CHAPTER 20

Sunday lunchtime…

I look around the room, everyone is squeezed around the table. The atmosphere is relaxed and happy and everyone is chatting, my eyes fall on Eva who is walking in with two plates loaded with food. She sets one down in front of her step father, who smiles lovingly at her and thanks her, to which she replies with a grin and small sarcastic remark that she is just the waitress and then she sets the other one in front of me.

"Thank you" I say and smile up at her as she moves her hand away. She responds to me with her own smile, but she doesn't say anything to me.

Since I told her what I wanted, and how I saw our future together on the journey home from Manchester Eva has been quiet… distant. This worries me, I am afraid I have scared her, come on too strong. We have had a lovely weekend with Maisie, we went to the park and fed the ducks which is one of Maisie's favourite pastimes. It is a lovely park a short distance away from the estate and I quickly realised one of the houses I had been looking at was quite nearby, but I kept that fact to myself. I have also read Maisie stories and I sat and played with her and it made me want my dream all the more, but I didn't dare voice this to Eva as it is obvious she is struggling with what I have already told her and I am certain she would think I am pressuring her in some way if I say anything more. I could kick myself for saying anything in the first place, I just forget sometimes she is actually so young.

I am certain she has told her grandmother about what was said, as she vanished into the kitchen under the pretext of offering help as soon as we arrived here and I didn't see her again until she appeared about 10 minutes ago, to shout to Tez to get the table set and told Vic to get everyone some drinks.

Eva returns followed by her grandmother with some more plates of food and they are quickly distributed. When everyone has their food, Eva takes a seat beside me.

"Well, this looks delicious" I say as I take in the very appetising dinner in front of me.

I watch as Sandra flushes with pride at my words and I wonder if she was worried about today. It makes me all the more certain about what I want to say.

"If you don't mind, I would like to quickly say something?" I say and immediately the chatter subsides and all eyes are on me. I swallow hard, the words I want to say getting stuck in my throat.

"I just want to say thank you. Thank you all for the kindness you have shown towards me, and taking me into your home and treating me like one of the family. I have never been anywhere, where I have felt more at ease and comfortable and accepted in my life, and I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am to you all for giving me that… that's all" I say. I glance around at the astonished faces, they clearly weren't expecting that.

I feel Eva reach for my hand and grip it and a feeling of utter relief goes through me, which surprises me by its severity. I didn't realise just how worried her mood had made me. I turn and smile at her and I am happy that she smiles back, and it is a warm genuine smile not forced or fake.

The atmosphere soon lightens and returns to the happy cheerful chatter, I remember what Eva told me about her brothers and I watch them. I see Declan who is being his usual over active self and Reece, who I chatted with earlier about football. Eva wasn't wrong as that boy is totally obsessed; he is football mad. He is now discussing football with his grandfather who is happily indulging him. My eyes fall on Kyle who is keeping himself to himself and sitting with his head down and just concentrating on his dinner.

I clear my throat, "Erm… Kyle?" I say carefully, I watch as he looks up, startled that I have addressed him.

"Yeah?" he says a little defensively.

"Eva tells me you like photography?" I say warily.

I watch as light flickers in his eyes, this is something he is clearly passionate about and he nods at me.

"Yeah, I like taking photos. I had a camera – nothing special just a basic point and shoot compact but it broke, but when dad got a new phone he gave me his old one and it has a decent camera on it, so I use that now and then pull the photos off and keep them on my laptop" he says with a shrug.

"Well, I like photography too, it's one of my favourite hobbies. I'm no expert, just a keen amateur so I would like to take a look at your photos – if you would like that?" I say carefully.

I see him glance quickly at Eva before he seems to come to some decision and he nods, "Yeah I'd like that, and if you don't mind perhaps you could give me some advice on how to make my photos better?" he asks hopefully.

I nod, "Well I can try, as I say I'm no expert I only know the basics" I say. I don't want to overwhelm the boy, and I don't want to look as though I am bragging but I do have more than a good basic knowledge. I watch as his face breaks into a smile and I see Monica stifle a gasp, she looks across at me.

"Thank you" she says gratefully and I know immediately that she too shares Eva's worry and concern about Kyle.

"What's your favourite medium?" I ask, Kyle looks at me blankly and shakes his head.

