Tomorrow's Promise Read online

  ‘That’s kind. Is she your age?’ Elizabeth would like to think of Lara sharing with someone of her own age. Apart from Alex, she didn’t seem to have any close friends.

  ‘It’s a man, actually.’

  ‘O-oh.’ Elizabeth couldn’t keep the disapproval out of her voice. She knew she was old-fashioned, but she didn’t like to think of her pretty daughter sharing with a man. And she didn’t dare think what Derek would say. ‘Is he married? A family who are letting out their spare room, perhaps?’

  ‘No, Mum, he’s not married.’ Now Lara sounded irritated. ‘It’ll be fine. It won’t be for long. Lots of girls share with men these days.’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ said Elizabeth doubtfully. ‘Tell me more about the job, dear. Is it a promotion? We always thought you’d be a head of department sometime soon.’ They had thought that was going to happen at the school in Glasgow but for some reason it hadn’t.

  ‘It’s not head of department,’ said Lara, with more emphasis than Elizabeth thought was called for. Clearly she had said the wrong thing, again. ‘It’s senior Geography teacher, so it is a small promotion, but that’s not why I went for it. I just want a change.’

  ‘I’m sure you’ll be very happy,’ said Elizabeth encouragingly. ‘Why don’t we phone you back this evening and you can tell your father about it yourself?’

  ‘No, no. You tell him. I’d better go now. Goodbye.’

  Elizabeth put the phone down with a sigh. She wished she could do something to improve her relationship with her only child. She didn’t know exactly when things had started to go wrong, but suddenly she was determined to try and put them right. She wasn’t quite sure how. Perhaps not telling Derek Lara was to be sharing with a man would be a good first step.

  Spurred on by her mother’s disapproval, Lara decided to go and look over Mick Jensen’s house. She still had her doubts about sharing with him, but if the house was acceptable, she should probably take the room. He definitely wasn’t her ideal housemate but the room was cheap and available. It would save so much time if she could stay there for the first few months.

  On this second occasion, Lara drove down to Loreburn in her car. It had been in the garage the previous week, a place where it spent a good deal of time. She enjoyed the drive. She let the engine open up for an hour or so down the motorway, and then turned off over the Dalveen pass and came down through the winding roads she remembered from visits to Alex’s gran. The trees were gaunt and bare, but the sun was out, glinting off the occasional quaint red-sandstone house. It lifted her spirits to drive with fields and hills as far as the eye could see. Even the car seemed to like it, and didn’t cough and splutter once. Maybe what they both needed was longer runs and a little fresh air.

  The instructions Mick Jensen had given her proved to be surprisingly easy to follow, and ten minutes before the appointed time she drew up outside a semi-detached house identical to twenty or thirty others in the little estate. It was on the very edge of town, and you could see hills rising in those soft, hazy rolls into the distance.

  She wondered if she should sit in the car and wait the extra ten minutes. Some people didn’t like you to be early. But waiting was making Lara nervous, giving her too much time to think over what she might be letting herself in for. She climbed out of the car and strode up the short, slightly unkempt driveway and knocked on the glass front door.

  It took Mick a minute or two to answer. He was wearing a torn T-shirt and a pair of tracksuit bottoms and had a bowl of cereal in one hand. He looked only half awake.

  Lara smiled brightly. ‘Sorry, I’m a little early. It didn’t take me as long to get here as I expected.’

  ‘Oh, it’s you.’ He squinted at her, the green eyes having difficulty staying open. ‘Gosh, was it today you said you’d come?’

  ‘It was.’ She was beginning to feel annoyed with him again.

  ‘Aye, well, you’d better come in then.’ He stood back. ‘It’s not exactly tidy. I’d forgotten it was today you were coming and …’ He gave her a sudden grin. ‘To tell you the truth, it probably wouldn’t have made much difference if I’d remembered. But we have had a lady coming in weekly to do a basic clean, so it’s not as bad as it might be.’

  As Lara looked around she saw this was true. The décor might be early eighties and rather battered, and there was certainly far too much sports kit lying about, but there seemed to be an underlying cleanliness. Which was a relief. She knew the others teased her about it, but if you were born fastidious you had to accept it.

