in Liverpool who hasn’t learned the sad story of Barney Davidson, and they would tell it to anyone, neighbour or stranger. No, Lucy, you did right. What happened between Vicky and Leonard is something aside, which only the two of them can sort out.’
Eager for peace of mind, Lucy nodded. ‘Maybe you’re right,’ she conceded hesitantly. ‘Maybe it would have come out sooner or later.’
‘Are you ready to face her tonight?’
Lucy nodded. ‘Ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose.’
Early that evening, the car was out and as he arrived Lucy was waiting at the door, looking smart and sophisticated in her high-necked cream-coloured jumper and skirt, with a coffee-coloured winter coat and dark shoes. Her greying hair was swept up in a loop of straying curls that framed her face, and she carried her best silver-topped stick; though she half-hid it in the folds of her coat. Even now she had a reluctance to show her slight handicap.
‘You look lovely as ever,’ Adam commented as he held open the door for her to climb into the back. Whenever he saw her, morning, noon or night, it was always the same; his old heart would leap to his throat and he had to stop himself from taking her in his arms.
As they travelled through the country roads towards Bedford town and the railway station, Lucy wondered aloud, ‘What will she look like, do you think?’
Adam glanced at her in the mirror. ‘I’m sure I don’t know,’ he answered. ‘She was lovely as a young woman, but not everybody stays as handsome as you.’
Lucy laughed. ‘You old flatterer,’ she said. ‘Truly though, Adam, do you think we’ll recognise her?’
‘Don’t know. Can’t say.’
‘Do you think she’ll recognise me?’
‘I think so. Your hair’s a little greyer, you’re slower of foot, and we all know you’re not the young thing you once were, but then none of us is – Vicky included.’
Lucy had to smile. ‘Well, thank you. Is that supposed to make me feel better?’
Adam made no apology. ‘All that aside,’ he said, ‘you’re still so vibrant and your features haven’t changed all that much. You have the same slim figure and those wonderful, smiling eyes. I think she would have to be looking in the opposite direction not to recognise the Lucy Baker we all know and love.’
For the remainder of the journey, Lucy fell silent, with Adam frequently glancing in his rear-view mirror to make sure she was all right.
When at last they arrived at the station, he pulled up as near to the entrance as he could. ‘Do you want me to come with you?’
Lucy thanked him. ‘Yes, I’d like that, Adam. But try if you can to keep a discreet distance when the train arrives. I don’t want her to think we’re there in force.’
Adam understood. ‘Trust me,’ he said. ‘You won’t even know I’m around. But if you want me, I’ll be only a heartbeat away.’
Lucy gave him a friendly peck on the cheek. ‘What would I do without you, eh?’ Adam was always there when she needed someone to share her fears and dreams. More and more she had come to rely on him. And today was particularly unnerving, for she was about to meet Vicky again for the first time in many years; Vicky, the beautiful person whom Barney adored above all others, and who had been cruelly robbed of her chance to say goodbye to him. Vicky, who had welcomed young Lucy and her little Jamie into the very heart of her family, and shown them both nothing but kindness.
Adam was still pondering on her remark. ‘What would you do without me, eh?’ he mused aloud. ‘Let me think now.’ Feigning a frown, he told her, ‘You’d have to find a careful new driver for a start. Then there’d be no one to fetch and carry for you, or collect your orders from the shops when you don’t feel like being in a crowd. You’d have no one to boss about or moan and grumble at, and when you feel lonely, there’ll be no one there to hold your hand.’
Lucy laughed. ‘I’ve always got Mary.’
‘Ah, but it’s not the same. Think about it,’ he urged. ‘Here you have a big handsome man ready to answer your every call; a man who’s besotted with you, ready to marry you at the drop of a hat, and on top of all that, he can make the best hot cocoa that’s ever passed your lovely lips.’
‘You’re incorrigible,’ Lucy chided.
‘But you love me, don’t you?’
‘ ’Course I do.’
‘But not enough to marry me?’
‘Behave yourself. Go and park the car, and I’ll get the platform tickets.’
‘Only if you say you’ll think about letting me put a ring on your finger.’
‘Go on with you!’ Dismissing him with a wave of her hand, she walked away, the merest of smiles curving her mouth at the corners. She had long thought he would make a wonderful husband, though it would never do to tell him that.
One day he’ll wear me down, she thought. One fine day, he’ll ask me and I just might say yes.
But she couldn’t see that day in sight for a very long time. Maybe never.
Waiting for Vicky’s train to arrive from London was nerve-racking. Lucy had lost count of the number of times she had walked the entire length of the platform, looking this way, looking that way, shivering in the bitter cold and beginning to despair. ‘Will the blessed train ever arrive?’ she asked Adam. ‘Maybe Vicky’s changed her mind. Maybe she’s decided not to come after all.’
Adam was more concerned about Lucy. ‘Don’t panic. The train isn’t even due to arrive for another half hour,’ he reminded her. ‘Look! I want you to come along to the café and get a hot drink down you. It’s perishing cold out here.’
‘But what if we miss the train arriving? If we’re not here waiting for her, she won’t know what to do.’
‘Listen to yourself,’ he advised. ‘We won’t miss the train arriving, and even if we did, she’s a grown woman, intelligent enough to get a taxi. She has your telephone number and address. So come on now, Lucy.’ He gently cupped the palm of his hand beneath her elbow. ‘Ten minutes, that’s all, to get you warmed up and comfortable. I don’t want you catching pneumonia.’
‘Stop fussing, Adam!’ Shaking him away, Lucy was adamant. ‘I’m perfectly all right. You go if you like, but I’m not moving.’
Adam knew from old that once her mind was made up, there’d be no shifting her. ‘I only wish Mary was here,’ he grumbled. ‘She’d make you go inside, and no mistake.’
Lucy shook her head. ‘I wouldn’t listen to Mary, any more than I’m listening to you,’ she replied haughtily. ‘I’m here to meet an old friend who’s travelled many miles, all the way from America. I will not have her arriving in a strange place, all alone and me not there to greet her.’
All the same, at that moment in time she wished she was any place but here. Vicky had been robbed of precious time with Barney, while she herself had earned a measure of his love, and had even borne him a child. How would Vicky
