Chapter Ten
It had been a week since her sisters had left Longbourn. Jane had enjoyed seeing them, especially as much as she had seen them both a lot recently. This weekend, it was her turn to spend it with her sisters in Portsmouth. She hadn't initially planned to travel again, especially as the weekend after this one was the August bank holiday weekend and she was fully booked up for it and needed to plan for it. But, it wouldn't be long before she wouldn't be able to see Elizabeth and Lydia so regularly as the contractors would soon be clearing the field for Longbourn's expansion into an inn rather than just a bed and breakfast. The expansion was something she was really looking forward to. The planning permission had been granted, the blueprints and plans for the land approved, the designs approved and in the autumn the building work for the expansion would begin.
Jane hauled her suitcase from her bedroom and dumped it in the hallway. There was another reason for spending the weekend in Portsmouth. She and Charles were attending the annual Rosings Park staff barbecue to celebrate Charles passing his teaching course and gaining a permanent position on the teaching staff.
"All ready to go?" Charles asked.
Jane nodded.
"All packed. Just need to get it in the car." She replied.
Charles placed a kiss to her cheek and tugged on the suitcase handle as he began to wheel it out on to the driveway. Jane followed, locking up the guesthouse as her boyfriend placed her suitcase in the back of her car.
"Do you think Lizzy and Lydia will be pleased for us?" Charles asked nervously, closing the boot of the car and wrapping an arm around her waist.
Jane looked up at him and nodded reassuringly. Under Dr. Richardson's advice, she was seeing a therapist at her local mental health unit to help her deal with her feelings about the events of the past two years and it was helping. For the first time in months, she felt that everything was moving forward. With her sisters, with Longbourn and her relationship with Charles.
"Of course, they will." Jane replied with a smile.
"They won't think it's too soon?" Charles asked.
"Do you think it's too soon?"
Charles shook his head.
"It's happening next summer. We'll have been together for nearly two years by then."
"All that matters is that we love each other and want this to work." Jane reminded him.
Charles nodded and smiled enthusiastically as they separated and climbed into the car. Maddie had offered to hold a family dinner when she had told her aunt that she and Charles had an announcement to make, with Charles inviting his family to the dinner. Luckily, Caroline had declined; apparently, she had 'better' things to do.
"What do you think your dad will say?" Jane asked curiously, strapping herself into the driver's seat.
"I think he'll have mixed feelings about it," Charles replied honestly, "A mixture of being happy for us and being sad."
"What about Will? Do you think that he'll be pleased?"
"I think the two of you need to have a talk and put this dislike to rest."
Jane nodded stiffly. Her dislike with Will stemmed from his inability to get over his past and commit to her sister and ignoring the warning signs from his ex-wife about Wickham. She hated seeing her sister hurting in those weeks before the abduction and she had blamed him for the abduction which had put her sister through a horrific ordeal. But, after weeks of talking it through with a therapist, she realised that she did need to speak to Will about it at some point; especially as Elizabeth was in love with him and wanted their relationship to work.
"I will talk to him. Eventually." Jane promised.
"Soon. He's my best mate and it's hard for me being stuck between the two of you." Charles stated.
"I know," Jane sighed, "It's just hard. But talking will clear the air and in time, hopefully I can fully let go of my anger and blame against him."
"I get why you're angry with him, I would be too if I were in your position. But try and think of it from Will's perspective. He was conned by a woman he had once loved and was committed to spending his life with and that affected him in more ways than one. Sarah warning him only made his distrust for her come to the surface again. Say hypothetically I had done to you what Sarah did to Will, would you take my warnings seriously?" Charles pointed out.
Jane sighed and shook her head. Her boyfriend had a point. If she had been in Will's situation, she wouldn't have taken the warnings about Wickham seriously either. She would have believed it to be another grand scheme or something.
"Alright, I get what you mean. I promise that I will talk to Will." She said defeatedly.
"This weekend?" Charles pressed.
"This weekend."
