Page 33 of One Snowy Day
‘Hello, love. How was your day?’ He had a twinkle in his eye that came from either a lunchtime pint at the golf club, or pure happiness that tomorrow they were going off to live the dream. Jessie suspected it was a bit of both. ‘Your hair is looking mighty fancy.’
Jessie gave a theatrical pat to her curls. ‘Our lass has a God-given talent,’ she chirped.
Stan chuckled, as he dipped his biscuit in his tea. ‘I think it’s a Jessie-given talent, myself. I believe my wife is not bad at all that hairdressing stuff too.’
Despite all her angst, her memories, her doubts, that comment warmed her heart. This was who Stan McLean was. He loved her, he took care of her, he lifted her up and he made herlaugh. He’d provided for his family all his life, loved his children and they still adored him to this day.
‘By the way, our Grant got back today. He did Val’s hair while Georgie was doing mine and Cathy’s and he’s looking smashing. He’s staying at Georgie’s, and Kayleigh is home too. It’ll be lovely to have the full squad there tonight. I even invited Flynn…’
Jessie watched him purse his lips. He’d never been Flynn’s biggest fan. Like most fathers, he felt her daughter was too good for her choice of husband – not that he’d told her that, until Flynn had buggered off and left them. ‘Christ, I’d better have a beer if I need to act civil to that one tonight.’
‘Don’t worry, he can’t come. A work thing, he said. But I think he’s probably just avoiding you.’
‘Good thing too. Georgie doesn’t need that man anywhere near her.’
‘Stan, he’s Kayleigh’s dad.’ It was the argument she used every time, because as far as Jessie was concerned, that was reason enough for them to stay on good terms. The hypocrisy in his attitude grated a little, though. Hadn’t she overlooked Stan’s behaviour for the sake of keeping the peace and holding the family together?
‘Aye, and that’s why I’ll keep my thoughts to myself. But don’t expect me to have a civil word for that man. Tenerife isn’t far enough away from him. Anyway, enough about him. I’ll get you a cup of tea, love,’ he offered, but Jessie shook her head.
‘I think I’m going to have a wee Prosecco. It’s that kind of day and there’s half a bottle in the fridge left over from when Georgie came to watchStrictlyon Saturday night. It’ll go to waste if I don’t drink it tonight.’
That thought gave her warm heart a cold shower. Saturday nights on the couch with Georgie, a takeaway and a bottle of wine were a frequent occurrence in the winter months. They’d leavethe salon, pick up food on the way home, and then settle in for the night, grateful that they could spend all day together and still enjoy each other’s company. Georgie even stayed over in her old bedroom sometimes. There wouldn’t be a day that went by in Tenerife that Jessie wouldn’t miss those times.
She opened the fridge. For decades, the fridge in her kitchen had been packed with vegetables, sauces, different butters, meats, cheeses, wine, beer, milk and everything else that was needed to feed a family of four, and then later, a couple who liked to have plenty in stock in case someone dropped in. All that it contained now was a carton of milk, a slab of butter, a couple of cans of beer and the half-full bottle of Prosecco. Everything else had been cleared out at the weekend, when they’d emptied the kitchen cupboards and every other cupboard in the house, and a lifetime of possessions had been given away, donated, or packed into boxes that were now stored in the garage, ready to be shipped when they sold the house.
She took out the fizz, and one of the two glasses that were on the drying rack, the only ones that they’d kept handy after the clear-out, to use before they left. She sat at the table and watched the bubbles appear in the glass as she poured it.
‘Hugo Canavan was asking after you today. Said he’s looking forward to seeing you tonight,’ Jessie told him. The flinch was almost indiscernible, but it was there. Every time she’d mentioned the name Canavan in the last twenty-odd years there had been that tiny reaction. ‘He was in the café this morning. In fact, all the Canavans were there. Alyssa and Ginny were working and then Dorinda pitched up too.’
Another flinch. More noticeable this time.
Jessie had no idea why she’d said that, but she hadn’t been able to stop herself. Was she baiting him? Trying to lead up to asking him about it? After all this time, why now? What would bethe purpose of that? Was she really so desperate to avoid leaving here that she would throw a bomb into her marriage just so she could stay? Bugger, she shouldn’t have had that champagne at the salon. It was wrecking what little sense her frazzled nerves had left her with. Time to stop this. Time to get it straight in her head. She was leaving and that was that. End of story.
‘He’s a good man, Hugo.’ Stan took a drink of his tea, before changing the subject. ‘Are you looking forward to the party?’
‘I am. I just wish…’ Oh, bollocks, maybe not ‘end of story’. Her mouth seemed to have adopted a mind of its own. ‘Stan, how about we stay here a bit longer? Maybe just until the turn of the year? It’s only a month away.’
She couldn’t look at him because she didn’t want to see the shock or the rejection on his face.
Instead, she was the one who was in for the shock, when he said, ‘That’s the thing, love. I don’t know if you noticed, but the For Sale sign didn’t go up today.’
‘I did, but I just figured it hadn’t gone up because of the snow.’
‘No, it wasn’t that, love.’
His triumphant expression gave her a stunning moment of realisation and her heart began to soar as she sent up a silent prayer ofoh dear God, thank you.He’d changed his mind. He’d finally clicked on to how sad she was to be leaving, and he’d taken the problem away. That was how well Stan McLean knew her and how much he loved her.
‘Oh Stan, you cancelled it? You’ve had second thoughts too? You know, I tried to go along with you, I really did, but, Lord, my heart was breaking. And I’m not saying I’ll never do it, but just… not yet, Stan. Let me have a few more months here, let me enjoy my retirement with my pals and Georgie and Kayleigh. Maybe even take some trips to London to see Grant and Gabriel. And Christmas! We’ll have another Christmas here. It’s only a month away, and I mean, what were we thinking going away three weeks before Christmas anyway?’
He seemed astonished by that. ‘Because we wanted to spend our first Christmas in the sun and then go on that cruise from Los Cristianos to Cyprus for New Year.’
She desperately wanted to point out that it wasn’t ‘we’ who’d wanted that. Stan had waxed lyrical about it all and she’d gone along with it because her head was so far stuck in the sand she could barely breathe. Anyway, it didn’t matter now because everything had changed and crisis had been averted.
‘Why didn’t you tell me that you felt that way?’ he asked her, clearly surprised.
‘I’m sorry, but your heart was just so set on it and I didn’t want to take something away that you cared so much about. We’ve done this whole life together, Stan, and we’ve always been on the same page. I didn’t want to admit that this time we weren’t even in the same book.’
It was plain to see that he was affected by that because he looked crestfallen as he murmured. ‘I really wish you’d told me, Jessie.’
