Chapter 3
As blue as the sky was, it was decidedly cold outside, and the three of them hurried up the road to the pub as fast as Mam and Dad could manage.
They went past the front door of The North Star and round to the side door which, during the day, was the one everyone used.
As they stepped inside, the familiar smell of beer mixed with cooking smells from the kitchen made them all relax instantly.
Alison had forgotten how much she loved this place.
‘I’ll get the drinks,’ Dad announced. ‘You make sure you get your mam settled, Alison, there’s a good lass.’
Alison sent a cheery wave to Seb’s lad Sam, who was behind the bar, and herded her mother through to the main room of the pub.
The North Star had two sections: a large, quiet bar room running the full length of the main building, where people could sit by one of the two fireplaces and maybe select a book from either of the bookcases, or head to a table by one of the bay windows and gaze out over the river; and the restaurant, which was mainly used during the evening, or for private functions, or on exceptionally busy days.
It was the only room that was carpeted. The bar room had its original slate floor.
The North Star was a large square building with a more recent rear extension. It had been built in the mid nineteenth century after the old village of Kelsea tumbled into the sea and the residents moved closer to the Humber.
A few decades ago, its red-brick walls had been rendered and painted white, while the inside was cheerfully decorated in shades of cream and teal.
It had polished oak tables and fittings, teal Dralon chairs and banquettes, a large bay window on one side of the front door, and two slightly smaller bay windows on the other, all giving glorious views across the estuary to Lincolnshire.
On its walls were maps and images of the Holderness coast, photographs of past lifeboat crew members, and even an old lifebelt.
It was warm and welcoming, and Alison’s spirits lifted even further when she spotted the other members of her family sitting at a table by the window.
Rosie waved frantically at them, as if they couldn’t possibly see her otherwise, even though there was currently no one else in the bar.
Christopher – a handsome, quiet man, with receding, wiry grey hair and gentle eyes – got to his feet as they approached the table, ever the gentleman.
Alison often thought that he, a retired old-school police inspector, was like someone from another age.
Sometimes it was hard to believe that he was her dad’s younger brother.
Her uncle was calm, cool, thoughtful and sensible.
Dad was – not. What they had in common, though, was their kindness.
They were both lovely men in their own way.
Elaine, she noticed, gave Mam a searching look, no doubt storing the jeans, trainers and Paddington Bear sweatshirt in her mental filing cabinet as evidence to be relied upon at a later date. She hadn’t worked all those years in admin at the police station in Millensea for nothing.
Short and stocky, with hair that was now more grey than the rose gold it had once been, she was wearing a very sensible dress and cardigan, as befitting a woman of seventy-four.
Christopher, at seventy-six, was equally well-dressed in smart trousers, a shirt and tie, and a woollen sleeveless jumper.
No one could ever accuse them of looking like they’d just rolled out of bed and thrown on the first things they could lay their hands on.
As Alison’s dad strolled up to the table with a tray of drinks in his hands, she noticed his baggy jogging bottoms, and remembered that, under his coat, he was wearing a sweatshirt with a popular fashion logo partly obscured by a tea stain that he’d failed to remove properly that morning.
She looked down at her ancient black leggings and old grey jumper, and then at Rosie in her skinny jeans and low-cut, bright pink T-shirt, fingers adorned with rings, gold hoop earrings dangling from her earlobes, her eyelashes heavy with mascara and her lips pink and glossy and wondered how two branches of the same family could be so different.
‘I thought you’d never get here,’ Rosie told her. Without even waiting for her uncle to take off his coat, she grabbed the menus and began handing them out.
Her father lifted an eyebrow. ‘Rosie,’ he said quietly.
Rosie gave him a pleading look. ‘Yes, but I’m hungry.’
‘But you’re not starving,’ he said. ‘Let them get settled before you start haranguing them, for goodness’ sake.’
‘Sorry, Dad,’ Rosie said meekly, giving Alison a sideways eyeroll.
‘And I saw that,’ he added, his mouth twitching in amusement.
Rosie laughed. ‘All right, all right, I get it. Behave yourself, Rosie.’
‘Chance would be a fine thing,’ her mother said, shaking her head. ‘I think your brother must have got your share of the manners.’
To Rosie’s credit she didn’t bite. Although her mother had a habit of pointing out how saintly and wonderful Niall was, it had never bothered Rosie.
