She’s starting to notice. We’re not exactly loaded. We can’t afford new shoes every year. “We’ll think of something, don’t worry.
”
A shoe swap. You bring the shoes your kids have grown out of, and you swap them for good second-hand ones. Uniform, shoes, anything. “That’s a good idea.
I’ll make some flyers. ”
“They won’t even be there. ”
“Give them a message, they—”
“What? I got an email from Joseph’s school.
Something about his fees. ”
“I thought Linda was paying that. ”
“Yeah, he isn’t. I’ll ring them and sort something.
It’ll be fine. ”
Later, at the café, Gemma ordered her latte and got a flat white instead. Roy’s van sat outside the flat, packed with boxes. He was leaving.
She was going to miss him crashing around the flat, tripping over those gigantic boots, never playing his music while she tried to sleep. “I’m going to miss him. ”
“Yeah, well, he’s going to miss you and all. We all are.
”
Then Todd walked in, all sarcasm and tight smiles. He’d been through a lot, everyone kept saying. They tried to get him to talk. He wasn’t having it.
“Maybe you should practice what you preach and go and see your relative currently dying in a hotel room. ”
“What? ”
“A rose between two thorns. ”
A young woman, Gemma’s daughter, had heard about Auntie Celeste.
She wanted to know why her mother wouldn’t see her. “Because I didn’t want you getting mixed up with her. ”
“She’s family. ”
“She’s awful.
She was absolutely vile to me after our granddad died. Like a vulture. She broke my mum’s heart. She’d break yours, too, given half a chance.
”
But the daughter wasn’t letting it go. She boarded a train and went to the hotel. Room 103. “Who are you?
”
“I’m your great niece. Abbie’s daughter. ”
“What do you want? ”
The old woman was sharp and bitter.
She looked at photos of Gemma’s kids. “She turned out exactly how I imagined a daughter of Bernie would be. Lots of kids, little prospects. ”
“There’s more to her than you think.
”
“She’s daft as a brush. ”
The girl asked what was wrong with her. The woman laughed, cruel and hard. “You don’t know?
Oh, you don’t know? ”
“What’s wrong with you? ”
“Cancer. Breast cancer.
”
The girl’s blood went cold. The old woman kept talking, bitter to the last. “Look after number one and you’ll be fine. Own oxygen mask first.
”
Back home, Gemma tried to smooth things over with Chesney. Joseph’s school fees. His sister and brother-in-law had been paying them in secret, behind his back. “Chesney, we just wanted to help.
”
“I don’t need you plotting behind our back, giving these secret handouts. ”
“But Ches, it’s just money. ”
“No, it’s the secrets. The lying.
Me wandering about not knowing that I’ve got this massive debt I owe you. ”
“You don’t owe me anything. ”
“I do. I’ve got to pay you back every payday.
”
“It’s all been taken care of. ”
“I don’t want your charity. ”
“Come on, man, it’s not charity, is it? We’re family.
”
“Please, can you just leave? I’m absolutely raging about this, and I really don’t want to say something I’m going to regret. ”
“Go! ”
That night, Gemma found her daughter in the café, shaken.
“I went to see her at the hospital. I was showing her pictures of the kids, and she was dead chatty. She told me some stuff. Stuff hard to think about.
And then the ambulance came. ”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, darling. ”
“I need to talk to you. I need to tell you what she said.
”
The girl couldn’t hold it in. “Nana didn’t speak to Celeste for years, did you? ”
“Like I said, she had nowt to do with her once Grandad had passed. I told you you shouldn’t have got involved with her.
”
“Do you know what she died of? ”
“No. ”
“Cancer. Breast cancer.
She said half the family’s died of it. ”
“So? ”
“Mam, it’s genetic. You, me, the kids, all of us.
”
The words hung in the air. Roy was leaving. There were farewell drinks in the Rovers, photos taken, hugs given. He told them he loved them, told them to live their lives, every second.
His van was packed. He stood by the door, ready to go. “You ready? ”
“No.
Let’s go. ”
One last song played, the one that was playing when Seb went to get a necklace and came back with something else. She’d never forget him. “I’m sorry.
For being the one who survived. ”
“Don’t you say that ever. Don’t. ”
“If I could go back in time, there’d be a lot of things I would do different.
But not you. Not for one second, you. ”
The van pulled away. Goodbye, everyone.
