“Yes, today’s the day for our bus outing.”
After weeks of negotiations with the team at the care home, Libby had managed to convince them to let her take Frank out on the 88 this afternoon. She was planning to take him down into town to see the Christmas lights on Regent Street, and maybe stop for a coffee somewhere.
“Are you taking Frankie?” Dylan asked.
“It’s probably easiest if I leave her with you. Last time I took her on the bus, she spent the whole time trying to crawl up and down the aisle.”
“That sounds like my little girl on the 88.” Dylan laughed.
Frankie had abandoned her bunny and wriggled back up the bed toward them. Dylan scooped her up and blew a raspberry on her cheek, making her explode with giggles.
“Shall we go to the park for a swing, little monkey?” he said.
“Ding!” Frankie said, bouncing up and down to imitate the swing, and Libby and Dylan both laughed.
“I think that’s a yes,” Libby said, kissing Dylan.
•••
THEYspent the morning unpacking some of their belongings while Frankie crawled around their feet and tried to climb into all the boxes. The first thing they hung on the wall was a double picture frame that Dylan had given Libby for her thirty-first birthday. In the left-hand side was the sketch Libby had drawn of Dylan the first time they ever met on the 88, which it turned out he’d kept. In the right-hand side was the photo Libby had taken of Dylan that same day, the one that had caused him to shout at her. When Libby had opened the present, she’d suggested to Dylan that she could finally finish the drawing, but he’d refused, saying he wanted to keep it as it was, penis hair and all.
At lunchtime, Dylan made soup and the three of them ate it together at their small kitchen table.
“Do you really think we’ll be able to fit everyone in on Christmas Day?” Libby said, looking round them at the tiny kitchen.
They’d invited Frank to join them for Christmas lunch, as well as Esme, Johnny, and Esme’s mum, and then when Peggy had mentioned she was going to be on her own for Christmas, Libby had invited her too. It had felt like a good idea at thetime, their first chance to entertain friends in their new home, but now Libby realized it was going to be extremely cramped.
At least Simon had turned down their invitation, so that was one less person. He and his new girlfriend were spending the day together, and then he’d see Frankie on Boxing Day, when they went to celebrate at Libby’s parents’ house. Rebecca and her family would be there too. Frankie adored her cousins, Hector and Emily, and Libby and Rebecca had settled into a cautiously friendly relationship, forged through sleep-deprived coffees and late-night text chats during breastfeeding.
“Christmas lunch will be fine; we’ll just have to all get cozy,” Dylan said as Frankie enthusiastically dunked a piece of bread into her bowl, splashing soup everywhere. “Do you think you’ll be able to finish the presents in time?”
“I hope so.”
Libby had spent the past few weeks doing sketches of Frankie, which she was planning on framing and giving to everyone for Christmas. She felt a bit self-conscious about doing it, but after her first term at art school, her drawing had already come on in leaps and bounds. She was especially proud of the sketch she’d done for Frank. It was taken from a photo Dylan had snapped of Frank and Frankie together, back in the summer. Frank was holding Frankie on his lap, and the two of them were looking at each other, grinning. It was one of Libby’s favorite photos of her daughter, and she knew that Frank would love it too.
“Right, I’d better get going,” Libby said once they’d cleared up.
She put on her winter coat and twisted her hair up inside a thick bobble hat. Then she kissed her partner and daughter good-bye and stepped out into the cold December wind.
CHAPTER
51
Libby spotted him through the front window as the bus pulled up at the stop. Frank was sitting in his usual seat on the top deck, and she boarded the bus and bounded up the stairs. A volunteer from Willow Court was sitting across the aisle from him, and Libby nodded hello to her as she slid into the seat next to Frank.
“Hello, Frank.”
She saw his shoulders jerk at the sound of his name and he turned to her in surprise. Then she saw his dark brown eyes twinkle. “Hello! I like your bobble hat.”
“Thanks very much. How are you?”
“Good, good. Isn’t it a beautiful day? Perfect weather for a bus ride.”
“Isn’t it? I wanted to see the Christmas lights, if you fancy that?”
“I’ve always loved the lights. I used to take Clara every year when she was small.”
The bus turned into Royal College Street and made its way down toward Camden Town. A group of carol singers huddled outside Sainsbury’s, wearing Santa hats and serenadingshoppers with “Good King Wenceslas.” Frank nodded along to the tune as the bus drove past.