Chapter 2 #3
Her eyes twinkled with pleasure. My best friend, Flick, always said that her grandma would have had a fit if she’d come home with a nose piercing, but my Nana Rose had taken me to have it done herself on my sixteenth birthday.
‘You’re from a long line of unconventional women, my darling girl,’ she’d said, holding my hand as the piercer did his work.
‘Never let anyone dull your shine or force you into society’s identikit moulds.
’ It was a motto I tried my best to live by, although it felt increasingly hard to do so with the realities of my current situation.
‘It must be my lucky day for visitors,’ she said now.
‘Come, sit down.’ She lowered herself back onto the window seat and patted the space next to her.
‘You two are definitely the best ones so far, fear not. Eric Sanderson stopped by a little earlier, full of all the latest dramas from the Boating Association’s AGM.
Those committee members are far too fond of the sound of their own voices, if you ask me.
They spend too much time locked in meeting rooms rather than out on the water, and why Eric was bothering with wearing a suit and tie, I do not know.
Totally impractical for any kind of boating activity, and the poor man was soon sweating in this place.
They keep it hot because of all the old dears, you know.
They weren’t lucky enough to spend most of their lives without central heating, and I’m sure it’s affected their temperature regulation.
Anyway, I told Eric he must be having a hot flush, and he looked mortified. ’
Her laugh was a gurgle of wicked delight.
‘Nana, you really shouldn’t tease him,’ I said with a smile. ‘You know how seriously he takes everything. He’ll cancel my rubbish collections and escort me off the canal if you’re too hard on him.’
Her expression suddenly turned grave, and I realised my error immediately. I’d opened the conversation into potentially dangerous territory.
‘Is everything alright with you?’ she asked, never one to miss a trick.
‘I’m fine and dandy, as always,’ I said, relieved that she hadn’t specifically asked about how the Oxford Bookship was doing.
I didn’t want to have to lie to her, but it would be difficult to avoid answering a direct question about the health of my business without making it obvious.
The last thing I wanted was for her to start worrying about me.
I could see that she was preparing for a follow up question, but thankfully one of the care assistants, who also happened to be a fellow canal dweller, arrived with a tray of tea and biscuits for us and a bowl of water for Hilda.
‘Thanks, Bill, that’s very kind of you.’
He cleared his throat and glanced around to check that no one else in the room was paying attention. ‘Rozina heard that we had a special visitor and sent these through from the kitchen, if that’s okay with you.’
He pulled a silver foil cover off one of the plates on the tray to reveal the sausages which his wife had prepared for Hilda.
‘They’re freshly cooked, so you might want to wait a few minutes for them to cool down. Or if Hilda’s already had her meal quota for the day, feel free to wrap them up and take them back to the Bookship for tomorrow.’
I swear Hilda was following the conversation because she turned her rapt attention away from the sausages and looked pleadingly between me and Bill.
‘Wrap them up rather than giving them to her now? If I do that, she’ll be upping sticks and moving in with you two,’ I joked.
Bill grinned. ‘I’m not sure she’d fit given we’ve got a pair of hulking great teenagers taking up all the space. The sooner they go off to university the better.’
‘You’ll miss them when they’re gone,’ said Nana Rose. ‘I always thank my lucky stars that Molly’s dad stayed close to home for his studies, and this one here is as much a home bird as I ever was.’
‘The advantage of being a home bird with a boat is that home is wherever you happen to moor up,’ said Bill with a wink. ‘I’ll leave you two to it.’
‘Nana, do you want to do the honours? Hilda’s going to start drooling in a minute.’ I quickly changed the subject away from all things mooring-related. I wasn’t sure I agreed with Bill’s sentiment. The Oxford Canal was inextricably linked with my sense of home.
‘I’d be delighted.’
It cost her some effort to break the sausages into smaller pieces, but she laughed as Hilda delicately took each morsel from her fingers.
‘She has better table manners than some humans I’ve known. In fact, most of the humans I’ve known,’ she corrected herself.
‘You bring out the best in her,’ I replied. ‘Her manners are less refined when she’s eating by the towpath.’
‘Grandmother’s privilege. She’s on her best behaviour because she knows it’s my role in life to spoil my grandchildren, both the two- and the four-legged variety. I only want them to be happy. Speaking of which, perhaps you’d like to tell me what’s on your mind, my darling?’
I should have known I couldn’t get away with it that easily.
For a second, I considered confessing the truth, sharing my business woes and letting her tell me everything would be alright, just like she used to when I was a little girl.
But I knew it would be selfish to burden her with my worries, especially as she was frail enough already without adding emotional pain to the physical variety she endured.
I pasted on my cheeriest expression. ‘Nothing gets past you, does it? I admit, I came here with a shameless ulterior motive. I need to pick your brains.’
Nana Rose sat up straighter, almost puffing out her chest with pride. ‘They are considerable, my darling. How may I be of assistance?’
The rest of the evening flew by in a blur of laughter and scheming, the pair of us bouncing ideas for events back and forth, ideas which grew increasingly far-fetched, especially after Nana insisted on us enjoying a nightcap or two together.
But despite the love and warmth of my grandmother’s hospitality, I couldn’t allow myself to fully relax, every moment of joy a painful reminder of what was at stake if my business went under.