NIGEL
The kitchen seemed strangely empty now Helen and Rocky had left.
She laughed. ‘You’ve obviously been deprived.’
Not quite true. He was tired but not enough to sleep - he’d had so many thoughts whirling around his head when he got up this morning, and now bumping into Helen had added a whole lot more. He desperately needed some time alone to think it all through.
‘Yes, please.’
He headed for the kitchen door. There was one major thing that had been bugging him since Helen’s conversation with Klaus. ‘Mother dearest?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you know I’d meet Helen on the cliff path this morning?’
Nancy concentrated on swilling out the teapot. ‘What are you suggesting? That I’m some form of witch?’
‘No. It’s just a helluva coincidence. And with Klaus seeing her up there a couple of days ago, it could look like you deliberately sent me that way?’
Nancy raised an eyebrow at him. ‘You have such a suspicious nature. You should’ve been a lawyer, not an accountant.’ She filled the teapot with boiling water. ‘Dashford is a small place, darling. You were bound to bump into her sooner or later.’
‘Helen said that too.’
‘There you are then. We can’t both be wrong. The Universe must have been working to bring you together.’
‘You don’t believe in … how did you used to put it … all that nonsense.’
‘Let’s call it a lucky coincidence then. You were pleased to see her, weren’t you?’
‘Possibly.’
‘So what’s the problem?’
The problem was that Nigel was already struggling to come to terms with being dumped by Madison.
And now fate, or more likely his mother, had thrown the woman he’d walked away from 25 years ago into the mix.
Coming back to England had felt like a good idea, but he hadn’t factored in encountering Helen. Not so soon, anyway.
He managed to get upstairs and back to his bedroom without encountering anyone else. He shut the door and leaned back against it. Now he could be safely alone with his own thoughts.
Nigel lay down on his bed and stared at the ceiling.
He’d thought about Helen countless times while lying here over the years.
He’d thought about her a few times while lying in bed in Manhattan too.
Wondering what she was doing, whether she was ok and above all, whether she was happy.
Well, now he knew she was ok, she’d done well in her career and she seemed happy, though given she was divorced, there must be some angst there.
Who the hell would want to split up with Helen?
He was desperate to know more about what had happened. And she might be able to give him some tips on how to cope with a failed relationship. But did she want to see him again? She hadn’t sounded that enthusiastic when she left, but she’d been in a rush to pick up her son.
You’re overthinking this, Nigel. You were like soulmates once. She gave you her number. She wouldn’t have done that if she wasn’t keen to talk to you again. Stop prevaricating.
Nigel grabbed his phone and tapped out a message.
Great to see you. How are you fixed for a coffee at that new bookshop Mum mentioned?
He pressed Send before he could talk himself out of it. His heartbeat quickened as he stared at the screen, waiting for three dots to appear.
For God’s sake, Nige. You’re not a lovesick teenager.
He tossed the phone onto the bed beside him, closed his eyes and forced himself to think about the situation he’d left behind in New York.
‘Nigel!’
Nigel rolled over in bed. Why was his brother shouting at him? And how was Mark doing that when he was on the other side of the Atlantic?
There was a knocking sound followed by Mark’s voice again. ‘Lunch is ready.’
Nigel opened his eyes. The penny dropped. He was in Devon, and Mark was on the other side of his bedroom door.
‘Sorry, I nodded off. I’ll be down in five minutes,’ he shouted.
Nigel’s mouth felt dry. He’d obviously been snoring again. Madison had used that as an excuse to move him into the second bedroom at home last year. He should’ve realised that might be a sign that all was not well with their relationship. Interesting what you ignored when you didn’t want to see.
He got up and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. The view in the mirror was no better than when he got up earlier. If anything, he looked more tired. Amazing that Helen had recognised him at all earlier.
He stroked the stubble on his chin. He could do with a shave, but that would take too long - his mother would be sending out a search party if he didn’t put in an appearance in the dining room soon.
Perhaps now was an opportunity to try growing a beard.
Madison hated them, but she wasn’t going to care about that now.
The hairs were coming through in his original chestnut colour, so it might make him look younger.
What was Helen’s opinion on men’s facial hair?
He couldn’t remember. Helen. Had she answered his text yet?
He swilled his mouth out with mouthwash and went back to his room. He found his phone partially hidden by the duvet. He took a deep breath and unlocked it. No sign of a reply. What did you expect?
He put on a fresh shirt. Looking more respectable now, Nige. Less likely to scare your new relatives.
Two minutes later, he was taking his place at the dining table. Nancy had put him between Julia and her daughter, Tamsin. A deliberate move, no doubt.
‘How are you feeling now, Nigel?’ Julia asked.
‘Still tired, but I’m sure the jet lag will wear off soon.’
‘Mum was saying you’d met an old friend this morning.’
‘Yes, Helen and I lost touch. We used to play tennis together when we were younger.’
‘I didn’t realise there were any tennis courts in Dashford.’
‘There aren’t any public ones. Well, there weren’t when I was last here, but we’ve got the one here at the bottom of the garden.’
‘Have we?’ Lucy asked.
‘It’s all very overgrown now,’ Nancy said. ‘No one used it after Nigel left.’
‘Really?’ Nigel said. ‘But you used to play with Dad?’
‘He wasn’t around enough then.’
She started vigorously cutting up a piece of beef on her plate. A sore point, then. Nigel changed the subject. ‘Whereabouts are you going today?’ he asked Tamsin.
‘Back home. It’s a little village called Larkthwaite. Classic Yorkshire Dales country: limestone pavements, rolling hills.’
‘And sheep!’ piped up Tamsin’s daughter. He was going to have to learn their names.
