‘I want him to be the one to say sorry,’ she said. ‘I know that makes me stubborn, but he’s my father and it’s time he realised that what I needed was his unconditional support back then, not his judgement. It’s what I still need.’
Erik reached for her hand and clasped it in both of his. ‘Sweetheart, you’re one of the most acclaimed young chefs in London. You’ve succeeded in a way that I’m sure even you never imagined, so whatever Dad might have said to you back then, it means nothing now. You’ve done it, you proved him wrong. If he’s not proud of you now, then he’s the fool.’
‘Says the son who followed the path that was set for him and is about to become a surgeon,’ she said, frowning. ‘All you’ve ever received is his adoration for following in his footsteps.’
He laughed. ‘Hey, I can’t help it if I’m an overachiever.’
She swatted at him, but he ducked and grabbed her hand again. That was what she loved most about him—his ability to make her smile when she felt low, to turn everything into a reason to laugh.
‘Seriously, Lotte, this is a huge opportunity for you. And honestly? Imagine Grandma’s face if you did go back.’ He grinned. ‘She’d be over the moon to see her favourite grandchild.’
They both laughed then. Charlotte had always strived to be their grandmother’s favourite, especially in the wake of their mother disappearing and her father deciding to rule their household with an iron fist. It had been a difficult childhood in many ways, but their grandmother had wrapped her love around them with such ferocity that they’d both felt cherished, always, despite it all.
She sighed. ‘You truly think I should go?’
‘I truly think you should go. I mean, what’s holding you back, other than Dad? You took London by storm, and now it’s time for you to return home and make your name there. Or not. Going there for an interview doesn’t mean you have to take it, it just means that you’re open to the opportunity and to finding out more.’ His smile was kind, as it always was. Erik had been the best big brother a girl could have hoped for, always encouragingher, always believing in her dreams. ‘Besides, it doesn’t matter what he thinks.I’mproud of you, Grandma’s proud of you, and that’s what matters. Don’t let him control the decisions you make, not now.’
She nodded, quickly brushing away tears with her fingertips and wishing away her emotions.
Erik took out his phone from his pocket, turning the screen around to her after a few seconds. ‘Let me book you a ticket. When do you want to go?’
Charlotte felt her chest constrict just seeing the landing page for Norwegian Air on his phone.
‘I’m booking this flight whether you want me to or not, so either tell me what day or?—’
‘Tomorrow,’ she said. ‘Make it tomorrow.’
He grinned and tapped away, before setting his phone down. ‘Done. The confirmation will be sent to your email.’
She groaned and reached for her coffee. ‘Tell me I’m doing the right thing.’
‘You’re doing the right thing,’ he repeated.
Charlotte shook her head, not convinced that she was but knowing that she’d always regret it if she didn’t. It was an amazing opportunity, and perhaps itwastime to forgive her father instead of holding on to the past.
The server arrived with their breakfast, to which Charlotte mouthed ‘thank you’ as her eggs Benedict with mushrooms was placed in front of her, and it was then that she remembered the box in her bag.
‘Oh, there’s something else I need to tell you,’ she said, as her brother picked up his cutlery and began to eat with a speed that still managed to surprise her.
‘Talk while I eat,’ he said. ‘If my pager goes off before I’ve finished this…’
Charlotte reached into her bag and took out the little box, setting it between them and quickly filling her brother in on what had transpired the day before.
When Charlotte walked through arrivals at Oslo Airport the next day, she felt a familiar tightness in her chest that she usually experienced whenever she talked about her dad. But she quickly forgot her anxiety when a woman with her thick silver hair cut short, with chunky gold jewellery at her wrists and neck, strode towards her. Her grandmother was seventy-five, but she walked with the straight back of a woman half her age.
‘Lotte!’
‘Grandma.’ Charlotte dropped her carry-on bag and opened her arms, enveloping her grandmother in a tight hug. They stood for what felt like forever, arms around each other as the other people who’d disembarked from her flight were forced to move around them. ‘It’s so good to see you.’
‘I’d have told you to visit months ago if I’d thought it would work.’
Charlotte bent and retrieved her bag, slinging the other arm around her grandmother’s shoulders. ‘It’s been too long, Grandma, it was time I came home.’
‘Did your brother talk you into this, or was it the mystery of the box?’
She laughed and hugged her grandmother tighter to her side. ‘Of course not, this was all me, and maybe just a little about the box.’
‘You expect me to believe that you came all this way, after not coming home for eight years, just to see your old grandma?’
