‘What have we here?’ She looked at the bowl on the table.
‘Porridge,’ said Susanna, who was at the sink washing blueberries in a sieve. ‘Sit.’
‘Bossy.’ She loved it.
Susanna came over and sprinkled the berries on top of Gayle’s breakfast.
Since her homecoming, Susanna, Addie and Louisa had been on top of her nutrition plan. They ensured she had three meals a day, and it didn’t matter whether those meals were large or small, as long as they were packed full of goodness.
As Gayle scooped up some porridge from the edge of her bowl, ensuring there was a berry included, she asked, ‘How’s Alex? Have you spoken to him today?’
‘Yes, first thing.’
‘You two lovebirds.’
‘We’re doing well.’
‘I enjoyed getting to know him when he was here. Shame it was such a short visit.’
The pair had got on like a house on fire. Gayle and Alex had talked about the island. One of her passions – apart from puddings – was to talk about the place she lived and loved to newcomers who were yet to experience the joys of living here. They discussed puddings in great detail, dentistry, Cambridge, the day he saved Susanna’s life, and before Susanna had gone up to bed with him, Gayle had stopped her and pulled her in for a hug. ‘I’m glad you found such a good man,’ she’d told her. She didn’t say anything about Mateo; she didn’t have to. In many ways, Mateo had been good for her back then, but Alex was perfect for her now.
‘I could get used to being looked after like this,’ Gayle said now, her appetite much improved and already halfway through her porridge.
‘Well, remember you need to keep going with the good eating plan when you’re on your own again. This will get you into a pattern. We’ll be checking up on you, you know.’
‘I don’t doubt it.’
Addie came through next, having already been out for a morning walk around the island with Louisa, who had stopped at the café to help Nancy. Gayle was to take a whole fortnight off work, during which she’d have a couple of check-ups with the doctor. She’d thought she would hate the time off from her beloved café, but instead she knew she needed to get herself back to tiptop health if she wanted to enjoy many more years at the helm of the Sweet Life Café.
‘What’s on the menu tonight?’ Gayle asked, as she popped a stray blueberry on top of her last spoonful of porridge.
Susanna filled her in on tonight’s dinner of fish, potatoes and vegetables. ‘That will be followed by whatever Addie is making for pudding,’ she said. ‘Now, I’m just going to run to the bathroom.’
After Susanna left the room, Gayle asked Addie, ‘What will you make?’
‘I was thinking bread and butter pudding.’
Gayle’s spoon paused before it could reach her mouth. ‘That was the first thing you and I ever made together. Do you remember?’
‘Of course I do.’
She felt happy, honoured, relieved to hear it. ‘Do you follow the same recipe?’
‘To the letter.’ Addie smiled. ‘And when Isaac was old enough to help me bake, it was the first thing we made together.’
Gayle felt her emotions rise again. For so long she’d thought of only ever having a negative impact on these girls’ lives, but slowly she was coming to realise she’d been way too hard on herself, and actually, they’d all done better than she thought.
Addie’s phone went and she excitedly answered a FaceTime call from Isaac via Maurie’s phone.
‘Hey, my little man. How are you?’ She propped her phone up against the big jug of fruit juice in the centre of the table so Gayle was in view. Addie, like the other two, had extended her stay, and Gayle knew how much she was missing her little boy.
‘I miss you.’ It took seconds for the small frown creased in Isaac’s forehead to deepen as he asked, ‘Who are you?’
By now Susanna had come back into the room and she nudged Gayle gently. ‘I’m pretty sure he’s asking you.’
Addie hadn’t told Isaac that her aunt had died and that was what was behind the trip to the island, which made it far easier to explain her existence now. ‘I’m your mum’s aunt. I’m Aunt Gayle.’ Oh, this sweet boy, he was just gorgeous, and if she didn’t think it would confuse him, she might well burst into tears with emotion.
‘You know who this is, Isaac,’ said Addie, ‘I showed you photographs, remember, of the island, the Sweet Life Café.’
