As soon as she said it, a shimmer of light caught the pearls, making them look like they were glowing.
The two women looked at each other with widened eyes, then down at the necklace again.
Millie grasped Greta’s wrist. ‘Please take me with you. I truly think I belong somewhere else. You’ve helped me to realise that.’
‘I think so, too. But, Millie . . . this other place. You’re not a young woman there.’ Greta paused to swallow. ‘You’re eighty years old—’
Millie’s face fell. ‘Eighty . . .’
‘It sounds like you chose to come here, then decided to stay,’ Greta said. ‘You have your beautiful home and garden here, and Jefferson, too.’
Millie shook her head. ‘I can’t even remember how we met. There has never been a time we ran together in the rain or huddled under the trees. There are lots of things here that no longer make sense to me. Jefferson is a good man, but I know he belongs here, whereas I no longer believe that I do. If I were to leave, would Jefferson even . . . be?’ She hesitated, wringing her hands. ‘In thisotherplace, do I have a family?’
Greta nodded. ‘A son. He’s older, too. He runs a jewellery shop.’
Millie let out a small cry. ‘I can remember snippets—pretty lockets, and sparkling rings. And I can see him, a young man.’ Her eyes lifted. ‘Does my son love me? Liketrulylove me?’
‘I know he misses you greatly.’
The thunder cracked again, and Greta looked out of the window. ‘I’m so sorry. I have to go,’ she said. ‘Quickly.’
‘You have to take me with you.’
Greta pressed a hand to her chest. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t know how.’
Millie wiped her eyes, then nodded resolutely. ‘Our paths will cross again. I know it. I’ll find a way.’
Greta had to believe that, too. ‘I’ll miss you,’ she whispered.
‘And I will miss you, too. Undeniably.’ A tear rolled down Millie’s cheek and she touched the pearl necklace again. ‘Iwishthat I could come with you. But please, you must return to your home. Do hurry . . .’
They smiled at each other—real smiles full of sadness and emotion, not the fake ones seen in coffee commercials.
They held each other’s hands. Millie’s holding Greta’s. Greta gripping the pearls.
‘Iwish,Greta said as Millie’s kitchen filled with another sheet of light. ‘I wish I could go home, back to my real life. Back to where I really belong.’
And this time, she didn’t fight against the sensation pulling her back.
This time, Greta let it take her.
Chapter 35
GRETA WOKE TOthe smell of coffee. Not Maple Gold, nor one of Iris’s special blends. Just a plain old-fashioned brew. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the coffee shop, she noticed the jar in front of her, with the white rabbit on the label, was empty.
She could hear the rumble of traffic outside, probably rush hour. Car horns blared, and a motorbike roared past. Figures hunched against the rain as they scurried along the pavement.
Although Greta was back in Iris’s coffee shop, her mind was still in Mapleville. Still with Millie. Her head pounded, and a dull pain gripped her heart, as if someone had cracked open her ribs and reached inside to squeeze it. She’d had to say goodbye to her mum all over again, and also to Millie. She’d never see either of them ever again, and it felt too raw, too devastating to contemplate.
Her counsellor once said that grief either knocked you for six, making you want to crawl under the duvet, or it made you want to go bungee jumping. Right now, Greta just wanted to bury her head under a pillow and hibernate.
Yet beneath her whirlwind of emotions lay a quiet sense of acceptance. She’d made the decision to return home. And although it was painful, she sensed it was the right thing to do.
At first, Greta wasn’t aware that Iris was in the same room, until the old lady slid into the booth to face her. They sat together quietly, as if they were just two people in an everyday coffee shop, taking a moment to contemplate life.
‘You’re back,’ Iris said eventually, her tone as emotionless as usual.
Greta thought she might have detected the smallest smile on her lips, though she wasn’t sure. ‘Yes. I’m back.’
