Sorry at the delay

Hi guys, just a quick note to say sorry at the lack of posting. Had a big birthday and spent long weekend in New York, which was both amazing, and extremely hectic. 
Next chapter will be up later today! 
Hope you're all well!

You Got It Wrong - Part Twelve

Chapter Twelve

                “There are SO many lights!” Nina hissed leaning close to Lilah’s ear. Like her cousin, the two tall women walked with grace and poise, smiling at the paparazzi all clustered waiting for a possible snap of the Princess of Pop Madonna.  

                “Just smile, you look a million dollars!” Lilah hissed back through her media smile. “Just hang on to my arm and don’t fall over!”

The three of them moved gratefully across the red carpet and into the five star hotel that was host to the launch of the fashion range. Just inside the door, as the three giggled together, an older man stood smiling, then he raised an eyebrow at Amelia.

                “So an interview is ok?”

Amelia clapped her hands, “Clive! Of course. Girls, this is Clive Hyatt, he’s the fashion editor for the Times, they’re after a full page interview.” Amelia’s eyes fell to Nina, “you ok for this?”

Nina wasn’t, not really, she craved anonymity, and this was the last thing she was going to get when this came out. But she owed it to the two women who had invested time and money into her business.

With a nod and a smile, she replied, “I’m sure I have nothing of interest for Clive, but I will try my best.”

The older man smiled, “I’ve got a room to interview...” he gestured to his left and led the three into a conference room. Initially the conversation was informal, about the two other women, but once they’d highlighted why they’d both believed in their friend, the conversation came around to Nina.

                “So Nina, where does the interest in jewellery come from?”

Nina had been asked this so many times, she hated that the reply might sound contrived.

                “I always loved the simplicity of rings, the eternity, never ending...but I never considered working with metals, not like this until I worked with Juan Hernandez, a famous name in the jewellery field in Madrid. He’s a great goldsmith and I immediately fell in love with his work, he appreciated my interest and shared tips and techniques. When I finally got back to Britain, well I got into college to learn the intricacies of the trade. My tutor was a very talented woman, but she was fascinated by my influences from Juan, and helped me grow.” She looked up at Amelia and smiled, “then Amelia saw my work, and commissioned her wedding rings...and in the after math, my quiet world is no more!”

Clive laughed, “and you are coping with the increased interest?”

Nina smiled at that, “I want to hand craft every item, that means that I can only produce at a certain rate. If we grow too big then I’ll have to take on more metalsmiths, and I don’t know if that’s the route I want to see this place go...but on the other hand, it’s a business and we have to discuss things as we go.”

She’d already thought about making standard rings, alongside the bespoke service, and if that was the case, she could employ someone to produce them, she needed to discuss things with the other two, but at last she was starting to realise that change wasn’t necessarily taking the individuality away from her.

The man was gushing asking loads of questions of the three of them, and other than the technical aspects, Nina was happy to sit back and let the others answer. Especially when those questions started to become more pointed, she had no intention of discussing her family with this man, and didn’t want any links made to them either.

Once they got into the launch, a cross between the catwalk show they expected and a pop concert, Nina was drained, the stress of the interview and the champagne on an empty stomach churning inside her.

                “I’m just going to get some fresh air...I feel a bit sick.”

Lilah looked at her worried, “I’ll come with you!”

Nina shook her head, “no, I’ll be five minutes; this is all a bit much for me.”

She nodded then kissed her cheek, “you did amazing.”

                “I’m not sure about that!”

There was a bar across the hallway from the huge room that was hosting the show, and beyond the bar was a terrace, above the London street, and after ordering a glass of wine and a packet of peanuts in the hope they’d settled her stomach, she made for the outdoors with relief.

Theo looked at his friend and grimaced, “this is like a nightmare Tony. All I want is Melody with me, and you’re telling me that I still can’t have her. Three times she’s not been there when I’m dropping her home. What does she have to do for me to protect her?”

Tony glanced at the waiter and ordered them another drink, meeting in a busy hotel like this had been a mistake, but he’d tried to kill two birds with one stone and help his best friend out whilst sealing a business deal. Instead they’d walked into a media circus, some fashion event was happening, and the whole place was packed. NOT the ideal location for his friend to have a breakdown.

                “We’re gathering evidence and I’ve told you I’ll help with surveillance, we won’t let anything bad happen to Melody, but life is a game. If we move too soon, she’s forewarned and forearmed. Trust me ok?”

