‘At least you recognise that. And I can assure you he’s neither. Not weak, but rather kind, so kind he’d never do what Hugo did, not intentionally, not maliciously. I think Hugo would still say he was a little hard done by. But Bear knows he messed up. And for the record, I’d vouch for him.’
‘With all due respect, Harriet, you’re his mum – that’s not going to stand up in a court of law!’
‘You’re probably right.’ They both laughed. ‘But it’s the truth. I’d trust him with my life. I was a little doubtful of the strength of feeling he described, all that love-at-first-sight malarkey.’ As she spoke, she thought about her husband, his infinite capacity for kindness, and her heart flexed.
‘But now?’ Tawrie asked with eyes wide, as if desperate to hear the answer she wanted.
‘Now, having met you both, I think you kids need to give it a go. But what do I know? I didn’t get it right until I was middle-aged!’
‘I should go. I’m supposed to be helping organise the party.’ Tawrie stood and made her way to the front door. ‘When you see Edgar, Bear, Ed,’ she fumbled, ‘can you tell him to come to the Gunn Fire and please come too, Harriet. I think it’d be nice, and Mum will be there, probably.’
‘I’ll tell him, and thank you for the invite. Happy birthday, Tawrie Gunn.’
‘Thank you.’
The girl lifted her hand in a wave as she walked swiftly down Fore Street, smiling back over her shoulder. Harriet thought she looked a million miles away from a girl who was tootling in themiddle lane of life, just about coping. In fact, she looked like a girl who had her whole future ahead of her and it looked rather golden.
‘It’s time.’ She closed the front door. ‘It’s time.’
Taking a seat in the old leather chair, she let her hands briefly rest on the arms, before reaching for her phone.
‘Harriet! All okay?’ There was the unmistakable note of alarm in his question. It was unusual for her to call and she was sure that, like her, the first thing she’d think of if he were calling her was that something might have happened to the kids.
‘Yes, all good, Hugo. Kids are fine, just, erm ...’ And then it happened. Harriet Wentworth in that instant turned from the competent scientist, loving wife, and dedicated mother into a woman twenty years younger with the heavy twin yoke of distress and dilemma about her shoulders, weighing her down and down. ‘I just wanted to ...’ She tried again from a throat that had narrowed with sadness and recollection.
‘You okay, old girl?’
‘Yes. Just give me a minute.’ Closing her eyes, she tipped her head back and took deep breaths. With the thumb of her left hand she felt the raised bump of the gold band on the underside of her third finger. A gold band she would never have had if she and Hugo had stayed married – and a man like Charles would likely never have come into her life. Both thoughts too terrible to contemplate. Sitting upright, she swallowed. ‘I’m in Corner Cottage.’
‘Ah.’ His acknowledgment, she knew, an understanding of just what a return to the place might mean.
‘I ... I found the diary I used to keep during our— during that ... that summer.’
‘I remember.’ He spoke softly.
‘It’s odd. Even the sight of the little green book was enough to transport me right back to then.’
‘I see.’ She heard him take a deep breath. ‘So come on then, H, let’s have it!’
‘What?’ She’d lost the thread.
‘Well, I never hear from you, never directly, not since ... not since then, really. You never call to chew the fat or make small talk.’
‘You want me to call and make small talk?’
‘No.’ He was as ever direct. ‘I mean, I did, once upon a time, shortly after when it was all so ...’
‘Shitty.’
‘Yes, when it was all so shitty. So let’s just cut to the chase.’
‘Hugo, I don’t know what you—’
‘Well, obviously, you’ve gone to Ilfracombe, read your diary, had the fires of fury stoked and realised there’s a couple of poison-tipped daggers you forgot to stab me with, so get it out of your system. But I can probably guess: “How could I destroy our lives, why did I do it, did I not care about the kids, how has life worked out based on all the very many mistakes and error of judgement I made?”’
‘Hugo, just stop!’ She was firm.
‘Oh, don’t worry, you’ll get your turn—’
