Amazing Grace

Chapter 12

The week did not start well. She’d had to battle that morning with Archie to get ready for school on time, having to wrestle the iPad from him at one point, which resulted in him having a huge meltdown. Then, after school, two of his school friends knocked on the door and asked if he could go to the park with them to play football.

‘Can I, Mum? Can I?’ he’d begged her, pulling on her jumper.

‘I’m sorry, Arch, but I really don’t think you are old enough.’

‘I am though, Mum. I’m ten and you let me walk home from school now. How’s this any different?’

It didn’t matter how many times she explained to him that she wasn’t happy about him going to the park in the evening with boys she knew from school, but didn’t really know anything else about, he was still cross. They’d have main roads to cross and while she knew she had to let go of him sometime and increase his independence, this was not going to be that day.

He stomped off upstairs into his room and refused to come down for an hour. He seemed to have morphed into a teenager over the last few weeks. The only thing that brought him out of his room was the fact that they were going to visit Papa, who she hoped might talk some sense into him.

They drove the five miles to the retirement village in near silence, with Archie staring out the window and giving one-word answers to any questions she asked. She left him in the lounge with her dad while she went to make a cuppa for them all, and as she returned and stood outside the lounge door, she heard them talking.

‘But Mum never plays football with me any more, Papa. She’s always too busy cooking, or cleaning, or decorating. She never has time for me. And she never lets me go to the park with my mates, either.’

‘But you’re not really old enough to go to the park on your own yet, son. I know it’s hard when you see other kids doing it, but all your mum is trying to do is to keep you safe.’

‘If Dad was still with us, he’d be able to share jobs and then Mum would have more time for me.’

‘Your mum is working her socks off so that you can have all your fancy stuff. If you want Z-Boxes and aPads, someone has to pay for them, son. And if she doesn’t do the cleaning and cooking, who will? I don’t suppose you help her, do you?’

She looked through the gap in the door as Archie shook his head.

‘You need to cut your mum some slack. She’s trying her best. Now come over here and give your old papa a man-hug.’

‘I’ll try, Papa. I promise I’ll try.’

Grace promised herself that she’d do her damnedest to make more time for Archie, even if it meant having to stay up later to get the housework done. Who needed sleep, anyway? She’d already rocked his world by splitting with his dad. It was her job as his mum to protect him from hurt, and she already carried that guilt around with her, so she had to make sure that he didn’t end up resenting her.

* * *

Wednesday evening arrived. She’d told Mark that she was going out at six thirty and he did his normal trick of not arriving to pick up Archie until six forty-five, blaming the traffic. She knew he did it on purpose and had often thought he probably sat around the corner, deliberately waiting till he was late before arriving at her house. She used to get really wound up by his tardiness and say that perhaps he should have left a bit earlier, but it was obvious that he got a real kick out of winding her up, so now she took the high road and never mentioned it, much as she had to grit her teeth.

Grace always prided herself on being able to make pleasantries with everyone she met – even if she was busy or stressed. She knew that being kind and open cost nothing and got the best out of people. But Mark could wind her up in a way that no one else ever could. She wondered how someone could go through life constantly challenging people and being argumentative. It must be exhausting. She was quite sure that Mark could have an argument if he was in a room by himself. She wondered how he’d ever got the job he’d got, looking after the welfare of hundreds of children and countless staff, and how he actually got through a day at work. Unless he had a personality transplant every morning when he walked through the school gates? She spent her life trying to make sure that Archie didn’t adopt some of his father’s quirks and showed people respect. Luckily so far, he seemed to have far more of her in him than his father.

Mark walked into the kitchen and started rummaging through the post on the counter, seeming not to care that it wasn’t his home. Spotting the invitation, he raised an eyebrow. ‘You’ve been nominated for an award. Brilliant.’ He laughed and flung the invitation back down on the side.

Why couldn’t he say he was proud of her? They might not be together any more, but surely, as the mother of his child, he didn’t have to put her down all the time, especially in front of Archie.

