Never Too Late Read Online Free PDF Page A

turned right and made for Ada’s cottage, wondering how long she’d be there.
    “Cooee! Ada!” she called as she opened the back door. Ada preferred her callers to just go straight in as her rheumatism made her rather slow to get out of her chair if it was at all chilly or damp.
    “In here, Maggie,” Ada called her.
    Maggie went through the kitchen to the back sitting room. Ada kept to the old way of the front room being kept ‘for best’.
    “Slowly now,” Ada warned her. She was stood just behind the curtain, looking out into the garden. Maggie approached and looked over Ada’s shoulder. “Just look at those blue tits, back and forth non-stop for the meal worms. They must have an early brood hatched.”
     “An early brood that will have no trouble surviving with the amount you spend on feeding the birds,” Maggie said teasingly.
    “Well, I don’t get out much now. It’s nice to see a bit of life in the garden.”
    They watched together as a group of sparrows gathered on the roof of the shed, squabbling amongst themselves before agreeing to visit the bird table. It really was better than some of the wildlife TV programmes, watching them leap out over the edge, with only a very last split second flutter of wings to halt their fall.
    Ada shuffled stiffly over to the kitchen. “Come and have a cup of tea and a slice of cake,” she told Maggie. “It’s warmer here by the range.”
    Ada started her ritual with pot, loose tea leaves, cosy and the family heirloom silver strainer that sat in its own matching little bowl. Maggie reached two robin’s egg blue cups and saucers down from a cupboard and sat at the table. Long standing routines were very comforting and Ada never varied this one.
    She could see Ada was struggling a little today, but she said nothing. It was understood by Ada’s friends that her rheumatism, whether it was a good day or a bad day for it, was never mentioned. Ada maintained that she had it, it wouldn’t ever be cured, so accept it – end of story.
    Once they were settled with tea and a slice each of rich fruit cake Maggie asked if there was anything Ada needed doing.
    “No, dear, thanks for asking,” she told her. “I got out to the post office this morning and I’ve taken my time this afternoon, pottering around doing my ‘bits’. David said he’d come and sort the heavy digging in the garden over the Easter weekend. He’s a good son to me.”
    Ada smiled, faded hazel eyes twinkling as she thought of him. “Complains about old bones aching more than I do.” She chuckled. “Elsie slaps him down fast enough though – ‘quit your nonsense and get on with it’ she’ll tell him. Eh, dear me! He wouldn’t have got so far with his business without Elsie to keep his nose to the grindstone, that’s for sure.” She shook her head and tucked a stray wisp of white hair behind her ear.
    Ada poured the tea and they settled back for a comfortable natter. There was plenty of time just for companionship, Maggie thought, since there was no housework or gardening needed today. It was nice to put her feet up for a few minutes if she was honest.
    It wasn’t until Maggie got back home that she realised she had missed out the school from her day’s agenda. She reached for the phone, annoyed with herself for her lack of concentration. At least there was the invitation to her home to discuss the history exhibition to offer by way of apology.
     
    *
     
    PC Whitlow turned away from the mangled Ford Escort van. He didn’t want to see the ambulance crew removing the body of the driver. The young man had apparently swerved to miss a child, seen too late in the dusky half-light as she dashed across to the ice cream van, and hit a tree. Everyone agreed it was a heroic action, but he shouldn’t have been driving so fast through the village. It was an ongoing problem, with that long straight stretch of road just before it.
    Such a tragic waste of a life , he thought . I bet he would have