                “It’s Sadie I don’t trust...and it’s a long time since you’ve dealt with family shit like this MR HotShot Corporate lawyer.”

Tony smiled, “what’s the point of being a lawyer at all if you can’t help out your friends? And anyway, I have a junior at the company working on it for you...she’s rather cute?”

Theo groaned and closed his eyes, “I’m in this mess because of a woman, don’t try and force me on someone else.”

                “You’ve been single for over a year, have you even looked at another woman in that time?”

Theo hated that his mind wandered to a swimming pool in France for a moment, then he shook his head, “I’m not interested Tony. I just want my little girl.”

He’d hinted to his mate about the issues that happened in France and his change in family circumstances had unsettled him a little.

                “Look Theo, all I’m saying is life goes on.”

                “It does, without my little girl. That’s all I’m asking. No amateur matchmaking, no armchair psychology, just get my girl. Ok?”

Tony laughed, “you credit me with SO much more than I am capable of!”

                “From where I’m sat you fill those boots EXACTLY!”

The waiter appeared with a bottle of whisky, placing it between them with a flourish, then pouring two small measures before he disappeared.

                “We’re friends Theo, don’t doubt that I’ll always do the right thing, but I’m allowed to offer my advice too...” he paused when Theo glared at him, “and right now, I’m saying that your life is passing you by. You’re thirty one, but you’ve given up on what should be the prime of your life.”

                “Bullshit. I’ve grown up Tony; just cos you still want a string of non committing young blondes on your arm does not mean that I want the same. Ok?”

Tony laughed, his eyes trained on the bar, “who mentioned blondes?”

Groaning, Theo tilted his head towards the bar and saw the object of Tony’s attention, a rather petite brunette stood alone at the bar in a clinging dark dress and killer heels.

                “Now that,” Tony assured him, “is something worth breaking the blonde rule for!”

Theo cringed unable to believe that he’d once been as casual with his affections, “that is a she.”

Tony rolled his eyes, and it wasn’t until that moment that the woman moved collecting her drink, and the side profile made Theo freeze, that short hair, the upturned nose, and the long fluttery eyelashes.

                “Shit!” The word escaped his lips before he’d even registered it, then he was standing, following her out of the room without a thought for his friend, entranced. She moved out onto the terrace, her legs in her heels deceptively long, and her hips wiggling. As he reached the door, he called out her name.

                “Nina.”

She froze still for a moment, before turning slowly to stare at him.

                “What do you want?”

He shook his head, “you look amazing...

Nina stared at the suited man in front him, no amount of flattery, or suave suit could make her forget the man who’s been so rude, so derogatory to her in France two weeks earlier.

                “Like that’s your business.”

He ran a hand through his hair, “I’m sorry, I got things wrong.”

That made her laugh, “so what? Everyone has to stand up and forget the way you spoke and looked at me? I was doing YOUR grandfather a favour, helping HIM achieve his dreams because YOU his grandson couldn’t be bothered. You think I had some sort of motivation for it, that I was after something. And I wasn’t. I wanted to help him, because I could. So stick that in your pipe Theo and smoke it, cos from where I’m standing you’re not exactly a perfect citizen yourself.”

His nostrils flared, the only sign that he was angry, “you know NOTHING about me and my life.”

She gave a sickly smile, “of course, and I don’t profess to. Unlike you, I don’t prejudge people. I don’t know why you followed me out here, but to be honest I have nothing more to say to you.”

She made to march past him but he reached out, wrapping his fingers around her forearm, the jolt was shock and nothing more she told herself as she snatched her arm away from him, “don’t touch me!”

He dropped his hand, “I just wanted to say sorry.”

                “You’ve done that. Now if you don’t mind...”

When he stepped back she stormed past him, but her attempts at a dramatic exit died when she wobbled on her heels and almost fell into his arms.

He steadied her, trying to stop the laughter that threatened to fall, then righted her. With a shrug, trying not to laugh herself, she shook herself then carried on out of the bar.

Theo watched her leave wondering how in the hell the scowling angry pocket rocket that he met in France became the petite diva that turned heads as she walked. OR rather tottered...in those heels...that made her legs look twice as long. Shaking his head, admiring her spunk as much as her curves, he strolled back towards Tony. Who was sat in his chair with a knowing look on his face.

                “Not interested? Theo Peterson YOU have some explaining to do.”

Theo groaned, “if I knew what was happening I would explain. That was the worker from my granddad’s home who took him to France.”

