Page 23 of Meet Me In Central Park

‘Definitely. We really need to push hard if we're going to raise enough money to secure the rest as a loan. I think even I’ve given up wishing we could raise the whole amount by ourselves in time.’

‘I think we should set a date for it, one that we can all make, before it gets too close to Christmas to fit it in. Where’s Madison lately, anyway?’ Abbie glanced up from the calendar on her phone.

‘New boyfriend.’ I shrugged my shoulders. ‘But he’s in the fire department. And she’s roped him, and the rest of his firehouse, into doing some snow clearing of sidewalks and driveways to raise money. So she’s still doing her bit.’

‘Sounds like just the sort of charity work I could get involved with.’ Rob laughed, earning himself a pointed look from Dannie.

‘How about the twentieth for the art jam then?’ Abbie looked up again, and everyone checked their phones. They were a few things people would have to move, but nothing that couldn’t be rearranged, so Karly added it to the list. I still wasn’t sure if we’d have enough to secure the loan, but we were doing all we could, and that sense of belonging just kept growing. I couldn’t imagine not being around to help after Christmas, but at least I’d get to go to the art jam. And maybe learning to count small blessings would turn out to be another step on the road to building a new life for myself again, after I went home. I was starting to hope so.

* * *

‘Oh Nan, I do miss you.’ I smiled at the screen. It was great seeing her, but in some ways it was harder than just hearing her voice. Although now that she’d finally got to grips with FaceTime, there was no going back to the phone for her.

‘We miss you too, Lib.’ Nan blew me a kiss. ‘But Dottie tells me you’re still spending a lot of time with your new friends.’

‘I am, and we’re busy raising money to keep the Community Center open.’ Would I really be back in the pub in less than two weeks? It didn’t seem possible. ‘What about you, are you all packed for the cruise?’

‘We are, and Granddad’s even agreed to replace the Speedos he’s had since 1972!’

‘That definitely counts as a Christmas miracle!’

‘He’s already looking at brochures for more cruises, too. If this one goes well, there’s a four-month round-the-world trip he’s got his eye on. Would you believe it?’ Nan raised her eyebrows, and the back of my neck prickled. I wasn’t sure I could survive leaving New York and having to run the pub without my grandparents. It was probably all just talk, though. Granddad would never leave his beloved pub for that long.

‘So what else is going on? Is everything okay at the pub?’

‘Yes love, it’s all fine, but there’s something else.’ The tone of Nan’s voice changed, and she bit her lip.

‘What’s wrong? Are you both okay?’ If either of them were sick, I’d have to go straight home. An image of Harry standing in Central Park flitted into my brain, and I squeezed my eyes shut for a second.

‘We’re fine. It’s just that Granddad saw Grant Bailey. He’s definitely been out on home release.’

My eyes shot open again and all the bitterness I seemed to have managed to push down over the last six weeks came bubbling back to the surface. ‘I still can’t believe it. It’s been less than two years and he gets to just pick up where he left off.’

‘I know darling.’ Nan’s eyes had taken on a glassy sheen. ‘But like I said before, it wouldn’t bring them back if they locked him up forever and threw away the key. Even if that’s what he deserves.’

‘People need to be reminded of what he’s done, so he gets as hard a time as possible.’ My scalp prickled at the thought of him strutting around Canterbury, acting as if he hadn’t taken two lives and ruined so many others. There’d been an outcry locally at the time of his conviction about the leniency of his sentence, but people had short memories and their own troubles to do deal with. Grant Bailey’s life should be the one that was ruined, and if it meant me putting up posters around town to remind people of what he’d done, I was more than prepared to do it. I’d let him get away with this once and I wasn’t going to do it again. ‘Is Granddad okay? That must have been a horrible shock. Bailey didn’t try to speak to him, did he?’

‘He hasn’t got the guts. For all his cockiness, Granddad said Bailey just stared at the ground. But I think it’s just as well we’re going on that cruise, because it took all your granddad had to not go over and punch the stupid smirk off Bailey’s face once and for all.’

‘I wish someone would.’ I didn’t want it to be Granddad though. He was in his seventies and he should be enjoying life, going on cruises and whatever else he and Nan wanted to do, maybe even looking forward to his first great-grandchild. But because of Grant Bailey, all our plans for the future had changed two years ago. I might have found it hard to get my head around the fact that my grandparents were finally taking a holiday from the pub, but I was even happier now that they were. There’d have been absolutely no chance of them enjoying Christmas with the prospect of bumping into Bailey while he was out celebrating his home release.

‘With the circles he moves in, he’ll upset the wrong person one day. Billy heard a rumour that he’s planning to go to London as soon as he’s got the choice. One of his brothers is already up there and a friend of the family said he’s made some connections in prison, which mean a move to London would make sense. I hate to even think what they meant by that. But at least he won’t be here.’ Nan sighed. ‘In the meantime, I’m really glad you’re over there, because being as far away as possible from him is the best place you could be. I don’t want you to come back. At least not yet.’

‘I’m not sure how to take that.’

‘Yes, you are.’ Nan smiled. ‘You’ve been the light of our lives from the moment you were born, Lib, and it’s been terrible seeing you change in front of our eyes these last two years. I kept hoping and praying that you’d find something to bring back our sparky girl. You always wanted to fight for what was right, and not just in your job. I know you wanted to do that with Bailey too and for him to get the sentence he deserved. When he didn’t, I was scared you were the one who was going to end up with a life sentence of unhappiness. But every time I’ve spoken to you since you got to New York, I’ve sensed that light inside of you coming back on little by little. And I think you’ve found the thing that’s giving you back your spark. So, I want you to promise me you’ll consider Dottie’s offer to take over the shop.’

‘She told you?’ I should have known. They’d cooked up the plan to get me out to New York in the first place, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise to learn that Nan was in on Dottie’s plan to get me to stay too.

‘She did, and she wants you to stay on so much. Almost as much as I do. And I know that’s what your mum would have wanted, too, if she was here. I can almost hear her shouting at you to take this chance. She loved New York, but most of all she loved you. Don’t let misplaced guilt stop you from staying, because I know you’re happier out there than you’ve been here since we lost them.’

‘I just don’t know if I can stay.’ I shook my head. But then I thought about Grant Bailey again, and I found myself nodding instead. Maybe I could stay for a little while longer, just until we’d heard whether his release on parole had been granted, if his home visits had convinced them he was ready. Living with the uncertainly of that would have been even harder than facing up to the reality once a decision was made. I’d have to find a way of getting home for New Year, even if it was just a flying visit, but suddenly the thought of being in New York for Christmas Day didn’t seem unthinkable anymore.

‘Just think about it.’ Nan’s voice broke into my thoughts. ‘It doesn’t have to be forever. But even if you agree to a few months and give Dottie the chance to consider selling the shop if you don’t want to run it, I think it would make all the difference to her, and even more to you.’

‘I promise I’ll think about it.’

‘Good and on the assumption that you’d see sense’ – Nan winked – ‘I shipped your Christmas presents over to Dottie. There’s something else in the package that you might want to see and I got a message to say that my parcel had been delivered, so she should be able to give it to you the next time you see her.’

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