Saying nothing more on the subject, Jane switched on the engine and pulled out of the gravel driveway.
ooOoo
After her sister and Charles had arrived safely to Portsmouth, Elizabeth sat with her family around the crowded dining table. Four seats that were usually taken by herself, Lydia, Ed and Maddie were now squished in with seating for Charles, Jane, Will and Wesley Bingley. Only Lydia was absent, having been scheduled to work the close at work.
"This was very nice of you, Madeline. Offering to host dinner for my son and Jane. I hope we aren't putting you out by cooking more than you normally would." Wesley said politely.
"It's no trouble. I'm used to cooking for a lot of people. When Jane, Elizabeth and Lydia were young I used to cook large Christmas dinners for the three of them, their father plus my two children and Ed's sister Jennifer and her family. So, eight people is nothing, really." Maddie smiled in reply.
"Large family you have, Edward?" Wesley asked with a chuckle.
"Maddie and I have a son and daughter: Oliver and Ruby. Oliver is married and lives out of Portsmouth and Ruby is overseas doing charity work. I have two sisters. Jinny and Fran. But, we hardly see them these days." Ed replied.
"Busy lives?" Charles asked.
"Well, Fran isn't really big on family these days. Jinny lives in Canada with her husband. Their children are over there as well. But we saw Fran's girls and ex-husband a lot over the years so that's what counts." Ed replied happily.
"Family is what counts. So, Charlie m'boy, what is it you and Jane wanted to announce to us?" Wesley asked curiously.
Elizabeth noted how everyone's eyes darted to look straight at Jane and Charles. She watched how Charles nervously cleared his throat for the announcement and Jane tapped her fingers against the edge of the dining table.
"Jane and I have been talking…we've been together for nearly a year now…and the long distance is getting quite tiring…but I've already signed my teaching contract for the new academic year which starts in a few weeks…"
"You're splitting up?" Elizabeth questioned, confused.
Jane shook her head as she met Elizabeth's gaze.
"No. But it's quite tiring having one of us travel up to Thurston or the other travelling to Portsmouth every other weekend just to see each other. I can't move the B&B and Charles must stay in his teaching role for a year otherwise he has to pay back the teaching course fees. So, we decided…that this time next year…Charles won't renew his teaching contract at Rosings…" Jane answered.
"And Longbourn will be starting to establish itself as an inn rather than a B&B. I'm going to move up there to be with Jane next summer and look for a teaching position in Thurston." Charles announced.
There was a moment of silence at the dining table as everyone started to process Charles and Jane's news. Elizabeth thought the news was brilliant. Her sister and Charles had obviously thought things through and talked about the next step of their relationship a lot for them to decide to wait until the end of the new academic year to move in together. In her opinion, it was quite sensible. But before she could even voice her congratulations to her sister and Charles, there was an impatient knock on the front door. Maddie frowned, moving from the dining room to answer the door; only to have Caroline push past and storm into the house.
"Caroline!" Wesley scolded.
"My apologies for my lateness." Caroline said sarcastically to Maddie.
"It's-"
"But I'm here now, let us start the dinner!" Caroline pressed.
Maddie closed the door behind Caroline, a look of pure annoyance etched on her face. Elizabeth clenched her fists at the edge of the dining table, feeling her anger rise. She couldn't help it. Having Caroline burst into her home, just as they were about to eat and celebrate Charles and Jane's good news, brought the anger she felt at the role Caroline had played in Oscar's death to the surface. If it hadn't been for Caroline's lies, her ex-boyfriend wouldn't have come to Portsmouth and would still be alive.
Standing up from her chair, she felt everyone's eyes on her as she met Caroline's icy stare.
"You're not welcome here." Elizabeth stated bluntly.
"Of course, I am!" Caroline insisted with a hiss, "I was invited."
"And you declined the invitation. Now get out of here before I throw you out." Elizabeth warned.
Caroline glared at her as Wesley stood from the table, looking at Elizabeth with a confused expression.
"May I ask why you have a problem with my daughter being here?" he asked.
Elizabeth scoffed in disbelief. It seemed that Wesley wasn't aware of Caroline's lies.
"Didn't the police question your daughter about the role she played in causing my ex-boyfriend's death?" she questioned.
Wesley turned to look at Caroline.
"What is she talking about, Carrie?"
