Page 12 of Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake

‘Noah’s father was Walter’s nephew,’ began Dotty. ‘Walter and his brother were never that close. They were chalk and cheese personality wise. Frank didn’t want all of this,’ she said, waving her arm around the kitchen. ‘He preferred the big cities andbright lights. Not the peace of the countryside. Plus the place was pretty small in those days before we added so much more to the hotel. In fact, it wasn’t even a hotel. Anyway, he married Margaret and they had just the one child, Chris. We used to meet up every year or so, normally in the summertime. They would come down for the weekend. But Chris grew up pretty wild. I don’t know why. Just one of those kind of people, I guess. Frank and Margaret stayed in their little place in Bristol near to their friends but Chris left home as soon as he could. Joined the army, went travelling. No job ever stuck though.’ Dotty reached forward to take a sip of coffee. ‘The next thing we heard in a letter from Frank was that Chris had left the army, turned up at their door unexpectedly with a pregnant girlfriend.’

‘Marie,’ said Faye, her lips pressed together in dislike.

Beth was shocked. Faye never seemed to think badly of anyone, such was her gentle disposition.

Dotty nodded. ‘Marie,’ she repeated, with a heavy sigh. ‘Did you meet her?’

‘Only at the wedding,’ replied Faye, with a grimace.

‘Lord, I’d forgotten about that,’ said Dotty, shaking her head.

‘Why, what was so bad about it?’ asked Hannah, wide-eyed.

‘Chris, the groom, had a black eye from getting in a fight the night before and Marie, the bride, all seven months pregnant of her, got absolutely blind drunk,’ Dotty told her, with a shudder. ‘It was a mess.’

‘I don’t think the marriage was much happier,’ added Faye.

‘Hard to tell when it only lasted four or so years,’ said Dotty. ‘Marie walked out on them after that. Husband and son both left behind. Nobody ever heard from her ever again, according to Frank. They tried to do what they could for their son and grandson but Frank had had his major stroke by then and his healthwasn’t the best.’

‘And they never saw him that often anyway because Chris seemed to spend the rest of his life roaming around, from the infrequent updates we got from him,’ said Faye. ‘He came here occasionally.’

‘To borrow money which he never paid back,’ added Dotty.

‘But Tony always felt that his cousin could never be pinned down,’ continued Faye.

‘Noah, of course, came off the worse from it all,’ said Dotty, shaking her head. ‘Different homes and schools every year. He was such a sad little boy, trailing around after his dad. Not that Chris seemed to be father of the year either. The lad was often wearing clothes which were too small or even worn thin.’

‘We used to give him Ben’s clothes, do you remember?’ said Faye. ‘As well as feeding him up whenever he came.’

‘Left by his own mother and ignored by his father for the most part, it’s hardly surprising that Noah got himself into a bit of trouble,’ said Dotty.

‘It was a bit more than trouble,’ said Ben, coming back into the kitchen. ‘Wasn’t there something about stealing money?’

Dotty looked uncomfortable. ‘Chris mentioned it in passing. I don’t think it was a lot and it’s not like Chris ever gave him much pocket money, if anything.’

Ben pursed his lips together but stayed silent as he went over to pour himself a coffee.

‘We didn’t see Noah after he left school,’ carried on Dotty. ‘Barely saw Chris either. I think the both of them travelled around quite a bit. Anyway, we met up with Noah at Chris’s funeral a month ago. Walter said he’d invited him to stay last night but neither of us expected him to show up.’ Dotty shook her head. ‘We let Noah down. We should have forced Chris to let the boy stay here with us. Then he could have grown up in astable environment rather than being dragged around by his father all around the country.’

‘I’ve always felt guilty about that,’ said Faye, looking upset.

‘Us too,’ said Dotty, nodding.

‘Poor Noah,’ said Hannah. ‘I just remembered overhearing Uncle Chris talking about what a disappointment he was.’

‘I was never sure about that,’ said Dotty. ‘Anyway, the man standing in this kitchen a little while ago is still family so we must give him the benefit of the doubt.’

‘If you’re sure,’ said Ben, frowning and not sounding convinced.

‘He’sfamily,’ repeated Dotty, looking stern.

Beth had listened to the conversation, fascinated by Noah’s upbringing. It had sounded pretty rough but at least he had a family, she thought. In that respect, perhaps he was looking for the happy ever after that she had always dreamed of as well.

6

Noah stepped out of the hotel front door with Walter, taking a refreshing breath of air once they were outside.

It had been an awkward reunion with the family in the kitchen and he was grateful to be out of the uneasy atmosphere.