9. Thora
THORA
T he next day, Thora and the twins went to her parents’ home for Sunday lunch. She was in the kitchen helping her dad, Myron Tremayne, peel vegetables while her mum, Nellie, was at the kitchen table with Rosie and Reggie helping with their homework.
‘That’s right, Reggie. Now how can you develop that section of your speech, do you think?’
Reggie scratched his curly head then rubbed at the back of his neck. ‘Uhm…’ He glanced over at Rosie, but she was scribbling away on her exercise book. ‘Look at Rosie go! She’s going to set fire to the page in a minute.’
‘Don’t try to distract me,’ Thora’s mum said. ‘You need to think about this carefully because you may have to do this in an exam and you need these skills for your speaking and listening assessment.’
Reggie sighed then puffed out his cheeks. ‘I could add some… persuasive techniques.’
‘Very good.’ Thora’s mum nodded. ‘Can you give me some examples.’
Thora watched from the kitchen island, taking care as she peeled potatoes not to slip and cut herself. Her mum was good as gold with the twins and had always known how to gently encourage them with their schoolwork.
‘Like… hyperbole!’ Reggie said, grinning as the word came back to him.
‘Excellent. And what is hyperbole?’ Thora’s mum waited patiently. When he didn’t reply, she said, ‘Remember you told me the word reminded you of two things?’
Reggie chewed at a cuticle then his eyes widened. ‘Like hyper… so lots of energy and bowl as in bull?’
‘Strangely enough yes, that’s what you said.’ Thora’s mum laughed.
‘So… it means energy and bull… As in that’s total bull… So…Exaggeration!’ Reggie exclaimed.
‘That’s it.’ His grandmother patted him on the back. ‘So now add some hyperbole into that sentence while I go and make a drink.’ She left Reggie to add to his speech and came to Thora’s side. ‘Anything that helps them remember what a word means is positive.’
‘I agree.’ Thora nodded.
‘Oh hello,’ her mum said as she bent over and scooped Barry up in her arms. ‘How’s my favourite grand dog?’ Barry gave a small bark then licked her cheek. ‘Have you done your homework?’ Barry barked again making her laugh.
‘Barry never leaves his homework to the last minute,’ Thora said under her breath. While Rosie was studious, Reggie often left things as long as possible then had to do them all within a short space of time — like today.
‘Don’t worry, Thora, I’ll help him get it all done.’
‘Thank goodness for grandparents,’ Thora said, flashing her mum a smile.
She felt very lucky to have her mum and dad around and didn’t know what she’d do without them.
Over the years they’d been so supportive and helpful, and the twins adored them.
While her dad was an amazing cook, her mum was good with homework, sorting bills, DIY and anything practical.
They were loving parents and both very affectionate and Thora had enjoyed a wonderful childhood with them.
It was one of the reasons why she hadn’t wanted to leave Porthpenny.
She’d known that she couldn’t bear to be far away from them and that if she one day had children, she’d want to be close to her parents.
As an only child she also knew it would be important for her parents to be able to see their daughter and potential grandchildren regularly.
Lucas had struggled to understand her need to stay close to them and it had been a bone of contention between them and one of the things that led to their split.
Or at least one of the reasons Thora gave herself for not fighting harder to save their relationship.
Finn, however, had understood and been happy to stay in Porthpenny, even though he lost his parents before the children were born.
Thora’s mum and dad adored Finn though and still saw him often, saying he was like a son to them.
They’d also taken Titus into their family and Thora was relieved about this because she just wanted everyone to get on.
Life was hard enough without having disagreements with relatives to deal with on top of everything else and so she was able to wake each day with an attitude of gratitude and not to dwell on the things that might have been.
‘Do you need to go out, Barry?’ her mum asked.
‘I think he just broke wind.’ She wrinkled her nose then pushed her glasses back up and Thora laughed.
‘Come with me a moment.’ She touched Thora’s arm then went to the back door and grabbed her coat before stepping out and putting Barry down on the grass.
Thora put the knife down and wiped her hands on a towel. ‘I’ll be back in a bit, Dad,’ she said. ‘Mum wants a word.’
Her dad was removing the foil from the chicken he was roasting, and he smiled at her. ‘Good luck!’
‘Thanks.’ Thora grimaced but she was only teasing. Her mum’s words were legendary as they usually involved addressing something serious during a one-to-one discussion.
