When we weren’t in bed, we explored. In Ely, I was awed by the vast magnificence of the cathedral. Entertained by a group of Morris dancers performing with their jingly ankle bells and clashing sticks. Charmed by the reflections of boats as we drank beer outside a waterfront pub, Jaimie’s arm firmly around my shoulders.
In London, we saw the crown jewels in the Tower of London and a production of Macbeth at Shakespeare’s Globe. Went on an adrenaline-charged speedboat ride on the Thames and up in a lift to the very top of the Shard to drink champagne while gazing out at the view of London Bridge. It was like being on holiday, both of us proud to show off what our cities had to offer.
We were on the London Eye in a capsule with twenty or so other people when Jaimie took me in his arms, turning his back on the view of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
“How come you’re here?” he asked.
I laughed, unsure what he meant at first. “For the spectacular views? Because it’s romantic?”
He shook his head. “I don’t mean that. I mean, why hasn’t anyone snapped you up before now?”
I shrugged, avoiding his gaze. “I just haven’t met the right person yet, that’s all. Bad timing, I suppose. Misalignment of the stars.”
I’d never mentioned my feelings for Mark to Jaimie, and I had no intention of ever doing so. It was humiliating to think how stupid I’d been to let a crush go on for so long. This was love, wasn’t it? This wanting to be with someone to the extent that you neglected your friends and your beloved garden?
Jaimie smoothed a wayward lock of my hair behind my ear. “Well, I’m grateful to the cosmos, then,” he said, and when he kissed me, I kissed him back.
The distance between Ely and London made our relationship a kind of courtship, I suppose, and it was exciting to be courting. To get special food in to cook for him. To find out how to give each other pleasure in bed. To talk and laugh together. I hardly saw Rosie, because I was away so much, and I didn’t see Sylvia and Richard at all. Or Mark and Grace.
Then, one Monday in late March, when I was getting dressed to catch an early train back to London in time to start work after I’d spent the weekend with Jaimie in Ely, he caught hold of my hand and pressed it to his lips. “I don’t want to wait a fortnight to see you,” he said. “Come again next weekend.”
I frowned. “Haven’t you got the girls next weekend?”
He nodded. “Come and meet them,” he said.
Because it was still early, the light in the bedroom was dim. But it was light enough for me to see the glow in Jaimie’s eyes. To tell how important this was to him. So I smiled.
“All right. I’d love to.”
I can’t describe how terrified I felt, travelling up by train that Saturday morning. Jaimie’s work was important to him. I was important to him. But his girls were his everything, and for the puzzle pieces of our lives to fit together, this had to go well. It felt as if I were being invited to enter some sort of weird blend of an interview room and a holy sanctum. Would they like me? Would I like them? I’d bought them gifts to help with the former—Love London snow globes, one containing a mini Tower of London, the other a mini Buckingham Palace, complete with a red-coated, busby-wearing guard. But the latter? Me liking them? What could I do about it if I didn’t? When Jaimie adored them?
But then, why wouldn’t I like them? They were Jaimie’s daughters, and I liked Jaimie. I couldn’t exactly say I was in love with him—not yet anyway. But I did like him. A lot.
When the train left Cambridge station for its final run to Ely, I visited the toilets to wash my clammy hands, peering at my reflection in the mirror and trying to dampen down the feeling that, in one way or another, my life was about to change forever. Being dramatic was not going to help anything.
As the train pulled into Ely, I saw the three of them waiting for me on the station platform. Jaimie was holding his girls’ hands. It was a warm day in early April, and the sun was shining, turning them into a golden, smiling trio. My spirits lifted. This was going to be all right. More than all right. This was going to be wonderful.
I’d walked right up the platform to the front of the train at King’s Cross station, which meant I emerged from it at the far end of the platform at Ely, and Jaimie and the girls were some distance away, near the station exit. We hurried towards each other, the girls both running, pulling on Jaimie’s arms in an effort to get to me, and I laughed out loud. What had I been worried about?
“Hello, you,” Jaimie greeted me, bending forward to kiss me on the cheek.
“Hi,” I said, suddenly shy, smiling down at his daughters. The younger one, who I guessed must be Olivia, was jiggling about on the end of Jaimie’s arm as if she couldn’t bear to be still, her hair identical to Jaimie’s—curly and honey brown. Emily, the older girl, was also smiling, but she was more serious, with dark eyes and dark, straight hair that she must have inherited from her mother. They were both incredibly beautiful children, and something stirred in my belly, looking at them.
“This ragamuffin is Olivia,” Jaimie said, lifting Olivia’s hand.
“Daddy!” Olivia protested. “I’m not a ragamuffin!”
“And this is Emily. Please excuse their excitement. They love meeting visitors from the train. As it’s such a lovely day, I thought we’d go to Payne’s Park. It’s a children’s play area. I hope that’s okay?”
I didn’t mind where we went, which was just as well, as Olivia was jumping around with excitement at the thought of Payne’s Park.
“Just as long as they sell coffee there, that’s fine with me,” I said.
“They do. And cake.”
“And ice creams!” shouted Olivia.
Jaimie laughed. “And ice creams too. But you have to eat the nice healthy sandwiches I’ve prepared for you first.” He twinkled at me. “Do you promise to do that, Beth?”
I laughed. “Yes, I promise.”
As we drove into Payne’s Park, I could see adventure-play equipment, a rope climbing frame in the shape of a spider’s web, and a small animal-petting area. But Olivia and Emily ignored it all, running straight from the car to the indoor area. Before Jaimie had finished paying for the tickets, they had launched themselves into the ball pool.
“Girls, wait,” Jaimie called after them, but they were already climbing out of the ball pool and heading for the bouncy castle. “I’d better go and supervise. You couldn’t get us some coffees, could you? And a couple of juice cartons for the girls?” He held some money out to me, but I waved it away.
“That’s okay. I’ll see you in there.”
When I took the drinks inside, I saw that Jaimie had used the girls’ coats to save a table. I sat down to drink my coffee, looking around for him. At first, I couldn’t see him anywhere. Then I spotted him standing with Olivia right at the top of the giant slides. He saw me looking and waved. I waved back. Seconds later he and Olivia whizzed down on adjacent slides, Olivia shrieking her head off in glee.
Jaimie came over. “Sorry, I never mean to go on, but Olivia always says she’s scared. Emily’s met up with a school friend and left her to it.”