‘Good morning, Emily Kirk here. How may I help you?’
Elle took a deep breath. ‘Hi, this is Elle Cooper, I’ve received and read the letter you forwarded to me and I’d like to arrange a time to meet my biological mother.’
ChapterTwenty-Three
At 6.45 p.m. Elle heard the front door open.
‘Hi, honey, I’m home,’ Pippa shouted, traipsing up the hallway towards the living room. She gave Elle a smile. ‘I could murder a cuppa. Do you want one?’
‘How was work?’ Elle asked. She was curled up in the corner of the sofa, Cora Hansley’s letter resting on her lap.
‘Busy! All the posters and books arrived for Noah’s book signing. I took it upon myself to order the flowers from Florrie and I bumped into Rona, who said she would be delighted to help with refreshments, cake and sandwiches. And the reason I’m late is because I’ve put up some of the posters around Heartcross.’
‘You’ve certainly been earning your salary today. I should take a day off work more often.’
‘Never mind work. I know you sent me a text to say the letter arrived but I want to hear everything.’
After making the tea Pippa sat down next to Elle. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Battered, bruised, anxious, sad, happy… I think I’ve experienced every emotion possible this afternoon. I do now know how I started out in life, which has answered numerous questions, and I know that my mother loved me and thought she chose the best possible start for me.’ Elle swallowed. ‘I think she thought I would be adopted into a loving family and would want for nothing. I don’t think she anticipated that I’d be passed from pillar to post through my childhood years. I’m not sure how she’ll feel when she learns that bit of information, but she thought she was doing the right thing. Everything could have worked out so differently. It seems we both didn’t have the best start.’
Elle handed Pippa the letter. ‘Here, have a read.’
By the time Pippa finished she had tears in her eyes. ‘I don’t know what to think. It’s a very emotional story and she clearly did love you.’
‘It was just the wrong circumstances for her to be able to raise me herself.’
‘Cora’s life seemed to spiral out of control so quickly – it must have been hard losing her parents so suddenly and then having the constant worry about money. I wonder what happened to Matt Harrison. At what point did he realise she was never coming home?’ added Pippa.
Elle had already asked those questions herself. This afternoon she’d googled Matt Harrison but, there were hundreds of men with the same name.
‘It’s too awful to even think about,’ Pippa continued. ‘Goodness knows what must have been running through his mind. Did he think she’d run off with someone else?’
‘Maybe. I wonder if he tried to look for her,’ added Elle. ‘He might even have filed a missing-persons report.’
‘Who knows? It wouldn’t have been that hard to disappear in those days, before everything was online and so easy to trace. And her state of mind must have been so unstable, dealing with drug addiction… And to run like that, she would have been constantly looking over her shoulder, petrified in case the dealer hunted her down.’
‘I can’t even imagine,’ replied Elle, a lump forming in her throat. ‘She must have been so scared.’
Pippa nodded. ‘There’s no address on this letter,’ she suddenly exclaimed, flipping it over.
‘I know. Her address is deliberately kept off it in case I make the decision not to make any further contact.’
‘So at this stage we don’t have any idea where she lives? I’m assuming it must be this country?’
‘I’m assuming that too.’
‘At least Cora has finally found happiness. She has George and a son. And you’ve finally found happiness with Irene. What happens now?’ she asked curiously.
‘I’ve already rung the caseworker and asked her to set up a meeting for us.’
‘All systems go then?’
‘All systems go,’ Elle repeated.
As they finished their tea, Pippa’s phone pinged from the table.
‘Aww,’ she said, glancing at her message. ‘That reminds me – I have news! Aiden asked me on a date.’ Pippa beamed from ear to ear. ‘That’s him texting now.’
