Chapter 21 The sublime to the ridiculous
The Harrogate household was as settled as the Halifax one was in turmoil. Lawrence had adjusted to the new arrangements and he could not remember a time when he had felt so content with home life. Although he missed William he also enjoyed being the only teenager in the house. His mum and Kate treated him with respect, involving him in much of the decision making, and his behaviour largely mirrored their expectations. There was none of the volatility and sarcasm that had marred the time when his dad was in the house. Reactions at school were largely positive as many of the other kids thought the engagement of Dr Elliot and Ms McKenzie was all 'very cool' so Lawrence shared in the approbation. He had started to see his dad again after their falling out at Roxy's house although he now rarely stayed the night at the flat with his dad and Judith, preferring smaller doses of Popsicola's company and he was, instead, enjoying frequent sleepovers at Angus' house. He could hardly wait to move house to be nearer to his best friend.
Kate and Caroline were appreciating the fact that the Buttershaws were staying in Halifax so there was little likelihood that Celia would pop in unexpectedly. All was going well with the sale of Conway Drive and the purchase of Church Lane. The solicitor was fairly confident that they would be able to move by late February. The other good news was that Kate had received an offer on her house, although there was a chain of other property exchanges behind the purchaser's house which might delay the completion somewhat. Although Caroline had hoped to arrange to take Kate away for a few days in February half-term as there would be no opportunity to have a honeymoon after the wedding, it was more important that the house move went ahead as early as possible, giving them ample time to settle in and prepare the nursery, so it all began to look as if the pieces of the jigsaw were fitting together well.
Kate and Caroline were very conscious that they needed to be ahead of the game ready for moving house and they knew that they would not have room in Church Lane for all of their combined furniture so they systematically began to decide what was to be taken with them and what was to be done with the rest. John was clear that he wanted almost nothing, simply asking for a share of the photographs and his selection of CDs and DVDs. These were packed into three small boxes and Caroline looked with some sadness on how little he was taking from twenty years of marriage, but the cheque for his portion of the proceeds was his main concern. Lawrence was being encouraged to start packing away anything non-essential so that there would not be a mad rush once they received a moving date. The good thing was that they could, if they wanted, move into Kate's house on the day of completion if the Church Lane house was not organised enough but the hope was that this would not be necessary.
Like Lawrence, the two women could not remember a time when they had been more content with life. School was going well and Caroline was being more strict with her time management than when she was married to John and, having thought about the reason why, she came to the conclusion that this was probably because she really wanted to be home at the end of the day with Kate, and Lawrence when he was not staying with Angus. Although she loved her William and Lawrence there was always some strife when John was about and at times this had marred the enjoyment of being with the boys. Kate stayed at school late on Wednesdays for the choir rehearsals and Caroline made the most of that time to get some outstanding work done. She also allowed herself to take work home on other nights when Kate planned to mark homework or do lesson plans. However, weekends were sacrosanct as Caroline had made it clear that this was how it must be when Simone was born or she would miss too much of their daughter's growing up, so she determined that she would get into practice with this way of working.
