‘Not a lot, truth be told.’ Carol sighed. ‘I think he knew things weren’t right between us. He never tried to persuade me to stay.’ She shrugged.
‘You looked like you had been crying earlier,’ said Jess. ‘Are you sure you are okay?’
Just then a toddler threw a soft toy snake from their pram that landed at Jess’s feet. She stood and passed it back to the child’s young carer, who she presumed to be the boy’s mum, who thanked her.
It reminded her of when she would take Maisie out in the pram and people would coo over her as she was such a cute baby. How quickly the years had passed.
‘Do I look okay now?’ asked Carol as she fished her compact from her bag. ‘I bet I look a right show,’ she said as she dabbed some concealer beneath her eyes.
‘Of course you don’t,’ Jess reassured her. ‘I was just worried you had been upset, that’s all.’
‘I was,’ Carol admitted. ‘I bawled my eyes out on the drive over here.’
‘Oh, Mum,’ said Jess, feeling saddened at the thought of her mum doing that all alone.
‘But don’t worry.’ Carol held her hands up. ‘Really, I am fine. I think things had built up and I just let it all out,’ she told her daughter. ‘A few slushy songs on Smooth Radio and I was gone.’ She smiled. ‘It was actually quite therapeutic.’
There was no need to tell her daughter that the break-up with her and Pete had dragged up all of the memories of the split with Jess’s father. She felt like a failure somehow. Or at least a poor judge of character, but then she supposed Pete had given her a confidence boost when she needed it most. All the same, she could not help but feel that everything was her fault. She would be fine, though. Being back here with her daughter and granddaughter was exactly what she needed.
‘I’m glad you’re okay,’ said Jess as she fished her front door keys from her bag and handed them to her mum. ‘Let yourself in; I will be home about five thirty.’
‘Shall I pick Maisie up from school?’ Carol offered.
‘Yes, that would be great. She is meant to be in after-school club, so it will be a lovely surprise,’ said Jess, imagining the look on the face of her daughter when Carol arrived to collect her.
‘So I am okay to stay? I will be looking for a place of my own, though, obviously,’ said Carol.
‘As if you need to ask.’ Jess rolled her eyes. ‘I have already told you, you can stay for as long as you need to.’
‘Thank you, darling. I will get another key cut on the way back to the train station,’ said Carol. ‘Oh, and I saw Declan this morning,’ she added. ‘He was just heading in as I pulled up. I don’t think he saw me, though.’
Jess wondered why he had taken time off work, but then it was none of her business.
‘Right,’ said Jess just as her cheese panini for lunch arrived at her table.
‘Is everything okay between you two? You never said much when I spoke to you last,’ said Carol.
‘Oh fine,’ said Jess, waving away the question. ‘Both busy working I guess, we are bit like ships that pass in the night.’ She smiled.
‘So you still haven’t been out on another date?’ asked Carol, looking puzzled.
‘No.’ Jess took a bite of her panini. ‘Look, I will fill you in properly later, Mum. I promise.’
‘Okay,’ Carol said, taking the hint not to ask any more questions.
They finished their lunch and chatted about the price of property in the area, and soon enough it was time for Jess to head back to work.
‘See you later, Mum,’ said Jess, giving her mum a quick hug. ‘We will have a good chat when Maisie is in bed this evening.’
‘We will,’ said Carol. ‘I will pop a bottle of white wine in the fridge to chill.’
‘Looking forward to it.’ Jess smiled, wondering how many more evenings they would be spending at Wisteria House. She was also not looking forward to revealing to her mother what she had discovered about Declan.
FIFTY-FOUR
DECLAN
Declan was not surprised that Jess had not been in touch. What did he expect? There could not be many women out there who were prepared to give a chance to an ex-convict. Not without giving it some serious thought. And she had Maisie to think about after all.
