Chapter 10 Looking together in the same direction
"Hi mum. I'm glad you are still home. I wanted to catch you before you headed out to see dad."
Caroline couldn't hear what Kate's mum said in reply but whatever it was it made Kate smile.
"Yes I know you have your mobile but the thing is, in all the years that you have had it I have only once known you to answer and then you thought you were talking to someone trying to sell you something and you shut down my call! Also if you turned it on occasionally it might be more use!"
Hearing one side of the conversation was like putting pieces of a jigsaw together.
"I'm not being disrespectful but I am winding you up. You are such an easy target! Anyway the reason that I'm calling is that I wondered if you would like to pop over to Caroline's house for lunch tomorrow."
"Yes, Caroline's house."
"Time? We can be flexible but we thought about midday. Caroline is going to ask her mum and Alan along. Maybe Alan's daughter and brother too."
"Yes the one who flew over from New Zealand for the wedding."
"No you don't need to bring anything but I wouldn't mind some cakes if there are any going!"
"Ok. I'll leave it to you. Have you got a pen and I'll tell you the address."
So the phone call ended and as Caroline made a call to Celia it was Kate's turn to fit the pieces in the puzzle.
"Mum, it will be nice to see you that's why I….we are asking you. Gillian and Ted too if they would like to. It would be good if Raff and Ellie want to come, young company for Lawrence."
"Oh, Robbie is about too is he?"
"Looks like we might have a full house then. It might be the last party here, mum. Good news, I saw the estate agent this morning and he confirmed the answerphone message that the house is sold subject to contract and surveys and all that legal stuff."
"Yes the buyers want to move quickly, there is no chain. We are going house hunting this afternoon."
"No, he is not back yet but should be any minute. There are only two suitable houses on the estate agent books so we are not hopeful but we won't know unless we try."
"Kate?"
"Yes when I said 'we' are going house hunting I meant Lawrence and Kate and I. By the way Kate's mum is coming tomorrow too. We thought it would be good for you to meet."
"Yes, I have met her before, twice, no three times, some months ago."
"That's fine. I'll fill you in on the house hunting saga when we see you tomorrow. Bye, bye bye."
Caroline had barely finished her phone call to Celia when John's car pulled into the drive. As she went to the front door to meet Lawrence the door opened and Lawrence rushed past her and through to the kitchen without a greeting. John opened up the boot of the car and brought Lawrence's bag to the door.
"What was all that about? Have you had a bad journey?" Seeing that she was not going to get an answer Caroline continued "Did you get your letter about the decree nisi?"
"No. When did it arrive?"
"It was waiting for me when we arrived back home on Christmas morning so must have come in the post on Christmas Eve. I'm sure it will be waiting for you when you get back to Judith's. Anyway the good news is that the house is sold subject to contract and I'm going house hunting later this afternoon."
"Caroline, are you sure that.."
Caroline turned her back to stop his flow of words and called through to the kitchen to Lawrence. "Are you going to come and say goodbye to your dad?"
No reply.
"LAWRENCE!"
"You can tell him to bugger off."
She looked at John again who shrugged, turned and walked back to the car without comment.
In the kitchen Lawrence was making short work of a large glass of orange juice while texting with the other hand. Kate was busy preparing some salad to go with a pizza which was almost ready, judging by the smell.
"Hello love. Did you have a good time? How was the football?"
"Alright I suppose" he said without looking up.
"How was the journey? Did you spend long at Roxy's house?"
"Boring. Yes." Answers to the two questions.
"Lawrence I don't know what is wrong but at the moment it's like trying to get blood out of a stone. Would you like to put that phone down and talk to me for five minutes?"
No response.
"Ok. I will phrase that differently. PUT that phone down and talk to me."
Surly eyes looked up but the phone was put down on the worktop. Caroline let the seconds tick away.
"He did it again, mum."
"Who did? What?"