Elizabeth met the evil stare she was getting from the woman. She felt Will stand up behind her and place his arm around her waist; as if letting her know silently that she had his support.
"I have no idea what she is talking about, daddy." Caroline lied.
Elizabeth lunged forwards but was held back by her boyfriend.
"Carrie, if there is something going on then you need to tell us," Charles urged, "Are you in trouble? Did you know Oscar Pierce?"
Wesley groaned as he rubbed his forehead with his fingers before making a disappointed and disgusted look at his daughter.
"You were involved in the murder that took place down here?" the old Bingley shouted.
Caroline shook her head, still intent on lying.
"I didn't have any involvement! Daddy…you have to believe me…"
"Time and time again you lie and try to cause trouble! Tell me the fucking truth for once in your sad little life!" Wesley roared.
Caroline looked shocked and embarrassed at her father's outburst. But she refused to answer for her part in Oscar's death.
"What exactly has my daughter done, Elizabeth?"
Turning to Wesley, Elizabeth took a deep breath before answering.
"She told my ex-boyfriend that I was having employment issues and trouble in my relationship with Will. Caroline made Oscar believe that there was hope of a reconciliation between us to which I corrected the lies he had been told and then was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by George Wickham." She explained.
"I think you need to leave." Maddie insisted, clamping her hand roughly around Caroline's wrist and dragging her to the front door.
"But…But…I was invited…" Caroline stammered in protest.
"And the invitation has been rescinded. I don't want your sort in my house!" Maddie hissed.
Caroline tried to fight her way past Maddie, but Wesley strode across the room, opened the front door and threw his daughter out into the street.
"I'll deal with you later!" Wesley growled, slamming the door to a close.
The once pleased atmosphere that had once given the families the chance to celebrate Charles and Jane's happy news had now turned sour.
"I apologise for my daughter. I had no idea that she would show up after declining the invitation. Nor did I have any knowledge about her lies to your ex-boyfriend, Elizabeth." Wesley sighed heavily.
"If she hadn't told Oscar those lies…he'd still be alive…"
"I know what my daughter is, but she didn't have any involvement with George Wickham directly. I understand the pain you must feel, losing someone you were once close to, but placing blame with Caroline isn't the answer." Wesley said defensively.
Charles stood up from his chair and faced his father, looking slightly angry.
"Are you seriously trying to justify Caroline's actions? Elizabeth hasn't said or blamed my sister for Oscar's murder, but what she did say was true. If Caroline hadn't told Oscar those lies, he would still be alive because he wouldn't have come looking for Lizzy in the first place!" Charles argued.
"Charles, can we talk about this at home? Can we just eat dinner and celebrate the news that you and Jane have shared with us all?" Wesley asked.
With everyone else murmuring their agreement, everyone took to their seats and ate as Maddie served them all dinner.
ooOoo
Once the dinner had been eaten, Wesley Bingley had shared his thanks, apologies and farewells and had left the Gardiner residence. The rest of them helped to clear the table, wash and dry the dirty plates and glasses and cutlery and put it back in their right places before sitting down in the living room.
"Well that was definitely an eventful dinner." Jane sighed.
"Families eh?" Charles muttered, placing a kiss to his girlfriend's forehead.
The front door opened and closed quickly, with Lydia kicking her shoes off in the hallway before joining them all in the living room.
"Hey Lydi, how was work?" Elizabeth asked.
Lydia let out a yawn and shrugged.
"Weekend closes suck! One down, just tomorrows to get through."
"Sad to say, you'll soon miss being in full-time education in a few years." Will chuckled.
Lydia shrugged her shoulders as she was filled in with the events of the evening. Will watched as the look of surprise formed on Lydia's face once she was told that Charles would be moving into Longbourn next summer. Will was pleased for his friend, it had been a long time coming to see Charles settle down. His friend had been mad about the girls when they were teenagers, always appreciating a pretty face and personality but he had never been able to make a relationship last long-term. So tonight, hearing Charles and Jane announce their plans and the reasoning behind the long wait to move in together, Will thought they were both being sensible.
"It just seems like you'll be waiting a long time, is all." Lydia said.
