26
Milly
Her mother was discharged at lunchtime with instructions to rest for a few days and contact the hospital if there were any concerns.
“I’m not sure about these symptoms.”
Nanna Peg was studying the piece of paper that the doctor had given them. “I have most of them. Maybe I’m the one who should be in the hospital.”
Milly unloaded the shopping she’d picked up on the way home. “I wish you’d come and stay with me at the boathouse, Mum.”
“I’m better off in my own bed, honey, but thank you.”
“You’re not sleeping here alone.”
“I’ll be here,”
Nanna Peg said. “If we need you, we’ll call. Now, enough talk of illness. Tell me about Nicole.”
Milly put apples into the fruit bowl. “You mean about her being pregnant? Or the fact that she is thinking of moving here permanently?”
That had come as a surprise to her, but it was a good surprise.
They had so much to talk about.
“Neither of those things. I’m talking about Joel.”
“Joel?”
Milly added oranges and plums to the bowl. “What about Joel?”
“Are you seriously pretending you don’t know?”
Nanna Peg glanced at Connie. “I despair of the younger generation. They spend so long online they don’t understand human interaction when they see it.”
Milly put the milk in the fridge. “If you’re talking about their friendship, then yes. I know about that. She bumped into Joel on her first day here—”
she decided not to give them the details of Nicole thinking he was an intruder “—and they became friends. He took her hiking yesterday.”
“I’ve been hiking with people,”
Nanna Peg said, “and I don’t look at them the way he looks at her. Or the way she looks at him.”
Milly closed the fridge. “You see romance everywhere.”
“I see romance where there’s romance.”
Nanna Peg made a pot of tea and put it on the table in front of Connie. “Trust me—those two are more than hiking buddies, even if they don’t yet know it themselves. Did you unload the chocolate biscuits, Milly, or are they still in the car?”
“Still in the car, I think.”
Could Nanna Peg be right? “She’s pregnant.”
“I don’t see why that matters.”
Connie poured the tea. “But she’s a world-famous actress, and he’s a carpenter.”
“Exactly.”
Nanna Peg added sugar to her tea. “And you have a perfect rom-com right there.”
Milly rolled her eyes. “Your imagination is unbelievable. I’ll leave you to it while I go and hunt for the chocolate biscuits. Try not to move or injure yourselves while I’m gone.”
But it was good to see the pair of them laughing and joking.
“I’ll help you with the shopping.”
Zoe followed her to the car and Milly grabbed the last bag of groceries and rescued the packet of chocolate biscuits that had rolled under the car seat.
“Are you doing okay, Zoe? I’m sorry about last night.”
It had been playing on her mind. “Dragging you out to stay here. And the whole conversation with Nicole. You shouldn’t have had to hear all that.”
“It’s fine. I’m an adult. Almost. You don’t have to hide things from me. I prefer it if you don’t.”
Zoe’s cheeks were pink. “To be honest it gave me hope.”
“Hope?”
“Hearing you and Nicole fall out and then seeing you fix it again. I’ve always thought you two had, like, the perfect, most amazing friendship. I didn’t imagine that you ever exchanged an angry word. And then you did, but it was okay. And seeing that gave me courage to speak to Cally. I’m going to do that.”
“Good.”
Milly leaned against the car door to close it, her arms full. She was relieved that Zoe didn’t seem scarred by witnessing a surfeit of maternal emotion. And who would have thought that her problems with Nicole would have turned into a teachable moment? Usually she tried to smooth or sanitize everything, but maybe she needed to be a little more open. After all, her job as a mother was to prepare Zoe for a real version of life, not a polished version. “I hope she’s receptive and that the conversation isn’t too stressful. If you want to talk through how to approach it, I’m here.”
She took a step toward the house, but Zoe stopped her.
“Talking of not hiding things—”
“Mm?”
Milly paused, her maternal radar on full alert.
