Chapter 37
Preparing to go downstairs to the hotel bar to meet Leon that evening, Joan hesitated and fingered the chain around her neck before coming to a decision. Carefully, she undid the catch and took the chain off, sliding the ring into the palm of her hand as she did so.
She dropped the chain onto the dressing table and slipped the ring onto the middle finger of her right hand. Tonight would be a good night to pass the ring onto the son of its bona fide first owner.
Joan was sipping a small cognac, hoping it would give her some much-needed Dutch courage to face Leon when he arrived at eight o’clock.
Leon ordered a beer before giving his mother a questioning look.
‘Let’s go up to my room,’ Joan said as several noisy couples arrived. ‘Be private and a bit quieter.’
‘Mum, are you all right? You don’t look too good,’ Leon said, giving his mother a concerned look.
‘Thanks for that,’ Joan said. ‘All I can say in my defence is that it’s been a funny twenty-four hours.’
‘I didn’t mean to upset you Thursday evening with all my questions.’
‘You did upset me but…’ she shrugged. ‘I do understand, although I don’t know why you suddenly started with all the questions.
Thursday night you were pushing me for answers I didn’t have.
You’ve always known that I had a relationship before you were born and became pregnant, but Jake, the man I was in love with, died.
I was a single mum when I met Harry and fell in love with him.
He accepted you, always loved you as his own son.
And adopted you as soon as we married. Harry was a real father to you.
Your biological father would, I know, have been an equally good father to you, but sadly he never even knew he had a son.
’ She paused. ‘I was lucky to have the love of two men in my life both as precious as the other. And they both gave me the gift of a wonderful child,’ Joan said, wiping away a stray tear.
Leon, never truly at home with sentimentality, shifted on his seat.
Joan gave him a brief smile. ‘You know your middle name of Jake is after your father. And the Christian name Leon, I chose for you was deliberate too. It sounds like his surname Lyon. So effectively you have his full name. If we could have told you more, I promise you we would have. If there had been any chance of you meeting Jake, we would have encouraged you, but he was dead. Why risk upsetting the man who had brought you up and loved you as his own fixating on someone you could never meet.’
‘Because surely I have the right, if at all possible, to know about the man who actually helped create me?’ Leon said quietly.
‘I loved Dad, he was a great dad to me and I’ll never forget him, but I’d also like to know more about…
about my real roots, I suppose. Didn’t you ever think about contacting Jake’s family? ’
Joan sighed. ‘I had no way of contacting them. I’d never met them, knew only that they lived somewhere on the outskirts of London. I didn’t even know which part of London – north, south, east or west.’
Leon took a swig of his beer before sighing.
‘So why the urgency to see me this evening if you don’t have anything to add to what I already know?’
‘I do have something new to tell you…’ Joan swallowed and took a strangled breath before starting again. ‘Something happened yesterday that makes it possible for you to learn more about your biological father. And it is something you unknowingly kicked off.’
Leon stilled and stared at her. ‘Go on.’
‘I saw a photo on Wednesday evening in the hallway of Villa Celestia that came as a big shock to me, to say the least. It was a black-and-white photograph of two men, one of whom I recognised – Jake Lyon. I admit I was selfish in more or less deciding to ignore it, reckoning that there was little possibility in trying to investigate its origins and discovering anything. But then you started pushing for details, and I knew I owed it to you and your father to at least find out if the photograph could be the key to you getting some answers to your questions.’
Joan took a deep breath.
‘So yesterday I went back to Villa Celestia and met Guy Lyon, the owner, and asked him about the photograph. He confirmed that it was Jake in the photograph and that he was the man standing next to him. That information has drastically changed things and has brought someone unexpected into your – our – lives. Someone who will be able to answer most if not all of your questions about your father.’
‘Who is it?’
‘Your father’s brother. Your uncle.’
There was a stunned silence as Leon stared at her in disbelief before he broke the silence. ‘You’ve met a blood relative on my father’s side? I have an uncle?’
Joan nodded.
‘Where is he? I want to meet him.’
‘It’s Guy, the owner of Villa Celestia. He wants to meet you too, but he is in shock as much as you are.’
‘I doubt that,’ Leon said, shaking his head.
‘Oh he is. He had absolutely no idea that you or I existed until just over twenty-four hours ago.’
‘Does he truly want to meet me?’
Joan nodded. ‘Yes.’
Leon sipped his beer before looking at her and taking a deep breath and asking quietly, ‘Mum, I truly don’t want to upset you, but will you please tell me how Jake died?’
Joan caught her breath. She hated thinking about the accident.
‘I don’t know the full details, but I’ll tell you what I know.
The yacht he worked on had sailed across to Sicily and moored in one of the marinas there.
Two days later, one of the guests on board lost control of his jet-ski and it ploughed into your father, who was in the water helping one of the younger guests.
He was dead before they got him out of the water. ’
Joan fiddled with the signet ring on her finger before taking it off and looking up at Leon.
‘You were asking me about this ring. I think you suspected and probably guessed it was Jake who gave it to me. It was meant to represent a temporary engagement ring. Just days later, he was dead. I wore it continually until I met Harry, when I took it off and placed it in the drawer with all my memories of that part of my life. I think it’s about time you had it, if you would like it.
If you don’t want it, I shall give it to Guy.
He wears an identical one.’ She held it out to Leon.
Leon looked at it for several seconds before slowly taking it, slipping it on his finger and standing up.
‘Thanks, Mum.’ He moved across to give her a tight hug.
‘I’m sorry for upsetting you, for dragging an unhappy part of your past into our present, but I’m glad you’ve talked to me about Jake.
And thank you for being brave enough to look into the provenance of the old photograph. ’
‘My turn now to ask you a question,’ Joan said quietly. ‘Why have you never pushed for the answers to these questions before?’
‘A mix of reasons,’ Leon said slowly. ‘Partly not wanting to upset either you or Dad but also recently I’ve been thinking about the future.
My future. I know I’ve gained a bit of a reputation with girlfriends for having a commitment problem, but I actually don’t.
I simply haven’t met the right person yet.
When I do meet someone and want to settle down, I need to be able to tell a future partner who I am, what my roots are.
I remember Gramps and Nana – your parents – and dad’s parents, Grandad and Grandma, always treated me like a grandson, but there was always a niggling feeling that out there somewhere, maybe there was another set of grandparents. ’
‘I can understand that,’ Joan said. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t explain that I didn’t know the ins and outs of your father’s background. I’m also sorry I didn’t tell you what a lovely, caring man Jake was and how much I loved him.’
Leon gave her a tight squeeze. ‘I know now and hopefully Guy will fill me in even more. Have you talked to Helena about this development?’
Joan shook her head. ‘No. I know she’ll be thrilled for you. Do you want me to tell her or do you want to?’
‘Will you tell her please? I’m not sure when I’ll see her and it’s pretty important family news.’ Leon glanced at his watch. ‘Love you, Mum, and thanks again. It’s late, I’ve got to get back to the yacht. I’ll see you before you leave on Monday.’