Chapter 16
16
MINNIE
Friendships last long after midnight…
The memory of Gino’s words to Henry were still going around in her head when Minnie woke up after her nap, and for a moment she was back there again, at the top of the stairs, watching her husband and his friend bring in another New Year together. Those had been the best years of her life, when she had her little family all under one roof and all she had to do was love them and take care of them. Why did they have to grow up and leave? Two of her boys were on the other side of the world now, one was hundreds of miles away on the south coast and Eric… Well, that man was still here, but he’d lost direction and she wouldn’t admit to anyone except Henry that sometimes she worried he’d never find his way back to being a son that she was proud of. She knew that Henry still had faith in him and that had to be something, because he’d always had a sixth sense about these things.
Just as that thought crossed her mind, she felt a breath on her face and realised Henry had slipped in beside her. A hand reached for hers and she closed her eyes and held it, while his breathing slowed and she sensed that he’d fallen asleep. She’d been about to get up, but this felt too good, too safe and warm, so she was tempted to stay under the blanket for a little while longer, letting her mind go back into the vault of her memories. Sometimes that felt like all she had left. She wondered if Gino felt the same way.
Friendships last long after midnight…
Henry had quoted the same words back to Gino a couple of years later, when he’d broken all the rules of his job for his friend.
It must have been at the end of the seventies, and Henry had done even more years of night school to get another qualification so that he could get promoted within the planning department. ‘A senior position would set us up for life, Minnie. We won’t have to scrimp the way we’ve been doing and we might even have a bit extra every month that we can save up for a holiday. And, Minnie, there’s a good jump in the pension too. Imagine that. I mean, who’d have thought it, my old dad died when he was fifty-nine, and there’s me, I’ll have a good pot of savings for when I’m sixty-five. Bloody years away!’
He loved his new role, thrived on the complexity and the responsibility of it, took every decision seriously. Every night he would come home and tell her all about the plans that had crossed his desk that day and she’d happily listen to him all night, as he talked her through the pros and cons of every case.
She was surprised then, a couple of months later, when he’d come home with a frown on his face, his eyes dark with worry.
He’d waited until the boys had their dinner and went off to bed, before he shared the reason why. A new planning application had come to him that afternoon…
‘A councillor brought a planning application to me on the hush-hush today. Nothing official, but he wanted it checked out and made it clear that if it was to go ahead, he’d look favourably on it getting passed through quickly. It was from a London-based national restaurant chain. Worth a fortune. They want to build a complex just off Ingram Street, with four or five restaurants in the same building. The thing is, it’s a huge bloody place. They’ll pack them in.’
Over at the sink, where she was doing the washing up, Minnie brushed the Palmolive soap bubbles off her hands and turned to face him. ‘And I’m guessing by your face that you don’t approve of this one?’
Henry took a sip of the lager shandy he’d poured just as soon as the boys went upstairs. He never drank on a weekday, so she knew this was serious. ‘It’s a monstrosity that’s totally out of keeping with that part of the city. But more importantly, it’s next door to Gino’s, love. And to half a dozen other family businesses in that area. It’ll ruin them all.’
Minnie fully understood now. She had dried her hands on the dish towel on the hook on the wall, then went to sit next to him, tangled her fingers around his free hand. ‘And you don’t want that to happen.’ It wasn’t a question.
He shook his head. ‘No. And the way it came to me… well, they’ve clearly got friends in high places. Whole thing stinks.’
‘So what can you do?’
He had stared into his beer for a moment. ‘That’s the thing I’m torn over. If I push against it, I’ll make enemies where I don’t want to make them. But on the other hand, if I don’t say anything and they somehow manage to find a way to get this through, I’ll never forgive myself. I just keep thinking that the businesses that will be affected, well, they deserve to know about this as soon as possible so they can get ahead of it and do everything they can to block it.’
‘But you’d be giving away information that should be confidential?’
‘I would. I could lose my job if it got out and they knew it was me who’d leaked it.’
Minnie had reached over, traced her finger down his cheek, then leaned in and kissed him. ‘You’ll do the right the right thing, Henry Ryan. You always do, love.’
Not one bit of her had been surprised when he’d got up about ten minutes later, took his coat from the back of the chair. ‘I’ll be back soon.’ He didn’t even have to tell her where he was going.
