LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

Nick of his grandfather actually. What he could remember of him.

      ‘This is Archie,’ Jade made a gesture with her hand, ‘and this is Lily.’ She smiled at the older woman and gave her a warm hug in greeting. ‘They’re not married, although you could be forgiven for thinking that.’

      ‘Never have been, and never will be.’ Archie’s tone was gruff, but looking closer Nick could see his eyes were twinkling.

      Nick was surprised to see that Archie was smartly dressed in shirt and tie with a bright red jumper.

      Archie must have seen his expression, because the old man reached out and put a hand on Jade’s arm. ‘Your young man there seems to be surprised that we’re all spruced up for today. What did you expect? A group of lolling, drooling imbeciles?’ He waved an arm in the air and made a face that was clearly meant to be an imitation of his words.

      ‘Oh hush, Archie.’ Lily spoke for the first time. ‘Stop with your antics and be kind to the young man. Otherwise they’ll leave you here without anyone to push you around. And you know how much you’re looking forward to that new tram they’ve bought recently.’

      Nick was just about to say something when a group of other people entered the lounge. Most appeared to be retirement age themselves, and although there were a couple of other people who looked like they were a bit closer to his age, he and Jade were clearly the youngest by far in the room. All the newcomers sat themselves wherever there were free spaces, and a chatter started up in the room as people greeted each other and started catching up.

      ‘What are we waiting for?’ Nick wanted to know.

      ‘Keith,’ Jade said. ‘He drives the minibus.’

      ‘Ah,’ Nick said. He perched himself on the edge of a seat, suddenly unsure of himself and feeling very self-conscious.

      Lily patted him on the arm. ‘So, young man, what do you do with your time?’

      He turned towards her, looking at her properly for the first time. Her white hair was elegantly swept up in a carefully sculpted style, and the wrinkles on her face only made her look more beautiful, not less so. He suddenly wondered what she had looked like when she was younger.

      ‘I work as a programmer. For a consultancy. We mainly work for banks.’ He realised he didn’t sound very forthcoming and hurried to add some more. ‘You know, internet security and that sort of thing.’

      ‘Ah.’ Lily seemed to absorb this information for a minute. ‘Sounds like a very important job.’

      Of all the things Nick had heard his job called, important wasn’t one of them. He was just a graduate, on the bottom rung of the ladder. ‘Sorry? How do you mean?’ He couldn’t help the question slipping out.

      Lily nodded slowly. ‘Well, if you’re in security, you’re keeping people’s money safe, isn’t that right?’

      Nick paused to think about this, rubbing his chin while he did so. ‘I guess so. I’d never thought about it like that. But I only started less than a year ago. I’m just a minion for my boss.’

      Archie cracked a laugh, startling Nick. ‘The minions always do the most important work, lad. Forget the bosses who swan around drinking coffee all day.’

      Which was pretty much what his boss did most of the time, Nick reflected. He was saved from having to reply by the arrival of Keith, and shortly after that found himself pushing Archie out of the building and up a steep metal ramp into the slightly faded minibus. Jade and Lily followed slowly, with Lily leaning on Jade’s arm. The minibus was full by the time they set off. As they eased away from the kerb someone struck up a version of ‘Pack up your troubles’, and soon half of the bus was singing, with varying levels of tunefulness. Nick couldn’t help grinning. Whatever he had thought he would be doing this morning, this hadn’t been it.

      Jade, sitting across the aisle from him, leaned over and nudged his arm. ‘Not going to join in?’ She was smiling again, he noticed, and he wished that she would do it all the time.

      Nick shrugged. ‘I don’t know all the words.’

      Jade gave a shrug to match his own and laughed. ‘I don’t think that really matters for most of the choir.’

      A small thread of warmth crept through him. Nick smiled back at her, took a deep breath and opened his mouth to sing.

       Chapter 2

      It wasn’t far to the museum, for which Nick was grateful. He couldn’t claim to be a great singer, but he was musical enough that by the time they had done ten verses of ‘Tipperary’ and been through ‘Imagine’ at least three times it was starting to wear him down just a little. They got out right in front of the building. The wind had dropped, and the spring sunshine was making the river sparkle. It was pretty warm for the time of year.

      Nick had seen the museum from the train a few times, but only from a distance. Up close it was much more impressive. The silver metal exterior gleamed in the sunlight, and the massive glass frontage seemed to be drawing people in towards the entrance doors in the middle.

      Jade saw where he was looking. ‘Award-winning, apparently.’ Her tone made it clear that she was in no way impressed by the grand design.

      She looked at her watch. ‘Normally everyone goes off and sees what they want to see, and then we get back together for lunch. Everybody? Midday at the café?’

      There was a chorus of assent, and everyone started to filter off. Nick looked expectantly at Jade, but she shook her head. ‘You’re here for Archie. You need to ask him what he wants to see.’ She looked at them both. ‘Normally we wouldn’t let the two of you go off on your own, but …’

      Archie sat himself up straight in the wheelchair. ‘This is where you try to tell me I’m classed as a vulnerable adult, eh?’

      Jade’s face turned pink, and Nick nearly laughed out loud.

      ‘You know that officially the law might say yes, Archie, but practically I don’t believe it for a second.’ Jade wagged a finger at him. ‘So go on, both of you. Get out of my sight before I end up keeping an eye on you both for other reasons.’

      Nick took the back of the old man’s wheelchair and went to push him inside, but the old man shook his head. ‘Take me round for a turn outside the building, lad. I need a bit of fresh air in my lungs.’

      Nick gratefully steered him round the side of the building and down towards the river. He too thought that it was a pity to be inside on such a glorious day. Archie stood unsteadily, pulling himself up using the railing, and they both stood in silence for a while, watching the sunlight playing on the water.

      ‘I used to be outside all the time, you know,’ Arche said suddenly. ‘A mountain guide, I was. There isn’t a Munroe in the Highlands that I haven’t climbed.’

      Nick couldn’t work out whether to be impressed for Archie’s achievements, or sad at the condition the man was in now.

      ‘Oh, don’t be sorry for me, young lad,’ Archie said, patting him on the arm. ‘I’ve had a good life. Ninety-two I am now. It’s my time to rest.’

      ‘Ninety-two?’ Nick could hardly believe it. They stood in silence for a few more minutes, then Archie sat back down in the wheelchair.

      ‘I wanted to be a mountain guide,’ Nick found himself saying.

      Archie looked up at him. ‘Really? What happened?’

      ‘I worked for a friend for a year. When I left school. His dad died about that time and it took the two of us just to keep the family business going. It was one of the best times of my life. But when the recession really hit, he said he had to let me go. I had plans to start up on my own, but all the training and equipment and insurance and everything

Скачать книгу