"What do you prefer to photograph?" I ask, "For example, landscapes? Portraits? Still life? Abstract?" I add.

"Oh I see," he says understanding, "Mainly I like photographing buildings. I like architecture and how it's changed over the years, I really like old buildings as periods like the gothic era are absolutely stunning and you can't help but fall in love with some of the buildings of that era. But I also like photographing some new architecture too… I like drawing buildings too – drawing is another of my hobbies" he offers and I see everyone hanging on his every word, and I realise that this is clearly an uncommon occurrence.

"Really? Well I'd love to see them" I say. I watch as another smile engulfs his face and he nods at me.

"Ok, maybe after dinner I could run home and get my sketches and my laptop? If you and Evie don't have anything planned?" he asks hopefully.

I turn to Eva, "We don't have any plans do we Angel?" I ask.

Eva is now grinning like a loon and she shakes her head, "No, I didn't have anything special in mind and after one of Gran's Sunday dinners I never do much anyway!" she says.

"That sounds like a plan then" I say and I watch as Kyle smiles back at me.

When we have finished lunch, I stand and help gather up the plates.

"Thank you Gideon, do you want to bring them out to the kitchen" Sandra says as she watches me piling up the plates.

I nod as I concentrate on not dropping them.

"Hey come on! You do realise you are making us look bad by doing that!" Vic calls as he settles himself in the nearby chair.

I grin at him, "I like to do my share, and it's the least I can do" I say.

"What? Make us look bad?" Tez retorts swiftly and he gives me a massive grin as he says it.

"Leave the boy alone" Sandra says good naturedly as she gathers up some more plates, "Take no notice of them Gideon, they are just lazy buggers, so it's about time they were shown up!" she adds.

Everyone laughs at this, including Vic and Tez and Reece points at his father.

"You were owned dad!" he says.

I follow Sandra into the small kitchen and she points to the sink. I cannot see a dishwasher in here, and I realise all this is going to have to be done by hand, I immediately roll up my sleeves to help.

"Let me help" I say and Sandra smiles at me.

"You are a good boy, but we have a dishwasher – it's out there" she points towards a small room off the kitchen, "I just need to rinse them before loading it".

"Oh sorry" I mutter feeling a little foolish.

"Don't worry about it, you can still help. I wanted to talk to you anyway, so now is a good chance" she says.

"Oh?" I say, although I think I have a good idea what this is about.

"Eva told me what you said, in the car on the way back from Manchester" Sandra says as she scrapes the waste off the plates and rinses them under the tap.

"I wish I'd never said anything now, I think I've scared her" I admit.

Sandra nods, "She was a bit taken aback by it, but that's only because everything has happened so quickly" she says, "and you have to admit that it has" she adds.

I nod, "I know, I just feel so right with her, I have never ever felt like this before and well… when you find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with you want the rest of your life to start immediately. Plus, I have never been a patient person when I know what I want, but I forget sometimes just how young Eva is as she is so mature, much more so than me and I'm that bit older than her. But I love her so much, it would destroy me if I fuc… messed this up in some way".

Sandra sighs and turns to face me, "Gideon, that girl loves the bones of you, she told me how she feels about you and it is totally different and far more intense and deep compared to the way she felt about Nathan… but yes, she is scared. She is worried that you will tire of her and leave her and she worries where that will leave her, in short she believes she isn't good enough for you".

I splutter out a snort of laughter at the ridiculousness of that, "Sandra, that is stupid! If anything she is too good for me, and if I were to be brutally honest I wonder how I got so lucky to have her. It seems we both have the same fears about each other, as I worry what I would do if Eva ever saw sense and left me" I say.

Sandra looks at me in disbelief. But to my surprise doesn't say anything in response to that, she just continues to talk about Eva. "Also, she is scared to take that leap as she was so badly burned the last time she did it". I immediately open my mouth to argue that I'm not like Nathan but Sandra holds up her hand.

"I'm not suggesting that you are anything like that fucking waste of space, I wouldn't insult you that way. I know you won't treat Eva like he did, that isn't an issue. I'm just trying to explain to you, why she is worried, everything happened very quickly with Nathan too and I think that is playing a large part, he took her over and separated her from us and she doesn't want that to happen again" she says.