‘Although, if you do go, I’m actually free the weekend after next, Grace, so I’ll come with you as your guest. It’ll be good for me to be seen at a local business event. I’ve always wanted to meet the Lord Mayor too; I could tap him up to come and present awards at the school, which will go down well with the parents. I’ll put it in my diary.’

Half of her wanted to smack him in the face for being so arrogant, while the other half of her thought that it might be good to go with someone, even if it was Mark. And he could be charming when he wanted to, able to make small talk with a whole host of people. It was only when he’d got that ruddy job that he had changed, turning into the arrogant man she saw in front of her now.

Grace knew Mark would be lovely to all the other people there, even if he couldn’t bring himself to offer the same courtesy to her. And at least if she went with him, she could stop worrying about finding someone to go with, which had been really stressing her out. She would need to find someone else to have Archie, though, as Mark was her back-up plan. Edward and Melanie had offered to pay for a babysitter but there weren’t many people she’d be comfortable leaving Archie with. If she could sort that bit out, she could be an adult for a night and grin and bear it. Another problem sorted.

She glanced at her watch. It’s a good job I’m not actually going out until seven thirty, she thought to herself as Mark drove off with a smirk on his face. She’d learned to adjust the times to suit herself months ago but hadn’t shared that with him. She was still reeling from her conversation with him before he’d left.

Looking intently at her, he’d said, ‘You’ve changed your hair.’

Archie had butted in, saying, ‘Of course she’s changed it, Dad! Didn’t you notice? D’oh. She’s had it all cut off and it’s a different colour now!’

Mark had muttered something about it looking nice, before hustling Archie out for a quick exit.

When they were together, on the rare occasions that they did go out together, and she’d really made an effort to look nice, she’d ask him if she looked OK and he always used to answer, ‘You’ll do,’ without even looking at her. And that was when Mark had been her partner, so she was shocked that he’d noticed her change today. But she had no time to think about what it all meant, as she was nervous as hell for her meet up with Vinnie. Running upstairs, she quickly got changed into the teal wrap dress that she and Monica had picked out from their recent swishing trip. Her hands were shaking as she carefully applied her make-up the way that Fiona had shown her and, when she finished, she slipped her feet into a pair of grey wedges that she’d carefully chosen to go with most of her new clothes stash.

She heard the deep hum of an engine outside her house, and as she waited for the doorbell, she sprayed herself with her Jo Malone Lime, Basil and Neroli perfume, a present from someone she’d recently done a house deal for. When the bell rang, she grabbed her grey cashmere cardigan, took a deep breath, exhaled and went downstairs.

‘Wowsers!’ Vinnie said when she opened the door. ‘You look fabulous, Grace.’

‘Why thank you,’ she replied and blushed slightly as she looked him up and down. He looked bloody gorgeous too, simply dressed in a black cotton t-shirt – which fitted him in all the right places, skimming over his abs like a second skin – a pair of dark blue jeans, a smart black jacket and black boots. Her very own Milk Tray Man. His dark hair was slightly gelled, his face looked sun-kissed from working outdoors and his short beard was perfectly groomed. As he turned and walked down her drive towards his car, Grace pulled the door shut behind her and couldn’t help but look at his backside, which was pert and perfectly formed. She grinned to herself. All her good intentions to not even think about having sex seemed to go out the window and she strongly resisted the urge to grab him by the lapels, snog his face off and rip his clothes off there and then. Date or not, she knew a mighty fine-looking man when she saw one.

She was struggling with the whole ‘is it a date?’ dilemma. He hadn’t exactly said it was a date; he’d just said he wanted to try out a restaurant and asked her to go along. Did that constitute a date? Or was it just two people who needed to eat going out and eating together?

They had the most perfect evening. The sun set in the distance over the countryside as they sat outside the restaurant, and they once again very comfortably chatted about their respective weeks so far. Vinnie was a great conversationalist and storyteller; he was quick-witted and just delightful company. The meal was delicious, too. The restaurant belonged to a couple who Vinnie knew from university and they made them feel really welcome and special, recommending all their signature dishes and making a real fuss over their guests.

