Chapter 11
ELEVEN
ALICE
‘Jess, Maisie, do come in.’
Following her inside, Jess detected the smell of something delicious drifting through the air.
‘This is for you.’ Jess handed the red-flowering plant to Alice.
‘You really shouldn’t have, but thank you, it’s beautiful,’ Alice said with a smile as she placed it on the round wooden table in the hall that held nothing but a framed photograph of Alice and a man Jess assumed to be her husband.
‘You see, it has a perfect home already, next to my late husband, George,’ said Alice, confirming Jess’s suspicions. ‘Please, go through. You are the first to arrive.’
Jess took in the tastefully decorated lounge as Alice offered her a glass of champagne.
‘Oh yes, please. I don’t often drink champagne; it’s usually Prosecco.’ She smiled.
‘And for you, Maisie? I have apple juice or lemonade?’
‘Apple juice, please,’ said Maisie politely and was delighted when Alice returned with it in a plastic princess-style goblet.
‘Can I give you a hand with anything?’ offered Jess. She glanced at the beautifully laid table, that looked stylish but not stuffy, an almost perfect metaphor for Alice herself.
‘No, everything is under control.’ Alice went to a drawer then and pulled out a pad of paper and some pencils.
‘Maisie, I wonder if you might like to draw a picture until dinner is ready. Or perhaps do a jigsaw?’
‘Jigsaw, please,’ said Maisie, her eyes widening when Alice handed her the jigsaw with a picture of some cute kittens on the front.
Alice had slipped into Waterstones on her shopping trip the other day and picked up a couple of things to entertain Maisie in case she got bored. Alice loved children and had been blessed with two nephews, who she had spent a lot of time with when they were growing up.
The boys were like chalk and cheese, one bookish and reserved, the other chatty and outgoing.
She rarely saw them when they became adults, although the outgoing one called her regularly for a catch-up, which always delighted Alice.
He had also turned up out of the blue the year after George’s death and taken her to lunch.
She had treasured that day, eating delicious food and reminiscing about when they had spent time together when they were children.
She hadn’t wanted the day to end and felt the familiar sadness when her nephew boarded the train and headed off home.
She had toyed with the idea of moving closer to her sister and nephews at one time, but the thought of it overwhelmed her now.
Besides, all her memories were here. And there were still some things she wanted to achieve.
The realisation that her nephews were middle-aged men themselves was a shock to Alice, as she still imagined them as children, when she and George would take them for walks through Formby Woods, or buy them an ice cream at the beach.
Sometimes they would visit the local library where she would sit and read them stories.
It was ironic that now that she had all the time in the world to see her nephews, they were at their busiest, working hard to provide for their own families.
She had spent time with her great-niece and great-nephew when they were younger, of course, but they were now also leading busy lives at university or in full-time employment. She supposed not many people spent time with their great-aunts really. Gosh, great-aunt. The title made her feel ancient.
Her sister, now in her late eighties, struggled with arthritis and was looked after by her husband, who was thankfully in good health, along with a part-time carer. Alice kept in touch by phone these days as the long train journey to visit them down south had become a little arduous.
Maisie settled down with her chunky jigsaw, just as the doorbell rang.
Alice opened it to Declan, who walked into the lounge and said hi to Jess, who, Alice could not help noticing, had blushed slightly. Declan handed Alice a box of fancy-looking chocolates, and she handed him a glass of champagne in return.
Standing in the lounge making small talk, Jess felt like she was in an episode of Come Dine With Me. She had never done anything like this before and it felt a little odd to be about to have dinner with a bunch of people she knew nothing about and probably had nothing in common with.
Jess thought Declan looked really good tonight dressed in a smart white shirt and dark jeans. And he smelt gorgeous too. She was pleased he wouldn’t be a stranger to her after this evening.
‘You look nice.’ Declan turned to Jess as Alice went into the kitchen to check on the food.
‘Thanks. So do you,’ she said honestly. She was glad she had chosen the dress that sat just above her knees and showed off her slender legs.
Mark was the last to arrive, clutching a hessian bag containing three bottles of wine.
‘Sorry I’m a bit late, I was watching the snooker and lost track of time a little,’ he explained, apologetically.
The collar on his shirt already felt too stiff, his smart shoes a little uncomfortable as he hadn’t worn them in a while, but he wasn’t sure if trainers and sweatpants would be appropriate.