I nod understanding immediately and I am actually a bit shocked as that is the first time I have heard Sandra swear, Eva can turn the air blue but hearing her grandmother swear was unexpected. But it also makes me realise how my words in the car must have sounded to Eva, me laying out everything that I wanted the way I did.

"And me telling her I wanted to marry her, adopt Maisie, have kids of our own and buy us a house and that I wanted to take her away from Primrose Hill, freaked her out because she thought I was taking her over just like Nathan did" I say and Sandra nods.

"That was never my intention, I wouldn't dream of removing her from her family. I have seen how close you all are, and I love it. I love being a part of that, I have never had that close family feeling and I love being a part of it so I would never try and remove Eva from it. The house I have been looking at is only a 10 minute walk away from here, and the others are no further than 20 minutes away on foot, also I want to encourage Eva's dreams. Yes I want to adopt Maisie, I think that little girl has seen things she never should have and she as much as Eva deserves a stable and bright future and I would like to be the one to give her that as I love that little girl as if she were my own, also I would love to have kids with her but I want Eva to live and realise her own dreams too. I want her to learn to drive to gain even more independence, and whatever her dreams are I want to give that to her, I don't want to stifle her or control her. I just want her to be happy, happy - preferably with me" I say.

Sandra looks past me and I turn to see Eva standing in the doorway, I wonder how much of this conversation she has heard but I turn and walk towards her and wrap my arms around her.

"I'm sorry I freaked you out" I mutter as I nuzzle into her neck.

"That's ok, Gran and I had a long chat and she made me see that everything you wanted came from a good place. She pretty much told me what you just said, but hearing you say it as well was nice" she says. She holds me even tighter and it feels as though she is bracing herself to say something.

"I do have a few dreams" she says quietly.

I pull back and look her square in the face, "Name them" I say firmly.

I see her swallow and glance quickly at Sandra.

"Go on love, tell him" Sandra urges.

"I left school with nothing, no qualifications or anything. I'd like to go to college and get my GCSE's, but you have to pay for that if you are working, and I can't…" she trails off and goes red and puts her head down.

I press my fingers under her chin urging her to look up at me.

"Eva if you want to go to college and get qualifications then I will support you all the way, that is a given. Whatever you want to do, do not feel bad about me paying for college courses for you as that is ridiculous. Also, when you have got your GCSE's you can perhaps look into other qualifications on subjects and careers that interest you?" I say.

I see a smile fill her face and she nods, "Thank you" she says.

"Don't thank me Eva, I want you to reach your full potential, you are a very smart girl look how your ideas transformed the depot. Also, I want you to start driving lessons so you don't have to rely on public transport or walking when I am unable to take you anywhere" I say. Eva stares at me, and I continue, "It will give you more independence in the long run" I add.

"If I were you, I'd hang on to this one" Sandra says from behind me and I grin at Eva.

"Ok" she says, and I lean down and press a small chaste kiss on her lips.

"So, we're good?" I ask wanting to make sure no uncertainty or worry lingers between us.

"We're good" she replies.

oooOOOooo

The afternoon progresses and I am enjoying being with Eva's family, Kyle had disappeared shortly after lunch was finished and I look up as I hear my name spoken to see he has reappeared again with a laptop and sketchpad under his arm. He waits hesitantly for me to acknowledge him.

"Oh is that your stuff?" I ask and he nods nervously.

I immediately stand and we make our way over to the table where he sets up his laptop for me and sets the sketch pad down beside it. I take a seat and he sits beside me watching me as I look through his photographs.

I am impressed; he has a good eye and can see instinctively what will make a good photograph. I tell him as much.

"Your composition is spot on, you have a good eye" I say and I watch as he flushes with pride.

The majority of his photos are buildings and other architecture, he also seems to like photographing monuments and statues, but he has also taken a number of photos of people, not posed pictures but candid shots mainly of family members. His mother and father, Eva and his brothers, and his grandparents, there are a number of Maisie and Declan playing, some of Reece playing football with, I assume, his friends. There are a number of his father and grandfather talking, laughing, and drinking beer and also some of Eva, shots of her in her flat doing mundane things like making a sandwich or talking to Maisie, there is an intimacy to them which is revealing. You feel like a voyeur looking into the family.

"These are superb" I say pointing at them.

"Do you think so?" he asks almost surprised.

I nod decisively, "They are, you have captured your family at their most natural, the most real. There is nothing staged or fake about them, they are really very good".