  ‘Come into the kitchen, I’ll get you a drink.’ He finished his cereal and put the bowl in the sink. She stood just inside the doorway as he put on the kettle. It felt awkward. She hardly knew this man, how could she be considering sharing a house with him?

  ‘Look, it’s not luxurious or anything,’ said Mick. He gestured around. ‘Pretty basic, really, but we’ve got the essentials. Fridge, microwave.’ He shot her another grin. He was waking up. ‘There’s even a cooker if you want to do proper meals. And I’ll try and wash up a bit more often but give me a kick if I forget. Steve, who I’ve been sharing with, was a bit untidy, and it doesn’t kind of encourage you to clear up after yourself.’

  ‘I suppose not.’

  ‘Tea or coffee? What time did you get up this morning? Isn’t it a two-hour drive down here? I’m impressed. Rule number one: don’t get up before nine at the weekend.’

  ‘It’s half past ten.’

  ‘I said not before nine. No limit to how late you can sleep, is there? I was helping Steve move into his new place yesterday, and one beer led to another, you know how it is. No idea what time I got in but it was definitely late.’

  ‘I hope you didn’t drive.’ Lara knew she sounded prim, but the conversation was making her feel breathless.

  ‘Drive? No, I jogged back. It’s only a couple of miles and it’s good to clear the head, you know?’

  Lara shook her own head slowly. Sharing with this man was going to be an education. Or maybe she would just try and steer clear of him. It was making her feel exhausted just listening.

  She took the mug of coffee and said, ‘Perhaps you could show me around. I’ve made an appointment to look at a couple of houses so I can’t stay long.’ She smiled to herself as she spoke. She had, indeed, arranged to see a couple of small, sensible houses. But also she hadn’t been able to resist arranging to view Ladybank Row.

  Mick led the way upstairs. ‘Right, that’s my room. I get the biggest one ’cos it’s my house and I’m the messiest. This would be yours. It looks out the front so you’ve a view of the countryside, of sorts. Built-in cupboard, double bed. Any other furniture you’d need to provide yourself. The bathroom’s over there. Any questions?’

  Lara took a while before she answered. She needed to slow this down. The curtains of ‘her’ room were an indeterminate pink/brown and the carpet was sand coloured. There was nothing you could take offence to, but nothing really to like, either. ‘It’ll do fine,’ she said firmly. After all, she wouldn’t be staying long. ‘If you’re still sure you want me as a tenant?’

  ‘It sounds good to me.’ He gave her another of those looks that she was almost sure he did on purpose, to discompose her. ‘When can you move in?’

  Lara tried to concentrate on practicalities. She said briskly, ‘If it’s OK with you, I’ll pay a deposit now. I’ve brought some bags and boxes down with me and it’d be handy if I could leave them here.’ She smiled doubtfully, hoping Mick wouldn’t think her presumptuous. ‘I’ll sort more things out during the half-term holiday and move in the weekend before I start work. How would that be?’

  ‘No problem. And you don’t need to worry about a deposit, we can sort money out when you move in.’

  ‘I’d rather do it this way. I’ll pay you two weeks in advance, and then weekly thereafter. OK? How did you work it with your last tenant?’

  ‘… Er, not sure. He sort of paid when he remembered.’

  Lara sighed. It felt a litt
le too much like being back in a classroom of teenagers. She said repressively, ‘That might be fine between friends, but ours is a business arrangement. And one other thing, is it OK with you if I have a friend to stay?’

  For the first time since her arrival the good humour faded momentarily. ‘A friend? Oh, yes, of course.’

  ‘She’d share my room, and it would just be for a night or two. She’s thinking of moving to Loreburn herself.’ At least, Lara hoped she was.

  ‘Ah,’ said Mick, his bright smile returning. ‘Loreburn seems to be popular at the moment. She’ll be very welcome. The more the merrier, as far as I’m concerned.’

