Paint on the Smiles by Grace Thompson Page A

I wish him well.’ Cecily glanced anxiously towards her sister. Ada still hadn’t returned to the Spencers’ home and refused to discuss Phil’s plight and Cecily was afraid Peter’s comment would spoil the visit, but Ada answered without hesitation.
    ‘Yes. The time had passed, at last.’
    ‘Has he decided what he’ll do?’
    ‘I don’t know. He never allowed me to visit, he won’t talk to me even now and his mother doesn’t tell me much. All the enthusiasm and optimism have gone. He could always make me laugh but it won’t be like that any more. I hope he’ll try to revive his printing business, though; it’s all he knows. He’ll cope, if people give him a chance.’
    ‘I’ll do what I can to put business his way.’
    It was nine o’clock when they stood up to leave. Peter supplied them with woollen jumpers which hung on them like sacks, and insisted on driving them home.
    ‘We’ll look like a scarecrows’ convention! What will your neighbours think?’
    ‘I don’t think they’ll see us.’ He pointed to the window, where the rain was again falling.
    The roads were still partially blocked with many broken-down vehicles including a bus full of passengers, so it was almost ten before they got back to the shop.
    ‘Will you come in?’ Cecily invited.
    Peter shook his head. ‘I’ll call for my jumpers another day.’
    ‘Any time,’ Cecily said impulsively. ‘Call any time you have time to spare for us.’ She paused as she was about to run for the porch. ‘Peter? How long have we known you?’
    ‘Eight years last January,’ he said at once.
    ‘I remember. It was after Dadda died and we bullied you into opening your cafe early.’
    He smiled. ‘A businesswoman through and through. Don’t let anyone underestimate you, Cecily. You have a fine mind for business and a real talent for getting the best out of people. Don’t let anyone persuade you to think otherwise.’
    She wondered about his words that night. Was he telling her to keep away from Danny, who loved her but wanted to change her? That he was not the one with whom she’d find happiness? She knew that already. She’s known it years ago but it didn’t stop her wanting him. Seeing him and hearing him as he worked on the stable repairs was a daily reminder of that.
     
    Weeks passed and still Ada hadn’t returned to the Spencer home. Each time she called, Mrs Spencer would open the door and shake her head and insist it was too soon for her to see him.
    Peter came to lunch one day, bringing an order for some posters for Phil to print – Ada told him about Phil’s refusal to see her and when they had discussed possible reasons, he suggested in his quiet way that maybe the statement purporting to come from Phil might be Mrs Spencer’s own wishes and not Phil’s at all. On the following day, Cecily persuaded her to go to the cottage, ignore the entreaties of her mother-in-law, and walk in.
    Cecily waited in the car out of sight, hoping that the decision was the right one. When Ada hadn’t reappeared in half an hour, she left the car and walked back to the shop.
    Seeing her husband properly for the first time since the trial, Ada was shocked at how small he looked. The clothes he wore were too large, hanging on him as though they had been given to him by mistake. She watched as his mother put out the meal she had prepared for him. He sat in the chair, which had been empty for all the lonely months, staring as though dazzled by the generously filled plate, the white cloth and the shining cutlery. He didn’t eat until his mother put the cutlery into his hands.
    He was subdued, slightly bewildered and his skin was ashen. Ada chatted cheerfully for the pair of them, feeling like an outsider and wondering if she would ever see again the perky, lively man she had married.
    Phil said very little, seeming to want only to wander around the house and the workshop and relearn everything that had once been so familiar. Ada followed him. He