Page 95 of Second Act at Appleton Green
Lily had a feeling of calm descend upon her as she took in the sights of her grandmother’s life, commemorated down to the last detail, and the faces of both old and new acquaintances. Gran might have passed away, but she was everywhere in the village and now it was Lily’s turn to create a life here.
She turned to Nick. ‘So, when are you moving in?’ she asked him. ‘Gran said you had to make me cups of tea in her last will and testament. You can’t let her down or she will haunt you from beyond.’
Nick laughed loudly. ‘I have no doubt she would. Well I better make good on her instructions,’ he said and he kissed her in front of the large photo of Gran and Grandad on their wedding day.
Finale
On a crisp spring morning, Lily Baxter pushed her daughter Daisy’s pram along the river towards Appleton Green. The air smelt like new flowers and turned soil, and it was clean and sweet. Sunlight filtered through the new trees and warmed Lily’s face gently as she walked, and she adjusted the hood of the pram to make sure Daisy’s eyes were shielded from the light.
Daisy was happily cooing in her pram. She was only four months old, and her fat fingers reached out to grab the moving shadows of leaves. Lily smiled at her daughter discovering shadows. Being a mother was her most rewarding role yet, she had told Nick.
Watching Daisy discover the world was unlike anything Lily had known. She wondered why she hadn’t seen how much she had wanted to be a mother before. Daisy was a surprise. She found out she was pregnant not long after Gran had passed, and it was bittersweet to know that Gran would have loved to have met her but couldn’t.
They passed some tourists taking photos of the bridge and Lily waited for them to finish before she crossed it and stopped and leaned against the old wall to look down at the River Dove running below. There was a dark time when she had stood on the edge of a bridge and questioned her being in the world. Now she never wanted her life to end, if it was going to be this amazing.
The water in it was gurgling happily, matching Daisy’s happy chatter, and she reached down and touched her daughter’s soft cheek.
‘You are so beautiful,’ she said to the child.
She started her walk again and pushed Daisy towards the village, where she was stopped by Mrs Harris who had knitted Daisy a little cardigan and Mrs Douglas, who had more shortbread and a little book about a corgi for Daisy.
‘You all spoil her,’ Lily said to the women.
‘We don’t get many babies in the village,’ said Mrs Harris. ‘It’s quite a novelty.’
Lily said her goodbyes and then crossed the road and came to the village hall.
The heavy door was held open for Lily by Sheila as she approached the building. Lily’s feet were deliberate and unhurried as she approached.
‘How is our future ingénue?’ Sheila enquired while looking into the pram, cooing at the baby.
A grin appeared on Lily’s face as she looked down at Daisy.
‘To be honest, it’s excellent. She slept for a total of eight hours last night.’
‘Bravo, encore, encore, more of the same tonight please,’ Sheila cooed as she reached out to softly stroke the baby’s cheek. ‘Hello, Miss Daisy,’ she said. ‘You should continue to work on your sleep so that your mother can get her beauty sleep.’
Daisy’s eyes narrowed for a little minute as she looked at Sheila, her little face contorted in concentration, and then she made the decision to smile at her since she was so focused.
‘Oh, did she give me a smile?’ As Lily pushed the pushchair deeper into the hall, Sheila gloated, exclaiming, ‘I feel so special.’
As Lily entered the village hall, she felt at home again. People were milling about, engaging in conversation, practising their lines, and setting up coffee and tea.
‘Hello, sweetheart,’ a familiar voice cried out and she looked up. She saw her mother, Denise, standing on stage, with Jasper next to her.
Denise was holding a script forAuntie Mame, in which she was playing the lead role.
Surprisingly Sheila hadn’t taken umbrage at this news, insisting she was getting too old now and was happier in costumes.
Lily waved at her mum. She couldn’t help but feel a surge of happiness at the sight of Denise so naturally at ease on the stage. She really was in her element.
Jasper entered the conversation before Denise could respond, and his voice was filled with adoration as he said, ‘Your mother is wonderful. She is going to be an amazing Auntie Mame.’
‘I have no doubt,’ she said in return to them and she saw her mother preen.
It was Nick’s idea to get Denise into the society and it was the best one he’d had, next to them getting married.
David came over to her with a cup of tea in his hand and said, ‘She is doing great. She’s very enthused and she and Sheila are getting on well.’