  ‘She’s …’ began Lara, and then hesitated. It wasn’t her position to tell strangers about Alex’s problems. Especially as she wasn’t sure what they were herself. ‘We’ll keep out of your way. I’m very grateful to you for letting me stay.’ She turned to face him and held out her hand. ‘Shall we shake on it?’

  She knew even as she did so that the gesture was a mistake. His hand closed around hers, warm and strong, and she felt as though he was pulling her in. Perhaps he felt the connection too, for he didn’t let go immediately, but looked into her eyes, at almost the same level as his own, questioning.

  ‘I’ll go and get those bags,’ she said.

  Chapter Three

  Lara knew persuading Alex to join her in her new life in Loreburn wasn’t going to be easy. Alex was a staff nurse in one of the big Glasgow hospitals and for a while Lara had thought she was happy there. But since beloved Nana Edna who had brought her up had died a year ago, Alex had withdrawn into herself. Always a quiet girl, her conversations were now almost monosyllabic. It was becoming difficult to persuade her to venture out except to go to work. She also seemed to be taking a refuge in food. Things had to change.

  She didn’t tell Alex all her plans at once. The first thing was to get her to visit Loreburn, something she hadn’t done since her grandmother’s funeral.

  ‘I don’t want to go back,’ Alex had whispered.

  ‘But you were happy there.’ Lara was worried. Alex had never mourned her grandmother as she should have. She had merely shut down.

  Maybe if she could persuade her friend to take the step of revisiting what had once been her home, then she could move on. And thinking about Alex gave Lara something positive to do, and not dwell on her relationship with her own parents. Recent telephone conversations had been more difficult than usual. It hurt that their only interest in her new life had been disappointment she hadn’t got a head of department post, and horror she would be sharing with a man.

  ‘It’ll be great,’ she said encouragingly to Alex.

  ‘Mmm,’ was all the answer her friend vouchsafed, but she had, reluctantly, agreed to accompany her for a visit.

  Lara hoped she was doing the right thing. The closer they came to Loreburn, the more tense Alex became. Lara negotiated the last bend of the Dalveen pass and they began to drop down towards the small town. Alex sat beside her, clutching her ugly, bulky handbag with both hands. Lara bit her lip. She really, really hoped this was going to work.

  ‘Aren’t we going to your new house?’ said Alex, when Lara parked the car outside a busy garden centre where she planned to have lunch. The place was new so could hold no memories for Alex.

  ‘We’ll eat here, my treat,’ she said encouragingly. It was a good move. Alex began to relax a little. Food was her refuge. Well, that was all right for now.

  When they had finished their main course Alex looked longingly at the counter of freshly baked cakes, but Lara had other plans.

  She had been so pleased with herself when she first had this marvellous idea. Now the time had come to share it and she wasn’t so sure. ‘Let’s get on, we have a busy afternoon ahead. We’ll save the coffee and cakes for a reward for later.’

  She took Alex’s shrug as agreement and stood up with more determination than she felt. Perhaps this was a mistake. Getting Alex down to Loreburn had been a success of sorts and she didn’t want to push her too hard. But she needed to act quickly, if she was going to get the property she had in mind. At first it had been just a daydream, but the more she had thought it over, the more it had seemed to make sense. The only problem had been whether Alex would agree.

  Anyway, there was no chance of backing out of the viewing. She had agreed to collect the key from the solicitor and Lara always kept to arrangements once made. She sighed, sure now this wasn’t going to work. She was clearly quite mad, but at least it might give her friend something to laugh about. If Alex ever started laughing again.

  When she parked the car at the roadside before the line of boarded-up terraced houses which constituted Ladybank Row, she couldn’t help smiling. Just looking at them raised her spirits again. She had really tried to be sensible and had viewed other smaller, more modern properties. That was the sort of thing everyone would expect of her, including herself, but her heart hadn’t been in them. So she had given in and visited the properties again, and fallen in love.

  The little terraced row was just as she remembered. Apparently, the houses had been built in the 1930s. They were partly pebble-dashed and partly red sandstone, with roofs of slate, which gave a solidity to the place you didn’t get with something more modern, like Mick’s semi. The architect had introduced a whimsical variety of roof heights and slopes and a seemingly haphazard arrangement of windows. Lara could easily ignore the overgrown gardens and blocked-off doorways. She could see what it might become.

