers into mine as if to assure me that everything was alright. He was a strange young lad, without a doubt but yet I loved him with a love that I could not understand. Gideon had by this time, graduated to walking bravely and brazenly, hand in hand with Moira and Anton kept giving them dirty looks and glaring from time to time at Frances for her approval of his utter disdain. She only smiled in return and I could only suppose that she was otherwise preoccupied with her own romantic dreams of a French-Indian boy with magnificent white teeth and dimples ... with two evil, wicked, gorgeous come-to-bed eyes that made me seriously consider the spinster I was ... Why couldn’t I have fallen in love when I was a teenager? Why did I have to feel the need of a vocation in life, where everybody else mattered and came first? Why did I allow myself to be tossed about in the wind? Why couldn’t I just be NORMAL ...for God’s sake …I thought ...but somewhere at the back of my mind, the wind whispered it’s route ... and I knew I would follow.

Frances had bought herself a new dress with the hard earned cash from her part time Receptionist job at the factory in Newton Street and I got her a make-up selection from Boots which pleased her enormously. She wouldn’t allow me to pay for the dress, which was my original intention, so I paid for the meals and bought little things here and there as suggestions came up, but I wanted to do so much more and nobody would have it. Such independent youngsters, I thought, but I did stress that I wanted them to eat anything they fancied and not to consider the costs. I got Moira a bra as I knew she would like that. It was a sure sign that I considered her to be grown up at last ...and I slipped it to her when Gideon wasn’t looking ...of course, but that didn’t deter Anton from asking me if I was sure I had got the right size.

Everyone enjoyed the meal and none more than Robbie, who had two portions of sherry trifle, heaped with real cream and I hoped he wouldn’t be sick ...at least not until we got home, but he was fine and had no after effects. Anton and Gideon wanted nothing ... They had everything, they told me, with pride, but I slipped some money into the pocket of their jackets. I knew that would come in handy to buy whatever gentlemen with everything needed, from time to time.

Anton enjoyed looking around the music shops, digging out some old sheet music and tugging at my sleeve to tell me that it would be excellent for Robbie on the piano. I didn’t tell him that Robbie couldn’t read ...that would have spoiled his surprise and besides, Robbie gave the impression that he could read music and the end results of his playing were just as effective as if he could, but Gideon nearly lost Moira for a moment in the music shop. I think this must have been the only time when he wasn’t holding her hand ...Perhaps music can be the substance of love, but one can forget love for a wee minute when one is let loose in a music shop and more so when you are a lover of the violin. . Yes, I suppose one can … yes?”

All in all we had a lovely day, but no matter what I did, Freya was always on my mind. I could see her so vividly, time and time again, in various poses, but all of them were vindictive. I could see her leering at me as she rode to and from on that bloody horse.

“Yes Darling, but I can’t go with you to the men’s toilet ...perhaps Anton will take you in, eh?” Robbie needed ‘to go’ again and Anton obliged, but a few minutes later, he rushed up to me, asking if I would “proo sten riss aggh” and I did up his flies.

 

***

 

We arrived back at Stella’s place ...I don’t know why I’ve always called it that, after all, George lived there too ... feeling rather tired, but anxious to find out how Eddy got on about his car. Did he retrieve it and how much damage had been done and George scolded us affectionately for not telling him when the train arrived, complaining that he could have picked us up in the old family Austin.

Robbie flopped into an armchair and was fast asleep in minutes. ...clutching a faded copy of the P Hindemith Sonata in ‘E’ flat Major, Op 11 No. 1 for violin and piano and I smiled as I thought that ‘Im Zeitmass eines langsamen, feierlichen Tanzes,’ would have meant the same to him in any language and he would ‘read’ it all in the morning.

“Thank you for a wonderful day Amy,” a chorus of voices came from the other end of the room.

“The pleasure was all mine girls ...and boys,” I answered without looking up.

“Thank you Amy,” Stella chimed in and winked as she poured the cocoa “Don’t stay up too late. You must be dead tired.”

She glanced towards Anton and Gideon.

“Are you two going back to college tonight ...or …?”

Anton yawned and Gideon closed his eyes and pretended to snore.

“We’d rather it was ‘or’ if you don’t mind, Stella,” I could hear a sleepy voice plead and Stella grinned.

“Go on then,” she said trying to hide her grin, “Get upstairs and have a wash. You can kip in with Eddy and Alastair. I’ll bring you all a drink in a few minutes.”

Stella looked to the ceiling as if somewhere there she would find the patience to endure her happy lot ... and I envied her.

“They’re making quite a habit of this, you know Amy,” she went on, “Treating my home as a reg’lar doss house, I can tell you.”

The boys raced upstairs, two at a time, struggling to see who could get there first and I sat down beside George at the fire.

“I haven’t seen much of Alastair since I arrived George,” I asked, “Is he alright?”

George looked at Stella and Stella looked back at him, but it was she who spoke in answer to my question.

“Women trouble Amy ... women trouble ...but he’ll be in soon.”

I smiled weakly, happy for Alastair but with a tinge of sadness in my reflections as I considered how the world was growing up around me and I was still an ‘old maid’.

 

***

 

I saw Alastair only for a few moments the following morning just before Stella drove me into the station to catch my train for London, via Taunton. He was toying with some toast, not knowing whether to eat it ...or throw it out the window to the birds, I thought ...as he looked out at the sky and sighed. He had indeed grown up since I saw him last. His voice was deep and sensual and he had a blue chin, but he looked paler than I had expected. He was also a little reserved and shy when I spoke to him, but then, he would be like that ...wouldn’t he ...He was in love ... ...and love can do all sorts of strange things to a youth ... or so I understand.

Eddy, on the other hand, had given up all hope of ever driving his jalopy again and was dismantling it for spares ...hoping to sell them and get the deposit for a new car. I shoved twenty pounds into his hand as he pecked me farewell on the cheek and he blushed.