Helena having to weave day and night was a relief to Gilly. It meant she wouldn’t have time to wonder about what her mother was up to. Gilly did her bit to support her daughter, sending over casseroles which, she realised, mostly helped Jago, who seemed to have taken on the feeding role. But she was glad not to have her daughter’s beady eye upon her. While she was very nearly 100 per cent sure she didn’t want to go out with Leo any more, she was curious. He had more or less asked her to live with him and yet he hadn’t tried to seduce her. So what was going on?
She took advantage of Helena being so occupied to invite Martin and his family for Sunday lunch. She had asked Helena via text but said, Completely understand if you’re too busy. I know how under the cosh you are at the moment. While she would have been fine if Helena and Jago had accepted she was glad to be able to have lunch with her son without any twitches between him and his sister to deal with.
She had just settled them in the sitting room with a glass of wine and elderflower and something suitable for Ismene when her phone rang. She saw it was William.
‘Do you mind if I answer this?’ she asked, getting up so she could take the call in privacy. She knew that both Cressida and Martin would be looking at their own phones the moment she was out of the way so didn’t feel too bad.
‘William? How are you?’
‘I’m well and I hope you are too? I was just calling to fix up a time to take you gliding. We’ve got a nice high coming up tomorrow I’d like to take advantage of. It will be perfect for a first flight.’
Gilly sighed. ‘Oh, William! I’m so sorry! I do hope I didn’t give you the wrong impression, but really, I don’t think gliding is for me. I am an awful coward and I don’t much like flying in small planes. I’m sure to be absolutely terrified.’
There was a long silence and Gilly was aware of having disappointed William. She didn’t feel happy about it.
‘I really do believe you might love it if you just let yourself give it a shot.’
‘It’s a terribly long shot, William.’ She heard him sigh and felt desperate to offer him something. He’d been kind enough to want to share his hobby with her and she’d turned him down because she was a coward. He deserved better. ‘I’d love to do something else – birdwatching, angling – something where you don’t have to defy gravity.’
He laughed gently. ‘OK, I’ll let you off gliding, for now. I’ll find somewhere good for birdwatching. Flicking metal hooks around at the end of a line might be a bit nerve-racking for me.’
She realised she was smiling. ‘Thank you! Let me know.’
She walked back to Cressida and Martin; Ismene had found the magnetic atlas jigsaw that Gilly had bought for her. ‘Right, can I get anyone something to nibble? Lunch won’t be long.’
‘Who was that, Mum?’ asked Martin. ‘Not Leo?’
Gilly winced internally. Was she obliged to tell them about her relationship with Leo? She thought not. ‘I was just talking to a friend about going gliding.’
‘Gliding!’ Cressida could not have been more horrified if Gilly had said she was going pole dancing. ‘Gilly! You would never go gliding! It would be absolutely terrifying for you.’
‘Yes, Mum, I hope you said no. It would be really unsuitable for someone of your age and state of health.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with my health!’ said Gilly indignantly.
‘Physically, you’re fine, but you are nervy. Always have been,’ said Martin. ‘Gliding would be the death of you.’
Gilly took a couple of slow inward breaths. ‘Excuse me. I must just check something in the oven.’
She walked quickly out of the room, her phone in her hand. When she was well out of earshot she got her phone and found ‘Recents’. ‘William? I’ve changed my mind. I do want to go gliding after all.’
‘Gilly?’ said William. ‘Are you all right? You sound a bit as if someone has forced you into saying that.’
She couldn’t help laughing. ‘Really? No, don’t worry, I just decided not to be such a wimp. It’s turning me into an old lady before my time.’
‘Never! I’ll pick you up tomorrow just after eight. I am so pleased about this!’
Just as well she was an early riser, thought Gilly the following morning as she sat next to William in the car, trying to focus on the burgeoning hedgerows and the beauty of the emerging spring. She was breathing deeply, concentrating very hard on not thinking about taking to the air in an unpowered vehicle. Although to be fair, it wasn’t the unpowered bit that terrified her, it was the tiny insubstantial scrap of metal she was going to be in at the time.