So, how could I make them better?" he asks.

I look throughout the pictures and I shake my head, "I can't fault them, lighting, composition, focus, everything about them is spot on, you couldn't do any more than you have done, you have a real talent here Kyle" I say.

"Thanks" he says and I see him flush a little again at my praise.

"If it's ok with your mum and dad, would you like me to take you to Manchester and maybe Liverpool, there are some cracking buildings up there in those cities and Liverpool in particular has many things to photograph?" I offer and I glance up at Vic who is now watching and listening, looking for his approval to my suggestion.

Kyle turns to his father a look of almost pleading on his face and Vic shrugs, "Fine by me" he says and Monica nods in agreement.

"I don't mind, thank you Gideon" she says.

Kyle looks at me hopefully, "When can we go?" he asks eagerly.

I smile at him, "We could go next weekend if you like? I've got to go there anyway to oversee the removal of the furniture from my flat into storage, as I have a buyer". I hear Eva let out a little gasp at that and I realise I haven't told her that bit of news". I ignore that fact for the moment and continue, "So, we could spend the day in Liverpool and then travel to Manchester stay at my flat overnight and then on Sunday spend some time in Manchester before heading back here Sunday afternoon?" I ask. I look at Eva questioningly and she is nodding and grinning.

"Can I come?" I turn towards Maisie who is bouncing at my side.

I lift her into my lap, "Of course you can, it's about time you saw my home town" I say.

I turn my attention towards Kyle's sketchpad and as I open it I gasp, my eyes fly to Kyle.

"You drew this?" I ask astonished, Kyle nods at me, my gasp has brought everyone's attention and they are crowding around and I see Kyle start to get a little agitated.

"Mate, these are outstanding" Tez says staring at them whilst Monica and Vic are just staring wide eyed and their mouths hanging open.

"Why have you never shown us these?" Vic asks equally aghast at the quality of the drawings in front of him.

Kyle just shrugs and I can see he is uncomfortable with all this attention.

"Kyle, you have a real talent here" I say sincerely.

I can tell he doesn't believe me but I know people who would pay for artwork nowhere near as good as these pencil and charcoal drawings, when I tell him as much his eyes widen in disbelief.

"It's just a hobby" he mutters eventually.

"One which you are exceedingly good at" I say.

oooOOOooo

"So, when were you going to tell me you had sold your flat?" Eva asks as we are walking home.

I turn towards her and sigh, "I'm sorry Angel. After I laid out my life plan and freaked you out I didn't want to add that to it as well at that point, I didn't intentionally keep it from you" I say.

"That's ok, so you are planning on staying with me for the foreseeable future then?" she asks.

"Well there are a number of houses I am interested in, in the area. We were pretty close to one of them yesterday actually, when we were at the park with Maisie. I didn't like to say anything though as I didn't want to scare you even more than I already had done" I say.

Eva looks surprised, "Near the park? You mean that nice area over the other side of the park?" she asks. The main road and park is the separation between Primrose Hill and that 'nice area' and I nod hesitantly and I watch her reaction closely.

"That's not too far away at all is it?" she says.

"No, it's not" I agree, my hope increasing that Eva is considering this.

"Can I see it?" she asks after a moments silence and my hope increases even more.

I nod "Of course you can, we can go now if you want before it gets too dark?" I say.

The light is failing fast and it will soon be dark but we make our way to the house which is my favourite of all the options I have.

We stop outside and I point to it, Eva just stands and stares at it. Even though it is practically dark now she can see it is a modest detached house, sitting back off the road with a small front garden with a boundary wall and a small gate separating it from the public path and fencing marking the boundary with the neighbours either side. There is a driveway down the side of the house, where there is room for parking and there is a reasonable sized garage and another gate which blocks off the back of the house.

Eva takes all this in "There is a back garden as well" I say as I watch her carefully.

She turns and looks around, "This road isn't very busy is it?" she asks.

I shake my head, "No, it's not a main road, only traffic for vehicles to these houses and the cul-de-sacs off them would come down here" I say.

"And you want me and Maisie to live here with you?" she asks.

"If that is what you want, but you don't have to do anything you don't want to" I say.

Eva looks again at the house, "Maisie would love it here" she murmurs almost to herself.

"What about you though?" I ask.

