Chapter 16
The next morning, Lauren was awake long before it was light.
She’d decided not to open the café until Myriam had left; she wanted to spend as much time with her as she could.
She also couldn’t quite let go of the idea that Myriam would forget something, or there would be a sudden last-minute emergency that only she, Lauren, could sort out.
Padding downstairs so as not to wake her mother, she made a cup of tea and, by the time she’d finished drinking it, and scrolling a little on her phone, it was beginning to get light.
She heard the creak of floorboards upstairs, suggesting that Myriam was awake, so she reboiled the kettle and took a mug up to her mother.
‘Thanks, love.’ Myriam sipped her tea gratefully. Lauren left her to it. Later, when they were both downstairs, she couldn’t help checking and double-checking things with Myriam.
‘Are you absolutely sure you’ve got all of your medication?’ It was a superfluous question, given that when her mother was still upstairs checking over her suitcase, Lauren had rifled through her mother’s wash bag, located the zip-up pouch where she kept her medicines and checked them for herself.
‘Yes, of course.’ Myriam’s voice held a trace of irritability. ‘And I know you’ve checked, too, so please stop asking me.’
‘Sorry.’ Lauren forced a smile. ‘I can’t help worrying.’
‘I know.’ Myriam smiled back at her. ‘But you mustn’t. I’ll be fine.’
‘I’ll nip up and get your suitcase.’ Eager to have something helpful to do, Lauren hurried out of the kitchen before her mother could reply.
Upon her return, she caught sight of Myriam scrambling through her wash bag and had to suppress a smile when she realised that her mother was indeed checking that she had definitely packed all of her medications.
‘Do you want me to pop up to the studio and grab your painting stuff, too?’ she said as she carefully pushed the handle back into the suitcase and stood it up.
‘No thanks, darling – I’ve got my best brushes tucked away inside my suitcase, and the cruise director emailed me a couple of days ago to say that they’ve sourced all of the paints and canvases that I’ll be using on the trip. So, I really will be travelling light!’
Lauren rolled her eyes and gestured to the suitcase. ‘I’d hardly call that light.’
‘Well, I decided, what the hell – if I wasn’t sure what to take, why not just take it all!’
Myriam’s laughter lifted Lauren’s heart. ‘I’m glad I won’t have to carry it at the other end.’
Myriam was about to reply when the Ring doorbell chimed its merry tune.
‘That’ll be Gary.’ Myriam’s face grew serious.
‘Now, don’t forget, I might be on the rivers, but you can call me any time you like.
If I don’t pick up, it probably means I’m teaching a class, so don’t panic.
I’ll call you when we get to Southampton, and I know that you can track my journey, at least as far as there. ’
‘Sometimes I wonder who the parent is in this relationship,’ Lauren replied, a fondly wry note in her voice. But Myriam was only saying this to reassure her.
‘Well, I’d better get the door, or Gary’ll be standing out there all day!
’ Myriam hurried out of the kitchen and a few seconds later Lauren heard her greeting the man on the doorstep.
She blinked away sudden tears. She could cry later; for now, she wanted to send her mother off with a positive smile.
That smile became a little brighter when Gary appeared at the kitchen door and gave a whistle at the size of Myriam’s suitcase.
‘Well, love, no-one could accuse you of packing light!’
Lauren smiled. ‘That’s exactly what I said.’
Gary laughed. ‘Great minds, eh, Lauren.’
‘Oh, give over, you two.’ Myriam shook her head. ‘Can I get you a cuppa before we set off again?’
‘No thanks, love. I’ll just use the loo, if you don’t mind.’
‘Of course.’
As Gary disappeared to the bathroom, Lauren felt her shoulders retreating, just a little, from her ears.
She’d liked Gary when she was a child, and although she hadn’t seen him in years, he was friendly and reliable, and now he’d declared himself absolutely dotty about her mother. She turned back to Myriam.
‘You will call me as soon as you get on board?’
‘I promise.’ Myriam hugged her one more time.
Gary returned, and in a matter of minutes, he’d placed Myriam’s suitcase in the boot of his Kia Sportage, next to his own.
‘Well, we’d best get on the road if we’re going to arrive in plenty of time for check-in,’ he said. Then, turning to Lauren, he added, ‘Don’t worry. I’ll take very good care of her.’
‘I know you will.’ Lauren trusted this bluff, sensible northerner.
He was solidly attractive, with sad Alsatian eyes in the manner of Andy Burnham, and the same dark hair running to grey.
He was clearly potty about both her mother and her mother’s artwork.
As Gary pulled away from the kerb outside the maisonette, Myriam waving to her as they departed, Lauren swallowed back anxious tears.
She had plenty to do, and no time to dwell on goodbyes.
Before she knew it, Myriam would be back, anyway. December always rushed by.
But as she wandered back through to open up the café, a little after eight thirty, the quiet of the house hit her like a brick wall.
Myriam wasn’t a noisy person, and she spent most of her waking hours in the studio at the top of the house, but knowing she wasn’t there felt…
odd. Lauren wasn’t ready to think about what life would be like without her mother, although in the early years of her recovery the prospect had been terrifyingly real.