Chapter 41
Although he loved using pencil and paper, he was teaching himself how to draw using new software he’d recently invested in especially for the project.
He’d taken a few of the initial drawings to Penny’s to show his dad over lunch, and had now carefully flattened them out and used a couple of books to stop the sides curling back together, while he tried to recreate the designs using CAD.
Lunch at Penny’s had been surprisingly relaxed. Arriving at eleven, Evie had greeted him at the door.
‘Hello, Uncle Ben. I’ve been waiting for you,’ she’d said in her best Bond-villain-style voice before leading him to the kitchen where the rest of the family were gathered.
As he’d walked in, he’d caught Penny mid-conversation with their parents, ‘And now Ms Jones keeps asking me how his date went! Although, I think she might have more than a professional interest—Oh, hello, Ben, sorry, I didn’t see you there. Would you like a glass of wine?’ she’d asked innocently.
Before Ben could answer, Antony had charged into the house through the back door. ‘It’s ready, I need it now!’ he’d demanded, striding towards the fridge.
Flinging open the door, he’d dragged a large joint of meat from the shelf, dumped it onto a waiting baking tray and then hurried back into the garden.
‘He’s using the Egg,’ Penny had explained, shutting the fridge door. ‘He’s not done beef in it before, so it’s all a bit fraught. I did say it would be much easier if I used the oven, but apparently Jeff at work did it and it was delicious, so there you have it.’
‘Men and their barbecues,’ said their mum. ‘I remember your dad set fire to the shed one summer. I did say not to use lighter fluid.’ She’d looked pointedly at her husband.
‘And I’ve told you, there was a design fault. Argos recalled that make, if you remember.’
‘Well, that is true, but I still think the lighter fluid was a mistake. Especially during a heatwave.’
Ben, having heard it all before, had decided to interrupt the thirty-year argument before it, inevitably, moved on to whose fault it was that the washing had been left out, which had only added to the blaze, and had turned to his dad.
‘Here, Dad, have a look at these and tell me what you think,’ he’d said, unrolling the drawings.
While the beef cooked in the Egg, they’d talked through the design and had decided what materials they’d need. And with his dad’s notes in mind, Ben had started to look forward to making the revisions so that they could move on to the build phase of the project.
Their conversation had been interrupted by the arrival of Antony’s barbecued beef, which had been just as tasty as promised.
Watching his mum and sister chat, Ben had realised that he didn’t have the usual feeling of panic at being left alone with his dad, and was surprised to discover he actually felt relaxed during their family lunch for once.
After pudding, his dad had announced it was time for them to head off.
Penny and Ben had shared a knowing look. It was a family joke that his dad needed to allow a minimum of three hours for any journey.
‘Okay, Dad, drive carefully.’ Penny had given her dad a hug goodbye. ‘Thank you for coming.’
‘Bye, Dad, I’ll make those changes to the designs and you can see what you think,’ said Ben.
‘Okay, sounds good. I’ll find out what the builders’ merchant has in stock next week and order up what we need.’
Ben had been shocked when his dad had given him a pat on the shoulder as he headed to the front door. It was the most physical contact they’d had in years.
‘Bye, Grandma, bye, Gramps!’ shouted Evie from the doorstep, waving goodbye.
‘Well, that went well, I think,’ said Penny, leading the way back to the kitchen. ‘Shall we have another drink? Or would you prefer a coffee?’ Penny had put a strange emphasis on the last word, staring at Ben pointedly.
‘Oh, er, yes, I’d love a coffee actually,’ said Ben.
He knew Antony was itching to demonstrate his new coffee machine and had promised Penny he would let him show it off without judgement.
‘Excellent. Let me get that for you, sir,’ said Antony, leaping towards the machine.
Ben preferred an Americano, but he hadn’t had the heart to ask for something so simple, so he had requested a caramel macchiato instead.
What felt like two hours later, Anthony had set down a tall glass mug in front of him and had watched anxiously as Ben took a sip.
‘Mmm, delicious, much better than Starbucks,’ said Ben, trying not to wince as the hot coffee burnt his throat.
Anthony clapped him on the back in delight.
