Chapter 19 - part i

[girlyswot]

Author's note: Another leap in time, I'm afraid.  The twins who were just a few weeks old last time are now four and half.  Hope everything else is clear.

‘Have you got everything, Katie-cat?’ Nick shouted across to the girls’ room.  ‘Bel’s things too?’

‘Yes.  Should I take a hairbrush?’

‘To the hairdresser?’ queried Nicola on her way past.

‘Oh.  Won’t I need it then?’ asked a wide-eyed Katie.

‘No, don’t worry,’ interposed Nick.  ‘Now let’s see if Ant and Jon are anywhere near ready?’  He collected his younger brothers together with rucksacks and pocket money and coats.

‘You will be careful?’  Nicola had a sudden qualm about letting her infants out without adult supervision.

‘Yes, we’ll be careful.  I’ll have Bel and Katie and Jon’ll have Ant and Rich and we won’t let go of them for an instant.’  He grinned reassuringly.  ‘We’ll go straight to the hairdresser and then ices and then home.  Nothing can possibly go wrong.  Now come on, everyone or we’ll miss the train.’

‘But what about the…’  Ant began before being swiftly silenced by Jon wrapping a muffler around his mouth.

‘See you later!’

‘Bye darlings.’

 

‘There’s something fishy going on,’ Nicola remarked to Patrick.

‘Mmm.  I expect we’ll find out soon enough.’

‘Yes.  I just can’t help remembering the things we thought were sensible at their age.’

He grinned.  ‘Edward Oeschli?’

‘And climbing cliffs to take eyesses.  And Binks and I wandering round empty old houses.  And riding across the Crowlands in freezing fog.  And pulling the communication cord on a train when I dropped my penknife.  And the rest.’

‘They’ll be fine.  Now come here and let’s make the most of a few hours on our own.’

Within seconds, Nicola had all but forgotten her worries.

 

The troops arrived back on time, full of excitement and suppressed giggles.  Nick assured his parents that they’d not got into any trouble and could he please have two eggs for tea.   There was a swift concealing of rucksacks so Nicola assumed that surprises were in store.

 

Later, when the small ones were in bed and she was tidying up their clothes, she found Bel’s party dress stuffed into a drawer.  She shook it out and hung it up and wondered what on earth.  But by the time she came downstairs again, she’d forgotten it completely.

 

 ‘Here.’  Nicola passed a large, stiff envelope to her eldest son.  ‘This came for you.’

She watched him open it, curiously.

‘What on earth is it?’

‘Oh!’  He took a brief look then, seemingly uninterested, stuffed it back in the envelope.  ‘Just some catalogue I wanted to take a look at.  Did I tell you I’ve got a match on Saturday?’

Nicola nodded and mentally resolved to take a look at the catalogue later.

‘D’you want to see, Jon?’  He winked at his brother.  ‘Come upstairs and look.’

‘No, I’ve got homework.’  Jon was the conscientious sort, sitting down at the kitchen table as soon as he’d has his glass of milk and slice of cake.

‘It’ll only take a minute.  Come on.’  Jon looked up, about to resist again, then caught his brother’s eye.

‘Oh, that catalogue.  Okay, just for a few minutes.’

‘Grab the infants,’ murmured Nick.  ‘Bring them to our room.’

 

‘Let me see!  Let me see!’ sang Katie, jumping up and down.  ‘Me!  Me!’ echoed Bel, clinging to her adored big brother’s trouser leg.  Nick detached her expertly and sat on the bed.

‘Right, everyone gather round.  Yes, alright, Bel.’  He lifted his little sister onto his lap.  ‘Now, can everyone see?’

‘Get on with it, Nick,’ complained Jon.

‘Very well.’  He extracted the contents of the envelope and showed them one by one.

‘That one,’ said Jon, decidedly.

‘Yes, it’s very good.  Let’s see them all first.’

‘Oh!  Look at Ant in that one!’  They looked and collapsed into giggles.  ‘What were you doing?’ 

‘I wanted to see what was in the cupboard.  I didn’t realise he was taking another one.’

‘We can’t have that one anyway, Richard’s picking his nose,’ observed Katie.