‘We have the perfect day for it,’ said William. ‘I’m confident you’re going to love it.’
Gilly’s answering smile was rather strained. ‘It’s certainly a lovely day. How long are we likely to be in the air?’
‘On a day like today, with a bit of luck and some good thermals we could go for miles but as it’s your first time I think twenty minutes will be about right.’
Twenty minutes of her life. That wasn’t a big sacrifice and when she came down she could say that she’d done it, she wasn’t a coward and could carry on with her feet on the ground.
‘I’m not likely to be sick, am I?’
William shook his head. ‘Not on a day like today.’
‘Am I wearing the right clothes?’
He glanced across at her. She was wearing a smartened-up version of what she’d garden in: flexible (so she could clamber in and out of the glider) and warm. Gilly was aware her fear of being cold identified her as being an older person but it was too bad. She would never sacrifice comfort for fashion. A silk scarf added a certain aviator touch, she felt.
‘They seem perfect to me. You can move about freely?’
‘Yes. I did a bit of YouTubing to look at gliders and they seem … small? And will take a bit of getting into,’ she said, pleased with herself for avoiding the words ‘cramped’ and ‘claustrophobic’. ‘I hope I’m athletic enough.’
‘I’m sure you are.’
‘And we wear parachutes?’
‘Yup. Partly for safety and partly because if you didn’t the seats would be really uncomfortable.’
‘Oh, like when you lose the lining of your shoe and it’s too big and unpleasant against your foot?’
He nodded. ‘I expect so.’
She didn’t speak for a while, aware they were getting nearer and nearer the airfield.
‘Don’t overthink it, Gilly,’ said William eventually. ‘If you really don’t want to go, we won’t go. It’s not a big deal.’
Yet having been offered a way out Gilly realised she’d feel disappointed if she didn’t give gliding a try. And Martin and Cressida would be so furious when she told them she’d been – any amount of fear would be worth that.
In spite of her bracing inner thoughts, Gilly found the age it took to drive the perimeter of the airfield agonizing. She was here, she wanted to do it and she didn’t want it spun out with scenic drives around large open spaces.
After seemingly hours, but in reality only a few minutes, William parked the car near the clubhouse. He held her arm encouragingly as they walked past where a number of gliders were kept under cover towards the building where, according to the jaunty sign on the outside, the fun began.
William was obviously a popular member of the club; everyone greeted him with warm smiles, and there was the odd joke that indicated they appreciated his gentle charm. She received a fair amount of curious looks and shy nods herself and she couldn’t help asking herself how many other women he’d taken gliding. She was surprised to feel a bit jealous; she wanted it to be only her. And then she wondered why.
‘Come on,’ said William. ‘Let’s get it over with!’
Gilly laughed. ‘Do I look that terrified?’
‘Yes,’ said a couple of the other people.
‘But no need,’ one went on. ‘You’re going to love it.’
‘It’s traditional to have a big cooked breakfast after your first flight,’ said another, ‘no matter what time you go up.’
Gilly managed some sort of smile; now her ordeal was nearly on her, she was getting more and more frightened. She started breathing deeply. That was always a good idea.
‘Is this your glider?’ she said as they approached the machine, which seemed hardly bigger than a dragonfly.
‘No, this belongs to the club. Mine is a single-seater. I thought it was a bit early to put you up in that.’
It took Gilly a couple of seconds to realise he’d made a joke. She whimpered in response.
‘It’s tiny!’ she said, looking at the space she was expected to climb into. ‘I swear this must be one of the few activities where you can be claustrophobic and agoraphobic at the same time!’
‘Here, let me help you. You get in the front, but don’t worry, you don’t have to drive.
