The Harbinger Read online

  Refurbished to its original style but to suit modern audiences proved a popular choice. They’d transformed the stage to cinema—mainly featuring old and cult movies. The local weekly paper articles about the transformation sang its praises often, explaining it had a roaring matinee trade where pensioners came from everywhere within the county, using their free bus passes to come and watch Betty Grable, Rock Hudson, Charlton Heston and the like. They timed the ending of each showing so patrons had plenty of time to get to the bus station before the stipulated travel time on the passes had run out. He’d obviously thought of everything… or someone had. The town had a lot to thank Michael Devlin for. Ellie had an idea the theatre was earning enough to make its own keep, much like the library.

  Despite the three years that had passed since its reopening, this was the first time Ellie had stepped foot in the place. She looked about her and took in the desired effect… red and gold. The seating, over three floors upholstered in red velour, or something closely resembling it, left Ellie surprised how comfortable the seats were. The ceiling, with a small dome, delicately and intricately decorated in gold and the palest of mint greens piqued her professional interest. Even the decorative niches, which ran at intervals down the side aisles and private boxes, had the same degree of painstaking decoration. Ellie was in awe.

  “You better close your mouth… there’s a bus coming,” remarked Holly, tittering as she stared at Ellie.

  “It’s… it’s so beautiful. I’m a lover of the work. To go from derelict to”—Ellie swept her arm around—“this is just… incredible.” Ellie could feel her eyes sweeping around the room, repeatedly.

  She saw Holly with a big grin on her face. “I didn’t know you hadn’t seen the place before. I’ve been a few times. When I could get Phil to take Leah home from his house and look after her until I got home. I just brought you to see the film, so I suppose getting a look at the refurbishment is a bonus for you. Actually, if I’m honest, I brought me to see the film and just dragged you along for company. I hope you don’t mind,” she said, pulling her lips together, a guilty look adorning her face.

  Ellie smiled and shook her head. “Of course, I don’t mind. I gather the film, according to the posters, is Casablanca?”

  Holly showed her teeth with a huge grin. “Oh, yes. You can’t beat a little bit of Bogey. I have his entire collection on DVD, but film always seems better on the big screen.”

  The lights began to dim, and they settled with their diet cokes in hand, and a bucket of popcorn balanced precariously on the two seat handles between them.

  From one of the private boxes, Michael Devlin looked down on the plethora of moviegoers. Knowing the theatre was helping the community gave him a warm glow inside. He noticed her immediately and his interest piqued. It had been a while since their paths had crossed, and he was buoyed by what he now saw. She was looking much more alert than the last time he’d seen her with her mother. At the time, she was still coping with the passing of her son a few months previously. Her body was present, but by the dead look in her eyes, he could tell her mind wasn’t present. The Harvest Fayre had passed her by, he was sure.

  He wondered if her improvement was in any way to do with her current companion. He was sure it was Holly Simons, the part-time assistant at the library. He was a regular at the Sunday evening viewings, Classic Nights, and was sure he’d seen Holly here once or twice before. Perhaps her bubbly, outgoing personality was having a positive effect on Ellie, and they certainly looked happy and relaxed together.

  Whatever was making the difference, he was grateful it was.

  Holly took off her coat in the hall and slipped straight through to the kitchen to put on the kettle for a cup of tea. Stacked at the side of the sink were three used pizza boxes. Yes, thought Holly, very nourishing for a child who’s ill. Don’t put yourself out, Phil. She was approaching the lounge, ready to give Phil a piece of her mind when she heard the murmuring of low voices. Great! He’d let Leah stay up late. Holly hadn’t even decided whether or not to send Leah to school yet. He’d practically made the decision for her!

  As she burst into the lounge, hackles raised, the first thing she expected to do was point to the stairs and tell Leah to go to bed. What she found was Phil hunkered down on the settee with a young brown-haired woman.

  “Oh, I’m sorry… I thought...”