When they’d finished their meal and said goodbye to Vinnie’s friends, thanking them for such a fabulous meal, he opened the car door for her and she climbed in. She was pleased that he had a nice car. She didn’t want to seem petty or materialistic but she remembered years ago going on a date with a guy who was six feet five and very good-looking, but when he picked her up, he had a bright green Fiat Cinquecento that he had to unfold himself from and she was mortified. Vinnie’s flame-red BMW X5 certainly met with her approval.

During the short ride home they chatted like old friends, and when they pulled up outside her house she dithered a little about whether to invite him in or not. But before she’d thought about it too much, he said, ‘I’ve got to be up early to drive to Southampton, so even if you were going to invite me in for a coffee I’d have to decline.’ He grinned and she couldn’t help but smile back at him because she knew he could sense she was unsure.

‘However…’ He hesitated. ‘I’ve had a wonderful evening, Grace, and if you’re free at the weekend, I’d love it if we could see each other again.’

‘Oh, Vinnie, that would have been lovely, but I can’t do this weekend as I’m taking Archie away, but I am free on Monday or Tuesday evening, if you’re free then?’ she replied. She hoped she hadn’t blown it.

‘Well, let’s make it Monday then because I don’t think I can wait until Tuesday to see you again. How about going to the cinema? Do you like films?’ he asked.

‘Yes, it’ll make a change to watch something that’s not got a PG certificate.’ Grace smiled. ‘I normally get nudged all the way through a kids’ film as I have been known to get way too comfortable and nod off.’

‘Then it’s a date. I’ll check the film times and text you what time I’ll pick you up, if that’s OK?’

Aha! So the next one definitely was a date then. He turned to her and there was an awkward moment where they didn’t know whether they should kiss – and if so, whether cheeks or lips. They went for a kiss on each cheek, continental style. She opened the door and climbed out and raised a hand in a wave and said she’d see him on Monday. He waited until she’d opened the front door and turned and smiled at him with a little wave as she closed the door. She appreciated that he’d made sure she’d got inside safely before driving away. A gentleman. She loved it.

She did wonder if she’d done something wrong though, as he hadn’t kissed her, apart from the little peck on the cheek. She wondered if he’d just had a nice night but wasn’t that into her. But then why would he ask her to go out again? And he’d said the D-word. He couldn’t possibly have a girlfriend if he was asking her out, surely? Perhaps she just needed to go with it and see what developed, if anything at all. It was all so blooming confusing.

All these thoughts were going round her head when there was a soft knock at the door. She opened it and to her surprise, there stood Vinnie.

‘I’m sorry, Grace, but there was something really important that I forgot to do.’ He took a step inside the door, reached down and cupped her face in his hands. ‘I really have loved every minute of this evening, Grace, and I’ve wanted to do this from the very first moment I stood on this step that Saturday afternoon.’ She closed her eyes and their lips met, and he kissed her slowly, tenderly, yet with an incredible passion, and she felt like she was going to float away on a cloud. She didn’t know that a kiss could feel so sensual. His soft short beard gently grazed against her chin.

He pulled away and smiled at her. ‘Thank you, I’ve wanted to do that all night!’ He turned and walked down the path and when he reached the car, blew her a kiss.

He waited until she shut the door to make sure she was safely tucked inside again before he drove away. She leant up against the door, touching her lips with her fingers. Christ! she thought. If he makes me feel like that with a kiss, how on earth am I going to feel if I ever have sex with him?

She floated around her bedroom in a daze, getting changed into her pyjamas and taking off her make-up, when her phone pinged to say that she had a text message.

Thanks for the lovely evening. That kiss will keep me going until Monday. Can’t wait! Goodnight, sweet dreams. Vinniex

Vinnie’s gorgeous face was the last thing she saw in her mind as her head hit the pillow and she dreamt those sweet dreams.

* * *

Sleep well, my darling. You looked so beautiful this evening and I’m so pleased that you both got on like a house on fire. I knew you would. He’s lovely! Just enjoy the time you spend with him and concentrate on yourself for a while. Let that smile that I saw this evening, which hasn’t been around for a long time, be a permanent fixture on your face. It’s so lovely to see you so happy. I love you, darling. Mumxxx