True Colours (21 page)

At school the Christmas preparations were gathering speed; the nativity play was being rehearsed and the older children were practicing daily for the carol concert which was to be performed along with the nativity play on the last day of term. In the middle of it all I had a call from the estate agent to say that the couple who had bought Greenings were anxious to move in before Christmas. Their baby was due at the beginning of February and they were keen to settle into their new home before then. We’d already exchanged contracts and there seemed to be no reason why the completion date couldn’t be brought forward so I agreed. My only problem was where would I live until I’d found a new home? Did I start house hunting now? It wasn’t really an option so near to Christmas. Did I look for a house or a small flat? That very much depended on whether Rex and I were going to get back together or not.

Since Dad came out of hospital I’d been visiting my parents every weekend. Sometimes Rex would drop in too, but so far neither of us had broached the subject of our separation. After what Rex had said that day at the hospital I hardly dared to bring the subject up again but now I knew I had to in some form or other.

At home I began on the packing. As Rex had left some of his stuff behind I knew I would have to contact him. Taking a break from the tedious task of sorting out what I needed immediately and what could go into storage I rang him.

‘Rex, I’m going to have to move out of Greenings before
Christmas and I wondered what you wanted me to do about the things you left behind.’

‘Oh.’ He sounded taken aback. ‘I hadn’t realized it’d be this soon.’

‘The couple who have bought the house need to get settled in before their baby is born in February. I couldn’t say no.’

‘No, of course not.’ He paused. ‘Where will you be going, Sophie?’

‘I haven’t a clue at the moment,’ I confessed. ‘It couldn’t really have come at a worse time. You know how frantic things get in the run up to Christmas at school.’

‘Yes, I remember.’ He cleared his throat. ‘So, will you look for a flat?’

‘I’d rather have a house, but it depends….’

‘Well,’ he interrupted. ‘If you see something and you want me to look it over for you, you know where I am.’

He sounded like some casual acquaintance offering to do me a favour and my heart plummeted. ‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘I’ll bear it in mind. Meantime, what shall I do with your things?’

‘Oh, just chuck everything into a box and leave it in the garage. I’ll drive over and pick it up in a couple of days.’

‘Right. If that’s what you want.’

As I hung up the phone I swallowed hard at the lump in my throat. It all sounded like a foregone conclusion. Clearly he already saw our marriage as over.

At school the next morning there was another bombshell. At assembly John Harrison announced that he would be leaving at the end of term. He gave no reason so at break I went to his office with the excuse that I needed to put in an order for new art materials.

‘You’re going to be missed, John,’ I ventured as he made a note of what I needed for next term. He looked up.

‘You must be wondering where and why I’m going.’

I shook my head. ‘It’s none of my business. I just wondered why you’re going so suddenly.’

He took a deep breath. ‘The powers that be have kindly agreed to waive the statutory term’s notice,’ he said. ‘I’ve had the offer of a headship up in Yorkshire and I thought it would be nice to be closer to the boys.’

‘Oh, that’s wonderful.’

He smiled. ‘But you’re wondering why the rush.’

‘No. It’s….’

‘None of your business?’ He smiled. ‘So you said, but it
is
in a way, Sophie. I’ve already confided in you how things were between Hillary and me and I’m grateful for the support you gave me. You’re an intuitive person, so it’s not surprising that you’re curious. This job has come about because the current headmaster has been taken ill and can’t carry on, but apart from that I’ve heard on the grapevine that Hillary’s new relationship is over.’

‘Oh, so you’re hoping….’

‘I’m determined to do everything I can to get my family back together again.’ He leaned forward. ‘I’ve never stopped loving Hillary and you know how much the boys mean to me. Everything that went wrong was my fault and I won’t let it happen again.’

The determination and hope in his eyes tugged at my heart. I smiled. ‘Good for you, John. I wish you the best of luck – with everything.’ I stood up and offered him my hand.

He took it. ‘What about you, Sophie?’ he asked. ‘Has your situation improved?’

I sighed. ‘I’m having to move out of the house before Christmas,’ I told him. ‘It’s just not easy at this time of year.’

‘I take it you’ll be staying with your parents.’

I shook my head. ‘It’s a bit too far away to commute, especially at this time of year. And I probably won’t start looking for somewhere permanent till after the holiday.’ I shrugged. ‘Meantime, bedsit-land, here I come.’

