Tales from Greta's Health Store. 3

The door slammed behind her and she heard the Indian chimes jangle frantically. Greta tensed up, annoyed with herself. Why did she always seem so loud and brash? Her father's words echoed in her head even after all these years. He was always telling her to slow down, not to be so gushing and to be more lady like.

At the beginning Fergus had seen her differently, calling her his silver mountain stream. As they lay on the wet grass outside his croft counting the stars he would roll on top of her and call her his passport to happiness, his source of bubbling joy.
It wasn't long though that he seemed to find her annoying. All the qualities that had drawn him to her turned against her. Whereas once he had rejoiced in her spontaneous attitude to life he now seemed irritated by her all the time. She was too messy, her cooking skills needed improving, she wore too much make-up, her clothes were too flamboyant, she laughed at inappropriate moments.

Greta sighed and pulled her jacket tighter against the cold wind. She wished she'd brought her gloves and scarf. She shivered and walked faster towards the caffe.
Greta looked again at the text on her phone and her heart leaped. She had told Jemma that she was meeting her friend Gabrielle. It would have been too complicated to have told her the truth. Then she had seen Hattie come in and cringed with embarrassment and rushed out of the door to avoid her. Greta knew she had overdone it a bit with Hattie, given her a long list of things to take, It's just that she had reminded her so much of the state she herself had been in when Fergus said he needed space.

The Truth Will Out

In Jo's family no-one had ever believed in keeping secrets. Her mother, a down-to-earth farmer's daughter from Durham was always repeating sayings that had been handed down the generations. She would look at Jo with a stern expression and come out with what she considered to be the most appropriate saying from her vast repertoire, her favourite one being, 'you'll get wrong Jo'.

Jo's father, an English teacher at the local school, liked quoting Shakespeare. All he needed to do when Jo was trying to hide some misdemeanour was raise an eyebrow and intone', 'The truth will out,' or 'Oh what a tangled web we weave'. This was enough to reduce Jo to a tearful confession.

Little did her parents know that in spite of all the importance put on telling the truth in their family Jo had managed to keep a secret from them for over eighteen years.

Jo looked across at her daughter Chloe who was busy tapping on her iPhone and swinging her legs in time to the music on her iPlayer.  She looked up at her mother and gave one of her most disarming grins.

Jo's heart flipped at the memory of that night at the school disco, so many years ago.

Sally, her best friend, had been going out with Brendan for six months, but she'd confided in Jo that really she fancied Hugo but didn't want to upset Brendan so near the A levels. At the disco Sally had disappeared and so had  Hugo.

Jo had been standing near Brendan when the The Bangles started and for a laugh she had looked him in the eye and sang along with the first few lines, 'Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling'. What happened next was still a whirl of intense feelings and irresistible passion. The next day at school she hadn't known what to do. Sally was convinced he needed her to get through his exams and Jo felt so guilty for what she'd done. Brendan ignored her at school and she felt ashamed and humiliated.

After A levels they all went their separate ways. Jo moved with her parents to Devon and in September started an apprenticeship with an accountant firm. When she could no longer hide her pregnancy from them she told them it was the result of her holiday romance in Majorca, celebrating the end of school. Her parents admired her courage in being so open with them, and stood firmly by her. They adored little Chloe and looked after her while Jo finished her training.

Now here they were on their way to meet up with Sally and her son Hector. Jo's heart had stood still through Chloe's phone call, her voice full of excitement.

'Guess what mum, I've met the son of one of your school friends. We discovered that you went to the same school and are the same age. Do you remember Sally Browning? She remembers you and wants to meet up'.

The train lurched into the station and Jo instinctively flung her arm in front of Chloe.
She turned and smiled at her daughter and tried to make her voice cheerful. Inside she felt sick. Today was the day she could break her daughter's heart.

'Here we are Chloe, I wonder if they'll be waiting for us.'

Chloe stood up and took her earphones out and tossed back her long blond hair. Jo could hear the thump of the music. It sounded awful to her and she smiled at the memory of her father shouting up the stairs to her to turn her music down.

'Of course they will Mum, Hector's just sent me a text. They're on the platform.'

Even though it was almost 20 years since they'd last met, Jo spotted Sally straight away. Tall and slender with the poise of a ballerina. A tall young man was standing next to her but when he caught sight of them he ran to Chloe and twirled her round and caught her in a bear hug.
Sally strode towards Jo with a huge grin and her arms outstretched.

'Jo I can't believe it, after all these years. If only we'd had Facebook we would probably have kept in touch. In those days once we'd left school we all went our separate ways. Isn't it amazing that Hector and Chloe have got to know each other through uni.  He talks about her all the time. It must be fate. I've booked a table for lunch, so we can catch up. Oh it's so good to see you. I've told Brendan and he's going to join us for coffee.'

Jo felt her heart beat faster and she felt dizzy. She felt her face grow hot at the mention of Brendan's name. As they walked towards the restaurant Sally kept up a stream of constant chatter and seemed not to notice Jo's discomfort. Hector and Chloe were walking ahead arm in arm. She felt sick about the secret she would have to reveal to her daughter.

