A Relaxing Weekend?

“Hurry up, Max, they’ll be here soon.”

“Don’t panic, darling, we’ll hear the car when they get here.”

Just then the front door bell rang and Ceri turned to Max with a questioning look on her face.

“Who on earth can that be?”

“Whoever it was, they must have arrived on foot,” Max mused as he walked towards the door.

He burst out laughing when he saw who was standing on the porch. “You sneaky buggers! Did you think you’d catch us out?” He stepped forward giving Bron a hug and a kiss, then turned to hug Ed. “Come on in, it’s good to see you both.”

“Ed Hoffman, did you walk all the way up the hill, or is the car hidden in the trees?” Ceri asked, hugging him tightly. After planting a kiss on his cheek she turned to Bron. “Hey sis, you almost caught me still getting ready.”

“Blame Ed, he was determined to walk this morning so we left early so that he could take it easy, and I couldn’t keep up with him. He’s coming on in leaps and bounds,” Bron beamed.

“That’s good news, Ed,” Max said, adding, “Don’t try to do too much all at one go though.”

“I’ll try not to, Max. Don’t want to undo all the good work Toni has done for me. Now…where’s that sofa?” Ed winked at Bron as he staggered through to the lounge room and flopped down on one of the inviting sofas.

“Ed, are you okay?” Ceri asked, a worried look on her face.

“I will be after a nice cool drink, honey. Got any iced tea?”

“Only a fridge full.”

Ed got out of the sofa faster than Max and Ceri had ever seen him move before and made his way into the kitchen. He was soon back with a tray full of tall glasses, setting it down on the coffee table and handing the drinks around before sitting down next to Bron.

“You fraud, Ceri giggled. You’re not worn out at all are you. I think you’re going to be quite a handful for Bron now you’re getting back to normal.”

“That’s what I’ve been waiting for,” Bron replied with a smile.

Ed ruffled her hair and gave her a kiss before turning back to Ceri and Max. “So, what have you got planned for today?”

“First of all, we have something to show you by the patio. Grab your drinks and we’ll go outside.”

They all walked out to the patio and placed their drinks on the table, making sure they were all in the shade provided by the parasol. Max and Ceri were beaming at them, but Ed had a confused look on his face.

“Okay…what’s the big secret?” Ceri asked, looking round the patio trying to spot something new. The only thing she could see was a large roped off area. “Is this your surprise, are you planning a veggie patch right next to the house?”

Ed was slowly walking round the perimeter; he seemed to be pacing the distance. He looked up and smiled, then walked back to the group.

“Very nice, Max. How soon?”

“Starting next week; they said about three weeks.”

“Not bad, not bad at all.”

“Hang on,” Bron cut in. “Three weeks to get a garden ready?”

“You’re adorable, honey.” Ed replied, laughing. “It’s not gonna be a garden.”

“Is someone going to put me out of my misery then?”

Ceri and Max smiled at each other and then turned to Ed. “Well, I think you’ve worked it out, Ed, so we’ll let you do the honours.”

Ed nodded and took Bron’s hand in his. “It’s a swimming pool, honey.”

Bron looked across to Ceri and Max who both nodded to confirm Ed had it right. They were soon both laughing at the squeal of delight that came from Bron.

“She, just glad she don’t have to paddle in the pond anymore,” Ed remarked.

They were sitting around the table chatting when the phone began to ring. “I’ll get it,” Ceri said. “I need to get some more tea anyway.”

She walked into the house and picked up the kitchen extension. The rest of the group carried on chatting, and were laughing at one of Ed’s jokes when Ceri came back out with a strange look on her face.

“What’s up, love?” Max asked rising from his seat to walk towards her.

“That was Terry on the phone. He sounded terrible. He needs to speak to us both, Bron. He said he’s got news about M.”

“I’ll get the car round,” Max said heading inside for his keys.

They all piled into the car, wondering what it was Terry needed to tell them. It wouldn’t be long before they found out.