Page 46 of The Second Chance Supper Club

After a chilled and chatty afternoon, Cath and Susie were browsing the menu at The Star, sat at a table near the characterful old-stone open hearth. Being the summer months, it was unused, but a stack of logs nestled ready in the grate.

‘Ooh, nice menu. Anything you’d recommend?’ asked Susie. ‘I’ve tried the Sunday roast, which was delicious, though I suppose that’ll not be on today. The fish and chips looked great as they were coming by a minute ago’.

‘Yummy, though the chicken and wild mushroom risotto has caught my eye. Oh, and there’s a ribeye steak and peppercorn sauce … Decisions, decisions.’

With a glass of chilled white wine to hand, adding to the fizz from before, Cath was feeling slightly merry.

She was enjoying the buzz and chatter of the country pub, that was now her local, with its characterful flagstone floors and muted green walls, and was savouring the treat of coming out for supper.

The pair of them had hardly stopped talking since Susie’s arrival several hours ago, except for when her sister had taken her things up to her cottage bedroom, which she thought was ‘adorable’.

After Adam had left, Cath had discovered some second-hand limed-oak furniture – a dressing table and small wardrobe – in a curious, pre-loved furniture depot in the original old railway station building at Kirkton.

Instantly, she knew they would suit the quirky slanting roof and wooden beams of the spare room.

She offered a lower price, and after a little haggling, had secured a good deal.

They were well worth parting with some of her diminishing savings for, she figured.

The double bed, which had come with her from the spare room back in Leeds, was now draped with an oh-so-soft white linen duvet cover, and she’d scattered some grey-and-white damask-patterned cushions (a bargain from the high street charity shop) too.

Dusky-pink roses, picked fresh from the garden, were sat in a bud vase on the little bedside table.

It was so lovely to be able to put her own touch on things at the cottage.

She’d been excited about her sister’s visit.

And here was Susie, now sitting opposite her.

Older than Cath, she was into her mid-fifties and always looked amazing, her clothes colourful and stylish, and her glossy brunette hair glamorous.

Thank heavens she’d finally got her own hair done recently, Cath mused.

But Susie, well, her style wasn’t overly coiffed or groomed, just sassy and Susie-style.

‘Okay, so how do you do it?’ Cath asked.

‘Do what?’

‘Still look so glamorous at fifty-four, and be so bloody bubbly and positive about life?’

‘Well, I haven’t been through what you have for a start …

being let down so atrociously by your dick of a husband.

’ Susie wasn’t known to mince her words.

She and Trevor had always had this distance between them.

Susie had never really taken to him, though she was always polite. He’d finally proven her right.

‘True.’ Cath took a big sip of wine, pausing to gather her thoughts.

There was something about being with her sister that made her open up.

‘You know, sometimes I felt more-or-less invisible, those last couple of years with Trev … hitting midlife, sticking to my steady known path, teaching, home … doing what everyone expected of me, I suppose … And then, I think I let myself slip into being pretty much invisible too.’ She thought of the baggy cover-it-all clothes, the unkempt greying hair.

The awful vision in the charity shop mirror. ‘No wonder Trevor stopped noticing me.’

‘Oh, Cath. Don’t start shifting the blame back to you. Trev’s the one who let you down … he’s the one who allowed you to feel like that.’

‘I suppose. But you didn’t let mid-life get to you, you still do all sorts of exciting stuff, and manage to look brilliant.’

‘Well, HRT is a wonderful thing, and,’ Susie added, ‘I made a conscious decision to keep putting myself out there. There’s no way I’m going to slip quietly into middle age.

I like wearing bright colours, they make me feel good …

And I want to keep trying new things – be it clothes, restaurants, hobbies.

’ Susie took a sip of wine. ‘Hah, went for my first park run the other day … absolutely knackered me. Hannah was home from uni. She whizzed around the track like it was a breeze … and there’s me just about on my knees by the end.

It felt weirdly good though. Once I’d showered and had a massive cup of coffee afterwards, that is. ’

‘Hah, don’t think I’d be up for a run. But I’m walking now, a few miles at a go, it’s doing me good.

It’s great around here for that. Loads of local footpaths, and the countryside is so scenic.

’ She really was enjoying her daily walks near the village.

Finding new routes, and discovering public footpaths she hadn’t spotted before.

And hmm, she was still looking forward to that stroll with Will.

Cath looked up and spotted a familiar face at the bar.

Her stomach did a little flip. Or, perhaps, she might just have to try cycling again, she thought with a secret smile.

It was Will, dressed in full cycling Lycra, with a mate.

They’d just ordered a couple of pints and were stood chatting with landlord Bill.

The waitress came over and took the ladies’ order.

Cath sticking with the fish and chips, and Susie choosing steak frites.

The wine was slipping down well, as they continued to catch up on each other’s busy lives.

Cath’s eyes were unwittingly drawn to check, now and again, the place at the bar where Will was still standing.

Hmm, his muscles looked damn good under the tight cycling shorts and fitted top.

His dark hair slightly damp with bike-riding sweat.

He hadn’t spotted her as yet, so she could let her gaze linger momentarily.

‘So, Hannah has done really well in her second-year exams,’ Susie repeated, raising her voice a little. ‘Did you catch that, Cath? You seem a bit distracted.’ Her sister’s eyes swept to the bar area.

Cath diverted her gaze. ‘Ah, yes, yeah, that’s great news.’

And the sisterly chat flowed again.

Their meals soon arrived, drawing her attention back to their table. Cath managed to enjoy her crispy-battered fish and chip supper, despite her stomach doing all kinds of weird things. Every now and then, her eyes were drawn sneakily back to a certain person stood at the bar.

