Chapter 45
FORTY-FIVE
ALICE
Alice had enjoyed the most wonderful day.
She had chatted to two sisters, both in their eighties, at the cinema and felt a little stab of regret that she could not enjoy a day out with her own sister these days.
Still, she was thankful that they had a lot of memories to look back on.
One day in particular stood out in her mind, when they had taken a day trip when she was eighteen years old, and her sister fifteen.
They had gone to Soho and giggled at some of the shop fronts that advertised topless shows.
That night they giggled about it in the kitchen, and when their mother asked them to share the joke, they had made something up about recalling a comedy act they had watched performing in a street. Or some such excuse. She could not quite remember now.
She did remember them furtively sipping a cocktail in a bar, though, her sister looking much older than her fifteen years, and no one asking for identity cards in those days.
They both looked like sophisticated young women of the world, with their carefully applied make-up, pencil skirts and high heels.
It had probably been quite risky when she thought about it now, especially when two men had approached them and invited them to a party.
She dreaded to think what might have happened had they accepted, but thankfully Alice had the sense of duty to look after her younger sister, despite her mild protestations and calling Alice a spoilsport.
Alice thoroughly enjoyed her video calls over her tablet with her family, especially her sister. Her nephew had shown her what to do on his last visit, and it had been a godsend what with the miles between them. She would tell her all about her cinema trip next time they spoke.
The sisters at the cinema had been great fun, and afterwards they had invited Alice to join them for a bite to eat at a café on South Road, which she had gratefully accepted.
When they had cheerfully said, ‘Same time next week?’ before they departed, Alice confessed that she was a little particular when it came to films. Even so, they swapped numbers, and agreed to hopefully meet up somewhere else, or at the cinema if she found a film she was keen to watch.
It had proved to Alice yet again that if you were able to get yourself out into the big wide world, then you would probably end up having a chat with someone. She felt dreadfully sorry for those people who were unable to do so.
When she called her sister later that evening she was pleased to learn that the weather had also been fine down south and that she had spent the day at the seaside.
‘It was even warm enough for an ice cream.’ Her sister had smiled, and it had made Alice smile too. Her sister would refuse an ice cream on anything other than a really warm day, saying it always left her feeling cold otherwise.
Alice felt cheered that they had both enjoyed a pleasant day, when her thoughts turned to Declan. She hoped that he was feeling better, and that he had managed to sort things out with Jess. They really would make the loveliest couple, she thought to herself as she went to make her supper.