He frowned. ‘Doesn’t sound like a bundle of fun. What about Rex?’

‘Rex has offered to give me the benefit of his advice, nothing more.’

‘I see. I’m so sorry, Sophie.’

To my horror I felt the tears gathering in my eyes. ‘It’s all my fault,’ I said briskly. ‘No one to blame but myself.’ I made the pretence of looking at my watch. ‘I must go now. Good luck, John.’

That evening as I was preparing to go home, Maggie Jackson, John’s secretary, stopped me in the car park.

‘Mrs Turner. I heard that you were moving out of your house and
needed somewhere to move into quickly.’

‘That’s right. Do you know of somewhere?’

She nodded. ‘As it happens the ground floor flat where I live will be vacant for three months. Mrs Lowe, the elderly lady who lives there is going abroad for the winter and she’s keen to let it temporarily. She really wants someone to take care of the place while she’s away so she won’t be charging a high rent.’

My spirits rose. ‘It sounds ideal.’

‘I’ll give you the address and phone number and you can pop round and see her if you’re interested.’

I went round the same evening, having first telephoned Mrs Lowe to see if it was convenient. She turned out to be a very sweet old lady suffering badly from arthritis. Leaning heavily on a stick, she ushered me into a tastefully furnished sitting room.

‘Do sit down, my dear. I’d almost given up hope of finding someone to look after the place,’ she said. ‘Not many people want temporary accommodation. I thought I might have to cancel my trip to Madeira and I was so looking forward to it. My poor joints do suffer so in the cold, damp winters we get here and of course I couldn’t desert my poor dear Albert.’

My heart sank. Was there an elderly brother or husband to care for as well as the flat? ‘Albert?’ I enquired.

She laughed. ‘Albert is my cat. I’ll introduce you to him in a minute and we’ll see if you and he will get along.’ She peered at me anxiously. ‘You do like cats, don’t you dear?’

Relieved, I laughed. ‘Yes, I said. ‘As long as they behave themselves.’

‘Oh, I assure you that Albert is very well brought up,’ she told me. ‘I’ve had him since he was six weeks old. He’s no trouble – goes in and out through the cat flap in the back door when he needs to so no nasty litter tray to clean. He likes his two meals a day, but he spends most of his time asleep in his basket in the kitchen. He’s like me, getting on a bit now.’

She showed me round. As well as the spacious sitting room there was a small neat kitchen, a bathroom and a large bedroom. Everywhere was clean and well kept and I saw that it would suit me very well. After the tour of inspection, Mrs Lowe insisted on putting the kettle on for a cup of tea and Albert’s large head popped
through the cat flap when he heard the biscuit tin rattle. Mrs Lowe laughed.

‘He’s is very partial to a custard cream,’ she said.

Albert turned out to be an enormous tabby with huge green eyes and as soon as I sat down he leapt on to my lap and curled up, purring loudly. Mrs Lowe laughed. ‘There, he approves of you,’ she said reassuringly. ‘I’ll be sure to leave you an adequate supply of his favourite food in the pantry so you won’t have to worry about that.’

Over a pot of Earl Grey tea we discussed the rent, which was ridiculously low. I protested but Mrs Lowe was adamant.

‘I’m just so grateful to get a nice young professional woman to look after the place for me,’ she said. ‘What I’ve suggested will be perfectly adequate.’

Back at home and after some consideration I rang Rex. ‘I thought you might be interested to know that I’ve found temporary accommodation,’ I told him. ‘It’s a nice ground floor flat in the next road to school and the rent is miniscule.’

‘That’s a piece of luck,’ he said. ‘Are you sure there are no snags?’

‘The only one as far as I can see is that I have to take on a cat as well as the flat. The owner is off to warmer climes for the winter and she was anxious to get a tenant who liked cats.’ I laughed. ‘Or it might be more accurate to say, someone her cat liked. Luckily I seem to have passed the test.’

‘Well, good luck with that.’ There was a pause then he said. ‘Are you all right, Sophie?’

‘Yes. I’m fine.’

‘Only it seems a bit much, you having all the packing and upheaval to cope with on your own. Is there anything I can do to help?’

‘No thanks, it’s almost done anyway.’ The words were out before I could stop to think and I immediately bit my tongue, longing to take them back. Was that his way of angling for a meeting? Did he want to talk things through?

