Page 20 of Whispers from the Past

‘Is this a joke, Tony?’ Rose couldn’t help but smile at the voice alone though.

‘Yes, now be a good date and be quiet and listen to my masterful joke telling.’ When Rose lifted her hands in mock apology he continued, ‘The man says that this is a butcher’s shop and they don’t sell lettuce. The rabbit leaves.’

‘Tony, you do realise how jokes work right? There should be a punchline?’

‘Not finished. The next day the rabbit returns, and comes up to the counter and asked again whether the man has any lettuce.’ The high pitched voice is somehow funnier the second time round. ‘The butcher is getting a little frustrated now and repeats again that he doesn’t sell lettuce. The rabbit goes on his merry way. For the whole of the next week, the rabbit comes in every day and asks whether the butcher has any lettuce for sale. On the seventh day, as soon as the rabbit hops in, the butcher throws down his knife and slams his hands on the counter. Now look, I’ve told you every day this week that we don’t sell lettuce. If you ask me one more time, I’m going to nail your paws to this butcher’s block and cut off your head.’

‘Wow, Tony. This butcher has some serious issues!’

Tony doesn’t acknowledge her interruption, and continues with his joke. ‘The rabbit hops up and down a little and then says to the butcher; got any nails? The butcher looks a little relieved to be asked a different question and calms himself down enough to answer that no, he doesn’t have any nails. The rabbit perks up and says got any lettuce then?’

‘Oh god Tony, that was awful!’ But despite the terrible joke, she couldn’t help but laugh. And Tony is nearly crying with laughter at his own joke. She’s surprised he managed to get the punch line out.

‘It made you smile though.’ He looks triumphantly at her.

‘Yes it did. It’s mainly pity smiling, although you do a very good impression of a talking rabbit.’

‘Why thank you.’ Despite his poor taste in cars and his terrible joke, the date went well and Rose enjoyed the food and the company, but thoughts of Luke filled any spaces in between. She found her mind wandering as Tony talked about the cafe and his holiday plans. She had to stop counting the times he mentioned Lucy though. Their break up was clearly still a raw wound that he couldn’t help but lick. Towards the end of the night she found herself nodding along making appropriate noises, but she wasn’t really listening.

‘How about it then?’ His question brought her back to the conversation with a bump. They’d left the restaurant around closing time and he’d just pulled up outside the book shop.

‘Sure?’ she hesitantly ventured.

‘Great!’ His overt excitement to her response put her on edge. Even more so when he added, ‘So skydiving at the weekend it is!’

The horror was clearly evident in Rose’s face as Tony burst out laughing. ‘Only teasing! I just couldn’t resist. Something bothering you? You don’t really seem ‘here’ if you know what I mean? And I think I probably talked about Lucy a little too much?’

‘I’m so sorry Tony. I just didn’t realise how tired I was.’ She winced a little at the lie. ‘Thank you for a lovely evening though.’ she said as she stepped out of the car. She waited for him to drive off to the back of the cafe where there were a few parking spaces and a couple of garages, and then instead of turning the key in the lock, she fished her phone out of her bag, turning it into a flashlight. The light from her phone was terrible and she vowed to buy herself a flashlight at the next opportunity. Then she made the journey up to Luke’s garage in her highly unsuitable heels. Although she had his number now, she had convinced herself that this conversation was one she needed to have in person.

Soft music drifted to her ears as she once again climbed the metal steps to his mezzanine office. She strained to make out the vocals and smiled as ‘Days’ by The Kinks filled her head. Listening for a little while, she enjoyed Ray Davies’ heartfelt tone for a few more bars before she breathed in and knocked on the door. The music came to an unnatural end just before Luke opened the door.

‘Rose?’

‘Holly told me. I’m so sorry.’ The tears that always seemed so close to the surface around Luke threatened again. But she wouldn’t let them fall. This wasn’t her time to cry. It wasn’t her grief.

‘Holly told you what?’ Luke asked, looking totally confused and then concerned as Rose lost her internal battle and started sobbing. Maybe it wasn’t her grief, but her heart seemed to forget that and she cried for Hannah, for her Mum, for her Dad and she even cried over the irritating git who took her job at the library.

‘Rose, what’s happened? What has Holly said that’s upset you so much?’ She breathed through the pain and composed herself enough to explain herself.

‘She told me about Hannah,’ Luke took in a laboured breath as Rose continued, ‘and how hard it must have been for you at the beach. I’m so sorry I put you through that.’

‘It’s OK, Rose. You didn’t know, and what was I meant to do? Just leave you there?’ He tentatively put his hand on her arm. ‘No one had been there when Hannah died. She’d been alone. I think I found that the hardest at first. That there’d been no one to even try and help her.’

‘So I haven’t damaged you, mentally I mean?’ She nodded towards his arm to acknowledge the physical damage she had caused, ‘Sent you back to terrible times?’

Luke gave a sad chuckle to himself. ‘Well, I was able to help you. And honestly, Rose, it helped me. I’m in a constant fog of painful memories. But if anything, you’ve been a slither of light.’ He looked up at her then and Rose swallowed as their eyes met. He looked so sad. Before she could change her mind, she pulled him into a hug. He resisted at first, but then he put his arms around her and pulled her in tighter. His mouth was nearly touching her ear as he whispered ‘thank you.’ But as abruptly as she’d started the hug, he finished it.

‘Aren’t you supposed to be on a date?’ he asked in a clear attempt to change the subject.

‘Well I was. It’s finished now.’

‘Obviously,’ Luke laughed, then peering over her shoulder he added, ‘Unless Tony’s outside waiting to take you home?’

‘No Tony dropped me back home earlier. I walked up.’

‘These late night visits are becoming a bit of a habit Miss Brayling,’ Luke tutted. ‘That was the reason I gave you my number - to stop you coming up here.’ His words stung her more than she wanted them to as he spun her round to face the door. ‘Let’s get you home.’ He gently pushed out of the office and they descended the stairs making their way out into the dark night outside.

‘Since when did I become Miss Brayling?’ Rose asked as they came to the footpath that led down through the woods to the book shop.