Page 18 of Welcome to Pennycress Inn

‘Ouch yourself! I told you not to bring it up.’ Jenny scolded Rob before laying her hand on Laura’s forearm. ‘Men, they have no tact whatsoever.’

Laura took a deep breath as it dawned on her what Rob was referring to. Break-up day. The day she and Harry had gone their separate ways, the day everything had come to a head and she’d told him it was over. In retrospect, she probably shouldn’t have broken up with him on Jenny and Rob’s anniversary, but at the time she hadn’t realised, she’d had so much going on, so much to think about that the date of their special day had completely slipped her mind. And now, it seemed, she’d forever be reminded of the day she’d called off her marriage.

‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned anything,’ Rob spluttered as he sat down at the table. ‘I was warned not to.’

‘Yes, you were.’ Jenny, sitting opposite him, glared at him.

‘Honestly, don’t worry about it.’ Laura filled up the kettle before flicking the switch and busying herself with getting the mugs. ‘In truth, it had completely slipped my mind. I hadn’t realised what the date was. Every day has just merged into another since I moved in.’

‘I’m glad this place is doing what you’d hoped then. Giving you a new start and something to focus on.’ Standing up, Jenny took the milk from the fridge and handed it to her sister before sitting back down.

‘Yes, yes, it is.’ After taking the mugs of coffee to the table, she sat down next to Jenny. ‘There’s more to do than I’d first thought, and although I researched loads, I still need to get my head around the advertising side of things before I open up, so it’s definitely keeping me busy.’ Not to mention the hallway wall she needed to repair, the roof tile and anything else she hadn’t yet discovered. But she wasn’t about to point them out.

‘That’s good then. Less time to mull over your divorce.’ Rob lifted his mug.

Raising her eyebrows, Jenny pursed her lips before turning to Laura. ‘Tell me all about what?—’

The twins flew into the kitchen, pulling the cupboard doors open. ‘We’re hungry,’ they said in unison.

‘Stop, stop, I have food here.’ Rummaging in her oversized handbag, Jenny pulled out two Tupperware tubs of cucumber and carrot sticks.

‘Yuck, hasn’t Auntie Laura got anyrealfood?’ Tammy let the cupboard door swing shut with a bang and walked across to the table.

‘I don’t suppose she’s had time to get much in.’

Laura shook her head. ‘I might have something. I’ll have a look.’ Standing up, she began searching through the snacks she’d bought on her way down to the Cotswolds and pulled out two chocolate bars. Her favourite, but after being saved froman awkward conversation about her and Harry’s break-up, the twins could have what they wanted.

‘Thank you, Auntie Laura.’ Tammy took the treats before passing one to her brother.

Taking the chocolate bar, Toby glanced at it before looking across at his mum. ‘I thought these were Uncle Harry’s favourite? He was eating one the other day.’

The other day? Had they met up with Harry and not told her? Why wouldn’t Jenny have mentioned it? Laura frowned as she sat back down at the table.

‘Mummy said we’re not allowed to call him Uncle Harry anymore.’ Tammy punched Toby’s arm.

‘That chocolate is Auntie Laura’s favourite, Toby. Harry just likes them too.’ Laura shifted on the bench. ‘Why don’t you two go and explore? Take a look around.’

‘Okay.’ Taking Toby’s hand, Tammy began leading him back out of the kitchen before turning and throwing something in the direction of the table. ‘We found this too. I think it’s a money card and I wanted to buy that unicorn teddy I’ve been wanting, but Toby said we couldn’t take it with us.’

‘Okay, thanks.’ Leaning down, Laura picked up the card. Tammy had been right, it was a credit card, but not one she recognised. She turned it over in her hand. It was Jackson’s. It must have fallen from his pocket last night.

‘Sorry. I did tell them he’s not their uncle anymore,’ Jenny offered as way of explanation.

Laura waved the apology away. If she was honest, it hadn’t even occurred to her that her niece and nephew had lost an uncle because of her actions. Had they been upset? ‘Don’t worry. You met up with him though? With Harry?’

‘We didn’t meet up with him, no. We ran into him at the supermarket and, well, you know how difficult he is to get away from.’ Jenny grimaced.

‘And the way you chat, too.’ Rob took another sip of his coffee.

‘Well, okay, yes, but I didn’t feel as though I could just blank him, either.’ Jenny focused on Laura again. ‘You two were together for what, ten years? Besides, I had the twins with me. It would have confused them even more if I’d just walked right past him.’

‘Still, you didn’t need to chat with him for quite as long as you did. I think the twins were more upset about the fact their ice lollies had melted by the time we got to the checkouts.’ Rob shook his head softly.

‘Yes, well, you swapped them for new ones, didn’t you? So no harm done.’ Jenny twisted, so she was facing Laura again. ‘You don’t mind me talking to Harry, do you? I just wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do and then he got talking in the rambling way he does, and I just couldn’t see a way out of the conversation without appearing super rude.’

‘No, of course not.’ That was one of the main reasons she’d wanted to move away, so that she didn’t keep running into him too. He’d been a huge part of their lives, part of the family. She couldn’t blame them for not completely cutting all ties. And Jenny was right. It would have seemed really odd to the twins if her parents hadn’t spoken to their former uncle. She held her mug up to her lips and mumbled behind the rim. ‘Did he say what he’s up to?’

‘Same old stuff as far as I could tell. Work, snooker, drinking down the pub with his mates. It didn’t sound as though anything’s changed.’ Jenny shrugged.

---