“I kind of understood why it was hard for Nicole to tell you. About Dad, I mean—”
Zoe stumbled over the words “—because it’s not an easy thing, is it? Talking about something like that. When you overhear something you shouldn’t. It’s like holding something hot that is scalding you, and the last thing you want to do is hand it over and scald someone else.”
Milly stayed still, waiting.
This was how it was with teenagers, she was discovering. You could sit them down and encourage them to talk and they gave away frustratingly little, but then you were standing in the blazing sunshine clutching a bag of groceries with a packet of chocolate biscuits melting in your hand and suddenly you knew that this conversation about not much was about something very important.
“Have you been in that position, sweetheart?”
Zoe gave her a desperate look. “I overheard Dad talking.”
The words fell out of her as if they’d been held inside for too long. “It was at home one night. When we were still in our old house. I came down for a glass of water. He didn’t know I was there.”
She broke off. “I don’t even know if I should be telling you this.”
They were standing in full sunshine.
Milly was sweltering. Her clothes were sticking to her. The chocolate biscuits were turning liquid.
“You can tell me anything, honey. Anything at all.”
Zoe swallowed. “He was talking to someone on the phone. And the moment he saw me he turned like a weird puce color and ended the call, and he told me off for creeping up on him. But I honestly wasn’t. I just wanted a drink. And if he hadn’t acted all guilty I probably wouldn’t even have noticed.”
Milly’s mouth was dry. “When was this?”
“I don’t know. But before we went to LA to stay with Aunt Nicole. And then I saw him on the balcony arguing with Aunt Nicole, and I guessed what might be going on. But I didn’t know exactly. And I didn’t know what to do. Or say. And last night you were so mad at Nicole that she hadn’t told you—”
“Oh, sweetheart, no, that’s not true. It was more complicated than that. And I’m so, so sorry you were put in that position.”
Milly put the biscuits in with the groceries and put the bag down on the ground. Then she held out her arms, and Zoe walked straight into them. “I wish you’d told me. Not for me, but for you.”
Zoe clung to her. “I didn’t want to hurt you. And I suppose a part of me hoped that if I ignored it, it might go away.”
Milly stroked Zoe’s hair. Her eyes were stinging. “That was a big thing to have to carry, and next time you’re worried about anything at all, you’re to tell me and we’ll share it. That’s what family does.”
She held her daughter tightly, and then there was a hammering at the window. “That’s Nanna Peg.”
“She wants her chocolate biscuits.”
Zoe gave a tearful laugh and pulled away. “You’re not mad at me?”
“I could never be mad at you. I’m sorry this has been so hard on you. I feel terrible about all of it. The divorce. Moving house . . .”
She couldn’t believe they were having such an important conversation outdoors next to the car, clutching bags of shopping and risking sunstroke.
“Don’t feel bad. None of it is your fault. And I love the boathouse.”
Zoe picked up the bag. “And Dad leaving was difficult, but I’m getting used to it. Avery has tried really hard to make me feel at home there, which can’t be easy because she doesn’t have kids or anything. She has started buying food she knows I like, even though she doesn’t eat it herself.”
She said it tentatively, as if it was something she wasn’t sure her mother would want to know, and Milly realized how tough it must have felt for her.
“I’m glad you like her, I really am. It’s a relief to me.”
“Truly?”
“Yes. And if your dad is happy with her, then I think that’s good too.”
Zoe shifted the weight of the bag. “Do you wish you’d never married him?”
There had been moments when she wished that, but now she thought differently.
“We had many happy years, and just because we’ve both moved on doesn’t make those years worth less. It was a different phase of our lives, that’s all. And now this is a new phase.”
“I worry about leaving you alone on the weekends. Gramma and Nanna Peg want to sign you up to a dating app.”
Milly thought about Brendan. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”
“I just want you to be happy, Mum.”
Maybe it was time to be more open. “Well, it’s funny you should say that, because I just may have gone on a date while you were staying with your dad and Avery this weekend.”
Zoe gasped. “You did? Who with?”
