Chapter Thirty-Five
For the next four weeks, when I am not re-visiting my book to get it ready to share with publishers and agents, I lie by the pool with Elias, drink cocktails in nearby bars and dine on seafood at the seaside restaurants. There have been no more lies, and I have stopped snooping around as the trust between us finally grows.
I am excited as we stand at the airport waiting for Jasmine and Poppy to arrive for their holiday, as I imagine them experiencing the villa and all the lovely things around the village. They are going to love it here. I just hope they keep the villa tidy.
Elias has swapped the little Fiat hire car for a bigger estate so that we can pick them up, and when I see the amount of luggage they have, I realise it was the right move.
‘Mam,’ shouts Jasmine when she sees me.
‘You look amazing, Mam. Look at that tan you’ve got,’ says Poppy.
‘Aw, have I? It’s surprising how much of a tan you get by walking about. Aww, come here you two. I’ve missed you,’ I say, giving them both hugs.
‘Yeah, we’ve really missed you, Mam. Seeing you on video chats isn’t the same as popping around to the flat when I’m not well,’ says Poppy.
‘I know. That’s the problem with me being over here. Anyway, it’s only for a few more weeks and I’ll be back.’
The thought of spending the winter in the flat alone, as Elias heads back to Manchester and we try to keep our long-distance relationship alive, is something I have tried to forget. For now, though, we are standing in this entrance hall, with the sun shining outside and it feels as though my whole world is complete as I look at Elias greeting my two girls. I have the most important people in my life in a place I have fallen in love with, and I’m going to make the most of every moment.
‘I’m sure you’ve grown since I last saw you,’ I tease Poppy.
‘I think I’ve stopped growing, Mam. It’s these wedges I picked up and my feet are bloody killing me.’
‘Oi, language,’ I say.
With the luggage packed up, Elias drives towards the villa with the girls in the back and laughs at their non-stop chattering. Apparently, one of the cabin crew was hot and Jasmine was disappointed that they ran out of bacon rolls on the plane. There are lots of exclamations from the back seat and everything we pass is either lush , gorge , or totes amazing .
When we reach the villa, all I hear is Wow.
Their jaws are hanging open as they look up towards the balconies at the front of the villa.
‘Are you serious? This is where you’ve been staying?’ says Jasmine.
‘Yes. I didn’t send you photos on purpose. I wanted it to be a surprise.’
‘This is lush, and I mean lush ,’ says Jasmine.
‘Imagine the Insta pics we can get here?’ says Poppy. She is already pulling her phone out.
‘Don’t get me in that photo,’ I warn.
They have only been here five minutes but already it feels so normal having them stay. Poppy and Jasmine are bickering about how they can get the best angle to take photos of the front of the villa. I leave them to it as Elias takes their bags upstairs.
‘Mam, come quick,’ says Jasmine.
I notice Poppy is outside, crouched down.
‘Is she okay? What’s happened?’ At first, I wonder whether she is trying to get some fancy angled photo of the villa, but as I look down, her hand is reaching out into the bush at the front.
As I get closer, I hear an unmistakable noise.
‘Look, Mam! Shh, come closer,’ says Poppy.
Crouching down and looking into the bush, I see the most beautiful ginger kitten with big blue eyes looking up at me.
‘Oh, my goodness. What a beauty. Quick, Jasmine, ask Elias for a bowl with some water. There might be a tin of tuna in the cupboard, but make sure it’s the spring water one,’ I say.
‘Well, hello, my beauty. Aren’t you gorgeous?’ The pussy cat moves its teeny kitten paw towards me, and I feel the softness of newborn skin on the pad. I’ll make sure we run to the shops for some cat food later.
‘Shouldn’t we give it milk, Mam?’ says Jasmine as she finally returns.
‘No, cats can be lactose intolerant. Water’s better. I wonder where the mother is?’
While I put the water and tuna down, Jasmine and Poppy look around, but there is no sign of any of the rest of the litter or the mother. The kitten can’t eat the tuna fast enough.
‘What’s this I hear about a kitten?’ says Elias, crouching down to join me.
‘Look.’ I point at the kitten in the shade, and it seems to immediately take a shine to Elias and starts walking towards him.
‘Do you have some sort of magic touch with kittens?’ I tease.
The kitten comes out from under the bush and seems attracted by the lace on Elias’s trainer. I notice how scrawny it is and vow to feed it up while I am here. When we make our way into the villa, the kitten carefully follows Elias.