  Phil, far from looking contrite, looked victorious. “You thought what, Holly? That I’d let Leah stay up late? That you’d spoil my date. Well, I didn’t, and you definitely didn’t spoil my date. We were only going out for a quick bite, then back to mine for a movie night. Therefore, we did that here instead. I’ve introduced Kate to Leah, by the way. I was going to wait a little longer until the injury and illness had settled, but you thrust the situation on me. Sometimes, you can be so childish. I don’t know what’s happened to you since you met that woman, but whatever is going on, you shouldn’t shirk your responsibilities.”

  Holly felt her face flush. Should she give him what-for while they had an audience? Did she want to give the impression of being a harridan? No, she did not. Before she could speak, the woman, Kate, cleared her throat. She looked at Phil and then moved her eyes towards the door.

  “Yes, well,” said Phil before Holly could speak, “we’ve got to be going. I’ll phone tomorrow to sort this out.”

  He put on his jacket he’d thrown on the back of the settee, grabbed Kate by the hand, dragging her unceremoniously out of the front door. She never once lifted her eyes from the ground.

  Holly was flushed with simmering anger. Oh, you’ll phone tomorrow, will you, Phil? Good! I’ll be waiting.

  13

  The following day, Ellie finished off her work-in-hand with a flourish. She’d enjoyed it, but it had taken a little longer than she’d expected. She cracked on with household bills, paying everything online, then closed her laptop, leant back and looked at the ceiling. She was debating whether to clean or have a nice leisurely coffee and a couple of shortbread biscuits to appease the loud rumbling of her stomach. The coffee won, so she stood and stretched as far as she could, hearing the groans and moans of her body. As she ambled her way to the kitchen, she considered joining a gym to try to keep her body from seizing up altogether, then just as quickly, dismissed it. She could think of better ways to keep limber. The thought brought a smile to her face. She just had to be patient.

  As she put water in the kettle, fluttering outside caught her eye. She waited as the bird settled, then smiled. She checked just to see if the robin on the window ledge was her robin. On closer inspection, she found the small patch of black feathers and then smiled, broadly. She put on her coat and grabbed a finger of shortbread from the tin. As she made her way outside, she crumbled the biscuit into crumbs, feeling the butter greasy on her fingers.

  Outside, the air was warmer than the day before, although still on the cool side. She wondered if the weather was on the turn. She could use a big dose of spring with longer days. Long nights were so depressing. The sight of the bird cheered her.

  “Good morning to you,” she said in greeting. The robin tilted his head to one side and hopped towards her. Its legs were so thin in comparison to its tubby body that Ellie hoped it wouldn’t suddenly flop over with a broken leg. “How are you today?” she asked. He rewarded her with a burst of sweet song.

  She lifted her hand to her open mouth. “I can’t believe it! You spoke to me,” she whispered as tears of joy formed in her eyes. This was him. This was her son. She was convinced of it. Her hand trembled as she placed the pile of crumbs so close, she almost touched his leg. “Oh, Alex,” she said, the tears now dripping on to her cheeks. “I miss you so much. I think of you every day, and I do so love your visits.”

  Ellie tilted her head as she watched the little bird delicately take in the crumbs. She’d heard they were little territorial creatures, so perhaps it explains the lack of other birds lately. The bird feeder used to be empty in no time, replenished by Ellie daily. Late
ly, though, she’d had to throw away seed and grain that hadn’t been touched before it turned mouldy and dangerous for them to eat. It saddened her a little, but she would put up with it for her boy. Other people, she was sure, would think she was off her rocker, but she was convinced Alex was trying to bring comfort and point her in the right direction. His time on earth with her had been brief, but Ellie knew that wasn’t the whole story. It wasn’t the end. Someday, they would meet again. He would know everything she had said and done, not so he could judge, but so he could reminisce with her. She didn’t know what the future held, but she was sure he would be there, one way or another. He had to be.

  Meanwhile, Holly had managed to reach the school secretary to report Leah’s absence after trying for an age to get through.

