Still, she was thankful that they had a lot of memories to look back on.
One day in particular stood out in her mind, when they had taken a day trip when she was eighteen years old, and her sister fifteen.
They had gone to Soho and giggled at some of the shop fronts that advertised topless shows.
That night they giggled about it in the kitchen, and when their mother asked them to share the joke, they had made something up about recalling a comedy act they had watched performing in a street. Or some such excuse. She could not quite remember now.
She did remember them furtively sipping a cocktail in a bar, though, her sister looking much older than her fifteen years, and no one asking for identity cards in those days. They both looked like sophisticated young women of the world, with their carefully applied make-up, pencil skirts and high heels.
It had probably been quite risky when she thought about it now, especially when two men had approached them and invited them to a party. She dreaded to think what might have happened had they accepted, but thankfully Alice had the sense of duty to look after her younger sister, despite her mild protestations and calling Alice a spoilsport.
Alice thoroughly enjoyed her video calls over her tablet with her family, especially her sister. Her nephew had shown her what to do on his last visit, and it had been a godsend what with the miles between them. She would tell her all about her cinema trip next time they spoke.
The sisters at the cinema had been great fun, and afterwards they had invited Alice to join them for a bite to eat at a café on South Road, which she had gratefully accepted.
When they had cheerfully said, ‘Same time next week?’ before they departed, Alice confessed that she was a little particular when it came to films. Even so, they swapped numbers, and agreed to hopefully meet up somewhere else, or at the cinema if she found a film she was keen to watch.
It had proved to Alice yet again that if you were able to get yourself out into the big wide world, then you would probably end up having a chat with someone. She felt dreadfully sorry for those people who were unable to do so.
When she called her sister later that evening she was pleased to learn that the weather had also been fine down south and that she had spent the day at the seaside.
‘It was even warm enough for an ice cream.’ Her sister had smiled, and it had made Alice smile too. Her sister would refuse an ice cream on anything other than a really warm day, saying it always left her feeling cold otherwise.
Alice felt cheered that they had both enjoyed a pleasant day, when her thoughts turned to Declan. She hoped that he was feeling better, and that he had managed to sort things out withJess. They really would make the loveliest couple, she thought to herself as she went to make her supper.
FORTY-SIX
JESS
‘We were actually thinking of going to the park as the weather is so nice,’ said Jess, when Declan knocked at her door.
‘Yay! Park!’ said Maisie, jumping up and down.
‘Just for an hour, as you have homework before bed, remember.’
Jess thought that maybe Maisie ought to have done it when she was in the shower rather than playing a game on her iPad but never mind.
‘Homework at her age?’ said Declan.
‘I know. It is literally only writing a sentence, though. Handwriting practice,’ she told him. ‘And actually, I think it’s a good idea if habits are formed early. I was traumatised by the amount of homework we were given in high school.’ She laughed.
‘True enough,’ said Declan, remembering the same thing, along with the excuses he gave when he had forgotten to do it.
The still warm sun at six thirty bathed Jess’s arms as she walked along in her sleeveless dress.
It seemed to be the beginning of a heatwave according to the weather reports, so tomorrow evening, if the weather was fine, she would walk the fifteen minutes down to the beachwith Maisie and maybe have an ice cream. It was the beginning of summer, and soon enough, the beach would become their regular haunt.
Maisie loved the beach and would often bump into some of her school friends during the summer months. Jess enjoyed it too. Plus, it hardly cost anything. Jess would take a bucket and spade in a rucksack, along with a sandwich and some water. The only outlay would be an ice cream, and maybe a coffee for herself from the van that was a permanent fixture throughout the summer months, near the usually crowded beach.
They would return home before sundown and Maisie would sleep like a baby. It was so different in the winter months, when the evenings would often drag. She wished the summer could go on forever.
Jess and Declan fell into step as they headed towards the park, chatting about their respective day.
Declan told Jess that he had taken a day off but never went into details.
‘Did you do anything nice?’ she asked as they neared the park that was already busy with people enjoying the sunshine.
‘Not really.’ He shrugged. ‘I went for a bit of a walk this morning, but mainly I just felt like a day chilling. It’s days like this when a garden would be nice, though,’ he mused.