Alison knew how much she loved her brother, and that she wasn’t about to let her mother’s uneven handouts of praise affect their relationship.
Besides, Rosie realised her mam and dad adored her just as much.
Her mam just had a funny way of showing it sometimes.
‘To be fair,’ Alison’s dad said, handing her the Diet Coke she’d asked for and placing his wife’s mango and pineapple juice in front of her, ‘I am starving, so I’ll have one of them menus, Rosie, if you don’t mind.’
‘See?’ Rosie said triumphantly, handing her uncle the menu as she gave her dad a smug look. ‘Not just me.’
Her father shook his head, but he was smiling.
Elaine raised her glass. ‘To you, Alison. A belated happy birthday.’
Alison smiled as they all toasted her, resisting the urge to point out that she was far too old for birthdays, since she was actually the second youngest there.
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘And thanks so much for the lovely presents and cards. I really appreciate them. I’ve messaged Niall and Kendra to thank them, too.’
‘They would have joined us,’ Elaine said, ‘but you know Sunday’s a busy day for Niall.’
Niall, who at forty-six was three years older than Rosie, was the vicar at St Saviour’s Church in Millensea, a small seaside town about ten miles and a twenty-minute drive up the coast. He and his wife, Kendra, lived in a modern vicarage with their two children, and it amused Alison and her mother no end how awed Elaine was, both by Niall’s ‘calling’ and by Kendra’s ‘support and commitment to his calling’.
Rosie had told them that, whenever her brother and sister-in-law visited, her mam would buy fresh flowers for the sitting room, dust and hoover the house as if she was preparing it for a royal visit and bake a cake especially for the occasion.
‘She puts a scented candle in the bathroom an’ all,’ she’d added. ‘One day I hope Kendra drops by unannounced. Mam’ll die of shame.’
‘Chicken and mushroom pie,’ Dad said, passing his menu back along the table. ‘Can’t beat it.’
‘I don’t know why you needed the menu,’ Mam said. ‘It’s all you ever want anyway.’
‘Are you not having a starter?’ Elaine asked.
‘I’d rather have a pudding,’ Rosie told her.
The rest of them nodded in agreement, causing Elaine’s face to fall in clear disappointment, as if she couldn’t possibly have a starter if the rest of them weren’t.
Gently, her husband pointed out that they had her favourite crème br?lée available and maybe she’d prefer to skip a starter in favour of pudding after all, so the crisis was averted.
He placed their orders at the bar and informed them that he’d ordered them all another round of drinks as well and had settled the bill.
‘My treat,’ he added, holding up his hands as they protested. ‘I insist.’
Everyone thanked him and Alison’s dad raised his glass in his brother’s direction. ‘Fair enough,’ he said comfortably. ‘I’ll get it next time though.’
‘How’s Jenna doing?’ Elaine asked, after taking a polite sip of her white wine. ‘Well, I hope?’
‘Busy,’ Alison said. ‘New term. Back in the thick of it.’
‘And Joel?’
‘Oh, he’s busy too,’ she admitted. ‘It seems he’s determined to end up running the world. He’s always off doing some training course or other.’
‘I expect they just want what’s best for the girls,’ Mam said comfortingly.
‘Mm.’ Alison wondered what, exactly, was best for the girls.
Surely having their parents at home a bit more would be preferable to finding out that their dad had got another promotion and their mum was hitting all her targets?
What about their responsibilities to their daughters?
She knew it was hard for modern parents and had every sympathy, but sometimes she felt that Joel and Jenna deliberately looked for reasons not to be available for the twins, although she’d never say so to her extended family.
Well, except Rosie, but she didn’t count.
‘Our Niall and Kendra manage their family life so well,’ Elaine said proudly.
‘Being a vicar is such a demanding role. Niall is on call practically all the time. And of course, Kendra has her counselling work, even though she’s an exceptional vicar’s wife and takes that duty very seriously.
I honestly don’t know how they balance everything, but they do it somehow. ’
‘Lucky Niall and Kendra,’ Alison murmured. Christopher gave her a sympathetic look, and she blushed, mortified that he’d heard her, though at least he seemed to understand.
‘How’s your arm today, Cherry?’ he asked Mam, who held up the limb in question so they could all examine it to their satisfaction.