The alarm radio came on. Peter Bunford stirred and turned to check the time. It was 10-30am, the alarm was usually set for 2pm when he was on night shifts, although he was often up and about long before that, but to-day was different; Becky was off to university. He had offered to drive her to Nottingham, but Julie insisted that she would. He would have liked to, but wasn’t prepared to argue. He would tell her about the coaching job at the Rugby Club later, she should be back well before he was due to leave for the night shift. He hauled himself out of bed, put on his dressing gown and headed for the family bathroom; he always used the spare bedroom at the back of the house when on nights, less to disturb him there. He turned on the shower and looked out through the window as he waited for the hot water to feed through. It was a sunny morning. A good day for a drive to Nottingham. He pushed a hand through the shower curtain to check the temperature a few seconds and it would be ready. Then he noticed the car, a silver Mercedes SL Roadster, parked in their short driveway. The hood was down and the boot open, so, if Julie wasn’t taking Rebecca to Nottingham, who was? He shrugged off the dressing gown and stepped into the shower.
Rebecca was in two minds about the Mercedes. It would be fun to drive in it to Nottingham, but what would the other students think? Probably better than arriving in the ProClean van though. She could hear her father whistling in the shower as she lugged her case downstairs, he would have done it for her, but she liked to be independent. Bit like her mum in that way, but she loved her dad, he was so easy going. Her mother called out from the kitchen as she turned the case onto its wheels to drag it through the hall.
‘I’ll pack the boot Becky! Lucy showed me the best way to stow things, just in case we need to put the hood up in a hurry.’ Rebecca stood the case upright and looked into the kitchen where her mother was making sandwiches. ‘Crikey mum, we’ll never eat all those!’
‘It’s three hours each way and I’ll probably stop on the way back. Anyway, who knows, you might be glad of some later.
‘Yes, who knows?’ Rebecca watched her mother, who was quick and efficient. When she had the interview at the university they asked about her parents. Dad is clever, very good with his hands and easy going. That summed up her father, but what about her mother? She had to think harder and came up with, dedicated, efficient and brisk. They asked her what she meant by, brisk and it was difficult to explain. No she hadn’t meant fast, it was more a description of her attitude towards people. She was outwardly friendly, but didn’t want them to get too close. She surprised herself, was that how she really saw her mother who was smiling a sort of secret smile to herself as she arranged the sandwiches in neat piles and wrapped them in kitchen foil. All neat, tidy and squared off to fit perfectly into the plastic picnic box. That was typical of mum, but there was something different about her this morning, somehow she seemed happier, softer, more relaxed.
Julie sealed the lid and looked at her daughter. Becky was an attractive, confident girl. Odd that she was only medium height though, would have thought that with taller than average parents; she would at least be as tall as her. Shouldn’t have a problem making friends at university. Becky was on the pill, had been since she was sixteen; she had personally arranged it with the family doctor, didn’t want any nasty surprises. As for her sexuality? Well, it wasn’t something they discussed, but she’d been out with several boyfriends and the current one, Dave was a couple of years older. She assumed Becky had lost her virginity, but would never ask.
‘Sure you’ve packed everything?’
‘Yes mum.’
‘Said goodbye to dad?’
‘He’s up, I heard him in the shower.’
Julie wedged the picnic box against two bottles of mineral water in a cool bag and zipped it closed. ‘There, that’ll keep everything nice and cool, now, let’s put that case in the boot.’
Peter Bunford came down the stairs. ‘Don’t worry – I’ll do that. Who’s taking you Becky? Very swish car out there.’
‘Mum’s borrowed it from work.’
He raised an eyebrow – an unspoken question which Julie was quick to answer.
‘Lucy insisted I use her car.’
‘That’s nice of her – very generous.’
‘She is generous – a lovely person.’ Julie felt herself blush and turned away to pick-up the cool bag. ‘There are some changes in our business, it’s very important; I’ll tell you about it later. Come on Becky, we’d better get on or I’ll never get back before your father has to go to work.’
Peter wanted to tell her that he had some important news as well, but it could wait. He picked up Becky’s case and carried it easily to the car where Julie took charge of loading. There was something different about her today; she seemed more relaxed, less picky. She covered the case, Becky’s soft holdall and the cooling bag with a net and clipped it onto restraining points around the boot. After checking that everything was out of harms way, should the roof need to be raised, she moved to the drivers side of the sleek sports car and opened the door. ‘Well, I’m ready, say good bye to your father Becky and we’ll get going.’
Becky coughed and giggled. ‘Do Mercedes drivers usually wear a pinny mum?
Julie looked down at her stripped pinafore and covered her embarrassment with a laugh. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me today – it must be because you’re leaving home.’ She quickly undid the strings, pulled the pinafore over her head and handed it to an amused husband. ‘Pop that in the kitchen please love, see you when I get back.’ She kissed him on the cheek. Peter was taken aback – it was an unusual gesture in their marriage.
Becky flung her arms around him and gave him a hug, which he returned. ‘Take care of yourself Becky and let us know if you need anything, I can pop over to Nottingham on the bike in no time.’
‘Bye dad, I’ll give you a call to let you know how things are.’
Julie started the car and the big engine burbled quietly as she waited for Becky to get in and fasten her seat belt. Peter walked to roadside and waved them on their way. The engine note changed to a powerful throb as Julie swung the car across the road and accelerated away. She was wearing dark glasses and a headscarf, a style which suited the car perfectly. It was just a pity that he would never be able to afford anything like that for her. He touched the cheek she had kissed. Now, what was that all about?
Dudley Wink drove quickly through the gateway to Laburnham Court, narrowly missing Major and Mrs Dodderington, who were going out for their constitutional in the process. Leaving the engine running, he jumped out with a bundle of letters and jogged through the entrance. Charlie Bell switched off the electric polisher he was using on the lobby floor and walked over to meet him.
‘I thought we had an agreement Dudley.’
‘We have Charlie, we have, but I can’t make the change until next Monday, management instruction, but there’s no problem – it’s definitely going to happen.’
Charlie took the bundle of letters. ‘Does Miss Lovebrace know about this?’
‘I told her it was likely. Anyway, I’ve got a few bits of photographic equipment for her to look at, she’s expecting me – shall I bring it in through here?’ Charlie shook his head. ‘Sorry, if it’s equipment you’ll have to use the service lift. Drive round the back, I’ll open the doors for you.’ Dudley rushed out to his van; she was expecting him half an hour ago. Charlie watched him then calmly picked up the telephone and keyed number one.
‘He’s arrived Miss Love brace – I’m sending him up in the service lift.’
He replaced the receiver and walked in measure strides past the lifts towards the back of the building where steps led down to his basement flat and the back entrance. The door could only be opened with the right code from the outside, but from the inside, anyone could open it by pressing the electronic release button. He pushed it and opened the door. Dudley was already there, heaving a large holdall bag from the back of the post van.