‘Don’t be sorry. You know you can ask me anything.’
‘I know, Dad. And thanks. I’ll see you later at home. Love you. Bye.’
‘Love you too.’
Molly smiled as she put her phone back in her handbag. It was incredible how different her dad was from his own mum. They were like chalk and cheese. Her dad was warm, kind, and loving. Millicent had been cold, unkind, and uncaring. Her dad laughed a lot. Millicent had never even smiled.
Molly hadn’t known her grandfather, so perhaps her dad took after him. They would never know. His dad had died when he was just a boy and he didn’t even remember him. Millicent had always refused to talk about her husband, saying that his memory brought her grief to the fore and she simply couldn’t bear it.
But a thought occurred to Molly. They had taken Millicent’s papers and personal belongings to their home in Folkestone and had planned to go through them all at some stage, but had stored them in the garage for the time being. Perhaps it was time to see what those boxes of papers and belongings contained.
The ringtone of her mobile made her jump. She didn’t recognise the number at first and then she realised it was Jemma Granger’s, who was probably calling to say that she had left the motorway and would shortly be at Oak View Cottage.
‘Hello, Jemma,’ Molly began, but Jemma cut her short.
‘I’m so sorry, Molly, but I’m going to be late. Very late, I think. I’ve been stuck in traffic for almost half an hour now and it doesn’t look as if it’s going to be moving anytime soon. I’m in the middle of a motorway so I can’t even turn off and find an alternative route. I’ve been trying to call you but you’ve been engaged. I think I’m only about ten miles from Betancourt Bay, so it shouldn’t take me long once we do move. Is it possible for us to rearrange our meeting? Or, if it’s better for you, I could pickup the keys from someone else. Or come to your house to collect them.’
Molly tutted, but it wasn’t Jemma’s fault. Saturday traffic was often horrendous and journey-times were difficult to plan, plus there were roadworks everywhere these days.
‘Don’t worry, Jemma.’ She consulted her watch. ‘It’s not yet four, and I was here early. I’ll check the travel news to see if I can find out what’s causing the hold-up, and I’ll get back to you. I can go and have a cup of coffee in the local café if it’s not going to be too long.’
‘Are you sure?’ Jemma let out an audible sigh. ‘I thought as it was Saturday, you might have plans for tonight. Like a date or something. And you’d want to get away as soon as possible.’
Now it was Molly’s turn to sigh. ‘No date. No boyfriend. No plans. Apart from with my dad, and some boxes in our garage.’
‘That is such a relief. Oh! Not about you not having a boyfriend. Just that I’m not ruining any big plans. Erm. I’ll check on this end too and I’ll let you know if I find anything. At least the weather’s good. It might be worse if it were raining.’
‘Don’t tempt Fate,’ Molly replied, ignoring the comment about her not having a boyfriend. The less said about that, the better. She couldn’t recall the last date she had been on. Except that it was a disaster. ‘But I’ve got my car here so I wouldn’t get wet if it did. Drive safely. And don’t worry. We’ll work something out.’
‘Ah,’ said Jemma. ‘You know you just said, “Don’t tempt Fate”, well, it seems I did.’
‘It’s raining?’ Molly glanced up at a cloudless blue sky in disbelief.
‘Just a few splashes on the windscreen at the moment but there’re a couple of massive gunmetal grey clouds overhead.’
‘It’s blue sky here.’
Jemma sighed again. ‘That’s precisely what I’ve been hoping. In more ways than one.’
Molly sniggered at that. ‘I know the feeling. We all need some sunshine in our lives. I’ll see you soon, Jemma.’
