Free Miss Potterton's Birthday Tea by Amanda Prowse Page B

class.’
    And the two laughed and kissed again.
    *
    When the last of the guests had been ushered from the premises, Ian switched off the lights and pulled the plugs.
    â€˜Can you still pop in, keep an eye, give the place a onceover? I want it kept nice until we know what’s happening with it.’
    â€˜Yes, of course. I’ve got my key.’ She smiled.
    As they made their way into the hall, Tina noticed a small stack of mail piled neatly on top of the bureau under a paperweight. She gathered the letters into her hand and passed them to Ian. ‘I suppose you’d better let the relevant agencies and whatnot know that she’s passed on.’
    He nodded grimly as he sifted through the letters. One in particular caught his eye. ‘Gosh, look at this!’ He held up the envelope and pointed at the large ER with a red crown above it. ‘It looks rather official!’
    â€˜Open it!’ Tina urged.
    Ian placed his finger under the flap and pulled out a glossy card with a picture of Her Majesty on the front.
    â€˜What on earth…?’ Tina was as curious as she was excited.
    â€˜I don’t believe it!’ Ian stared at her.
    â€˜What?’ She did a little jig on the spot.
    Ian read aloud: ‘ I am so pleased that you are celebrating your one hundredth birthday… ’ He looked up at Tina. ‘ I send my congratulations and best wishes to you on such a special occasion. Elizabeth R .’
    â€˜She was a hundred!’ Tina blinked.
    â€˜She was.’
    Tina remembered standing on the other side of the front door and their first ever exchange. ‘You’re not one of those ghastly women who lie about their age to suit the circumstances, are you? Adding some years in their extreme youth and then removing them later on? I think that’s the height of vanity!’
    â€˜The sly old devil!’ She laughed. Her laughter quickly turned into a torrent of tears. ‘I’m going to miss her.’ She sniffed.
    Ian gathered Tina to his chest and kissed her scalp. ‘And that, Tina, is the greatest compliment you can ever pay someone. To miss them. That’s real love.’
    They made their way up the steep steps to ground level and Ian looked up and down the street. ‘Can’t remember where I left the car!’ He scratched his head.
    â€˜See, that’s another advantage of not driving. I always know where I’ve left the Tube station.’
    He laughed.
    â€˜Do me a favour, Ian, just drop me a little text when you get home. Let me know you got there safely. I know it’s daft, but I’ll worry about you when you’re travelling.’
    Ian stared at her, as his heart leapt with happiness. ‘I will.’

16
    â€˜You sure you don’t mind dropping me off, Len?’ Tina leant forward from the back seat of Len’s cab.
    â€˜Not at all, girl. It’s quite nice to be doing the journey, truth be told. I don’t ’arf miss old Miss P. She was one of a kind. She used to call me Leonard. I never had the heart to tell her I was called Len because me surname is Fairclough – it’s an old nickname from me army days, after that character from Corrie – and not because I was christened Leonard.’ He smiled.
    â€˜I never knew that. What is your first name then?’
    â€˜You’ll never guess it!’
    â€˜It’s not Rumpelstiltskin, is it?’
    â€˜No.’ He shook his head. ‘My mum was a right bookworm, loved a bit of Dickens. It’s Josiah. I’m named after Josiah Bounderby in Hard Times .’ He looked into his rearview mirror at Tina, who was crying into her tissue. ‘You all right, girl?’
    â€˜Yep,’ she managed. ‘I just had a bit of a flashback, that’s all. Dickens, eh? It’s a lovely name.’
    Len indicated and pulled over by the cemetery wall. ‘Right, as I said, it’s a little way round to the right of the gate.