Meanwhile, Aliyah had been given the green light to run a test menu at the restaurant. She was nervous but proud, cooking dishes her family would be proud of. A soft launch, just a few test dishes, a few regulars around for lunch. “You really know your food, don’t you?
”
“I love food. ”
“You’ve done yourself proud here, son. Proud of you. Sorry for being such an idiot.
”
“Ah, forget it. ”
Praise came easily. The lamb with lentils and pomegranate seeds. The food was beautiful.
Aliyah wanted to take pictures of everything, of the regulars, of the food, of Brian. Social media, that was the way forward. “Gen Z will descend upon us in their hordes once they’ve seen a picture of Brian McHale. For better or worse.
”
Brian laughed. He liked being wanted. But outside, Chesney’s anger still burned. His brother-in-law had tried to do the right thing, and now Chesney wouldn’t even look at him.
Family, money, secrets, pride. It was all tangled up in a knot that no one could untie. Gemma sat with her daughter, holding her hand, trying to make sense of what they’d just learned. The cancer.
The family history. Her own mother’s broken heart. And an old woman who had died bitter and alone, leaving all her poison behind. “Right, don’t be strangers.
”
“We won’t. ”
“I love you always. ”
“You too. Live your life.
Every second. ”
The words were still echoing when the reality of it all sank in. The old woman was gone. But the things she had said, the truths she had dropped like stones, were still rippling through the family.
The phone rang. It was another call about Joseph’s school fees. Chesney stared at the screen. He wasn’t going to answer.
He couldn’t stop thinking about the secrets. Dave, his brother-in-law, had paid his son’s school fees behind his back. Their sister had helped. And the whole time, Chesney had been walking around, not knowing he owed them a massive debt.
“I’ve got to pay you back every payday,” he’d said. “It’s all been taken care of. ”
“I don’t want your charity. ”
“Come on, man, it’s not charity.
We’re family. ”
But to Chesney, it was worse than charity. It was pity. It was his family looking at him and deciding he couldn’t handle it on his own.
And he hated them for it. Gemma watched him, saw the storm inside him, but she didn’t know how to calm it. She’d always been the one to smooth things over, to make people laugh, to tell them not to worry. But this time, she didn’t know if she could fix it.
“Ches, it’s just money. ”
“No, it’s the secrets. ”
And it was. It was the secrets and the lying, and the feeling of being small.
At the hotel, the ambulance had come and gone. Celeste was dead. The girl who’d gone to see her, who’d shown her pictures of the kids, who’d heard her talk about the cancer and the family history, stood in the corridor, numb. She hadn’t expected to feel anything for a woman she’d never met.
But she couldn’t shake the words. “It’s genetic. You, me, all of us. ”
She thought about her kids.
Her sisters. Her mum. She thought about the way the old woman had laughed and called them vultures. She thought about the way she’d said, “Let me die in peace,” and how no one had let her.
Back at the Rovers, the farewell drinks were winding down. Roy had said his goodbyes. His van was packed, and he was heading out of town. A few tears were shed, a few promises made.
Then he was gone. Amy never made it to the drinks. She was stuck on the train. Roy said he’d miss her crashing around the flat, tripping over her gigantic boots, and not playing her music while he tried to sleep.
She’d called him old, and he’d laughed. They’d taken a picture together. Then he was gone. Afterward, Gemma’s phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.
Another message from Joseph’s school. Another reminder of the fees. She stared at it, then put the phone down. Chesney walked in, his jaw tight.
“What now? ”
“Nothing. It’s just the school again. ”
“I’ll sort it.
I always sort it. ”
“I know you do. ”
But he didn’t sound like he believed it. And neither did she.
That night, the restaurant hummed with the soft launch. Aliyah watched her dishes get praised, watched Brian charm the regulars, watched the photos being taken for social media. For a moment, it felt like things were finally going right. For a moment, she forgot about the secrets and the debts and the dying relatives.
Then she caught Gemma’s eye across the room. Gemma was trying to laugh, trying to be the ray of sunshine everyone expected her to be. But her smile didn’t reach her eyes. The old woman’s voice echoed in both their heads.
“Look after number one and you’ll be fine. ”
But that had never been Gemma’s way. She’d always put everyone else first. And now she was wondering if that had been a mistake all along.
Outside, the rain started to fall. Roy’s van was already on the motorway, heading north. The café was closed. The school had sent another email.
And somewhere in the middle of it all, a family was trying to hold itself together, one secret at a time.