‘Yes, Mabel. Lots of sheep, too. Mum’s set up her ceramics studio in one of our old sheds. You’ll have to come and visit.’
‘That would be lovely.’
‘And bring your family, of course.’
The odds of getting Madison to visit a remote village in Yorkshire had been low before their bust-up. They were non-existent now. Nigel smiled. ‘That’s very kind.’
‘What do I call you?’ Mabel asked. Nigel guessed she was about six years old, seven tops.
‘Most people call me Nigel.’
‘I thought you were called Grumpy?’ her little brother chipped in.
‘Wilf!’ Julia looked horrified.
‘But that’s what you said, Nanny.’
‘I think you probably misheard Great Uncle Nigel.’
There was no way Great Uncle Nigel sounded anything like Grumpy unless his new great-nephew was partially deaf. And there wasn’t any evidence of that. That’s what you get for being suspicious of your new relatives. Of course they’re going to label you a grumpy bastard.
‘More parsnips, Nigel?’ His mother was understandably trying to diffuse the situation.
‘No, I’m fine, thanks. More gravy would be good, though.’
‘What’s it like in New York?’ Mabel asked.
‘Nothing like here. Busy, noisy, lots of tall buildings, no sheep. Well, there might be some in Central Park Zoo, but it’s been a long time since I’ve visited. My daughters are too old to appreciate zoos now.’
‘We’re going to New York,’ Wilf said.
‘Oh really? When are you going?’
‘When are we going, Granny?’ Wilf asked Nancy.
Nancy looked uncomfortable. ‘In the spring.’
Was his mother going too? And why hadn’t she mentioned it to him if she was? He’d take that up with her later.
That’s a great time to visit.’
‘We’re going to see the sun turn off,’ Wilf said.
‘He means the total eclipse,’ Tamsin said.
‘I’d forgotten that was coming up. I saw an eclipse once. Well, it was cloudy in the end, but the sky went dark. It was very …’ Nigel was about to say atmospheric, but that might be too long a word for a four-year-old. ‘Spooky, in a good way.’
Wilf wasn’t convinced. ‘It might be boring.’
‘You won’t be bored.’ Though all the waiting around beforehand had been dull, but he wasn’t going to say that.
If they were stopping somewhere in the path of totality, they might not have to wait around.
Not like when he took Helen to Slapton Sands to see the 1999 eclipse, which had involved getting to the beach six hours before the main event to make sure they got a parking space.
The aftermath had definitely not been dull. He so wished he hadn’t kissed her during totality. The atmosphere had turned extremely awkward. If he hadn’t been so stupid, he might have turned down the New York job offer, and his life would’ve been very different.
‘Gravy, Nigel?’
Klaus’s voice brought him back to reality. He took the gravy boat.
‘Sorry, I was miles away.’ Or years away, to be more accurate.
Nigel waited until Klaus had gone upstairs for a nap, presumably exhausted after the chaos of Julia and her family packing up and leaving. Mark and Lucy had gone for a walk, so now he had his mother all to himself as he helped her clear the lunch things away.
‘This trip to New York, Mother dearest.’
‘Hmmm.’ She was concentrating on scrubbing a particularly tough stain on a saucepan.
‘Are you joining Tamsin and family?’
‘Yes, of course. Watching a total eclipse is one of the few experiences left on my bucket list. Klaus and Julia will be coming too.’
Nigel took a fresh tea towel from the drawer to finish drying the final few serving dishes.
‘And were you planning to mention that you were going to be in the same state as me?’
‘I was going to tell you on our weekly phone call next week.’
Easy to say that now. She glanced at him, checking his reaction, he assumed.
‘It’s true,’ she said. ‘I was intending to invite you, Madison and the girls. I thought the prospect of watching a total eclipse might be enticing enough for Madison to say yes.’
Nigel wasn’t sure about that, but he understood why she wanted to try. He felt guilty that it had been at least six years since she’d seen Sloane and Avery in person, and she’d only managed that thanks to a last-minute trip to New York to see a friend. Perhaps it hadn’t been last-minute at all.
‘Where are you staying?’ he asked.
‘I’ve booked us a large house on the shores of Seneca Lake. We should get at least two minutes of totality there. Plenty of room for us all. No need to step on one another’s toes.’
‘But you must’ve booked that at least a year ago.’
‘Nearly two years, actually.’
‘Before Julia found you again?’
‘Lucy and Mark were originally going to join us, but Lucy understandably doesn’t want to travel now she’s going to be heavily pregnant, which has turned out to be quite handy, considering I’ve got four new family members to accommodate.’
‘So why didn’t you mention it before?’
‘And give Madison time to book something even more special to keep you and the girls away from us?’
She was right. Madison had form for doing exactly that.
His 40th birthday party, for instance. Nancy had invited them all to Devon to celebrate and offered the use of her London flat so they had time on their own as a family, but Madison had whisked him off to the Bahamas instead.
She was an expert at keeping his family at arm’s length.
It hadn’t bothered him too much at the time, but now he was seriously regretting not taking his mother’s feelings into consideration.
She passed him the saucepan for him to dry. ‘I’d love you to join us, and the girls, too. Even Madison is welcome if you’re back together by then.’
‘The way things are going, that’s highly unlikely.’
She didn’t look too disappointed. ‘So what do you think?’
He’d never told her about the botched kiss with Helen, so she had no idea how he felt about eclipses. ‘So much has happened over the last few days. I can’t think straight. Can I come back to you about it?’
‘Take as long as you like, darling.’ She dried her hands. ‘We’re done.’
He took a sharp intake of breath. Exactly the words Madison had used as she walked out of the house on Christmas Eve. ‘Yeah, we are,’ he said.
His mother gave his arm an affectionate squeeze as she walked past him towards the kitchen door.