The Last Bike Ride - Part 2 Chapter 14/15

Chapter 14

Juliette loved having the girls and their families round for Sunday lunch. This was the first time for ages that all four could make it together.
Nikki had driven over to collect her Nana Eileen from her house which she was still managing to live in despite being nearly 100. Before they drove back, Nikki took Eileen over to see her Grandad Tim’s memorial stone. He had defied all odds and had managed to make it to his century. In fact, he was 101, and one of only a dwindling number of surviving Second World War veterans, when he passed away. He had been thoroughly delighted when Nikki had her twin boys after having so many girls around up to then!
Sophie’s boys had been born after he died, and he would have loved them showing him around their parent’s planes and telling the boys about the planes he used to fly. They knew very well what planes he flew as they had often seen examples of them in the Yeovilton Fleet Air Arm museum, and they had made a few models of the Swordfish bi-plane with their Dad. It would remain a mystery to them how those old ‘Stringbags’, as they were known, even got off the ground, let alone be so successful in that war.
Maybe the plan was to distract the Germans by getting them to laugh at the sight of these slow and flimsy planes attacking them, but that would have been a very risky plan – being based on the assumption that the Germans had a sense of humour.
When they arrived, Juliette gave Eileen a warm hug, something she had never managed to do until recently. Her attitude to her mother-in-law had been uncomfortably frosty for many years.
She had also invited Frank and Anne over from the island. They had stayed in touch with Juliette over the years, and for a while, they would get over at least once a year to see Juliette and whoever of the girls who were around. The stories they had about Steve had helped keep his memory alive and also created a warmth in the girls towards him that they had never felt when he was alive.
This was the first time they had seen each other for about six years, so the grandchildren would understand some of the stories now.
The door-bell rang.
“That’ll be Flo,” said Nikki.
“Hasn’t she got her key?” asked Juliette.
“I’ll let her in!” called Nikki, as she went to the door.
She was taken aback when she opened it.
“Shhh! Don’t say anything. This is Jake,” said Florence.
“Hi Jake,” said Nikki, “you’re a bloke.”
“Very perceptive!” replied Jake.
“Sorry, Jake, I’m Nikki, Flo’s sister. I was just surprised, that’s all. Come in and meet the family.”
“Thanks,” said Jake, as he walked in, with Nikki giving Florence a questioning look behind his back, as if to say ‘What the fuck is going on?’
It was not only Nikki who was surprised at this new face. Everyone stopped talking as Jake entered.
“This is Jake, everyone!” Florence called out as she led him over to Juliette.
“Hello, Jake, this is a pleasant surprise. She’s certainly kept you a secret!”
Florence knew it would be awkward and had prepared him for this first meeting. He knew they wouldn’t be against him; it was just the surprise for them. He was quickly welcomed into the family home.
Jake was invited to join Frank, Rhys and Greg to play snooker. They played singles so that the pair not playing took their turn to horse around with the kids.
While he was settling in with the men, the girls interrogated Florence about her new friend. Not just a new friend, but the first boyfriend she had ever brought home. They had all accepted that she wasn’t into boys, but Juliette and Eileen knowingly smiled to each other at this new potential source of more grandchildren. Florence decided to tell them all just how long she and Jake had been together, but only after a few bottles of wine had flowed.
Anne was helping Juliette and both were flitting from the oven to the table where the four sisters and Eileen were sitting talking about Steve, after their initial interest in their new guest.
It had been years since they had mentioned him, but the recent revelations had brought him back.
“Arécy’s coming over to see Mum on Wednesday,” said Sophie, “could you do me a really big favour, Micki?”
“And what would that be?”
“Could you pick Arécy up from France in your plane and bring her to Bournemouth airport?”
“Arécy, in my plane! Sophie, I’d carry her on my back, she’s such a star. I wish she’d sell more of her stuff. I can’t believe she only wanted to sell two pictures when you got her over for that exhibition.”
“Thanks, honeybun, I’ll let you know the details tomorrow.”
“Good. I’ve been talking with someone from one of the studios and he thinks I should write a screen play about Dad’s journey.”
“That’ll be shorter than the adverts then!” said Florence,” We don’t know that much about what happened.”
“That was my first thought when he suggested it, but then I told him that maybe it could be combined with what was happening with the Americans and the Russians.”
“You’ve always wanted to write a book, Mich,” said Nikki, “why not do it now, instead of a screen-play?”
“Yes, I’ve thought about that too. There’s a lot of info about that night, especially from what John Mortimer wrote about it.”
“Dad must have past things along the way which would have sparked off some memories,” added Sophie.
“I wonder if he shouted out ‘The Fish Inn!’ when he past it?” said Florence.
“Probably,” Juliette added, as she brought something to the table, “and ‘The Hampshire Avon!’”
They were laughing now at the thought of that.
“Can I be Alice in it, Micki?” asked Sophie.
“Who said you were going to be in it?”
“LoL! OK, I’ll tell Arécy to get the train then!”
“Of course you can be Alice, my lovely sister! Sophie, I just realised what you said. Did you say LoL?!”
“Yes!”
“We all used to say that, remember?” said Nikki, “All those abbreviations we used for texting!”
“Dad used to put LoL on our birthday cards just to wind us up. He knew it was ‘laughing out loud’ and not ‘lots of love’!” said Michelle, chuckling at the memory.
“He used to write texts in full and with the correct punctuation, do you remember?”
They all were nodding and laughing at the memory.
“He’d like an iWatch, wouldn’t he?” said Sophie.
The iWatches everyone now had, had been the new thing about five years earlier when they came out and had remained as essential as the mobile phone had been before then. A press of a button opened up screens like the petals of a flower to allow someone to speak into it without others around hearing their voice. A text message would be created by recognising the user’s voice and translating it into a fully formed message with perfect punctuation and grammar.

