Kitty

Moving Home

Moving Home

Kitty yawned and lay back on the sofa. Night was closing in. There was still plenty of packing to do, but she was struggling to find the energy. It felt strange to have spent the day reliving so much of her past. It was still surreal that she was moving back to Darraghfield, going home, and with Theo by her side.

‘I hope I can make him happy. I love him so much!’ she whispered into the ether.

Making her way wearily into the kitchen, she took a deep breath; the air was filled with the unmistakeable scent of lemons. It was heady, intoxicating and quite delicious. She gripped the lemon in the fruit bowl and inhaled the aroma, much fainter now.

She heard a key in the door; a quick glance at the clock told her it was nearly 9 p.m.

‘Only me!’ Theo called out.

‘What are you doing here?’ Kitty smiled, reaching up on tiptoes to kiss her man. ‘You’re supposed to be staying in Barnes tonight – we only have two more days of packing and that’s it, we’re off!’

‘I couldn’t stay away.’

‘Poor Theo.’ She wrapped him in a hug. ‘Did you hear? Roseanna has a new tooth.’

‘I did.’ He grinned. The shared joy of grandparenthood had not diminished.

‘I am so excited!’ she whispered. ‘We are about to take on this whole big adventure, but I don’t feel in the least bit afraid – I’m just happy.’

Theo pulled away and stared at her face. ‘I do love you, Kitty Montrose. And you’re right, it is a whole big adventure.

‘The wild hawk to the wind-swept sky,

The deer to the wholesome wold,

And the heart of a man to the heart of a maid,

As it was in the days of old.

‘The heart of a man to the heart of a maid –

Light of my tents, be fleet.

Morning waits at the end of the world,

And the world is all at our feet!’