Page 41 of The Village Inn of Secret Dream

Ned shook his head and slowly rose from his seat. ‘Just the one is enough for me these days,’ he said, shrugging on his coat. Pete noticed again that it was threadbare and very worn.

‘Are you off, Ned?’ asked Cathy, coming to stand next to Pete.

‘Can’t stay,’ said Ned. ‘But I’ll give you my best wishes for the next year.’

‘Thank you,’ Cathy told him with a soft smile.

Then, before anyone else could speak, Ned had shuffled away to the front door and left.

Pete turned to look at his mum. ‘I can’t make him out,’ he said. ‘He comes in every Monday, hardly says two words and then leaves again after exactly one hour.’

Cathy sighed. ‘I know,’ she said. ‘But he’s always been a touchy so and so. Your dad was the only one who could bring him out of himself.’

‘Well, dad was a charmer,’ said Pete.

Cathy laughed. ‘He certainly was. And, of course, he’d known Ned since they played together in a band.’

Pete was startled. ‘Ned was in a band with Dad?’ he said.

Cathy looked at him, surprised. ‘Didn’t you know? In those days he was known as Noddy. The drummer that your dad played with for many years.’

Pete couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t reconcile Ned the grumpy old man with the vibrant, almost manic drummer called Noddy whom he had watched so many times on YouTube playing with his dad in the early days of his career.

‘I can’t believe it’s the same man,’ said Pete, shaking his head.

Cathy shrugged. ‘We all get older, love,’ she said, with a sad smile. ‘And I think life’s been pretty hard for Ned especially since we lost your dad. Your dad could always slip him a fiver and get away with it. But he won’t accept anything from anyone else. Not that we haven’t all tried, anyway.’

‘Maybe I can try and talk to him,’ said Pete, wondering how he could help.

Cathy’s eyes filled up. ‘You’re so like your dad,’ she said softly.

Pete found he couldn’t hold her gaze for too long. The thought of his dad still pained him, especially with the secret that burned deep inside.

‘I’m so thankful to have my whole family around me today,’ carried on Cathy, her voice a little tremulous. ‘It’s made for one of the best birthdays I can remember.’

‘Mum…’ began Pete.

‘I know, I know,’ she replied quickly. ‘You’re not here for long. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy being with you in the meantime.’

Suddenly someone called out her name so Cathy gave Pete’s arm a quick squeeze before fixing on a bright smile as she wandered away.

Belle hadn’t minded too much about giving up her night off to help out behind the bar especially as it was a happy celebration of Cathy’s birthday. Besides, she wasn’t sure that Pete would have been able to cope with such a large crowd by himself.

She felt a little guilty about having to forgo her meeting with Grandma Tilly to complete some more quilts but in a way it was somewhat of a relief as the secrecy didn’t sit well with her. She was still concerned about Grandma Tilly’s health but was pleased to see her that evening in fine form, telling a group of people nearby about her recent trip out to Willow Tree Hall.

As she went across to the fireplace, Belle pulled out her phone and made sure the volume was turned up so she could hear it above the noise of the crowded bar. She was expecting a call from her aunt and uncle now that they had settled into daily life on the cruise ship.

She had just added another log on the fire when Dodgy Del rushed in.

‘It’s pouring down out there,’ he said, quickly removing his soaking wet coat and hanging it on the chair that Ned had just vacated. ‘Must be the start of that storm they’re talking about for later this week.’

‘You’re a bit late tonight,’ she said as Del collapsed onto a chair.

‘Had to make an important purchase,’ said Del, giving her a wink as he pulled out a somewhat sodden box from underneath his jumper.

Belle raised her eyes. ‘I hope that’s not a box of soggy chocolates for me,’ she said.

Del laughed. ‘You don’t wanna eat this lot,’ he told her. ‘They’re indoor fireworks.’