Chapter Five
Cristy’s ground-floor flat was at the Redcliffe end of Bristol’s Harbourside, tucked into the far corner of a leafy quadrant close to the magnificent landmark of St Mary’s Church and a mere stone’s throw from the offshoot of waterfront beyond the swing bridge.
With its two generously sized bedrooms, spacious open-plan kitchen-dining-sitting room and beloved walled garden, it was as special to her as anything she’d ever owned.
She’d initially bought it as an investment, with money inherited from her mother: a place she could rent to carefully selected barristers who came to Bristol for cases at the Crown Court.
Following the break-up of her marriage, it had become nothing short of a sanctuary, a kind of return to her mother’s comforting arms. Even now, simply being inside the flat, or enjoying the patio on warmer days, made her feel closer to her mother, whom she continued to miss ten years on from losing her.
She knew it was the same for her brother, Tom, and the place he’d bought with his inheritance.
It was late on Sunday afternoon, already dark outside, and Cristy was – very generously, she thought – preparing a full-trimmings, no-wicked-ingredient-spared, Sunday roast for Matthew and Aiden, who’d just returned from the rugby at Ashton Gate.
Although it wasn’t unusual for her to entertain her ex, she preferred not to make a habit of it, mainly because she didn’t want to encourage him to think they could make a go of things again.
She knew it was what he wanted – he never made a secret of it – but though she still cared for him deeply and actually cherished his friendship, there was simply no going back on his betrayal or the subsequent divorce. Especially now David was in her life.
Fortunately, Matthew was coming to accept that. In fact, they were even starting to morph into something akin to a blended family, given how well he got along with David and the rest of the Gaudions over in Guernsey.
As she started to dish up, while Matthew and Aiden continued a noisy rehash of their team’s crushing defeat, Cristy let her own thoughts drift to their daughter’s plans to travel around Canada this coming summer.
She must remember to bring it up with Matthew before he left to find out how much she needed to contribute to the cost when the time came.
‘Wow, Mum! You’ve done us proud,’ Aiden declared, rubbing his hands together as she carried two over-loaded plates to the table.
Thick slices of medium-rare beef, massive crispy Yorkshire puddings with fluffy interiors, succulent cauli-cheese, crispy roast potatoes and side dishes of parsnips, greens, garden peas and Tenderstem broccoli.
‘I hope there’s enough for seconds,’ Matthew teased, sitting down next to his son and shaking out a paper napkin.
Cristy couldn’t help the rush of pleasure she often felt when seeing them together.
Aiden was as tall as his father now, his shoulders almost as broad, his hair virtually the same shade of dark brown, although his was fashionably shorter at the sides and much longer on top – and their shared passion for most sports and some music meant they were as easy in one another’s company as they were with any of their friends.
Joining them with a much smaller plate, Cristy reached for the horseradish as Matthew poured the wine and said chattily, ‘So how was your trip to London this week?’
Wondering if he knew about her meeting with Paul Kinsley, she said, casually, ‘Thanks for taking Hayley to the airport on Tuesday so I could make my train. Have you spoken to her since she got back to Edinburgh?’
‘I did, yesterday,’ Aiden said, through a mouthful of food.
Cristy scowled at him, and he reached for his drink.
‘Sorry,’ he said after swallowing. ‘She’s got this plan to drive across Canada with Hugo in the summer,’ he announced. ‘Sounds really cool. I asked if I could go with, and she said no. What kind of sister is that, I want to know.’
‘A wise one,’ Matthew replied, helping himself to more gravy.
‘Hah!’ Aiden scoffed. ‘You’d give anything to go anywhere with me – we all know that – and I’m good to you, Dad. I let you tag along whenever you want, no embarrassment with my mates, no trying to lose you in town …’
Archly, Matthew said, ‘I won’t remind you who made you his guest at the rugger today, or who blew off a date last night so I could pick you up from Cardiff—’
‘You had a date?’ Aiden cut in, all interest. ‘Tell us more.’
Cristy watched Matthew flush and almost laughed.
‘OK, not a date exactly,’ he confessed. ‘I was supposed to be having dinner with friends, but I let them down because you, idiot that you are, had maxed out on your credit card and lost your rail ticket home.’
Frowning, Cristy said, ‘Couldn’t you just have paid for his ticket over the phone?’
Matthew grimaced. ‘Why would I pass up an opportunity to spend some drive-time with my son and two of his fascinating friends …’
Cristy laughed. ‘Someone set you up on a blind date last night and you bailed. That’s the real story here.’
Matthew didn’t deny it, simply looked helpless and long-suffering as Aiden launched into all the apps he could try, to get himself a ‘bit of action, no strings’ or someone to take him on ‘long walks, and even longer shags …’
‘Why does everything come down to sex with you?’ Matthew groaned. ‘It sounds to me as though you’re the one who’s not getting enough, the way you keep going on about it.’
‘No problem here,’ Aiden assured him, ‘but that’s because I come at things kind of differently to you.
I get we’re a different generation, and you’re, like, recognizable – don’t want anyone posting about your performance on social media if you’re no good, I get that – but think what it would be like if someone described you as a tiger.
I’d share that – could reflect well on me as your son. ’
As Cristy laughed, Matthew said, ‘Is he my son? Because if not, now would be a good time to tell me.’
Loving their banter, Cristy sat back in her chair and thought fleetingly of how much she’d miss it if she weren’t here in Bristol any more to share it.
‘So how was David?’ Matthew asked. ‘Is it still on between you two?’
Used to the jibe, she said, ‘Still on, and he’s great, thanks for asking.’
‘Well, there’s a relief,’ Matthew stated, ‘or the party next weekend would be a bit awkward.’
How true that was. ‘I take it you’re going to be there,’ she said, picking up her wine.
