‘Sorry, Mum,’ said Hannah, rushing out to join her. ‘We were just about to have a clear-up when Dad arrived.’ She looked over her shoulder at Billy, who gave an apologetic smile.
‘We’ll get right on it, Mrs Alexander.’
‘Honestly, Hannah, that is not the point,’ she said, ignoring Billy. ‘Did you not think to ask if it would be okay to use the annexe last night? You had the whole cottage to yourselves and instead, you decided to come out here and have a rave by the looks of things.’
Her gaze took in the empty beer bottles, discarded crisp wrappers and her lovely, soft, folded blankets lying in crumpled heaps on the daybed.
‘I have my first guests arriving next weekend. You know how much effort I’ve put into making this place special and you’ve undone all my hard work like that.’ She clicked her fingers by way of demonstration. ‘You’ve shown a complete lack of respect by leaving it in this state. And what is that?’ Her eyes alighted on a dark stain on the multi-coloured rug on the floor.
‘Sorry!’ Hannah clasped her head in her hands, looking mortified. ‘It might be red wine,’ she said with a grimace. ‘We had a bit too much to drink and must have got carried away. Honestly, though, it won’t take us long to clear up. You go back inside and we’ll sort it, I promise. When we’re finished, you won’t know that we’ve even been here,’ she said with an exaggerated brightness in her voice, hoping she might see a glimmer of forgiveness in her mum’s eyes.
‘No, I’ll do it. Just grab me a black bag from the kitchen, please,’ she said, totally exasperated, simply wanting to be left alone.
Tess felt uncharacteristically angry and was doing her absolute best to hold onto her temper. Surely Hannah was old enough to know better. It simply reeked of selfishness. She was obviously so caught up with Billy that she didn’t give a second thought to the state of the annexe. A wave of sadness consumed Tess as she started the clean-up procedure. She spent her whole life supporting other people, Hannah in particular, and she would have expected her own daughter to show a similar level of kindness and respect, knowing how much The Garden Retreat meant to Tess. She picked up all the empties and put them into the black bag and then gathered up the blankets, along with the cushion covers and the daybed linen, and dropped them to the floor, where Barney promptly rearranged them with his paws before making a comfy bed and settling happily on top. Tess couldn’t help but smile, not having the heart to scold him. None of this was his fault and besides, the linen would be thoroughly washed and aired before it came back into the annexe.
‘We didn’t have these sorts of problems when it was just you and me, did we, boy?’ She dropped her hand to stroke his soft fur, his constant, sunny presence always making her feel better. Of course, she’d missed Hannah hugely while she was away and there were times, especially after Charles had left, when she’d felt so desperately lonely, but she’d adjusted to her new circumstances, coming to appreciate the time she had to herself and the opportunity to pursue her own interests. Now, as much as she loved having Hannah back, it was a case of readjusting her new routines to accommodate someone else. Charles was absolutely right. She was no longer the same woman as even six months ago when the main purpose in her life was keeping her husband happy. Since then, she’d grown, flourished and discovered an independence and resourcefulness she hadn’t known she possessed.
With vigour, she attacked the red-wine stain with some carpet cleaner and was hugely relieved when it lifted easily. She opened the windows and straightened up her favourite painting and looked all around her. Thank goodness! Once she’d laundered the covers, it would be back to how she’d left it and this time, she would banish Hannah from using it until after her first guests had left. Perhaps she’d been too quick to react to the mess that she’d encountered; in hindsight, she thought it probably looked a lot worse than it was, but her nerves were frazzled from her unscheduled run-in with Hannah, Billy and Charles. It was seeing Charles that had particularly unsettled her. How many times had she told him about turning up unexpectedly? Far too many times to mention, and yet she knew him well enough to know that there was something wrong. Was he struggling to adjust to his new way of life, hanging on with a thread to what he’d had at Hollyhocks? He’d even admitted to her that he sometimes regretted his decision to leave, although Tess had no sympathy on that front and paid no attention to his discontented grumbling. As far as she was concerned, he’d made his decision and he had to live with it. He wasn’t her problem any more, but she couldn’t help worrying about his state of mind. He was like a lost soul at the moment, and he certainly didn’t look like a well or happy man.
She sighed, scooping up the dirty washing, and returned to the kitchen. She wasn’t sure why he was taking up so much of her headspace. Perhaps because she saw the similarities in her situation to Rob’s position with his wife. The ties of the past weren’t always easy to escape.
