A Promise For Tomorrow Read online

  But it was home, she thought with satisfaction – her home. The bits and pieces she had added, and the way she had re-arranged the furniture meant that it was hers. It was where she lived now, and she liked it. Just as soon as she found a job, and stopped her money haemorrhaging away, it would be perfect. Well, not perfect, perhaps, but… but still wonderful.

  She looked up suddenly, startled by the sound of the front door buzzer. It was a noise she was still getting used to.

  'It's me – India!' a weirdly distorted voice said through the entry box.

  'Oh, come in, India! There. I've pressed the button to open the door for you. I'm on the second floor.'

  She paused and smiled. India! How nice it would be to see her again. She opened the door to the flat and listened to her friend mounting the stairs.

  'Nearly there now!' she called encouragingly.

  Then she laughed as India came round the final bend on the staircase and sagged helplessly against the wall.

  'How on earth...' India gasped. 'I've stopped smoking, as well.'

  Still laughing, Sarah said, 'You get used to the climb. Come on in!

  'How nice to see you,' she added. 'What a lovely surprise.'

  'Are you extremely busy?'

  'Me? You're joking. Not at all busy. It's wonderful to have a visitor.'

  'Sure? You're not filling in job applications, or anything like that?'

  'Of course not!' Sarah said, laughing again. 'I haven't seen any jobs to apply for.'

  She ushered India into the living room.

  'Oh, this is nice! What a lovely flat, Sarah.'

  'It's not bad, is it? Let me show you the rest of it.'

  The tour took all of a minute and a half.

  'It's perfect for me.'

  'Of course it is. You did well finding it. What a lovely view from the window.'

  'Yes. It's a big improvement on my Newcastle flat. I couldn't see any greenery at all from my window there. Coffee?'

  'Yes, please! Then I'll tell you my news.'

  'Oh? That sounds interesting. Can we make do with instant, by the way?'

  'Of course.' India followed her into the kitchen. 'I was going to phone you. Then I couldn't find the bit of paper with your number on. So I thought I'd just try and find you.'

  'I'm very glad you did. I was getting bored with my own company.'

  'You'll never guess what?' India said as soon as they sat down in the living room with their coffees.

  'You've found a job?'

  'No! Of course I haven't.' India grimaced. 'But I have got an idea.'

  'Oh? Tell me.'

  'Well, you know I said the one thing I would never do was have anything to do with arty-crafty things?'

  'I remember.'

  'So what am I going to do?'

  Sarah shrugged.

  'Open that craft shop I talked about.'

  'You're joking?'

  India shook her head. 'I've decided. If there's one thing I do know anything about, it's arts and crafts. Pots and pictures, and stuff. Textiles, as well.'

  Sarah smiled. 'After all you've said about your poor parents!'

  'I know, I know. But you've got to be practical, haven't you? And Harry hasn't found a job yet.'

  'You are serious, then?'

  'Never more so. I thought it through this morning over breakfast.'

  Sarah laughed. 'Oh, India! What are you like? You've spent a whole five minutes thinking up this great plan?'

  'Longer, actually. I had to wait for the porridge to cool before I could eat it. Anyway, on the way to school with Mark I enquired about a shop that's been empty for months.'

  'Really?'

  India nodded. 'They told me the rent, which seems reasonable, and they said I could have it for a craft shop. So it's a go-er. All I have to do now is bring in some stock – and find some customers.'

  'There might be a bit more to it than that.'

  'True. I'll have to get the electric switched on.'

  Sarah started laughing again. India was simply irrepressible. She knew her friend was serious about this, and she wished her well, too. But she had some doubts. Her own experience of retailing, as well as common sense, told her that a project like this needed more thought than India had apparently given it. Still, you had to admire her energy and enthusiasm.

  'What about you?' India asked. 'Have you spotted anything?'

  Sarah shook her head. 'Nothing.'

  'Oh, I know,' India said. 'It's hopeless, isn't it? That's why I decided to do something myself. But you'll find something. I'm sure you will.'