Their time with just each other for company remained the most precious time, snatching the odd evening without disruption when Lawrence was out and Saturday afternoons if he was playing an away match. As these opportunities presented themselves they were used almost exclusively for uninterrupted love-making. Although the pregnancy made it more difficult for Kate to be as agile as she liked to be, it in no way hampered their enjoyment of the experience, but rather enhanced it as they had to find new ways of giving pleasure to each other. Caroline was as gentle a lover as one might expect, remaining in awe and adoration of Kate and the changes that pregnancy was bringing about in the body which she felt she had always worshipped. Kate's whole body had become more sensitive and Caroline was reverential in the way that she touched, licked, kissed and brought pleasure to it. Caroline was also learning to express her own needs without embarrassment and to ask Kate to meet them and so they became more in tune with each other's desires. Although they maintained an appropriateness in their public display of affection, it was the norm for them to be very demonstrative to each other whenever they were at home; a gentle touch here, a kiss there; perhaps a small present of some sort, or a note expressing love left for the other to find. Lawrence's question weeks before was whether there would be a time when they could be near each other and not kiss. The answer was that they could not do so and they both had a fervent wish that this would never change. They only had to share a glance while they were cooking together, or if a cup of tea was made for the other, or if one held the door open waiting for the other lover ….. whatever the context, it was if an invisible ribbon of desire joined one to the other, pulling them together and needing the release of lips on lips to provide the energy to break free and be individual beings for another period of time until the tug would start again. Their love, which they had thought beyond compare, thus continued to grow into a thing of yet more beauty. Gone was any lingering hesitancy between them as the trust, which had been so badly damaged, improved beyond mere restoration. Neither woman could believe that they had almost missed out on sharing this journey and as is the case when awareness of true worth exists, the necessary action was taken by both of them to ensure that their precious gift was safeguarded.
Following the success of Donald's attendance at the rugby match Caroline and Kate had decided to visit Donald more regularly and made the trip to see him at least one evening a week, followed by a visit to see Constance who made sure that a meal just happened to be ready for serving when they arrived. There were plans for Donald to be at Lawrence's next home match, the weather and his health permitting. Caroline was enjoying getting to know Kate's parents and although Donald's level of cognition varied, there were still glimpses of the man that he was and the way that his interests and character had shaped his daughter and her outlook on life. As a trial Kate had taken a small keyboard when they last visited and, although Donald no longer remembered how to play, it was clear that he gained pleasure from Kate's playing and singing. Kate hoped that her dad would be well enough to attend at least part of their wedding and plans were being put in place to make that happen. Caroline found Constance to be delightful, a source of comfort and joy. She had firm views on what she deemed correct but she did not share Celia's belligerence and narrow-mindedness when expressing her viewpoint, which Caroline found refreshing. These visits became a very important part of Caroline and Kate's agenda and nothing was allowed to interfere. Lawrence voluntarily joined in and he was warmly welcomed as polite, well behaved teenagers, who enjoy the food presented to them, generally are.
William and Roxy had settled down into University life once more, and William shared with Caroline over the phone that he was beginning to see a long term future for them. While Caroline thought that they were a good pairing she encouraged William not to rush into anything. They were, after all, only teenagers.
Caroline kept in touch with Celia about the Robbie situation and also shared phone calls with Gillian, who was much more stable now that she was not having to stay at the hospital. Caroline tentatively hoped that the situation might settle down. Robbie remained in hospital for observation and further tests. His memory of recent months had been affected and although he seemed to have feelings for Gillian he made no mention of his marriage proposal and she had no intention of reminding him. The consultant was planning on discharging Robbie but the difficulty was on where he should live. Cheryl had moved out to share a flat with a friend, having given up any hope of a resumption of her relationship with Robbie, so in theory he could go home to live but the consultant was anxious that he was not on his own for the first few days after discharge. After some discussion, with Gillian refusing to consider the farm as an option, Raff and Ellie arranged to move in with him in the short term, with Calamity being ferried between the farm and Robbie's house according to childcare needs. This worked successfully and Robbie amazed everyone with his recovery. Although he still had about a six month gap in his memory up to the date of the crash, his long and short term memory was fine and by the end of January he was passed as medically fit to go back to work, albeit to desk duties initially because of the plaster cast on his wrist, so Raff and Ellie returned to live at the farm.
Ted had extended his stay in the UK but as February came along he began to count down the days until he flew back to New Zealand. As it was unlikely that he would return to England again the goodbyes were proving to be rather poignant. He had thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with his old haunts but most important was the time that he had spent with Alan, being thrilled to see the contentment and love that Alan and Celia shared. He had also enjoyed making new friends and meeting some family for the first time and he asked Gillian if he could use the farm for a farewell party. Gillian was always happy to have a reason to celebrate and since Robbie was no longer on the scene she had given up her resolution to forego alcohol so there was even more reason to help Ted plan his farewell bash, as he would be paying for the food and drink. So it was that the second Saturday in February was agreed on and the day soon came around.
