How Laura Lewis Met Richard Brown

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The residents of Cedar House care home were fast asleep. Well, all but one. Gertie sighed one of those deep sighs of the utterly exhausted who simply could not rest. She opened her eyes and looked at the bedside clock. 2.15 a.m.

It was the pain that had woken her from a restless sleep. She pushed herself up the bed as best as she could and rested her head against the headboard. She forced herself to lean over the bedside table and switched on the bedside light. She needed a distraction. Something to take her mind off the searing pain that was slowly working its way up her spine and twisting around her middle, her gut. It was no good calling the carers to come and take a look. There was nothing they could do. Painkillers wouldn’t touch this pain. She really needed morphine, but that was a downhill slope and she knew that she would end up in hospital. So, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut, and inhaled and exhaled deeply through the pain.

One, two, three in . . . One, two, three out . . .

It would pass. It always did. Only then would she press the buzzer for a cup of tea.

She picked up the book from the top of the pile on her bedside table. The battered old copy of Great Expectations . She found the page where Laura had inserted the bookmark.

If Pip and Estelle couldn’t take her mind off the pain, then nothing would.

It would soon fade.

Then time for tea . . .

* * *

‘Come here, Henry,’ Gertie said, giving her grandson a big, gentle cuddle from the safety of her bed.

Henry wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder.

She planted a kiss on top of his curls. ‘Oh, I’ve missed you, my lovely boy.’

‘Can I have a biscuit?’ Henry asked.

‘Course you can, love. Go and get two from the biscuit tin.’

Henry jumped off the bed in one quick leap and swiftly located the biscuit tin.

‘Tell you what, Henry, would you like to go and play in the day room? I’ll have a quick chat with Daddy. Would you like that?’ Gertie suggested this with a smile.

Henry’s eyes lit up. He loved the toy basket in the day room. He liked the cars best.

Richard peered at his grandmother. This was so unlike her. She usually didn’t want to let Henry out of her sight. He studied her more closely. He noted the pinched look of her face. The black circles under her eyes. She hadn’t slept well.

‘I’ll ask Adrian to stay with him for half an hour — he won’t mind,’ Gertie said.

Now Richard was really worried. This was so unlike her.

‘I’ll take Henry with me and go and find him,’ Richard said, his throat tight. He found it hard to get the words out. He needed to sound normal. He didn’t want to sound panicked. Gertie would hear it in his voice.

Twenty minutes later, Henry was settled in the day room with his cars and juice. Richard sat in the chair by the side of Gertie’s bed with a cup of tea that warmed his hands. Gertie’s cup of tea was sitting on the bedside table, untouched.

‘She is such a clever girl,’ Gertie said with a faraway look in her eyes.

Richard wondered who she was talking about, but he didn’t ask. He would simply let her talk. Gertie’s voice lacked its usual strength and clarity. Her words seemed strained to him. As if she was using a great deal of effort to speak to him.

‘That girl is such a good judge of character. She knew it was Hazel straight away, you know, and she helped us, and now look what’s happened.’ Gertie tutted, a scowl forming on her face.

Laura? She must be talking about Laura. Richard wondered what had happened?

‘She hasn’t told you, has she?’ Gertie said.

‘I-I haven’t seen Laura since I gave her the flowers.’ His heart raced and he felt a cold chill run down his spine. Had Hazel hurt Laura in some way? ‘What happened to Laura?’

Gertie cleared her throat. ‘Can you pass me my cup, love?’

Richard handed her the cup so she could have a sip of tea, then put it back on the bedside table.

‘Hazel stopped Laura outside here yesterday. Well, not exactly outside the home, but in the playground. She obviously didn’t want anyone to see her. The coward.’ Gertie hissed the words.

Richard placed his own cup down. He hunched forward on his seat and nodded in encouragement. ‘What happened to Laura?’

‘Well, Hazel started shouting, telling Laura that it was all her fault. Oh, and apparently it was yours too. Silly woman.’

Richard raised his eyebrows. ‘Really, she said that? That Laura and I were to blame for what happened to her? She actually believed that?’

‘Yes, she did,’ Gertie said. ‘Told Laura that she was a struggling single parent and what was she going to do now that she had lost her job.’

Gertie leaned back on the pillow and sucked in a deep breath.

‘You okay?’ Richard asked, worry making him frown. This was all too much. She needed to rest. Take it easy.

‘I’m fine, love. Just a stitch.’ Gertie offered him a wobbly smile.

‘Should I call someone? So they can give you your pain medication?’ He could see that she was in pain but knew she wouldn’t admit it with him in the room.

