Page 4 of Last Dance, Second Chance

“It was a lovely surprise,” said Sarah, pulling her daughter in for another hug. “Your dad’s going to be thrilled to see you.”

Jessica felt completely deflated. How stupid of her to think she could just turn up and her whole family wouldn’t have any plans in the middle of the summer holidays.

“We’re going to the Lake District with Andrew, Molly and the kids. We’ve rented a cabin for ten nights. Maybe we could fit you in as well? It’s two bedrooms so Andrew and Molly are going to have Peter in their room and Emily and Sophie are going to sleep on sofa beds in the sitting room. Maybe they could squish on one and you could sleep on the other?”

As much as Jessica wanted to spend some time with her family, ten nights in a tiny cabin with all seven of them, combined with the idea of sharing a room with her two nieces and sleeping on a sofa bed did not really appeal. She was formulating a polite response when the telephone rang.

“Just a minute, love,” Sarah said, and she went into the kitchen to answer it.

Jessica stroked Monty absent-mindedly as she looked around her family home. The last time she’d been here, she now remembered, was when she was performing at Sadler’s Wells for a couple of weeks and she’d visited her parents for the weekend. The house was still reassuringly very similar to when she’d lived there, though the addition of Monty was a definite surprise. She supposed it had been quite a while since she’d taken the time to check in with her family, and she tended to dissuade them from calling her as she was usually so busy. She could kick herself for not at least ensuring they’d be around during her visit.

Sarah rejoined her. “That was the dog-sitter we had booked — she’s ill and can’t take Monty while we’re away. This is exactly the type of thing I warned would happen if we got a dog!” she said, exasperated. “Your dad was only happy with Monty going to her because he’s been taking Monty to visit her house every other day to get him familiar with it and he knows Monty gets on with her dogs. There’s no time to get Monty used to another place now and we booked the cabin months and months ago, before Monty, so it didn’t bother us that they had a strict no-dog policy.”

“Do you think Monty would be happy staying with me here?” Jessica asked.

“You can’t stay here by yourself for ten nights!” Sarah said immediately. “The cabins were fully booked before, but maybe they’ve had a cancellation for a one-bedroom one...” Her forehead furrowed.

“I’ll be fine,” Jessica reassured her. “It will be nice to be able to relax at home and unwind, and I can take Monty for lots of walks. I’ll have this evening with you and then a few days when you get back and before I have to leave.”

“Andrew and Molly could go by themselves and we could stay with you—”

“I don’t want you to miss your holiday, and the kids would be disappointed. They will have been looking forward to going away with you,” Jessica reasoned. She really didn’t want the family holiday to be cancelled because of her. It wasn’t like her mum and dad got away much at all; she was sure they’d have been looking forward to it for months. “And I bet you’ve promised Andrew and Molly that you’ll babysit at least one evening so they can go out together.”

“But it’s so lovely to have you here! I want to make the most of it!”

Jessica noticed her mum’s eyes were wet with unshed tears and put her arm around her. “I know, so do I. But I’m honestly happy to stay with Monty. I’ll look after the house — I know how Dad worries about leaving it empty — and then we’ll have a great time together when you get back. We can take the children out for the day together, maybe.”

“That would be lovely. Are you absolutely sure? It would be a big help having you look after Monty and the house.”

“Absolutely, Mum.”

“Well, thank you, darling,” said Sarah, giving her daughter another hug. “I still can’t believe you’re here! I must call your dad and tell him!”

“No, don’t do that. I’ll wander down to the office and surprise him there.” Jessica grinned at the thought. She couldn’t wait to see her dad.

“He’ll love that. Do you want a cup of tea and something to eat before you go?”

“I’m fine, thanks, Mum. I ate on the plane.” Jessica reflected that it would take her a while to readjust to the amount of tea drinking that went on in her family home. Her mum never knowingly allowed the kettle to cool down while she was in the house.

“All right, he should be nearly done for the day by the time you get there.”

Jessica headed back out again, relishing the gentle warmth of the sun. She must have walked to her dad’s estate agency hundreds of times as a child. She used to love to go in and spin on the office chairs and play games on his computer in the back while he talked to prospective clients. She passed by the school her mum taught at and which she had attended until she was eleven. The Victorian building looked just the same, with the original ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ entrances and rows of large windows, except that it had a fancy new sign outside. It was a small school, with less than two hundred pupils. Everyone had known that Mrs Stone, who taught Year4, was her mum. Having her mother as a teacher for a year hadn’t actually been as bad as Jessica had worried it would be. Jessica had behaved, knowing she’d be in trouble when she got home if she didn’t, even if her mum wouldn’t tell her off properly in front of her schoolmates.

She continued on, and noticed a man of about her age on the other side of the road. A springer spaniel trotted alongside him on a lead. He was speaking into his phone — and was very good-looking. He must have been at least six foot two with short dark hair and the sort of chiselled jaw seen in commercials for shaving foam. The jeans and T-shirt he wore hinted at a strong body underneath. Something about him was familiar. She just wished she could place what it was. He caught her gaze and smiled, a look of semi-recognition passing over his face. Jessica couldn’t seem to stop herself from smiling back, but swiftly averted her eyes, embarrassed at being caught staring at a stranger in the street.

A few minutes later, Jessica pushed open the doors to Stone’s Property Agency, to the familiar jingle of the bell signalling the arrival of a customer. The office was empty except for her dad, Joe, and Meryl, who was in charge of lettings and had worked in the agency for nearly as long as her father. Joe looked up from his computer and his mouth fell open at the sight of his daughter. “Jessica!” he cried out and rushed over to her. He bent down to hug her. “Have you got smaller?”

“Nope,” said Jessica laughing.

“Well, I’ve got bigger.” Joe laughed, rubbing his stomach. Her dad loved cooking and eating, and had indeed become rounder since the last time she’d seen him.

“What on earth are you doing here?” he asked.

“I wanted to surprise you with a visit, but I really should have called ahead first! Mum’s filled me in about your holiday.”

“Yes . . .”

“Don’t worry, Mum and I have got it sorted,” she said. “We’ll tell you all about it when we get home. Hello, Meryl!”

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