Page 56 of A Part of Me and You
Sarah sits back in her chair and folds her arms, still a look of wonder in her face. Then she leans forward again.
‘You really don’t know anything about him at all, do you?’ she asks in a whisper.
‘Nothing,’ I say. ‘Just his name and some fuzzy recollection of what he looked like perhaps and what happened that night all those years ago. And even that, as I say, is a little fuzzy as I’m not sure of how much of it I made up in some romantic memory and how much of it is true. It was quite a while ago after all.’
‘Okay,’ she says, pursing her lips in thought.
‘Yes, I’m sure it really is going to be okay, I’ll get over it and Rosie will muddle through,’ I tell her. ‘You look like you are thinking, Sarah. What are you thinking?’
Sarah smiles a little, a sympathetic smile.
‘Look, I hope I’m not going to upset you but you are not going to believe this,’ she says to me. ‘Remember we were talking about old boyfriends earlier?’
‘Yes,’ I reply, not knowing where this conversation is going to.
‘Well, back in the early days, Skipper was one of mine,’ she says and now it’s my turn to gasp.
‘Jesus, I’m so sorry! I honestly had no idea!’
‘No, no don’t be silly!’ she says quickly and she reaches across and puts her hand on my arm. ‘It was never serious, I swear. No hearts broken, I promise! It never even got past first base – he took me to the cinema in Galway and we kissed a bit out on his boat and that was it, end of. Like a teenage romance only we were a bit older than teenagers. But the only reason I’m telling you this, is not because we had some mad love story going on, but because …’
She pauses.
‘Go on,’ I say to her.
‘I’m telling you this because I am almost sure I have a photo of him somewhere in the attic of the B&B and I’m thinking maybe you would like it, for Rosie.’
I look across again. The window. The laughter. The lateness. The dark.
‘You’re kidding me,’ I tell her. If only she knew that was where we spent the night together, in her mother’s B&B where she may have a photo of him hidden somewhere in a box of old memories.
‘I’m not kidding,’ she says. ‘Look, I’m not promising anything, but I’ll have a search over the next few days and if I find it and you want it you can have it. You’re here till Saturday, am I right?’
‘Yes, Saturday,’ I tell her and my eyes fill up at the thought of it. ‘Sarah, I can’t tell you how much it would mean to me to have a photo of Rosie’s dad to leave with her. That’s so special and so kind of you to look for it. Honestly, thank you.’
Sarah bites her lip.
‘I’m so sorry your search for him didn’t have a happy ending,’ she says to me. ‘He was a a real gem and I’ll take the place apart over there until I find the photo. I’ll do my very best to help you leave something behind for her. My very best. That I can promise.’
Now it’s my turn to take Sarah’s hand and give it a squeeze of appreciation. We both watch our daughters, who are still in full-blown conversation with little Teigan swinging her legs under her seat as she chats away with confidence. A photo of Rosie’s dad would be so precious to have when I get around to telling her all about him. I feel a lump in my throat at the very idea of that conversation, so it won’t be today. And it probably won’t be tomorrow but when I do give it to her I want to make it a positive moment when she will finally see the man whose genes she shares and who might even look a bit like her and whose family might even learn to love her
Today, and every day while we are here, is going to be a good day. I hope so, anyway.
Chapter 18
Shelley
I arrive atLily Lovesfifteen minutes late and Betty, to say the least, has a face on her like a bulldog chewing a wasp.
‘I’m ever so sorry, Betty! You should have just closed up and put a sign on the door,’ I say to her. ‘The traffic coming out of the city was insane for this time of the week and my phone battery died so I couldn’t ring ahead. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.’
Eliza hurries in behind me before Betty can open her mouth and she automatically takes over.
‘Blame me, don’t blame Shelley,’ she says to Betty who already had her coat on when I arrived and is trying to get out the door. ‘I insisted we went for a walk on the Prom and we lost track of time and then the traffic. Are you okay, Betty? You look like you’ve seen a ghost?’
I don’t think that Betty and I have ever had a proper conversation about anything that didn’t involve the shop so to see her now in such a fluster just because I am fifteen minutes late is a bit of a shocker. I’m more than glad to let Eliza, who’s known her for years, take over. Betty was at our wedding as a guest of Eliza, she was even at Lily’s christening and she never missed buying her a birthday present. And yet, apart from being much appreciative of her work in the shop, I realize I barely know the woman at all.
‘I just need to go to town myself and get some stuff for my …’ she says, trailing off and straightening up a little, or should I say, calming down. ‘It was busy today, Shelley. I’ve left the usual note for you explaining any sales and just a general overview of the morning.’
