One Last Love (7 page)

‘Do you live around here?’ Madeleine asked Beatrice.

‘Actually, no. I live down south because I work in the government. You know, busy, busy, busy. Just arrived today. Wanted to spend some quality time with my dad.’

‘Oh that’s nice,’ Madeleine said with a smile as Bonnie thought about how she’d probably scheduled just little of her busy, busy time with her dad before he died. Even if it was inconvenient. Madeleine had a similar thought at first, then read the something different in her eyes. Bonnie only saw her forced smile.

‘Beatrice works in the Deputy Prime Minister’s office,’ Charlie said proudly.

‘Well, that must keep you on your toes,’ Madeleine said.

Yes, it’s frantic so it’s so nice to have some quiet time up here. But, well, with the election looming, I’m sure it’s going to be just crazy over the next few months.’

‘So, we get another chance to change one team of villains for another again?’ Bonnie said thinking that Beatrice would be happy if there was an early funeral to attend so she could get back to work as quickly as possible.

‘Oh they’re not villains Bonnie,’ Madeleine said with a half grin. ‘Well, at least not all of them.’

‘They really work very hard, the politicians I mean,’ Beatrice said. ‘I think people get the wrong impression.’

‘Well, if they work half as hard as you my dear, they must be very good folk,’ Charlie said as if lost in a fog of pride in his daughter.

‘I suppose we should place our orders. The staff don’t stay all that late,’ Madeleine said and Bonnie recognised her tact. ‘So, chicken or fish Bonnie?’

‘Fish I think.’

‘Sounds good. Same for me,’ Charlie added.

‘Yes, fish for me too,’ Beatrice said with a smile as Madeleine started to get to her feet to order at the servery.

‘I’ll go,’ Bonnie said as he patted Madeleine’s hand and wheeled himself off. ‘Fish too?’

‘No, think I’ll try the chicken.’

‘Bloody lazy bitch,’ Bonnie thought to himself as he headed towards the servery. ‘Can’t even get on her damn feet for her dying father. Selfish cow who couldn’t ……… eh, hello love. Three fish and one chicken thanks.’

‘Sure. I’ll bring them over for you when they’re ready. Shouldn’t be long love.’

‘Thanks,’ he said and turned to return to the table. He half thought about a smoke on the terrace instead but couldn’t leave Madeleine all alone with the bitch from the Deputy Prime Minister’s office.

He returned in time to hear Charlie waxing lyrical about his daughter’s achievements. He suffered it while Madeleine politely nodded. Beatrice satisfied herself with wearing a look of smugness and superiority. Bonnie thanked his lucky stars that Madeleine was there to at least keep his language decent.

‘We knew she was headed for great heights when she got her scholarship to Oxford,’ Charlie continued. ‘Of course we missed her while she was studying in England, but my wife and I went to visit at every opportunity. Often coincided with a test match at Lords,’ he laughed with the type of banal laugh one would hear at a Royal afternoon tea gathering after a spot of fox hunting. Bonnie listened, wishing the food would arrive soon and at least give the possibility that Charlie would choke on a fish bone and drop stone dead. Madeleine listened politely with less fatal, but not dissimilar thoughts.

‘But we’ve been very close since mother died,’ Beatrice added as if she was trying to convince Charlie more than Madeleine and Bonnie.

‘Yes, it was a tragic loss for me but one must move on, what?’ he said and only Madeleine noticed the hint of disappointment of Beatrice’s face.

‘So, who ordered the chicken?’ was a welcome relief as the orderly arrived with four plates on a tray.

‘For me thanks,’ Madeleine said politely.

‘Watch out. The plate’s hot love,’ she said as she placed it on the table in front of her. ‘Here ya go love,’ she said as she served Bonnie.

‘Still no beer here then?’ he smiled.

‘Sorry love. Crying shame too I reckon but I’ll have a word with the boss,’ she smiled then moved to Beatrice. ‘Careful love. It’s hot. Beatrice looked at her plate, but somehow forgot to acknowledge the orderly. Charlie managed the same level of contempt.

‘Well, bon appétit,’ Madeleine said.

‘Oh, yes. Beatrice speaks French too,’ Charlie said. Bonnie decided to take a great interest in his fish.

‘Alors, où avez-vous appris le français?’ Madeleine asked Beatrice.

‘Oh, sorry. I only learned a few words. Merci and au revoir, you know.’

