Chapter 8 #3
Oh dear, had he heard something on the grapevine about the tea event plans, perhaps through Julie or Linda, she wondered? Or was he second guessing? Either way, she really didn’t want to have to disappoint him.
‘Umm, well.’ She lowered her voice, not wanting to raise the other residents’ hopes merely for them to be dashed. ‘Yes, me and the team were mooting something, but … well, it seems timing’s a bit of an ongoing issue.’ Cath’s shoulders wilted.
‘You seem troubled, lass. And that’s a real shame when you’re trying to do a good deed. So why don’t you go ahead and tell me what the problem is. My Elsie always used to say a problem shared …’
‘Is a problem halved,’ finished Cath, who then went on to quietly fill Reggie in on the diary clash they had with the home’s special fish and chip lunch outing.
‘Ah yes, well, that is always a good ’un, that trip. But …’ And he paused, leaving it there, as though pondering.
A new face in the room was smiling over at them, at that point. She then gave a little wave.
‘Oh, that’s Janet. Just joined us. Bit batty, but seems pleasant enough,’ explained Reggie, cheekily.
‘Oh, well, perhaps I’ll go and introduce myself. Make her feel welcome,’ said Cath, rising to her feet. ‘I’ll catch you next time, Reggie. Take care.’
‘You too, lass. And don’t you go worrying yourself about this ’ere do. Things have a way of working themselves out, as you know …’ And he gave a wink.
Janet was indeed new to the home, having arrived two days ago.
She confessed to feeling a bit lost, bless her, and she was missing her cat, Tigger, a beautiful tabby, who’d been re-homed with her daughter.
Whilst Cath and Janet were getting acquainted, and Cath was reassuring the old lady that her cat would have a nice new home with her family, she spotted Reggie getting up rather stiffly out of his seat, with Betty joining him.
The pair of them then headed off out of the double doors to the entrance hallway, looking rather purposeful.
After a round of tea and biscuits served by the lovely Linda, with Cath diving in for a Jammie Dodger, Janet began chuckling as she told her how the last time she’d had one of those, it’d taken her dentures clean out.
Cath had to smile.
How she wished she could get this date ironed out, and give these wonderful people a ‘Tea Dance’ to remember. There’d be no Jammie Dodgers on the menu, however. The home wouldn’t thank her if they had an influx of dentistry issues.
*
Cath was just heading out to the car park, when she heard a dash of footsteps crunching the gravel behind her.
‘Hey, Cath, I’m so glad I spotted you. I wanted to catch you.
’ Julie sounded a tad out of breath. ‘The date for the tea event, it’s going to be okay, after all.
I’ve managed to switch things around a bit.
Some of the residents had got news of your afternoon tea plans, and well, now the word is out, it’s become the talk of the day room.
They are adamant they want to come, even to the point of foregoing their fish and chips.
‘And well, if it makes it easier for you to stick with the original date in the first week of August, I’ve just managed to make a call to the chippy we were booked into. They can switch to the weekend before.’
‘Really? Ah, that’d be amazing.’ Cath grinned. ‘Umm, this wouldn’t have anything to do with Reggie and Betty scheming together, would it?’ She remembered their joint exit just a half hour before.
‘They were representing the views of the day room, they assured me.’ Julie gave an affirming nod, accompanied by a wry smile.
Cath snorted with laughter. And she felt such relief.
It seemed the tea event really was the talk of the town.
‘That’s fantastic. I’ll let the others know right away.
We’ve been struggling to find an alternative date.
The last I’d heard, the shop lads were trying to sort out cover at work, and all sorts. ’
‘Yes, I wondered that. I really didn’t want to make life difficult for you all, not when you’re putting yourselves out. It’s so very kind of you. And my residents had such fun at Christmastime. It seems this will be the highlight of their summer social calendar.’
‘Ah, that’s so lovely. Right, I’d better go. Thanks for sorting this out, Julie. That’s brilliant.’ And good old Reggie and Betty. Cath retraced her steps, to give the pair of them a big wave and a thumbs up through the day-room window. She couldn’t wait to tell the supper gang the good news.
Naturally, expectations were high, and Cath was going to have to very much kick herself into gear. But first things first, she had to get back home ready for her next slot of pre-exam revision tutorials. She mustn’t keep her students waiting.
Twenty minutes later, and still on a high about sorting the Tilldale Afternoon Tea date, sounding very like Buzz Lightyear as she mounted the stairs to the spare room where her laptop awaited, she roused herself by calling out, ‘To trigonometry and beyond …’