‘I know right! And it’s no trouble at all. I don’t know why we all spend a fortune on takeaway coffee when we could just make it ourselves.’
Ben had thought he could get quite a few takeaway coffees before coming anywhere close to how much it would cost to buy a similar coffee machine, but he’d bitten his somewhat burnt tongue and smiled instead.
‘Right, I promised I’d take Evie to the park so she can ride her bike. I’ll see you in a bit, love.’ He gave Penny a kiss and, calling to Evie, grabbed his wallet. ‘I might pop to the café while I’m there,’ he’d muttered as he’d headed to the front door.
‘Did I hear that right?’ Ben said. ‘I’ve had to wait ages for a coffee I didn’t even want, and now he’s going to go the café?’
‘You know what he’s like. He loves a shiny, new toy, uses it twice and then gets bored with it. Don’t worry, I’ll put it on eBay next month and he’ll forget he ever had it.’ Penny gave a resigned shrug as Evie had run back into the room.
‘Uncle Ben, Daddy said you might have gone by the time we get back, so please can you give this to Fred for me?’ She’d thrust a tiny envelope at Ben, who had taken it carefully and put it in his pocket.
‘Of course. I’ll make sure he gets it when I see him next.’
‘Thank you. See you soon!’ Evie had given him a hug before running back to her dad. The front door had closed behind them as they’d left for the park.
‘Talking of the cat, there’s something I wanted you to look at,’ Ben said, reaching into the back pocket of his jeans.
‘Show me,’ demanded Penny, taking a sip of her coffee.
‘So, this cat that’s been visiting me – you remember I told you I was worried its owner would think I was trying to steal it?’
Penny had nodded.
‘Well, Evie’s idea of writing to Fred inspired me, and I decided to contact the cat’s owner by tying a note to his collar so I could reassure them I’m not a catnapper. Anyway, we’ve exchanged several letters and I got this one back a few days ago, and I’m not quite sure what to make of it.’
He’d passed the note to Penny, who’d started to read it out loud.
‘Dear sixty-six.’ She’d paused. ‘Sixty-six?’
‘That’s me – we use our house numbers,’ Ben said.
‘Ah, okay.’ She started again. ‘Dear Sixty-six, thanks for the reassurance – didn’t mean to accuse you of fencing stolen goods!
’ Penny looked questioningly at Ben before continuing.
‘For context, I was rushing out the door to meet someone, and to be honest, I got a bit stressed out by it all. Good thing it wasn’t a date as they haven’t been in touch since, which is a shame as I thought we’d had a good time and it would have been nice to meet up again.
Anyway, am relieved to know there are no bodies under your patio, but I’m ashamed to say Oscar (that’s his actual name, not Fred!) is a bit of a thief.
He has a habit of “borrowing” stuff from people, and he brings home random bits of litter so watch out. Better than mice, I suppose.’
‘Well?’ Ben asked.
Penny, ignoring him, read the note again before handing it back.
‘Well what?’
‘Well, apart from the fact that Fred is actually called Oscar’ – Ben had been finding it hard to adjust to the new name – ‘who do think wrote it? I’ve been looking for clues.’
Penny had looked thoughtful. ‘I think it’s a woman, maybe in her late thirties. She’s obviously single and might have been for a while,’ she declared.
‘How could you possibly know that?’ asked Ben, torn between awe and disbelief.
‘Well, it’s simple – you just have to read between the lines.’
‘How?’
‘Well, are the notes usually like this?’
‘No, we don’t normally write anything personal.’
‘My point exactly.’
‘Of what?’
‘The date – or non-date – stressed her out, so it’s not something she’s in the habit of doing.’ Penny had studied the note again. ‘And,’ she’d added, ‘I get the feeling she might have been in a relationship before, so a proper grown-up.’ She sat back in her chair, satisfied with her appraisal.
‘What do you think I should do?’ he’d asked, impressed.
‘I suggest you write back, but you also need to find yourself a girlfriend in the meantime, otherwise this could end up being your most significant relationship.’
Ben had glared at his sister.
Partly because she’d deserved it, but mainly to distract himself from the fact that, when she’d said ‘find yourself a girlfriend’, his mind had immediately conjured up an image of Jenni.