By
Jan
Chapter 7
Helen checked her
reflection in the mirror for the umpteenth time, rubbed a smudge of lipstick
from her front teeth then smiled with satisfaction. She was looking good, even
if she did say so herself and it felt good to dress up for a change. She
slipped on a short leather jacket, picked up her shoulder bag from the bed then
went next door to the children’s room.
The boys were asleep but Jemma was sitting up in bed looking at a picture book. She smiled sleepily. “You look nice, Auntie Helen.”
“Thank you,
sweetheart,” Helen said warmly as she sat on the edge of the bed. “I feel nice
tonight. Now, don’t you think you ought to be asleep? It’s school tomorrow.”
Jemma closed her book
and handed it to Helen before snuggling under the duvet. “Auntie Helen, are you
going to marry Uncle Colin?”
Helen looked at her
in surprise. “What brought this on?”
“Tommy said you
weren’t going to marry Uncle Colin cos he didn’t want us so I couldn’t be a
bridesmaid. I can be a bridesmaid, can’t I, Auntie Helen?” The little girl
looked at her expectantly.
Helen’s heart ached
at the thought of having to disappoint Jemma. She knew it was her greatest wish
to be a bridesmaid and she loved to dress up in a pair of old lace curtains and
pretend she was going to a wedding. “When I get married you can be a
bridesmaid,” Helen told her and her face lit up. “Now, off to sleep because I
don’t want my bridesmaid to have black smudges under her eyes.” She smiled as
Jemma giggled and screwed her eyes up tightly. “’Night, ‘night, sweetheart,”
she whispered, dropping a kiss on her niece’s brow.
“Don’t let the bed
bugs bite,” Jemma piped up sleepily.
After checking the
boys, Helen placed the book on the bookcase and tiptoed quietly out of the
room. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw a set of headlights
through the glass panel in the front door and realised Colin had already
arrived to collect her. She hurried along the corridor to Maddy’s room and
tapped on the door.
The housekeeper smiled
as she looked up from her television programme. “Are you off then?”
Helen nodded. “Thanks
again for babysitting for me, Maddy,” she said gratefully.
“It’s alright, love.
You just have a good time and don’t worry about a thing,” Maddy replied pleasantly.
“See you later then.”
Nikki woke up with a
start as a shaft of light from the corridor fell across her face. To her
surprise Jemma was standing in the doorway. She flung back the covers and
climbed out of bed. “What’s wrong?” she asked gently, as she crouched down in
front of the child.
“I’ve had a nasty
dream and I can’t find Auntie Helen,” Jemma said tearfully.
Nikki gathered Jemma
to her and picked her up. “Come on, let’s get you back to bed. I’ll sit with
you so you don’t have any more nasty dreams.” As she walked down the corridor
with the child in her arms she passed Helen’s room. The door was standing wide
open and she could see the bed hadn’t been slept in.
Back in the
children’s room she helped Jemma into bed then sat beside her gently stroking
her hair.
“I’m going to be a
bridesmaid when Auntie Helen marries Uncle Colin,” Jemma announced.
Nikki’s hand stilled
momentarily. “That’s nice. When’s all this happening?” she asked, trying to
sound interested even though it felt as if a metal band had wrapped itself
around her heart.
Jemma yawned and
closed her eyes. “Soon,” she said softly.
Nikki sat until she
was sure Jemma was sleeping peacefully then went back to her own room. She
glanced at her alarm clock. It was four-thirty!
She lay down on top
of the bedcovers. What the hell was Helen playing at, staying out until this
time in the morning? What a stupid bloody question! There was only one reason
she would stay out this late; she was sleeping with him!
She had started to
doze when she heard a car pull up outside. She hurried from her room and down
the stairs reaching the bottom as Helen came in the front door. “Where the hell
have you been?” she demanded angrily.
Helen blinked in
surprise at Nikki standing there in just her pyjamas. “T…the car broke down,”
she stammered. “We went for a meal at a country pub and the fan belt went on
the way back.”
Nikki laughed in
disbelief. “Yeah, right. How convenient!” she exclaimed sarcastically.
“Are you calling me a
liar?” Helen asked incredulously.
“Jemma had a bad
dream and went looking for you!” Nikki retorted accusingly. “Get back with the
boyfriend and the kids can go to hell, is that it?
“No, it isn’t…”
“You are paid to look
after my grandmother, not gallivant around the countryside half the night!”
“Well, not anymore!” Helen flung at her. “Because I quit!”
Nikki paled at her
words. “You can’t do that!”
