Page 40 of Amazing Grace

Grace went to shake his hand but instead he enveloped her in a bear hug.

‘Ha! My wife likes to keep me on my toes! Now, from everything that Ruth has been telling me about you, you are exactly how I imagined you. It’s so lovely to meet you, Grace. I’ve heard so much about you that I wasn’t sure if my wife had a girl crush. Oh, and by the way, I love the fact that we finally get Vinnie out of our hair now he’s met someone lovely to spend some time with. He’s here all the time and we just can’t get rid of him.’ He grinned.

‘Oi, I am here, you know,’ Vinnie said as he went forward and gave his brother-in-law a hearty hug.

‘You know you’re part of the fixtures and fittings here, mate! You’re always welcome in our house.’

Grace could instantly see the special bond the men had.

‘Right, let’s get the bar open! G&Ts all round?’

‘Not for me, mate, I’m in the driving seat tonight and I have two very important passengers that I’m taking care of.’

Grace smiled at him across the room as Ruth tucked her arm inside hers and led her through to a lounge which was large, beautifully decorated and impeccably tidy with candles glowing on the mantelpiece and fairy lights shimmering above a huge mirror.

‘Crikey, I wish my lounge was this stunning and tidy!’ Grace said, envying the gorgeous room.

‘I’d like to take the credit for that, but I can’t. The cleaner came in yesterday and I’ve not allowed anyone in this room since, apart from to light the fire and the candles.’ She laughed. ‘The poor children are banned from here as it’s the only grown-up room in the house and we like to keep it that way. I love my children, but I also love the fact that we have a huge family room that we spend most of our time in so that we can have somewhere that we can keep clean and tidy for visitors.’

‘Wow, you have a cleaner, how fabulous.’

‘We both work hard and the last thing I want us to do on our days off is to spend it cleaning. Life is for living and making memories with your family. It’s too short to spend doing dull things like cleaning, and worse than that, arguing about the cleaning and who’s going to do what. We made a decision a long time ago that this was our treat to our family and it is an important cog that helps the family to be in harmony. We don’t go out that much, don’t drink too much, and don’t smoke, so our cleaner is our little bit of luxury while we can afford it. You should do it, it’ll change your life.’

‘What a great idea,’ Grace said, silently adding finding a cleaner to her list of things to do in her head. She spent a lot of time at the weekends cleaning and Ruth was right, life was too short to spend doing such mundane boring stuff. And with a dog and a child to clean up after, she felt like she was on a constant treadmill vacuuming up dog hair and sweeping mud that came off Archie’s football boots.

They chatted comfortably, then Mike came through to the lounge after about ten minutes, announcing that he’d fed the kids and that the grown-ups’ dinner was ready and invited them through to the dining room. He placed an enormous plate on the table, which consisted of chicken and fish goujons, raw vegetables, hummus, and a selection of amazing breads and dips.

Grace was sat facing Vinnie, who grinned at her constantly. Ruth and Mike were at the opposite ends of the table.

‘So Grace, tell me about yourself,’ Mike joked, ‘and I’ll tell you if you’ve got the job.’

They all laughed and Grace started by saying that she was mum to Archie and Becks and she talked about her job, which she said she enjoyed. He asked about her family and Grace talked about losing her beautiful mother to cancer after a ten-year fight and how her father had gone rapidly downhill after losing his life partner, but that he’d found a new lease of life since he’d moved into the retirement village. She talked about her sister and how much she missed Hannah who was now happily creating a life in the US.

After she finished eating, she said, ‘That was divine.’

‘All home-made too, even the hummus. Isn’t he the best?’ Ruth explained how Mike was a closet chef and his hobby was cooking. ‘What a stroke of luck,’ said Grace, ‘as my hobby is eating!’

‘Give us a hand, mate.’ Mike asked Vinnie to help clear the table and she could hear their low voices in the kitchen while she and Ruth chatted amiably. She thought she heard Mike say, ‘Have you told her yet?’ and Vinnie say, ‘Just drop it mate, please.’

As they came back into the dining room, Mike was frowning but was soon smiling again. He came through holding a huge casserole dish full of the most gorgeously aromatic chicken she’d ever smelt. Vinnie followed, carrying a dish of garlic roast potatoes, and a huge bowl full of fresh vegetables, which Ruth explained had been picked from their allotment by Mike and the children that afternoon.

After that, Grace didn’t think she could possibly eat another thing, until Ruth brought out a deliciously light lemon mouse and a huge Eton Mess which she declared the easiest pudding to make, and insisted that Grace had a bit of each.

They were all fit to burst, Grace exclaiming, ‘Mike, you should apply forMasterchef!’ Mike cleared the table. As they moved into the lounge, Ruth asked Grace how she’d coped with not having her mum around. Grace mentioned that she’d been to see a medium a few months after her mum died and had been many times since and how much it had helped her.

Grace saw Ruth glance at both Mike and Vinnie and a very strange expression came across their faces. ‘Oh no, I’m so sorry. Have I said something to upset you all?’ she asked.

‘No, darling, it’s just that we have a standing argument in this family about going to see a medium. I would love to go but am petrified, Vinnie would love to go and hasn’t done anything about it because he’s a big wuss and Mike is totally against us going. I know that Vinnie has told you about our darling Meredith, but we’d love to see if she comes through to us. It’s a bit of a sticking point, to be honest. Would you mind telling us about your experiences and perhaps it’ll help us to decide whether we need to take it further?’

* * *

It was nearly the middle of December, the year they’d lost their darling mum, and the whole family were unsure how they were supposed to get through a Christmas without her. How would they sit around a Christmas dinner table without someone that had always been there, an empty chair where she should be sitting? Just thinking about it had made Grace want to cancel the whole day.

While out shopping one day for Archie’s presents, Grace had walked past a shop that she’d walked past many times, which was advertising a spiritual event in a church with a number of local mediums. The need to find out more completely overwhelmed her and she went into the shop and asked the lady behind the counter if she knew anything personally about the event.

It turned out that the lady who owned the shop was a medium and did private readings and Grace’s heart soared as she considered the possibility of an appointment, but it soon came crashing back down to earth when she was told that the woman was booked up for months ahead. Grace had said that she’d pop back in again after Christmas and turned to walk out of the shop. Unbeknown to the shop owner, tears started to fall from Grace’s eyes but quickly stopped when she was called back by the medium. Gently, the medium asked her to come back the following Tuesday night as she felt an overwhelming urge to help her. As Grace walked out of the shop, wondering what on earth she’d done, her mobile rang and it was Hannah.

‘Hey babes, just phoning to say hi. How are you doing today? I’m struggling a bit to be honest. Hope you don’t mind me calling. I just felt the need to pick up the phone to you. I didn’t want to talk to anyone else. Just my little sis.’

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