Lucia waits for Isaac to return from taking his call and to settle back into his seat before she begins the first proper planning meeting. It’s hard to know where to start. The responsibility of dragging this motley crew away from their homes is suddenly alarming. Was it the right thing to do?
The fingers of her left hand trace the shape of the compass by her side for reassurance. Its smooth surface brings the usual feeling of calm and sneaking a quick look down, she sees that the barometer is set to fair and the compass needle is back in its usual place, pointing south-west.
Her heart is thumping painfully and she wraps her hand right around the reassuring weight of the compass. Lu feels an unusual burst of confidence and wellbeing flood her body. She glances down again, almost expecting to see it glowing, so strong is the wave of good feeling. She’s never felt so warm and confident in her life. Far from feeling anxious about their spontaneous adventure, she’s now full of hope and joy at the thought of all that might lie ahead. She can try to make headway with getting to know Polly better, give Sir Peter something to look forward to and best of all, help her son to come out of the shadowy world he’s chosen for himself. Encouraged, Lucia reaches out with her other hand to touch Isaac’s shoulder.
‘Right, let’s make a proper plan,’ she says. ‘There are four of us now, all with our own ideas. Reggie counts as part of you in this,’ Lucia adds, so as not to offend Polly. ‘As we said before, we can choose two areas each to begin with and then pull them all together into one big trip. There could be other stops in between if the distances are too big, just random ones whenever we see somewhere we like?’
Polly’s eyes are shining. ‘I love that idea,’ she says. ‘It’s a great compromise between a totally open-ended wander about and a rigid plan. What do you think Peter?’
‘What an excellent scheme. I’m all for it. I’d love to hear everyone else’s favourite destinations,’ says Peter. ‘How about you, Isaac?’
‘I’m all for sorting out a route. There’s just one thing though. I’m worried about Tommy. I told him about Dad leaving, Mum. Is that okay?’
Her son looks a little shamefaced and Lu smiles. ‘It’s fine, I wouldn’t have expected you to keep him in the dark about your dad doing a runner. I should have told him myself. Why are you worried though?’
‘It was only after I came off the phone that it struck me how down he sounded. That’s not like Tommy, is it? The place he’s staying … well, it’s too dull for him, I think.’
‘Yes, I did wonder if that might happen,’ says Peter. ‘Bored silly, probably, poor chap. The Tommy Lemon we know and love wouldn’t fit into to a geriatric establishment just yet.’
‘So what are we going to do about it?’
Lucia looks at her son in surprise. It’s unlike Isaac to sound so forceful or to be much interested in what his family are up to. He’s not uncaring, just … distant, as a rule.
‘I suppose we could call and visit him?’ she says. ‘Get the map out, love. The retirement complex can’t be too far from here. He said Somerset, didn’t he? I haven’t got round to looking exactly where it is.’
After a brief search, Isaac unfolds one of Tommy’s west country maps. It’s adjoining the area where they’re staying. ‘Yes, it’s here,’ he says, stabbing a finger at an area surrounded by green splodges. ‘It’s very rural, by the look of it, but there’s a village nearby.’
Lucia’s heart sinks as she thinks about what Isaac and Peter have said about Tommy. He’s always been a good friend to her and she’s never known him even slightly gloomy. An image of that livewire of a man incarcerated in luxury but wishing desperately he was somewhere else comes into her mind and at the same time, the hand cupping the compass registers a very slight buzz. She looks down. The needle on the barometer is quivering madly, and as she watches, it swings round to point directly to the word cloudy. At the same time, the compass needle drifts from south west to almost due south.
‘Isaac, how far are we from Tommy and … erm … what direction would we need to go in to visit him?’
Isaac looks at Lu rather oddly but checks the map. ‘Around twenty-five miles I think, and it’s pretty much south from here. Are we going to go? That’d be great! He’s the one who’s given us the chance to do all this. Flora, the exploring, everything’s due to Tommy being so generous.’
‘Yes, you’re right,’ says Lu, glancing down at the compass again. Cloudy. That won’t do. It won’t do at all.