  Sarah wasn't so certain. She wasn't sure there was anything to be found. 'I sometimes wonder if I've done the right thing,' she admitted.

  'Moving to Alnwick?'

  She nodded.

  'Why did you move? You've never told me.'

  So she told her about Marty, and how their relationship had ended up going nowhere.

  'I was just someone to go to the pictures with, or to a restaurant on rare occasions. I made up the numbers when we went out with friends.' She shrugged and added, 'Someone for Marty to talk to, and tell what he thought about things. He's a great talker, Marty.'

  'And you wanted more than that?'

  'I did. Not a ridiculous lot more. I just wanted a normal married, family life. But that was a step too far for Marty. He wasn't ready to leave his youth behind. I'm not sure he ever will be. So it wasn't fun any more. There was nothing much to look forward to, or to plan for. You know?'

  India nodded. 'I do. Everyone needs a reason to get up in the morning, even if it's just to earn the money to pay the mortgage.'

  'And to dress the children, and make sure they get to school on time?'

  India smiled. 'That, too.'

  'And to be with the man of your dreams?' Sarah added lightly.

  'Harry? Oh, now you're not being serious! Harry doesn't even have a big yacht, never mind a mansion in the country. And he almost never buys me big diamond rings.'

  'Stop it!' Sara said, laughing.

  'I tell you what,' India added. 'Come and meet him. I was going to ask you, anyway. Can you come for supper with us on, say, Friday? You can make your own mind up then about Harry.'

  'I'd love to, India. That would be wonderful. Thank you.'

  Chapter Seven

  On the Friday Sarah gave herself a day off from job hunting. She became a visitor again, a tourist, and visited Alnwick Garden, adjacent to Alnwick Castle. She gathered that the Garden had started off as a project to rehabilitate an abandoned eighteenth-century Italianate garden, and had since become an enormous visitor attraction.

  What with exhibitions, activity groups of various sorts and different places to eat, plants didn't seem to be the main point of the garden any more. There were plants still, it was true, and plenty of them, but it certainly wasn't a botanical garden. With its giant tree-house, bamboo maze, complex of water fountains, and souvenir shops, it was more of a place for families to take their young and their elderly on a sunny day.

  On that particular day, it wasn't crowded. Sarah sat in the spring sunshine on the terrace outside the main café and idly watched the fountain's jets reach for the sky. It was lovely, with trees coming into leaf, bamboo quivering in a slight breeze and birds singing all around. She watched a sparrow pecking around her feet, searching for the crumbs of chocolate cake and bits of flapjack that the previous occupants of her table had left behind. It felt like being on holiday.

  Except she was alone. No Marty, or anyone else either. There were times when her new life was very lonely.

  Such a long holiday, too, she thought ruefully. Already it was a month since she had left work and arrived in Alnwick. She could scarcely believe it.

  She wondered how Marty was getting on without her. With a wry smile, she wondered if he had even noticed she had gone. If he had, it wouldn't make much difference to his life. Marty was capable of moving on much more easily than she was.

  Her thoughts turned to the evening.
She was curious. It was hard to imagine how someone like India could have a sensible domestic life. She smiled. What a little whirlwind she was! Harry would have to be just the same to keep up with her. The children, too. She bet their home life was absolutely frenetic. It would have to be.

  *

  India's house was in a modern estate quite close to Alnwick Garden. It was a detached house with a small garden at the front. With bay windows downstairs and dormer windows in a red pantiled roof, it was a very attractive house. Sarah was impressed.

  Tentatively, wondering what Harry would be like, she rang the doorbell.

  'Come in, come in!' India greeted her. 'You're just in time.'

  'Am I late?' Sarah asked anxiously.

  'No, no! It's just that you can meet the kids before they go out. Mark is going to football practice and Helen's got a sleep-over at one of her friend's.'

  India led Sarah into a very cluttered living room and made the introductions.

  'This is my friend, Sarah, everybody. Sarah, this is my son, Mark, and the big one over there is Harry. I don't know where Helen is at the moment.

