Hope had remembered conversations that she and Angie had had in coffee breaks during their course, when Angie had confessed how hard she sometimes found it trying to be both parents to her daughter. She had never moaned about it, that wasn’t her style, but she was running her business and looking after Romany on her own, and Hope had got the impression that it could be a struggle to hold it all together.
Daniel had been there all the time, and yet not there. Angie could have made him shoulder his responsibilities but she had chosen to press on alone. And from what Hope had seen, she had done an amazing job of it.
Hope wondered what Romany made of it all. When she had texted Daniel that morning asking how the meeting had gone he had simply replied, Fine. Speak later, which had told her nothing. She would just have to wait and see what Romany had to say.
She could see Romany coming down the street towards her, her auburn ponytail bouncing up and down as she walked. She didn’t look as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, at least. When she got close enough to see her, she raised an arm in greeting.
‘Hi,’ Romany said, her smile broad, and Hope relaxed a little. Well, it seemed she wasn’t angry.
‘Shall we go up?’ Hope asked, and they climbed the steep stone steps through the bar to the ancient wall above.
After the hustle and bustle of the streets below, it felt calmer and quieter on the wall. Hope looked across the city set out below them, a mixture of ancient and modern architecture with the Minster overseeing it all. It really was a beautiful place.
‘So,’ she said as they fell into step alongside each other, ‘you spoke to Daniel.’
Romany nodded.
‘And?’
‘I want to be angry with him,’ Romany said. ‘He basically deserted us, so Mum had to cope on her own. But . . .’
‘It’s hard when he’s so honest about it?’ Hope suggested.
‘Precisely. He’s so up front about what he did wrong. He’s not a bit defensive. He didn’t even try to make any excuses, or anything.’
‘No,’ Hope agreed. ‘The way he told me, he didn’t want a baby and Angie understood that. Having you was her agenda, not his. She seemed to understand that that might mean she’d lose him. It was a choice she made, I assume. And I think Daniel would have been in touch eventually, if he’d known where to find you.’
Romany looked sceptical and Hope saw a flash of anger flare in her eyes, but she stayed calm.
‘Well, he could have found us if he’d wanted. It’s not hard to find people these days. He didn’t want to, but that’s okay. I think I understand where he was coming from.’
‘He came to York, though,’ said Hope. ‘That was about you, I think.’
Romany nodded. ‘He seems like a nice bloke to me,’ she said. ‘Is he?’
Hope wasn’t sure what she expected her to say. They had been together for nearly ten years. It must be obvious that she thought that.
‘Yes, he’s a good man,’ she said. ‘He has a good heart.’
Romany shot a glance at her out of the corner of her eye. ‘He’s quite a lot older than you, isn’t he?’ she asked shyly.
‘Fifteen years,’ Hope said.
‘Are you going to have any kids?’ Romany asked with a grin. ‘They’d be my half-brothers or sisters.’ She sounded like the idea was growing on her, but Hope shook her head emphatically.
‘Nope. Kids are not on the agenda.’
Romany shrugged. ‘Oh well,’ she said. ‘No new family for me. Easy come, easy go, eh!’
‘Sorry,’ said Hope, but Romany was smiling. She didn’t look bothered that there would be no siblings. ‘So,’ Hope continued. ‘What are you thinking? About Daniel, I mean.’
‘About whether I want him in my life?’ Romany asked.
Hope nodded. She wasn’t sure what she wanted the answer to be. She had liked their life the way it was, without a child in it, although Romany was hardly a child. Having her there added a layer of complexity to the relationship that hadn’t been present before. That said, there had been a change in Daniel since September, when Angie’s letter had first been read at the solicitor’s. Even though it had taken a further nine months to finally get to speak to his daughter, just knowing that it would happen at some point in the future seemed to have given him an extra sense of purpose. If Romany took him into her life, then that would be another positive. Hope knew that Daniel felt bad about what he had done, even though Angie had accepted that he wouldn’t be in their lives. Maybe, if Romany welcomed him back, that guilt would lift. He had missed the first eighteen years of her life but that didn’t mean that he had to miss the rest.