Chapter Thirty Eight.
Lauren left the pub a couple of hours after arriving. She turned back to Nancy, "Thanks Nancy…" she said. "It's been really good to talk to someone…"
"I'm glad I could help… you know where I am if you need someone to vent to…" she said.
"Sorry, I disturbed your morning…" Lauren said.
Nancy grinned, "Don't worry about it… in fact if you want to disturb me again at any time, feel free…" she said, "It got me out of tidying up down here… so it's certainly no problem for me."
"I 'eard that…" her dad growled but he was smiling so Lauren knew he wasn't being serious.
Linda was standing near where they were, "It's good to see you up and about again, Lauren." She said, smiling at her.
"It's actually good to be out." Lauren said. "I'd better go…" she said, looking at Nancy again. "Thanks so much…" she whispered. She walked out of the pub, feeling many times lighter than she had done when she'd got there. She turned and walked through the market, heading towards the café. "Hi Auntie Carol…" she said once she was at the counter.
"Lauren… how are you, darling?"
"I'm good… best I've been for a long time really…" Lauren admitted. "Can I get three bacon rolls, two black coffees and a hot chocolate to go?" she asked.
"Of course…" Carol said, turning and starting to make the coffees. "Have you been out this morning?" she asked.
"I went to the Vic…" Lauren said, smiling slightly as she saw her aunt tense at her reply. Was it wrong that she enjoyed winding her up a little too much? "I spent some time with Nancy… talking to her about stuff… It kind of helped…" she added, after a small pause. Her aunt relaxed and Lauren shook her head as she pulled her purse out of her bag. Her aunt turned back to her and placed the three cups in a cardboard tray on the counter.
"Three bacon rolls, was it?" she asked.
"Please." Lauren said.
"Sauce?"
"Brown on two of them… and ketchup on the other one…"
"Your dad?" Carol asked with a smile. Lauren nodded. "He always did love ketchup when he was a kid… Mum always used to tell him off for using too much…"
"Did she?"
"Yes… and your granddad… well, he got so angry with him once he took away his dinner and replaced it with a plate and told him he could only have ketchup. I think he thought it was a punishment but your dad thought it was one of the best meals he'd ever had. Dad made him stay in his seat after we'd all finished and got down from the table and I guess he had another go at him… told him it was disrespectful to mum to smother his food in ketchup… that she'd gone to the bother of making food for everyone and all he did was drown it with red sauce…" She bagged up the rolls as she spoke and Lauren listened in interest. "Then dad belted him on the back of the legs… which probably taught your dad more than his earlier rant had… he didn't have as much ketchup ever again but he still had some…"
"He eats it all the time at home…" Lauren admitted, slightly disturbed by the story her aunt had just told her… it didn't seem to agree with the image of the grandfather she knew but it sure sounded like her dad and she knew that his relationship with his own father hadn't been that great.
"Here you go, darling." Carol said.
"How much do I owe you?" Lauren asked.
She typed the amounts into the till, "£12.50." she said. Lauren handed her some money and then her aunt gave her some change back.
"I'd better be going then… while they're still warm." Lauren said.
"You sure you can manage?" Carol asked.
"I'll be fine, Auntie Carol… but thanks." Lauren said, picking up the food and tray of drinks.
"Here, let me get the door for you…" Carol said, rushing out from behind the counter and opening the door for her. Lauren smiled at her and then walked out of the café, making her way through the market as she headed over to the car lot. She walked past Peter and very nearly had to speak to him but Kat stepped in to her rescue.
"Hi sweetheart…" She said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "I'll be back in a minute, B…" she called back as she walked next to Lauren, leading her down the street and away from Peter's hard stare.
"Thanks Kat." Lauren said softly.
"It was the least I could do, sweetheart." She said. "I'll let you get to that boy of yours…" she said. "Let me know when you want me to bring the boys over again."
"I will, Kat." Lauren said, smiling at her. She left the woman behind and walked up to the car lot portacabin. She pushed open the door and both men looked up, quickly appearing shocked when they saw it was her. "Hi." She said self-consciously.
"Babe, are you okay?" Max asked, getting to his feet and walking over to her, kissing her forehead.
"I'm fine, dad… I brought over some lunch." She said gently, looking at Joey, who continued to stare at her.