‘Oh well, just thought I’d offer,’ he said quickly. ‘See you then, Sophie. And good luck, with the move and the carol concert and everything.’

‘Do you want to come?’ I asked quickly, anxious to hang on to him a bit longer. ‘Can I get you a ticket?’

He laughed. ‘No thanks. Not really my thing. But thanks for asking.’

I put the phone down, kicking myself for not grasping the opportunity when I had it. Goodness only knew when I’d see him again.

I spent the weekend at Mum and Dad’s, grateful to get away from the curtainless windows and stacked boxes. Greenings didn’t feel like home any more. It was as though it had cast me off and lay dormant, waiting for its new owners to move in and warm it back to life again. I told Mum and Dad about the flat I’d been lucky enough to find and they were pleased for me but disappointed that I hadn’t considered staying with them as an option. I explained that the possibility of bad weather could make the long drive into school every day difficult. ‘Mrs Lowe wants to leave next weekend,’ I told them. ‘So I’ll have to move in then because of the cat.’ They laughed at my description of Albert.

‘Sounds as though you’ll be an expert in feline husbandry come the spring,’ Dad joked.

I joined Mum in the kitchen later as she was making us all a bedtime drink.

‘Has Rex been to see you lately?’ I asked.

She glanced at me swiftly. ‘Not for a while, no. Any particular reason for asking?’

I shrugged. ‘I just wondered what he was doing for Christmas.’

Mum poured milk into a saucepan. ‘He did say something about going up north to spend it with his folks.’

‘Oh. That’s good then. He doesn’t see them very often.’

She turned to me. ‘You’re so stubborn, the pair of you,’ she said exasperatedly. ‘Why can’t you be sensible and start trying to work something out.’

‘I don’t think he wants to, Mum,’ I said. ‘I’ve given him several opportunities to suggest a meeting but he never takes me up on them.’

‘Then why not ask him outright?’

I shrugged. ‘I get the feeling that he’s already written our marriage off.’

‘Has he said so?’

‘He did say he wasn’t sure we could live together again. He says
he feels he doesn’t really know who I am any more.’

‘
And do you
?’

I stared at her. ‘What do you mean?’

‘It takes a crisis like the one you’ve both just lived through to make you start taking stock of yourself,’ she said. ‘The girl Rex fell in love with is still there, Sophie. I’m quite sure that he saw more in you than the way you dressed and all those left wing student views you used to have. He must have seen past those things a long time ago if he’s truthful. It’s not the superficial things that make a person. It’s what’s inside that counts.’

‘So why was he so upset when I changed my dress and hairstyle?’

‘Because it was all so sudden. You were already letting that house occupy your life, putting all your energy and passion into it at the expense of your marriage. When you decided to change your appearance he panicked, began to wonder if you’d outgrown him. That was why he came to us and asked us for a loan. It was to stop you worrying about money so that you could get back to normal. Unfortunately it had the reverse effect. Can’t you see, Sophie, he was desperate to get you back then and I’m sure he still is.

‘He’s got a funny way of showing it.’

‘He’s got his pride, love. It’s already taken a battering. I think the ball is in your court now.’ When I was silent she changed the subject. ‘So, what about Christmas? Are you going to spend it with us?’

‘I’ll come for Christmas Day,’ I told her. ‘I won’t be able to stay because of Albert.’

She frowned ‘Who?’

‘Albert, my new charge – Mrs Lowe’s cat.’

She smiled and handed me the tray. ‘Of course. Fine then. Christmas Day it is. Better than nothing, I suppose.’

I moved into Mrs Lowe’s flat the following Saturday. All my furniture was safely in storage and all I needed for the weeks to come was packed into two suitcases. When I arrived, Mrs Lowe was waiting in the hall for her taxi. She wore a smart red coat and a jaunty little hat and she looked quite excited at the prospect of her winter holiday.

‘I always stay at the same hotel,’ she told me as she handed me the keys. ‘And on Christmas Day there’s always a red rose on my breakfast tray. They look after me so well.’ She looked at me, her face serious. ‘Now, you know where everything is, don’t you, dear? And if anything should go wrong I’ve left the number of the handyman on the telephone pad. His name is Fred Gray and he can turn his hand to anything.’