‘Oh, Mum,’ Lucy said, sadly, tears falling from her eyes as she leant over and kissed her mother’s forehead for the final time. Next to her, she heard Niall begin to cry, a soft murmuring sound that he couldn’t quite disguise. ‘She’s gone,’ Lucy whispered, but she had a feeling that her mother had been happy knowing that things were settled enough for her to leave them so peacefully.
35
Elizabeth
Elizabeth couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen such a sunrise – maybe never, she realised as she lay back on the calm water. She had come down to the cove because she couldn’t stay at home when it looked so beautiful. It seemed to her that everything around her was whispering her name. Today was the day. It had taken almost six weeks to finalise everything, but it had been remarkably uncomplicated in the end. The sale of her grand old Georgian had slipped through easily. Lucy and she had agreed terms between them and only then had she gone and spoken with her solicitor. It might have been a clear swap – God knows there was plenty to be done with the old house – but Lucy insisted on paying market value. With Eric’s debts cleared and taking out the price of Jo’s cottage, Elizabeth found herself with a very comfortable cushion on which to balance her future. And of course, she still had her job at the surgery – somehow, against all the odds that Eric had stacked against her, things had turned out well.
Dan had been more than generous in his offer for old John Murphy’s cottage and she was delighted for him. It turned out they would be neighbours. Mother and son, in adjacent cottages facing out onto the seafront – it was perfect really. Of course, she told him, he was paying way over the odds, but the truth was, once she had agreed to buy Jo’s cottage, she knew that there wasn’t another corner of the village that could ever feel more like home to her. If she’d had to pay four times the amount, she’d still have considered it a bargain!
It was a funny thing, but Lucy couldn’t stay there, not without Jo, and she loved the great big Georgian, well she loved the idea of it at least, or what she’d thought it was or perhaps could be, one day.
The house, when they walked through it was three times larger than Lucy had expected and for a few worrying moments Elizabeth was afraid it was too large. ‘I love it,’ Lucy had said and Niall had already bagged a large room at the top of the house as his own.
And now, this morning, here in the gathering light, Elizabeth could think of only one thing. Today was the day. The day when she would move into the little cottage, so work could begin in earnest on the big Georgian. She felt a giddy rattle surge through her on the water and she turned over to swim towards the shore. Along the water, she watched as a family of starlings took off into a beating vibrating murmuration, heading inland towards the nearby lake. She tried to quell her anticipation, but really, in her mind, she’d already left the big lonely house on the hill. Oh, yes, try as she might, she could not knock out the sense of optimism at this wonderful new start in life. The changing tide eventually sent her scurrying back to dry and dress herself.
She was looking forward to hot tea and a large bowl of porridge when she reached the house. She knew, she should be sad, leaving a place that might have been her home for over thirty years, but the truth was, she was shedding it like an unwanted coat. It had been a house, not a home, but she had a feeling it would welcome Lucy, Niall and whatever other lives filled it from now on with open arms.
*
Elizabeth tried not to check her watch too often once she opened up the surgery. She couldn’t wait to get back to the cottage and settle in for the evening. It was a very big day; Dan was going to collect his parents from the airport and she was finally going to meet the people he called Mum and Dad.
‘I’m really nervous,’ she confided to Lucy when they stopped for a quick cup of coffee after eleven o’clock in a rare but welcome window between patients.
‘You have nothing to worry about; they are going to love you and knowing Dan – they are going to be lovely people. It’s going to be fine.’ Lucy squeezed her hand reassuringly. Then she reached forward and topped up their cups of coffee before settling back to relax for a few minutes more. ‘Are you sure you won’t miss this place?’
‘What’s to miss? I’ll be just down the road, and I have a feeling I’ll still be popping in here occasionally.’
‘It’s going to be great, isn’t it?’ Lucy nodded towards the end of the garden.
‘I think so.’ Elizabeth looked down to the row of coach houses and old stables. The wilderness had been tamed along one side, where the builders had already brought down a cement mixer and other equipment to block out the two large doorways that opened up on the garden. It would take another week or two before it was completely sealed and the roof secured. They were hoping that by the end of autumn, it would be ready to move the surgery in there. It really was a wonderful start to Lucy’s new career as the owner of the practice.