Page 71 of The Bordeaux Book Club
‘Really, because it’s right there!’ Leah quipped, pointing at the unused dishwasher.
‘You know,’ Grace said, thoughtfully, only half acknowledging the joke, ‘my parents used to wash up after each meal. Every single time. One washing, one drying.’ She looked out of the window in front of the sink over the vegetable plots beyond. ‘I always wondered, well… if it bound them together somehow.’
‘Really?’ Leah heard the incredulity in her own voice a little too late.
‘Oh, not the actual washing and drying,’ Grace said, starting to gently apply a sponge to the first wine glass. ‘But the forced proximity – standing together, doing something methodical. Talking. They always talked when they did it. I think about that quite often,’ she said, with a shrug.
‘I see what you mean,’ said Leah. She thought about how she and Nathan loaded the dishwasher together. But it wasn’t thesame. He had his method, she had hers. They often sniped over the placement of a bowl or plate.
‘I sometimes think,’ Grace said, setting the first glass on the draining board for Leah to dry, ‘well, if Stephen and I hadn’t got a dishwasher, perhaps we’d have talked more. Perhaps it wouldn’t have got to… well, that stage.’
‘Oh, Grace.’
‘Anyway,’ Grace said, visibly straightening and shaking off the melancholy subject. ‘All a long time ago now. And things are good.’ She didn’t elaborate as she picked up the next glass. ‘I just thought, well, maybe you and I could do with a good… natter.’ She looked at Leah, her intelligent eyes fixed on her friend’s face. ‘We haven’t spoken about things for a while.’
‘No,’ said Leah, slowly drying a glass. ‘No, we haven’t.’
There was silence for a minute, the clinking of crockery as it was picked up and set down the only sound.
‘Poor Alfie,’ Leah said.
‘I know,’ Grace replied. ‘Just a kid really.’
‘It was lovely, what you said. About being his family.’
Grace nodded. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘And I really believe it. Families come in all sorts of forms. Not always the ones you think. Plus, I feel fond of the kid. He needs people around. Perhaps we can be those people for him.’
‘I am sorry, you know,’ Leah said, softly.
Grace nodded, once. ‘Yes,’ she said. She was silent for a moment, then inhaled – a huge, shuddering breath. ‘But you were right, of course.’
‘Right?’
‘Well, I’m set in my ways, I suppose. I’ve got used to not talking. Maybe not trusting people.’ She looked at Leah, her eyes shining. ‘It takes a true friend to point that out.’
‘Oh, Grace.’
‘No,’ she said. ‘Please. It’s good. There’ve been some things I’ve been hiding from, I suppose. And things that I’ve been keeping to myself. You were right. It’s time.’
‘But it’s OK to be private,’ Leah said. ‘I didn’t mean to pry.’
‘Yes, of course,’ Grace said. ‘But like you told me – if I want people to know me. If I want… real friends, maybe a relationship. I can’t… I have to let go of some of these barriers.’
Leah put her hand out and touched Grace’s shoulder gently. ‘Still, I could have…’
‘Nonsense!’ said Grace, sounding more like her usual self. ‘Thank you. For being you. For being my friend.’
Leah felt an unexpected moisture in her eyes. ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I think I’m going soft in my old age.’
Grace scoffed. ‘If you’re old, I must be virtually prehistoric!’ she said.
They laughed. ‘OK, my midlife,’ Leah said.
‘That’s the spirit.’
They resumed their task of washing and drying. Leah wondered if Grace was going to tell her anything more. But the silence bloomed around them. Perhaps it wasn’t the right time. Instead: ‘I spoke to him,’ Leah said at last, trying to force a smile. ‘I spoke to Nathan.’
‘You did?’
