How Laura Lewis Met Richard Brown

Chapter Twenty-One

As soon as Laura returned home to Church View Cottage after her early shift, she had a quick shower, changed into her favourite pair of tartan, fleecy pyjamas and wolfed down a bowl of cornflakes drenched in milk. She felt rather smug, as she used semi-skimmed milk and added no sugar.

She then scrubbed the kitchen clean, although there wasn’t much dirt or grime to be found, and wrote a shopping list. She had the basics — bread, milk, cheese and so on — but she needed to do a proper food shop. She couldn’t live off cereal, and eating every day at the Cottage Bun would bankrupt her. She sat at the kitchen table and, with it being Monday, set about making a menu for the week. Of healthy and nutritious meals. She couldn’t quite believe it was February tomorrow. She would only eat healthy meals at home, would take packed lunches to work and she would most definitely cut down on her jelly baby addiction. She’d look to limit the café to three weekly visits — she could afford that. She liked Sue and the gossip that she always shared with her customers. The Cottage Bun was the sum total of her social life so there was no way she could give that up altogether.

Laura filled the kettle and dropped two teabags into the yellow teapot.

It was as she poured the boiling water into the teapot that she heard the doorbell chime.

Startled, she splashed a little of the water onto the kitchen counter. She never had visitors! She popped the lid on the teapot and threw a tea towel over the puddle of cooling water.

The only local person to have knocked on her door was Gwen on the day she’d arrived in the village. Unless, could it be Lottie? Had she missed a text message from her? She glanced at her phone on the table which was plugged in to charge, but it would still be set to silent.

She looked down at her pyjamas and tatty slippers. She couldn’t answer the door looking like she’d just got out of bed. She hadn’t even brushed her hair. The only saving grace was that she was clean. She went to reach for her phone to check for messages but stopped abruptly as she heard the flap of the letter box clank against the door, followed by a familiar voice.

‘I know you’re in there, Laura. Let me in.’

It wasn’t Lottie.

It was Megan.

Laura cursed under her breath. She really didn’t want to open the door. She’d planned a quiet night in. Was there time to hide? Had Megan seen her through the glass? Could she make a run for it upstairs?

‘I can see you. Open the door.’

Well, that answered that question then.

Laura opened the front door. On the step stood a grinning Megan. In her hand was a bag of jelly babies.

‘Hey, you,’ Megan said. ‘I thought I’d pop by. We haven’t chatted for a while.’

Laura stepped aside to let her new friend into the small hallway. ‘What a lovely surprise.’

‘No, it’s not. You’d rather I wasn’t here so that you could sit on your couch and read a book.’ Megan’s grin widened when she saw the look of shock plastered on Laura’s face.

Laura flashed her friend an embarrassed smile. ‘Got me. I’m not very sociable at the moment, I’m afraid.’

‘I know,’ Megan said, losing the smile. ‘That’s why I brought you these.’ She thrust the bag of jelly babies towards Laura, who took them with a thank you. All notions of curbing her addiction were now forgotten.

‘You didn’t need to buy me these just so you could call round.’ Laura laughed, beckoning Megan into the kitchen. ‘Want a cup of tea? Or I have a bottle of white in the fridge.’

Megan shook her head. ‘No. And I needed to get in your good books because I’m taking you out.’

‘What? I can’t go out.’ It was almost a shriek.

‘Why not?’ Megan asked. Laura could see she was doing her best not to scowl. ‘We’ll just go out to the Fox and Hound for a quick drink.’

Laura needed to think on her feet. She really didn’t feel in the mood for sitting in a pub. She had planned for a quiet night in, but one look at Megan suggested that that wasn’t going to happen.

‘Just one drink,’ Megan said pleadingly. ‘I really need to talk to you about something and I’d feel more comfortable in the pub.’

Laura’s resolve softened a little, helped by the fact she was far too curious. What was on Megan’s mind? One drink couldn’t hurt, she supposed, and she liked Megan. She’d been a good friend. Laura had been so wrapped up in her own little world that she wasn’t being as kind as she should be. It was time to be less selfish.

‘I’ll just go and get changed,’ Laura said.

Megan smiled, then placed her hands together in a sign of prayer.

* * *

The two women had chosen to sit at the table near the open fire. The fireplace had been stacked with logs and it roared with a fierce heat. It was why this particular table was usually the most popular place to sit in the pub, but tonight the Fox and Hound was suspiciously quiet. Only a few lone, elderly men lined the bar, nursing pints of bitter and chewing salted peanuts from a bowl.

