‘I didn’t see you at her funeral.’ I rummaged around for a tissue in my coat pocket.
From his coat he gave me an unopened packet of tissues. ‘Rosie broke her arm doing gymnastics. I couldn’t leave her.’
I nodded and then gasped. ‘You emailed me and I…’
‘Ghosted me,’ he chuckled.
We both laughed. ‘I’m sorry for ghosting you, Ben.’
He shrugged. ‘It wasn’t my finest dating email. Even Olivia told me it was crap.’
‘Now that sounds like Olivia. So, you met her at uni – right?’
‘Sophie… ummmm…. who gave birth to Rosie and…’
‘Ben, I know about Sophie, Olivia told me.’
Relief swept across his face. ‘Well, Sophie and Olivia met in halls at uni, and I dated Sophie. We all became good friends. Olivia was there for me when they told us Sophie’s tumour had spread and she was with me and Sophie at the end. Rosie was a baby, and I was a mess.’
‘I’m sorry, Ben.’
‘Sonia called me to tell me about Olivia. It was an awful day.’ He rubbed his neck. ‘I miss her messages, her flying visits to see us and her friendship.’ He smiled. ‘I do know that heaven will have got a lot louder with both Sophie and Olivia up there. How are you doing?’
‘Me? Well, coming here has made me see how much of a mess I have been since she left us. What I do know is that life must go on, but I will never forget her.’
He smiled at me, and I found myself wanting to be in his arms again. ‘How do you fancy coming out for dinner with me on Sunday, Rachel?’
I wanted to say yes but then I remembered the nativity scenery. Sunday evening would be spent adding the finishing touches. ‘I’ve agreed to paint the scenery for the primary school nativity play and on Sunday evening I’ll be finishing it off.’
Ben leaned back in his chair. ‘I’ll bring dinner to you in the school hall on Sunday evening then.’ He smiled and held my gaze.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
After collecting Humphrey from Ben’s house and hearing at length from Rosie what a good boy he’d been, I walked back with him up to the manor house. It was a chance to process Ben’s revelation – he was the Ben whom Olivia had tried to set me up with. Knowing that he knew Olivia, made me want to get to know him more.
As I trudged, I took out my phone and updated Connor and Kate on our WhatsApp chat.
Connor was the first to respond with a row of shocked-faced emojis:
Wow – this is a bit freaky. So, he’s the widower then. Olivia loved to organise everyone, so I am not surprised she’s doing that from heaven. She will be jumping up and down with excitement up there. I do hope God has his earplugs in because she will be making a racket.
Kate was next:
Didn’t you ghost him – the widower?
Connor’s response made me smile.
Kate, all the best romances start after a bit of casual ghosting.
Fluffy snowflakes started to twirl and dance before me. Humphrey dived into a patch of snow, his tail wagging like crazy.
Gazing towards the manor house I saw the heavy slate grey sky above it. More snow was on the way. It was fun to sledge in; however more snow would put the nativity play at risk as the school might have to close.
As I approached the manor house, I saw Layla waving her arms at me. Humphrey and I picked up speed. Something was wrong. My first thought was Grandpa. Had he been ill? Before I left early this morning, he had seemed fine, bright, and bubbly.
‘It’s Eric!’ gasped Layla, running to meet me. With all the talk with Ben about death I immediately assumed something was terribly wrong. Had he fallen ill? Emotion rose up inside me. ‘Oh God, is he sick?’
She stared at me oddly, then held up a piece of paper. ‘He’s not ill. Your grandfather has gone on an adventure.’