"He can't help himself. Haven't you heard from Will? We were invited back to Roxy's house to stay the night after watching the football instead of staying in a hotel. Dad got very drunk and ended up making flirty and suggestive comments to Roxy's mum. Will intervened and had to apologise for him before taking dad to his room and giving him a piece of his mind. Breakfast this morning was rather embarrassing. The trouble is that dad didn't even appear to know what he had done and was chatting away over toast and cereal while the rest of us didn't know where to look. They have invited me to go back next week for New Year to be with Will but how can I face them? I never want to see HIM again."
Caroline pulled Lawrence into a hug and kissed his head.
"I am sorry that you had that to deal with but I feel sure that Roxy's parents did not think badly of you. When did they make the offer about New Year?"
"As we were leaving."
"You see. They would not have done that if they didn't want you to go. Mind you, it might be better if we don't ask your dad to take you!"
They hugged for a while longer and Caroline smiled lovingly at Kate over the top of his head.
"Did you hear me tell your dad about going house hunting this afternoon? We've got two to look at. I hope you want to come along."
Yes, ok but can I go to stay with Angus for the night. His mum has asked me."
As he pulled away from the hug Caroline put her left hand out to ruffle his hair. Lawrence caught hold of her hand and held it. He had noticed her ring. He looked up to Caroline's face with a question in his eyes.
"Yes, it is what you think it is. Kate and I wanted you to be the first to know. She makes me so happy, Lawrence. You know that. I hope you will be happy for us."
Lawrence looked over at Kate. Still no response from his lips and little hint of his feelings on his face.
"At least you are not boring when you are with Kate!" He pulled his mum back into a hug. "How long before lunch?" Lawrence on safe ground when talking about food.
"Five minutes. Just time to wash up."
"Ok. I will. Can I just ask one thing? No, two things?"
Caroline nodded.
"Firstly, please tell me that you won't ask me to sing and dance at your wedding. And secondly, please tell me that I won't have to change nappies!"
Lawrence left the room with a smile. As soon as he had gone Caroline joined Kate and pulled her into a hug before claiming her mouth with a slow kiss that was anything but innocent. They pulled apart briefly.
"That went better than I expected. All power to John for being such a prat. That probably helped Lawrence appreciate his other parent more!" The women resumed their oral antics just as Lawrence made a reappearance before going straight out again.
"I want to make that three things to ask" came a voice from the hallway. "Is there ever going to be a time when you two can be within a foot of each other without wanting to snog? Is the coast clear for me to come back in now?!"
Over an enjoyable lunch Lawrence became more communicative and Caroline and Kate were given a detailed account of the football match. Kate surprised Caroline by knowing what he was talking about and showing interest, which continued to spur him on to further discussion. She was content to sit back and watch, pleased that bridges were being built. It was soon time to head out to look at the houses so Caroline suggested that Lawrence packed yet another overnight bag so that he could be dropped at Angus' house afterwards.
An hour and a half later three very disappointed house hunters got back into the car. They all felt very dejected. It was some moments before Caroline could summon the energy to start the engine. "We knew they were not going to be ideal but I had hoped that they were going to be nearer our specification than that" Caroline grumbled. "The first was a disaster. It would have taken us months of work to get it right. This one was just wrong for us. Too small. It was nicely done out but two of the bedrooms were little more than box rooms. And don't get me started on the size of the kitchen. Bloody estate agents and their warped descriptions. For 'needs modernising' read 'hard hat area!"
Kate put her hand on Caroline's knee as she drove. "Don't be down about it. We'll find something. Your buyers want a quick result but I'm sure they'll wait. It might be frustrating but we'll get there in the end."
"Yes I know but I wanted us to be settled before Simone is born."
"Simone?" came a voice from the back seat.
"Oh, yes. We didn't tell you. The baby, it's a girl and she's going to be called Simone like my great, great aunt. I'm sure you have heard me talk about her."
"Will you be like her, Simone's, mum too, then? How does that work? What will she call you? How will you know which mum she's calling?"
"That's a good question, Lawrence. We haven't talked about that." Caroline looked across at Kate. "Any bright ideas oh language teacher?!"
"No, I haven't. We'll have to work something out in the next few months. Perhaps you will help us come up with a solution, Lawrence?"
Caroline smiled across at Kate. How clever she was to include the teenager.