  “Oh, yes, Mrs Simons. I was just about to ring you. We were all worried about Leah’s absence”—then, after a short pause—“given what happened in the incident.”

  Holly rolled her eyes. “Well,” she said, trying to keep anger from her voice, “I have been trying to get through since eight this morning to inform you she’s had a throat infection and fever for the last three days and without her voice completely for two of them. Her voice is back, but I’m keeping her at home today and tomorrow, just to make sure the infection has gone.”

  “Quite right,” said the secretary on the other end, quite brusquely. “We don’t want the rest of the school coming down with infections of any kind. Thank you for calling. I’ll inform the head and Leah’s form teacher, and hopefully, we’ll see her on Wednesday.”

  Holly was going to say thank you, but the woman had put the phone down. You can’t get proper staff these days.

  She’d just put in the third load of washing when she heard her mobile ringing and didn’t need three guesses to know who it was. She picked up her phone and saw Phil’s name and number appear on the screen. She took a seat at the kitchen table before answering it.

  She swiped to accept the call. What she felt like doing was throwing it through the kitchen window. Holly waited until he spoke.

  “Hol, are you there?” he asked, almost sheepishly.

  She hated her pet name and wished he could use the other syllable. “Yes, I’m here. Say what you have to say and get it over with, but don’t expect me to take it lying down, because I won’t!” Holly thought about the comment he’d made about Ellie, and she felt her blood pressure rising.

  “I want to say I’m sorry.”

  She wanted to be benevolent, but she couldn’t. “It’s a bit late for that Phil, don’t you think? No girlfriend around so you can show off your macho crap? You were lucky I didn’t have my say last night. Moreover, for your information, I was in the cinema with my phone off. That’s why I didn’t get your messages until this morning when I turned it on. I am sorry I ruined your date, though. I forgot all about it. I just thought it would give you more time on your own with Leah.” Holly felt her nose growing. She could hear him squirming on the other end of the line.

  “How about we both just forget it and go back to normal? I hate it when we fall out,” his voice was quiet.

  “You and me both” she replied, trying to make a decision. Should she make him pay dearly for his comments the previous evening or let sleeping dogs lie? She felt guilty about having told a lie. “Listen, I’m keeping Leah off school today and tomorrow, just to make sure she’s well over the infection. If you’re coming to see her, just let me know. Okay?”

  “Okay. I’ll try to call after work tonight, but I’ll ring when I’m on the way. See you later.”

  Holly got the distinct impression Phil was coming to see her more than Leah this time. Pouring oil on troubled waters was his speciality.

  Leah sat with her dad on the couch. She’d spent the day mostly in her room on some project or other. She began by backing one of her numerous notebooks and set about designing the cover, filling in drawings with gel pens and felt-tips. It left Holly time to complete the household chores guilt free.

  There was no doubt in Holly’s mind that Leah loved her father. She saw him as strong, and although she could wrap him around her little finger at any time, she rarely took advantage. To her, he was the man in her life, and Holly had to admit… it could be worse. Phil and Leah were so alike, sharing the same sense of humour and outdoor interests. Holly knew she was going to be tall, like him. From Holly, Leah got her skin and hair colouring added to the gene pool, the same shaped face and most importantly, her kindness.

  At the end of the TV drama they had been watching, Leah yawned loudly. The sound from her throat still had a grating edge to it.

  “Time for bed, young lady,” said Phil as he pulled her close, ruffling her hair before kissing the top of her head. “I’ll record the second half of the programme for you, because it’s on tomorrow night, and you’ll be in school the following day. You can watch it at my house over the weekend. All right?”

  Leah smiled a tired smile. “Okay, Dad. Thanks for coming to see me. I’ll see you Friday,” she croaked.

  She walked over to Holly, who kissed her goodnight, and then she repeated the act with her father before making her way upstairs.

  Phil looked at Holly across the room. “She’s looking so much better today, but I think you’re wise keeping her off another day, just to be sure.”

  “She’ll be okay by Wednesday, providing she doesn’t talk too much.” Holly lifted her eyes skyward. “What am I saying?” she said with a laugh. “Asking for the impossible.”

