Katie Fforde - Going Dutch

‘I suppose so,' said Dora, reluctantly conceding that Jo had a point.

‘Your mother loves you just as much. Give her a ring. After all, if we're all going to drown on this trip to Holland, it would be nice if you two were friends again.'

‘Oh all right.' Dora rinsed out the cloth and dried her hands. 'I give in. I'll go and give her a ring. It'll give me something to do while the boys are playing with pumps and diesel and things.'

‘I wouldn't describe Marcus as a boy, exactly,' said Jo, but Dora had already disappeared into her cabin to find her phone.

‘We need some kitchen towel,' said Tom, landing in the cabin looking flushed and as if he was in his element. 'The pump's working fine now, but quite a bit got spilt at the beginning.’

Jo handed him a new roll, making a mental note to buy it in bulk before the trip to Holland. 'What about newspapers?'

‘I'm going to ask Dora if she'll raid the paper bank by the bins.'

‘She's phoning her mother. I'll ask her when she gets off and we can go together.'

‘Oh. Fine.’

When Tom had disappeared, Jo reflected that the person she most wanted just at the moment was her own daughter. Karen wasn't nearly so law-abiding and would manage to break into a recycling bin without a glimmer of guilt or doubt. She switched on her laptop and banged out a quick email.

It's all hell here! Marcus (old friend of Michael's – and me. Dad knew him too, years ago) is draining diesel into a lemon-juice barrel and I've got to get newspapers to mop up the spills. Wish you were here!!!! Love, Mum Dora emerged holding her phone. She looked as if she'd been crying, but basically happy. She came up to Jo and gave her a hug. 'You're so wise! We had a good chat and I feel so much better now. I'm not going home, though,' she added.

‘Did your mother ask you to?'

‘Yes, but I explained that I'd started a new life and would come home for a weekend or something soon, but not for good.'

‘How did she take that?'

‘Well, she obviously didn't like it, but she had to accept it. I'm a grown-up now!' Dora grinned. 'Let's go and play!'

‘Well, I think I'm satisfied that the tanks are clean,' said Marcus when Dora and Jo appeared. 'I'd better be getting back. Carole will be wondering what's happened to me.'

‘I feel awful!' said Jo. 'I should have thrown you out ages ago.'

‘I'm responsible for myself,' he said. 'You don't have to monitor my comings and goings.'

‘No, I suppose not. For a moment there I thought that you and Tom were friends of Karen's who I'd allowed to stay far later than their parents would have.' Jo's thoughts were full of mothers because she and Dora had been discussing hers. 'Have you decided on a date yet?'

‘There's still quite a bit more planning to do, and then we can't really decide on a date until we know what the weather's likely to do.'

‘Oh. I was just thinking, Dora will have to arrange to take holiday. She'll need to give some notice. And you, too, Tom.'

‘Oh, Fred'll understand,' said Tom glibly.

‘I hope so,' said Dora. 'I don't want to let them down.’

Dora chose her moment to ask Fred about taking some holiday. She had tackled a particularly large batch of filing, and now this was out of the way, there was a spare chair in the office. He was sitting on this, at the end of the day, when she brought up the subject.

‘Fred, I know I haven't worked here very long-’

‘You're not thinking of leaving are you, Dora?' His face was a picture of shock and disappointment.

‘No, no! Of course not. I love it here. I was just going to ask if I could have a bit of holiday.' Her voice tailed away, unwilling to cast Fred into a further state of gloom.

‘ Holiday! Of course, everyone's entitled to some holiday.' He didn't sound particularly thrilled by this accepted truth though.

‘I wouldn't if I could get out of it, but I have to go for Jo's sake.'

‘Go where?'

‘Go to Holland on The Three Sisters.'

‘ You want to go on a barge trip? Dora nodded. 'Well, not so much want as need. Although I suppose I do want to go.'

‘Has this got anything to do with young Tom?’

‘Well..

‘I can't think of anyone going anywhere and him not trying to get himself a berth.’

Dora laughed. 'Yes, he is coming. He's really keen. And apparently The Three Sisters has to go to Holland for dry docking.'

‘Ah,' said Fred knowledgably, 'you'll be wanting grit blasting. We'd do it here if it wasn't for the noise pollution.’

‘So is it all right? Can I go?'

‘Of course. I said.'

‘The trouble is, I'm not exactly sure when and for how long. We have to wait for the right weather and things.’

Fred sighed. 'That's all right. I know how it is with these trips. Very difficult to make definite plans. You never know what you're going to find when you're in dry dock, and if the weather turns nasty, you're stormbound on the other side of the North Sea.’

Dora didn't want to think about being stormbound and changed the subject to something she knew about. 'Will you organise cover? Someone to do my job while I'm away?' She really hoped not. She didn't want to think of a Tipp-Ex-tipped temp, a clone of the woman who had interviewed her, messing about in her newly set-up systems.

‘Far too expensive, but don't you worry. You've done so much since you've been here,' he said. 'And we didn't have anyone for ages. We'll manage. And I'll tell you what, if that lady you're staying with -'

‘Jo.'

‘That's right. If there's anything we can do to help before she sets off, just let us know.'

‘Oh, that's so kind!' Dora had flung her arms round his neck before she remembered that he probably wasn't used to hugging, but having got that far it was hard to back off. 'Sorry. I thought you were my dad for a moment.'

‘That's all right.' Fred patted her arm in a fatherly way. 'I reckon you should go home for a visit before too long.’

As Jo had said much the same thing, when they were making hot chocolate one evening, Dora sighed. 'I know. But there's so much to do before this trip to Holland.'

‘I'll give you the day off, if you need it. So when roughly are you going?'

‘We're getting everything ready then Marcus is going to look for a spell of settled weather in the middle of June.'

‘Oh, yes.' Fred's faith in weather forecasts was obviously not huge.

‘Apparently you can get a six-day prediction. Marcus says.’

Fred sighed at the folly of youth and then said, 'Takeyoung Tom with you to meet your parents. He needs some civilised company. He mixes with those dropouts all the time.'

‘Have you got children, Fred?’

He nodded. 'Grandchildren, too.' He smiled nostal gically. 'They really are grand. I miss them. My two eldest boys live abroad and we don't see as much of them as we'd like. You don't like to think your grandchildren are growing up, and you not there to see it.'

‘OK! I'll go! And I'll drag Tom along too, if I can. Now could you be a love and put up this new noticeboard? I want it to be absolutely impossible to forget a single bill while I'm away.’

Fred grumbled off to get his tool kit. 'You'll only be away a few days. They could wait!’

Jo wished she'd warned Miranda she was planning to visit her shop just after she'd found somewhere to park her car and was walking down the pretty high street. When she'd set off her plan had been to check out the shop before she went in, to see if what she'd done was of the quality required. Now that felt stupid and she didn't want to fall back on the old, I-was-just-passing-so-I thought-I'd-call-in lie, because where could she possibly be going to? She saw the shop from across the road. It looked, even from a way away and through traffic, decidedly upmarket. Miranda had obviously just been being kind when she suggested she could possibly restore things that were good enough to sell there. Still, she might as well put herself out of her misery. She could go and see Miranda, or Miranda's partner, show her stuff, then take it away again and go shopping instead.