Snowdrops on Rosemary Lane by Ellen Berry

Author:Ellen Berry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2019-09-05T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

‘I’m just dashing out, Mum,’ Lucy said when Anna called the following afternoon. ‘Can I ring you a bit later?’ Her mother had a habit of calling at inopportune moments. She had already made it clear that she thought Lucy was crazy to start doing B&B again, and she knew how she’d react if she mentioned the possibility of doing wedding flowers on top of everything else.

‘Oh, are you going somewhere with the children?’ she asked.

‘No, they’re at holiday club today,’ Lucy replied, checking the kitchen clock. She had agreed to be at Phyllida’s in twenty minutes.

‘Really? Are you … working?’ What on earth did she mean by that? She knew how Lucy filled her days.

‘Mum, I’m just …’ She paused, reminding herself that her mother probably didn’t mean it in a critical way. Lucy was aware that she was still prone to bouts of hypersensitivity. ‘They enjoy it,’ she said. ‘Lots of their friends go too. But, look, I really have to go. I have an appointment …’ There was a pause, during which she was probably supposed to furnish her mum with more details, but she just left it hanging there.

‘Right. Well, I just wanted to say, your dad and I have been talking.’

‘What about?’ Lucy asked, her heart sinking a little as she picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, then made her way to the front door.

‘I know what you’ll say but please bear with me.’ Lucy inhaled deeply. She knew what was coming next. ‘A house has come up,’ Anna continued. ‘I know you want to see the year out—’ See the year out? When had she ever said that? ‘—but it’s so lovely – just right for you and the kids. The best part is – it’s in our road!’

Lucy opened her mouth to speak but no words came. She stepped outside, locked the door and marched to her car. ‘Dad’s holding it for you,’ Anna continued. ‘Will you at least come over and look at it? You could be all moved in and settled by—’

‘Mum, we’re not moving,’ she exclaimed. ‘You know I’m running a business again here. Well, two businesses really.’

‘But don’t you think—’

‘Could you put Dad on please?’ Lucy said tersely.

‘He’s having a lie-down right now,’ she muttered.

‘What’s wrong? Is he okay?’

‘Oh, he’s just going on about some dizziness thing now, another ailment, as if I have time for that.’

‘What kind of ailment?’ Lucy asked, frowning as she climbed into her car.

‘Nothing really. He’s fine when his friends call and they ask him out for a drink, but at home – no, he’s dying—’

‘Mum!’

‘You know what I mean,’ she said briskly.

‘What does Dad have?’

‘Oh, something with a ridiculous name,’ her mother remarked. ‘Labyrinth-something. Sounds like a board game to me.’

‘D’you mean labyrinthitis?’ Lucy asked. ‘That’s a real thing, Mum. It can affect the balance and be pretty nasty. Has he seen a doctor?’

‘He’s never away from the doctor’s,’ she crowed.

‘Well, maybe he’s actually ill!’

‘What about me? I never catch any of these peculiar viruses.

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