Impossible to Forget(3)

‘Thanks, love,’ he said, as if this was a decision made. Relief was radiating from him like the stench of stale sweat from a runner.

The solicitor pondered. Whilst she and her client had discussed the possibility of her friends rejecting her requests, Angie had been so adamant that it wouldn’t happen that they had failed to make a contingency plan. Now a mild but growing sense of unease was taking root. This whole situation was so unusual that she really had no feel for how best to proceed. Romany was of age so there was no practical problem if Tiger refused to move in, but it did render Angie’s statement of wishes somewhat superfluous.

She was about to comment when Leon spoke.

‘That’s just not good enough, Tiger,’ he said, his harsh tone at odds with his rather mouse-like appearance. ‘Angie wanted you to stay with Romany and the least you can do is try to make that happen. It’s only for a year, whilst she finishes her A levels. It’s hardly a life-long commitment.’

‘Well, I don’t see you offering to move in,’ Tiger snapped back.

‘I’d do it in a heartbeat,’ Leon replied, ‘but it’s not as easy for me. I work away a lot, and long hours too. It just wouldn’t be practical. You’ve got no job, no partner, no ties. It’s like you’ve always said, you are free to go where the wind blows you.’

The solicitor saw Maggie roll her eyes.

‘And for a while,’ Leon continued, ‘that needs to be here in York, in Angie’s flat.’

‘But that’s the point!’ said Tiger, frustration making him sound more like a child than a man in his fifties. ‘I need to be free to roam, man. It’s who I am.’

‘For God’s sake,’ muttered Maggie.

‘Look,’ interrupted Hope. ‘I know I’m the outsider in this merry little gang, but could I make a suggestion?’

They all turned to look at her as if they had forgotten she was there at all. The solicitor was unclear how Hope fitted in. From the confusion on her face, it was obvious that she didn’t understand it either. She was younger than the other three, in her thirties to their fifties, and she was beautiful in a way that would make you turn and stare like you might if you saw a zebra clip-clopping down the high street. Everything about her looked as if it had been formed with purpose and great care, her eyes just the right size and shape, her nose just pointed enough but not too much so. Her hair shone with health and her skin actually glowed as if she had had a filter applied over her face.

She was seated a little apart from the others. Was that because she was an outsider, or had there been an argument, the solicitor wondered, some rift that had happened just off stage and away from her view? Perhaps it was her beauty that they found off-putting? The solicitor had read in a magazine that beautiful people sometimes found it hard to make friends – how her heart ached for them, the poor little darlings. But perhaps that was the case here. She had their attention now, though.

‘You said . . . Tiger . . .’ Hope seemed to hesitate over his name as if she, like the solicitor, found it mildly risible. ‘You said that you were meeting friends abroad next month. So, why don’t you move into Angie’s flat just for the time being? Then, when you need to go on your trip we can look at how the land is lying and decide what to do next.’

‘That’s a good idea,’ said Leon. ‘Thanks, er . . .’ He paused, searching for her name. ‘Hope?’

So, they didn’t know each other, the solicitor thought. This really was the most peculiar arrangement.

Tiger stuck his bottom lip out as he thought about Hope’s proposal and then, finding nothing to object to it in, nodded his head. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘That could work. And I suppose it’d be good not to have to sofa-surf until then. All right. I’ll do it.’

‘It’s not that big a deal,’ muttered Maggie under her breath. Tiger didn’t appear to hear her or if he did, he chose to ignore her comment.

She was sharp, that one, the solicitor thought, and from what she had seen, an unlikely friend for Angie who, from their meetings, had seemed much more easy-going. She wondered briefly how the pair had ended up being close enough for Angie to ask this enormous favour of her. In fact, what was asked was more than a favour. Angie had given each of these four a chunk of the responsibility for the thing that was most precious to her in the world – Romany. It was a huge ask, whichever way you looked at it.

‘Does anyone have any questions?’ she asked them.

Leon looked as if he wanted to say something but then seemed to think better of it.

‘When do I have to move in?’ asked Tiger.

‘That is a matter for you and Romany to agree,’ the solicitor replied. ‘As far as I am concerned it could happen today.’

Romany gave Tiger a weak smile and nodded as if this proposal was acceptable to her.

‘Well, if that’s everything, my secretary will give you your copies of the documents as you leave. If anything occurs to you later, please feel free to ring.’

The solicitor stood to indicate that the meeting was now over, and one by one the guardians followed suit and then trooped out into the reception area, each nodding their thanks as they passed her.

As Romany left, the solicitor placed a hand on her arm. ‘Your mother was a lovely woman,’ she said. It was unlike her to make such a personal statement and she was surprised that this one had slipped out, but then Angie Osborne had been a surprising person.