Epilogue
April
Ezz was in her bedroom at Chapel Road, wardrobes and drawers open and two big blue suitcases on the bed.
Since Mats and family had returned to Sweden in early February, Ezz had worked from Gothenburg for two periods of two weeks each, and now the new assistant manager, Alasdair, was going to be tested by her being there for the entire month of April.
How weird would it be to leave the on-the-spot management to him, especially over Easter, which would be the start of visitor numbers picking up for the summer?
Very weird, she decided, hearing Mats arriving downstairs.
He’d used the newly created direct flight to come to Rothach Hall for a week, but the new family home was waiting for them in ?rgryte, a suburb of Gothenburg.
A refurbished 1920s villa, it had an apartment on the top floor for Josefin, and on the middle floor a balcony and a semi-circular window like half a wheel.
Ezz wasn’t sure who was the most excited about the house – her and Mats or the children.
In May, she’d fly back to Rothach, and then Mats, the children and Josefin would follow when Inger and Andreas began their summer tour of places like Monte Carlo, Nice and Ibiza, with a week booked in the Highlands while they took the children for a holiday with them.
Then Ezz would give up her cottage in Chapel Road altogether and use Rothach Hall as her UK base, which seemed surreal – but not in the turret room, which Mats used to share with Inger.
Ezz, Mats and the children were moving right up in the attics, a conversion already underway, for which they’d chosen the décor.
They’d spend all summer in Rothach, as would Grete and Erik – seriously, Ezz’s life could not have changed more – and Jonas, Maja and their families might pay shorter visits.
Ezz would be in Rothach for the birth of Thea’s baby, who they now knew would be a girl, and for when Valentina and family spent the school summer holiday at Overlook Cottage.
Ezz and Thea hadn’t seen Gary since the problems over Christmas, but whenever Ezz asked if she was OK, Valentina always said, ‘We’re making a go of things.’
Mats arrived in the bedroom. ‘Haven’t you finished yet? We leave in an hour.’ He picked up some new underwear that she was about to pack. ‘Mm, pretty. Wear it later when the children are in bed.’
Taking the pink scraps of satin back, though happy to bear in mind his suggestion for later, she pretended to be cross. ‘I know we leave in an hour. It was me who wrote the itinerary.’
He slipped his arms around her. ‘I can’t believe we’re finding a way to make our lives together work.’
Her laughter faded. ‘I know. It’s an incredible adventure for me. It’ll be weird to see a football stadium and apartments from the window instead of Rosamund’s pub.’
He nestled her against him. ‘We won’t be far from the sea, and we’ll be back here a lot. Inger’s much more flexible about the children now, and her having them for a couple of weeks here and there will leave me free to come back to Scotland, even after Astrid begins school in September.’
Ezz shivered at the feel of his hands through the fabric of her clothes. ‘Kay and Rick want to take a city break in Gothenburg while we’re there. Kay called me this morning.’
‘That sounds great.’ Mats’ mouth travelled down her neck at the same time as his hand slipped up inside her top.
She tipped back her head. ‘We don’t have time.’
‘We do if we just throw everything in your cases instead of doing all that folding up,’ he suggested, his tongue hot on her skin.
‘You’re so impulsive,’ she groaned. Then she began tugging at his shirt. ‘But, OK. Let’s do that.’
They made the flight eventually, but not all of the clothes in Ezz’s suitcase were neatly folded. That wasn’t what mattered.
What mattered was their life together stretching out before them – unorthodox, perhaps, but theirs.