  'Excuse please, everybody! I've got something on the hob.'

  'Hi, Sarah!' Harry said, coming across to shake her hand.

  'Pleased to meet you!' Mark called as he made for the door. 'Sorry. Can't stop. See you later, maybe.'

  Sarah gave him a wave. He was a nice looking boy. Very blond hair and blue eyes. Not many of India's genes evident.

  Harry ushered her to a chair. 'Sorry about the mess. But when we're all at home this is what happens. How are you?'

  'I'm fine, thank you,' Sarah said, smiling.

  It was easy to tell who Mark took after. Harry was just an older version. He was very welcoming and pleasant, too.

  'My dear wife tells me you're new to Alnwick?'

  'Yes, I am – relatively. But I've been here a month, or so, now.'

  'Oh, well. You've seen it all then. Everything the old place has to offer. You can't have missed much if you've been here that long.'

  'I don't know about that, but I do like what I've seen. Have you lived here long yourself?'

  'All my life.' He shrugged and smiled. 'India says you're job hunting, like me.'

  'Yes, indeed. Not very hard, though, and not very successfully. I've seen nothing yet that I could even apply for.'

  'Join the club. You have my sympathy.'

  India came bustling through the doorway just then. 'Sympathy for what?' she demanded.

  'The workers,' Harry told her. 'The workers without jobs.'

  'Ah! Now I understand.' She paused and peered at a clock that appeared to have stopped. 'What time is it?'

  'Six-thirty,' Harry told her. 'Don't worry. He won't be late.'

  'He'd better not be!'

  India turned and disappeared again.

  'Another friend is coming,' Harry explained.

  He might have said more but just then the door swung open violently and a girl with long, dark hair bounded into the room.

  'Anybody seen my laptop?' she demanded. Then, seeing Sarah: 'Oh, hello!'

  'You must be Helen,' Sarah said. 'I'm ….'

  'Yes, I know. Sarah. Mum said you were coming.' She smiled and added, 'It's really good to meet you.'

  'That's very kind of you. And you're off out, too, are you?'

  'Yes. I'm just waiting for my lift. My friend's dad …. Oh, that will be him,' she said, hearing the front door bell. 'Excuse me!'

  Sarah caught Harry's eye and laughed.

  'Kids, eh?' he said ruefully.

  'Never a dull moment?'

  'Not many, no.'

  But it wasn't Helen's lift at the door. As Helen ushered in the new arrival, Sarah saw that it was Robert, the man India had once introduced her to in a café.

  'Hello again,' he said, giving her a smile. 'Now then, Harry!' he added. 'Am I late?'

  'Not at all,' India called, bustling back into the room. 'A drink anyone? We've just got time.'

  *

  Sarah enjoyed the meal, and the evening, very much. So did everyone else, it seemed. India had prepared a lamb casserole that she said was from a Moroccan recipe. That started them all off on a discussion of places, usually countries, they had never visited. It was a long list.

  Harry said, 'I used to go south of the Tyne quite often, but I never go down there now. It's too busy.'

  'South of the Tyne?' Robert said. 'That's where Gateshead is, isn't it?'

  'And London,' Sarah contributed.

  'Oh? Is it really?' Robert looked at her. 'You'll have been there, have you? I gather it's not far from Newcastle.'

  'Not far, no. And after that you get to France.'

  Robert nodded and grinned.

  'Then Morocco?' India suggested with a rollicking laugh.

  'You travellers!' Harry said. 'I can't keep up with you.'

  There were more sombre passages to the evening, too. Robert asked Harry if he was having any luck with his job search.

  'Not really, no. But something will turn up one of these days.'

  'I hope so,' Robert said quietly. He sighed and added, 'It looks as though I might be joining you in the job queue.'

  'How do you mean?'

  'Redundancy. It's all the rage, isn't it? Everywhere. They let another six go today. By the time the budget gets settled it will be interesting to see who's left in the old place.'

  'Where do you work, Robert?' Sarah asked.

