Chapter 41
Lily hurried back to the cottage and turned on the heater and sat in front of it warming her hands, the papers in her lap.
Why on earth hadn’t Violet told anyone in the family her will was at the post office? But Jasper and Mrs Harris knew? Honestly, she thought, and she dialled her father’s number but he didn’t answer so she left a voice message.
‘Hi, the will was at the post office, apparently she told Jasper and said she was worried the cottage might burn down. Honestly, sometimes Gran’s thinking was so bizarre.
Anyway, she’s left letters for us. I won’t read the will; I’ll leave it for you.
Love you,’ she said and put down her phone.
Mrs Harris had given her a manilla envelope filled with letters and the will inside, each one marked with a different date.
For Lily. Please read in order.
Some of the letters were old, on older stationery. Fifteen letters, all with dates on the front.
She opened the first one and read. The first summer she had spent with Gran alone at Pippin Cottage.
As she read it she started to cry, deep racking sobs that were both painful and healing.
She read each one carefully, remembering things she hadn’t thought of since they happened.
Funny things, silly things, sad things, wonderful memories of a time that made Lily who she is.
She came to the one when she was fifteen. God she had been so torn that summer and Gran had seen it all. She had wanted to be with Gran but there was so much happening at home with her friends. What she would give to have that summer again and be more present with Gran.
And she came to the last one.
To my darling granddaughter, Lily, aged twenty-nine,
I am sitting at the kitchen table writing this to you when you’re at rehearsals.
If you are reading this, then I have taken my final bow and finally get to join Grandad, if you believe such things. I am unsure if I do but it’s helpful to think that there is something after all of this.
Try not to be too sad, darling, as we had such a wonderful time together, didn’t we?
It has been a tremendous run for me, and the last few months that I have spent with you have been the most satisfying conclusion that I could have hoped for.
It really is a wonderful final act, and I thank you for coming to be with me and for being so generous, kind, caring and for treating me like an adult.
So many people seem to think we reverse in age when we get older.
It is so annoying to be spoken to and treated as though I can’t make my own decisions when I have been making them for over ninety years.
Lily smiled at Gran’s obstinance to the very end.
As my time winds down, memories long since buried have returned.
Most of them of you. When you would sing in the garden, your voice would rise with the birds, and I would know that you were destined for something extraordinary at that very moment.
Nevertheless, I never in a million years would have guessed that it would be this – not the stages of the West End, but right here in Appleton Green, where you have finally discovered your voice.
Never stop singing, Lily, never stop sharing your talent with the world.
During the past few months, I have been watching you grow, Lily, and I have witnessed you mature and how you have learned to tap into yourself and find out what you wanted.
When you arrived, you were disorientated, and your beautiful voice was muffled by uncertainty and anticipation.
I remember that feeling. However, by taking care of me, Pippin Cottage, and then immersing yourself in the society’s show, you found your way.
You found your personal purpose, which is to share.
You are the most selfless person I know and people benefit from being around you.
And now you are sharing it with your students at the school.
Lily wiped tears away that fell onto the paper. Gran had written this recently, in the last month. She knew she was dying. That’s what she meant when she said it was the last summer and seeing her sing one last time.
If my time with you over the years has shown you anything, I hope it’s that there is always a second act in life and the greatest applause you can get is the one you give yourself when you get through anything hard. If you’re not giving yourself a standing ovation then what does it matter?
You are proud of yourself now, Lily, and it has been a joy to watch you come into your own.
I watched how your eyes light up when you talk about your students, how you come alive after a rehearsal and how you’ve opened your heart to Nick and to this community.
I see all of these things. This is the real Lily Baxter; not the one who is trying to keep anyone else happy.
Rather, she is the one who is trying to create her own dreams here in Appleton Green.
And I know you will be tempted back to London again, and perhaps you will try again and maybe succeed. You certainly have the talent to do well anywhere you go, but I know, deep in the marrow of these old bones, that you will always have your heart here.
For this reason, I am leaving Pippin Cottage to you.
This little village has always been a safe haven for people who are searching for who they are, and finding themselves, and I know how much you adore the house.
I know you want to restore the garden and in all honesty the roof in the kitchen leaks and the wallpaper is peeling behind the bookshelf, but I know you will do what you want with the home now.
Don’t hang on to anything because of me; make it your own.
Lily, don’t be frightened to put down your roots in Appleton Green.
Nurture them like a garden and your voice, and know that wherever you are – on stage, teaching in a classroom, or just singing to yourself in the morning while you’re making tea – I will be listening.
You have done what you set out to do, my little girl, and I couldn’t be prouder of you.
Have a happy life, love sincerely, and never, ever, ever be anything other than who you are.
Thank you for everything, Lily. You were the making of me as a grandmother and I cherished every moment of our time.
With all my love,
Gran
PS: Don’t forget to give that handsome Nick a chance as well. I see the way he looks at you. It reminds me of the way Grandad used to look at me. And not to mention he does make an excellent brew, so perhaps he can move in and make you brews for as long as you both shall live.
Lily sat in silence. The wind outside was making an eerie wail and Mr Mistoffelees jumped from the windowsill and onto the back of Gran’s chair.
‘You were the making of me, Gran,’ she said to the empty chair. ‘The very best parts of me are from you and I thank you for everything I am because of you.’
There was a single crack of thunder and then the wind stopped and the cat was on the seat of Gran’s chair clawing at it until it was ready for him to sit, and Lily knew then that Gran’s spirit had left Pippin Cottage.