  Phil laughed at the idea as well. “Well, we can but hope.” His eyes dropped to the floor, avoiding Holly’s gaze from across the room. “Has Leah mentioned Kate at all?”

  “Yes. She said very matter-of-factly, ‘Daddy has a new girlfriend’. After that, she never made a comment. I’m not going to pump her for information, that’s for sure. You know what we agreed.”

  He nodded his head. “She’ll no doubt tell me exactly what she thinks about the situation, in time.” He waited a few moments, then asked, “How about you on the romance front? Anything in the offing?” He stared at her benignly.

  Holly shook her head. “No,” she said trying to keep her voice even. “Did you think otherwise?” She threw the ball directly into his court.

  “No, no,” he said quickly. “I just wondered because you seem to be spending a great deal of time with Ellie. That’s all.”

  “So, because I’m spending time with a woman makes her a prospective partner, does it?” She speared him with her stare, and the barbs were digging in tight.

  No,” he said, realising he should have left this line of enquiry alone. “It’s none of my business.”

  “I said I would tell you when I found someone special, for Leah’s sake, because any explanation has to come from both of us. I’ll do that, Phil. Don’t worry. Ellie is a friend who has lost a child and needs a bit of company every now and again. Even you can’t begrudge that, surely?”

  “No, no. Of course not.”

  Holly heard the words leave his mouth, but she wasn’t sure she believed him.

  At four o’clock the same afternoon, Ellie received a phone call from a prospective client she had been cultivating for months. At one stage, Ellie had thought the woman blowing hot air, but apparently, the renovation work on her listed building was now complete, so she wanted to commission Ellie to deal with the property internally.

  Ellie punched the air at the thought of a long, well-paid job. Something she could get her teeth into. The woman, Amelia Cowdrey, made an appointment with her for Friday afternoon at the property so Ellie could attend for an initial look around, finalise measurements and requirements, and then she could adjust her quote if necessary. She’d already supplied a preliminary estimate based on information given by the client at the beginning and didn’t want to stray much from it if she could avoid it.

  Ellie smiled as she ended the call. Things were looking up on the work front, and she couldn’t wait to share her good news. Then Ellie groaned loudly, realisi
ng the appointment was a Friday afternoon. It would be a bun-fight with traffic there and back. That meant she would have to start the trip earlier than she would have liked. More wasted hours ticking away.

  Ellie’s phone rang and buzzed in her pocket just as she was about to trawl through the freezer in the hope of finding something for dinner. Her stomach had growled for the last half an hour. She couldn’t believe how much her appetite had picked up recently. It was becoming insatiable. On the other hand, she had missed lunch, so perhaps her body was just making up for its lack of sustenance earlier.

  “Hello?” she said, the screen showing a number that wasn’t in her contacts list. If it was a cold call, someone was about to get a flea in their ear. Why did these people always feel the need to phone at mealtimes? She opened the freezer door.

  “Hello, is that Ellie?” The man’s voice was smooth, like a decent brandy, and vaguely familiar.

  She closed the freezer door and paid attention. “Yes, it is. Can I help you?”

  A laugh came from the other end of the line. “I do hope so. This is Michael Devlin.” He waited for a while for some reaction, but none was forthcoming, so he carried on. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but we have a committee member who has had to resign their post due to family commitments. The committee has discussed the situation at length today, and we were wondering if you would be in a position to fill the vacancy or, at least, give it some serious thought. You have many attributes you could bring our way. Unfortunately, other than the Christmas festivities and odd celebrations, there is no monetary inducement I can offer, as I’m sure your mother has explained. Will you give us some consideration?” His voice was calm and endearing, and for a moment, Ellie became mute. She then realised he was waiting for her to answer.

  “I have a meeting with a prospective client on Friday afternoon, and I’ll know more about how my time would need to be spread after that. Would Monday be okay for an answer?” she asked hopefully. She didn’t like disappointing people, especially highly influential ones.