"It is a long time before it happens," Jane agreed, "But, we both had a talk about where we wanted our relationship to go and the difficulties with our jobs at this present time. It just made sense that once Longbourn's expansion had been completed and Charles had fulfilled his teacher training employment contract, then would be the ideal time to move our relationship forward."
"So, what will you do until then?" Will asked curiously.
"We'll work something out. Jane will be too busy to come down every weekend and she doesn't want me driving to her every weekend because she thinks it's unfair." Charles replied, nudging his girlfriend in the ribs.
"I'm sure you'll both work something out. I hope it works out for you both and you'll both be very happy." Will said warmly.
He noticed that Jane was smiling at him awkwardly and he returned her gesture with a reassuring smile of his own. The past few months had been awkward between Will and Jane, but he had promised to try and be civil for Elizabeth's sake, and it had been hard at times. But it seemed that Jane was willing to try to be polite to him, after all; they had Elizabeth in common.
"Will, can I talk to you for a minute please? Privately?" Jane asked.
"Um…sure…" Will replied hesitantly.
He got up from his seat and followed Jane out into the Gardiner's back garden, so they had some privacy. Looking down at his girlfriend's sister, he noted how nervous Jane seemed to be now that it was just the two of them without the others around for her to be civil towards him.
"I just wanted to say…I'm sorry that I've been hard on you for the past few months. After everything that happened with Lizzy, I blamed you for what she went through, and I didn't consider how much hurt you had felt from past events which made you skeptical about those warnings about Wickham. So, I wanted to apologise for how I've treated you. I've got a lot to come to terms with but hopefully, given some time, we can put this behind us and build a friendship."
Will felt surprised by her apology and explanation. He hadn't been expecting Jane to apologise for the hostility she had had towards him over the past few months.
"I get why you don't like me, I've made some mistakes which hurt your sister. I didn't mean to hurt Lizzy, but I do understand it from your point of view. When Georgie was drugged by that boy, I wanted to kill him. I had never felt that angry before when someone had tried to hurt my little sister." Will explained.
"It's not a nice feeling," Jane agreed, "Hearing Lizzy confide in me about the issues that were going on with the two of you, it made me feel even more useless. My sisters are all I have left in this world and being so far apart from them when they need to talk to me breaks my heart."
"I think we all have some demons that we need to defeat. We've all had a rough few months, Lizzy especially. But, we need to come through this together and not let Wickham tear everything apart. I hope that in time, we can move forward and be friends." Will stated.
Jane gave him a slight smile and a nod. With that, the two of them returned to the others with an understanding.
ooOoo
The annual staff barbecue was something that Will had been dreading. He wasn't even on the staff, but his role on the board of governors meant that he was expected to attend the event. He would rather have spent his Saturday doing going to lunch with Elizabeth, Charles and Jane but instead, he had to spend the afternoon tolerating his insufferable aunt. Rolling up his shirt sleeves to his elbows, he walked downstairs for breakfast, thanking Alice as she passed him the post and plate of toast.
Will took a bite out of a slice of toast while opening the first letter. Reading the first paragraph made him forget his breakfast. As he tried to process the information from the letter, he saw Georgiana enter the kitchen out of the corner of his eye.
"Morning bro, what plans do you have today?" his sister asked cheerily, taking the seat opposite him at the kitchen table.
Will looked up at his sister, dropping the letter on the table as he cleared his throat.
"Georgie has Dennis Wickham mentioned anything to you about his Rosings tuition lately?" Will asked curiously.
His sister looked away from him sheepishly as she took a plate of toast from Alice before the housekeeper went back to making herself something to eat.
"He made me promise not to say anything to you." Georgiana sighed.
"You might as well tell me. Apparently, our lovely aunt Catherine has written to the family lawyer stating that Dennis Wickham's tuition fees are no longer required to be paid to the school because his education is no longer taking place there for the next two years." Will informed her.
"Denny told me a while ago that Catherine was considering kicking him out of school because of his familial connection to murderers." Georgiana muttered.
"So, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Will pressed.
"He asked me not to say anything. Denny believes that you wouldn't help him or his mum out after what his brother and father have done." Georgiana replied.