                “That was no nurse Theo, that was a classy stylish woman who’s just walked back into the fashion thing across the hallway...she either knows Madonna, or she’s invited as someone important. That, I think mate, is the real mystery!”

Theo stared out of the door of the bar to the glitzy decorated room opposite, the lights, red carpet and security. Tony was right, she was more than a low paid worker in a nursing home, and suddenly he wanted to know exactly who Nina was...he didn’t even know her surname. That was about to change.

You Got It Wrong - Part Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Five days later, Nina pulled the Beetle in to the garage at the back of her house, it was amazing to think that she’d only been absent eight days, it seemed like so much more, but then so much had happened in that time frame. She’d been glad to go to her aunt’s house; they had a bed and breakfast in Cherbourg. Her grandmother had moved to London when her mother Beatrice had married her father. She’d been her only child, and as a widow, Anna had come across the channel. She’d never settled in the City, and when Beatrice had died, she’d moved out to the coast, where she said she could see the hint of her beloved France in the distance, but also had Britain, her daughter’s grave, and the regular visits of Nina, her granddaughter.

On her death a few years earlier, Nina had inherited the house, a three story town house just off the front. It was worth a fortune, and cost a fortune to run, but on days like the day she returned it was worth it. The house was empty, so after a shower and a quick change, she trotted down to the seafront and strolled along the beach.

None of the schools had broken up for the summer yet, so the beach was far quieter than it could have been, perfect for Nina. She waved to a few familiar faces, then stopped at a cafe for coffee, and a sneaky cake.

She was there when her phone rang.  She couldn’t contain her grin when she saw Lilah’s name on the screen.

                “Girlfriend, where are you?”

Nina grinned, “sat at a certain little cafe that does THE best carrot cake.”

                “You’re home!” Lilah squealed. “Perfect. We have SO much business. I’m in London sorting things out, but can you check your email? I’ve sent you a schedule.”

Groaning Nina turned her face up to the sun, “ok. You home later?”

Lilah agreed with a grunt, “got to meet the last prospective customer in an hour, then I’ll be home. Shall we go out for dinner?”

Nina groaned, “I’ll cook us something, I need a night chilling out. I’m all travelled out.”

                “Your cousins?”

Nina chuckled, “you know how wild they are!”

It was true, her aunt had five children, each around her age, and they lived life for today. She had spent many a drunken evening partying with them, and they always viewed her arriving to be reason to party for days solidly, she’d need days to recover, that was without all the torment over Mansell and his family.

                “Ok, I’ll be home by seven.”

                “Spaghetti bolognaise and several bottles of Chianti?”

Lilah gasped, “was it THAT bad a week?”

Nina groaned, “it’s a THREE bottle of wine story darling, I assure you!”

Three hours later they were sat opposite each other with huge bowls of steaming spaghetti. And Nina slowly filled Lilah in on the events of the last few days.

                “He had a child?”

Nina paused from eating and nodded, “yep, Leon. Died when he was twenty one, but his son was brought up by Mansell’s ex lover and had twins. Claudine was there, involved arguing with Theo...who was her cousin of sorts. The brother...Gabriel, he was there by chance apparently. He didn’t get involved, buggered off whilst he had the chance. After that I don’t know. I left Mansell and his grandson there to sort it out.”

                “Hence the wild days in Cherbourg with the cousins.”

Nina nodded, “isn’t it funny though, how those decisions made seventy years ago have such HUGE knock on effects decades later, affecting SO many people. I find it crazy.”

Lilah reached for her glass, “that’s why you have to live life to the fullest, and make every day count.”

Grimacing she looked at her friend, “why does that comment scare me?”

                “Well you know we’ve got the Wootton wedding?”  Nina scowled and gave a confirmatory nod. “Well, just before that, Amelia has asked us to go to a launch night, it’s a new fashion being launched by Madonna of all people, but Amelia has lined up a big red carpet interview thing before it. It’ll be huge.” As Lilah saw her grimace again, she reached out and took her friend’s hand, “you need to do this, you need to make as much id this as you can. I know you don’t want to expand things too quickly, too rapidly, but hey, it’ll mean you can pay off Amelia, be back to being your own boss.”

Nina twirled another fork full of spaghetti and ate it silently. When she’d finished chewing she stared at her friend, “you know I hate PR shit right? That’s why I’ve let you and Amelia, an actress and a model, may I remind you, do all this PR stuff.”

