Chapter Twenty-Six
You absolutely will not come with us!
Lisa read the text she had received from Felicity, smiled and sent her reply:I thought it would be fun, you know, seeing the fireworks with you, Pete and the children.
Felicity’s response arrived moments after:Pete has to work tonight, now. I’m taking my lot for a quick look at the parade and back.And that’s not the kind of fun you should be thinking about tonight.
Lisa rolled her eyes before sending Felicity a text telling her to behave, but Felicity’s reply,I will if you don’t ;-)made Lisa giggle. She had butterflies in her stomach and told herself they were caused by the excitement of a Saturday night out, as opposed to an evening in with Simon Cowell etal.
It hadbeen years since she had been to see the bonfire procession and fireworks in town. In fact, the last time she had gone was almost certainly with Nathan. Prior to that teenage stand of independence, she had gone annually with her dad and brother, Luke, while their mum stayed at home with warmed pyjamas and hot chocolate ready for their return. Smiling at the happy memory, Lisa decided to give her parentsa quick call.
‘Hello, darling, what’s wrong?’
‘Nothing.’ Lisa frowned, why an unexpected call made her mum assume something was wrong she had no idea. ‘I was just thinking about you. It’s the bonfire parade in town tonight and—’
‘Oh, how awful.’
‘Mum!’
‘Well you remember what it’s like, all those people you spend most of the year avoiding, dressed up andwaving at you as if you haven’t hated each other for years; pretend soldiers – cheeks bursting as they try to belt out a tune on a trumpet – with some wannabe sergeant major up front waving a baton; and those grumpy pom-pom girls – too fat for their miniskirts – followed by some beaten-up, old van driven by someone looking like a 1970sTop of the Popspresenter—’
‘Mum, that is a terribleaccount of a lovely community event.’And I suppose the French do it so much better!‘Why would you say that? It’s not like you even came with us!’
‘I did when you were little. Why do you think I offered to stay at home and make sure the hot chocolate was ready for when you got back for all those years?’
Lisa couldn’t believe it. As the memory, briefly warm and beautiful, fizzledinto insignificance extinguished by her mum’s words, she decided not to mention that she was going, or whom she was going with. ‘Well, I loved going with Dad and Luke.’
‘I know you did, darling. Talking of Luke, have you thought any more about Christmas? You’ll need to book soon if you’re flying out. He’s really looking forward to seeing you. We all are. Your Dad and I were just sayinghow lovely it would be to share our Christmas here with you both. It really has been too long since we’ve had a real family Christmas.’
A real family Christmas.Lisa bit her lip; why did family have that special knack of winding you up completely, making you feel guilty and reminding you how much you love and miss them all at once? ‘I haven’t forgotten—’
A ring at the doorbellmade Lisa jump and her tummy flip.
‘I’ve got to go, but I will sort Christmas soon, I promise. Love you, Mum.’
‘Love you.’
Checking her appearance in the mirror, Lisa went to the door.Just friends,just friends catching up!The memory of the last time she had stood on the doorstep with Nathan made her cheeks turn pink and she blew out a steadying breath;strictly no moonlithugs. Lisa knew she could do without such complications, her mind was getting too carried away. But Winnie was right, she did need friends and friendships were important. The fact she and Nathan had once dated did not have to complicate the issue, did it?
As Lisa opened the door, Nathan smiled. She liked his smile, she always had. He had a couple of days’ worth of stubble across his chin,which she was beginning to realise must be a permanent fixture, and pre-ruffled hair. Both added to the rugged look of his outfit, which Lisa decided was Timberland does Canadian lumberjack.
‘It’s going to get bloody freezing later. Are you going to be warm enough?’
Lisa looked down at her jeans and jacket. ‘Oh, hold on,’ and went back inside to grab her new scarf and hat. Shepicked up her gloves and hesitated, before putting them back on the side, telling herself it was too mild for gloves and that leaving them had nothing to do with hand holding opportunities that might arise during the evening.
The fact she had not yet worn any of her new knits dog walking meant they still looked a bit too new. The thought that Nathan might think she had bought them especiallyfor the evening amused her. In London, accessories had been jewellery, expensive bags and shoes chosen by Ben. Now she was wrapped in woollies, in a way her Granny Blake would have approved of, and she felt more excited about going out than she could remember for a long time.
Stepping out into the cool evening air, Lisa was determined not to let her mum’s words affect her judgement. Shehad always loved bonfire night and the expectant atmosphere it induced. She was almost thirty and she could still feel it, as excitement grew inside her she thought of the procession; the bonfire; the greasy, over-priced hot dogs – as her dad called them, while buying them despite his protestations – and, the climax of the evening, the grand firework display holding their attention until the finalflash of colour lit the sky – a sign saying ‘goodnight’.
Walking along the streets, and seeing families leaving their homes and setting off in the same direction brought back happy childhood memories. Lisa remembered how excited she and Luke used to get if they glimpsed any fireworks in the dark evening sky en route to the procession. She always envied those families who had fireworksin their own gardens, while her mum would never allow it; she was always too worried about the scorch marks and the scattering of empty firework shells destroying her lawn. Lisa remembered how it had taken her mum weeks to recover from the horror of their neighbour, MrBates, almost setting fire to her weeping willow – a tree that Lisa felt made far more mess than any firework display would – witha rocket that went astray.
‘Where do you want to stand?’
‘Oh, anywhere really, I’m just happy to be out, away from myX FactorandStrictlyfriends.’ Lisa cringed, realising that what was meant to be a joke made her sound rather sad. ‘I mean, you know, it’s Saturday night. It’s been a while since I’ve had any excitement on a Saturday night.’Shut up,shut up now!‘I mean, in LondonI was out all the time.’Oh yes, a party animal, that’s me.Lisa closed her mouth to stop herself rambling on further.
‘Well, we could stand on the corner by Doc Green’s surgery, that way we can get a drink en route, watch the procession and get down to the beach before everything else kicks off.’
‘Sure.’ Lisa wasn’t sure she wanted to stand by the doctors’ surgery, but she couldhardly explain that she had made a fool of herself there,taking Fred in for having a shoulder blade, for goodness’ sake, and that, for some reason she couldn’t explain to herself, she felt awkward at the thought of bumping into Dom while out with Nathan. How could she possibly begin those introductions?