Gilly cast him a terrified glance before getting herself up and into the tiny seat. Then the Perspex top came down and clicked into place.’
He handed her a headset. ‘Here, put this on. It means we can talk to each other.’
There were a few minutes of bumping along the grass, the wings of the glider being supported by cheerful men, and then suddenly the glider took flight. Gilly gasped, breathed deeply and gradually felt her fear being replaced by amazement. She forgot about the flimsy machine and just felt joy at being in the air in almost complete silence. Only the sound of the wind rushing past disturbed it and Gilly found she tuned it out quickly.
‘All right?’ came William’s steady voice from behind her.
‘It’s wonderful!’ she said. ‘It’s like being a bird! Look! I can see the Severn! My goodness, this is amazing!’
‘Can you see the mountains beyond the river?’
‘Are they the Brecon Beacons or the Black Mountains? Oh, there’s the Sugar Loaf, that’s the Brecon Beacons, isn’t it?’
‘Do you want to have a little go on the controls yourself?’
‘No thank you. I just want to swoop about, pretending to be an albatross, though I think they mostly fly over the sea, don’t they? Oh, look! There’s Dead Man’s Acre.’
‘What?’
‘Doesn’t matter.’ If William didn’t know the story she didn’t want to waste time telling it to him now.
Gilly became totally absorbed in looking at the fields and villages, woods and hills spread out beneath her like toys. She could see the escarpment and where it dropped to the Severn plain.
There were sheep dotted about like blobs of cotton wool, cows in groups next to hedges splashed with blossom – blackthorn, she reckoned – and hawthorn. Smaller rivers, canals and ponds flashed silver. She saw a group of deer near a spinney and sighed with happiness.
The twenty minutes was over very quickly. The landing was very smooth.
‘I’ve been on scheduled flights that bump more than that,’ said Gilly, hoping her legs hadn’t stopped working while she’d been airborne. ‘I really hate the airline that plays that horrid cock-a-doodle-do thing if they arrive on time. I’d rather be late.’
Her legs had weakened a bit and she was glad of William’s supportive presence as she extracted herself from the tiny space and got to the ground.
‘So,’ he asked, looking down at her in a fond and proud way, ‘do I gather you liked that?’
‘I loved it! I never thought I’d be able to get through it without having some sort of fit but it was magical!’
‘Next time, we’ll stay up longer, go a bit further.’
‘So there’ll be a next time?’ Gilly asked, feeling like a child asking for a treat.
‘There will be if I have anything to do with it!’ William put his arm round her and together they walked back to the clubhouse.
‘That went well, then?’ asked one of the friendly men.
‘I loved it!’ said Gilly. ‘I never thought I would. I’m such a coward about these things normally.’
‘What things?’ asked the man.
‘You know – roller coasters, scary things generally.’
‘So, are you up for a breakfast?’ the man went on.
Gilly looked at William. ‘I’m terribly sorry,’ he said, ‘although I hate to break with tradition, I have to get to work.’
‘I have to work too,’ said Gilly. Her work involved hanging sheets on the line. It seemed mundane but when you washed as many sheets as she did, good drying days became very important.
‘I’m so glad you liked it,’ said William as they neared her house.
‘So am I!’ said Gilly, unaware until very recently how very important it was that she did like gliding. She wanted to like it for William’s sake. ‘And I didn’t just like it, I loved it!’
William didn’t speak but smiled across at her when he’d parked the car. He looked very happy, Gilly realised.
‘Have you time to come in for a coffee?’ she asked him.
‘No, I’ve got to rush back to the office,’ he said, but got out of the car. He was at the passenger door in an instant and handed her out.
‘Thank you so much for taking me,’ said Gilly.
‘It was my absolute pleasure,’ he said, and kissed her cheek; then he cupped it with his hand, looking into her eyes without saying any more.
As she watched him disappear down the drive she felt that these two simple gestures were somehow more meaningful and touching than the most full-on kiss would have been.
