Bess swallowed a piece of chicken not quite chewed enough to go down smoothly.
‘Bess, I know this isn’t easy for you. It isn’t for me either.’
She kept chewing.
‘I’ve wanted to tell you but never found the right time.’
Bess rested her cutlery against her plate. ‘How long have you been together?’
‘About a month.’
‘Is he moving in?’
Her mother seemed shocked at the question. ‘No, of course not.’
‘Are you going to go and live with him? Get married?’ Her mouth was running away with her and in this moment, she felt like she was seven years old, sitting on the kitchen bench while her mother prepared a meal, asking question after question theway she had done back then, inquisitive about the world she was a part of.
‘Slow down, Bess. I’m happy to talk about Malcolm but can we make it less of a firing squad of questions? I feel like I’m on trial.’
Bess shoved another forkful of food into her mouth to stop herself saying more. The last thing she wanted to do was upset her mum.
When she’d finished, she delivered another question, but a gentler one. ‘Where did you meet?’
‘At the town hall – I was with the WI and as I left, Malcolm walked past me. My dress caught on the bag he was carrying. We were attached to each other and one of the ladies had to bend down to set me free without tearing the fabric.’ She began to smile. ‘He asked me if I’d like to go for a coffee and…’
It was a nice story, sweet, serendipitous even.
‘Bess… why don’t I tell you a bit more about him, what he’s like? It might help put your mind at ease.’
And so Bess listened, took in the facts and tried to dampen down her emotions about it all.
Malcolm was the same age as Fiona. He was widowed, he had three grown-up children, and he’d worked for three decades as a financial advisor.
‘He’s retired now,’ Fiona finished.
In many ways, he sounded lovely.
‘Bess, tell me how you’re feeling.’
‘I’m thinking about Dad.’
‘You think it’s too soon.’ Fiona looked out of the back doors into the conservatory and the damp garden that was beginning to lose its colour, ready for winter to set in.
‘I’m being ridiculous. It’s been a while. Three years is a long time, but… somehow it feels like it was only yesterday.’
‘I miss your dad every single day. It’s not as painful as it was before, but that doesn’t mean I don’t wish things could have been different. I didn’t expect to meet Malcolm and he won’t ever replace your dad, but he makes me happy.’
And now Bess felt terrible. What right did she have to destroy any of her mother’s happiness?
‘He makes me laugh and for a while, I wondered whether I’d ever do that again,’ Fiona admitted. ‘Meeting Malcolm made me realise that a part of me was holding back. Now it’s coming alive again. We share some of the same interests, I feel blessed to have him in my life and the night of the accident, well, it made me realise that I may be falling in love for the second time in my life.’
Love? Friendship and companionship were one thing, but love was a whole different game. This was serious. And Bess knew her mum deserved her support.
Her gaze drifted over to the photograph of her parents that stood proudly on the windowsill. ‘I want you to be happy.’
‘I think I am, Bess. Give him a chance, get to know him.’
‘I will.’