Will sighed heavily. During the first few weeks after Elizabeth had been rescued from the nightclub basement, he and his sister had talked about her friendship with Dennis Wickham and how he felt uncomfortable with her continuing said friendship. And Georgie had protested, stating that Denny was nothing like his sadistic family members.
"I won't deny that the situation is difficult. But our dad and Harriet were friends for decades before he died, and he wanted Denny to have a good education and paid for the remaining years Denny had at Rosings before his death. If Harriet knew that her son was facing expulsion by our aunt, then she should have come to me." Will sighed.
"Put yourself in her shoes, Will!" Georgiana declared, "Do you really think Harriet would want to ask you for help when her eldest son, not only tried to screw you over once, but tried to kill your ex-wife and current girlfriend?"
"I suppose I can understand why she wouldn't want to come to me. But, our father wanted Denny to have the best education possible in this city. It was our father's wish that Harriet's son would have opportunities. I'm not some petty person who would go against what our father wanted and stated in his will."
"I know that. So, what are you going to do?"
Will took a bite out of his toast as Alice took to the kitchen table and opened up the morning paper, listening to their conversation but not yet offering an input.
"I can talk to the admin office at the school, pay for his tuition in person." Will suggested.
"But then you would be wasting the money if Catherine has already wiped Denny from the school register." Georgiana pointed out.
"I really don't want to face her today-"
"Do you want to know what I would do?" Alice offered, not looking up from the paper.
"What's that?" Georgiana asked.
Alice looked at the two of them and smiled wickedly.
"Fitzwilliam, you have an unwanted power at the school. Why not use it to your advantage?" the housekeeper suggested.
Will raised an eyebrow.
"There's an idea." He agreed.
Once their breakfast had been eaten, Will thanked Alice for the breakfast and headed into the living room to make some phone calls.
Later that afternoon, once the phone calls had been made and he was feeling a lot calmer about his aunt going against his father's wishes, he dropped Georgiana off at work and picked up Elizabeth and drove them to the school.
"How are you feeling?" Will asked his girlfriend, noting how quiet she seemed.
"Nervous. I haven't been back to work since before my ordeal. The only ones who have tried to keep in touch are Charlotte and Aimee and even then, it wasn't as often." Elizabeth replied quietly.
"We don't have to go if you don't want to." Will stated supportively.
"I know. But I'll be returning to work part-time in a few weeks, so it won't do me any favours if I skip this barbecue."
"Are you sure?"
Elizabeth nodded as Will pulled into the Rosings staff car park, switching off the engine and exiting the vehicle. The two of them walked on to the fields that the school used for PE lessons and greeted the staff members that were already gathered on the tables that were placed on the field. Will watched as Elizabeth sat with Charlotte Lucas and Aimee Long, striking up a conversation with her colleagues just as Charles and Jane took to the same table. Whispering his reason to leave her, Will walked over to his aunt.
"Ah Fitzwilliam, I'm very happy that you came!" Catherine greeted enthusiastically.
"May we speak privately?" Will asked curtly.
Catherine frowned but nodded her agreement as the two began to walk a slight distance out of earshot.
"What is the matter, nephew?" his aunt questioned impatiently.
"I had a letter from my lawyer informing me that you are sending back the money my father stated in his last will and testament was to be used to pay the tuition fees for Dennis Wickham. Are you excluding him from the school?" Will pressed.
"Indeed I am. The boy doesn't deserve a place in my school after what his family members have done." Catherine tutted bitterly.
Will shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Catherine, that money was specifically supposed to pay Dennis Wickham's school fees until the age of eighteen. The boy has done nothing for you to exclude him!"
"His brother and father murdered an innocent man! They tried to kill your ex-wife-"
"I'm not really a firm believer in sins of the father passing on to the next generation. The boy has gotten good grades in his GCSEs, hasn't he?" Will interrupted.
"Well…that's hardly the point…I have the school's-"
"Spare me the 'reputation' excuse. That's all you care about, how it all looks. You don't care about the wellbeing of your students if something bad happens."
"That's not true!" Catherine insisted with a hiss.