‘Mum!’ Hannah jumped up from where she’d been sitting at a stool by the island. ‘I made some sandwiches: cheese and salad, and tuna and mayonnaise.’ She whipped off a napkin with a flourish to display the plate filled with her lunch offering and presented them with a hopeful expression. Tess widened her eyes.
‘Where’s Billy?’
‘Oh, he’s gone now. He wanted to come and say goodbye, but I told him it was probably best if he went. He says thank you, by the way. For your hospitality and he wanted to say how sorry he was too, for the mess we made out in the annexe. It was all my fault, of course. I didn’t realise how stressful it was going to be cooking for Billy,’ she gave an apologetic laugh, ‘so I think I overdid it on the vino. I was so relieved after we’d eaten that I just wanted to get away from the chaos in the kitchen, and by that stage, we were both a bit tipsy. I didn’t think. I’m really sorry, Mum. Is it okay out there?’
‘Well, it is now.’ Tess could never stay cross with Hannah for long, not with those big, round eyes looking at her imploringly. ‘Although The Garden Retreat is now out of bounds until our guests have been and gone. Okay?’
‘Yes, of course. Come and sit down, Mum. I’m so pleased we’re friends again,’ she said with a beguiling smile, reaching out a hand to squeeze hers. ‘Trust Dad to come round when Billy was here. It’s almost as if he has a second sight about these things.’
‘I know. Don’t worry, he’ll get over it. And if he doesn’t, well, that’s tough luck on him.’
‘He’s a funny old bugger these days, isn’t he?’ Hannah said wistfully. ‘He always seems cross about something or other.’
‘That’s true. I’m just pleased I don’t have to deal with his bad temper any more – well, only in small doses, at least, and when he gets too unbearable, I can send him home to Melody. Poor woman.’ Tess shook her head, irritated, thinking about Charles. ‘Anyway, I take it from the fallout of last night, you had a good evening with Billy?’
‘Yes.’ Tess could have sworn she saw Hannah visibly swoon. ‘Oh, Mum, I really like him. I know I have reasons not to, but we’ve cleared all of that up now. We get on so well together. We did from the moment we met; we both knew it was a special connection at the time and I don’t want to lose that. Do you understand? You don’t think I’m making a huge mistake, do you? You know that your opinion is important to me.’
‘No. Not at all. You have to follow your heart. And if you want Billy in your life, then I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it work. He seems like a really nice guy.’
Tess understood more than Hannah might realise. Six months ago, she may not have given the same advice. She might have cautioned Hannah not to give Billy a second chance, to put their relationship down as a holiday romance that had gone wrong and to move on, but Tess knew for herself what it was like to make that instant connection with someone when you were least expecting to, like she had done with Rob. Sometimes, she felt like a giddy teenager, riding the highs and lows of a new relationship, being swept away on a wave of excitement. If she could feel those emotions at the age of fifty-five, then she had an inkling of how Hannah might be feeling towards Billy.
‘Sometimes, you have to take a risk on life and love. I’ve learned that at my ripe old age so I would say go for it!’
‘Oh, Mum, I do love you, but please none of that old-age talk. You’re in your prime. Fifty is the new thirty, apparently.’
Tess wasn’t sure about that, but she certainly didn’t feel her age. It was a terrible thing to say, but she reckoned she’d lost ten years since Charles had left. He was stuffy, uptight and pompous, and she had to wonder if some of those dubious traits had rubbed off on her, in all the time she was with him.
‘That’s what your grandmother always says!’ Tess laughed. ‘I think it’s both your way of telling me that I need to live a little which is exactly what I intend to do!’ She relished her new-found freedom, and it had given her a lightness and a positivity that had previously been missing. ‘Talking of your grandmother, I’m going to pop in to see her this afternoon for a cuppa and a catch-up. They do a nice line in cakes at the weekend.’
‘Oh well, I’ll come with you. I always love to see her.’
Tess was hoping that Hannah might come along, as she could lift Marjorie’s spirits in a way that no one else could. She knew that Marjorie often found Sundays particularly difficult to navigate, as she was reminded of long-lost days spent with her late husband Malc, and Tess and Hugh, Tess’s brother, in the beautiful family home. It was only recently, after a bout of prolonged ill health, that Marjorie had reluctantly had to sell up and move into a care facility, left with only her fond memories of those precious family times. A surprise visit from Hannah and Tess would cheer up Marjorie no end.
Only it seemed that it wasn’t only Tess who was concerned about her mother’s state of mind as no sooner had they walked through the double doors of the care home than the duty manager came hurrying out of her office and pulled Tess to one side.
‘Is everything okay?’ Tess asked, concerned.