I see her think about that, "It's nice, and it's not far from Gran's or mums" she says.

"Would you like me to arrange a viewing?" I ask and I hold my breath for her response.

Slowly she nods, "I'd like to see inside" she says eventually.

I reach for my phone and send a text to the estate agent who I have been dealing with. I quickly get a response offering us a viewing tomorrow evening. I relay this to Eva and she nods in agreement. I send back a confirmation text and tell Eva that we have an appointment tomorrow evening to view the property.

The next evening…

I am watching Eva's reaction as we walk around the house. I love it, I'm totally sold on it and want to move in now.

The estate agent shows us around, as we walked in it was as if we had walked into the 1950's, it's all very dated and needs quite a bit of smartening up, it was owned by an elderly couple who have decided to move into sheltered accommodation as it was far too big for them to cope with. They had outlived their only child and there was no family to pass the house on to. The house is empty and with the things that need doing to it, the couple are finding it hard to sell, that along with the address. This road is called Primrose Hill Road, and the name immediately conjures up thoughts of the notorious Primrose Hill estate a short walk away and the prejudice devalues the houses here. All I see though is a blank canvas for Eva and I to put our mark on the place.

"What do you think?" I ask Eva, pulling myself from my thoughts.

"It's lovely, it's a bit dated but we can fix that can't we?" she asks hopefully.

I nod, "Of course we can" I say.

"Can you afford this?" she asks for what seems like the millionth time, I have already told her several times that we can afford it and that if the couple accept the offer I am going to put in we will have more than enough for the renovations that need doing. The fact my father is offering a considerable contribution and he also insisted on paying all the legal costs which is also helping a tremendous amount. So that along with the money from the sale of my flat in Manchester and a small chunk of my savings means I should be able to purchase the house outright without the need for a mortgage, but I am also in the fortunate position that most men of my age are definitely not in, with my income and job security.

Eva seems to be thinking things over, "I want to get my GCSE's and learn to drive and possibly get more qualifications so I can get a better job so that will help too won't it, when I can contribute more?" she says.

My heart lurches at her words, she is considering our future, "If you want to do that Angel then I am happy for you to do so, but trust me, we can afford it" I say, I would love to show her just how well off we are, she had some idea when she went to the bank with me back at the beginning of our relationship and heard me talking about hundreds of thousands of pounds when I opened my new account, but I'm certain that if she knew the full extent of my wealth it would freak her out completely.

I watch as she leaves my side and walks around once more by herself, she disappears into one room after another and as she reappears I can almost see her planning how she is going to have it. She looks up at me and nods.

"I love it" she says simply.

I turn to the estate agent and confirm the offer I want to make, and I am told that they will get back to me as soon as the couple decide on what they want to do.

"So what happens now?" Eva asks as we head back to Primrose Hill to collect Maisie from Eva's grandmother, as Eva wanted to see the house without Maisie being there as she didn't want to raise her hopes.

"We wait and see if they accept our offer, it is more than generous, even though it is below the asking price and considering the work that needs doing to the place I am certain they will accept it" I say.

"And if they don't?" Eva asks.

I wrap my arm around her, "If that is the house you want then I will make a revised offer, I am nowhere near my limit so we have options, but that house has been on the market for a few months now and we are the first interested party, so we have that in our favour" I say.

"Ok" Eva says, reassured by my words.

When we get back to Eva's flat I show her the other houses I had been considering and she shakes her head, she comes up with a number of valid reasons why she was dismissing them. Two were just too far away from Primrose Hill, they were a 20 minute walk away and whilst Eva knew that wasn't far she felt that was too much for Maisie, plus it would mean Maisie moving schools. Then the last one was on a very busy main road and Eva discounted that due to the constant noise that would be involved with living there, she also said she knew where it was and it was close to a pub which was notorious for having live entertainment on which she said would also add to the levels of noise.

When that was complete I suggested looking into the options available for Eva to return to school to get her GCSE's. We looked at the local community college and the courses they offered and although Eva had missed the intake in September, at the beginning of the academic year she noticed that a few places were still available for a New Year start, she quickly sent an email requesting more information. When that was done she closed my laptop and looked up at me.

"I feel like I'm living in a dream" she says, "Things like this… this good, well, they don't happen to me" she adds.

I pull her into my arms, "They do now" I say firmly.