Remember Me (35 page)

‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ said Dan. ‘I was thinking of him a little while ago.’ He would not tell her it was when one of the more zealous lecturers was haranguing them about dissenters and heretics. ‘He was a grand old man…a very wise man. So the Moon and Son are now your father and your brother, I presume?’

‘Yes, that’s right. Patrick is married now, and so is my half-sister, Hetty. Her husband is a photographer, and they have a baby girl, born on Christmas Day; she’s called Angela.’

‘Very appropriate,’ said Dan. ‘“Hark the Herald Angels Sing…” And what about Jessie? I remember how you and she were very good friends.’

‘Oh, we still are…Jessie has a young man at her cycling club. I don’t see any of them as much as I would like to. I won’t be back in Scarborough until the middle of May.’

‘But you are happy…and you have Freddie?’

‘So I have,’ she smiled. They stayed in the café rather longer than they ought to have done, and Maddy realised there was not enough time for her to go back to her digs before the evening performance. It would be too much of a rush, so she decided to wait in the dressing room for the rest of the troupe to arrive.

Daniel walked back to the pier entrance with her. He took hold of her hand, then gently kissed her cheek. ‘Be happy, Madeleine,’ he said, then he walked away.

When he arrived home his mother was in the kitchen preparing an evening meal. She looked at him enquiringly but did not ask where he had been all afternoon. They had not spoken together very much since their conversation a couple of days ago, when she had tried to persuade him not to go back. They were polite to one another, but there was a coolness between them which, fortunately, Joe did not seem to have noticed.

‘I have been to see the show at the pier pavilion,’ said Daniel. ‘You did tell me to go, didn’t you, Mammy…and to see Madeleine?’

‘Yes, so I did…’ She was looking at him anxiously, almost fearfully. What did she want? he wondered. Did she really expect him to say that Madeleine was back in his life again? Or did she know, in her heart, that it was not possible? ‘And…did you speak to her?’ she asked.

‘Yes…I met her afterwards. She is well and happy, Mammy, which is what I wanted to find out. There is no chance whatsoever of us getting back together…I think you knew that all along, didn’t you?’

Anna nodded, slowly and resignedly. ‘Yes…I knew,’ she agreed. ‘I guessed that you wouldn’t turn back, not now. But I wasn’t prepared for how much I would miss you. I’ve been thinking about what you said, though, Daniel. I must look forward now – to Joe getting married and the possibility of being a grandmother… Joe’s a grand lad, sure enough. I
do know that. And I shall look forward to my elder son entering the priesthood… God bless you, Daniel.’

They embraced fondly and, Dan felt, with a new understanding. ‘You were wrong, though, Mammy,’ he told her, ‘to try and force me into a way I was not sure about.’

‘Yes…I realise that now,’ she replied humbly.

‘Because, in the long run, you see, it is what I would have decided for myself.’ He smiled at her. ‘I’ve had to go through a lot of trials and temptations, and it may be that they’re not over yet… But in the end it was my decision. Mine…and God’s,’ he added.

Maddy wondered what Freddie would be thinking. She had said she was going back to the digs and he would be waiting there for her. She had spent too long talking to Dan; he had seemed so interested in her family and in what was happening to the Melody Makers. It had been good to see him again. At first she had felt the familiar heart stirrings at the sight of him, then she had realised that he had chosen his way in life, as she had chosen hers. And it was the right way, for both of them.

She felt a glow of warmth as she thought of Freddie’s cheerful face; the way he had of raising one eyebrow in a quirky smile, his ready wit and his ability to lift her spirits when she was feeling low, his kindness and the love she knew he felt for her. Yes, she had loved Daniel, but there had always
been a dreamlike quality about their friendship. Her relationship with Freddie was solid and down to earth. It had taken a while for her to realise that she loved him, but she did, unreservedly, and she hoped it might be for all time.

The door opened suddenly, and there he was, a bright smile lighting up his face. ‘So there you are,’ he said. ‘I thought I would find you here.’

‘Freddie, I’m so sorry…I hope you weren’t worried, about me being with Dan, I mean. We got talking, so we went and had some tea in town. His father has died; that’s why he’s in Blackpool; but he’s going back next week to his college in Northumberland. I hope you didn’t mind me spending some time with him. He seemed to want to talk and…’

‘Shh… Steady on there. There’s no need to apologise.’ He put his arms around her and kissed the tip of her nose. ‘Now, why on earth should I worry because you were with Dan? He’s an old friend. And there is nothing to worry about…is there?’

‘No, Freddie…nothing at all,’ Maddy replied.

He kissed her then, tenderly but with all the eagerness and longing that they always felt. Her feet were firmly on the ground, but she felt, too, that heaven was not far away.

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M
ARGARET
T
HORNTON
was born in Blackpool and has lived there all her life. She was a teacher for many years but retired early in order to concentrate on writing. She has had twenty novels published.

Above the Bright Blue Sky

Down an English Lane

A True Love of Mine

Remember Me

Until We Meet Again

Time Goes By