Carol’s face fell. ‘Grant said they were a present, from the university. But I could tell they were expensive. I wanted to believe him, but…’ Her words trailed away. ‘I began to wonder…
‘I waited for him to arrive home one day and showed them to him. I asked him if there was someone else. When he hesitated, I threw them at him. He picked them up and I never saw them again after that. Later that evening, after you’d gone to bed, he admitted a student had been giving him lots of attention, and he was flattered. I didn’t want to know her name, or see her face. I just told him to stop it.’ Carol clutched her hands together. ‘Are you telling me it was Essie?’
Liv nodded. ‘I didn’t know until recently. It made me feel sick. But I know Dad loved us. He was only human.’
Carol looked frail, like a baby bird who’d fallen out of its nest. ‘There’s always been a part of me in limbo, wondering if he had an affair with this student.’
‘Dad rejected Essie. He wanted a life with us.’ She squeezed her mum’s fingers and hesitated. ‘There’s something else I need to tell you.’
Carol looked at her fearfully.
Liv released a breath, heavy from her chest. She could tell her mum about Essie making her dad late for the theatre, but what good would it do? There was no way to turn back time or rewrite the story. Or predict what might have happened afterwards.
Tomorrow was the official date of Essie’s death, when Liv would submit the finished manuscript to Marlon. Her mum should know the full story behind it.
Sharing Essie’s last wish with her mum, a day early, made Liv feel like she was breaking a bad spell.
She explained everything right from the beginning, starting with meeting a blue-suited solicitor in a café, who passed on a very strange last wish that Essie had made on her deathbed. Liv revealed that she’d stepped into Essie’s shoes in order to complete her last ever novel and had no choice but to cover up the truth. Everything had been like a huge truck with a broken brake pedal.
When she’d finished, her body crumpled, exhausted at keeping the secret for so long, and finally being free of it.
‘Oh, love.’ Carol shook her head very slowly. ‘I had no idea this was going on. I don’t know whether to be sad or happy. I’m just shocked. Does Jake know Essie’s dead?’
‘Not yet. You’re the only one I’ve told. I wanted you to know about Dad.’ She lifted her eyes. ‘Are you angry with me?’
‘No. I’m upset you had to go through this alone. What on earth was Essie thinking?’
‘She was dying. She was a storyteller with deep regrets.’
Carol shook her head, thinking to herself. ‘I thought your clothes looked smarter than usual,’ she mused.
It was such a Mum thing to say, Liv couldn’t help laughing. ‘Thanks.’
‘I mean, you always look nice but…’
‘It’s too late. You can’t take it back.’
Carol sat thinking for a while. ‘So, when we went to that posh Italian restaurant, you used her name…’ she said.
‘I got carried away, about a lot of things. I’m not proud of it.’
‘It’s not your fault, love. I’m still thinking about that strawberry tart.’
‘It did taste really good.’
They smiled at each other.
Liv thought of how her parents’ relationship was one she’d always aspired to. Was it possible she’d never allowed Jake to live up to her dad’s superhero memory?
‘I’ve spent too many years thinking about the past.’ Carol set her cup down. ‘I’m darned if I’m going to do it any longer.’
Liv felt the same way. ‘Why don’t I stay here tonight? I’ll phone Jake and tell him I’ll be home in the morning.’
‘That’d be lovely.’
Carol yawned and pecked her on the cheek. ‘I’m usually in bed by now.’ She headed towards the hallway and disappeared, before sticking her head back around the door. ‘It’s nice to have you home, love.’
After calling Jake, Liv wasn’t sure how long she sat on the sofa, thinking about Essie. Whatever had happened, she had something the author didn’t have, a family who supported and loved her. And she was all the richer for it.
