‘That’s awful,’ said Rick, longing to give her a hug but not wanting to stop the flow. ‘Carry on.’
‘Around that time, my younger sister Cassie, who lives in America – well, in Boston to be precise – was on the point of going into a civil partnership with her long-time girlfriend, Marissa. In a nutshell, I went over there to be with them on the big day and decided to stay on for a holiday. While I was there, it came out that they were desperate for a baby, but neither could carry one. I had awhat the hellmoment and offered to be their surrogate.’
‘Bloody hell, Vee,’ said Rick. ‘That’s a heck of a favour, even for a sister.’
‘I know. I won’t go into the details but a friend of theirs offered to be the donor and I got pregnant straight away. He’s out of the picture now, by the way, but my son…’
Vee choked over the last two words and her eyes filled with tears. Rick reached out and took her hand. Her fingers linked with his and she sniffed hard.
‘I don’t usually call him that,’ she said. ‘He knows he’s adopted but not who his birth mother is. Until now, that is. As far as he was concerned, I’m his aunt. He’s almost twenty-one.’
Vee reached into her back pocket for her phone and scrolled through a few pictures. She held it out to Rick. ‘This is the latest one they sent me of Finn,’ she said, leaning back in her chair and watching him carefully as he took the phone from her and looked down at it. He saw a laughing young man, with short dark hair and brown skin. He was wearing running clothes and looked as if he was pausing to share a joke with whoever was taking the picture, but probably about to take off at a gallop.
‘Finn’s father was originally from Mauritius,’ Vee said. ‘He went back there soon after Finn was conceived. He was never going to be part of Finn’s life, that was part of the deal. He was just a very kind person who wanted to help his friends. I’ve seen Finn a few times, but I don’t know him well. That was also part of the deal. Cassie and Marissa have always said they would tell Finn the truth about his history one day, when he was older, but I think they’re afraid.’
‘Afraid he’ll want to get to know you as his mother rather than his aunt?’
‘Yes. And now, thanks to Yolanda and her meddling, that’s exactly what’s about to happen.’
Rick stared at Vee. Her eyes were blazing now, and she was sitting forward in her chair. ‘Go on. Tell me what happened this morning,’ he said.
Vee took a deep breath. ‘It turns out that Yolanda knew about this all along. She disapproved strongly of me having a baby that I wasn’t going to look after and nurture myself and also of the fact that they have never told Finn I’m his mother. Her view is that all children ought to be given the opportunity to be brought up by their natural parents unless there’s a very good reason why that can’t or shouldn’t happen. I don’t know why her feelings are so extreme. I felt that to have Cassie and Marissa as parents would be perfect for Finn. They’re such warm, lovely people. It wasn’t easy, Rick. I didn’t do it lightly, but he’s had a great life so far in Boston. He’s fit and healthy and he’s made my sister and my sister-in-law so very happy. He doesn’t need yet another mum.’
‘You don’t have to justify yourself to me,’ said Rick, soothingly. ‘I think it was an amazing thing to do. But what has Yolanda done?’
‘Apparently she’s been in touch with Finn all along, and when she heard that I was coming to visit, she decided to pre-empt discussing the situation with me and go ahead and tell Finn about the story of his birth. Not only that, but she said he ought to come to England to see me as soon as possible.’
Rick found himself speechless. He tried hard to think of something useful to say but his mind was full of the outrageous liberty this elderly lady had taken, even if she’d meant well by it.
‘And, Rick, he’s coming over. Finn’s actually going to be in Willowbrook next week. He knows all about me. My sister’s furious. I had a call from her just before I left Yolanda’s. She seems to be blaming me for stirring things up by coming here. I want to go home. I can’t see Yolanda any more, I can’t bear to be near her.’
Vee stood up abruptly and pushed open the long windows, letting in a warm breeze. For a terrifying moment, Rick thought she was about to jump out. He jumped to his feet but instead of moving closer to the window, she turned to look at him.
‘You can see why I need to leave, can’t you?’ she asked. ‘I can’t settle here with all this going on, and I have to go and get ready for him arriving.’
Down below them on the patio, Rick could hear the rest of the party arriving back from lunch. They were laughing at Sid, who was still singing about leaning on a lamppost. Simone must have been in the kitchen, because she called out, ‘It sounds as if you have all had a very jolly lunch.’
‘Oh, yes, it was delicious, darling,’ Anthea answered. ‘We liked it so much in your little café that we’ve booked a table for tomorrow and the next day too, to make sure we don’t miss out.’
‘I’m going to have a dip in the pool now,’ said Winnie. ‘I’m going to try and teach Sid the basics of breaststroke, in case he decides to pull another stunt like the last one.’
Rick put his hands on Vee’s shoulders, and she looked up at him. ‘I can’t let you go home on your own when you’re this upset. And can you bear to tear this lot away from their holiday before they’re ready?’ he said. ‘Also, you’ll miss the delightful prospect of the ukulele band.’
Vee gazed at him in amazement and then laughed. Rick began to relax at last. She still had her sense of humour, thank goodness.
‘You can hear how much fun they’re having,’ he said, pressing home his point. ‘Another three days won’t make a difference, surely. Your house can be made visitor ready as soon as we get back. I’ll help. And you’ll have to talk to Yolanda sometime.’
‘Oh, will I?’ said Vee, through gritted teeth.
‘Yes, and it’ll be much worse if you leave it like this, with both of you convinced you’re right. If you run away now, the gap will be so wide that you probably won’t see her again. She is in her eighties, Vee. Think about it.’
Throwing caution to the winds, Rick pulled Vee close and slid his arms around her. She stiffened, but then relaxed against him, burying her head in his shoulder and starting to sob. He could feel her whole body shaking as she let out years of pent-up tension and grief. This was getting to be a habit, he thought ruefully. Her arms went round his waist as if of their own accord and she clung to him. After a while, the shuddering sobs lessened and Vee let go of Rick, disentangling herself from his embrace.
She disappeared into the bathroom, and he heard water splashing into the sink as she washed her face. When she came out again, there was colour in her cheeks, and she was trying to smile.
‘I don’t like admitting it, but you’re right,’ she said. ‘I don’t really want to travel back on my own. I can’t make them go home early when they’re having such a good time and I will have to see Yolanda again before we leave. There have been too many secrets in the past. At least now everything’s out in the open. But… oh, Rick, how am I going to face my son? I’ve never tried to play a bigger part in his life other than as a distant aunt. I was afraid of getting too close to him because it didn’t seem right to build a stronger bond when I’d made the decision to give him to my sister. He must think I didn’t care about him now he knows the truth about his birth.’
‘Well, this is your chance to show him just how much youdidcare,’ said Rick. ‘You gave Finn the chance of a different kind of life with two people who must love him very much. That’s a fantastic thing to do. He’ll understand, I’m sure of it.’
