‘You’re welcome. Oh, and Happy Valentine’s Day.’
Kate grinned over the rim of her mug. ‘Happy Valentine’s Day to you too.’
‘What are your plans for the day?’
‘Shower first and then take Rufus for a walk. After that, I don’t have any. What about you?’
‘Millie is popping in for coffee and cake at eleven. Other than that, my social calendar is clear.’ Granny Viv winked at her. ‘We could go out for lunch. Or go shopping. Fun shopping not grocery shopping, obviously.’
‘Obviously,’ Kate repeated grinning.
Granny Viv had her grocery shopping delivered, along with many of the other things she needed. She only liked to shop for things she wanted, not necessities – apart from items like underwear and such. She believed that life was too short to be spent on mundane matters like shopping, cooking and cleaning and if a person could afford to pay someone else to do those things, they should. Although she had always enjoyed cooking, so that she mostly did herself.
She knew she was lucky, and she never took it for granted. Neither did she ever ‘Lord it’ over anyone. At least she always tried not to. Kate’s mum, Rose believed the same. Kate did too, to some extent, but on her budget, she couldn’t afford to pay other people to help with her domestic chores.
Granny Viv also had cleaners. Ula and Greg were excellent and had been with her for years. They weren’t simply cleaners, either. They did other tasks for her, like the laundry, making the occasional meal when Granny Viv didn’t feel up to cooking, and a few odd jobs around the house. She had a gardener too, a window cleaner, and a handyman who undertook jobs that Greg felt he couldn’t handle.
Granny Viv did little for herself these days. But then again she was one hundred and although she was still reasonably fit andhealthy for her age, she was much slower now. She still went out, but not as frequently, and she now used a walking stick more often than not.
‘Let’s see what the weather is like when you return from your walk with Rufus, and make a decision once Millie has left,’ suggested Granny Viv.
‘That’s a good idea,’ said Kate, opening the kitchen door to let Rufus back in. ‘Will you look after this lovely lad while I have a shower?’
‘With pleasure. Shall I make breakfast?’
‘Not for me, thanks. I need to walk Rufus first and then wait at least half an hour before feeding him. I’ll have something when I get back. I will take a top up of coffee though, please.’
Kate took her refilled mug of coffee with her, and Rufus and Granny Viv waited for her in the sitting room.
She didn’t take long to shower and dress, feeling guilty that Rufus would be having his breakfast a little later than usual. Thank goodness he couldn’t tell Frank.
Wearing black jeans that she’d had for years, a faded black T-shirt which was closer to grey, black socks, and a purple and lime green jumper one of her colleagues from work had knitted, Kate hurried down the stairs.
Granny Viv’s eyes opened wide, as did her mouth, when Kate re-entered the sitting room.
‘What a … bright jumper, darling,’ she said after a moment or two.
‘Thanks. I like it.’
‘You do? Well, that’s all that matters. We should all wear what makes us happy.’
Kate beamed at her, knowing full well how much Granny Viv obviously hated that jumper.
‘Come, Rufus,’ Kate said. ‘We’re going for a walk.’
Rufus was at the front door long before Kate and he waited patiently while she slid her feet into her black ankle boots.
It was another cold morning and Kate shivered as she and Rufus stepped outside. At least the sun was shining, but she buttoned up her black, white and purple checked coat, pulled her black leather gloves from her coat pocket, and tied her purple scarf tighter around her neck.
They walked towards the beach, just a few minutes from Granny Viv’s, exchanging pleasantries with other dog walkers they met on the way.
The tide was out and a vast expanse of dark golden sand stretched out before them like a sheet of hammered copper. The sea was a shimmering, steely blue and the sky was as clear as a summer’s day.
Kate let Rufus off the lead and threw his ball for him to chase. It was a rather chewed up tennis ball but he seemed to love it. Unfortunately, on one of her throws the ball landed in the sea. Rufus darted to the water’s edge, stopping short of the gently lapping waves.
‘That water will be freezing,’ she said. ‘I’m so sorry Rufus but I’m not going in. I’ll get you another ball.’
Rufus looked from his ball to Kate and back again and then let out a few short barks.
