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Donovan
I lookedat my phone for about the fiftieth time that morning, waiting for Nova to text me to tell me the next thing on our Christmas list was cancelled due to her hangover.All I could think about after I’d seen her in the pub was how gorgeous she’d looked.How different from her usual basic attire and makeup—which wasn’t unappealing in any way.But out with her friends, dressed up and having fun, she was stunning.
In hindsight, telling her in a text message that she looked beautiful might not have been the best idea.I wasn’t even sure how I wanted her to react.Just that, in the moment, I wanted her to know how good she looked.
She had responded with a blushing emoji and nothing else, but I figured since she hadn’t told me to fuck off, everything was fine.
“Will you stop checking your phone,” Nan chided as we sat in a small cafe in Dawlish’s town centre.A cosy little place called Home Kitchen, just around the corner from the amusements arcade that had quite possibly been there since the dawn of time.
“Sorry,” I said, sliding it off the table and back into my pocket as a tall man with dark hair set down a tray holding a teapot, two cups, and a silver jug of milk.Nan wasn’t in the greatest of moods that morning, and while I’d gone out with her only to stop the boredom of being in the house on my own, I was glad I had because she was a little off for some reason.
“I’ll be glad when you’re out from under my feet this afternoon,” she muttered as she picked up the teapot and poured some tea into her cup.
The door opened behind me, and I turned on instinct to see a man shuffling through the door holding a stick.He wore a blue coat and a brown flat cap on his head, and although he was a little slow on his feet, his tone was bright and cheerful as he said, “Good morning!”There was a Midlands twang to his voice, and while he wasn’t addressing anyone in particular, the owner and the two other people in the cafe besides us all replied, “Morning, George!”Even Nan looked up and smiled at him.
Clearly, he was popular in here.
“Hello, June,” he said as he closed the door behind him.“How are you today, my darling?”He came around to stand at the side of the table, and Nan looked up from her drink.
“Not so bad, George,” she said, though there was a distinct weariness in her tone that hadn’t been there first thing.“How about you?”
“I’m all right.Just came in for a cup of tea before I go over to Teignmouth.”
She nodded.“Do you want to join us?”
George waved his hand.“No, thank you, love.I’m waiting for a friend, but it’s lovely to see you.Let’s have a drink together next time.”
Nan smiled.“Of course.”
George gave us both a gentlemanly nod before heading over to a vacant table.
“He seems nice,” I said, more to make conversation than anything else.I hadn’t met any of her friends yet aside from Nova, although she had been out with them once or twice.
“He’s lovely.I bet he was popular with the ladies back in the day.”She stirred a spoonful of sugar into her tea as I poured my own drink.
“Seems pretty popular now,” I said, as I saw him chatting to the other people in the cafe before he sat down.I could see what she meant, though.He was charismatic in his way, and everyone looked genuinely pleased to chat with him.
Nan chuckled.“Yeah.I see him in here quite often.Everyone loves George.”As soon as the words were spoken, she stiffened a little, and her smile dropped.
“Are you okay?”I asked, watching her closely.I wasn’t sure if she was unwell, and then her shoulders hunched and she leaned forward slightly.I was out of my seat in a second and rushed around the small table to crouch down beside her.“Nan?What’s wrong?”
She took a deep breath but rested her hand over her chest.“I’m all right,” she said.“I just...I don’t know what I need.”
Fear shot through me.Was she in pain?Was I about to lose another grandparent this year?Her face had paled, and my heart rate quickened.“Do you need me to call an ambulance?”
She shook her head.“No, no.Nothing hurts.I’m...I just don’t feel...”
A trickle of relief filtered into my bloodstream, but something was obviously wrong.
“Do you want to go home?”I asked her.
“No.Not yet.I think I just...”Without warning, she burst into tears, covering her face with her hands.“I just miss him so much.”
It was at that exact moment something shifted inside me.
I froze in my position, crouched beside her, and suddenly, she looked so small.So fragile.An array of memories flitted through my mind of her and Grandad coming to our house in Cornwall and hugging me tight, her smile wide.Grandad telling me silly jokes.Afternoons spent on the beach in Newquay, eating ice creams and paddling in the sea.Going to Nan and Grandad’s house in Manchester for New Year, where we would stay up late listening to music and playing board games until the fireworks went off on the stroke of midnight.Times they had come to Italy, looking around at our home and being amazed at how light and spacious it was.They’d marvelled at the view, and Grandad teased her, saying he was going to leave her and move in with us.
Those were my memories.Short flashes that spanned twenty-eight years.
