She joked, ‘Are you and Dad talking again?’
‘Absolutely not.’
Bridie didn’t think so. Then she had a horrible thought. ‘Are you estranged because of me?’
He said, ‘I’m gasping for another cuppa.’
‘Oh, my god, itisbecause of me! Is it because you took me to the theatre when I was little and encouraged me to—’
‘It goes back way before that.’
‘Oh. Okay. But you’re not going to tell me.’
He shook his head. ‘I can’t.’
She was about to ask why he couldn’t tell her, but thought better of it. He looked tired. She didn’t want to press him. She took his hand. ‘Will you tell me one day? I might be able to talk to Dad.’ She wondered if it was something really silly, trivial even, that they were just too proud to get over, and neither of them would admit they were wrong. The problem was that until one of them shared what was going on, she had no clue how to help them.
‘You will tell me one day, won’t you?’ she asked again.
‘I will.’
‘Promise?’
‘I promise.’
‘So …’ Bridie took a deep breath, coming back to her original question. ‘Will you come to Dad’s retirement party?’
‘I haven’t been invited.’
Bridie was pretty sure that wasn’t true. Besides, the party wasn’t invitation-only. It was just a little family get-together: Jeremy and Caroline, Kate and Andy with the kids, herself and Julian, and her mum and dad. And her grandad if she could persuade him.
Even so, she knew her grandad – he would find any excuse not to come. Out of her coat pocket she produced a small envelope and grinned as she handed it to him.
‘What’s this?’
‘Your invitation.’
His shoulders sagged. ‘Why do I feel like this was a set-up? I bet there weren’t even any formal invitations handed out.’
‘It was. A set-up.’ Bridie leaned forward, grasping his hand. ‘Please say you’ll come. Please, please. For me.’
‘I can’t make any prom—’
‘Yes, you can. It’s not like you’ve got anywhere to be. Julian and I will collect you and drive you there ourselves.’
‘You don’t have to do that. I can get a taxi.’
‘Oh, but I do.’ Bridie wasn’t stupid. He’d conveniently forget to order a taxi and book his train. And besides, that would cost a lot of money, a taxi to the station, and a train ticket.
She smiled. ‘So, it’s all arranged.’
Grandad gave her a sour look. ‘Next time you call on me I’ll make sure to be out.’
She laughed. ‘Oh, Grandad. Sometimes you are such a riot.’
‘When did you say you’ll call round to pick me up for this retirement party?’
Bridie regarded him for a moment. ‘I didn’t.’ He didn’t know when exactly the party had been arranged for. Good. Then he couldn’t conveniently arrange to be out with one of his friends when they called round. In any case, it wasn’t for a while yet. Bridie looked at her watch. ‘Sorry, Grandad, but I’ve got to run. I’ve got a Saturday matinee performance.’ She stood and gave her grandad a kiss goodbye. ‘Oh, one piece of news. Layla is joining the drama club at school. She wants to be a stage actress just like me.’
