Mel reached across the table and took my hand. ‘Whatever the future holds for you, Liv, there will always be a place here for Bertie, should you need it.’
This brought on a fresh onslaught of tears. Mel picked up her office phone. ‘Linda? I wonder if you could bring two cups of tea through to my office with plenty of sugar. Yes, thank you.’
A bell rang, and the sound of children’s laughter and squeals reached us.
‘Break time,’ explained Mel. ‘You don’t want Bertie seeing you in this state. Linda’s bringing us tea, so I suggest you wait in here until the children are safely back in their classrooms.’
‘Thank you.’
I watched through the window as children streamed out onto the playground. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat as Bertie ran outside, carrying a football under his arm. He was with his usual gang, all laughing as they began passing the ball to each other. Mel followed the direction of my gaze.
‘There’s no way you could persuade your mother-in-law to let Bertie see out the term here?’
‘No, I’ve tried.’
‘That is a shame. In that case, I wonder if you could bring him back for the end of term concert? I was hoping he could do a solo as he’s taken to the cornet so well.’
‘I’ll see what I can do.’
‘Good. Ah, thank you, Linda,’ said Mel, as the pink-haired secretary came in carrying a tray. I saw the question in her eyes as she took in my tear-stained face, but I trusted Mel to keep my confidence.
Bertie’s hair was flying up at strange angles as he chased after the football. It was as though I were watching him in slow motion. His face spread into a smile as he scored a goal, running up to his best friend and jumping up and down in each other’s arms. Deep down, I knew I wouldn’t bring him back for the concert. How could I? It would amount to rubbing his face in all he’d lost.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The farmhouse was noisier than usual. As I opened the front door, I could hear laughter, raised voices and the clink of glasses.
‘She’s here,’ I heard Seb say. ‘I’ll tell her the good news.’
I hung my jacket on the end of the banister, and Seb ran into the hall. He grabbed me by the waist, lifting me off my feet and swinging me round and round before laughing and kissing me deeply.
‘What’s going on?’
I noticed Seb’s eyes darken as he took in my red puffy face, but even the bedraggled sight of me couldn’t dampen his enthusiasm. ‘We did it,’ he said, grabbing my hands and jumping up and down like an excited child. ‘Liv, we bloody did it.’
‘Did what?’
‘The council has granted planning permission. We can build the treehouses, we can get the lake project off the ground.
‘Wow, that’s amazing. Congratulations.’
Seb let go of my hands and took a step back. ‘Hang on, why aren’t you as excited as I am? It was you who did most of the work. Liv, what’s going on?’
‘Let’s go through to the dining room,’ I said. ‘There’s something I need to say, and it’s best you all hear it together.’
‘Liv, what’s going on? You’re scaring me.’
I ignored Seb and walked into the dining room. The table was covered with plates of cake and glasses of champagne. Harry, Pat, Stephan, and Maggie cheered and clapped when I walked into the room. I made my best attempt at a smile as Harry handed me a glass of champagne.
‘Thank you.’
‘It’s the least we owe you. We couldn’t have done this without you, Liv. Now we’ve got planning permission, we can move full steam ahead with our plans. God, when I think about all the possibilities for this place.’ Harry brushed a tear from her eye. ‘This would make my grandparents so proud, and I’ve got you and Seb to thank for it.’
I took a long sip of my champagne. ‘I’m so pleased it’s worked out for you all.’
‘Worked out forus, Liv. You’re as much a part of Lowen Farm’s future as any of us.’
Exhaustion hit me, and I pulled out a chair, no longer able to hold up my own weight.
