She could see both Gabe and his grandmother were saddened by her mentioning the loss of her mother, so smiled at them. ‘Please, it’s fine. Don’t be concerned for me, I’m very happy here. I love it. Mum had come here as a girl and she told me once how pretty it was and how she’d loved it. So, the connection of Gabe and my mum gaveme the impetus to come here and see for myself what this place has to offer.’
‘Good, I’m glad you did,’ Lydia said, giving her arm a gentle squeeze. ‘You’re an asset to the Encore. Many people have said so, and I’m enjoying getting to know you.’
‘Thank you,’ Daisy said. ‘That means a lot to me.’
They returned to the table and Lydia served them coffee. Daisy could feel a yawn trying to escape and held her hand up to try and hide it from the others, but Gabriel had noticed. ‘You’re tired,’ he said. ‘We should be going.’
‘No, really, I’m having a lovely time,’ Daisy argued. She wasn’t ready to go back to her small bedroom at the back of the hotel.
‘He’s right,’ Lydia said, standing up. ‘I forget you youngsters have been hard at work all day. Well,youhave, Daisy,’ she said, resting a hand on Gabriel’s muscular shoulder. ‘Gabriel has that pleasure to look forward to from tomorrow when his parents go on their way to their various contracts.’
Daisy had forgotten to consider what it was going to be like working in the same building as Gabe. She realised she was feeling happy, truly happy, for the first time since she was last with him in Vietnam.
She hadn’t expected to recover from the trauma of witnessing her mother’s rapid decline and those seemingly endless days at her hospital bedside. For someone as desperately ill as her mother had been, it had shocked Daisy when she’d taken eight long days to die. Now though, she was beginning to see a hint of colour in her own life once again. She’d made the right decision coming here. It wasn’t as far away from Devon as she’d meant to go. It was far enough away to be a fresh start, somewhere where no one knew her, except Gabe. This was a place where she could feel safe and start her lifeagain. Here she could be the person she’d always wanted to be, the one she’d tried out when she was in Vietnam. It was a pleasure to return to that version of Daisy, rather than the frightened version of herself she’d lived with for most of her life.
She picked up her bag from the chair and slipped the cloth handle over her shoulder. ‘Thank you very much for inviting me to your beautiful home, Lydia,’ she said. ‘I’ve had an incredible evening.’
‘I’ll take you back to the Encore,’ Gabriel said, bending to kiss his grandmother.
‘There’s no need,’ she said, not wishing to disturb him, fully aware his grandmother hadn’t seen him much in the last few months. ‘I can catch a bus.’
He shook his head. ‘Nan wouldn’t dream of letting you go back to the hotel by bus when I’m perfectly capable of driving you there, would you, Nan?’ Daisy could see the mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he smiled at his grandmother.
‘No, I wouldn’t,’ Lydia said, giving Daisy a hug. ‘It’s been wonderful having you here and I meant what I said about coming to paint. I’ll be offended if I don’t see you in my garden with your easel sometime soon.’
Daisy appreciated her invitation and said so.
‘Good, then it’s settled,’ Lydia said.
They began walking over to Gabriel’s car. ‘Maybe I’ll tell you a little more about my past,’ Lydia whispered. ‘But I’ll choose a time when we’re alone and my grandson isn’t nearby to overhear.’
Daisy giggled. ‘I’ll look forward to it.’
Gabriel drove down the curved driveway and they both waved to Lydia who stood with a wide grin on her face on her front steps.
‘She’s a very special lady,’ Daisy said. ‘You’re very lucky to have her as a grandmother.’
‘I am,’ he said, winding down the window of his redvintage Triumph Stag. ‘I miss seeing her when I’m away.’
‘I’ll bet she misses you too, although I’m told she keeps herself very busy helping run the Encore when your parents aren’t here.’
He indicated to turn left and nodded. ‘I think it’s keeping busy and being such a positive person that keeps her looking so young.’
‘You must be very proud of her.’
‘I am.’ He drove in silence for a while, then glanced at her and said. ‘I’m sorry about your mum, Daisy. I had no idea she was so ill. I see now why you didn’t contact me again after you left.’
‘At first I was too wrapped up with everything to think of anyone else, although I did miss you, of course. There wasn’t an internet connection at Mum’s house and I lost my phone on the way to the airport in Delhi,’ she lied. ‘I panicked at first about trying to keep in contact with you but then when I arrived home and saw how bad Mum was, I didn’t have a chance to think about much else.’
She thought back to those black days and nights trying to resign herself to this utter change in her circumstances. ‘My world went from one of happiness, vitality and colour to one of misery and sickness. I kept going while she was ill, but fell apart a bit when she died. My doctor said it was exhaustion as well as grief.’
He reached his hand across to hers and gave it a squeeze. ‘I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t have had to go through that alone.’
She sighed. ‘I was glad to be there for Mum. I would have hated being away knowing I hadn’t kept her company for the last months of her life.’ She shook her head, hoping to obliterate the picture of her skeletal mother lying in her once-pristine bedroom, now with medicine bottles and boxes spilling over each surface. ‘I did think about going to a nearby internet café to see if you’d emailed me, but by the time I thought about it, Iwas sure it must be too late to contact you.’
‘It was never too late,’ he said quietly. They didn’t speak for a few minutes while they reflected on his words. ‘Do you mind if I pull over for a bit?’ he asked after a while.
‘Not at all,’ she said.
