In The Name Of Love (6 page)

He did not know what to do, and was so pleased when Joyce
came to his rescue by getting up and going over to Cyril and put her arms
around them both, and kissed them each on the cheek a couple of times. She
said, "This is fantastic, Cyril. Where's that bottle of cream sherry?"

"What a great idea," he said, freeing himself from April's
clutches and going over to a cabinet. He brought back an unopened bottle of
sherry and four glasses, putting them before Grant and giving him a nod.

Grant soon opened the bottle and poured generous amounts of
sherry into each glass, before handing them out. He stood up, raised his glass
and said, "Here's to Cyril, the greatest salesman in Cheshire! To Cyril, with
our heartfelt thanks."

As he replenished their glasses, Joyce said, "I think you
both better stay for dinner. I'll cook something special in celebration of this
success."

"That's so kind of you, Joyce, but we have the long drive
back to Leeds, so I don't think we can stay for dinner tonight. Can we take a
rain-check on it for another day?"

"Well that's disappointing," she said, looking at Cyril.

He quickly got the unspoken message and said, "Why don't you
to stay here tonight, we have plenty of room, and we'd love you to stay for
dinner and spend the evening with us."

Grant was wondering how to say no, when April said, "Thank
you, that's a great idea and we accept, don't we?" She looked at Grant…

"Yes, of course, thanks so much for your kindness, you're
both so wonderful to us." he raised his glass to Joyce and Cyril.

"That's settled then, you can stay the night…wait a minute,
though."

The room went quiet and they looked at Cyril, wondering what
he had in mind.

"Why stay just for the night? Joyce, let this young couple
stay here with us until they find their own place. What do you think?"

"Of course they can, that will be wonderful!"

"Oh Joyce, Cyril, thank you so much. I do so hate that long
journey, and I love it here in Stockport – are you really sure it will be
alright?" said April, looking pensively from one to the other.

"My dear, it's a done deal," said Cyril with a broad smile,
"You're our house guests until you find a place of your own."

"I agree," said Joyce, raising her glass to April and then
to Grant, who each responded.

"Right," said Cyril, taking charge, "You girls go and
arrange the sleeping arrangements, and get the dinner on cooking, while I teach
this young man how to play chess."

"This is a large house, but we've made a few changes over
the years," said Joyce, as she led the way upstairs. There was a landing that
ran from left to right at the top of the stairs, and she turned to the left
until she came to two doors. She swung open the door on the left, saying,
"That's Cyril's room. She turned to April and said, "We've had separate room
since the death of our son at childbirth, some ten years ago."

"Oh, I am sorry, how dreadful for you."

Joyce wasn't sure if she meant the loss of her baby, or
living in separate rooms, but didn't wait for clarification and opened the door
on the right. "This is our guest room; come inside it's quite large."

The room was furnished with a soft beige carpet, bright
yellow curtains and a flowery yellow cover over the double bed. It was a corner
room with windows on two sides, allowing the evening sun to shine in and
brighten the already cheerful room. There were matching wardrobes with a
dressing table between them along the left wall, with two small armchairs and a
small table set before the window on the far wall.

Joyce looked at the smile on April's face as she took in the
warm ambience of the bedroom, and was pleased with her reaction.

"This is a lovely room, Joyce."

"Well, it's yours for as long as you and Grant wish to
stay," she said, ushering her back onto the passage. As they walked along she
opened the door on her left next to the guest room, saying, "Here's the
bathroom, with all the normal fittings." They didn't enter, and Joyce went to
the adjacent door, and said, "Here's our second guest room, which as you can
see has only a single bed and is a quite narrow room. It was going to be our
nursery."

She looked at April, who'd become quite pensive, and she
wondered what was going through her mind. Joyce went to the end of the passage
and opened the last door. "This is my room, let me show you around."

April gasped at the rush of pink from walls, to floor,
including curtains and bed cover, and said, "Why, Joyce, you have a beautiful
room!"

"Thank you my dear," she said. Pointing to the left she
said, "That side is my bathroom and dressing room, and of course this is the
main part of the bedroom, but come with me." She led the way to the right,
where there was a deep bay window containing a heart-shaped white dressing
table with pink accessories. On the wall to the right there were two curtains
held back by cord, and between them was the entrance to a small sitting room.

"This is my private area, where I sit and sew, watching the
life in the avenue," she said, leading April into the room. There was a chaise
longue, pink, of course, along the wall opposite the window, and she gestured
to April to take a seat.

"Let's sit and relax for while, and get to know each other."

April settled into the sofa, but look nervous, so Joyce
said, "I hope you're not worried by Cyril's attentions, my dear; he's just an
old softie, and means no harm."

April smiled and said, "Oh no, in fact I like him very much
and enjoy his company." She stopped talking and looked thoughtful.

"And that business of lipstick on Grant was nothing, just a
bit of silliness."

"Joyce, I know it was more than that, but I also know it was
not of your doing…"

"I think you have something worrying you, so why don't you
talk about it – a problem shared is a problem halved!"

She looked up at Joyce and said, "I hate to be a nuisance,
but do you think Grant and I can have separate bedrooms. I'm having…" She
stopped to wipe the tears from her eyes with her handkerchief.

Joyce hid a triumphant smile as she put a hand over April's
saying, "We all have our difficulties, my dear, and say no more about it. I'll
put you in the large guest room and Grant in the small one, and don't you worry
about Cyril, he probably won't even notice."

She gave a wan smile, but her eyes looked much brighter, so
Joyce continued, "I must tell you, April, because it will become obvious in a
day or two, that I've been having problems with Cyril. Not between us, you
understand, but at his work where he's developed a tendency to be over-friendly
with the young women to the extent he often fondles them."

