Page 8 of A New Arrival at Cwtch Cove

‘That’s great news.’ Alice knew from her mum that Tilly and her husband had parted ways a while ago and she’d thought it was very sad news, so hearing that they were together again was lovely.

‘Thank you. I’m so happy.’ Tilly’s free hand strayed to her stomach and Alice tried not to notice but the way Tilly was smiling made her wonder if Tilly might be pregnant. ‘Anyway, lovely to see you but I’d better get these delights home. Joe is waiting for his writing break.’

‘Enjoy!’

As Tilly walked away, Alice smiled to herself. Tilly was about nine years older than her but she knew her from around the village, as well as Tilly’s older sister, Carrie, and her brother, Sean. Carrie ran her own cleaning business and Sean was the village vet. Alice’s mum had also told her that Carrie got married recently and Sean, who’d been widowed when he lost his first wife, was in a relationship with a lovely woman. It was wonderful when people had their happy ever afters, especially when they’d been through hard times.

She sighed then pushed the door to the grocery shop open and went inside, her mind already straying to what she’d make her mum for dinner.

Chapter8

Trudy

Trudy closed the front door behind her and kicked off her shoes then slid her feet into the old paint-stained Crocs that she kept in the hallway. She sighed with relief then sniffed the air. Something was cooking and it smelt good. It had been a lifetime since she’d come home to someone else cooking her dinner and she paused for a moment to savour the feeling. Peter had been a good cook and she’d loved the times when he was home for long periods. He liked to surprise her with tasty new dishes and fancy wines and he often spoiled her because he said she deserved to know how special she was. He had been special too and although they hadn’t had the years together that she’d have wanted, the time they’d had was amazing.

Meowing from the kitchen doorway made her smile and she opened her arms as she walked towards the kitchen then crouched down and made a fuss of Clawdia and Catmila.

‘Hello, my gorgeous girls. How are you? Have you been good today?’

The cats rubbed their heads against her hands then her legs and she stroked their backs, tickled under their chins and gave them both a kiss on the head.

Standing up, she entered the kitchen and found Alice at the island chopping coriander.

‘Ooh! What’re you making?’ she asked.

‘I thought we could have a nice curry. It’s been a while since I made one but I went to the shop and got the ingredients and there are like thousands of recipes online, so I decided upon chicken tikka and Bombay potatoes with homemade garlic naan bread.’

‘Goodness me! That does sound good.’

‘It’ll be about half an hour if you want to shower before we eat.’

Trudy gazed at her daughter and love filled her heart. She’d accepted that she was destined to grow old alone with her cats, after all, she’d never had any interest in being with another man after she’d lost her husband, but having Alice home was really nice. There was something so comforting about coming home after a hard day at work and having another human being around. Not that the cats weren’t great company because they were wonderful but having her daughter there was delightful. Especially today when Alice had decided to cook for them.

‘Mum, what is it?’ Alice stopped chopping, wiped her hands on a towel then came around the island to Trudy.

‘Oh… don’t mind me. I’m just a bit emotional today.’

‘Why, Mum?’

Trudy shook her head. ‘I feel very lucky.’

Alice frowned. ‘Why?’

Trudy said, ‘I’m lucky to have such an amazing daughter. I just wish your dad was here to see you all grown up. He’d be so proud.’

Alice’s face creased up then so Trudy opened her arms and hugged her tight. ‘Sorry, love, the last thing I want is to make you sad.’

Alice shook her head. ‘I’m not sad. It’s just that you said Dad would be proud of me and I don’t feel like I’m anything special. I mean… I don’t even have a job, a boyfriend, a home of my own or a direction.’

‘You are incredibly special and your dad would be incredibly proud of you. The fact that you don’t have a job right now does not take away from what you have achieved in your twenty-eight years. You’re a qualified dentist. You’re kind, caring and compassionate. You’re an intelligent woman and you have so much ahead of you to look forward to. Just believe it, my darling. And you don’t need a partner to be happy. Although,’ she sighed, ‘I would like to see you with someone who’d take care of you. Not that I’m saying you need a man because you don’tneedone, but it is nice to have someone there to love you and, if you meet the right man, it can be very special indeed.’

Alice leant back and smiled at her. ‘I wish the same for you. I’d love to see you find someone too, Mum. Dad wouldn’t have wanted you to spend the rest of your life alone, you know?’

Trudy smiled sadly. ‘I know he wouldn’t have expected that at all but it’s not the point. I loved your dad with my whole heart, and it wouldn’t be fair of me to get involved with another man because no man could ever compare to him.’

‘Oh, Mum!’ Alice buried her face in Trudy’s neck. ‘I love you.’

‘And I love you. More than anything in this world.’

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