Blue Skies Over Wildflower Lock (The Wildflower Lock)

Chapter 5

Daisy immediately regretted her words. After all, it was a ludicrous suggestion. Theo had been anxious enough about making the trip and had needed to take a more experienced friend with him to help pilot the boat. It was preposterous to think Yvonne would want to undertake such a journey at her age and especially with someone as ill-equipped as Daisy. Though, as Daisy looked up from her tea, she noticed the slight twist at the corners of Yvonne’s mouth.

‘We’ll have to get going soon,’ she said. ‘While the weather is still nice. The moment it turns, everything becomes a lot more challenging. But I think I’ve got one last adventure in me. Who knows, this trip to Slimbridge might be exactly that.’

‘Well, yes, I was only joking,’ Daisy said, hoping to divert the conversation to another topic. ‘Just voicing my thoughts aloud. Now tell me what you think of the cake. It was my mother’s recipe, but I added some lavender to it. Do you think it worked?’

With the conversation successfully shifted, the pair carried on chatting about day-to-day things – how busy it was with the paddle boarders, how many of them had been kicked off the canal for not having a licence, and which of the canal volunteers were retiring after the summer. After about half an hour of nattering, Daisy felt herself yawn. And once she started, it was near impossible to stop. It might be the weekend, but she was working seven days a week and couldn’t see that stopping anytime soon.

‘Sorry, Yvonne, I should head back,’ she said. ‘I think I need an early night.’

‘No need to apologise. Thank you for coming over. Perhaps I could swing by one evening if you like? Make you my famous yellow curry.’

‘That sounds fabulous,’ Daisy replied. ‘Just let me know when.’

After a hug goodbye, Daisy stepped onto the towpath and started her walk towards the bridge. She had just reached it when Yvonne called out to her.

‘And I’m in, you know. If you change your mind, I’m definitely in.’

The next morning, when Daisy opened up the coffee shop, she was surprised to see her first customer ready and waiting. Early patrons weren’t unusual, but seeing this one at such an hour certainly was.

‘Mum? What are you doing down here?’

‘You know, I was just… here…’ her mother said.

It didn’t take long for Daisy to connect the dots. For her mum to have been at Nicholas’s so early in the morning, it was more than likely she’d spent the night there and that wasn’t a thought Daisy wanted to dwell on. Taking a deep breath in, she reminded herself that her mother was an adult, and said, ‘Well, what can I get you to drink? Or would you like something to eat? I’ve just baked a Bakewell tart. It won’t be anywhere near as good as yours, but it’s not too bad.’

‘No, no. Nicholas made me breakfast, thank you.’ Her mother kept her expression neutral. ‘An Americano would be lovely, though. And make it a double shot; I’m feeling particularly tired this morning.’

That was more innuendo than Daisy could handle, so she turned her back to her mother and got to work on the coffee machine.

‘How’s Theo doing?’ her mother asked as Daisy placed a cup under the filter.

‘He’s good,’ Daisy replied, still not ready to turn and face her. ‘He came down for the night on Friday, but had to leave yesterday evening.’

‘That’s a shame. I’m sad to have missed him again.’

‘Me too, actually.’ Daisy pulled the cup from the coffee machine, though she held on to it rather than handing it over.

Like her mother, Daisy was exceptionally tired that morning as she’d struggled all night to fall asleep. Her mind had been too busy flitting from one idea to the next. Normally, painting was the key to resolving any of her issues. She could open up her palette of watercolour paints, swirl her brush around in the water, and within minutes, she’d be thinking about nothing but the washes of colour on the page. But after she’d got back from Yvonne’s, her mind had refused to settle. Instead, it kept returning to the same thought: Could she do it? Could she take the September Rose not just away from Wildflower Lock, but all the way to see Theo?

She cleared her throat and began to speak.

‘This is probably going to sound a bit strange, but when you were here with, with…’ She paused. She never referred to her father as ‘Dad.’ That was too personal. Those words implied a relationship between the two of them, and there never had been one. But, as ridiculous as it was, since moving into the September Rose, Daisy couldn’t help but feel a bond forming between the pair. Still, she knew where the land lay with her mother and her ex-husband. ‘When you and my father lived here, did you ever take the September Rose out of the canal?’

‘What do you mean?’ Her mother looked confused by the question. ‘Of course we did. We travelled everywhere. I thought you knew that. During our honeymoon, we spent months on the boat.’

‘So you actually went out of the estuary? Onto the open waters?’

At this, her mother’s expression changed, her lips pressed together tightly.

‘You mean out into the sea?’ She reached out her hand, and it was only then that Daisy realised she had not yet given her mother her cup of coffee. ‘Once. Yes, for our honeymoon. The most terrifying thing we’ve ever done, I can tell you that.’

Daisy clicked another round of coffee grounds into the filter, deciding she needed to pour herself a drink, too.

‘And the boat made it?’ Daisy asked, trying to sound as casual as possible. ‘Obviously, she made it. You’re fine, the September Rose is fine.’

‘Oh, yes. It was an adventure, that’s for sure. We picked a beautiful day for it. Honestly, the sea was so calm, it was like glass. I swear, not a single wave. Or a cloud in the sky. But I tell you what, I was sick with nerves. Well, that’s what I thought at the time. Turns out I was pregnant with you. Didn’t change the memory though, and the way back was just as terrifying. But your father, he knew what he was doing with boats. Just like Theo.’

Daisy nodded, accepting the truth of her mother’s words. There was no way she could head out of the estuary in the September Rose on her own. But then again, she didn’t have to be alone. She already had an all too willing and experienced volunteer to come with her.

‘Well, thank you for this, darling. Nicholas does a lot of things well, but honestly, his coffee tastes like dishwater. We’ll catch up soon, right?’

‘Of course,’ Daisy said, her mind still thinking of a boat trip she couldn’t possibly take. Could she?