While they were ordering their meal Jo tried to study Hector's face for a likeness. Chloe had long dark blond hair while his was more fair. He had Sally's dark brown eyes, Chloe's were light blue like Jo's father's. She realized Sally was looking at her and had asked her a question.

'Sorry Sally I was miles away.'

'I was just asking if you believe in fate? I mean look at us. At school we were in the same class because we were born in the same month, and we sat next to each other because of our surnames, Sally Browning and Joanna Browne with an 'e',  then we left school and went away and then got pregnant at the same time and now our kids have met up and it looks like something's brewing there. Gosh Jo your daughter's so pretty, just like you. Hector takes after my father-in-law, he was a real heart throb.'

She winked at Jo and giggled.

Something didn't sound right to Jo. She couldn't remember Brendan's dad being a heart throb.

Their pasta arrived and the waiter poured them all a glass of wine. Sally raised her glass,

'A toast to old friends and new beginnings.'

Hector and Chloe smiled at her.
When they'd finished their meal Hector stood up and held out his hand to Chloe.

'Mum, Jo, I'm going to take Chloe on the sightseeing bus. She wants to see the prison that is now a hotel. Dad might meet us and show Chloe the museum.'

'Funny how we  were so different , yet so similar too. You were the quiet one that gave out wise advice  I was the responsible one, form rep for seven years, ugh.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. There was a pause and then Sally took a deep breath.

'Look Jo before Brendan arrives there's something I want to say. I should have said it years ago. It's a secret that's been weighing on my heart.'

Jo looked up from her plate of untouched pasta, her eyes full of tears, Sally knew. She had always known. Jo tried to look her in the eye, and was surprised to see that Sally's eyes were also full of tears.

Sally had gone bright red and Jo put out her hand to touch her on the arm.

Sally looked down at her lap and when she spoke her voice was a whisper.

'At the school disco I had a one night stand with Hugo. I know you'll hate me now but I've got to tell you. I was so unsure about his feelings for me that I kept poor Brendan hanging on in case, even though I knew in my heart that he preferred you. Then school finished and  you moved away and we lost touch.'

Sally bent her head and Jo could see the tears dropping fast.

'You probably won't believe me but I'm so sorry and all these years I've felt I didn't deserve to be happy with Hugo and so I tried extra hard to be a good wife and mother to make up for it.'

There was a pause as Sally wiped away the tears and blew her nose.

'Then when hector told Hugo that he'd met Chloe and her mum was Joanna Browne with an e, and she didn't have a dad, I thought life was giving me a chance to put things right. Hugo got in touch with Brendan through the old boys club and found out he was divorced and living nearby. It was like fate.'

She looked up then and saw that Jo was grinning at her. Her eyes opened wide in amazement. She reached out to touch her friend gently on the shoulder.

'So you married Hugo, Sally. That's wonderful, I'm very happy for you. '

Sally stood up and rushed round to hug Jo.

'Oh Jo you're not angry with me? I felt I'd ruined your life.'

The door of the restaurant opened and they both looked up to see Brendan walk in. His fair hair was thinner on top and he had a slight stoop but Jo's heart leaped at the sight of him and all she could think about was the hot thrill of passion of that night at the school disco.

Jo stood up and then said quietly to Sally: 'You haven't ruined my life, Sally. You are giving me a second chance and it must have taken you a lot of courage to say those things.  I'm glad for you and Hugo.'

Sally watched as Brendan walked towards Jo and saw the way he smiled at her.
A heavy weight lifted from her heart and she felt relief flood through her, mixed with regret for all those years that could have been quite different for them.


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It was the beginning of December and Oxford was decorated for the holidays. Christmas music rang out from loud speakers and the buskers were out in force.
Sally and Hugo were sitting in the restaurant waiting for Brendan and Jo. There was a crowd of students sitting at the table next to them wearing red hats or reindeer ear muffs. The tree in the corner sparkled and shone and there was a festive air of anticipation.
Sally looked across at her husband.

' Oh to be young again Hugo and do things differently.'  A tear slid down her cheek.

Hugo poured out two glasses of Prosecco and handed one to her.

'Come on Sally, everything is turning out for the best now. Chloe is happy as can be, loves her new- found dad, Brendan is going to Jo's parents' for Christmas. Stop punishing yourself.'

 He raised his glass,

'Here's to new beginnings, and by the way I love you, '

The young people at the next table burst into a chorus of Jingle Bells just as Jo and Brendan walked in.

Hugo poured out two more glasses of Prosecco  and  motioned to them to sit down.

'We were just toasting to new beginnings. ',

They all raised their glasses and then Jo touched Sally's glass with her own.

'It's good to have found you again Sally. Thank you for bringing me and Brendan together.' She handed her a small box. 'This is an early Christmas present.'

As Sally unwrapped the gift  she felt her world tip on its' axis and start to right itself.

She took out a small charm bracelet with a silver heart and a key. She looked up at Jo and the two women held each others' gaze and smiled.

'Every year we'll meet here in this restaurant and add another charm. This year we have unlocked secrets and found love, who knows what next year will bring.'

Just then the door to the restaurant flew open. Chloe and Hector came in and rushed over to the table. Chloe kissed Brendan, then her mother and brushed some snow off her coat.

'It's freezing, I think we're going to have a white Christmas, hooray!'