‘No, no, I’m fine. Stop fussing.’ She batted him away with a flutter of her hands. ‘Now, where was I? Oh, that’s right. Laura. Well, she felt guilty then, about the kids, because what will happen now that Hazel doesn’t have a job?’

‘I had no idea she was a single parent, that she was struggling,’ Richard said. The last thing he wanted was for the kids to suffer. ‘Do you know if she has any family who can help her out?’

‘Laura asked just that and Hazel said no.’

Richard knew all too well the realities of being a single parent, but he had the safety net of family surrounding him, and it appeared Hazel had no one.

‘I know that look,’ Gertie said with a knowing smile.

‘You do?’ Richard asked.

‘You want to help her, don’t you?’

Richard nodded. ‘But only because of the kids, and maybe if we help her, then maybe she can get back on track and help herself.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s not fair on the kids otherwise,’ he added.

‘I agree,’ Gertie said, before adding, ‘I’m going to drop all charges.’

‘Wh-what?’ Richard asked, thinking he’d misheard.

‘I don’t want her to go to prison. All I wanted was to catch the thief and I did that.’

‘But what about her punishment?’

‘I think losing her job and the entire village knowing what she did is punishment enough, don’t you?’

Richard wasn’t entirely sure about that, but it wasn’t his call to make.

‘I think she needs people around her, supporting her, and as a village, we’re good at that,’ Gertie said.

He couldn’t disagree with that. ‘I’ll have a think, see what I can do. Maybe we could do a collection or something? I’ll chat to Tracey. Laura too.’

‘She’s such a lovely girl,’ Gertie said after a few quiet moments.

Richard nodded. He knew where this was going.

‘You know what happened to her, don’t you?’ Gertie asked.

‘Know about what?’ Richard asked, confused at the change of topic.

‘What happened to her husband, of course.’

How did she know about Laura’s husband? Laura must have chatted to her about it. but how did Gertie know that he knew?

‘How? How do you know?’ Richard asked against his better judgement.

‘She told me, of course,’ Gertie said with a shake of her head. ‘But what I really want to know is how you found out? I know that she didn’t tell you.’

‘I . . . Well, she did tell me,’ Richard said.

‘Oh, Richard, don’t lie to me. I can always see right through you. Ever since you were a little boy. So, tell me the truth. How did you find out?’

‘I googled her,’ Richard admitted, his face hot with shame.

Gertie shook her head. ‘You really shouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t have been snooping on her. It’s never a good idea, love.’

‘I know,’ Richard said. ‘I wish I hadn’t now. I don’t know how . . .’ He paused, not sure if he should say aloud what was on his mind. ‘I’m not sure how I should act around her now. I feel awkward, knowing her secret.’

‘Whatever do you mean?’ Gertie asked. ‘You just need to be yourself. And, anyway, you only know half the story — the sensationalist rot that the papers print. You haven’t heard Laura’s story. Her version of events. About what really happened.’

Richard knew that his grandmother was talking sense. He did only know half the story, but this still made being around her incredibly difficult.

‘I feel ashamed, knowing what I know about her. I can’t un know it. Go back to how things were. It’s not that easy.’

‘Well, I’m not sure, love. Maybe you just need to tell her.’

Richard spluttered. ‘Tell her?’ No, he couldn’t tell her that he had done an internet search to find out who she really was. She’d never forgive him, and who would blame her? Even if he told her he’d done it with the best of intentions, that he’d been worried about her safety, there was still no excuse for what he’d done when he could have simply asked her.

‘I just mean that you could tell her that you found a newspaper article or something,’ Gertie said. ‘That you found out by accident.’

‘They’re not easily found, Gran, those articles,’ Richard said. ‘You have to dig deep to find them and have a reason to do some digging. As you said, she’s clever. She’d see right through that excuse.’

Gertie pondered this for a moment. ‘You’re right. You’ll just have to keep this from her then and hope that she tells you about it in her own good time, just as she told me.’

Richard nodded, but he doubted that Laura would want to share something so intimate with him.

‘You could always talk to her about Sally. Open up about what happened after she died. Perhaps she would open up to you?’ Gertie said gently.

Richard froze. No, he wasn’t ready for that. Very few people knew what had happened to him after Sally’s death. That he had fallen, crumbled, and that he had never quite become whole again.

He shook his head.

‘Oh, this should all be so simple,’ Gertie said.

‘What should be so simple?’ Richard asked with a sigh. Nothing in his life was simple.

‘You and Laura,’ Gertie said, as if the answer was so obvious. ‘Oh, Richard, just ask her out, before it’s too late.’

* * *

‘Laura, come and grab this cup of tea, before it grows cold,’ Linda shouted across the day room, the cup held aloft in the air like a prize.