                “But the interviewer wants to know technical stuff, only you can answer the questions. Plus it’s about time you started getting some accolade for all your hard work. You hide your light under a bushel, to quote my old gran.”

Nina laughed, “I hate you, I hate Amelia, can’t you just pull my finger nails out?”

Lilah giggled then shook her head, “did I tell you that Amelia’s lined up clothes for us to wear?”

Nina dropped her head to the table and moaned, “can we pretend this isn’t happening?”

Theo looked at Melody smiling up at him and his heart broke. He’d missed her more than anything in the five days he’d been away. He was still waiting for Sadie to screw up, still wanting his daughter in the safety of his home. She skipped across the wooden lounge and stood in front of him.

                “I LOVE my present Daddy!”

The teddy he’d bought her on the ferry home from Normandy was bigger than her, and it cost a fortune, but she was more than worth it, in fact the gift was an empty gesture compared to him abandoning her.

                “I’m glad! What did you do since I last saw you?”

She stood in front of him her finger on her bottom lip in pondering thought, “Auntie Tara took me swimming, and we saw Frozen three times...”

                “And Mummy?”

Melody shrugged, “she’s been tired.”

He grimaced, that wasn’t the best news. “OK,” he changed the subject, “we have four days. What do you want to do this afternoon?”

He saw her coy face and groaned, “Really?”

Nodding Melody took his hand, “let’s make a den, and then watch Frozen. You can be Olaf!”

Despite the thought of two hours of the sickliest sweet Disney, the thought of being with his daughter with no one interrupting made him smile, he could almost forget the trauma of the last few days.

A week had passed since coming back from Normandy and the meetings lined up by Lilah had been thick and fast, it now meant that Nina had three projects to work on, three vastly different ones, and there was another two couples who were due to contact Lilah if they chose the designs for their wedding.

She threw down her sketch pad and stood up, she hadn’t been to Oakdale since she’d returned, and she wanted to see Mansell, she’d been worried about him. A lot.

The home was quiet, but then it was a Friday afternoon, and there was bingo in the local church hall too, that absorbed most of the residents.  Mansell was sat on the first floor veranda looking out to sea, and his eyes didn’t waiver when she sat on the bench next to him.

                “I saw you on TV.”

He smiled, but still didn’t look her way, “I met the Queen, and William and Kate...she told me I was charming!”

Nina leaned back against the bench, “you are!”

Again he laughed, “really?” Finally he looked up at her, “you sure?”

Nina placed a hand on his arm and smiled, “you are. Was it ok, after I left?”

He sighed, a long exhalation of air, “I feel so hurt, that I knew nothing. Me in London with a wife who knows I love someone else, a son who hates me...and all the time, the woman I love was bringing up our child...it doesn’t make sense. Does it?”

It was Nina’s turn to sigh, “life is never easy, that’s what my grandmother said, from every pain, from every hurt grows something good, though we don’t often know about it.”

                “So she’d think the fact that Hélène brought up my family well was my sacrifice.”

Nina shrugged, “my mother watched my mother, her only daughter kill herself with post natal depression, but she had me, and all my family shit...well it drove me closer to her. So she loved that. She saw that as the positive for losing her, I suppose.”

                “So you grew up without a mother?”

She nodded, “an evil step mother, an uncaring father...I am like Cinderella, hey?”

He chuckled, “waiting for your Prince Charming!”

That caused her to scoff loudly, “yep. But unfortunately the man of my dreams preferred the temporary attention of said evil step mother.”

                “So ex boyfriend is your step father? That’s screwed up!”

She shook her head, “nah, my glamorous step mother enjoys the chase, she rarely wants anything more than the hunt.”

His hand covered hers, “what a cow.”   

                “Completely. And so unlike Hélène...who did what she thought was right...at the time.”

They both sat there in silence, thinking about that for a moment.

                “I was horrible to Hélène. For ages.”

Nina nodded, “she won’t blame you for that.”

                “That’s what she said. But I was wrong. Seventy years ago...things were different. I hate what we lost.”

                “But you may have spent a few years together then ruined it all on a whim. You were brief acquaintances.”

He nodded, “but my son...my grandchild, and then the twins...I missed out on all that. And what I had instead,” he looked at her, “I have an evil useless son, and whilst I can’t deny Daniel is great, despite his father, Theo...He’s screwed up because he didn’t meet any of until he was in his teens, all his life wanting to meet a father...who doesn’t give a shit.”

                “You didn’t know Theo when he was growing up?”

