Her producer came up and touched her elbow. ‘Ready?’
‘Absolutely.’ And she was. After a few quick instructions about riding the additional mile along the beachfront and then – yes, she was very sorry – up one last hill to the Tynemouth castle, there would be refreshments and medals and an announcement about the fundraising and, with any luck, a bit of a crowd to cheer them in, but! as much as she would’ve loved it to be the whole of Britain cheering them in, it was best to remember it was Friday lunchtime. Not everyone who was a morning telly fan would be able to get out of work and join them, but as she knew everyone would be heading off to be with their loved ones after the ride – she hoped the ice cream cones and medals would serve as the heartfelt thanks she owed each and every one of them for putting LifeTime on Britain’s headlines, and raising so much money because, as they all knew, every little bit did actually help.
Then she got on her bicycle, and began to ride. Yes, to the castle, but after that? Not a single solitary clue what her future held in store and for the first time in her life … the possibilities felt exhilarating.
‘Well, would you look at that, Flo! Your Kath got it wrong, didn’t she?’
Flo couldn’t stop grinning. Riding up that bloody great hill to the castle had been a doddle with the electric bike. Even with Captain George on the back. And to see not only that had Kath been wrong about the crowd, but that she had been wildly wrong, made all of the aches and pains she thought she’d never forget just … disappear.
Together she and Stu collected her medal which, of course, was immediately given to George to wear and he looked very proud indeed, nose poking out of his covered tent, happily receiving all of the pets and cuddles just some of the actual thousands of people who had turned out to cheer them in were doling out like lollies.
‘Ah! There they are,’ Stu said. Most unexpectedly seeing as Flo hadn’t expected to see Stu, let alone anyone else she knew today. She scanned the crowd, a jumble of cyclists and families and banners and mobile food trucks dotted about the place, handing out free snacks and LifeTime stickers. There was even a massage tent which Flo would’ve imagined herself plopping down in and never leaving until her eyes lit on the one person she never in a million years would’ve imagined being here.
Jennifer. Jennifer and her husband, Andrew, and their two gorgeous little children all waving LifeTime flags with her name on one, Mum on another and Nanna Flo on the other two.
‘Oh, my darlings!’ Flo ran over and pulled them all into her arms laughing and crying the happiest of tears wondering how on earth she’d been so blessed as to have such a loving, forgiving family.
‘I think I owe you an apology,’ she whispered into her daughter’s ear.
The expression on Jennifer’s face was hard to read.
‘More than one?’
Jennifer tipped her head back and forth clearly weighing up just how many apologies Flo owed her, then tipped her thinky frown into a smile. ‘Probably about as many thank yous as I owe you.’
‘Thank yous? Whatever for?’
‘For making life interesting,’ Jennifer said, hooking her arm in Flo’s as they followed behind Andrew who was walking behind Stu who had one grandchild on the back of the tandem and one in with Captain George, all of them gabbling about which fish and chip shop would be the best one to have their first ever seaside fish and chips from.
Once they’d eaten and Flo had somehow, miraculously, found Raven and Sue to hug goodbye and promise to see again soon but perhaps in a coffee shop this time, Stu set about securing the tandem to the top of the Discovery (along with the hazard flags) and tucking George (with some help from Jennifer and Andrew) into the backseat (with a special doggy sling to keep him safe). Though it took ages and at least three consultations with the instructions, Stu’s thinning hair and intense focus on exactly what he was doing didn’t seem quite so troublesome as it once had and Flo didn’t feel the slightest urge to strangle him. Not even when they climbed in the car only to have to climb out again so he could check the oil, the windscreen washing fluid levels, and full beam lights. Twice. When Stuart finally climbed back up into the car he turned to Flo with a bright smile. ‘Where to, Madame? With the weather forecast looking so nice, I thought perhaps we could head up to Scotland! Have a ride round the lochs. Or perhaps head down into the Yorkshire moors. I understand the wildflowers are rather extraordinary this time of year. Of course, if Yorkshire isn’t your cup of tea—’
‘Stu?’
‘Wales? The Johnsons showed me a clip of some lovely waterfalls and with all of the rain we’ve been having, they might be really splendid.’
‘Stuart, darling—’
‘We could head south. The Cornish coast is meant to be quite spectacular—’
‘Stuart, love!’ Flo pressed her fingertips to his dear, sweet mouth. ‘Could we please just go home?’
He looked at her a moment, startled, then took her hand in his and gave her knuckles a kiss. ‘Of course, darling. Anything you like.’ He began driving in his slow steady way down the high street, past the cyclists and their families, stopping for a mother manhandling a pram across the road where she shouldn’t be, ignoring the impatient pips of the driver behind him, taking the moment to pop on Radio 3 with a ‘I hear they’re going to play Barber’s Adagio later this afternoon.’ And then, ‘Why don’t you sit back, relax and think about something new for this summer, shall we? Perhaps give Portugal a miss?’
And that, of course, was when
