Chapter 30
30
ALICE
It had taken until they were halfway to the airport before Alice’s heart rate had returned to anywhere near normal. As soon as they’d left the home she’d once shared with Larry, Val had put her foot down and they’d raced back to her house to pick up Alice’s cases. On the way, Zac had filled Val in on all the details of his exchange with Larry McLenn.
‘What a relief,’ Val had said, and Alice heard her voice catching with emotion. ‘I was heartsore and worried for you. I’ll admit, I wasn’t on board with going to see him in the first place, but you were right, Zac, because if you hadn’t, you’d always wonder. But I can’t tell you the joy of knowing that you’re not related to that man. If I get to heaven and get a free pass to wipe someone off this earth, Larry McLenn will be the one.’
Despite the stress of the day, that had made Alice smile. ‘Do you have any evidence of these free passes, Val, or is it just a wish list item?’ she’d teased. Even in the semi-darkness of the car, Alice had spotted the side-eye that was coming her way.
‘If they’re not there when I arrive, they will be available as soon as I get the place sorted out,’ she’d joked, but Alice had decided there might just be an element of truth in there.
When they’d reached the house, they’d raced inside, and picked up her travel bag.
‘Okay, have you got everything?’ Val had demanded. ‘All your IDs – passport, driving licence, Tesco Clubcard. And your purse. And where’s your jewellery? Have you put one of those Air Tig thingies in your jewellery bag?’
A year ago, Val had lost her most precious possessions while travelling and it had scarred her for life. She’d then been introduced to the power of tracking devices and never left home without them. ‘Air Tag ,’ Alice had corrected the title. ‘And yes, one in my purse, one in my bag, one in my jewellery…’
Val had ticked them off on her fingers. ‘And pop one in your bra, just in case you get lost. Me and the Jeep will come save you.’
Alice didn’t doubt it for a second.
Zac – lovely guy that he was – had grabbed the suitcases and lugged them down the path and into the back of the Jeep. She’d checked her watch – they were cutting it fine, but they should make it with about twenty minutes to spare.
Now that they were well on the road and making good time, Alice could begin to breathe normally again. The relief was still coursing through her. Larry wasn’t Zac’s father. Morag hadn’t done the unthinkable. Now Alice could go back to thinking of her friendship with both joy that it had happened and regret that they’d let it go. And unless she ever learned differently, she was also going back to her previous belief that they’d lost touch because youth, time and distance had got in the way.
‘Val, there’s one more thing about what happened at Larry’s house that we have to tell you. When we got there, Larry wasn’t in…’
‘You know, I thought I saw him staggering down the street after you arrived, but I thought I had to be mistaken. Who let you in then?’
Alice’s jaw clenched at the memory.
‘Sandra.’
‘No! She’s still with him?’
Alice nodded. ‘She is. And, Val, what a state she’s in.’ She went on to recount the whole story, and with every detail, Val’s jaw set firmer, and her knuckles got tighter on the steering wheel.
‘He’s a horrible bastard, he truly is.’
‘He is.’
‘And it’s a credit to you that you want to help her.’
‘I couldn’t leave anyone in that position, Val. Problem is, she doesn’t want my help. I’m going to give Bernadette a call in the morning and see what she thinks. Maybe the group can do something to help. Meanwhile, I’ve given Sandra my number and told her to call day or night. She’s not ready yet, but hopefully it won’t be long.’
Val took it all in. ‘I’ll see if I can find a way to keep a wee eye on her too.’ Val had fingers in every pie of the community and social care, and there weren’t many people in their cluster of villages that she didn’t know. If there was a way to help, she would find it.
The miles passed way too quickly and they were already approaching the slip road for the airport. Val followed the series of swooping curves round to the entrance to the drop-off zone and zipped right into the space left by a departing minivan.
Zac pulled the cases out of the boot, then gave Val a hug. ‘It was a real pleasure to meet you, son. Next time you’re in Scotland, come visit me,’ she told him, patting his back.
‘I sure will. Thanks for everything, Val. We couldn’t have done today without you.’
Alice thought yet again what a decent man Morag had raised.
Zac let Val go, and then picked up the cases. ‘Alice, I’ll just go wait at the entrance and let you say your goodbyes.’
