‘Will they make their peace with you?’
She shrugged. ‘I hope so, but things won’t be the same. I don’t hold grudges, Yvonne, but Joanne said some things that were unforgivable. It appears she’s never liked me and she unleashed two decades’ worth of contempt. We can’t recover from that and, sadly, I can’t envisage a scenario where Andrew can be in my life without it causing a rift between them so it looks like…’ Paulette had managed to keep her voice steady until that point, but it broke. ‘It looks like I’ve lost him,’ she whispered, tears pooling in her eyes.
I pulled her into another hug. ‘I know I don’t know him but I’m sure he’ll find a way to have you in his life because who wouldn’t want you to be? You’re amazing, Paulette, and I’m here for you to help you through this.’
She squeezed me tightly and wiped her eyes as she pulled away and nodded her head towards the outer door. ‘I remember seeing you out there last September looking like you were about to do a runner. I’m so glad you didn’t.’
‘Me too.’
We smiled at each other and I felt the warmth of friendship. And I felt as though I could definitely let Paulette into my secret. I just needed to find the right moment.
19
The raincheck on a Chinese came sooner than anticipated. Paulette rang me the following morning to say that Veronica had news about Willowdale Gifts and wanted to share it with us all over a takeaway.
‘I’m meeting my friends for tea tonight,’ I told Trevor as he preened himself in front of the mirror. Friends. Plural. I’d never in my whole life made a statement like that and now here I was at sixty years old with the most lovely group of friends. I’d never expected that. And if it wasn’t too late to make friends at my age, it wasn’t too late to find love either.
‘Pretty bird!’ Trevor called, followed moments later by, ‘Visitor!’
I glanced out of the window where a car had stopped.
‘That’s the estate agent to value the house. I’ll pop you back in your cage for the moment but you can come out again when he’s gone.’
Having made the long-overdue decision to move, I saw no point in hanging around. I’d arranged for three estate agents to visit at intervals across the day and first up was the one who’d sold Betsy’s house.
It was the third estate agent who I warmed to the most – a woman in her forties called Lorna who made a beeline for Trevor.
‘Who’s this beauty, Yvonne?’ she asked, crouching down beside Trevor’s cage.
‘Trevor. He’s thirty-eight.’
‘Aren’t you a stunner, Trevor?’
‘Pretty bird!’ Trevor agreed.
Lorna turned to me with a wide smile. ‘I’m totally in love and I could spend hours chatting to him, but I’d better do my job. Should we start upstairs?’
After she’d gathered measurements and photos, I signed the sales agreement with a smile. It was really happening and, while I was sure I’d have a few emotional moments saying goodbye to the house I’d shared with Cliff, my gut told me it was the right thing to do.
‘It’ll be a pleasure to sell your home for you, Yvonne,’ Lorna said when I walked her to the door. ‘It’s in a beautiful condition and these houses are a good size in a great location so I don’t anticipate it’ll stick around for long. I’ll have it up on the website by the weekend and a “for sale” board up within the next couple of days.’
I waited on the doorstep for her to get into her car and was about to close the door when Christian cycled into the cul-de-sac, heading for his house. He changed direction and pedalled across to me as Lorna pulled away.
‘Don’t tell me you’re moving too,’ he said, standing astride his bike.
I nodded. ‘The house is too big for just Trevor and me. If feels like time to move on, especially as…’ I stopped myself before I could speak ill of my new neighbours but I hadn’t managed to avoid a glance next door and Christian had clearly noticed.
‘Not going too well with the new neighbours?’ he asked.
‘I miss Betsy,’ I said, hoping that would be enough.
‘If it’s any consolation, I’ve tried to engage with them several times and they’re not interested.’
I smiled gratefully. ‘It’s not just them. I don’t feel like I belong here anymore. Most of the neighbours are really young and have families.’
Christian glanced around the houses, frowning. ‘I’d never thought about it before but you’re right. It’ll be thirty years or so before any of this lot are eligible for bus passes. So where are you moving to?’
‘Staying in the area – hopefully Willowdale – but I’ve just started looking. Do you think you’ll ever move?’
