慣hank you so much for looking after her,?says Ruth. She抣l have to buy Tony a present tomorrow. She wakes Kate who opens her eyes and says, 慖抦 leading thirty games to twenty-five.?
Ruth hugs her. 慔ave you thanked Tony for looking after you??
慔e didn抰 mind,?says Kate. 慔e loves playing battleships.?
But she does thank Tony who says it was a pleasure. Ruth knows that he and Tanya are keen to get on with their work. Hugh Baxter is being booked in at the front desk but Ruth doesn抰 know if they抣l question him now or tomorrow morning. She and Kate exit through the back door and are soon on their way home. Kate is suddenly wide awake and Ruth winds down the windows to keep them both that way. She puts on her favourite Bruce Springsteen CD and they race through the dark Norfolk roads telling each other that they were born to run.
Flint is waiting by the front door, looking outraged. Ruth feeds him and tells Kate to get into bed. When she goes up to kiss her goodnight, Kate is already asleep, clutching a cuddly chimpanzee, an old birthday present from Nelson. Somehow, the sight of it makes Ruth want to cry again. She has told Kate the good news about Cathbad, but her daughter was not surprised. 慖t抯 all the praying I抳e been doing,?she said. Ruth now mutters one of Cathbad抯 own mantras, 慓oddess bless, Goddess keep.?Then she goes downstairs to wait for Nelson.
Ruth is dreaming about underground prisons when headlights illuminate the room. She hears voices and then Nelson is at the door. For a moment, they stare at each other and then Nelson wraps his arms round Ruth, as solid and comforting as ever.
慫oe抯 next door,?he says, into her hair. 慖 think she抎 like a chat if you抮e not too tired. I抣l be here with Katie.?
慦ill you be here when I get back??asks Ruth.
慜f course I will.?
It抯 midnight now but suddenly Ruth isn抰 tired at all. On impulse, she takes a bottle of wine with her and knocks on the stable door. Zoe answers immediately, Derek in her arms.
慣hank you for looking after him,?she says.
慣hat抯 OK.?Ruth pats the cat抯 silky head. He shuts his eyes, enduring her.
慛elson says you know,?says Zoe, 慳bout us being sisters. Half sisters.?
慖 guessed some of it,?says Ruth. 慖 saw the photograph of my mum next to your wedding picture.?She supposes that she should say 憃ur mum? but that seems a step too far.
慙et抯 have a drink,?says Zoe. She leads the way into the unfamiliar, familiar sitting room. Slightly too late, Ruth remembers social distancing and sits on the chaise longue, which is as uncomfortable as she imagined, rather than joining Zoe on the sofa. Zoe pours them both a glass of red.
慖 always knew I was adopted,?says Zoe. 慚um and Dad must have told me when I was very young. We celebrated my adoption day as well as my birthday. But I didn抰 have any urge to look for my birth parents while they were alive. Then I got divorced and Mum and Dad died within months of each other. Then there was the court case. Do you know about that??
慪es,?says Ruth. 慖t must have been awful.?
慖t was a nightmare,?says Zoe. 慖 knew I was innocent but, at times, I even thought I must be guilty because everyone else seemed so certain. That feeling didn抰 go away even when they found the real culprit. I changed my name and I thought: maybe it抯 time to find out who I really am.?
慏id you send off for your adoption records??Ruth has been doing some research.
慪es. And there it was. Mother: Jean Finch. It didn抰 take long for me to find her married name. I wrote to her.?
慦hen was this??asks Ruth.
慡ix years ago,?says Zoe. She takes a sip of wine and strokes Derek, who is stretched out beside her.
慗ean wrote back,?she says, after another pause. 慖t was a kind letter, but she didn抰 want to see me. She said she hadn抰 told her husband or her children about me. But she did say she hoped we could meet in the future. But she sent me a photograph. And she told me my father抯 name.?