Impossible to Forget(40)

‘Well, you seem to be winning,’ said Angie appreciatively. ‘It really is lovely, Lee. Really.’

The barest wash of colour flushed across his cheeks and then was gone.

‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘It’s a kind of escape. From . . .’ He cocked his head in the direction of the house. ‘Well, you know. Babies can be exhausting, and they don’t respect anyone else’s needs.’

Angie recalled that he had once said much the same to her about his music when they had been living on opposite sides of a corridor.

‘And what about your sax?’ she asked, certain that it couldn’t be far from his mind, either.

He shrugged sadly. ‘I don’t play much these days. There never seems to be the time. And I used to play at night but that keeps Thomas awake. Apparently.’

This final word was added in a tone that suggested that he wasn’t convinced it was true, and Angie had to agree. In her experience, there was little more soothing than listening to Leon play jazz.

‘Sounds to me like you’re under the thumb,’ she laughed, but she was only half-joking. Leon had always been a bit stiff, not really wanting to step that far from the path, but this wasn’t the life that she had envisaged for him, not even close.

‘No, not really,’ he replied. ‘I know you had big dreams for me, Ange, but they were your dreams, not mine. I always wanted something much smaller, more in line with what my family expected of me. And we’ve worked hard to get what we have, Becky and me. I’m proud of it.’

Angie had no concept of doing what her family wanted her to do. In fact, she couldn’t even imagine what that might be, but she could feel Leon slipping away so she changed direction. ‘And so you should be,’ she said quickly. ‘It’s lovely what you’ve made, the pair of you.’

He smiled at her, grateful, it seemed, that she was not going to criticise his choices, but Angie thought that she could see regret there, too. Surely a part of him must wonder, must have played through the ‘what if’ scenarios in his head. He had such a talent, of that there was absolutely no doubt. And now he wasn’t even playing music at all. It was such a waste and he must know that in his heart, if he ever dared to look there. There was nothing, however, to be gained from pointing that out to him now.

‘And what about you, Ange?’ he said, turning the tables on her in a way that she hadn’t seen coming. ‘Do you have any regrets?’

Did she? Looking back wasn’t an occupation that Angie had ever wasted any time on. What was the point? She couldn’t change the past.

‘No! Of course not!’ she replied breezily. ‘When you’ve got no plan then what is there to regret? Life is just one long adventure. I love what I do. My business is building up nicely and my clients are great. It’ll be a little holistic empire soon.’

Leon put his arms around her and squeezed her tightly. ‘It’s so great to see you, Ange,’ he said. ‘Don’t ever change.’

Angie was a little taken aback, but she squeezed him back.

‘You remind me of . . .’ he continued. ‘Well, it’s just great to see you. Let’s make sure we don’t let things slip too far.’

‘Maybe we can meet up some time, just the three of us,’ she suggested. ‘It’s been ages. We could go to a bar in Leeds, get some food. It’d be just like old times.’

Leon nodded, but something about his face told Angie that he didn’t think it would happen.

‘They’re not small forever, Lee,’ she added. ‘Kids do grow up, and then maybe it’ll be a bit easier for you to get away. And even you must get some time off for good behaviour.’ She doubted that it was Thomas’s age that was the stumbling block here, but she’d taken comfort from the fact that Leon did seem to want to see them more often, even if the logistics were tricky. ‘I’ll tell you what,’ she continued. ‘Next time Tiger shows his face, let’s all go out. It’ll be great. I know we’re all busy but I’m sure we can manage one night off without the world coming to an end.’

Leon gave her a rueful smile. They both knew that she was really talking about him.

‘Don’t you worry,’ she added. ‘You’ll have to run pretty fast to shake me off. I’m not going anywhere.’



They were still outside, happily chatting about life’s inanities, when Maggie joined them. Her face was red and blotchy and her eyes had narrowed, but her make-up appeared to have remained perfectly in place. She had probably worn waterproof mascara especially, Angie thought.

‘Hi, you two,’ she said as she approached.

‘Is it all over?’ asked Leon.

‘Not quite, but there’s only so much emotional upheaval a girl can take, so I’ve bowed out early. What are you up to?’

‘Just setting the world to rights,’ said Angie.

‘Is the world all that wrong?’ asked Maggie. ‘It all looks pretty good from where I’m standing.’ She let her gaze wash over Leon’s glorious garden.

And Angie decided that she was right. Life wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t bad, either. Unless you were Princess Di, of course.





21


THE NEW MILLENNIUM


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