‘No.  I think this one.’  Nick held up a portrait photo of the six of them.  He was standing on the left holding Bel high up in the air and the two of them laughing.  He wore clean jeans with a grey sweater and a white shirt hanging out.  Bel was in her bright purple velvet dress and had a pink bow holding back her straight black bob.  Her grin clearly showed her missing front teeth.  Next came Jon leaning back to back against Ant, arms folded and smiling across at Nick.  Beyond Ant was Katie, smart in blouse and skirt, bending down to Richard, an arm over his shoulder pointing up at the camera.  Richard, still in a clean T-shirt and shorts, had stretched his mouth into his widest smile as he looked straight ahead and proudly held up a plastic lizard.  They looked like happy, relaxed modern von Trapps.

 

‘Can we afford it?’ asked Jon anxiously.

‘Yes.  Look, here.  If we have the 10” by 14” and just a simple frame it’s forty-five pounds.  I’ve got seventeen.  And Pa’s given me five pounds for the twins to get something.  You’ve got ten, haven’t you?’

‘Here’s mine,’ said Katie, proudly handing over ten pound coins.

‘No, Katie, you don’t need to give that much.  You must have been saving for months.’

‘I wanted to.’

‘Well, let’s see.  Where’s yours, Ant?’

‘Here.  Five.’

‘Okay.  Look have some back, Katie-cat.’

‘No.  You’ll need some for a card and paper and things.’

‘Well if you’re sure.’  She nodded vigorously.

‘Good.  Now remember, not a word to the parents.  Alright?’

‘What about the twins? asked Jon.

‘Just have to keep an eye out.  And don’t talk to them about it.  We don’t want them to be thinking about it all the time ’cause then they will blurt it out.’

‘Yes, sir!  Can I go now?’

‘Yes, we’re done.’

 

Nicola came quietly into their bedroom that night.  Patrick, half-undressed, turned to smile at her.

‘I was about to send out a search party.  I thought you must have been in bed hours ago.’

She shook her head.  ‘I sat with the twins for a while.  Then Katie had another nightmare.  And by the time she’d gone back to sleep, Jon came up.  He wanted to tell me about his rabbits.  And then Nick came in.  He said you’d been talking?’

‘Yes.  I told him he didn’t have to come to Mass anymore unless he chose.’

‘Oh.  And does he choose?’

‘Yes, I think so.’  He held out a hand.  ‘Now, talk to me.  You were sick this morning.’  She nodded slowly.  ‘And?’

‘I’m pretty certain, Pat.  I’ll make an appointment with the doctor next week.’

He looked down at her, gently swinging her hand.

‘Shall you be pleased, Nick?’  He spoke very gently.

She thought for what seemed like hours.  ‘I will be pleased, I know.  And it will be lovely to have a baby in the house again.’

‘But…?’

‘But… I thought that was all done with now.  I’d started making plans for when the twins start school.  And I keep remembering last time.’

He let out his breath and put his arms around her.

‘Sh.  It won’t be like last time.  The others are all older so they can help more.  And we won’t be at war this time, please God.’

‘I know.  I know.  But…’ unusually uncertain, she looked up into Patrick’s familiar hazel eyes for reassurance.  ‘You will look after me again, won’t you?’

‘In sickness and in health,’ he murmured.  ‘Whatever it takes, Nick.’

‘Good,  Now take me to bed.’

 

 ‘Oh!  Oh it’s magic.’  Nicola gasped and Patrick grinned delightedly.  ‘But how on earth…?’

‘We did it that day in Streweminster.  When Jon and I took them all for haircuts.  We had to sneak out all the clothes and things and change on the train.’

‘But,’ Patrick wondered, ‘how on earth did you afford it?’

Katie smiled happily.  ‘We saved for months and months.’

‘Some of us did,’ interposed Jon.

‘And we all pooled together.  And we found a voucher in the local paper so we had some money off.  That was what gave us the idea.’

‘Well, it’s wonderful, darlings.  The best Christmas present ever.’

‘Absolutely,’ Patrick agreed.

‘Come here, then.’  Nicola held out her arms and all her children leapt onto the bed for a massive family hug.

