20. Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty
When May entered the Bayside Café, she found Margot, Daniel, and Jack sitting around a table in the corner.
There were a handful of other customers: two young mums with babies in prams, and Solly and Sylvie, who had obviously decided they didn’t need to partake in the discussion about Maz and were instead snuggled up on a sofa in the corner of the room, holding hands and giggling like teenagers.
Margot waved May over.
‘I have to say,’ said May, pulling out a chair, ‘this looks a bit like a wake.’ All eyes were glum, not a smile anywhere.
Daniel laughed and shook his head. ‘Sorry, May. Maz coming back to Saffron Bay has shocked us all.’ He shook his head. ‘She’s your mother, so we’re determined to make the best of it. Can I get you a coffee?’
‘That’d be great.’
Margot stood. ‘The usual?’
‘Yes, please,’ said May with a smile.
Before she sat, May gave Jack a brief hug. The lines around his eyes had deepened, and May wasn’t sure whether it was the surprise arrival of his daughter, or the lingering effect of the stag do hangover.
He placed a hand over May’s and squeezed it. ‘How are you doing, girl?’
‘I’m not too bad,’ said May. ‘It’s just strange, that’s all.
It’s been so long since I saw Mum, I don’t really know how to react.
I suppose it should have been obvious she’d come back for the wedding, and I guess that had always been in the back of my mind.
I just wasn’t expecting her to arrive so soon.
’ She rolled her eyes. ‘You know how she can’t stay in one place for more than a week. ’
‘That’s true enough,’ said Jack. ‘Have you spoken to her much?’
‘Only today.’ May shrugged. ‘Alice, of course, is coping much better. That’s Alice all over, isn’t it?’
Daniel smiled with pride and, not for the first time, May wished he could have fathered both of them rather than just Alice.
‘I feel guilty,’ said Daniel, ‘for avoiding Maz. I mustn’t leave it all up to Alice to deal with. I’m just not sure what to say to her yet.’
‘Me neither,’ said Jack glumly, ‘and she’s my daughter.’
‘Here you are.’ Margot placed a coffee in front of May. ‘Obviously I’m an outsider to all of this, but you’re my friends, and I want to support you the best I can.’
‘I think it’s better we each meet with Maz individually,’ said Jack. ‘We all have different relationships with her, and different hurts that need addressing.’ He stroked his chin. ‘And I’m not just talking about how my daughter has behaved. I’m not an innocent party in all of this.’
‘Fair enough.’ Margot took a seat and turned to May. ‘You need to know we’ll back you up however you need us to.’ She placed a hand on May’s arm. ‘Your mother leaving to pursue some ridiculous dream has affected you more than anyone else, and we’re here for you.’
‘Thank you.’ May patted Margot’s hand, enjoying the closeness. ‘It’s easier now I’m grown up, although it was hard at the time. I’m luckier than a lot of people. I’ve got an Alice on my team.’
They all smiled at that.
The door to the café clinked open. May turned to look, and her insides froze. Surely it couldn’t be? A young couple walked into the café arm in arm, their hair messed up by the breeze.
‘Are you all right?’ asked Jack. ‘You’ve gone awfully pale.’
May slumped down in her seat. ‘It’s fine,’ she said. ‘I thought I recognised them.’
Jack, Daniel and Margot all stared at the couple.
‘Do you know them from school?’ asked Margot. ‘They look about your age. I’d better go up to the counter and serve them.’
‘No, not from school,’ said May. ‘And, as I said, I think I’m mistaken.’
Margot bustled off to serve her new customers, and Daniel and Jack continued to discuss the best way to handle Maz’s appearance. May couldn’t tune in to anything they were saying, her mind back in Cambridge.
Philippa and Henry had been the golden couple in her lectures there: always sitting together with their heads nestled together, scribbling notes, both top of the class, with a friendly rivalry that never dimmed their passion for one another.
They were highly intelligent, good-looking, and everyone wanted to be their friend.
Not that May had ever attempted to break into their inner circle. Philippa had made it clear she didn’t associate with people with reputations like May’s.
May couldn’t resist one more look. A mistake. Philippa caught her eye, surprise flickering across her face. May inwardly groaned. Now there was no choice. She had to say hello. She walked to the counter, grateful Margot was distracted with the coffee machine.
‘Hi,’ she said, forcing a smile. ‘I thought it was you.’
‘Oh, hi,’ said Philippa. ‘Marie, isn’t it?’
‘May,’ she corrected.
‘You’re here on holiday?’ asked Henry, showing no signs of any recollection, despite having sat two rows behind May in every lecture for the past three years.
‘No, this is where I’m from,’ said May. ‘My sister still lives here. How about you guys?’
‘Oh, we’re staying with Henry’s family in Plymouth for the weekend and thought we’d take a trip out to the coast. It’s no St Tropez, but it’s beautiful round here.’
‘It is,’ said May. ‘I was lucky to live here for so long.’
‘It must be dull for you now, though.’ Philippa raised an eyebrow. ‘What with your love of partying.’
May’s cheeks grew hot.
‘Oh!’ Recognition dawned in Henry’s eyes. ‘You’re that May.’
May’s whole body joined the flush of her cheeks. ‘Yes, well, anyway, it’s been good to see you both. I hope you have a nice time while you’re here.’
As May turned away, Philippa grabbed her arm. ‘You know, I’ve always wanted to ask whether the rumour’s true.’
May’s stomach lurched. She worried she’d throw up. How was she supposed to respond to that? ‘Which rumour?’ She kept her voice as steady as she could, despite her pulse thundering in her ears.
Philippa leaned in, lowering her voice as though they were old confidantes rather than casual tormentors. ‘The one about you know who. When you left so suddenly, we all wondered … I mean, it’s one way to get to the top, I suppose …’
‘No,’ May said sharply. ‘It isn’t true.’
Philippa blinked, taken aback by the firmness in her tone. ‘Oh. Well, people talked.’
‘People always talk,’ said May snappishly. ‘Especially when they don’t actually know anything.’
For a moment, Philippa looked almost embarrassed, then her expression slipped back into polite curiosity. Henry was studying the menu board with exaggerated interest, as if trying to disappear into it.
‘Anyway,’ May continued, lifting her chin, ‘I’d better get back to my friends.’
She turned away before Philippa could respond, her legs shaking as she walked back to her table. From across the café, Margot watched her with a frown of concern.
‘Who are they?’ asked Jack when May sat down.
‘Just some people I knew at university.’
‘Do you want to invite them to join us?’ asked Daniel. ‘I think we’re all talked out about your mother.’
‘No, it’s fine. They were more acquaintances than friends.’
‘Alright then,’ said Jack. ‘If you’d rather sit with them than us old fogies, don’t let us stop you.’
May smiled. ‘I’m very happy sitting here with you, Grandpa.
’ She tried to keep her voice level, fighting back tears.
Saffron Bay was her safe place, and yet with the appearance of first Maz and now university ghosts, her sanctuary was threatened.
Perhaps it was a good reminder that while she could run from her problems, hiding from them was a whole other matter.