2
Ryan Lewis unlockedthe front door to his house on Riverside Road and stepped inside. The cool air of the high-ceilinged hallway was welcome after the balmy heat of the midsummer evening outside.
“Grandma, I’m home,” he called out. “Sorry I took so long.”
His grandmother’s head appeared around the side of the living room door, and she smiled as her gaze travelled to the shopping bag in his hand.
“Did you find somewhere that sells my favourite tea?” she asked, stepping into the hallway.
“I did. The first shop I tried didn’t stock your brand, but the second shop did.” Ryan removed the box of Earl Grey tea from the shopping bag and handed it over. “Is that the right one?”
“Indeed it is. Thank you, Ryan. And sorry for sending you on a wild goose chase.”
“It was no problem, Grandma. I should’ve thought to stock up before you arrived. I know how much you love your special tea.”
“I’m much too fussy.”
“You like what you like and there’s nothing wrong with that. Do you want a cup now?”
His grandmother crossed the hallway to the kitchen-diner at the back of the house, where she sat the box of tea bags on the expanse of marble counter. “I don’t think we’ve got time for tea, not if we plan on getting to the cinema before our film starts.”
“Are you sure you’ll survive the evening without having a cup of tea first? I don’t want you fainting away halfway through the film.”
His grandmother cackled at his mocking tone and swatted his arm. “I’m not that bad.”
“We both know that’s not true, Grandma, not when it comes to you and your tea.”
She gave him an amused sigh, her eyes twinkling. Miriam Lewis, Ryan’s paternal grandmother, was a force of nature and Ryan’s favourite person in the whole world. They’d shared a special bond all his life, ever since he was a little boy and she’d spoiled him with her wonderful baking when he came to visit with his parents and sister at the weekend, always slipping him an extra cookie or cake slice wrapped in a paper napkin to enjoy on the drive back home, along with an extra serving for his sister.
Throughout his life, Grandma Miriam had always encouraged him to pursue his dreams, and that encouragement had shaped the life he now led—a successful life working in a career he loved in the music industry and with the fruits of that success illustrated by the beautiful home in which he now lived on leafy Riverside Road.
He might not have bought this house at all had it not been for his grandmother’s encouragement. The house was huge, grand and imposing, with three public rooms downstairs, along with the vast kitchen-diner in which he now stood, and four bedrooms upstairs. It was much too large for a single man in his early thirties.
But his grandmother had rejected his concerns when he’d first viewed the property, reminding him that the additional space would be invaluable for when he was working at home and wanted to compose on his piano or on the guitar, and that he’d have the luxury of adding a small recording area should he chose to. She’d also argued that he wouldn’t always be alone anyway, that he’d one day have a family of his own, and that the bedrooms would soon fill up with children and laughter.
Although turning the house into a family home remained elusive, Ryan was happy to concede that his grandmother had been right about how much the house suited his needs as a musician and songwriter. The high ceiling and tall bay windows of the second sitting room at the back of the house provided a perfectly serene place to write music, and the space he’d hived off in order to create a small internal sound-proofed recording studio was solid enough for laying down demo tracks.
It was a beautiful house, and Hamblehurst, the small town in which it was located, was a pretty place to live, close enough to London and the clients Ryan worked with but far enough away from the urban sprawl to allow his creative muse free rein. The fact that Grandma Miriam had loved the house from the moment she’d accompanied him on the first viewing only made Ryan love the property even more.
Although he’d owned the house for almost a year, this was the first time his grandmother had come to enjoy an extended stay. Ten months ago, Miriam had been diagnosed with breast cancer and the treatment she’d endured was long and brutal. Watching his beloved grandmother go through surgery and then several rounds of chemotherapy had just about ripped Ryan’s heart in two. While Miriam had faced the gruelling surgery and treatments with typical bravery and determination, Ryan knew that the past ten months had taxed his grandmother in energy and spirit.
Her survival had never been guaranteed, as the hospital oncologist had made only too clear. There were many, many times when Ryan saw in his grandmother’s eyes the toll the ordeal was taking on her, despite her best efforts to grin and bear it.
When Miriam was declared cancer-free two months ago, it was a cause of huge celebration in the Lewis family. Ryan’s grandfather, and Miriam’s husband of more than fifty years, had died just a year before the shock of the breast cancer diagnosis, but Ryan, along with his sister and their parents, had done everything in his power to be at Miriam’s side and support her during the long period of treatment and recovery.
When Miriam had shared the news about being declared cancer-free, she’d also announced her intention to live her life to the fullest now that she’d been given this wonderful second chance thanks to the care and support of the superb hospital team who’d shepherded her back to health. She had no way of knowing whether the cancer might return in the future, she’d explained, which meant all she could count on was each day and each moment.
She planned to squeeze every ounce of joy and life out of each of those days and each of those moments and cherish them as the gifts they were. What she wanted most of all, she’d explained, was to spend as much time as possible with those she loved.
Over the past two months, Miriam had spent several weeks staying with Ryan’s parents at their home near Stratford-upon-Avon, enjoying their company before decamping to stay with Ryan’s sister and her family in Exeter. Now, it was Ryan’s turn to host his grandmother, and he’d been anticipating her arrival for days. With his latest songwriting project completed for a famous pop star Ryan was proud to write for, he was looking forward to spending this valuable time with his grandmother.
Miriam would stay with him in Hamblehurst for the next two weeks, before he returned to work and his next songwriting commission. Had there not been several loose ends to tie up with his latest music project before his grandmother arrived, he would’ve been on the ball and remembered to stock up on her favourite brand of Earl Grey tea. It was only once he’d collected her from the train station and driven her to his home and flicked the kettle on that he realised his mistake.
His grandmother had insisted regular tea was fine, but Ryan knew how much she loved her signature Earl Grey blend. The dash around to the shops had taken longer than he’d anticipated, and if he’d realised he’d have to trek all the way across to the high street to complete his quest he would’ve taken the car, but at least he’d found a box of her tea in the end. He wanted his grandmother to enjoy her stay here at his house, and after everything she’d endured over the last year while battling cancer, the least he could do was make sure her favourite brew was on hand.
“How far away is the cinema?” Miriam now asked, having set the box of tea bags beside the kettle on the counter.
“It’s a ten-minute drive to the multiplex at the retail park,” Ryan replied and checked his watch. “We should probably make a move.”
