Fishing For A Dream [Book Three]

Chapter 30 - Street

"Nervous?" Harry asked, smiling at me from the driver's seat as we drove from Manchester Airport to Holmes Chapel.

Swallowing hard and fiddling with the leather strap of my handbag, I weakly answered, "Well... I'd be lying if I said no."

He reached out a hand to give my thigh a reassuring squeeze, but despite his cool demeanour, I could sense nerves from him, too. "You'll be fine."

I knew he was right; Anne and I had gotten along the last time we had met, and we'd both agreed to lay our previous grievances to bed, but none of that made the butterflies in my tummy ease up. Every time we met, I felt how important it was to Harry that she and I got on. With Will, he'd quite liked that I was everything his mother wasn't and what she hadn't wanted for his wife, but I knew that Harry wanted nothing more than for Anne and I to be close.

He started to tap the steering wheel with his thumbs as we neared the exit off the motorway, checking his mirrors as he moved into the lane he needed.

"So! Will there be time for a tour? Or will that have to wait for another time?" Looking out of the window as we left the motorway and the road became smaller, I felt a familiar comfort from the passing countryside.

The signs for Liverpool as we'd left the airport had made my stomach churn. Being close enough to see signs for the city that held the most traumatic times of my youth had brought up anxiety I hadn't expected to feel, but it had eased when we'd driven in the opposite direction. Passing flat fields, soft hills, and catching occasional glimpses of the river, a nicer set of childhood memories began to pop into my head.

"If you need to get back to work the day after tomorrow then we won't have time for a tour," Harry replied, breaking my thoughts, "but next time we come up I'll show you everything."

"Sounds good." Smiling as I saw a sign that confirmed my suspicions, I asked, "Hey, do you know Goostrey well?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, it's about a ten-minute drive from Holmes Chapel. Why?"

"My grandparents lived there." Harry's head snapped around in shock, the car swerving slightly until I quickly regained control. "Sorry, maybe that was bad timing."

"You just took me by surprise, that's all!" Voice animated, I was surprised he was so... excited. "Why didn't you say something before now?!"

"I could barely remember what the village was called until Bianca said it when I saw her, and I hadn't gotten around to looking up where it was.

"Do you want to go?" Harry asked, glancing at the clock on the dashboard, "Because we have plenty of time, and Mum won't mind even if we're a little late."

I hesitated long enough for Harry to make my decision for me. He drove through the village he still called home, and once we reached the end of the high street the indicator clicked to signal we were heading in the direction of Goostrey.