Once our day trip was over, Grace insisted on inviting Ryan and Miriam to her house for a meal, to thank them for the all dinners she’d enjoyed at Ryan’s house so far. While Grace was cooking pasta and roasting some chicken, Miriam receiveda message on her phone and suddenly announced that an old friend was passing through Hamblehurst and had invited her out to the local pub for dinner and a catch up.
That sounded as suspicious to me as it did to Ryan and Grace, but Miriam could not be swayed from her decision to leave the youngsters to their evening alone. Her friend arrived to pick her up barely a few minutes later, an elegantly dressed woman around Miriam’s age who embraced her fondly at the door and made a big deal out of exclaiming about what a lovely coincidence it was to discover their paths had crossed.
And off Miriam went to her night out at the pub with her friend, leaving Ryan and Grace to dine alone. They sat together all evening at the cosy kitchen table, eating the meal Grace had prepared and talking as the romantic candlelight flickered.
It was a pretty scene… and that’s all I’m prepared to share about it. Two young lovers are entitled to have at least a little privacy, you know.
The days that followed were bliss.
More little outings and visits here and there, more pit stops at many lovely cafes, more lazy lunches, more relaxed evenings spent either at Ryan’s house or Grace’s house. The summer weather was warm and bright, the days were filled with fun and laughter, and romance danced in the air whenever Ryan and Grace were together.
Although Miriam and Ryan had arranged to spend this time together, Miriam often made herself scarce in order to leave the young couple to their own devices. It was obvious she was thrilled to see her grandson in the company of a woman likeGrace, and Miriam was only too pleased to give them the space they need while their relationship got started.
In a perfect world, those halcyon days would’ve lasted forever. But that’s not how these things work.
On the second last day of Grace’s time off work from the hotel, she got some news that changed everything…
