‘Hugo,’ she interjected again. ‘The reason I wanted to call you, and the thing I want to say is—’
‘Here we go,’ he muttered.
She ignored him. ‘—is that I forgive you.’
‘What?’ he asked, calmer now.
‘I forgive you and I want nothing for you but happiness and peace.’
‘You forgive me?’ His voice no more than a scratchy whisper.
‘Yes. I forgave you a long time ago, just never said it, never really thought about it, but it occurred to me that maybe we should have this conversation ... Hugo?’
The sound of his tears was surprising and hard to hear.
‘I’m ... I’m sorry, H.’ He sniffed. ‘Sorrier than you will ever know.’
It was a shock to her how good it was to hear his remorse so earnestly expressed.
‘I’ve been thinking recently, how long do we have left of life, Hugo? Who knows – five years, ten, twenty? Whatever it is, we need to not let that time in our life when things fell apart be a cloud. That would be crazy, wouldn’t it? I mean, we have two amazing kids together; we have an awful lot to be thankful for.’
‘We do. We really do. And thank you, H, thank you.’ He swallowed his distress. ‘Maybe, erm ...’ He coughed. ‘Maybe we could all get together: you, me, Charles and Ramona. You could come for dinner, we could invite all the kids! Get the pasta on, garlic bread, whip up a tiramisu, couple of bottles of red ...’
‘That sounds lovely,’ she enthused.
‘Right then. Bye, H.’
‘Goodbye, Hugo.’
She smiled to herself long after the phone call had ended. Charles would rather get a pizza and eat in their little kitchen – anything other than subject himself to an evening like that, and she was inclined to agree ...
It was an hour or so before she felt composed enough to call her husband.
‘Hello, my darling!’ His joy at no more than knowing it was her on the end of the line was like a bolt through her chest.
‘Charles,’ she began, quite unable to get the words out as emotion filled her up.
‘Don’t rush, Harry, we have all the time in the world, all the time in the world.’
His voice in her ear, linking her across the miles from one house to another, from one time to another, was like a door opening. She sat back in the chair, as she had so many times before, herhair now a little greyer, skin a little more aged, but with a peace in her uncaged heart that was as new as it was exciting, and as she drew breath to speak, it was like a firecracker going off in her chest. She could hear a sound like a note, like music, like ... She didn’t know what. Clarity? As if fog had cleared in her mind. And she knew beyond any shadow of doubt that she’d have gone anywhere with this husband of hers. Anywhere. All she wanted was for him to hold her, talk to her, be with her.
‘I just ... just wanted to say that you are everything and I love you, I love you entirely, for always.’
‘And I you, Harry, my love. And I you.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
TAWRIEGUNN
14 SEPTEMBER2024
Tawrie raced up the steps towards Signal House.
‘Here she is! The birthday girl!’ Freda shouted from the kitchen where she stood at the countertop, preparing marshmallows on sticks for the Gunn Fire. Connie was at the table, sipping tea.
‘Here she is! Off to see the bloody world and leaving her poor cousin in the lurch!’ Connie winked over the rim of her mug.
‘So I take it Nan knows.’ Tawrie narrowed her eyes at the girl she loved and who would make a terrible spy, what with her inability to keep anything secret.