‘Why’s it so quiet in here?’ Laura asked.

‘It’s always like this on a Monday,’ Megan said, as if the answer was obvious. ‘No one comes out on a Monday night.’

‘Except us.’ Laura forced a smile.

Megan picked up her glass of wine and took a small sip. Her lips were stained red.

Laura noticed that Megan’s hand shook slightly as she lifted the glass. Was she nervous? If so, what was she nervous about?

Laura picked up her oversized coffee cup with both hands, blew on the hot liquid then gently sipped. It was still far too hot. But deliciously bitter.

She was still amused that Bill hadn’t even tried to hide his astonishment when she’d asked for a coffee. Again. He had even shaken his head in disbelief.

‘You don’t drink?’ Megan had asked after Laura had placed her order.

Laura explained that she did like a drink, now and again, hence the white wine in her fridge at home, but she wanted to keep a clear head for work tomorrow. She also wanted to keep a clear head, to be better prepared for whatever Megan wanted to say to her — not that she voiced that. She didn’t want to let her guard down. She had a sneaky feeling that it involved Richard.

Now, Megan gently placed her wine glass down on the table. Her eyes flickered upwards to meet Laura’s gaze.

Laura placed her coffee cup down and relaxed back into the comfort of the old leather armchair. ‘So, what do you need to tell me?’

‘I just wanted to talk about Richard and Sally. What happened to them. What happened to him.’ A forlorn look crossed Megan’s face as she spoke.

Megan’s words took Laura by surprise. She opened her mouth to speak, but Megan beat her to it, shaking her head.

‘Just hear me out, okay?’ Megan pleaded with her eyes.

Laura sighed and nodded, despite her better judgement.

‘It’s just that if you know about what happened to them, then you’ll understand Richard so much more, and right now he could really do with a friend.’

For the second time that evening, Laura was taken by surprise. She felt uncomfortable with the entire situation. She knew far too much about this family. Far too much. All she had wanted to do was come here and hide away after her own family breakdown, and now she was being drawn into another family drama, one which really didn’t concern her at all. And anyway, wasn’t it up to her and Richard if they should be friends? Why did Megan feel the need to become involved?

Laura swallowed down her anger. She had to keep calm, find out exactly what was going on here. This family grew stranger by the minute.

She decided to be brave. She took a deep breath.

‘Megan, listen, this really isn’t any of my business.’

‘I know, I’m sorry, it’s just that . . . well, it’s been so difficult for him, these past few years, after losing Sally. They’d been together since they were fifteen. Met right here in the village.’

‘Really?’ Laura said. ‘They were childhood sweethearts?’ Something softened inside her. He really had lost the love of his life. ‘I just assumed they met a little later.’

‘Because of Henry?’ Megan asked. ‘That’s an easy assumption to make.’ Megan sipped her wine then cleared her throat. ‘It took them three rounds of IVF to make Henry and then she found out she had breast cancer.’

‘Oh, Megan, I can’t imagine what they must have gone through. The joy of having a baby and to then find out that you have . . .’ Laura’s words trailed off, at a loss of what else to say. It was all so very tragic.

‘It was devastating. Richard found it hard to be happy about the pregnancy because it was endangering his wife’s life. They had been told to have a termination, but Sally refused. She said that getting rid of the baby would kill her, even if the cancer didn’t.’

‘She sounds like a remarkable woman,’ Laura said.

‘Yes, she was.’

‘So she had the baby and then started treatment?’ Laura said. ‘That must have been incredibly draining and emotional for both of them. Poor Sally. She should have been putting her feet up and nursing her newborn. Not having chemo.’

Megan shot her a look. ‘That’s where you’re wrong,’ she said.

‘What do you mean?’ Laura asked. But then, she quickly put the pieces together. In a hushed voice she said, ‘She never had the treatment, did she?’

Megan looked over Laura’s shoulder, as if looking into the past. She shook her head. ‘Sally refused to have any treatment.’ Megan slammed her palm on the table as she spoke, making Laura jump. ‘No, that’s not fair. It wasn’t as simple as that. She made an informed decision, having been given all the statistics. She weighed up the odds of surviving post-treatment. They only gave her an extra five per cent, so she refused. Sally said she would rather spend the time she had left with her baby, not trapped in some hospital bed.’

‘I can understand that,’ Laura said.