‘Are you kidding?’ Aiden cried. ‘No way are we going to miss your fiftieth in Guernsey. We love it there. Hayley’s definitely coming – did she tell you?’
Cristy nodded. ‘And Hugo and his parents, by all accounts. Plus the whole Hindsight team … Have you seen the guest list?’
‘Not since Friday,’ Matthew admitted, ‘but I noticed Andee Lawrence’s name is on it. It’ll be really good to see her and to meet her partner, Graeme – is that right?’
Cristy nodded and wondered again if he knew something about Paul Kinsley’s offer. Maybe he’d brought Andee’s name up to make a point, although it didn’t seem to be the case.
‘No one’s spilled any detail about the big surprise yet, have they?’ Aiden wanted to know.
As Cristy’s heart flipped, Matthew groaned, saying, ‘Why did you even bring it up? You’re such a tosser at times …’
‘Do you hear what he just called me?’ Aiden demanded of his mother.
‘So who’s the surprise?’ she interrupted, trying to conjure up an answer and getting nowhere. Unless it was Paul Kinsley. No – surely to God it wouldn’t be him. She was overthinking things, unable to get the offer out of her head.
‘If we told you that, we’d ruin it,’ Matthew pointed out.
‘But is it someone you’ve invited, or David?’ she insisted.
‘Let’s just say we agreed it would be a great idea.
Now, change of subject: I’ve put in a request for archive material on the Ivorson story, but I have to ask if you’re sure you want to go into it again.
I get that it was a long time ago and we’re all a bit older and wiser now, but it kind of messed you up a bit back then. ’
‘What was it about?’ Aiden wanted to know.
‘A couple of twins, murdered by their mother,’ Matthew told him. ‘Babies, they were. It was a horrible case, got us all on edge with the strange way it played out.’
‘Strange in what way?’
Matthew looked at Cristy.
‘A lot of ways,’ she conceded, not really wanting to get into this now, but going with it anyway, ‘which is why we’re taking a look into it again, to see if we can come up with a clearer perspective or even some new information.’
‘The mother, Nicole Ivorson,’ Matthew explained, ‘has just been released on parole, and no one knows where she is right now … I’m guessing you still haven’t tracked her down?’ he said to Cristy.
‘Not yet, but I’m sure we will. Any thoughts on when the archive stuff might be coming our way?’
‘I’ll chase it tomorrow.’ He took a mouthful of food and, after a while, said, ‘It’s likely to be pretty weird seeing yourself as a thirty-year-old when you’re about to be fifty – a proper trip down memory lane to a time when you were fresh and young, kind of radiant …
Of course, goes without saying you’re even more beautiful now. ’
‘Nice catch, Dad,’ Aiden chuckled. ‘That hole was only getting deeper. Pass the gravy please.’
It wasn’t until later, after Aiden had disappeared into his room to do whatever he did there, and Cristy and Matthew had finished clearing up, that they sat down on the sofas with fresh glasses of wine to accompany their coffee.
‘Am I going to like this surprise you and David are planning?’ she asked, putting her feet up on the coffee table. ‘I mean, if it’s someone I haven’t seen for a while, I guess it’s occurred to you that might be because I don’t want to see them.’
Clearly amused, he said, ‘You’ll be fine with it. Promise.’
Still worried, she had another go. ‘Male or female?’ she prompted.
‘Stop.’ Matthew laughed. ‘No one’s even said it’s a person, but you have my word you’re going to love it. Now, tell me about Andee Lawrence and what she’s doing these days. You two were great friends when we were all still in London. God, that takes me back. Good to know you’re still in touch.’
Cristy sipped her drink and wished she could get his thoughts on Kinsley’s offer and how he saw it playing out for the future. She might not agree with anything he had to say, but she wouldn’t mind hearing it anyway.
‘In the end we just talked about Andee,’ she told David on the phone later. ‘Then it was time for him to leave – Aiden’s here tonight – and I’m still no closer to knowing what I want to do than I was when the offer was first made.’
‘Will you mention it to Andee next weekend?’ he asked. ‘Maybe Kinsley already has.’
‘I don’t think so, but I’ll check beforehand, and then, well, to be honest, I can’t really see her signing up for it.
She might want to – actually, I have no doubt she will – but she’s pretty involved in her local community, Graeme’s business is there, and her mother’s not well.
She won’t want to be far from her these days. ’
‘Well, I guess that’s for her to decide if and when you finally put it to her. You might find she’ll seize it with both hands and organize a work-from-home system that covers all bases.’
Intrigued by the idea, Cristy said, ‘Maybe I could do that and stay in Bristol?’
‘Maybe, but as the big boss, you’ll have to have a place in London, and it seems likely you’ll be back and forth to the States a lot …’
‘Then how will I ever find time to see you?’
‘A question I’ve been asking myself, but we’ll work it out, and I definitely don’t want you letting it get in the way of things.’
‘That sounds as though you think I should take it.’
‘Does it?’ She could hear the smile in his voice and for no explicable reason it annoyed her.
Forcing herself to get a grip, she tuned back in to what he was saying.
‘What I do know is that plans are heating up for the big party next weekend …’
‘Tell me about the surprise,’ she broke in eagerly, the absurd flash of bad temper gone as quickly as it had come. ‘Are you certain it’s one I’m going to be happy with?’
Laughing, he said, ‘Matthew assures me it’s a perfect idea, and frankly, I trust him on this. Now, that’s all I’m going to say, or it won’t be a surprise. So, maybe tell me how much you’re missing me now.’
Laughing softly, she said, ‘You’re assuming I am.’
‘I can feel it, in all the right places, but before you start, if Aiden’s nearby, you might want to go into the bedroom and close the door.’