He shook his head, “he had a loving mother, a nice childhood, but I suppose boys always want to know who their Dad is.”

Things made so much more sense, she’d chastised him for his distance and reluctance to help his grandfather, and he’d only known him for less than half his life, that was so different, it made such a difference to the way he’d acted.

                “Must have been strange for him.”

                “Yep, and then he finds out that there are more people to threaten his place, just when he’s starting to get used to it.”

                “Claudine and Gabriel?”

 She didn’t miss the hardness to his stare at the name of the twins, “well Claudine, haven’t met the other reprobate, but by all accounts he caused nothing but hassle to Hélène.”

He’d told her he was the black sheep, it seemed he wasn’t lying. Nina smiled to herself remembering the handsome, angry man she’d met on the doorstep of that cottage in France. “I hope you’ll at least give him a chance.”

He laughed at that, “like you have Theo?”

                “Theo deliberately chose to be horrible to me. He prejudged me the way you are your other grandson.”

                “Gabriel is my GREAT grandson, and let’s not be foolish here; he has made Hélène’s life hell. Trouble apparently.”

                “He seemed ok to me.”

That made Mansell’s head snap up in surprise, “how do you know?”

                “I met him; outside...he didn’t want to come in. But he knew you were there.”

Mansell ran a hand over his face and sighed, “I didn’t know that...”

Nina didn’t want to upset him, so she tried to change the direction of the conversation, “so are you going to see Hélène again?”

He nodded, “it’s like we’ve never been apart...once I got past my anger.”

She smiled, “you deserve happiness Mansell, and I have a feeling this is the first time, really.”

Life went on for Nina, though she ignored he looming threat of the Madonna fashion launch. But the days ticked by steadily. She threw herself back into her designing, and had some amazing ideas, but that didn’t mean that her mind wasn’t still distracted by the past and the future.

Amelia, an actress growing in her fame, was as tall as Lilah, and as beautiful. She dwarfed a room when she came in, Nina had realised a long time ago, associating with two such beauties, that it was confidence that gave them both such a dramatic presence, but that didn’t mean it was any easier to emulate them. The day before a courier had arrived with a huge parcel, which when she’d opened with dread had revealed a dress that she scared her. She’d never worn anything like it, and she had no idea how she’d squeeze her rather thick figure into it. Navy blue, ruched silk, with a single strap over the right shoulder, coming to mid thigh. The label revealed the name of a well known exclusive designer.

It had taken her an hour to lift it from the box, and since then it had stared at her from a hanger in the corner of her bedroom, at some point she had to try it on, as the day of reckoning was approaching. With a grunt of frustration she grabbed the dress, tossing her t-shirt off as she pulled it over her head. It took a few moments to position her breasts in the correct place, and draw the deceptively tight fabric down to her thighs, but she got it on...and then couldn’t reach for the zip at the back to fasten it.

                “LILAH!” She called out at full shout. Her friend had just come home from having a spray tan at a nearby salon, so she knew she was home. When her bedroom door flew open, Nina looked up to see her friend stood open mouthed in the doorway. “What?” She snapped.

                “You look AMAZING!”

Nina rolled her eyes, then turned to offer her the open zip. Lilah closed it then watched as her friend slipped her feet into the spiky heels that had come with it. She was still watching when Nina caught sight of herself in the mirror and stopped dead.

                “I don’t look fat!”

Lilah came to stand behind her, “that’s cos you’re not. I keep telling you that. You’re petite and curvaceous, you should flaunt your beauty more often,” she gestured towards her wardrobe as she added, “instead of draping yourself in bland sacks. I just wish you’d see what I see. I’d love to punch your darling step mother for her role in that. The bitch.”

Nina knew that her life changed when she walked into her home one Friday after school to find her beautiful step mother Imelda in flagrante with Josh, the love of her life. It hurt more than anything else, because she could never compete with the beauty of the elegant Russian. And then no one else believed her, not her friends, not her brother, and definitely not her father.

She’d left home that day for France, and despite being welcomed to the bosom of her mother’s family, the damage had already been done. Nina hardened her heart, and from that moment on had become a different person.

You Got It Wrong - Part Ten

Chapter Ten

A/N - SO SO SO sorry at the delay, had a BIG birthday in my house, (mine!) so been crazy! Hope you haven't all drifted off, this story is about to get interesting. It's been a but different until now I feel???