"What have you got?" her dad asked.
"Bacon roll…" she said.
"With…" he prompted.
"Ketchup…" they said together and Lauren grinned at him.
"Fantastic," he said, smiling at her and taking the bag.
"Don't forget your coffee." Lauren said as he made to walk away. He turned back and grabbed one of the coffees before walking back to his desk. Lauren took a deep breath and moved towards where Joey was sitting. "Room for a little one?" she said softly.
"I think I can make some space…" he told her with a smile, pushing his chair back so Lauren could sit on his lap. He kissed the side of her head as she placed her purchases on his desk. "What have you been doing this morning?" he asked.
"I went to the Vic…" she said.
"Lauren Branning…" her dad growled and Lauren giggled.
"Relax dad, I went to see Nancy… not down a bottle of vodka!" she told him, her voice more serious than she'd intended it to be. She passed a roll and the remaining coffee to Joey and then opened the last bag, pulled out the roll and started to eat.
"How did it go, baby girl?" Joey asked, around his mouthful of bacon roll. Lauren swallowed, looking at him in mock disgust. "What?" he said.
"I'm just wondering how I could love you so much… when you behave like that…" she said softly.
"You love me?" he whispered and Lauren realised what she'd just said, closely followed by remembering her dad's presence. She bit her lip, nodding her head ever so slightly. "Love you too…" he said, leaning forward and kissing her tenderly.
"Oh please…" Her dad muttered, "I'm trying to eat here… and you're making my stomach churn…" he teased them both.
Lauren picked up her roll once more and ate in silence, leaning against Joey as she did so. Every now and again she'd see her dad glance at her and despite his words just moments earlier, he would smile before turning back to his food and coffee.
*JL*JL*
Max went out the front when he saw a customer on the forecourt, leaving Joey and Lauren together. "So how did it go with Nancy?" Joey asked once they were alone.
"It was good… I'm glad I spoke to her…" she told him.
"Good." He said, kissing the side of her head.
"I think this has brought us closer together… in a strange kind of way…" Lauren told him, "We used to fight heaps before everything happened…"
"Maybe the two of you just needed a bit of a push…" Joey said, "When I met her at the Vic, in a small way, she kind of reminded me of you…" he added.
"She did?"
"Yeah," Joey said, "She's got spirit… fire…" He looked at her, "Sorry… poor choice of words…" he told her.
"It's fine, Joe… we can't spend the rest of our lives avoiding the word…" Lauren said.
"The rest of our lives?" he breathed, watching her face for any sign of emotion.
Lauren looked at him, seeing the hope in his eyes and her heart melted, "The rest of our lives." She whispered.
Joey kissed her softly, his arm carefully winding around her back, "I'm going to hold you to that…"
"Good plan, Joe." She said, smiling at him. "I'd better go… Leave you to your work."
"You don't have to…" he whispered.
"I really should… Dad'll be back in here soon… I don't want to test his patience… He's already given you a job here." She said. "I'll see you later." She added, kissing him quickly before standing up. She walked out of the office, shutting the door behind her. She smiled when she saw her dad shake his customer's hand and they finished their conversation. He started to walk back to where she stood and she met him halfway.
"You off?" he asked.
"Yeah… Hey, dad…"
"Yes, babe…?"
"Could you make yourself scarce tonight? I wanted to do something special with Joe…"
"I shouldn't imagine that will be a problem… Maybe I'll see if your aunt can feed me."
"Thanks dad… Don't tell Joe, okay? I'd like it to be a surprise…"
"Of course…" he said. He hugged her gently, kissing the top of her head, "I'm proud of you, babe…"
"I haven't done anything…"
"You have… more than you probably realise… You make an old man very proud…" he told her softly, lifting his hand and cupping the side of her face. Lauren's eyes filled with tears, seeing the pride shining from her dad's eyes.
"Thanks dad…" she whispered again.
"I'll see you later then… or tomorrow morning, depending on what time I get home."
Lauren smiled and then walked to back to the house, plans starting to formulate in her head.
A/N: So Lauren is making an effort… and she's got something planned for Joey… I wonder what it could be… I love the bit between Max and Lauren at the end… Send me a review and let me know what you think. Back tomorrow…