‘Kate, everyone’s wondering why you’re not out there enjoying the party.’ Damien places his arm around me.
‘I’m just waiting for Rachel.’
He gave me one of his pressed lips smiles, one that tells me he’s sorry for me. ‘Maybe she’s had an emergency.’
‘Or second thoughts.’
‘No, love. It’s a lot to take in. She’s had a hard few months with losing the woman she knew to be her mother. Kyle is in prison. She’s lost a lot too. Finding the body must have been hard for her.’
They eventually found the bones of a baby buried in the woodland next to Archie’s nursing home after Kyle confessed to burying his baby there. I haven’t said too much about it to Rachel as I don’t want to upset her. ‘You’re right. Maybe this was too much.’
‘Finding out that the baby was murdered is something else. It’s a lot for her to process.’
I agree with him and hug him close. Kyle had cracked and also told the police that he had lost his temper with the little one in a fit of drunken rage after Mary told him that she’d given birth to Alan’s baby. The bones don’t lie and they back up his story. I guess that he told all because he couldn’t live with his crime any more. And, I wonder if Mary believed her version of events because it was easier to digest.
An engine hums as a large people carrier pulls up onto the drive. Natalie and Laura get out of the front seats, then she opens the back where Bethany, Rachel and baby Katherine all get out. I shriek with joy as I let go of Damien and throw the front door open. We all hug and kiss before I lead them through to the garden. After introductions, they relax and join in the party.
I hurry over to Rachel. ‘I was so worried you weren’t coming.’
She smiled. ‘I had to stop and change a nappy, then we had a flat on the motorway of all places.’
‘I’m so happy you’re here.’ I take Jesse off Damien. ‘Meet your nephew, Jesse.’
She places Katherine down on the floor and the little girl toddles over to Bethany. ‘Can I hold him?’
I pass my little one over to his aunty and she stares at him like he’s a shiny jewel. ‘Oh, he’s a beauty. Hello, Jesse.’ She sits on the floor and calls Katherine back over. ‘Come over here, Kat, and meet your baby cousin.’
The toddler smiles and sits next to her on the grass while I hold Damien’s hand. He squeezes it. ‘Do you want a glass of wine, now?’
I nod. ‘More than anything.’ My dad isn’t coming.
Natalie comes over to me, a bottle of cider in her hand. The frown lines in her forehead run deep.
‘Are you okay?’
She half smiles but that smile soon went as she shook her head. ‘I know you heard about Rachel, being my late husband’s baby.’ She went silent.
‘Yes, I’m sorry.’
‘I hate that man for what he did to me. He had an affair that lasted over twenty-five years and I was in the dark. How does a person do that? I can never forgive him, not even now he’s dead, but that baby didn’t deserve to die like that and I know if Alan was alive he’d be heartbroken at this news.’ Natalie glances at Jesse who is lying on his back on a blanket while everyone fusses over him. ‘Mary knew all along. I’ve been sobbing my heart out since I heard. I wasn’t going to come but Laura said it would be good for me. I don’t know what I’d do without her.’
I don’t know what to say so I lean in and hug her hard. She’s a victim in all this too.
‘There’s nothing I can say that will make the pain go away,’ I say to her. ‘But you have a good friend there and I bet you get on with Bethany too. You have good people around you.’
‘Thank you. I know.’ She shakes her head and exhales. ‘Bethany and I have become quite close. She fell out with her mother for awhile when Laura told her that Cody was her father, but they’re close again now. Cody is slowly coming around and Daisy has accepted she has a half-sister. It’s been hard on her but telling the truth is the right thing to do. I have faith that everything will work out.’
‘I’ve never thanked you properly. I just wanted you to know how I appreciated the things you did for me. I know you doubted that you should help at times but you did and you risked your life. It means everything.’ I’m tearing up now.
‘We helped each other. Right, I need another drink before I blub.’ She walks off, leaving me alone.
I smile across at Rachel. ‘Hey, Rachel.’ She comes over. ‘I’m sorry that Dad hasn’t turned up.’
‘You did warn me.’
‘I have some photos to show you later, of Mum.’ I swallow.
‘It must have been tough on you all.’
‘It was.’ I take in her long pink hair and her high cheekbones. It’s hard to marry what I see in front of me with the baby at the harbour side. I catch Damien staring at the path alongside the house. I move to see what he’s looking at and my dad stands there, hunched over in a crumpled shirt holding two boxes of chocolates. As he comes forward a little, he looks at Rachel. I’ve shown him a photo of her.
‘Is that our dad?’ Rachel squints and holds her hand above her eyes to block the sun.
I nod. A tear slips down my dad’s cheek as he takes her in. I run over and hold his hand, leading him towards her. ‘Rachel, this is Harry, your dad.’ He’s not perfect by any means but he’s ours.
Who knows, maybe we can all heal each other, or maybe I’m just being idealistic. Either way, I’m prepared to give it a go if he and Rachel are.
Damien grips my hand. I have my rock by my side. I have my sister, my children, my dad and my friends. My family is now complete. That’s all a person really needs. The rest will fall into place.
* * *
