‘So do I,’ said Gilly. ‘I picked this one particularly because it has high ratings on TripAdvisor.’
‘TripAdvisor!’ said Daphne, turning away from the minibus. ‘Pah!’
‘I do feel like that about TripAdvisor myself, sometimes,’ Gilly confided when she and William had got everyone safely into the church. ‘Shall we defy Daphne and go in?’
‘We could, but on second thoughts it might also be nice to go back to the minibus and sit quietly.’ He took her arm and they set off back in blissful silence.
Gilly and William sat in the minibus and said nothing until the ladies returned. It was indeed peaceful. As she and William assisted the aunts back into the minibus the thought flicked through her mind that being with Leo was always exciting. He liked to talk and talked well. Perhaps that was why she found him so attractive. Being with William was quite a different experience. She found herself enjoying the contrast.
As she predicted (only to herself) the ladies loved the garden centre and came back to the minibus laden with carrier bags.
‘We’ve all bought these super-comfy shoes,’ declared Daphne. ‘Mine are bright pink.’
‘It’s one of the joys of growing old,’ said Mary, having displayed her blue pair, ‘that you don’t care what you look like.’ She paused. ‘I don’t mean that exactly, but if it’s a choice between comfort and glamour I choose comfort every time.’
Gilly thought about this. Before she’d met Leo she’d have put herself in the comfort camp withouthesitation. But would she let him see her in shoes like that? She doubted it. He was a man who appreciated elegant footwear – something resembling a gym shoe in dayglo colours would not meet his approval. Gilly appreciated lovely shoes too, but only if they were comfortable and, sadly, either she’d been unlucky or it wasn’t possible to have elegance and comfort at the same time.
‘Obviously you’re far too young to have to make those choices,’ said Daphne, mind-reading again. ‘But I don’t think anyone can look appealing if they’re in uncomfortable shoes.’
‘But can they look appealing if they’re wearing shoes like miniature bumper cars?’ said Gilly, without really thinking.
William laughed. ‘Of course!’
‘So what didyoubuy?’ asked Miriam, possibly sensing that Gilly needed a change of subject. ‘From the garden centre?’
‘Oh! Plants!’ said Gilly. ‘A silver thyme, a lemon thyme and another plain culinary one.’
‘You can never have enough thyme,’ said William.
Gilly made a face at him. ‘I get through a lot of it and they all do taste different. And talking of time, we should move on. Our lunchtime appointment is in …’ She looked at her watch. ‘Fifteen minutes and it’s about twenty-five minutes away.’
‘Drive, William!’ said Daphne. ‘Drive like the wind!’
William exhaled and shook his head. ‘Let’s go.’
Lunch was very jolly. Gilly and William were not permitted to pay for theirs in spite of their protests. ‘It’s as if we’re children and you’re taking us out for a treat,’ said Gilly.
‘And we are!’ Miriam said. ‘So you must let us buy you lemonade and ice cream.’
‘In my day we sat in the car outside pubs for hours, sharing packets of crisps,’ said Mary. ‘It wouldn’t be allowed nowadays.’
‘A bottle of warm Coke if we were lucky,’ said Daphne. ‘I hated Coke. I suppose because I only ever had it warm.’
‘This sparkling water is lovely and cold,’ said Gilly.
Daphne laughed. ‘You can have wine later. Now let’s have a look at the menu.’
Gilly had planned a short walk to a monument for after lunch but when she turned round to declare they had arrived she saw that everyone was asleep, mouths open, faintly snoring.
‘Oh,’ she said to William. ‘We might as well have a nap too, then, I suppose.’
‘Are you feeling drowsy? If not we could go and see the monument? Have a bit of a walk?’
‘Actually some fresh air would be good.’
He got out of the minibus quickly and was there to take her arm as she got out. She was confused. Had he just got into the habit of helping people,given he’d been doing it all morning? Or was he quite old-fashioned?
He kept hold of her arm as the path was muddy. ‘I’m quite glad our party didn’t get out here now,’ she said. ‘They might have slipped and hurt themselves.’
