J & P Book 6 - Remember Me And Smile

Chapter Seven

She'd been home a little while by now, and she was in her bedroom tidying her hair and applying some subtle make-up. Grace was playing in her own bedroom; Jenny had tasked her yesterday with sorting through her toys to make sure she had everything she wanted to take to the new house, and in doing so Grace had rediscovered a host of forgotten playthings which she was fully appreciating right now.

She heard the front door open and close. "Andrew?" she called down.

"Hi Mum," he called up. She heard his footsteps on the stairs.

She leant out of her bedroom door. "Are you in for the rest of the evening now?"

"Yeah," he said. "Why?"

"I'm going to have a look at your dad's cottage tonight," she explained. "I've not been in for years, want to make sure it's definitely big enough for us with the new rooms."

"I think it is," Andrew said. "Can I come too?"

"Aw, sorry but I need you to stay here with Grace," Jenny said.

Andrew nodded, looking at her strangely. Jenny wondered if he was curious as to why she was making such an effort with her appearance. To be quite honest, she was quite curious too. She just couldn't help herself. She'd been telling herself it was just harmless fun and she wanted to look good for herself.

"You look lovely, Mum," he said.

"Oh, really?" she said.

"Really," he smiled.

She smiled back. "Well, I'm only going to see your dad, it's not as if..." She wasn't quite sure where she was going with what she was saying.

"Have a nice time," Andrew said, kissing her on the cheek, before heading to his bedroom.

She blushed, continuing to tidy her hair. It was silly really. It wasn't as if she was going on a date. It wasn't even as if Patrick would be remotely interested in how she looked tonight. She just felt a little spark of freedom, that she was able to pop out and take her mind off things, just enjoy someone else's company; besides there was no risk of Patrick getting the wrong idea as a result, he would never want to go near her again after what she'd done to him, so it was safe for her to spend a bit of time with him, taking one little step at a time towards moving on.

***

As she stood at the doorway of 5 Theatre Close, she looked sadly at the adjacent cottage. It was number 7, the cottage next door to Patrick's, where Paul had lived when they had met and started dating, where he'd still been living when she'd met Patrick. She still remembered so clearly the day she'd knocked desperately at the door, having made her choice between the two men, the way she'd hurled herself towards him, the afternoon they'd spent together before circumstances threw them back apart. The afternoon, of course, that had resulted in Andrew.

She rang the doorbell, and Patrick answered quickly, a beam on his face. "Hello you."

He was dressed very smartly; in a shirt and tie, cufflinks and a nice belt with suit trousers. Often when she'd seen him recently his attire had been a bit more casual, as he hadn't usually been at work, but he'd clearly been to work today. He'd always looked so good in a suit.

"Hi," she said, shyly.

"Come on in," he said.

She headed in after him, shut the door and hung her coat up on the usual pegs, taking off her shoes and leaving them next to Patrick's shiny black ones.