No incidents although he got upset again so I was up till the early hours with him. He sunk a few more beers. I told him he’d be sorry. Sure enough, he’s looking green this morning! I’ve got a day off tomorrow and am heading home for a long weekend. How does Monday or Tuesday sound? X

✉︎ From Sam

Monday 7pm? Same place? Have a great weekend at home 🙂

✉︎ To Sam

Hope you have a good weekend too. See you on Monday. We can catch up on our Whitsborough Bay gossip too. Probably need it after the heavy stuff! 🙂

At lunchtime on Friday, I felt ridiculously nervous as I stepped out of Whitsborough Bay Train Station, pulling my weekend case behind me. I’d had several texts from Logan across the week telling me that Mum kept shouting at him, so I knew that things had deteriorated and that the next few days were going to be hard.

It was a bright mid-October day with a blue sky but a nip on the breeze. Yellow and gold leaves whipped round my feet as I crossed the station forecourt and headed down the precinct towards Castle Street.

Bear With Me was only a short walk from the station – five or six minutes – and, despite my nerves, it did feel good to be home. Town was busy but not packed. The holidaymakers had long-gone although they’d be back the week after next for October half-term.

Castle Street was about two thirds of the way down the pedestrianised precinct on the right hand side and it always felt like stepping into a different world. The main street was paved and home to chain shops and banks but Castle Street was cobbled and full of independent shops and cafés. In my eyes, it was the heart of the town.

Mum’s shop was a double-fronted premises a few doors down on the right, opposite the florist shop, Seaside Blooms. I smiled at the old fashioned wooden sign with the picture of a traditional teddy bear on it, swaying gently, then pushed open the door to Bear With Me.

I paused inside, taking in the activity around me. Liv was at the till, boxing up a Steiff bear for a customer. She gave me a nod and a smile.

An elderly woman was staring at the collection of Ju-Sea Bears and Ju-Sea Jem Bears in a glass display cabinet, occasionally reaching out to stroke one, and there was a younger woman with a plush teddy in each hand, her head moving swiftly from one to the other, obviously debating which one to buy.

Mum had her back to me, chatting to a bald man with glasses who appeared to be in his mid to late-fifties. She kept laughing. That was a good sign. Hopefully.