The face of Ben, the builder, appeared in my mind. I recalled the moment on the doorstep from the day before and the run-in we had in the kitchen about Grandpa borrowing Frank’s suit. His green eyes, square jaw, his smile and his smart-ass comments made my heartbeat quicken. Before I had the chance to think about what I was doing I was searching for him on Facebook, I wanted to know more about him. He was bound to have a pretty wife or girlfriend.
The email from Olivia’s friend appeared in my mind. He had been called Ben and he’d lived in Surrey. I dismissed the thought. Ben is a popular name and there must be loads of Bens in Surrey. What was I doing? I stopped myself and closed Facebook. Feeling embarrassed at myself I got up and went for a shower.
Grandpa and Layla were already downstairs when I entered the kitchen. Layla smiled and pointed to the construction sheet. ‘The builders are here early. I opened the gates.’ Sounds of the radio and Ben laughing with Tom drifted out.
Grandpa cast me a weak smile. Humphrey was pretending to be asleep in his basket by the table. He slyly opened one eye as I walked past.
‘You okay, Grandpa?’
He rose from his chair. ‘Take a seat and I’ll put the kettle on.’
Layla waved at us both. ‘I’ve got to go get Zac up as I am cleaning the pub. See you later.’
Once Grandpa had made a pot of tea and I’d made some homemade pancakes covered in fruit and maple syrup, we settled at the kitchen table. He let out a heavy sigh after eating a raspberry rolled in a piece of pancake. ‘I didn’t like the way Dorothy’s daughter led her away so quickly.’ He scratched his fluffy white hair. One side was in desperate need of a comb. ‘Dorothy and I had a connection.’
‘You both were fabulous dancers,’ I said, remembering them looking like professional ballroom dancers. ‘You had perfect posture and I think if you’d been onStrictly,you would have got nines and tens. When did you learn to dance like that?’
He leaned back in his chair. ‘I used to go to dances regularly with your nana. She’d had ballroom dancing lessons as a girl, and she taught me everything. Back in the day we even won a few competitions.’
I remembered Nana teaching me to cook in her kitchen. She was a great teacher, but she didn’t hold back with her feedback. There were a few times when she pointed out my baking skill weaknesses and I’d run off to have a little cry. ‘I bet Nana was a tough teacher at dancing.’
Grandpa chuckled. ‘I lived in fear of putting a foot wrong.’
We ate some more pancakes, and I thought about Nana and Grandpa being ballroom competition winners. Mum never told us much about Nana and Grandpa’s lives before they had children. ‘I wish I’d known Nana had been into ballroom dancing back when we were little.’
Grandpa nodded. ‘At least you got a chance yesterday to see me in action. I need to tell you something?’
‘Yes?’
‘I think I’m in love with Dorothy.’
I stared at him. How could he go from reminiscing about Nana to revealing his love for Dorothy in the blink of an eye? He reminded me of my youngest cousin, Stanley, who was always telling Aunt Polly he loved a different girl at university each week. ‘In love? Really? After one Christmas Tea Dance?’
He nodded. ‘When you’re my age, Rachel, you don’t have time to mess about. I would like to see Dorothy again.’
I let out a silent groan. This was all I needed – a lovesick grandfather.
‘She feels the same way.’
‘Grandpa let’s slow down,’ I said, raising my hands. ‘We don’t know anything about Dorothy and–’
He interrupted me. ‘I might not be here next Christmas, Rachel. None of us know how long we have left in God’s waiting room. I might drop down dead tomorrow.’
‘Grandpa, don’t talk like that.’
‘It’s true. Rachel, I want you to organise a second date for me with Dorothy before Christmas. I am free the rest of this week and next week.’
I needed to distract him. ‘We need to pop the suit back in Frank’s wardrobe.’
‘Oh, well… we might have a problem there.’
My heart began to pound. ‘A problem with the suit?’
Grandpa nodded. ‘I didn’t say last night when you were helping me out of it but there’s a tear in one of the trouser legs.’
My heart went berserk. He’d torn one of Frank’s expensive suits. ‘What? You’ve torn Frank’s suit? Why didn’t you say?’
He fidgeted in his seat. ‘You looked tired, and we’d had enough emotion for one day. I felt it go as I twirled Dorothy around.’