"Really? You tried to pressure Georgiana to return to school before she was ready after her attempted rape by an older student. You never once showed any concern in her wellbeing, only how it would look on the school's reputation by her taking time off after a horrifying ordeal." Will reminded his aunt.
"And what is so bad with putting the reputation of my school first?"
"It's wrong when you only put the school's reputation first. Rosings Park is more than just a name. It's the students who make it what it is. And by excluding a good student like Dennis Wickham would damage the school's reputation."
Catherine came to a stop and turned to face him, narrowing her eyes in an evil glare.
"I insist you not interfere-"
Will held his hand up in front of his aunt, causing her to fall silent and become more frustrated with him.
"I believe that you aren't doing an adequate job as the headteacher of this school. A headteacher has to care more about the reputation of the school. They have to care about performance and wellbeing of their students and their staff. I've spoken to the other members on the board of governors and we all agree that you, from the first of September, are on a probation."
"PROBATION?!" Catherine yelled furiously.
"For three months. If you don't improve during the first term of the academic year, then the board will replace you with someone else on the Rosings staff." Will stated.
"But…But…"
"And while we know that your late husband left you the building, you only own forty-nine percent of the building. Anne owns the rest. And my cousin is backing the board of governors with her full support, it appears she's sick of the way things are being handled at Rosings."
"This is an outrage!" Catherine hissed.
"Consider this a warning, you need to make some changes. Starting with reinstating Dennis Wickham into the sixth form and accepting my father's money to pay for it, just like he wished it to be spent this way." Will warned.
With nothing more to say to his aunt, Will strode back over to the table where his girlfriend was sitting.
ooOoo
If there was one thing that Lydia had come to dislike about her working life, it was that her shifts had been made longer and she was now being given more responsibility like participating on the closing shifts of the café. After finishing cleaning down the coffee machine, Lydia turned to Jimmy who was counting the food waste.
"When did Kerry say to lock the doors?" Lydia asked.
"She said that she'd come through and lock them herself when she was finished doing the stock count, she'll be done in five minutes or so." Jimmy replied.
"Do you need any help?"
"Nah, I'm alright. Are you finished up?"
Lydia nodded, looking around the empty café and the last few customers who were making their way to the lifts to get back to their cars walked past Boswell's. The floors had been mopped, the tables and chairs wiped down, Jimmy had taken care of cleaning the kitchen whilst their supervisor Kerry had been in charge of the management close of the café. Jimmy walked back through to the kitchen to discard the waste when Lydia turned back to the coffee machine and switched off the coffee machine when she heard the café doors open.
She stood frozen to the spot as the woman who had entered the café walked over to the counter. Lydia felt her heart racing faster, as the woman who had abandoned her when she was a year old stood in front of her on the other side of the counter.
"Hello Lydia." Fran greeted awkwardly.
Clearing her throat, Lydia placed her hands across her chest and stared back at Francine in disbelief.
"What are you doing here? Are you stalking me or something?" she demanded.
Fran shook her head.
"No…well I saw you passing through town the other day and noticed that you worked here…I thought-"
"You thought what?"
Fran shifted uncomfortably on the spot, not meeting Lydia's stare.
"I thought we could talk." The woman mumbled.
"I don't think so. Ed told me that you met him a few weeks ago, he told you then that we didn't need you. As I recall, you told me not that long ago that you never wanted kids. So why bother trying to get in touch now?" Lydia said harshly.
"I deserve that. But, I've been doing a lot of thinking recently." Fran mumbled.
"I don't want to hear it."
"But…I'm your mother…won't you hear me out?"
Lydia scoffed in disbelief.
"You're not my mother. You're just the woman who gave birth to me! Lizzy and Jane have been more of a mother to me than you ever were!"
Before anymore could be said between them, Kerry and Jimmy appeared from the direction of the office and stared between the two of them with confused expressions on their faces.
"I'm sorry but we're closing now, you need to leave." Kerry stated firmly to Fran.
