‘I’ve got to go, Kel; someone’s at the door.’
‘Oh my God. Go! Go! Maybe it’s him. It’s late but message whatever time you like; I want to know what’s going on. Take care, darling.’
Rita hung up and crossed the kitchen, tugging open the door to find Hilda on the doorstep, clutching a wheeled suitcase in one hand and an enormous handbag in the other.
‘So, the traveller returns. I’m expecting you to tell me you’ve been to the Little White Chapel in Vegas.’
‘God, no! You know I only go to funerals.’
Rita couldn’t help but smile. Hilda reverted to serious. ‘Anyway, there is someone I’d like you to meet.’ From the darkness appeared a woman Rita hadn’t seen before, but for some reason looked achingly familiar. She looked nervous but stood with quiet poise as Rita took her in, slightly confused as to what exactly was going on. The woman was short, with black hair swept into a loose bun streaked with silver at the temples. Her skin was sun-warmed and softly lined, especially around the eyes where laughter had clearly left its mark. She looked a similar age to Rita. There was a kind of timeless beauty to her, with her molten brown eyes and naturally turned-up lips.
Hilda’s voice wasn’t its usual bark. ‘Rita, this is Carmen. She wants to talk to you.’
Carmen’s lips trembled into the ghost of a smile. ‘Hola,’ she said, shyly.
Rita stood aside. ‘You’d better come in.’ She flicked the kettle on. ‘Tea?’
Carmen nodded. ‘Can I use your toilet, please?’
Rita showed her the way then came back to the kitchen to face Hilda wide eyed.
‘What the hell is going on?’
‘I went to Spain for a day.’ Hilda took a huge breath and looked in her handbag to check for cigarettes. ‘All I had was a first name and a town. Bollocking mad, I know. But I had to.’
Rita frowned. ‘Hilda, what the hell are you doing?’
Carmen stood in the kitchen doorway. ‘It is OK, Hilda, I take this from here.’
Hilda put her arm on her daughter-in-law’s. ‘You have your answers now. Send Carmen back to the annexe when you’ve finished chatting. She’s going to be staying for a couple of days.’
Carmen took a breath, and sat back down opposite Rita, whose heart was beating wildly. She felt she wasn’t sure she could take any more drama tonight, but gripped her tea mug in anticipation.
‘I met Archie. Millennium New Year’s Eve. I was working as an au pair in Exeter. I was told that Seahaven Bay put on the best street party and fireworks display to see the year two thousand in, so that is where I came.’ She looked down at her tea. ‘I got pregnant. I never expected anything from him. Never tried to find him. I just went back home to Spain. That was my choice.’
Rita’s breath caught. ‘I met Archie in two thousand,’ she said softly. ‘In the summer.’ She didn’t know what she had expected to feel, anger? Jealousy? But it was the relief that he didn’t cheat on her that was palpable.
‘I didn’t tell my son until he was older when he started asking questions. And by then, it felt too late. I managed to find out that Archie still lived in Seahaven Bay; I also found out that he had his own life and children with you, Rita.’
‘I suppose you’re here for the will,’ Rita said resignedly.
Carmen shook her head firmly. ‘No. No. Hilda – she talked to me. I know nothing about Archie’s will. I never asked him for anything. Not a penny.’
Rita raised an eyebrow.
‘My son, he travelled with his job. When he was twenty-one,he contacted Archie without me knowing. Archie insisted he talk to me. Said he must make up for all the strife and worry I must have had being a single parent. He sent money,’ Carmen admitted. ‘Not loads but enough for my boy to go on his travels around Europe. He had an accident, you see.’
Tears were now running down Rita’s cheeks. Suddenly, everything made sense. Why this woman looked so familiar. Why Teo had been overly caring. Her voice wavered. ‘I know he did.’
‘Being honest, I didn’t want it to be just money. I wanted them to meet, in person. For my son to see the man, not just the gesture. We were going to meet him in Exeter. The week…’ Carmen looked up to stop tears from forming. ‘The week after he died.’
A silence fell over the room. Even Henry stirred slightly, as if sensing the weight of the sadness of it all. ‘Just for a day,’ Carmen said quietly. ‘No more.’ The pretty Spanish woman continued to well up. ‘I maybe did it all wrong. But I did it the best way I thought.’
‘And that’s all we can do,’ Rita replied kindly, looking at the woman in front of her and knowing why Archie had fallen for her, however briefly. Something shifted within her. Not judgement. Not sympathy. Just the understanding of grief in its many complicated forms.
She reached across the table and touched Carmen’s hand. It was warm, shaking slightly.
‘Well.’ Rita’s voice was hoarse with tiredness and emotion. ‘You’re here now.’ Carmen nodded, unable to find the words. ‘And Mateo is a credit to you.’