He’d drained far too many whiskies, listening to the soft regular breathing of Nina soundly sleeping in the chair beside him. It was late, a glance at his watch told him it was midnight, they had a long day ahead of them. Clearing his glass, he stood, then shook her shoulder, “you won’t be comfortable if you sleep here all night.”

He watched as she slowly woke, eyes struggling to open, gaze fuzzy, for a moment he felt a little sense of endearment for her, then she seemed to register where she was and that soft almost smile became a scowl. Jumping to her feet a little unsteadily, she put immediate distance between them.

                “Don’t touch me.”

He sighed, “I just thought you’d rather be in bed than wake with a cricked neck in this chair tomorrow.”

She looked at him suspiciously for a moment, then with a brief nod, she disappeared up to her bedroom.

Theo followed a reasonable distance behind, feeling like a complete bastard.

                “I’ll drop you there today Mansell, but this isn’t my business, you don’t me around. I can pick you up at any time.” Nina was still disorientated at being woken up by the much detested Theo the previous evening. For a moment she’d felt warm, content, then she’d focussed, seen him staring at her. And she’d seen red. Maybe, just maybe, she was over zealous, had been a little harsh...but then he’d been nothing short of rude to her on every occasion that their paths had cross, and now, now she wanted to be away from that. She’d given this family more than enough of her time, and her sanity.

The old man looked up from his breakfast and cocked his head as he stared at her, “this is what I want, and I need you with me, you’re the only one with an ounce of objectivity. You’re the only one with no agenda.”

                “That’s not what your grandson thinks.”

Mansell rolled his eyes, “you’ve had ample opportunity to tell him how it is, yet you don’t correct him, don’t defend yourself.”

                “I don’t have to justify or explain myself to anyone; he thinks that I’ve some sort of agenda, that’s his problem. The deal was I’d bring you here, that’s what I’ve done.”

                “But you’ve paid for everything. You won’t even let me give you money for petrol. This house must have cost a fortune...”

She shook her head, “like I say it’s my aunt’s property, we are barely paying for more than the utilities.” It was a white lie, it was a friend of her aunt that owned the house, and she was paying several hundred Euros for it. But that wasn’t an issue, she wasn’t about to take money from a pensioner, and the last thing she felt inclined to do was explain that to a man who looked down on her from his self elevated position. He didn’t know her, and he didn’t deserve her time.

                “Ok, I’ll drive you; I’ll do what you need. But after the D-day thing in Arromanches tomorrow, I’m off to Cherbourg; I’m going to stay with my aunt. So you’re on your own...” She inclined her head towards the stairs, “old Golden Balls can drive you back to Brighton in his big posh car. Ok?”

Theo leaned against the wall at the foot of the stairs, and shook his head, hearing the conversation between Nina and his grandfather, he hated to hear that she’d organised the trip and that meant that maybe she wasn’t on a freebie. His grandfather had money, he still owned a large portion of the family business of manufacturing, and with his and Daniel’s father being a wastrel, there was no chance of him giving up that legacy anytime soon. And that had been the focus of his thoughts, that everything had a hidden agenda.

But then he’d been questioning his instincts a lot lately. Outside of work everything seemed to be going wrong, and that was all down to his decision making, to his choices, to his actions. After all Sadie, the so called love of his life had turned out to be anything but, then there was the fact that he had no idea about his own grandfather’s history. What sort of a judge of character did that make him? And what sort of man? He lowered himself to sit on the bottom step, so this woman, this woman he couldn’t stand, she’d done right by his family. That took a fair bit of comprehending, but then was it any surprise that he wasn’t in the mood to trust women?

Taking a deep breath he prepared to eat humble pie.

Nina looked across the garden to the two sat on the patio furniture. Mansell, who’d looked pale and frail the last few days now sat opposite an elegant white haired woman who had a fair complexion and the most delicate hands that Nina had ever seen, looking exuberant. They were both focussed on the other, giggling, smiling, and unaware of anyone else.

She’d sat and watched him meet the woman he hadn’t seen for seventy years with a smile, her skin tingling with the romanticism of it all. It had been such a special moment, she’d expected it to be awkward, but both of them grabbed the other’s hands and murmured how much they’d missed each other over their lifetime. Theo had disappeared off somewhere, so she’d taken a can of coke and chosen to sit across the garden on her own. Where she could switch off.

                “NO!”

A shout from Mansell made her jump to her feet; rush over to the older two, more than concerned. He was back to looking ashen faced, and the delicate Hélène was flushed, tears at her eyes. They were staring at each other and sudden there was animosity, anger and overwhelming sadness.