“Watch me!” Helen
spat. “We’ll leave at the end of the week.”
“May I remind you,
you have a contract!” Nikki groaned inwardly. Reminding Helen she was an
employee wasn’t the smartest thing she had ever done.
“Fine! You can have
four weeks notice, starting from now!” Helen retaliated then before Nikki had
time to respond pushed past her and ran upstairs.
It was a warm, sunny day and Helen felt Emma would benefit from a stroll in the fresh air. She went upstairs and tapped lightly on her bedroom door in case the old lady was having a nap.
“Come in, Helen,”
Emma smiled fondly as she greeted her.
“It’s such a lovely
day,” Helen informed her. “I thought you might like to take a walk in the
garden.”
“My ankle is still a
bit weak…”
“Don’t worry, you can
lean on me,” Helen replied reassuringly. “Put some colour back into your
cheeks.”
She walked Emma slowly
to the top of the stairs, supporting her all the way. “Take it slowly, Emma.
We’ve got all day,” she said gently.
“Need a hand?”
Helen’s head jerked
up as Nikki came up the stairs. “I thought you were out,” the words rose
unbidden to her lips. It had been a week since she had given Nikki her notice
and the two women had kept their distance from each other since then.
“I was but I came
back,” Nikki informed her with a smile. “Do you want a hand here?”
“If you don’t mind,”
Helen accepted gratefully. “We can walk one on either side of her and make sure
she doesn’t stumble.”
“I am still here you
know,” Emma muttered grouchily.
“Somebody got out of
the wrong side of the bed,” Nikki muttered.
“And I heard that!”
Emma retorted. “I’m not deaf yet!”
Nikki took her
grandmother’s arm and smiled at Helen over the old lady’s head.
Helen turned away
trying to stop the rush of emotion she felt and took hold of Emma’s other arm.
“Come on then, Emma,” she coaxed. “Best foot forward.”
They settled Emma in
a shady spot in the garden then Nikki turned to Helen. “Where are the kids?”
she demanded.
“They’re upstairs,”
Helen answered, trying to keep her voice steady.
Nikki grinned
impishly at her. “Give them a shout, I’ve got a surprise for them.”
Helen went inside and
called upstairs, “Tommy, come down and bring the twins with you.” Seconds later
the children, led by Jamie thundered downstairs. “Miss Wade has a surprise for
you,” she informed them. “She’s in the kitchen.”
The four of them went
into the kitchen to find Nikki sitting on the floor with a black Labrador puppy
climbing all over her. Jemma shrieked with delight and rushed forward.
“Careful, don’t
frighten him,” Nikki said gently. “Come and sit beside me and let him get used
to you.”
“Is it ours to keep?”
Jemma asked delightedly as she knelt down and started stroking the puppy.
“If you want him,”
Nikki laughed. “He hasn’t got a name yet so you’ll have to think of a suitable
one for him.”
Helen looked on as
Nikki and the children played with the puppy. She had to put a stop to this.
There was no way the children could keep it. “Could I have a word with you?”
she asked Nikki stonily. “Outside!”
“Sure.” Nikki stood
up and started to follow Helen out of the kitchen. “Don’t let him piddle on the
floor!” she ordered over her shoulder. Once outside she turned and looked at
Helen questioningly.
“Nikki,” Helen began
hesitantly.
Nikki looked at her
pleasantly surprised and smiled. “I think that’s the first time you’ve ever
called me by my first name.”
“You do realise they
can’t keep the puppy, don’t you?” Helen replied, trying to ignore the look on
Nikki’s face that was tugging at her heartstrings. “We are leaving here in
three weeks. I’ll have enough trouble finding somewhere for myself and the
children, no one is going to take a dog as well.”
“It’ll have to stay
here then, “ Nikki replied disappointedly.
“I don’t think either
Emma or Maddy are fit enough to look after it and you’re hardly ever here…”
“What do you want me
to do?” Nikki interrupted sharply. “I give the kids a puppy then straight away
I take it away from them. Do you think that’s fair? They’ve already lost their
mother and father. What you really mean is, you don’t want anything from me!”
Helen sighed audibly.
“Nikki, you don’t understand…”
“I was sixteen when I
lost my parents,” Nikki began softly. “I know they didn’t die but it still hurt
like hell. If I hadn’t had Gran and Maddy I don’t know what I would have done.
You can’t be everything to them, Helen. You’ve got to let someone else in there
as well.”
“I can’t!” Helen said
harshly. “I don’t want you to make them love you because after we leave here we
won’t ever see you again!”