  ‘You’ve brought me to see this?’ said Alex. She didn’t sound impressed.

  Lara said encouragingly, ‘They’re good solid houses. And they’re going cheap.’

  ‘They’re ex-council houses,’ said Alex gloomily. ‘Aren’t they?’

  ‘Are they?’ said Lara. Having been brought up in the various ex-pat communities of the world, she had never got the hang of identifying things like council housing. ‘Does it matter?’

  Alex shrugged and looked around at the rusting metal fence that hid the industrial estate, and the overgrown trees at the back where the railway line ran. She swung her arms about to keep warm, and pulled a face. ‘Which one are you interested in?’

  ‘They’re all for sale,’ said Lara casually, ‘But I’ve got the key to the end one. Let’s have a look at that.’

  She pushed open the rather fancy rusted metal gate and led the way up the path. The front door was held shut by a heavy padlock. It didn’t look welcoming, but you could see why it was there. Marks where a crow bar had been used on the door jamb were clearly in evidence.

  Once inside, the rooms were dark. What else could you expect when the windows were boarded up? And even Lara had to admit that it smelt damp. ‘The rooms are nice and big, aren’t they?’ she said brightly. ‘Two good-sized rooms down here, plus the kitchen. Come upstairs, you can see better up there.’

  ‘No lights,’ said Alex, flicking a switch on and off.

  ‘The electricity’s been disconnected, of course.’

  Lara marched upstairs, and Alex followed more slowly. It was better up here. There was a charming little (unbroken) window on the landing, two large, bright bedrooms, a bathroom and separate toilet.

  ‘Not bad, is it?’

  Alex shrugged.

  ‘It could be made really nice. And they’re selling the houses for peanuts.’

  Alex went over to the bedroom window and stared out at the wilderness below. Like the house itself, the size of the garden was generous, but its neglect was complete. ‘It looks like it’s been empty for ages.’

  ‘The whole row has been on the market about six months, but some of the houses haven’t been lived in for longer than that.’

  They remained in the largest bedroom, Alex still at the window. Lara admired the pleasant proportions of the room and almost managed to ignore the mottled purple walls.

  She took a deep breath and said, ‘Shall I tell you how much it’s on the market for?’

  ‘If you want.’

&nb
sp; Lara named an amount that was slightly more than the value of her flat in Glasgow and Alex was sufficiently roused to say, ‘They’re mad. They’ll never get that for a house in this state. I thought you said it was cheap!’

  Lara hesitated, trying to keep her face straight. This was the really good part. ‘That’s not for one house. It’s for the whole row.’

  Alex stared at her. ‘The whole row …?’

  ‘Yep. The whole lot. Now, that’s what I call a bargain.’ Lara gave a little twirl. Normally she wasn’t given to demonstrations of emotion but she couldn’t keep the excitement in. ‘Don’t you think that’s amazing? It’s an absolute bargain. I just knew, when I first walked past and saw all those quaint little windows and the funny pointy roofs, this was a special place. And when I saw the price, well …’

  Alex frowned. ‘But why would you want to buy the whole row? How many are there? Four? Five? You’d struggle to do up one.’

  ‘There are four. All fairly similar in size and layout except the one at the far end, which has three bedrooms.’

  Alex shook her head, as if struggling to take all this in. Lara supposed it was quite a shock. The idea had come to her gradually, so she’d had time to get used to it.

  ‘Are you serious?’

  ‘Absolutely.’ Lara grinned. The cold feet she had had about sharing her idea were now a distant memory. The possibilities were bubbling up inside her. Life in Loreburn was going to be good, she just had to persuade Alex of this. ‘I’m very serious. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.’

  ‘But Lara, you’ve got a full-time teaching job. What you’re talking about here – this is property development.’ For once Alex had been shocked out of her lethargy, which was just what Lara had intended.

  ‘It’s only on a very small scale,’ said Lara, wheedling. ‘One of the houses would be for me. Two could be done up to be sold. And I thought the last one, well, I thought you might like that.’