Chapter 19
Bright late autumn sunshine warmed the air as Gaby stepped out of her aunt’s house on Saturday to meet Peter.
“I saw you coming along the pavement and thought I’d save you knocking on the door,” she said as she reached him. And then, because she couldn’t help herself, she brushed a kiss across his cheek. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Peter said with a smile. “You look great. As always.”
She’d paired her teal coat with a copper-toned silk scarf and had opted for jeans and a soft woollen jumper in case the sunshine didn’t last. “Thanks. You’ll be pleased to hear I’ve opted for sensible shoes today, after I almost killed myself wearing those boots last night.”
“Those boots looked great. But your shoe choice today is better because I’ve got some walking around in mind for us, if your feet aren’t too sore.”
“I’ll survive. So, where to first?”
She tucked her arm into his and saw his smile widen.
“We’ll start with that walk along the riverside I suggested. We’ve got great weather for it and it was always one of our favourite places to hang around back then. There’s a café there now where we can stop for lunch.”
“Sounds good. I’m looking forward to a day spent out and about. It will be fun revisiting some of our old haunts.”
They set off along Foxglove Street. Since arriving to stay with her aunt, Gaby had only walked in the direction of the high street to run errands. Walking in the opposite direction this time, she enjoyed seeing the other end of the residential street.
“I’d forgotten just how long this road is,” she said as they turned into a curve. “And it’s so pretty. Everyone takes such great care of their houses and gardens.”
“I never really noticed stuff like that when I was growing up here,” Peter said. “But the older I get, the more I realise what a great town this is to live in. People look after the place and have pride in it, especially on this street.”
“They really do. The gardens look amazing, even in the late autumn when nothing much is growing anymore. Every patch is neat and tidy and obviously well loved. The whole place has so much character.”
“You should see Foxglove Street in December. They have a Christmas lights celebration that runs the entire length of the street and everyone hangs lights in their garden and all kinds of festive illuminations and decorations. The residents put on a fun community afternoon to turn on the lights and everyone comes out into the street to spend time together and drink hot chocolate and eat mince pies and sing Christmas carols. It’s a lot of fun. ”
“It sounds wonderful. What a lovely thing to do. You know, I think my aunt might have mentioned something about a Christmas lights event in the past, but that’s usually such a hectic time in the hospitality business, it probably slipped my mind.”
Peter pointed across the street to a house they were passing.
“My friend from my Saturday morning squash games lives there with his family. His kids love the Christmas lights thing that the residents organise each year. He has terrific neighbours on this street. If I ever decide to sell my flat and buy a house, this is the street where I’d hope to find one. Although…”
When he trailed off, Gaby looked over. “Although?”
He shrugged and smiled. “When you’re a sad single bloke, you don’t really need a whole house to yourself. Better to leave those properties to the lucky couples who need them to raise a family.”
“That’s no way to think. If you see a house here you like, you should buy it, Peter. And you aren’t a sad bloke, as you put it. You’ll get married and have a family of your own one day.”
He gave her an indecipherable look and Gaby saw a flash of something in his eyes before he glanced away.
She wished they hadn’t veered into this intimate territory already in their conversation, because she couldn’t forget what he’d confessed last night about how she was the only woman he’d ever loved.
If that was true, and he’d insisted it was, it probably wasn’t helpful for her to throw encouraging advice around about his future prospects for having a family.
Talk about patronising, not to mention tone deaf.
They reached the end of Foxglove Street and Peter pointed across the road.
“We’ll cross here and join the path that leads down to the riverside.”
They navigated the Saturday traffic on the road and made it to the other side where they followed a pathway to the riverbank below.
The small river flowed south between the surrounding streets and roads built around it.
Once they were walking beside the water, the sound of traffic quickly disappeared to be replaced with quacking ducks and chirping birds.
“It’s so peaceful here,” Gaby said, closing her eyes for a moment to enjoy the sunshine on her face. “You’re lucky having such a pretty riverside walk to enjoy right on your doorstep.”
“You’re right, but the truth is I rarely come here. That’s what happens when you live in a place with nice stuff. You don’t appreciate it properly.”
“Well, you should. Look at what you’re missing out on.”
“I know. But life gets busy. You know how it is.”