Apart from the obvious family members, Muriel travelled from Sheffield, William and Roxy arrived from Oxford for the weekend and Harry had rounded up some of Ted's school friends who were also keen to be there. The farmhouse was full to bursting and with a space heater to help them keep warm the younger ones set up a table tennis table in the barn which relieved some of the pressure on the house. The food was plentiful and the drink flowed freely. With the exception of the under-age guests, the drivers (and a pregnant lady), the other guests were becoming more than merry. Caroline and Kate, who had been reluctant to attend the party as their moving date was less than a week away, had walked outside to the barn to watch the youngsters, to relax and to get away from the raucousness. After watching the fiercely contested table tennis action for some time they walked hand-in-hand down the driveway to enjoy the last of the afternoon sunshine. As ever the views were stunning and they sat partway down the track on the dry stone wall, just enjoying each other's company and the changes in the colour of the sky as the sun began to set. The temperature dropped very suddenly as darkness fell and they had just started the walk back to the farmhouse when they became aware of the noise of car engines coming up behind them. Wondering if the sound heralded the late arrival of some unknown guests, Caroline gently steered Kate onto the grass verge as two police cars drove past them at an unnecessary pace.
"What in God's name is that all about?" asked Kate.
"Déjà vu" replied Caroline, who realised from Kate's questioning look that she may have not told Kate about all of the events of Celia and Alan' party. "Didn't I tell you about the Police taking Raff when we were here for mum and Alan's engagement?"
"You told me about the Lexus turning up and William spilling the beans about John and Judith. Oh, and your mum slapping his face! Are you saying that there was even more excitement?"
Caroline used the time of their walk back to rectify her oversight. However, her anxiety to know exactly what was happening took her concentration with the result that she gave a bland, edited version of the tale. Their pace was dictated by the uneven state of the ground and the rapid deterioration of the light so they watched from a distance as the drama unfolded against the head lights of the two police cars, as a large number of the guests came out of the house to gather in front of the barn. By the time that they completed their walk Ted was in deep conversation with the police officers who were trying to persuade him not to involve himself in their business.
"Déjà vu, indeed" Caroline whispered to Kate.
It was clear that the police had arrived to take Gillian away with them but Caroline and Kate had not been close enough to catch any of the conversation. Caroline felt herself begin to turn quite faint as she saw the expression on Alan's face which suggested that this was not a question of an unpaid parking ticket.
Gillian was not incapable but she was far from sober and this made her argumentative. "I'm just about sick of it. You tried to stitch me up ten years ago. I'm not sodding well having it. Bugger off back to your station and leave me alone."
Her arguments made no difference and within a few more minutes she was inside one of the police cars and being driven away from the farm. She looked pleadingly through the side window of the car as it reversed back before driving away at speed. Raff stood motionless with tears streaming down his face, Ellie's comforting arm around his shoulders.
As soon as the car had gone Alan sidled up to Caroline to ask her if she knew of a solicitor that they could call. Caroline wondered if he knew that Gillian had confided in her about when Eddie died.
"I only know the solicitor that we are using for the conveyancing, sorry Alan."
Kate interrupted her. "Caroline, didn't Beverley tell us that her nephew was a solicitor who was doing criminal work?"
Kate was right and a couple of phone calls later found the contact number that Alan needed and he was able to arrange for someone to meet with Gillian as soon as possible. The party was as broken as the family that Gillian left behind and most of the guests soon headed off to their respective homes.
Caroline asked Alan what he knew about Gillian being taken away. He was so shaken by the turn of events that his mind was not clear and all he could remember was that Robbie's name was mentioned and something about her threatening to murder him between some dates in January.