‘That’s a pity dear. It’s such a beautiful language.’

‘Watch out, there’s a few bones in the fish,’ Bonnie muttered.

Madeleine and Bonnie said little over dinner. There was hardly any need as Charlie managed to fill most of the conversation, punctuated by Beatrice’s occasional additions. Bonnie adding grunts mostly, and Madeleine polite smiles along with a sense of sympathy for Beatrice. It was clear to her that she wanted more than to have a father who only boasted about her achievements. With the polite goodnights and cheerful offerings to see each other soon finished, Charlie and Beatrice headed towards the dining room doors. Madeleine looked at Bonnie. He looked back.

‘You know what?’

‘What Bonnie?’

‘I feel like a fag.’

‘What a grand plan. Can I join you?

‘This way. I’ve got a secret smoking spot,’ he said and led off, opening the door to the terrace off from the dining room. As he wheeled through the door he saw the lonely plastic chair Danny had left earlier in the day.

‘And there’s even a seat reserved for you,’ he smiled.

‘Oh, how considerate of you,’ she said as she sat down. Bonnie hunted his pockets for his smokes and lighter before finally finding them and offering Madeleine the open packet. He lit hers, then his.

‘It’s a bit fresh out here. I’ll pop these on your laps,’ the orderly said as she brought out two blankets and tucked them around Madeleine and Bonnie’s legs.

‘Thank you. That’s very kind of you,’ Madeleine said.

‘Oh it’s nothing love. Enjoy your smokes,’ she said and scurried back inside.

‘What a creep huh?

‘Charlie or his daughter?’ Madeleine asked with a smile.

‘Well, it takes all kinds I suppose,’ he laughed and a silence followed.

‘I felt quite sorry for her.’

‘Who, Beatrice?’ Bonnie asked.

‘Yes. She simply wants affection from her father and all he does is treat her like some kind of trophy on his mantelpiece.’

‘Maybe, but she’s a tough nut.’

‘I don’t think so Bonnie. She’s just learned to put up a façade to protect herself.’

‘And misses her mother I s’pose.’

‘Maybe. Hard to tell really.’

‘So where’d you learn to speak French?’

‘Oh, it was so long ago Bonnie, but I started at high school like so many. Then it must’ve been nineteen sixty or sixty one I went to Europe with my mother and father. By ship back then and it took six weeks to get to England. I was just twenty I think and after a few weeks in England to meet some of my family we went to France. Paris first, then Lille and Nantes. Mum and dad couldn’t speak French, although dad knew a few words, but we relied on my high school French to get by. By the end of our five weeks in France, I’d improved somewhat. Then when we got back home, I enrolled to continue studying French.’

‘At university?’

‘No. Back then I was only thinking about finding a good husband, getting married, buying a nice house and having children.’

‘The sixties dream with a white picket fence?’

‘Exactly Bonnie. So I enrolled to study French for a year at night school. Just out of interest and for something to do.’

‘So you were working?’

‘Oh, just as a typist in a flourmill of all things. Something to do….’

‘Until you got married?’

‘You know how it was back then?’

‘Things’ve changed so much nowadays Madeleine, but not sure for the better. At least back then kids got a mother at home.’

‘So you prefer your women barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen then?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe somewhere between then and now. Just think kids need mothers. Anyway, probably not gonna win that argument, so what about your French?’

‘Well, it was my teacher.’

‘At night school?’

‘Yes. Yves.’

‘Don’t tell me you had an affair with your teacher.’

‘Oh no Bonnie,’ Madeleine said waving her hand dismissing the notion. ‘I married him.’

‘Ah, so back off to France to meet the family.’

‘Not straight away. We got ourselves settled first then, well it was probably a year or so later that we headed off to France. His family were mostly from around Grenoble, so we stayed with his parents there. The first thing I discovered was that Grenoble was famous for walnuts. Sort of killed my romantic ideas about France,’ Madeleine laughed. ‘Anyway, his parents were nice, but I really got the feeling they would’ve preferred he’d married a nice French girl. Nothing they said, but then again I didn’t understand everything of course. It was just their manner. Distant. But we were in love so it didn’t really matter and we didn’t stay all that long before we headed off to Paris to have our delayed honeymoon.’

‘Every girl’s dream huh?’

‘Of course it was. So anyway, we had our holiday and naturally my French had improved enormously, what with Yves’ help and the time in France. Then when we got back, I started looking for a job.’

