Page 89 of The Likelihood Of You

She glided past me, her floral suitcase that she’s had since the early nineties strolling behind her, as a gasp erupted from her. “Oh myChrist! You never told me you lived in a mansion!” Her sweet little voice said; the strong English accent that coated it flooded my ears.

“Nanna,” my voice croaked. “What are you doing here? How are you here?”

I could tell she wasn’t listening to me. She was too busy exploring the so-called mansion I lived in, leaving her case by the kitchen, running her hands along the couch, checking herself out in the gold floor mirror, and then venturing up the spiral stairs. I took those seconds while she was avoiding my questions to appreciate that she was really here.

My eyes skated over her outfit: her cute flared trousers and a long-sleeved maroon top with a crochet vest, nicely finished with a pair of oversized yellow sunglasses that rested atop of her hair, which always reminded me of finely spun gold. She always opted for a seventies-inspired wardrobe, and today was no exception.

“Nanna, are you listening to me?” I shouted at her with my patchy voice, as she wandered around my bedroom.

“Whaaaaat? I can’t hear you. This west wing is so far away that I don’t even think I can see you anymore.” She shouted back, her sassiness hitting me with full force. “How about you fix me a proper brew, then I’ll explain everything.”

“Okay,” I said weakly, wiping away my tears that were still in a steady flow and heading to the kitchen, to make my Nanna, who’d somehow flown all the way across the Atlantic to see me, a proper cup of tea. I couldn’t wait to hear whatever story she had up her sleeve.

“Ooh, that’s beautiful, that is. Just what I needed after an eight-hour flight where they had the audacity to serve American tea bags.” Nanna cooed, clasping the mug in her hands to her chest, as a smile graced her face. “Goodness, I’d forgotten how tiring sitting on a plane actually is. I could fall asleep just about now—”

“Oh no, you don’t. You owe me a story.” I demanded, narrowing my eyes at her and doing my best to flatten out my smile. “Spill it.”

I recovered from my tiny breakdown… almost. I succumbed to the fact that my Nanna was actually here, in the flesh, and I wasn’t experiencing the sweetest dream of my life. But that didn’t stop the questions about why or even how she was here from forming a strategic list in my head.

“Alright, bossy pants. I’ll tell you.” She said, placing her mug on the coffee table next to her. “After you tell me what’s up with you.”

I activated my rehearsed smile. “What do you mean? I’m fine. Ecstatic now that you’re here.”

“Oh, please. You just threw up all your tears on me back there,” she said, pointing towards the door. “Oh, and let me guess, you’re going to tell me all those tissues that are stashed under your bed are from a cold? It’s warmer here than it is in London, Candy Floss, and you’ve sounded fine when we’ve spoken on the phone.” Snooping, sassy and smart; the best kind of triple threat. “So come on,spill it, Florence.”

There was no getting out of this. She never called me Florence unless I was in trouble. The last time she did was when I was twelve, andI’d taken her Gucci lipstick to school to show off to my friends, also managing to blunt the perfect lip-shaped curve of the scarlet colour in the process.

I sighed, my back relaxing into the cushions behind me. “It’s just Jacob. The guy I told you about. We…kind of broke up.” She nodded, silently insinuating that she would need more than that brief description. “This thing happened with his ex; she turned up at his apartment and…” God, I don’t even want to say it. “Nanna, I really don’t want to go into it. Please, can we talk about you instead?” I croaked, rather weakly, my voice turning painful and another flash flood threatening to spill from my eyes.

“Oh, Floss, I didn’t mean to make you upset. Of course you don’t have to carry on. Anyway, what you said was all I wanted to hear.” She picked up her mug again. “I just wanted to make sure whathetold me was the truth.”

My head shot up, my eyes finding hers. “What did you say?”

“I said I just wanted to make sure what he told me—”

There it was again. “Who’s ‘he’ Nanna? What do you mean?” She sipped on her tea, annoyingly slow, like she was attempting to build some dramatic suspense like we were in one of those cheesy soap operas she’s obsessed with.

“Florence…it was Jacob.” I opened my mouth to question her, but she stopped me. “He’s the one who brought me here.”

I froze. I don’t know whether it was the mention of his name that made me immobile or if I was still trying to take in the fact Nanna Dorothy was sitting on my couch. This didn’t make sense. None of it did. “What do you mean he brought you here? I don’t understand.”

“Come on, Flo, did you really think those nurses would let me leave on a random Tuesday to fly halfway around the world? The nurses who try to put the village on lockdown when I’ve been in the bathroom for five minutes too long? Of course not.”

Another painfully slow sip. “Somehow, he’d gotten a hold of the information for the village and came to visit me the other day. Imagine my surprise when my nurse says I have a visitor; there’s me thinking you decided to fly home and see me before the Christmas holidays. Never in my wildest dreams did I think your handsome fella would come strolling into my room.”

I can’t help but imagine it: Jacob and my Nanna meeting without me there to conduct the thing. I start to smile like a confused idiot.

“Anyway, after my heart stopped beating a million miles an hour, he explained why he was here—told me all about what happened. And not just the story about his witch of an ex-girlfriend. He’s told me everything: how you met, how he fell for you, how beautiful he thinks you are, how much your passion inspires him. You name it Flo, and he’s probably told me.”

I take a breath, not realising I’ve been holding it for longer than I should have.

“He told me that he knew you were hurting, and he wanted a way to help you get better without him. He said he didn’t want to ruin his chances by popping back into your life so unexpectedly. He said he wanted to make you happy and supported, whilst still giving you the time you need. Hence why I’m sitting here right now with the world’s best cup of tea in my hands.” We both chuckled.

“He really loves you, Candy Floss, and by the sounds of things, it certainly wasn’t his fault what happened. But at the same time, Iunderstand why you’re feeling the way you are. Unfortunately, you’ve been through this before, but we won’t even let those people cross our minds right now. This moment is about you.”

I wiped away the tears that had slipped from my eyes. “Nanna, this is all so…strange. How did he even get you out of there?”

She laughed into her mug. “Let’s just say the nurses in the home are an easily persuaded bunch, especially when they were offered autographs and a personalised video from him for their kiddos."

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