‘It’s strange,’ said Lucas as he walked alongside Willow, ‘but it’s only now that I really feel like my grandmother has gone. You’d think the whole church and burial thing would have made the point, but somehow it didn’t. Does that sound weird?’
‘Not really,’ said Willow, ‘and as far as I know, there aren’t any hard and fast rules about these things. We all cope in our different ways. And yesterday you and Ellis had the distraction of all those people to deal with.’
He slowed his step and turned to stare out to sea. ‘It brought back memories of my mother’s death too.’ A moment passed before he returned his gaze to Willow, his hands now pushed into his pockets. ‘Did yesterday remind you of losing your dad?’
‘Yes, I suppose it did,’ she said absently.
‘Were you close?’
‘Not especially. Not like Martha was. She’s what you’d call a proper chip off the block. I think I exasperated him mostly.’
‘I find that hard to believe.’
‘It’s true. My sister has always had a great sense of purpose to her life, it was something Dad tried to encourage in us both. It worked perfectly with Martha, and not at all with me.’
‘So what are you like, then?’
‘Oh, I’m the cute fluffy black sheep of the family.’
Lucas laughed. ‘The cute fluffy bit I can believe, but not the rest.’
‘Well, every child ends up being labelled in their family, don’t they? From an early age Martha was labelled the clever ambitious one and I was the silly one who didn’t have a Scooby-Doo what she was going to do in life.’
‘Is that how you see yourself?’
‘Yes,’ she said matter-of-factly. ‘Sometimes I think I should be more like Martha, but then I think of the pressure she might be under, you know, having to live up to all those expectations, and I feel sorry for her.’
‘She doesn’t come across as being the sort to need sympathy.’
‘Don’t be fooled by that tough shell of hers. We all bleed if we’re cut.’
He smiled. ‘It strikes me that you have a very understanding and sympathetic nature. I hope your fiancé has too.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘That he won’t mind me stealing you away for a walk.’
‘Oh, he’ll be fine.’
Willow wasn’t entirely sure this was true, but what the heck, she was allowed to go for a stroll along the beach with someone who was, to all intents and purposes, her stepbrother, wasn’t she? Perhaps if Rick hadn’t been asleep, he might have come along too. As it was, when she woke up and looked at her mobile to see what time it was, she saw that Lucas had texted her.
Thanks for your support yesterday. You’re a good listener.
Sorry if I went on a bit.
Out of bed, and in the bathroom, she’d messaged him back.
You didn’t go on at all.
Fancy a walk before breakfast?
Nice idea! See you at the beach gate in ten minutes.
Dressing as quietly as she could so as not to disturb Rick, and then conscious that nobody else was up, she silently padded downstairs in her stockinged feet to unlock the back door. It reminded her of being a teenager again, when she used to sneak out late at night to meet Finn from the village. He’d been her boyfriend at the time and she’d lost her virginity to him in the sand dunes and marram grass. It had been his first time as well and neither of them had been that impressed with the mechanics of it. Condoms and sand did not a good mix make. They’d laughed about it and the next time they’d chosen a better spot further round the promontory in the seclusion of the woods.
It had been funny seeing Finn again at the fête back in the summer; she wished now that she’d had more time to catch up with him properly. Another regret to add to the many, she thought sadly.
‘Do you suppose we ought to be going back now?’ asked Lucas when they’d reached the sand dunes and its myriad memories for Willow.