Fran nodded and turned to walk back towards the door and left the café. Lydia thanked her supervisor as Kerry handed over Lydia's bag and turned off the café lights. Exiting the café with Jimmy, they said their goodbyes to Kerry, leaving her behind to lock up the café as the two colleagues walked out of the empty shopping centre and on to the equally empty high street.
"What was all that about?" Jimmy questioned nosily.
"What was what all about?" Lydia answered stubbornly.
"That woman you were having words with in the café. She didn't look like a customer. She looked like she knew you."
"She doesn't know me. Not really."
The two of them stopped as Lydia took a seat on the edge of the fountain, trying to process that she had seen her absent mother for the first time since December. She hadn't ever expected to see Fran ever again after she had been told that her mother had never wanted children in the first place. And seeing Fran turn up at her place of work, unannounced, had shook her slightly.
"So…who is she then?" Jimmy asked curiously.
"Why are you so desperate to know?" Lydia bite back harshly.
Jimmy blinked and frowned before sitting down next to her on the edge of the fountain.
"I didn't mean to be nosy. You just seemed on edge and wondered if that woman had upset you in some way?"
Lydia exhaled heavily as she stared around the empty high street. She didn't know why, but she found herself feeling slightly guilty because Jimmy was showing an interest in her feelings when she had snapped at him quite harshly.
"I wasn't expecting to see her ever again. How can she think that I'd want to ever see her again after she told me that she had never wanted children?" she ranted.
"So…she's your mum…" Jimmy concluded.
"Mum is a bit of a stretch. She walked out on me when I was a year old. I was raised by my older sisters and my dad." Lydia said icily.
"Oh…so your reaction to her is justified then."
"Fourteen years we hear nothing from her and then she just turns up expecting a happy reunion?! Is she serious?"
"For what it's worth, I know how you feel."
Lydia turned to Jimmy, frowning.
"Your mum didn't walk out on you. You told me that you had a mum." She reminded him.
"It's true, I have a mum who raised me. But my dad walked out on me when I was three. So, I know how you feel. My dad just didn't want to know, and my mum blamed me for the pressures their relationship faced so she just let me do my own thing. I never had any parent guiding me in the ways of right and wrong. My mum didn't teach me a lot; as soon as I showed any kind of independence I was on my own." Jimmy explained.
"I suppose you just had really useless parents." Lydia sighed.
"That's one way to look at it. But I try to think that I'm eighteen soon and I'll be off to university this time next year and I can start afresh." Jimmy said brightly.
"Moving here was supposed to be my fresh start."
"How come?"
Lydia met his curious gaze and returned his encouraging smile. Jimmy meant well, she knew that. But she wasn't ready to divulge her entire life story to a boy she had only known for a few weeks. Maybe, the two of them could become friends (even if he didn't think before he spoke at times) but she wasn't going to tell him all the reasons why she needed a fresh start.
"It's a long story." Lydia said quietly.
"I'm a good listener." Jimmy smiled.
Lydia stood up from the fountain edge and pulled her bag more tightly over her shoulder.
"Maybe some other time." Lydia smiled.
Jimmy stood up, gently moving his fingers to a strand of hair and pulling out a blossom that had fallen from one of the surrounding trees and had gotten stuck in Lydia's hair. He seemed to linger for a moment before stepping back from her.
"Are you going to be alright getting home?" Jimmy asked.
Lydia nodded.
"I'll be fine, thanks."
As she turned to walk off in the direction that would take her home, she heard Jimmy calling her name.
"Lydia."
"What is it?" Lydia asked loudly, turning to face him.
"I'm having a party in two weekends time for my eighteenth, I was wondering if you'd like to come? You can bring some people along if you like." Jimmy offered.
Lydia bit her lip nervously. She usually avoiding parties where heavy drinking would be involved; she'd had her fill of those during her rebellious streak. But seeing Jimmy look at her like he desperately wanted her to say yes and knowing he would be disappointed if she declined, made her push her worries to the back of her mind.
"Sure. I'll be there. Just let me know time, date and address."
Jimmy beamed happily before giving her an awkward hug and giving her a final 'goodbye' before heading off in the other direction for home. Pulling her earphones out of her bag, she connected them to her mobile and played some music; trying to fill her head with something else other than the demons of her past.