Chapter 87
Daisy listened on with a mixture of disbelief and awe. They had it all planned. Apparently, Nicholas had driven to the September Rose that morning so he could drop off Pippa, then pick up Yvonne from the hospital to take back to Wildflower Lock while her mother stayed onboard the boat and carried on the journey with Daisy.
‘What about work?’ Daisy asked, still not able to believe this was really happening. ‘You can’t just not work.’
‘No, you’re right, but I’d already booked next week off work, anyway. Nick and I were going to take a little trip, but this one sounds even better. And work was all right about it, not that I gave them much choice. They owe me after all the years I’ve worked there. And Theo reckons we can make it in a fortnight.’
‘But… but… You know about this too?’ Daisy said, looking at Theo. The disbelief was growing more and more by the second. It was one thing for her mother to ring Theo to tell her what had happened to Yvonne, but making these sorts of plans without even discussing it with her was next-level meddling, though it came from the loveliest of places. Daisy wasn’t sure whether she should be grateful or angry, though one of those emotions was definitely more prevalent.
‘Unless you’ve changed your mind and don’t want to come up to Slimbridge?’ Theo said with a twist of a smile on his lips.
Of course she wanted to. All the fear and worry of Yvonne had meant Daisy had pushed aside how heartbroken she’d been about having to cut the journey short. Even if she had hated lying to Theo about it, the trip itself had been nothing short of incredible, and she was only halfway through.
But it wasn’t as straightforward as whether she wanted to do it.
‘Are you sure?’ Daisy said, looking at her mother. ‘Will you be okay here? On the boat?’
‘Well, you’ve already done the hard bit. A few locks and canals are nothing compared to the open waters and the tidal Thames. And I’ve made sure I’ve packed my wellies. I know how muddy these towpaths can get, even when it isn’t raining.’
‘That isn’t what I meant,’ Daisy said.
Even though she’d never seen her mother out on the canals, Daisy didn’t doubt her ability to hitch a knot or open a gate. Once you learned something like that, it was ingrained in you. Like riding a bike. It was the emotional side of things that worried her.
‘I mean, are you going to be okay here, on the September Rose? On this particular boat.’
‘You know what, I think this boat and I need some more memories,’ she said, stepping forward and taking Daisy’s hands. ‘So if you’re asking me if I am going to be okay with spending two weeks with my daughter, helping her run her business, seeing parts of the countryside and telling her about my life on the canal, then the answer is yes, absolutely. Now, why don’t we go get Yvonne’s things packed up and you and Theo can go grab some breakfast together before we have to set off? How does that sound?’