 

‘Shall we walk over?’ suggested Nicola.  ‘Then you don’t have to worry about driving back.  And it’s not that cold.  Or wet.’

‘Good idea.  Coats, boots, gloves, scarves everyone.’

‘What about the presents?’ queried Nick.

‘Took them yesterday,’ replied his mother, feeling smug.

 

The Merrick hordes shouted their hallos and Happy Christmases and exchanged kisses and hugs and greetings all round.  Lawrie had brought Finn who immediately grabbed his youngest cousins and led them importantly off to show them the decorations he had been allowed to put on the Christmas tree.  Nick, going to join the grown-ups in the sitting room, was thunderstruck to find James McIlroy seated beside his grandmother, drinking gin and tonic and laughing.

‘What it is, darling?’ asked his mother, coming up behind and wondering why he’d stopped in the doorway.

‘Look!  It’s… it can’t be…’

‘Who?  Oh!  Yes, he does look familiar.’

‘Ma!’ he groaned.  ‘It’s James McIlroy.  You know, from that film on telly last month,’ he muttered under his breath.

The object of this discussion looked up at that moment and smiled.

‘Well, you’re obviously Nicola.  I’ve heard all about you from Lawrie.  Pleased to meet you.’  He stood and extended a friendly hand.

‘Um.  Pleased to meet you.’  She shook hands but added, ‘Where is Lawrie?’ 

‘Upstairs, I think.  Sorting out presents, maybe.’

‘Oh.  Excuse me, I’d better go and make sure the children aren’t causing havoc somewhere.  Nick you stay here.  I’ll send your father in.’  She disappeared in a red-faced fluster.

 

She stuck a head round the door of the snug and checked that the infants were happy before heading up to her old bedroom to confront her twin.

‘Happy Christmas, Nick!’

‘Happy Christmas to you to.’  She waited, watching Lawrie struggling with paper and sellotape.  ‘Well?’

‘Well what?’

‘What about that man downstairs?’

‘James, you mean?  Don’t you think he’s gorgeous?’

‘A bit.’

‘Completely, utterly, fabulously gorgeous, you mean.’

‘So what gives?’

‘Mm?’

‘With you and him.’

‘Oh.  I don’t know, really.  We’ve sort of being seeing each other on and off for a few months I s’pose.  And he didn’t have anywhere to go for Christmas so I asked Ma if I could bring him here.’

‘You’re hopeless.’

Lawrie shrugged, grinning.  ‘Yup.  Give me a hand downstairs with these, yes?’

 

Much later, Lawrie was organising the party into a raucous game of charades.  Nicola found herself sitting besides James on the sofa, idly watching her twin’s antics.

‘You are not very alike, are you?’

She smiled.  ‘People say we look quite similar.’

‘That wasn’t what I meant.’

‘No.  She’s completely maddening and has no common sense and a tendency to expect that she’ll always get her own way.  And she seems to have absolute self-confidence but she’s pretty insecure underneath it.  She’s devoted to Finn in her own way and terrified of making a mess of his life.  But then when she asks for advice she never follows it.’

‘And you would?’

Nicola smiled, acknowledging the hit. 

‘She didn’t tell you about me, did she?’

‘No.  But she often doesn’t tell me things these days.  She won’t say but I think a tiny part of her is jealous of me and Pat.  Though she’d hate to live my life.’

‘Yes.’  He lifted an amused eyebrow.  ‘I can’t quite see Lawrie stuck out in the country with a troupe of children to look after.  But you make a very good advert for marriage.’

‘Yes, well.’  There was a pause while they watched Jon and Commander Marlow attempting to mime the Rime of the Ancient Mariner.  Nicola asked hesitantly, under cover of the general party noise.  ‘Is it… are you serious about Lal?’

He looked across at Lawrie, now engaged in single-handedly pulling apart the latest BBC costume drama with much hilarity.  ‘Yes.  But I don’t know if she’s serious about me.’

‘Why don’t you come to ours for supper tomorrow?’ offered Nicola on impulse.  ‘I’ll make sure the kids are out of the way.’

‘I’d like that.’

‘Are you hunting?’

‘No, I don’t ride.’

‘Okay.  Well come over about sevenish then.’

‘I’ll look forward to it.  Thank you.’