Michelle agreed that he would have loved one, and turned to Florence,
“Flo, who do you want to be then?”
“I’m not sure, let me have a think.”
“I’ll be Lucy,” said Nikki, “yeah, Lucy sounds good.”
“I know,” said Florence, “Emma, yes, Emma, that’ll be perfect.”
“Mum, what about you?”
“Oh, I don’t know. You think of something.”
“I think you’re a Deborah,” said Florence.
“Yes, I like that,” said Juliette.
“You would, anything Flo says, eh Mum!”
“Shut up, Nikki, you know I’m not like that!”
That set them all off laughing in a way they hadn’t done for years.
“I think I’ll call myself Rebecca,” decided Michelle.
Then Nikki said,

“Aren’t we forgetting someone? What will you call Dad, Mich?”
“What are you all laughing about, Mummy?” asked Stevie.
“We’re talking about Grandad, darling,” said Nikki.
“What was he like?”
“You’ll have to wait for Auntie Michelle’s book!” said Florence.
“Stop it, I’m wetting myself!” called out Juliette, holding on to Anne, who also had her legs crossed.
“We all are, Mum!”
Wiping away the tears running down her cheeks, Sophie asked Michelle,
“What will you call it?”
“I don’t know.”
They spent a few minutes thinking of suggestions.
“I don’t know if it’s still in the bookcase over there,” said Juliette, “but it was by one of Dad’s old favourite comedians. Let me go and find it. I’m sure it must be there.”
“Here it is. That was him, Spike Milligan, and it’s called ‘Hitler, my part in his downfall’”
“I know what you’re going to say, Mum,” said Sophie, struggling to breathe, almost in hysterics, “Hitler, my part in his one ball, aren’t you?!”
Juliette could only nod. They were all helpless with laughter again.
“Something’s ready, I think,” said Anne, as the oven alarm went off.
“Ooh. Thanks Anne!”
Michelle noticed her mum was struggling with the dish, but kept it to herself.
Nikki said,

“What about something more to do with Dad’s cycling. The Hitler one is really funny but I’m not sure about it. It’s up to you though, Mich.”
“Yeah, I was thinking something along the lines of a bike ride, maybe something like ‘The Last Bike Ride’?”
They sat quietly thinking about that until Juliette called out,
“Lunch is ready!”
Stevie didn’t have to wait for his aunt’s book. Over the next few hours, he heard lots of stories about his Grandad, and the rest of the family heard stuff about Steve that they hadn’t heard before from the two old family friends.