Page 71 of Stolen Kiss

Jason

After Jason dropped Heidi off at her home first so she could dump her overnight bag and then at the doctor’s surgery, he parked up. It was early, too early for the jewellery store to open so he wandered along the street to see what was open.

“Need some more buttons?” Mr McKenzie called out from his shop door.

Jason smiled and aimed for his shop.

“Not for the moment. Are you always open this early?”

“I open when I get up. No point sitting out the back waiting for the clock to tick down.”

Smiling Jason looked up at the façade of the building. “Have you got time for a cup of tea?”

“I have,” McKenzie replied.

Jason followed the man into his shop and grinned at the familiarity of household items lined up on shelves and trellis hooks. Mr McKenzie locked the shop door and flipped the sign.

“Let’s go upstairs. The chairs of comfier up there.”

Jason stood in the small living room overlooking the high street while he heard a spoon clanging against mugs. The sound was deep enough that he knew it was a mug and not a cup.

When they were settled Jason stayed silent for a minute or two and then took a breath in like he was going to ask a question and then chickened out.

“I miss your dad,” Mr McKenzie said. “I miss having a best friend to can talk rubbish to. I don’t have any brothers and my sister moved away as soon as she could. Island life wasn’t for her.”

“I’m not sure it’s for me to be honest.”

“Your dad wasn’t comfortable here but I don’t know if it was the island or what was expected of his because he was a Turner. Your mother helped him balance to two.”

“Did you know Imelda?”

He couldn’t call her mum or mother, had stopped using that familiarity as soon as she left.

“I did, we all did. I miss her too.”

“Did he love her?”

“Your dad? Yeah, he loved her enough to enrage his sister and his father. But at that stage, his sister already hated him.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. He never talked about it. We were young and carefree, although Freddie, your dad, had one determination in life. Well, two. Marry Imelda and earn a living. He had no intention of sitting around a great empty house waiting to die. He hated the old ways and avoided them at all costs.”

“How did he get permission to marry Imelda?”

“He didn’t ask for it. He married her as soon after he turned eighteen as he could arrange it. His father had a fit and threw him out for months. They both stayed here in my spare room until his grandfather came knocking. His grandfather said they should come back to Turner Hall and live there. Your dad didn’twant that, he didn’t want to live a Turner life. I’m not sure how he bargained it but he struck a deal that they would move into Turner Hall but Freddie would be working on the oil rigs. Imelda would stay at Turner Hall when he worked and he would return on his down time. Things were fine for many years until Imelda fell pregnant with Archer. Then all eyes were on her. Your aunt left Turner Hall and travelled around the world for years when your father married Imelda. No one saw her for a long time. Your dad settled into a routine and Imelda seemed happy to be alone up there for three weeks while your dad worked on the rigs. She spent a lot of that time assisting her parents in the butcher’s shop when he was away. But when she gave birth to Archer, your aunt was not kind.”

Jason’s jaw set. He didn’t want to feel sorry of his mother who abandoned them but he was starting to see a different side to his history.

Sipping on the hot mug of tea he drifted off thinking of what could have been.

“No point dwelling over the past, son. Look to the future and make it the happiest you can.”

“It’s a good plan,” Jason replied.

He drained his mug and took it into the small kitchen.

“Do you mind if I come again to hear stories of my dad?”

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