So much for putting my mind at rest thought Harry, after he had told Ruth he was worried that Graham and Sally were being a bit hasty, and she said, 'maybe I'm wrong but I don't think so, not in this case.'

'So, you think what, that I'm over reacting?'

'Everyone by the time that they get to their age has some sort of baggage. I mean look at us and we made it.

'And if it doesn't?'

'Not that I think either of them would be taking this first step as you call it, without having discussed the impact it will have on Jacob if they do split up. Or do I believe that we should be anything other than pleased. But if it does go wrong for whatever reason and presuming Graham wants to stay in Norfolk as much as it's been a joy having him live with us, I'd like to think he would want to find a place of his own.'

'And now as in today?'

'I think that we should do what Malcolm did in our case and pray rather than get involved, but not before you tell me what this is really all about.'

Presuming that Harry would answer her question immediately, five then ten minutes passed. By which time Ruth who had put the kettle on was imagining a whole range of scenarios. The first being that Harry had been offended by her suggestion that Graham cramped their style. Which she quickly dismissed as rubbish, based on the number of times they had restrained themselves during sex because unlike them, Graham's need to sleep was as erratic as the weather. To the fact that Harry was ill in some way and was struggling to find the words to tell her. Which explained why he had popped upstairs to check on Jacob and when he finally came back down, not only took a huge breath but her hand.

Only for him to say, 'the call I took this morning just before we went out, was from Alec. But because we were going to the plant nursery and you were so happy, I made the decision to keep the news to myself. Unsuccessfully I thought, when I weighed in with my comment about Graham doing all the groundwork because Millie suggested we were taking on a large project. But the longer it went on without you asking me why I was so agitated, right up to and beyond when we were buying the Christmas Tree and Jacob was choosing the decorations, the more convinced I became that my decision to tell you later was the right one. Now I can see by the look on your face that maybe I should have got straight to the point. But not before I tell you that our relationship is rock solid.'

'Then what?' asked Ruth, who until that point had never for one moment considered that their relationship was anything but rock solid.'

'Alec rang to tell me that Lucas had taken his own life. And my reason for not telling you, despite you being the only person I could tell, was as simple as not wanting upset you.'

Stunned was how Ruth felt as she tried to come to terms with what this meant. When the words finally came, 'is it wrong of me to say that I'm not upset, but angry that he did what he did despite you going out of your way to offer him a new life?' she asked him.

'Not at all. My first reaction was one of relief, so what does that say about me?'

'That you're an honest man Harry who up until that moment saw Lucas as a real threat to the people you love, but one who also needs to realise that I don't need to be protected from hearing something which impacts on our lives anymore.'

'In which case I think we should drink something which is stronger than tea and then make the most of being on our own by having an early night.'

.

When Ruth woke up the next morning, it was Jacob's hand that was demanding her attention. The sound of deep and even breathing and the fact that she had had the foresight to put her jimjam bottoms on back on after what had been a night of extreme emotion and incredible sex, had her scrabbling round for her top. Before reminding herself how pointless it was because Jacob had seen her naked in the changing rooms at each- and every one of his Minnows on a Monday classes.

'Harry's tired,' she whispered, her finger across her lips, before taking Jacob's hand and heading out of the bedroom and then downstairs.

Having made herself a mug of tea, she popped two slices of bread into the toaster for herself and reached for the packet of cereal which was Jacob's favourite. Her mind fast forwarding to Christmas morning and the difference in atmosphere there would no doubt be. How glad she was that she and Harry now had time to prepare without the shadow that had been Lucas, hovering over them. The phrase the first day of the rest of your life, popping into her head, enhanced when she pulled back to curtains and gazed out over the garden. The thought that they had to wait until the Spring before her plants were delivered, no longer something that mattered.

'Starting without me I see,' said the voice that she loved most in all the world, bringing her down from the cloud she had been on, before pinching a slice of toast that had popped up without her noticing, making Jacob giggle. But then almost everything Harry did when Jacob was with them either made him laugh or got him to pay attention, she thought. The second certainly taking precedence over the first, when Harry suggested that as it was a nice day when they had finished breakfast, they should wrap up warm and then plant the conifer he had chosen.

.

A call from Sally which Ruth answered, not only to thank them for having Jacob overnight but to say that she and Graham would be down later, was sufficiently light hearted for Ruth to know that either they would be seeing a lot more of Sally or a lot less of Graham. Either way it meant that they would continue to see Jacob on a regular basis, which she knew was as vital to Harry as it was to the child who hanging onto his every word. Did she envy Harry this connection, as opposed to his suggestion that they tour Europe? No she didn't. One day maybe, but for the moment the contentment that came from having a house that was theirs with a garden and sea view made the need to go on holiday feel a long way away.

'We're taking it one day at a time,' Graham told Harry, having hung back from going indoors with the others. But not until after he and Sally had admired Jacob's conifer which had been planted with some assistance and a great deal of excitement. Before telling Harry that, 'he hadn't had a relationship for the past five years, and never one that that had meant anything.'

Neither have I, thought Harry. Not wanting to discuss how he and Ruth had tiptoed around each other until Ros had been killed. Or worse still have him ask how it had been with his mother? When sex had been predictable as opposed to now with Ruth when it was always spontaneous.

Before Graham surprised him by saying, 'the real reason that I want to talk to you on your own, is to tell you that I met Sally's Uncle Maurice when we were in the pub. We got talking about the plans you have for your garden and he asked me what I was doing? I said it was the heavy stuff not realising that he was looking for someone to do help him in the business. Which means that up until January when I start, I can continue to do whatever else needs doing, after all you and Ruth have been housing and feeding me for nothing. And I know you saw me as a potential high flyer when I was young Dad, but these past few weeks have shown me who I really am.'

'Flying high is very overrated, it's being happy that matters and I've very proud of you,' Harry told his son.