The Old Lighthouse in Sunny Shore Bay (Sunny Shore Bay Book 8): Escape to the British seaside with t

Chapter Eleven

I clutch Penny’s hand, not too tightly, but enough to make her wiggle her fingers to loosen me up. My other hand is stuffed into my jeans pocket, mostly because it’s trembling like the last leaf on a tree, and I don’t want my folks to see how shit-scared I am.

Kat phoned me up last night to admit that she’d betrayed me. Well, betrayed is a strong word, but it’s kind of accurate, considering she swore she wouldn’t tell our parents about my situation. But when Jerry sent a box full of my possessions to Mum and Dad’s house, citing he didn’t want to store them any longer, well, it’s safe to say they had questions. And when I ignored their calls, of course, they collared my sister into giving up answers.

But today, I’ve got to face the music.

We ring the doorbell and in an instant, Mum flings it open and yanks us into a hug that causes me to stumble over the threshold.

‘Oh, my babies!’ she croons, cradling us against her rose-water scented chest.

Wow, what a welcome! I don’t think Mum has referred to me as ‘her baby’ since I was twelve years old.

‘Well, hello to you too.’

My parents’ old dog Buster ambles into the hallway to see what’s going on and I stoop to scratch him between the ears.

‘Hiya, matey,’ I fuss at him, and Penny joins me.

Mum bundles us through to the living room and Dad calls out hello from the kitchen, where he’s cooking up a delicious-smelling roast for Sunday lunch. My mum may be a domestic goddess when it comes to keeping the house ship-shape, but her cooking skills fall well short compared to my dad’s. He can whip up anything; fish pie, beef wellington, and don’t even get me started on Christmas dinner - somehow, he manages to make Brussels sprouts taste good!

Penny and I barely get a chance to sit down on the floral three-piece suite before Mum gets to grilling me.

‘Now, are you going to fill me in? I got the brief rundown from your sister, but you know what she’s like for details.’

Geez, this woman doesn’t waste any time! My eyes dart to Penny, who’s happily cuddling up to Buster on the stiff sofa opposite me.

I murmur into my chest, my head lowered. ‘Well, it’s … kind of a long story, Mum.’

She and I exchange a single, brief glance, but it’s enough for her to take the hint.

‘Penelope, sweetheart, why don’t you go and give Granddad a hand with lunch?’ She shoots my daughter a honeyed smile. ‘I’m sure he could do with his special little helper.’

Penny quirks an eyebrow, even at her young age, she can tell when something is a ploy. Still, like the good girl she is, she pushes herself off the sofa and skips off to the kitchen without question. She’s out of earshot for a mere nanosecond before Mum starts up the Spanish Inquisition.

‘So, what’s all this I hear about you staying in a friend’s spare bedroom? What’s happened to Jerry?’

‘Jerry’s gone, Mum. He left for a new job in Liverpool. Not before securing a tenant for our house, of course, which he is now the landlord of. Good for him, eh?’

‘Why didn’t you tell us what was going on?’ She throws her arms up, exasperated. ‘We could have helped you guys adjust to the move, help you find a school for Penny, that sort of thing.’

‘Because Jerry didn’t tell me what was going on.’ Sensing my distress, good old Buster rolls off his sofa and snuggles up next to me. ‘Besides, I didn’t want to move. Am I not allowed to have a choice in my own life?’

‘Well, yes, of course. But Jerry is your husband, darling.’

‘He might be my husband, but he’s not my partner, not in anything.’ With a heavy heart, I stroke Buster’s back and he lets out a sigh before plopping his head onto my lap. ‘Things have been bad between us for years now. I’ve not been happy for a long time.’

My voice quivers as I say that sentence aloud. It’s been hard for me to admit that, most of all to myself.

‘Oh please, what did you have to be unhappy about?’

I jerk my head upward, shocked by the bluntness of her tone. ‘Excuse me?’

‘Well, I - I didn’t mean it like that, darling.’Stammering, she backtracks, though it seems to me she meant it exactly like that. ‘I just mean that you and Penny had everything your hearts desired, a beautiful home, beautiful things, Jerry provided it all.’

‘Those are just material, Mum. There’s so much more to a relationship that those, to a family.’

‘Nobody’s perfect, honey.’

I’m relieved when Dad finally calls us through for lunch, and though it smells amazing, I can hardly eat a bite. The buttery mash turns to ash in my mouth, the tender chicken breast tastes like cardboard, and I can’t even enjoy a glass of wine without feeling queasy.

I should have expected it, but it still stings to hear my own mother telling me I’m wrong for allowing Jerry to walk out the door while we stayed in Sunny Shore Bay.

I was so sure I was doing the right thing, for me and for Penny. But everyone around me seems to disagree, Rosalind, my parents - it’s making me question my judgment.

I excuse myself from the table and rush to the downstairs loo, where I splash cold water on my face and stare into the mirror, searching for answers.

Did I make a huge mistake? The biggest mistake of my - and Penny’s - life? And if so, is it too late to fix things?