“I’m going to tell you all about it another time or Nanna Peg will come out here searching for those biscuits herself.”
“Okay, but answer me one question. What did you wear?”
Milly laughed. She definitely should be sharing more of her life with her daughter. “A dress that Nicole found tucked at the back of my wardrobe. And a pair of shoes that gave me a blister.”
Milly headed back toward the house, Zoe next to her looking decidedly more cheerful.
She poached some salmon and made a light salad for supper, and by the time they all went to bed, Connie was looking a lot better.
Milly was settling down to sleep when a message pinged on her phone.
It was from Brendan.
Joel updated me. I’m here if you need me so call.
She replied with a thank you and a row of kisses, and then deleted two of the kisses in case it was too much.
Then she lay back and smiled into the darkness. She wasn’t going to call, but she was pleased that he’d suggested it.
And suddenly she felt lighter, as if the world had opened up in front of her. Her mother was going to be okay, things were good with Nicole, and she was finally in a better place about her own situation. Putting her marriage to Richard firmly in the past and letting go of all the regrets and questions she’d had left her feeling free.
She thought about the date she’d had with Brendan. The fun they’d had.
She wished now that she’d gone with him to his cabin. Next time, she would. And she was determined there would be a next time.
She went to sleep smiling, and that feeling of contentment lasted until her phone woke her the following morning.
It was Joel.
“Hi.”
Milly’s voice was groggy from sleep. “Everything okay?”
“Not exactly. I’m calling to warn you not to come near Forest Nest.”
“What?”
She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “I was going to drop Zoe at school and then come straight over. What has happened?”
“There are photographers everywhere. Mostly men with cameras. They’re swarming all over the boathouse.”
Milly’s stomach dropped. “Nicole—”
“Fortunately she stayed over with me last night. I went into work early this morning and saw a man with a long lens in the bushes. Then another group arrived. We have a problem.”
Milly registered briefly that Nicole had stayed the night with Joel, then pushed it out of her mind. She’d think about that later. There were more urgent things to deal with.
This had happened because Nicole had come to the hospital to give her support. She needed to try and fix it.
“Don’t let her leave the house.”
She was out of bed and pulling on clothes as she spoke. How on earth were they going to extract Nicole from this? “I’ll drop Zoe at school early and come straight over. Nanna Peg will stay with my mother.”
She comforted herself with the fact that her mother had seemed fine the evening before.
“Be careful,”
Joel said. “They might follow you.”
“I doubt they know who I am, but just to be sure I’ll park far away from your house and approach from the trail. No one will see me.”
An hour later she was driving back to the village, wondering why photographers would be at the boathouse. That didn’t make sense. If someone had followed Nicole from the hospital then they’d be outside Joel’s cottage, surely?
She checked her mirrors constantly, but there was no sign of anyone following her, so she pulled over and parked outside an outdoor store at the edge of the village, grabbed her bag and headed up the narrow unmarked trail that passed behind Joel’s cottage.
She slipped in through the gate, crossed his sunny garden and tapped gently on the French doors.
Joel opened them, and she stepped inside.
“I didn’t see anyone. And this doesn’t make sense to me. If someone at the hospital saw her, why would they be at the boathouse?”
“I don’t think it was anything to do with the hospital. We’re assuming it might be the couple we met the day before yesterday on our walk. They recognized me.”
Nicole was tucked into one corner of the sofa. Her legs were smooth and tanned and endless from beneath cutoff shorts, and everything about her seemed so perfect it was hard to believe that less than ten minutes’ drive away a crowd of photographers and journalists were hovering in the hope of uncovering some scandal they could expose.
“You should have tried harder to behave like a normal person, Wendy,”
Joel said. “You’re a terrible actor.”
The two of them exchanged a smile, and Milly had no idea what they were talking about, but she was relieved Nicole didn’t seem more stressed.
“I’ll make us coffee,”
Joel said and headed to the kitchen.