“I do know.”
“I suppose it’s different for you, though, working around the world and always having new places to explore.”
“That’s true. No matter how busy I am wherever I’m working, I always make the most out of the local area and get to know it while I’m there.
That’s one of the perks of always moving from place to place.
Nothing ever gets familiar and I always appreciate the surroundings and do as much as I can while I’m there. ”
“You have an exciting life, Gaby. It makes me happy to know you’re out there living the life you talked about building for yourself back when we were kids.”
“It wasn’t easy and there are always ups and downs in any job and in any life. But I love what I do.”
“I was thinking about that list of places you showed me, the one you wrote out at university and with the tick marks against the destinations you’ve already visited. Once you complete the list, you should have it framed.”
Gaby laughed. “That’s a nice idea. Although my problem is I’m always adding new places to the list and I never actually finish it.”
“You don’t think you’ll ever want to stop somewhere and call it home?”
He glanced her way as he asked the question and Gaby wasn’t sure what to read into the expression on his face.
“I’ve never really given it much thought,” she answered honestly.
“I love travelling around the world. All those new places still waiting to be explored, new sights to see, cities to visit. Not to mention so many beautiful hotels and resorts to work in. I love every minute of it all. I get to live my dream and that never gets old.”
“Of course it doesn’t,” he said and smiled.
Although she couldn’t help noticing that his smile wasn’t especially bright, as if what she’d said wasn’t quite what he’d hoped to hear.
Noise on the pathway up ahead had them both glancing up to see a group of boys racing towards them on bikes. They moved to one side to let them pass but as the kids drew closer they began to slow down.
“Mr Bailey!” one of the boys called out as he skidded his bike to a stop, his friends doing the same behind him. “What are you doing here?”
“What does it look like I’m doing, Freddie?” Peter said with a grin. “I’m out for a walk.”
“It’s weird seeing teachers out of school,” Freddie said.
“Well, the headmaster does let us leave from time to time, and that’s something you should get used to.”
The boys giggled. Gaby guessed they were at that age, in their very early teens, where they were still children and still sweetly childish, too.
“Hey, Mr Bailey, is that your girlfriend?” one of the boys asked, prompting another round of giggling.
“No, Samuel, this is not my girlfriend,” Peter said. “This as an old friend of mine, Miss Leonard. You boys remember your manners, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir. Hello, Miss Leonard.”
Each of the four boys chipped in with their polite greeting and Gaby had to cover a laugh at being referred to as if she were a teacher.
It stood to reason that the school and its teachers would insist on these sorts of formalities both in and out of school hours.
She liked that the kids were taught to be respectful.
Gaby said hello and smiled but the boys’ attention was soon back on Peter.
“We’ve got a chess move that will destroy you next week at chess club, Mr Bailey,” said Freddie.
“I look forward to seeing it. Don’t get your hopes up, though.”
“It’s a killer, Mr Bailey. We’ve been working on it.”
“Good for you. What about the algebra homework I gave you yesterday? Have you been working on that, too?”
“It’s Saturday, Mr Leonard,” said Harry. “Why would we be working on our homework on a Saturday?”
“You could’ve done it last night,” Peter said.
This was greeted with howls of laughter.
“Who does homework on a Friday night?” the boys chorused.
“Smart kids who want to go somewhere in life, that’s who,” Peter said, clearly enjoying himself.
“We’re already going somewhere, Mr Bailey,” Freddie said and pushed off on his bike at speed. “See?”
“Yeah, we’re going somewhere fast!” Harry chipped in, his tyres spinning.
“Bye, Mr Bailey!”
The boys zoomed off along the pathway, yelling and shouting the way young teenage boys do. When they’d vanished around the bend in the river, Peter turned to Gaby with a grin on his face.
“They’re monsters at that age.”
“I don’t know about that. They seemed pretty sweet to me.”
“You’re right, they are sweet. And they’re good kids.”
“They obviously love you.”
Peter laughed. “I doubt that. And I doubt they have anything but evil thoughts about me when they’re doing the homework I give them.”
He gestured to a wooden bench just off the pathway with a pretty view of the curve in the river and an old stone bridge. They sat down and listened to the ducks quacking as they swam past.