Page 49 of The Old Gals’ Bucket List

SANDRA

It was nice to be home, Sandra thought as she wheeled her suitcase into the hall. The house felt quiet, empty after the past two weeks with constant company. She had really enjoyed herself but now it was time to get back to normal, and also to decide what she was going to do with her life.

Tomorrow they had the swimming group and Beryl’s party, then she would see Don, Laila and the children, and she was going to tell them that she’d definitely decided that she wasn’t going to move to Cambridge.

She was no longer scared of change, Mary and Keith had made a new life in Spain and she could make a new life in Cambridge if she wanted, it would be an adventure.

The thing is, right now she was having plenty of adventures where she was, she’d realised.

She’d leant on Don, Laila and the children while she’d got over her grief for Brian, and she was very grateful for their support, but now she had to stand on her own two feet and leave them to live their lives.

She had friends here, not just Patti, but the swimming club gang.

She could do some volunteering, that would keep her busy, and when Don and Laila moved, she could find a little B&B near them and stay for weekends.

That way she could get to know the area, and if she fell in love with it, then she would consider moving there. But that was for the future.

One thing she was definitely going to do though was visit Becky. She was longing to see them all again, it had been so long. She and Brian had saved hard for the trip and he would want her to go – for both of them.

And to make sure she didn’t change her mind, she would message Becky right now and let her know. They’d all be in bed, asleep, but it’d be a nice message for them to wake up to.

When she came back, she might get a little dog, she thought.

Rags was so cute, and it would be good to have a dog to take for a walk.

She always felt odd walking by herself, but with a little dog it was fine.

Dogs were an ice breaker too, they opened the doors to a new community and she could always find a nice kennel or dog minder for when she went away.

As for going to Cambridge for the weekend, she was sure that there were some B&Bs that welcomed well-behaved little dogs.

She went over to the photo of Brian that stood on the sideboard and picked it up, her fingers touching his face. ‘I’m going to be all right, darling. I’ll never stop loving you and missing you, but I’m strong enough to build a life without you now.’

His eyes twinkled back at her and she knew that wherever he was he understood.

Beryl’s party was great fun. They all brought something with them.

Sandwiches, sausage rolls, quiche, Sid bought lettuce and tomatoes from his garden and Bill brought some home-made wine.

Madge had told them all to bring a CD of their favourite music – ‘I don’t have one of those Alexa thingies,’ she said.

Patti had taken a Tina Turner CD and Sandra a Beatles one.

Madge was a Queen fan, Beryl was mad about Elvis, Sid came with some Jazz music and Bill had brought a Beatles CD too – luckily a different one to Sandra.

‘Are they your favourite group too?’ he asked.

‘You bet,’ she replied.

‘Well how do you fancy going to a Beatle’s Tribute night tomorrow? My mate Ray was supposed to be coming with me, but something’s come up at the last minute, so his ticket is going spare.’

Sandra hesitated. Go for it, she told herself, it would be a good night out. What have you got to lose? ‘I’d love to,’ she said.

Don looked surprised when he popped in with the girls on Sunday to find Beatles music blaring out the CD player.

‘I didn’t know you still had that!’

‘I found it in Dad’s shed along with a pile of CDs. I went to see a Beatles Tribute act with someone from the swimming group last night. It was good fun. Reminded me how much I loved the music so I found all my old CDs and thought I’d play some of them.’

‘You and Dad were mad on them, weren’t you?’ Don said with a smile.

‘We were. George was always my favourite but your dad favoured Paul.’

‘Nanny, we saw your Insta pics of Spain. That cliff walk was scary,’ Rana told her. ‘Were you frightened?’

‘A bit, but it was very safe. And I’m pleased I did it,’ Sandra said.

‘And we saw you on a jet ski. I want to go on a jet ski,’ Kali said.

‘Now that was even scarier. I almost didn’t do it.’ Sandra chuckled at the memory of the spat she had with Patti over it.

‘You do look like you had a lot of fun. I think it did you good to go away, Mum. Did your friend enjoy it too?’ Don asked.

‘She did. And her brother and sister-in-law were wonderful hosts. They looked after us really well and took us out and about.’ Sandra went over to the cupboard.

‘I have presents for you all.’ She took out the T-shirts and yo-yos she’d bought Kali and Rana and they shouted their thanks and immediately took the yo-yos out in the garden to play with.

Then she handed some Spanish coasters to Don.

‘I only had a small suitcase so couldn’t bring much, but I thought you might like these for your new home. ’

‘They’re great, thanks, Mum.’ He looked at her. ‘Now, are you going to sell your house and come with us? We all missed you when you were away in Spain.’

She patted his hand. ‘Sorry, love, but I’m staying here.

I’ve got a great bunch of friends, so you don’t have to worry about me being lonely.

And I’m going to start decluttering the house, which will keep me busy for a while.

’ She pointed to the two big plastic storage boxes she’d started packing some of Martin’s things into.

Don’s forehead puckered into a frown. ‘Mum, are you sure about this? What if you need help with anything? It will take me a while to get to you.’

‘If I need help then I’ll ask one of my friends. I’m not alone, Don. I have people I can turn to.’

Don was silent for a moment then he nodded. ‘Well, it sounds like you’ve got it all figured out, Mum, and I feel like you’re in a good place now. I don’t feel so concerned about leaving you.’

‘I am, darling. I was floundering for a while, but I’ve found my feet again. There’s no need to worry about me, I’m going to be absolutely fine. In fact, I’ve decided to visit Becky for Christmas, like me and Dad planned.’

Don’s eyes widened with shock. She braced herself for him to tell her that it was much too far for her to go alone. It took him a moment to compose himself then he smiled. ‘That’s great, Mum. You’ll have a fantastic time. Maybe we could come too, just for a couple of weeks.’

‘Really? That would be fantastic. And Becky would be over the moon!’

‘Let’s see, once we’re settled into our house. This job is a higher wage, we might be able to do it.’

Things really were looking up, Sandra thought happily. She would go alone if she had to but it would be wonderful if Don, Laila and the children came too.