April opened her eyes wide and Joyce said, "This explains
why he's showing you such warm attention, also, because you're a beautiful
young woman in the age group he's fond of."

"I understand, thank you for taking me into your confidence
and explaining it."

"You don't have to worry about him going too far, my dear,
because to be frank he started to lose it years ago. I don't think he even
remembers what to do anymore, and if it does come back to him, he just won't
have the power. I heard this expression for the first time only a day or two
ago, but it sums him up to a tee—he just doesn't have any lead in his pencil."

April smiled at this, and Joyce patted her hands and said,
"So, do you want to share the problem you're having with Grant?"

 She nodded and said, "I think he's having an affair with my
mother."

Joyce was shocked to hear this, but said nothing and put a
comforting arm around her shoulder, encouraging her to continue.

"A few months ago, I came home mid-afternoon from visiting a
friend where I planned to stay for the evening, but her husband returned a day
early from Scotland. Grant was in the sitting room watching TV and mother was
busy in the kitchen, so after saying hello I went upstairs to change. My
mother's bedroom door was open, and I could see her bed was not just un-made,
but in a right tumble. I had made the bed for her that morning before I left to
visit my friend, so I went into to see what had happened, and when I felt the
bottom sheet it was still warm – somebody had lain there for quite a while. I
closed the door and went to my room to change."

"That could mean anything, my dear."

"I agree, and that's what I told myself, so I put on a brave
face and went down to join them in the sitting room, where mother had just
brought in a tray of tea and biscuits."

I said to Grant, "How come you're home so early?"

"Oh, I've only been in about ten minutes before you. It was
quiet at work so I took the rest of the day off."

"My immediate thoughts were that he knew I was with Patricia
and wouldn't be home until late that evening, so taking the time off work to go
home early didn't make sense. Anyway, I said nothing and after a while I turned
to mother."

"What have you been doing today, Mom?"

"I was busy cleaning the house all morning, had a bite of
lunch and went over to that new supermarket in the town centre. I spent more
money than I could afford, of course, and got home about five minutes after Grant."

"I replied before she had chance to wonder why I was asking
the questions"

 "Oh, you have had a busy day. What did you get in the
supermarket? We haven't been there for weeks, have we Grant."

She looked up at Joyce, and said, "From there it was
conversation as normal, and nothing more was said, but they were both lying. Grant
had been home for a long time, because when I walked up the path I stopped to
take a stone out of my shoe, and rested my hand on the bonnet of his old car,
and it was stone cold. It overheats terribly, and stays hot for a long time,
and if he'd been home only a few minutes before me, I would know it."

Joyce said, "Well, you may be right, but surely that once
incident is not proof."

"You're right; the proof was the change in their attitude
over the next few weeks, with mother being all ‘lovey-dovey' towards Grant, to
the extent of giving him extra large meals and prolonged kisses goodbye each
morning. Something she never did before – but worse, is my husband's responses
to her attentions."

"Well, perhaps separate rooms will be a good thing for both
of you."

"I'm sure it will, and I shall lock my door to make sure he
won't come in." She stood up and said, "If you don't mind, I'm going to the
bathroom, and then I shall sit in the guest room for a while, before returning
downstairs to help you with dinner in the kitchen."

Joyce watched as she walked through the curtained opening
into the bedroom, and a large smile came over her face.
"This morning I
didn't know where to turn, and this afternoon a young woman has come into my
home and will hopefully distract Cyril from his office dalliances, while her
husband, whom she now spurns, has come back into my life. Interesting times are
ahead…"

Dinner that evening was more subdued than they anticipated
when Cyril brought in the good news for Grant in the afternoon, but perhaps it
was because each person was deep in thought. The women cleared the dinner table
and went into the kitchen, while the two men set up the chessboard once again.

When they'd finished washing and drying the dishes, they
came into the sitting room to say goodnight. "I'm off to finish my book, and April
is tired after her long day, so we're both off to bed," said Joyce, plumping up
the cushions on her chair, and tidying her corner.

"Good night," said Cyril, standing up and giving both Joyce
and April a warm kiss on the cheek.

Watching him, Grant decided to follow suit, and gave Joyce a
kiss on the cheek, but when he turned to his wife, she was already going
through the door and didn't glance back. He shrugged and sat down to continue
the game, as there seemed no point in making an issue of it.

When she showed
him the second guest room before dinner, and said, "I think it better we sleep
apart for a few days, while things settle down. Besides, you'll need to be up
early and off to your new customer, it will be bad if you're late and lose the
order."

At first he was angry and disappointed with the separate
sleeping arrangements, but as he sat thinking about his next chess move, he
came to realise that relaxing alone in that cosy single bed was going to be a
lot better than staring at April's back in bed. By the time the game finished,
an hour or so later, he was quite looking forward to stretching out alone, so
he said, "I think I'll get an early night too, Cyril. Perhaps we can play the
return match another evening."

"Goodnight, I will be up myself shortly," said Cyril,
packing away the chess pieces with great care. "This old set was my
grandfather's and I've been playing chess on this same board since I was only
four or five years old."

"I'm surprised you don't join a chess club. There must be
one in Stockport."

"I used to go to a chess club, but I found it more of a
social meeting place, because of all the chit-chat over the board, and gave it
up after a few weeks," said Cyril, standing up and putting the game away in the
rosewood sideboard.

Grant waved goodnight as he left the sitting room and went
up the stairs. He paused half-way up the stairs as memories of the first time
he climbed them flooded through his mind. He went into his bedroom and after
locking the door to ensure he had no surprise visitor, he lay on the bed and
thought of that hot summer some 12-years earlier.

-o-

His mother had been unwell for a few days and Joyce came
around to visit for an hour. As she was leaving, she said, "I'll come back
later with those magazines for you…"