Glancing at the property as she got out of the vehicle, she could see its attraction. The house was enormous, detached, set back from the road and it was so quiet. Sarah almost held her breath waiting for…what, she didn’t know. A screech of a brake. A beep of a horn. Music blasting from somewhere. Lights, camera, action. Here it was so tranquil she almost felt rested as soon as she walked up the drive.
As she got to the door, it opened and there was her sister. The awkward moment she’d envisioned wasn’t there as Louisa threw out her arms. Sarah dropped her overnight bag to the ground and hugged her.
Louisa was a lot thinner than the last time Sarah had seen her. Her blonde hair was dirtier now, long and lank, lacking any kind of style. The bags under her eyes were dark, almost making her eyes look hollow.
‘I knew you’d come,’ Louisa said.
Sarah kept her thoughts to herself, wanting to ask why the silence and then contact all of a sudden.
‘You didn’t think I might have changed my phone number?’ she asked. ‘Or moved?’
‘There were always those possibilities, but I knew Mum would still be there.’
It stung that Sarah had been right where Louisa thought she would be. In other words, her sister knew she wouldn’t have gone further than her hometown. No ambition, nothing to write home about.
‘She could have been dead for all you care,’ she couldn’t help but snap.
‘Oh, Sarah, I’m so sorry. We should never have stayed out of touch for so long.’
‘It is good to see you,’ Sarah said, genuinely meaning it even though she felt aggrieved.
‘I look hideous,’ Louisa said. ‘It’s the medication. The doctor keeps messing around with it. Anyway, come on in.’
Sarah picked up her bag and followed her indoors, into a large farmhouse-style kitchen. The whole of the flat she was sharing wasn’t much bigger than this room. It was full of mismatched units, a large pine table at its centre. The fridge was covered in magnets of all shapes and sizes, a few alphabet letters spelling ‘hello’. Then she spotted the view through the window.
‘Is that your garden?’
‘Yes. The wood at the back is ours as well. We have six acres – four bedrooms too.’
‘Wow,’ she muttered.
‘I’ve put you in the guest room at the back. How long are you staying?’
‘Just for a few days. I can’t take any longer off work. I said it was for compassionate leave.’
‘Well, it is, I suppose! Although I’m not dead yet.’
Sarah sat down at the table as Louisa busied herself filling the kettle. Her eyes were still flitting everywhere spotting the up-to-date gadgets. No wonder Louisa had been quick to marry Richard. It was a different world than the one she had left behind.
Everyone she knew thought it had been too quick, but Louisa didn’t seem to care. It was as if he consumed her. And from the minute she’d left, there had been excuse after excuse so that she wouldn’t visit. After they’d had the mother of all rows, Sarah had given up, assuming Louisa didn’t want to know her now she was all posh. Apart from a few text messages, she hadn’t heard from her again. Until now.
‘Richard is in his studio,’ Louisa said as she turned back to her. ‘He’ll be in there for a while yet. Let me show you your room while we wait for the water to boil.’
Sarah followed her upstairs to the first floor. There were rooms to her right and left.
Louisa pointed at one of them. ‘This is where you’ll sleep,’ she said, pressing a finger to her lips. ‘I need you to be quiet though. There’s someone I want you to see but she might still be asleep and if she is, I’d rather not wake her.’
‘Okay,’ Sarah replied.
Louisa pushed open the door. Inside, the room had adouble bed, a row of wardrobes and a large window overlooking the back garden and woods. It was decorated in lilacs and greys and looked like something out of a magazine.
‘This is lovely,’ Sarah said, putting her bag down again.
‘It’s the furthest away I could put you,’ Louisa explained. ‘We do have an annexe, but I wanted you in the house.’ She beckoned her out into the hallway again to another door across the landing. With a smile at Sarah, she opened the door quietly.
Sarah glanced inside. The curtains were closed, the room benefitting from the effects of losing the hot sun. There in the corner of the room was a small bed, a child asleep under the covers.
‘This is Daisy.’