Around fifteen minutes later, Will had to pass their table on his way to the gents, and it was then he spotted Cath. He paused, and gave a broad smile. ‘Oh, hi.’

‘Ah, hello, Will … been off cycling?’ Nothing like stating the obvious , she cursed herself for sounding so wet. ‘Oh, this is my sister. She’s staying with me for the weekend.’

‘Hi, nice to meet you.’ Susie was all smiles too, whilst managing to give Cath a sideways look that said , This is Will … and you didn’t tell me . They could read each other so well. ‘I’m Susie,’ she introduced herself.

Will gave a nod. Then, in an instant his smile dropped. ‘Right … well, hope you’ve had a nice meal. Uhm, got to dash.’

Cath noticed he looked kind of pale. Was he feeling a bit off, perhaps?

With that, he headed to the gents, and on his return, he kept his eyes firmly fixed on the bar area.

He and his friend drank up soon afterwards, and Cath spotted them gathering their things ready to exit.

She looked over to wave or mouth a goodbye, but he didn’t so much as glance her way.

Oh. A nip of disappointment hit her in the gut.

She’d thought they’d got closer after that recent heart-to-heart talking about his wife, and about Trevor …

about life. The stargazing session still lingered on her mind.

Oh, and they were meant to be off on their walk together soon.

He could at least have said bye. Hah, men, would she ever get used to them, and their odd bloody ways?

Back home, in the cottage’s cosy lounge, the sisters were nestled together on the sofa, with a cup of tea.

‘So, are you happy here?’ Susie sounded earnest, like she was digging for the truth. She’d been worrying about her little sister for months now. Cath had been good at hiding her feelings at times, over the years.

‘Yeah, I am. It’s still early days, of course … but yes, it feels like a good move. I really like the village, and the people. And I love being in the countryside. All that space and fresh air.’

‘It does look very pretty around here.’

‘Yeah, do you remember coming up this way when we were kids? It was so different from home, from those never-ending Sheffield suburbs.’ They’d lived in Sheffield as a family, growing up with their parents, before Cath had left for uni, and then moved to Leeds with Trevor.

‘It’s hardly changed up here … still kind of old-fashioned, but in a good way.

’ Cath’s thoughts drifted back to those family holidays, especially that last eventful time …

‘Oh God, remember that awful time you went through, after that last caravan holiday up here.’ Susie was on the same wavelength, evidently. ‘Yes, the panic of that pregnancy scare … you were only sixteen.’

Cath had finally confided in her sister, after four weeks back home and still no period, being terrified to tell their parents.

The holiday romance, and that ‘first time’ with the lad from Belford.

Susie had been the one who’d told her not to panic, given her a big hug, wiped away her anxious tears, and gone to buy a pregnancy test for her.

The two women had held that secret between them for all these years.

To this day, Cath had never spoken about it with anyone else.

‘He seemed a nice enough lad to be fair …’ Susie continued. ‘Matty, yes, that was it … but Christ, you were so bloody young.’

‘Yeah.’ Cath had flushed pink, the memory vivid, emotions still strong about it even now.

‘He was a really nice lad, but we hardly knew each other, not really … a typical holiday romance.’ She tried to make light of it, though that first flush of young love had meant the world to her back then, in those giddy days of youth and inexperience.

‘Bloody hell, it would have changed everything, having a baby so young.’ She took a large gulp of tea.

‘I don’t think I could have gone through with an abortion, either.

But then, I was about to start my A Levels, and I was fixed on training to be a teacher. That’s all I’d wanted to do for years.’

‘Yeah, I remember, Little Miss Maths Teacher … and hey, you went on and did it.’

‘But back then, I was terrified … suddenly all my dreams seemed to be in the balance,’ she sighed, as the memories came rushing in. ‘I was so bloody na?ve.’

‘Yep, you think you’re all grown up, think you can handle those early relationships, but you’re still a child really. God, I worry about my girls, even now. It’s such a vulnerable age, that near-adulthood.’

‘Yeah.’ She thought about Adam, too. Struggling to get a decent job, the world an ever-changing place, everything so fast with the constant scroll and hit of social media.

There was so much more information, entertainment, but to her it felt like overload.

‘Hopefully, the girls are a lot more clued up than we ever were,’ Cath continued, thinking back to her youth once more.

‘Access to healthcare, better education, availability of the pill, it’s kind of the norm.

We hardly spoke about it back then. And we trusted the lads to buy the condoms …

and know how to use them.’ She still remembered how it was all a bit of a fumble, way back when.

‘But hey, it all worked out in the end, didn’t it.’

‘There by the grace of God … a false alarm … bloody hell. Mum and Dad would have had a heart attack about it, wouldn’t they?

And hey, thanks for being a great big sis …

you’ve always had my back, haven’t you?’ She leaned in to give Susie an affectionate hug, getting a waft of her floral Jo Malone Peony perfume, her sister’s favourite scent.

‘Hey, I’m sure you’d have done the same for me.

Anyway, let’s stop harking back to the bad old days.

That’s bloody years ago. And you’ve been through a hell of a lot more since then.

What’s done is done. We need to be having some fun, now.

The good times are coming.’ Susie chinked her mug against Cath’s.

‘To your wonderful new cottage home and your new life. It’s your turn to shine again, sis. ’

‘Aw, thanks, Suz.’

And Cath realised that she did feel stronger, here in Tilldale, ready to spread those wings, to take flight once more and find that big blast of sunshine.

‘Don’t you think it’s exciting, now you’re all settled in? Now the worst of the Trevor shite is over. You can start again. A clean slate, new page. New beginnings … and a sensationally sassy Second Chapter.’

‘Yeah, I like that idea.’ She raised her tea mug. ‘Cheers to my Second Chapter! With plenty of sass.’