In the garden, she pulled the sleeves of her fluffy jumper down over her hands and walked over the grass to where her mum was standing watching Barry. ‘What’s up, Mum?’
Her mum licked her lips then met her gaze. ‘I was just wondering how you’re doing.’
‘How I’m doing?’
Her mum nodded. ‘I know , love.’
‘You know what?’
‘That Lucas is back in town.’
‘Oh…’ Thora folder her arms over her chest and watched Barry as he trotted over the grass and sniffed at a yellow patch.
‘So how are you?’
‘Fine. I think.’ Thora hugged herself tighter. ‘I mean… what can I say? He’s back because of his father and said he could be here until after Christmas.’
‘He looks good.’ Her mum was watching her face carefully.
‘You’ve seen him?’
‘At the café. He’s matured well. He was always handsome but he’s even more so now. That’s got to be difficult to see.’
Thora met her mum’s brown eyes. ‘He is handsome, yes, but I mean… We were together a long time ago. A whole lifetime ago.’
‘I spoke to Finn too.’
Thora fought the urge to groan. So now her mum and Finn were discussing her and her ex-boyfriend? ‘I’ve spoken to Finn, and he tried to tell me that I should let Lucas in again, but I told him it was all so long ago. We’ve both changed.’
‘And in some ways stayed the same.’
‘It’s true.’ Thora looked away, across the garden at the bird feeder where a robin was feasting on mealworms. ‘I know I’m the same inside as I always was but… I’m scared, Mum.’
‘I’m not surprised. I would be too. Lucas had your heart for many years and then you split up and never saw each other again.
It was like you were on the path to marriage and family and a beautiful life together then you broke up and that was that.
Your dad and I were convinced that you’d get back together at some point, but you didn’t and well… He’s the one who got away, isn’t he?’
Thora nodded and her bottom lip wobbled. Her mum always had a way of getting to the heart of her feelings and making her face them. ‘There’s a chance that he still has feelings for you too, love. You know that don’t you?’
‘I do but… I don’t want to have these feelings because if he doesn’t then it could end badly, and I can’t afford to have my heart broken again.’
‘But what if he does care for you still and what if he doesn’t break your heart?
Don’t look at the negatives, Thora. What if your worst fears don’t come true and everything turns out well.
Perhaps you both needed to have that time apart in order to mature and grow and now is the time when you’re meant to be together and have your happy ever after. ’
Thora wiped her eyes with the back of a hand then sniffed. ‘It could happen, I suppose. But I have the twins to think about. And Barry.’
‘The twins will leave home one day in the not so distant future, and it will be just you and Barry. It would be nice to see you happy with someone again.’
‘We’ll see.’ Thora shrugged. She looked over at the kitchen window to see her dad smiling at her. His smile was like a warm hug, and she smiled back. Whatever happened, she was very lucky to have amazing parents who loved her and looked out for her.
‘That we will.’ Her mum wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her tight. ‘Now then… I’m going to check how Reggie is doing, and you can pick up after your dog.’ She pointed at the grass where Barry had left a not so pleasant gift then headed back indoors.
‘Goodness me, Barry! How can such a small dog produce such a giant sh—’ She caught herself and giggled. ‘I mean such a big poo .’
Looking very pleased with himself, Barry kicked his back feet in the grass like he was wiping them then he ran inside after her mum, leaving her to clean up.
When she’d bagged and binned his deposit, she washed her hands under the outside tap then went to the back door.
She paused for a moment, gazing back at the robin that was eating like there was no tomorrow.
The robin paused and stared at her, his beady black eyes unblinking.
‘It’s OK, little man, carry on. Enjoy your dinner. ’
The robin flicked his tail then resumed feasting and Thora went inside, closing the back door behind her.
She looked around the kitchen, at her beautiful children sitting at the table with her mum, and Barry who was perched on her mum’s lap then over at her dad who was chopping broccoli.
Her cup was very much full, and any relationship would simply be a pleasant bonus.
There was only one man she’d want to make room for in her life and that man was the one who had hurt her more than anyone else ever could.
Did she have it in her to try again with Lucas? Was he even interested in her now?
So many questions and uncertainties that made her head hurt.
For now, she’d push them to the back of her mind and help with dinner.
Pretend that everything was normal. Everything was exactly how it should be.
Everything was… the way it had always been meant to be.
Perhaps her mum was right and now was the right time for her to try again with her childhood sweetheart.