As Alice welcomed him inside, he experienced a feeling of warmth as the sound of laughter rang from the lounge and the smell of delicious cooking reached his nostrils. Maybe everything would be okay after all.
‘You’re not late, and if you were this would more than make up for it. Thank you,’ said Alice, gratefully accepting the wine and glancing at the labels.
‘I hope they are okay. My wife and I did a vineyard tour in the Napa Valley, and the wine was pretty decent as I recall,’ said Mark, remembering how they had felt a little drunk at the end of the tour, and giggled all the way home on the coach like a couple of teenagers.
‘I’m sure they will be just fine,’ Alice reassured him.
Ten minutes later Alice asked her guests to take a seat at the table as dinner was about to be served.
Alice was delighted that all of her shopping had arrived early this morning from Waitrose.
Online shopping really was a godsend, saving her a trip all the way across town.
The nice delivery driver had even brought the food inside and unpacked it for her.
‘You must let me help.’ Jess placed her glass down and followed Alice into the kitchen, which looked surprisingly neat.
A huge cauldron of a casserole was carried to the table, alongside a mountain of buttery-looking mashed potato in a dish. Another bowl had green beans and julienne carrots.
‘That smells amazing.’ Declan rubbed his hands together. ‘I’m starved.’
‘Good,’ said Alice as she ladled bowls of coq au vin out, at her guests’ request, plus a small portion for Maisie.
‘Help yourself to vegetables.’
Mark opened the wine and filled glasses, everyone opting for a glass of the Cabernet Sauvignon apart from Jess, who went for white, pleased Mark had brought her favourite Pinot Grigio.
‘Now, I would firstly like to thank you all for coming. You have made an old lady very happy,’ said Alice, feeling thrilled that they had accepted her invitation. She wasn’t sure that they would, wondering if people of their age could be bothered with a woman of her age.
‘There’s no way I was missing out on a home-cooked meal,’ said Declan and Mark agreed.
‘Oh, I see, you are only here for the food,’ said Alice in a serious tone. Declan looked a little embarrassed, as did Mark, before Alice burst out laughing. ‘Your face was a picture,’ she teased, and Declan breathed a sigh of relief, before taking a glug of his wine.
‘You had me there.’ He laughed.
‘How can a face be a picture?’ asked Maisie, puzzled by Alice’s remark.
‘I suppose it does sound funny, doesn’t it? It simply means when someone shows their emotions in their face,’ explained Alice.
‘What are emotions? Are they like emojis?’
‘Yes, they are,’ said Jess, laughing. ‘Emojis are cartoon emotions. They show our feelings.’
Maisie nodded and went back to her drawing.
‘And now, I would like to propose a toast to Alice and thank her for inviting us. Here’s to getting to know our new neighbours,’ said Jess.
‘To Alice and new friends,’ said Mark, suppressing a knot in his stomach when he thought of how much Diane would have loved this.
Why hadn’t he reached out to his neighbours before now?
Being here, getting to know these people was far more enjoyable than the feeling of being rushed in a restaurant, knowing you had a maximum two-hour window for the table.
‘To new friends.’ Everyone raised their glasses and Declan made eye contact with Jess. She could feel her face flush, as Alice gave a knowing look.
The coq au vin was a winner, the chicken melt in the mouth, the sauce rich and delicious. Maisie ate a piece of chicken and made an appreciative noise.
‘Is that okay for you?’ asked Alice.
‘It’s yummy,’ declared Maisie.
‘That sauce is spot on. What kind of red wine did you use?’ asked Declan.
‘A good Burgundy, although Beaujolais works just as well,’ said Alice, before taking another mouthful of food.
She certainly had a good appetite for someone her age, thought Jess.
‘Mummy, am I allowed wine?’ asked Maisie, looking a little doubtful. Jess hadn’t even thought about that.
‘Don’t worry, there is no alcohol in it now. It cooks away, so you are only left with the flavour,’ explained Alice.
‘Alcohol is the bit that makes you drunk,’ whispered Declan, who was sitting next to Maisie, on the opposite side of Jess. He went cross-eyed, and she giggled.
For dessert Alice placed a banoffee pie and an Eton mess in the middle of the table that people helped themselves to. During dessert, Declan mentioned the picture hanging on the wall of the lounge that showed a brunette young woman with a group of girls, all smiling.
‘Is that you in the middle?’ asked Declan, thinking he was right about her being a stunner when she was young.
‘It is, how very observant,’ said Alice as she poured everyone more wine.