‘That’s all down to my sister-in-law. She started it and my brother was right on it. Like I say, I may have sung your praises a little more than I realised.’
‘I’m never going to object to people singing those.’
‘Fair enough. One thing though.’
‘Oh?’
‘My dad’s here.’ The tension rippled through him as he said it, changing from the relaxed uncle he’d been just moments before. ‘Of course, it tends to just be me he has the problem with so…’ He let the sentence drift into nothing.
‘OK,’ I said, determined not to make a big deal out it. ‘That’s OK. It’ll be lovely to meet everyone and put faces to names.’
After a moment he nodded, smiled and led me through to meet his family.
* * *
The meal was a cheerful, chattering affair, full of good food and laughter. Seb sat across from me, and to my right was his dad. Everyone talked with and across each other, relaxed and good naturedly. All with the exception of Seb and his dad. Any exchanges between these two lacked the ease of the others, possessing an almost formal quality to them. When Seb’s father spoke to me, however, he was pleasant, relaxed and interested. Seb’s explanation about how it only seemed to be his eldest son his dad had the problem with resonated in my head. I’d thought for a moment Seb might have been exaggerating a little, but I hated to admit that it did feel as if he might be right.
‘Seb tells us you’re into gardening?’ his dad said as I finished hoovering up the last of the tangy lemon tart we’d been served for pudding.
‘I’m not sure “into gardening” is quite the right description any more as I don’t really have a garden to potter about in, but I wish I did.’
‘We can be interested in things, even if we don’t get to do them. And I’m sure you have plans. You seem like a young lady that makes plans, going by how efficient you’ve been helping Seb with the charity.’ He gave his son a nod across the table, but I noticed he didn’t really meet his eyes.
I pretended not to notice, but I had a feeling Seb knew. Smiling, I turned back to his dad. ‘You’ve got me. I have a whole notebook filled with ideas which usually gets added to every timeGardeners’ Worldis on.’
‘That programme is one of the highlights of my week.’
‘Mine too!’ I laughed, adding that I had to admit part of the attraction was seeing Monty Don’s dogs.
‘I’m going up the allotment in a bit. Just a few things to check on. It’s only a short walk away if you’re interested in coming along?’
‘Oh… that sounds lovely, doesn’t it, Seb?’ I assumed he was invited.
‘You go, Lots. It’s not really my thing and I said I’d give Jamie a hand with something in a bit.’
I sat for a moment, feeling unbelievably awkward and a little unsure what to do for the best. Thankfully Olivia, Seb’s sister-in-law, broke the silence.
‘You really should go, Lottie. You’ll love it. Grandpops has a lovely space up there and it’s in such a peaceful setting too.’
‘Are you sure?’ I said, looking across to Seb.
‘Yep. You’ll enjoy it.’ With that, he turned his attention to his niece, who was wriggling and giggling, trying to climb up on to his lap.
‘Sounds like you have some company then.’ I smiled, trying to ignore the feeling in my stomach and hating the pain in Seb’s eyes that he did his best not to show.
‘Excellent. Can I do anything before we go, Olivia, love?’
‘No, no. You two go on. We’ll see you in a bit for a nice cup of tea and some cake that Isla helped me make earlier, didn’t you, sweetheart?’ she said, looking across to her daughter, who was now happily ensconced on her uncle’s lap, tucked into the table.
‘I did! I did lots of it, didn’t I, Mummy?’
‘You did.’
‘You’re going to be a star baker when you get a bit older.’ Seb smiled, resting his chin gently on the top of his niece’s head.
‘What’s that, Uncle Seb?’
‘You know, when we watchThe Great British Bake Off, and someone gets a prize for the best thing they’ve made?’