She couldn’t even thank him because a rock had just lodged in her throat. Val met her gaze, and Alice saw the same emotion coming right back at her. She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around her diminutive pal, breathing in her heady scent: a mixture of Elnett hairspray, coconut shampoo and a quick squirt of Chanel No5.
After a few moments, she managed to find her voice. ‘Val, I’ll never be able to thank you enough for what you’ve done for me. You gave me my life back and I’ll always be so grateful. You’re the very best person I’ve ever known.’
There was a large sniff. ‘Alice, if I have blue mascara tears down my cheeks, it’ll be your fault. You saved your life all by yourself, ma love. I was just there to cheer you on. And this goodbye isn’t for long because I’ll be down to see you next month.’
‘Not the same as drinking tea in my dressing gown with you every morning.’
‘True. You’ll have to find some other spectacular way to start your day.’ Another sniff. Then Val slowly moved back out of Alice’s arms. ‘Now on you go and don’t keep that lad waiting. Give my love to Rory and Sophie and tell them I’ll see them soon.’
‘I will,’ Alice assured her. ‘I love you, Val Murray.’
‘Right back at you, Alice Brookes. You’re going to have a great life.’
Before she could change her mind, and waving all the way, Alice went off to catch up with Zac. By the time she turned around to wave one last time, the bright yellow Jeep was gone.
She was still dabbing her eyes with her hanky when she reached Zac. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked her.
‘I’m fine. Goodbyes are hard. It’s taken me a long time to find people in my life that I could count on no matter what. Val is one of those people and I’ll miss her every day. I felt that way about your mum too. For what it’s worth, Zac – I’ve been thinking all day about how proud she must have been of you. I just wanted to tell you that.’ She felt another wave of emotion coming, so she immediately tried to stem it by snapping into action mode. ‘Now, let’s go catch these flights before I fall apart, and they don’t let me on.’
As soon as they got inside the terminal, they made a beeline for the departures board in the middle of the hall, and both scanned the long list of cancellations and delays at the same time. It struck her that she should have checked the times before she left the house as she normally would, but today had just got away from her.
‘My flight is delayed for two hours,’ Zac said first.
‘Mine is saying an hour, but look at that,’ she pointed higher up the board. ‘The two earlier flights to Heathrow haven’t even taken off yet. Ah well, at least it’ll give us time to relax and have a bit of dinner.’ She suddenly wondered if that had sounded like she was suggesting that they should eat together, and she immediately clarified, because she didn’t want to be an imposition. ‘I’ll just go check my cases in then. Please keep in touch with me. I’d like to know how you get on. And tell your dad I said hello…’ She wasn’t sure if that would be welcome or not, given that Cillian had seemingly snubbed her at the funeral, but she meant it anyway.
Before they could say any more, his phone pinged and she saw a puzzled expression cross his brow. ‘My dad has sent me a text, saying that he’s in the executive lounge. No idea how he got in there. We usually just hang out at the bar upstairs. I’m not a member so I’m not sure how he thinks I can meet him there.’
Alice saw the issue. ‘If you want to wait until I’ve checked my cases in, I can come sign you in. I’m a member, but I promise I’m not saying that to be flash. I travelled a lot with my son in the last six months – making up for lost time – and I racked up the miles, so I just got my lounge pass through. I’ll just sign you in, and then I’ll leave you and your dad to talk. I’m sure there’s a lot you’ll want to discuss with him.’
They’d joined the back of the queue now, but they were latecomers, so it wasn’t too long. Alice quickly texted Rory and Sophie to let them know about the delay. They wouldn’t have left for the airport yet, so hopefully it wouldn’t cause them any inconvenience.
Meanwhile, Zac must have thought about what she’d just said, because he broached a different idea. ‘Alice, would you come talk to him too? I think maybe it would help if there was someone who loved Mum as much as he did, who knew that she was a good person back then. I know that you lost touch, but I know that you loved her…’
‘I did.’
‘And I’m sure that my dad will appreciate that too.’
Alice thought that over. It would be nice to meet Cillian again. To chat to someone with a shared history. To talk about Morag and how wonderful she was. ‘Okay, but if your dad has any objections, I’ll leave, no offence taken. How does that sound?’
Zac pushed her cases forward in the line. ‘I think that sounds like an excellent plan.’
Alice just hoped that Cillian felt the same way.