‘To fill in time until you got pregnant?’

‘Sadly Bonnie, I suppose so. I was busily changing curtains and doing all the silly superstitious stuff.’

‘Oh yes, I remember Carol changing curtains a lot when we first got married. Science has moved on, hasn’t it?’

‘Thankfully so. But were we really that silly back then?

‘Not really sure about that. Just different times.’

‘Well anyway, everything was going to plan. Yves was teaching so we didn’t have a lot of money, but we got by and had our own little house.’

‘And a white picket fence?

‘It was yellow in fact.’

‘You were a pair of radicals then? Must have clashed with the neighbourhood standards.’

‘Oh no. I think there were even green and blue fences in our street.’

‘A very permissive suburb.’

‘I hardly think so. It was Yves’ accent. There were always snide comments and such. You know how it was back then.’

‘Yes. I can well imagine. We weren’t the most tolerant people. Not that it’s much different now, mind you.’

‘Well anyway, after a couple of years things got a bit tough with money, Yves living in a foreign country and I suppose just the normal things and such. Lots of arguments and tension.’

‘So he left?’

‘No. He was too proud to do anything like that and well, in the sixties it was different. Not like it is now when divorce is an everyday event. We knew there were problems, but we just carried on each day and hoped things would get better. Like everyone I think.’

‘Yes, I know exactly what you mean. It was the same for Carol and me. You just carry on, no matter what. So you stayed together and just ignored it all then?’

‘Perhaps we would’ve got over the problems in time. Who knows?’

‘So what happened?’

‘A drunk driver. Yves was walking home from a night school class and got hit on a pedestrian crossing. He lingered for a few days in hospital.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Bonnie said distantly as he thought about Colin being killed in a similar accident. He wanted to tell Madeleine but stopped as he thought it would sound too much like, oh me too.

‘It was so long ago now and, well, I got over it and got on with my life. I remarried about four years later and, well, you know.

‘Only too well I think,’ Bonnie said still thinking about Colin and struggling to find anything more to say as tiredness was falling upon him rapidly. But it was clear to him that Madeleine’s one love in her life had been Yves. Her saying, well, you know, about her second marriage said it all.

‘It’s strange Bonnie.’

‘What is?’

‘Sitting here chatting about our lives and then I think, we only met this morning.’

‘Seems like a long time ago for some reason, doesn’t it?’

‘Yes,’ Madeleine said.

*****

Bonnie lay in his bed in pain. The day had been long and he realised had pushed himself too far. He pressed the call button and waited for a nurse to arrive. Even rolling a little to his left to press the button and then rolling back flat in his back sent stabbing pains through his chest, shoulders and arms. Breathing slowly and trying to relax his muscles didn’t help. It did remind him though of why he was there. Days or couple of weeks perhaps as Dr. Phillips had told him.

‘How’re you doing Bonnie?’ Odele asked when she arrived at Bonnie’s bedside.

‘A lot of pain in my chest and shoulders,’ he said through his gritted teeth.

‘Ok Bonnie, I’ll get something to help you sleep. Just a moment,’ she said as she left the room, then returned a few minutes later with a small kidney bowl containing a syringe and small medical wipes.

‘You had a busy day I hear,’ she said as she gave Bonnie the injection.

‘It’s not fair, is it? I mean, the young ones. How do you handle it?’

‘We just do the best we can Bonnie and take each day as it comes,’ she said and paused as she finished the injection. ‘Now, there we go, all done. That should ease the pain and help you sleep. Anything else I can get you?’

‘No it’s ok, thanks.’

Within a few minutes he could feel the pain easing and drowsiness setting in. His mind wandered a few narrow, forgotten corridors of his life. An old work mate, a punch up, a day at the beach with Colin and then his mother, just before sleep arrived.

*****

Madeleine took the pills Odele had brought her then readied for bed. Reading for a while before her eyes felt tired and turning off her bedside lamp. Light from the hall filtering into her room creating strange shadows in the semi darkness while her mind processed her day in the minutes before sleep. Of the contrast between Angeline’s honesty and acceptance and Beatrice’s desperate longing for affection from her father, and what life had cruelly dealt one and spared the other. Thoughts of Danny entering her mind momentarily before the words of her doctor from just a few days ago that her heart wouldn’t last much longer, repeated themselves. Then, Bonnie’s rugged smile drifting into her mind just before sleep arrived.