  'County Hall. The audit section in accounts.'

  'They'll always need accountants,' India said confidently. 'You needn't worry.'

  'But not as many,' Robert countered. 'They can't afford them.'

  'I didn't think they got rid of people in the public sector,' Harry said.

  'Temporary staff, mostly. So far. That's what happens these days. They take on people as temporary staff, so they can get rid of them more easily if they have to cut the numbers. I felt sorry for the ones that heard today,' he added.

  'We'll all have to come and work in your new shop, India,' Sarah suggested to lighten the mood.

  Robert straightened up. 'Tell me more!' he said, giving India her cue.

  He seemed a nice man, Sarah thought as she settled back to listen to India's progress report. Very nice. She liked him a lot. It seemed odd that he was here alone. She wondered if that had anything to do with the problems to which India had alluded.

  'Did you bring your car?' India asked her at the end of the evening.

  'No. I walked.'

  'Can I give you a lift home, in that case?' Robert asked.

  'Well ….'

  She almost said she could walk. She didn't mind walking on such a pleasant evening.

  'It's raining now,' India added.

  That seemed to settle it.

  'Thank you,' she said with a smile. 'That would be very welcome, Robert.'

  Chapter Eight

  'This it,' Robert said. 'My pride and joy.'

  The car looked old, very old. Sarah stared at it, uncertain about the colour scheme.

  'You're wondering about the blue door panel?' Robert chuckled.

  'Just a little. Are you rebuilding the car?'

  'That's exactly what I am doing – when I get the time.' He opened the passenger door for her. Jump in. And don't worry – the roof doesn't leak!'

  It didn't. And the engine started with a healthy roar before settling into a slow, powerful throb. Sarah glanced round and took in the wood panelling and leather trim. She found she could stretch her legs way out in front of her, which was rather agreeable.

  'What make is it, Robert?'

  'A Wolseley 14/60, one of the best cars ever made at their Ward End Works in Birmingham. One of the last, as well. They moved in 1948.'

  Sarah sniffed. 'I can still smell the leather – even after all these years!'

  'Petrol, too, on a hot day. I still haven't found the leak. But the old thing gets me around – most days.'

  'Which way?' he asked, as they set off.
r />   Sarah directed him and then asked if he had known India and Harry long.

  'Years and years. They were just about our best friends. My wife and I, I mean.'

  'Oh?'

  He glanced at her and added, 'I'm a widower. Jenny died the other year.'

  'Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know. India didn't say anything.'

  'It's all right. Don't worry. But, yes, we've all been good friends a long time. How about you?'

  'India and I just met recently. It was very funny, actually.'

  She told him about India's altercation with the parking warden. He laughed and slapped the steering wheel with one hand. 'That's India! Exactly.'

  'But she soon recovered,' Sarah said. 'Tears to laughter in about thirty seconds. Then we had coffee.'

  Robert glanced sideways, still chuckling. 'You were lucky to meet her on your first morning here. Some people have to wait years before they witness one of India's performances.'

  'Yes,' Sarah said, laughing. 'I think even then I felt privileged.'

  A minute later they were home.

  'This it?'

  'Yes. Aidan House. I have one of the new flats here.'

  'I wondered what they were doing with the old place. Nice and handy for the town centre, eh?'

  'It is, yes.'

  He got out, came round and opened the door for her. 'Good to meet you, Sarah.'

  'Thanks for the lift, Robert.'

  'That's fine. Take care now!'

  She trotted to the front door, key in hand. Then she turned to give him a little wave as he departed. Nice man, she thought happily.

  *

  The next morning she lingered over breakfast, torn between happy thoughts of the night before and growing anxiety about the future. It had been a lovely evening at India's. What fun they had all had! She smiled as she remembered some of the things that had been said. Harry had been wonderful. For a man deeply depressed, as he kept saying of himself, he was bearing up remarkably well. He was such a good match for India.

  Robert, too, had been good fun. Such a nice man. And a widower. What a shame. It always seemed particularly sad when a family lost someone, especially a mother, so young.