Page 55 of The Second Chance Supper Club

‘Yes, Jane … ah, she was lovely. The centre of our home really.’ He looked ahead and gave a soft sigh.

‘Oh, I’m so sorry, Will. I’d heard you’d been widowed. That must have been really tough … still is, I’m sure.’

‘She was a primary school teacher. The kids all loved her,’ he shared.

Oh, so his wife was a teacher, too. She must have been a kind soul, Cath mused, someone who wanted to give back, encouraging all that growth and learning, especially in those crucial formative years at primary school.

‘She was one of those caring, friendly people that everyone warmed to …’ Will continued. There were a few difficult seconds before he began again, his voice now thick with emotion. ‘She got cancer … pancreatic … about two-and-a-half years ago now. Took her really quickly.’

‘Oh, Will …’ Cath stretched a hand towards his, a brushstroke of tenderness, and then sat quietly, respectfully giving him the space he needed.

‘We didn’t have chance to do all the things we wanted. All those hopes and dreams we had went with her. And the girls … they miss her so much … me too.’ His eyes had misted.

Jeez, life was tough. Should she give him a hug at this point? She really wanted to reach out to him, do something to show she cared, but she wasn’t sure how that might go down. There was a bristliness about him, a protective shield there. Despite feeling drawn to hold him, Cath also sensed that now wasn’t the right time to invade the private space of his grief.

She dropped her hand, adding, ‘That must be so very hard for you all.’

Bloody hell, losing his partner in that way must have been brutal for Will. She could feel the rawness of his loss. ‘Oh, Will.’

Coffee nearly finished, the conversation moved back to the easier ground of the cycling shop, and her latest and rather unusual online tutorial that she’d had to cut short as the A Level student was slurring his words, having evidently been drinking. Though he was trying hard to pretend that he hadn’t, he finally confessed that it had been a mate’s birthday and they’d been out for a few beers at lunchtime. She’d told him to go and get a large glass of water and a couple of paracetamols, and they’d revisit his lesson the next day. At least that made Will smile again. ‘The youth of today, hey.’ He then gave her a pensive look, that she didn’t quite understand.

Gosh, it was so long ago when she’d been a young teenager, when she had all the world ahead of her. All the pages still to be written.

‘Right, well, I suppose I’d better be making tracks …’ Will got up to go.

From their heartfelt conversation before, Cath was left with the sense that they’d opened the shutters a fraction between them.

‘Thanks for listening earlier,’ Will added, as he headed back inside on his way to the front door.

‘You’re welcome. Any time … And I’ll keep you posted if I hear any more from the lads.’

‘Thanks.’

They looked at each other for a second, then shared a small clumsy hug in the hallway. And she felt so confused. Buzzing with emotions that she struggled to name or place – could it be longing, loneliness, sympathy, attraction … all of it? However her feelings were growing for Will, they needed to be kept in check. He was evidently grieving, and in a vulnerable place, too.

‘Once bitten, twice shy’ rang in her head as she closed the door. And well, Trevor had certainly taken a big chunk out of her.

‘Okay, little lady? Am I forgiven?’ Cath said to Shirley, an hour or so later, stroking the terrier’s silky white head. They were back on the sofa together, all dry now and cosy. She was about to put the late lunchtime news on, when her mobile rang.

‘Ooh, it’s your dad.’ She pressed to take the call. ‘Hi, Dan. How are you getting on?’

‘Hi, lovely. Good news, the op has gone well. Maria’s back out of sedation and settled, so I’m going to head back up. I’ll go back to fetch Andreas later, as he wants to stay with her. We’re not sure when she’ll be allowed out yet, depends on how things go today.’

‘Ah, thank goodness. Well, that is good news. I’ll keep Shirley with me for now then, and you just say when you’re ready for me to bring her over, okay? And anything else, ask away.’

‘Thank you, lovely.’

‘No problem. See you later.’

As soon as Cath heard Dan was coming back, as promised, she gave Will a call. They arranged to meet at the flat, ready to re-fill the lads’ fridge with the food saved from the beach. Gosh, the fun and games they’d had seemed like a world away, not a mere twenty-four hours. Cath added a few extra items including a cottage pie (which she had whipped up last night, just in case), some salad leaves fresh from her raised beds in the garden, and sunflower-and-honey seeded bread rolls which she’d baked and batch frozen. She left a little handwritten note for the boys on the kitchen side. Yes, she’d realised that there might well be the basics downstairs in the shop, but the two lads might just want to collapse with some ready-made supper to hand.

‘Aw, that’s really kind of you,’ commented Will, spotting the extra food she’d made.

‘Ah, the boys have been great since I first landed here in the village. So warm and welcoming. It’s the least I can do for them.’

‘Yeah, they are good lads. They really do look out for the village folk. And it’s not just for their own gain.’ He sighed, and looked tired suddenly.

Their gaze snagged. She wondered if they’d helped him too, when his world fell apart, with the onset of Jane’s illness. Again, there was that feeling that she should reach over, touch his arm, or shoulder perhaps. Show him that she cared, too. But something held her back.