‘Say hello to Gino for me,’ she’d told him, with a kiss, as he left.
There had never been any doubt in her mind about what he’d do, but she just had to let him figure it out for himself.
Over the next few weeks, there were reports in the newspapers over the devastation that a rumoured new development would wreak on local businesses in that area, there were petitions with thousands of signatures, and one Gino Moretti, owner of Gino’s Trattoria, the man who was leading the campaign to object to the proposals, was even interviewed on the six o’clock news.
Much to the councillor’s disgust, the plans were thrown out. A probe into the exposure never ascertained who was responsible for the leak, and everyone went back to their lives and their businesses. And the following Hogmanay, at midnight in Gino’s restaurant, after Henry had kissed her and his boys, Gino had come over to him with a glass of whisky and they’d raised a toast to the new year. ‘Thank you, my friend. I’ll never forget what you did,’ he’d said, and only Minnie knew what he was referring to.
Henry had raised his glass. ‘What is it you said before, Gino? Some friendships last long after midnight. You’re welcome, pal.’
Neither of the men had ever spoken of that again, but every year since, they’d raised the same toast. Now, in the dim light of her bedroom, a tear slid from the corner of Minnie’s eye and she brushed it away, chiding herself for being so sentimental. If Henry saw her, he’d kiss her nose and call her a daft old fool.
A pain began to twinge in her hip now, because it had been pressed into the mattress in the same position for too long. Her own fault. She’d tried to stay so very still because she hadn’t wanted to disturb Henry, but the soreness was beginning to radiate down her thigh. Reluctantly, she very gently moved her legs off the mattress and found the floor with her feet.
The room was chilly and the blinds were still drawn, so she fumbled for her housecoat, and found it hanging on the back of the door, then slipped it on over her clothes.
Slowly, she went down the stairs, holding on to the banister to steady herself. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she stayed there for a few minutes, waiting for a sudden wave of light-headedness to pass. Had she eaten today? She really couldn’t remember. It was so easy to forget these things when one day blended into another. There were sausage rolls in the fridge. She’d heat up a couple of those and have a cup of tea with them and she’d feel right as rain.
She’d only got halfway there when the peace was suddenly shattered by the persistent ring of the doorbell and she spun on her slippers, desperate to make it stop before it alerted the whole street. Henry would definitely have something to say about that.
Hobbling as quickly as her aching legs would take her, she got back to the front door in just a few seconds, but before she even opened it, she saw the outline in the glass door and realised immediately who it was.
The door frame creaked as she pulled it back. ‘Hello, Gladys.’
‘Minnie, I was just making some sandwiches for a wee party we’re having tonight at the bells, and I realised that I hadn’t so much as cracked a light about it to you. So I said to my Fred, “I’m just going to pop back round there right now and tell Minnie that she’s welcome.” So here I am. Can’t have you sitting in the house when we’re all over there having a great old time.’
Minnie thought about inviting her in, but she had her housecoat on and, well, she had other things she needed to be doing. Gone were the days when she could get ready for a big night out by just dabbing on a bit of lipstick and changing her frock.
‘Gladys, I really do appreciate the offer, but I’m afraid I have plans tonight already.’
‘Oh. Is your Eric coming over then? Must be difficult at all these special occasions after what happened with him and Ailish. Nothing like families, eh? I was just saying to my Fred that when our Wynette split up from her man – we named her that after Tammy and she says it’s a curse because people are always singing to her about standing by her man – not ideal when you’re on your fourth husband. Anyway, where was I? Aye, that’s right. When our Wynette split up from her man…’
Another wave of light-headedness swept in with no warning and Minnie gripped the door handle tighter.
‘Gladys, I…’
The other woman wasn’t even listening, so intent on ploughing right on with her story. ‘…Well, it caused all sorts of problems, so it did. Not that I liked him right enough. He was probably better than the second husband, but nowhere near as nice as the first. Liked a drink and didn’t know when to stop. Anyway, are you sure you won’t change your mind? I’ve made my soup and my special steak pie – I put sausages from the butchers in it and my Fred says…’
Minnie never did get to hear what Fred said, because before she heard the rest of the story, or had a chance to comment on the wonderment of Gladys’s steak pie with sausages, she felt herself begin to slide down the door frame.
And her last thought before everything went dark was that she really hoped Henry wasn’t hearing all this commotion.