‘So could I, but Richard couldn’t. He tried to persuade her to have the treatment. That it was worth the risk, if it meant her being able to spend that little extra time with Henry. But she stood her ground. She wanted to live, and die, on her terms.’

‘It would have been her last chance to have some sort of control over her life,’ Laura said. ‘Control had been taken away from her and it was her decision to make.’

Megan nodded. Picked up her glass and drained the remaining wine.

Laura bit her lip. All of this made her feel very uncomfortable. This was Richard’s private life they were discussing, in a pub.

‘Look, I know this is making you feel uncomfortable,’ Megan said.

‘You’re right there. This is private stuff. I shouldn’t be hearing any of this,’ Laura said sharply.

‘Yes, you should,’ Megan said, now with more steel in her voice. ‘You need to hear this so that you understand. So that you can help Richard when the time comes.’

‘What do you mean?’ Laura asked. ‘When the time comes for what?’

‘Gertie,’ Megan whispered.

‘Gertie,’ Laura echoed.

And then Laura knew. She knew what this had all been about. Of course. All roads led back to Gertie.

‘You know, don’t you?’ Laura asked cautiously. Although she had her suspicions, she didn’t want to break a confidence in telling Megan. After all, Gertie could have told her something completely different.

‘About the cancer? Yes, she told me. And she told me that you knew too,’ Megan said.

‘But Richard doesn’t know, does he?’ Laura said. ‘I mean she told me that she didn’t want Richard to know about the cancer and I have to respect that. It’s her decision, but it doesn’t feel right, knowing what she is going through and her own grandson being oblivious. Kept out in the cold. It just feels so very wrong.’

‘I feel exactly the same way, but I, too, can’t break a confidence.’

‘Who else knows?’ Laura asked. ‘I mean, is it really only the two of us? She hasn’t told Tracey?’

‘Just us two,’ Megan said. ‘But I’m so glad that she told you, because to be honest, I don’t think I could bear this secret alone.’

Laura reached out and grasped Megan’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. ‘I’ve only known her a very short time, but I already know that she’s a very strong and special woman. And I know that she means the world to you. I’m here if you need me, and after, well, once Gertie passes, I’ll be there for Richard too. Because as you say, he’ll need a friend, and sometimes it’s just easier to speak to someone who isn’t family.’

Megan squeezed Laura’s hand and then pulled away gently. She smiled a sad smile. ‘Thank you. That means so much to me.’

Laura picked up her now cold cup of coffee but drank it anyway. She needed the distraction. Something to do with her hands. She drained the cup.

Something was still niggling away inside her.

She understood how Megan would want to share the burden of knowing about Gertie as Richard didn’t know. It was so much for one person to keep trapped within them. So, telling Laura, sharing this terrible secret — they now had each other to talk to. Megan was no longer alone.

But . . . had Gertie told Megan about the supposed prophecy too? It was Gertie’s reason for confiding in Laura so . . . Surely Megan didn’t know about that? That couldn’t be the real reason behind this conversation, could it? Had Gertie told Megan that she needed to put pressure on Laura?

And then Laura remembered their conversation from the park. When they had watched Henry playing. Megan had told her that Gertie had foreseen Richard meeting Sally, and Megan had said this without a trace of humour or irony. Megan had believed in the prophecy nonsense then, and if Gertie had shared this new prophecy with her, she would most probably still believe in it now.

Laura decided to bite the bullet. She needed to tell Megan that Gertie had seen her and Richard together in the future. She needed to know if she should believe what Gertie had said about her and Richard.

So Laura spoke her truth. Her voice shook slightly but she got the words out.

‘Gertie has it in her head that me and Richard will be together in the future. It is her prophecy .’ Laura made quotation marks with her fingers to highlight this irony. ‘She has told me on several occasions that I will fall in love with her grandson. The whole thing is crazy, but I try to humour her even though I don’t believe in it. It’s complete madness . . . isn’t it?’

Laura held her breath, waiting for Megan to let out a belly laugh. To tell her that she was absolutely right. She slowly counted to ten while she waited for this to happen.

Megan’s face slowly turned a bright red, spreading up from her chest and neck. Her pale skin now looked a blotchy red colour.

Come on, Megan. Where’s the laugh? She needed to be told that this was Gertie all over, that she was a matchmaker.

But Megan said none of these things.

Megan cleared her throat and spoke slowly. ‘It’s not madness. It’s true.’