Angus was riding down the road on his bike as they reached his house so they stood outside waiting for him. The boys were pleased to see each other, as usual. Angus said that his mum wanted him to ask if they would like to have a cup of tea before they headed back home. Kate was keen to use the bathroom so they accepted the offer and went inside to see his mum and dad, Adam and Helen. Caroline knew them well, through both school and Angus and Lawrence's friendship. Kate had met them at school events and Caroline was sure that Angus would have told his parents of the nature of their relationship, following on from the wedding. They were made to feel welcome and at ease. Angus and Lawrence headed off to play on the X box with Adam and the two women went through to the kitchen with Helen, who soon noticed the rings on their fingers.
"Do I take it that congratulations are in order?"
Caroline and Kate nodded.
"I am so pleased for you. You deserve to be happy, Caroline. You work so hard. Oh, Ms McKenzie, not that you don't work hard too! Sorry, that didn't come out quite as I intended."
"Please call me Kate. No need to be sorry. You are right, there is nobody at school who rivals Caroline for her work ethic. Would you mind if I used your loo? I think baby is sitting on my bladder again!"
Kate returned from the bathroom to find Caroline and Helen chatting over a cup of tea. She sat down at the table with them. Caroline was asking Helen to keep the news of the engagement to herself until the two families had been told.
"It's a lovely kitchen, Helen. It's a shame that we haven't been able to find one similar this afternoon."
Helen looked puzzled.
"We have been house hunting, unsuccessfully."
"I see. I'm glad you came in for a cup of tea then. I expect you need one. I knew you had your house up for sale but I didn't know what your plans were. What are you looking for?"
Caroline reeled off their list of needs and wishes.
"And there's nothing you like? I am surprised you haven't fallen in love with the one in Church Lane."
"Where do you mean?"
"The cul-de-sac on the right just before you turn into this road. The house on the corner. It's beautiful and sounds just what you want. My neighbour knows the people who are selling it and she holds the key for viewings. The owners have just moved to Australia. It's empty, ready to move in."
"I think I know the one that you mean but I am sure that I saw a SOLD sign outside" said Kate.
"It was sold but it fell through last week. The people who wanted to buy it had problems getting their mortgage sorted. Do you want to have a look? I'm sure my neighbour is in."
A call to the estate agent confirmed that the house was still available and within twenty minutes they were viewing their third property of the afternoon. The neighbour had entrusted them with the key.
"Can I have this second bedroom, mum? It's got its own sink. There's a walk-in wardrobe. Also I can just see the corner of Angus' garden from my window!" He called from the other room. "I am going to check out the garden."
"We haven't said that we are going to buy it yet, Lawrence. It's a bit too early to be picking bedrooms" she shouted after him from the master bedroom.
"Don't you like it, Caroline?" asked Kate.
Caroline didn't answer immediately but looked at Kate's face hoping to get some indication of her feelings. Her opinion was clear to see which gave Caroline the courage to speak.
"I love it. It's just right. It's immaculately decorated. The rooms are good sizes. The study has room for your piano. The kitchen is my idea of what a kitchen should be. But."
"But what?"
"I wasn't sure what you were thinking. After our conversation last night I wanted to make sure that this was a joint decision. I didn't want to sway you or for you to think that you had swayed me!"
"Come here to me, my darling one" whispered Kate. She pulled Caroline away from the window and into a hug before taking Caroline's hand and kissing her palm. The holding Caroline's face in her hands she gently kissed her cheek, moving quickly towards her lips. With an open mouth she captured Caroline's mouth and their lips and tongues took up the rhythm of a slow and sensual dance. After some minutes Kate pulled her mouth away, with regret.
"That has proved it."
"Proved what?"
"Firstly, Lawrence's theory that we can't be within a foot of each other before needing to snog. Secondly, there are good vibes in this house. That's the first of a million and one kisses heading your way in this bedroom. Have that as a down payment on what I will be giving you when we move in here! The other good thing is that it's a long way down the corridor to Lawrence's room and we will be able to make quite a bit of noise before he hears us!"
So it was that a decision was made on the home of their future.