Laura pushed herself up from the floor where she’d been sorting through the contents of the bookshelf, thinking there really should be a better selection of books. Gertie had a better range of books in her room. She stood up, placed her hands on her hips and arched her back. She had been crouched on the floor for far too long, absorbed in her task of sorting out the various paperbacks. It had been fairly quiet after lunch, with many of the residents snoozing, so she had grabbed the chance to do a bit of tidying. She had been meaning to do it for weeks now.

‘Thanks,’ Laura said, taking the cup from Linda.

It had been hours since she’d had a cup of tea, but her shift was nearly over and she planned to go home, heat up a microwave meal and get stuck into a good book.

The two women stood in the doorway and sipped their tea.

‘So, what are you up to this afternoon, then?’ Laura asked. She knew that Linda usually spent Sundays with the grandchildren. She still couldn’t get over the fact that Linda was old enough to have grandchildren.

‘Milly is calling around with the kids for a late Sunday lunch and then I think I’ll put my feet up.’ Linda laughed. ‘What about you? Anything nice planned?’

Laura appreciated that Linda was asking her about her plans, but she always gave the same answer. ‘Just a quiet afternoon in the house.’ Laura followed her words with a shrug.

‘Well, that’s nice. Always good to have a rest.’

But Laura could easily read Linda’s expression. The way in which she looked at her said the exact opposite. What Laura saw was pity. ‘I’m fine. Honestly, I am. I’m happy at home by myself.’

Linda lowered her cup and touched Laura’s arm. ‘Listen, if you ever need a bit of company, you can always pop to mine. I always have enough food to feed a small army. It would never be a problem. In fact, it would be lovely to see you outside of work.’

Laura sipped her tea. ‘Thank you.’

Linda smiled and lifted her own cup. ‘Right then, we’ll finish our drinks and do our usual end-of-shift checks, eh?’

Laura nodded, her throat too tight to speak.

* * *

Laura had just shrugged her coat on by the front door and was about step outside into the much-needed fresh air when she heard a man’s voice shout her name.

She spun around to see Richard running towards her.

As usual, his satchel was slung across his shoulder and his black curls were sticking up, as if he had just raked his hand through them, either from worry or sheer frustration, she couldn’t quite tell.

He stopped in front of her. ‘I’m so glad I caught you before you left,’ he said, taking a few deep breaths.

Laura stood there, open-mouthed. She couldn’t make this man out. The other day he could barely look at her, and now he was running after her, obviously desperate to talk to her about something.

Time stood still. It must be Gertie. Her hand flew to her mouth.

‘What’s happened? Is Gertie okay?’ Laura asked.

‘Gertie? Oh, she’s fine. I just left her.’

‘Oh, that’s good to hear,’ Laura said, relief washing over her. Her heartbeat slowed. ‘Oh, I thought something had happened to her and that’s why you were running after me.’

Richard shook his head and muttered his apology. ‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t think and didn’t mean to startle you.’

Laura smiled. She noticed the worry lines on his forehead and the way in which his eyes crinkled as he spoke. ‘No problem,’ she said. ‘I popped up to see her before I started my shift, but she was asleep.’

Richard shifted from foot to foot before he spoke. ‘Well, I just wondered, as it’s Sunday, if you wanted to come to mine for Sunday lunch?’ His words came out rushed, all in the one breath.

The question came as such a surprise that Laura couldn’t quite hide her reaction of pure shock. Why was he inviting her to his home?

‘I’m, well, I’m not so sure. I think perhaps that . . .’ Laura’s words died on her tongue as she saw his expression change from expectation to disappointment.

His eyes lost their crinkle and he looked away from her as he fiddled with the strap on his bag. ‘That’s fine. Don’t worry.’ He turned to walk away.

‘Richard,’ Laura said to his retreating back. ‘Wait.’

Richard turned around to face her.

‘Are you cooking?’ she asked.

‘Good heavens, no,’ Richard said. ‘I wouldn’t subject you to that .’ His mouth twitched trying not to laugh. ‘Tracey is cooking, and Jack and Megan will be there. Henry, too. He’s with Adrian at the moment and I need to go get him.’

Laura pondered this for a moment. What harm would it do? She still thought that Richard was acting strangely towards her, but it was only Sunday lunch after all.

‘If you’re at all worried, then I have to tell you that it’s not a date,’ he said.

Laura’s face grew hot. ‘Oh, I know that.’

‘So, is it a yes, then?’ Richard’s voice shook ever so slightly.

Laura wondered if he was nervous.

‘It’s just that I promised Gertie I would invite you to lunch.’

There it was. The truth. Of course, this was Gertie’s doing.

Laura sighed. ‘Well, it has to be a yes, then, doesn’t it. I don’t want to let Gertie down.’