Milly sat down next to Nicole. “I’m sorry this happened. We were trying so hard to hide you and protect you.”
Nicole gave a brief shake of her head. “It’s not your fault. We’ll figure it out. How is your mother doing?”
“Her ribs hurt, but I think she’s doing okay. Nanna Peg is staying with her today.”
The door opened again, and Joel paused, three brimming cups of coffee on a tray. “I had an idea.”
He put the coffee down on the table. “I was thinking we could find a photo of Nicole at Heathrow and post it as a sighting. Throw them off the scent. Send them in another direction.”
“Not a bad idea.”
Milly picked up one of the mugs and handed it to Nicole. “Or I could drive home innocently and look blank when they tell me they’re looking for you and say, Nicole who?”
Joel settled himself on the chair opposite them. “But someone must have followed us to know she was staying in the boathouse. So that probably won’t work.”
“We could just say nothing,”
Milly said. “I don’t talk to them. They don’t know you’re here, so you just stay indoors. They’ll get bored.”
“I have a better idea.”
Nicole finally spoke. “I use their presence to announce my retirement from acting. Or at least the fact that I’m taking a break.”
Milly looked at her. “So all those things you said at the hospital—”
“About moving here? Yes, I meant them.”
It seemed like such a huge step. “Are you sure you’re not rushing this decision? Shouldn’t you let the idea sit for a while in case you change your mind?”
“I won’t change my mind. I already emailed my agent.”
“Won’t she be upset?”
“Possibly, although I’m not exactly hot property at the moment.”
Nicole didn’t seem at all stressed about that fact. “But it doesn’t really matter what she thinks. This is about me. What I want. What I need.”
Milly put her cup down. “But acting is all you’ve ever wanted to do. This was your dream.”
“Dreams can change.”
Nicole exchanged a brief glance with Joel, and Milly wondered exactly what had happened between the two of them.
Something had, that much was obvious.
“What will you do?”
Nicole curled her legs under her, totally at home on Joel’s sofa. “What will I do?”
A slow smile spread across her face. “I intend to take a little time off and do the things I enjoy most. I’m going to go hiking, read a few books on how to be a good mother, see a doctor or midwife or whatever it is I’m supposed to do, eat proper meals, maybe learn to cook, help Zoe rehearse for her play.”
She drew breath. “I was also thinking that maybe I could help out at her drama group.”
This was a whole new version of Nicole. Closer to the person she’d been when they were growing up.
“You’re going to learn to cook?”
Milly kept her tone light. “If you’re going to do that, at least let me give you some basic lessons. So you don’t poison yourself or chop off your fingers.”
Nicole laughed. “Sounds like a plan.”
“I love your idea of helping at the drama group. They’d be delirious with excitement, and I know you’d be good at it. I’m happy you’ll be sticking around.”
Her mood lifted. “All we need to do now is get rid of the press.”
Nicole’s smile dimmed a little. “I just need to accept that they’re not going to leave me alone. At least for a while, until they get bored. But once they find out I’m pregnant, there will be a lot of speculation, and I hate that.”
“We need them to lose interest before you start looking pregnant.”
Milly thought about it but couldn’t see a solution. “It’s maddening that they can’t respect your right to privacy and leave you alone.”
Nicole finished her coffee and put the mug down. “I’ll give an interview about retiring and hope that will keep them at bay for a while.”
Milly frowned. “I just don’t see that it’s any of their business.”
It bothered her that Nicole seemed to think she had a duty to make parts of her life public. “Surely your agent can put out a statement saying that you’re taking a break. That’s enough.”
Nicole shrugged. “It isn’t enough, though, is it? They’re going to want to know what I was doing here. I need to give them a reason or they will never leave me alone.”
A reason for being here.
Milly stared at her. An idea came into her head.
No. It would never work. Would it?
“What?”
Nicole looked at her expectantly. “What are you thinking? Tell me.”
“I’m not sure if it’s a terrible idea.”
But they had to do something, so surely it was worth a try?