                “What’s wrong?” Nina was trying to make sense of the moment. She glanced between the two faces, then to the table between them, pictures of family, children...babies. Suddenly she felt sick, two and two made four, didn’t it?

                “Mansell?”

When he looked up at her she could see he was terrified, he held out an old black and white picture out to her, a baby, maybe six months old smiling from the grainy image.

It was Hélène who spoke, “this is Léon...”

                “Mansell’s the father?”

She nodded, “Je suis désolé...Mansell. Please.”

Nina placed a hand on his shoulder, “you never said.” Mansell was shaking, then he turned hiding his eyes, and Nina was angry for him, “his son...you let him walk away, you never contacted him...”

                “I was promised to another, when Mansell left...it broke me, but I didn’t know about the baby...I was scared. It wasn’t meant to happen...”

                “But it DID!” Nina sighed at the pain in the woman’s eyes, “what happened happened, Mansell deserved to know. Seventy years!”

Mansell was looking up at her, he didn’t speak French and the two women had dropped into the local language. His face was a mask of confusion, so Nina relayed the conversation, her hand on his arm supportively.

Mansell’s eyes flitted between the two women in a distraught way, and Nina felt pain at his pain and confusion.                “Where is he? This son.” His voice was a weak emotion filled croak.

Hélène’s eyes filled with tears. “He’s dead.” Wiping at her eye she sighed sadly, “I am sorry Mansell, I should have told you, tried to contact you...but it was hard. Claude...my husband...” she closed her eyes for a moment, “he was very controlling. I was too scared of you arriving....Léon, he passed away when he was twenty one. He and his wife had a car accident, neither survived.”

Nina squeezed Mansell’s shoulder, how awful must it be to find out about a son, then find out he was dead. All those wasted years, all that wasted time.  Nina couldn’t imagine how devastating that would feel. It was bad enough returning from four years travelling abroad to find that her estranged father had died, died alone in a nursing home, and that the letter he’d left her had told her that he understood why she’d left, that he was sorry for the way their relationship had deteriorated. That letter had explained so much, but left her unable to change things, to settle their differences. But for Mansell this was a million times worse.

                “But he left a baby...”

All four eyes shot up to stare at Hélène, “baby?” Mansell’s voice was a breath.

At the exact same moment a young woman, probably the same age as Nina called out as she came across the garden, “grand-mere?”

Following in hot pursuit was Theo, and as Nina looked between the two, the similarities were unmistakeable, the colouring, the nose, the full dark lips.

                “Claudine. You’ve met Theo.”

Theo nodded, “we have met...what’s going on?”

And suddenly it was like a nuclear bomb detonating, shouts of accusation, tears, pain, hurt. Nina stepped back, away from the mix this was none of her business, but the pleas of the older woman to understand how she’d brought up her grandchild as her own, and loved their children as equally as all the other members of the family.

Escaping she rounded the house, and sat on the porch steps and finished the drink she had started earlier, at that moment, feet appeared in front of her. She imagined it would be Theo, so she looked up with her usual practiced scowl, to meet the dark eyes of one of the most handsome men she’d ever seen, dark warm eyes, unruly dark hair, and a strong stubbled jaw.

                “You are not part of the melee in the garden.”

Even his voice was warm and seductive, his accent more Parisian than his family members, “no. I’m just the driver.”

He smiled at her conversing in French, and dropped into his native tongue with a smile and a nod.

                “That delightful car is yours?” He nodded in the direction of the Beetle and she swelled with pride.

                “It’s my pride and joy!”

He laughed, “I can see why. I’m Gabriel.”

                “Nina...”

He grinned as he shook her hand, “Claudine is my twin sister...”

                “And yet you are both so different.”

Laughing he gave a nod, “she has the blond hair, the bright eyes and the delicate features. Whereas I am the dark dangerous one!”

                “So that’s why you’re not out there battling for your identity?”

That made him laugh, “I am what I understand in Britain is termed the black sheep, my grandmother won’t change how she feels about me after all this, and I definitely won’t change how I view myself.”

Nina loved his self confidence, and could identify with his distance from his family.

                “So Hélène?”

He lowered himself to the seat beside her, “she’s my great grandmother really, but she brought up my father, her grandson, as her own when his parents were killed, so she’s always been a grandmother. She’s a caring woman, but apparently I remind her of things that haunt her from the past.” He waggled his eyebrows menacingly.