‘What should we do? I don’t want to take it inside in case the mother comes looking for it. I mean, imagine if someone locked one of my babies in a villa and I couldn’t get to them,’ I say as I look towards my girls.
‘This is different, Mam. I think it’s been dumped,’ says Poppy.
‘Well, we’d better be careful. Let’s make an area in the shade and leave the bowl there. We can keep an eye on it a bit longer and see if the mother returns.’
‘I think that’s the best idea. Anyway, come on, you want to see your rooms?’ says Elias.
The girls can’t believe their bedrooms as they look at the white gauzy curtains that sweep across the corners of their four-poster beds.
‘This is like a fairy tale, Mam,’ says Poppy.
As the girls settle in and unpack, quickly making themselves at home, Elias prepares us some lunch and I check on the little kitten again. It’s now fast asleep in the shade after enjoying the food and water we gave it.
‘He’s still there, Elias.’
‘Okay, well, let’s see tomorrow what happens. In the meantime, I’ll pop to the supermarket and see what I can find for it. Let’s have lunch first though, yeah?’
Elias has prepared a salad with the rosiest red tomatoes and the freshest of ingredients that he found at the local market. I love how fresh the food is here. I arrange the table outside by the pool and call the girls down for lunch. I can’t wait to see their faces when they investigate the pool.
As expected, they are quite dramatic when they see the outside. Poppy hangs onto Jasmine and pretends to faint.
‘Oh… my… god… Seriously?’ says Jasmine.
‘I’ve died and gone to heaven,’ says Poppy.
‘I’ve got to post this now ,’ says Jasmine, taking photos immediately.
‘Come on. You’ve got all day to take photos. Elias has prepared a gorgeous lunch for you both. Come and eat up.’
Jasmine breaks off a baguette, dropping crumbs everywhere around the pool.
‘Where’s your manners?’
‘Sorry, Mam.’
I roll my eyes. They might be messy, but it’s good to have them here, and I feel so content. It doesn’t matter how old your children are, it’s lovely to be under the same roof.
Elias tells the girls about what they can see around here. He talks about hiring a boat as he waits for his insurance payout. He wants to take them out to see the dolphins, but I manage to talk them out of that for now. After our mishap, I am still not ready to get on a boat with Elias, even though he wasn’t to blame. Perhaps an organised tour would be better. As Elias chats to Jasmine and Poppy as though they have known each other forever, I enjoy watching them all get along.
‘It’s nice to see Mam looking so happy,’ says Jasmine.
‘Well, that’s good to hear. I’m glad she looks happy,’ says Elias. He looks at me and smiles.
‘She’s a very special woman, your mam is.’
‘I know. She can be annoying, but she’s alright, really,’ says Poppy.
They all laugh as I pretend to scowl at them.
‘So, Mam told us you bought the villa. It’s so beautiful. You have good taste,’ says Jasmine.
‘Yes, you do. Fair play to you. I wish Dad had taste like this. He can be a bit chavvy at times, can’t he?’ says Poppy.
I stifle a laugh as I think of Michael back home getting up to goodness knows what.
Then I hear Poppy ask Elias something. ‘Are your sons coming out soon?’ she says.
‘Oh, I’m not so sure. We haven’t planned anything.’
Elias looks at me, and I see the hesitation in his eyes. Poppy and Jasmine have no idea that Danny still won’t accept me. Meanwhile, James doesn’t say anything negative or positive about me. He seems quite ambivalent.
‘It would be great to meet them, wouldn’t it?’ says Poppy to Jasmine.
‘Yeah, that’d be cool.’
Elias nods his head, and I look away. The last thing I want is a showdown with Danny in front of the girls. Once Jasmine and Poppy get an idea into their heads, though, they never let it drop.
‘Why don’t you invite them out? It’s not like there aren’t enough bedrooms. It’d be fun to hang around with people our age,’ says Poppy.
‘Yeah, I’ll have to ask them,’ says Elias.
‘Call them now. Go on. See what they say.’
I begin to regret not having told them the truth about the situation. I want to make signals to tell them to stop, but instead, I sit there quietly, staring at them as they plead for Elias to pick up the phone right away.
‘Umm, what do you think, Lucy? Shall I give them a ring?’
I can hardly say no, so I nod my head and think about how we will have to resolve this situation somehow if we are going to be together in the longer term. I suppose inviting the boys out is the best way to do it. Perhaps if they could see how fond we are of each other and they get along with the girls, Danny might come around. Or he might not.