Nina studied him for a moment and immediately saw the traits that would have been evident in a younger Mansell. With an involuntary gasp she shook her head, “I couldn’t see it until now.”

                “I look like him?”

She nodded, “you haven’t met him, Mansell?”

He shook his head, “I have no interest in the past, I don’t really spend much time with my family, it’s pure chance that I am here. Though, there’s a bonus, I am pleased to have met your acquaintance.”

Jumping to his feet, he gave a wave, then walked off to a nearby motorbike. The echoes of the vehicle disappearing into the distance were still resounding in her ears, when Theo stormed out of the front door. She stood slowly and turned to face him, pausing when she saw the emotion in his eyes.

                “You ok?”

He nodded, “think so. Mansell wants to stay here for a bit, but I need to get out.”

                “I’ll drive you back.”

A quick chat with the newly acquainted family members, and Claudine promised to drive Mansell home a little later, which meant that within minutes Nina was driving Theo home to the cottage in silence.

It had definitely been a strange day.

Swimming was a distraction, Theo thought as he cut through the cold water of the pool. He’d struggled to get his head around things since seeing and meeting his new family earlier. As someone who’d been brought up with a very small family, this was all so foreign to him; he had no idea what to do. He had tried to contact Daniel to share things, in the hope that he’d advise him, tell him what he should do, but the mobile phone reception in this damn town was dreadful. He had spotted the pool from the attic window of his bedroom, he didn’t have a pair of swimming shorts, and he didn’t think Nina would appreciate him swimming commando, so he stripped to his boxer shorts and hit the pool.

Ten lengths and his breathing rate was increasing, his mind more focussed and he was blocking out the events of the last few days. Was it only two days earlier that he’d been in London and only concerned with his own world?

As he pushed length after length his body started to scream, whilst he could run a couple of miles or play football for ninety minutes, swimming was a whole new type of exercise and he wasn’t used to it. Propping his upper arms on the edge of the pool he let his body float in the cool water and sighed, there was still no sign of Mansell coming home. He wondered how a man coped with finding out that he was not only a father to a child he had no idea about, but also a grandchild and two great grandchildren, a whole dynasty, a whole branch of the family that he knew nothing about. It was enough to make a much younger and fitter man ill, but the thought of Mansell, he wasn’t strong, he wasn’t fit...this could have a devastating effect on him.

He was about to haul himself out of the pool when the courtyard door opened and in walked Nina. He hadn’t seen her since their silent drive home, she’d disappeared. Now she was there in the glorious technicolour that he’d already come to associate with her, he shook that thought away, she was a nuisance, nothing more. Though stood facing him biting her lip nervously, dressed in what he presumed was just a swimsuit and baggy vest top, she looked anything but a nuisance, she looked vulnerable, young...

                “Sorry, I was just...”

He held up a hand to silence her, “my fault, I needed a distraction. I’m intruding.” She made to protest, but again he held a hand aloft, when she stopped he dragged himself out of the water, “I didn’t realise that you organised this place, I’m grateful for you letting me stay, and for doing this for Mansell of course.”

His change of heart surprised her, this was almost an apology for being a class A bastard, but she wasn’t about to back down, “you hardly asked permission. Look, this isn’t my deal anymore, I’m leaving tomorrow. It’s your job to be with Mansell at the D-day service, not me.”

                “He wants you here, he told me.”

She shook her head, “no, he doesn’t know what he wants anymore, this is all new, unexpected. I just need to leave you and him to your family business.”

Theo ran his fingers through his hair, squeezing out the water, then smiled, “I’m sorry I was rude when I met you.”

He watched her eyes widen suspiciously, “and that makes your behaviour all ok? Is that it?”

Sighing he reached for the towel and dried his face, “I was rash...”

                “You overheard me talking to your granddad this morning, didn’t you? That’s what this is about, you thought I was getting a free holiday off him, and now you’ve found out that I actually paid to bring him here...because he wanted to come. I wouldn’t expect him to pay for me, and in fact, he was nervous about travelling alone. And as a veteran of one of the greatest events in history, he deserved to be recognised, and that shouldn’t cost him.”

She lifted her vest top and threw it on top of her towel, and as she paused to dive into the water added, “I’ve never ripped off a pensioner in my life and that insult isn’t about to just disappear.”

With that he watched the pocket rocket with a surprisingly curvaceous body in her black one piece swimsuit dive into the pool, leaving a trail of ripples in her wake.