Chapter 39
‘What is it you young people say?’ Marjorie addressed Hannah. ‘This,’ she said, holding her hands up to the air and looking all around, ‘is my happy place. Especially with all my favourite girls around me.’
They were sitting at the table in the orangery where Tess was serving up a full Sunday roast with tender topside beef, crunchy roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips, cauliflower cheese and humongous Yorkshire puddings, smothered in thick gravy.
It was a treat for them all because Tess hadn’t cooked a roast dinner since before Charles left, mainly because it had been far too hot for big dinners but also because there was no fun in cooking for one.
Marjorie complained about the offerings served up at the care home, and Hannah had been looking forward to her mum’s Sunday lunch since before she’d left for Australia.
‘Thanks, Mum. This looks amazing,’ said Hannah, tucking in eagerly.
‘I’m glad to see you haven’t lost your appetite,’ said Marjorie, laughing.
‘Never. In fact, I’m hungrier than ever, if that’s even possible.’ Hannah’s gaze drifted out of the window. ‘Ooh, Grandma, did you know that Mum has got a new boyfriend?’
Tess shook her head, casting Hannah an indulgent look.
She wasn’t sure how she would refer to Rob, who admittedly, she was spending much more time with these days.
Certainly not her boyfriend. She wasn’t a teenager.
Not a partner, because that sounded far too businesslike and serious.
And ‘friend’ didn’t quite capture the importance of her feelings for the man who had started out as a friend but had become so much more in recent days.
Besides, she didn’t feel the need to put a label on their relationship.
If other people wanted to do that, then that was up to them.
‘Really?’ Marjorie sounded delighted. ‘No. Do spill the beans. Is this the man who lived in the shed?’
‘Yes!’ said Hannah, her face lighting up eagerly.
‘Mother, it’s not a shed. It’s a beautiful garden annexe. People will hopefully be paying good money to come and stay.’
‘Well, that’s a shame. I had my eye on the place,’ she said with a chuckle. ‘I’m sure you’d love to have me next door, wouldn’t you, darling?’
‘I’ll fight you for it, Grandma!’ said Hannah. ‘I could happily live out there, but apparently, it’s not suitable for me.’ This was accompanied by a dramatic eye-roll.
‘You know it isn’t. It might be great as a retreat now, but once you have a baby with all the paraphernalia that comes with that, it won’t be nearly big enough.’
Hannah shook her head, as if she still couldn’t quite believe the reality of her situation.
It had been the worst thing to ever happen to her, a hand-grenade thrown into the centre of her ‘perfectly planned, rest-of-her-life,’ but with the support of her mum, grandma and, surprisingly, her dad too, she was certain of one thing.
She wanted to keep her baby. How hard could it be? she frequently asked herself.
Tess turned to Marjorie.
‘And, Mum, there would be nothing I would like more than having you live here, but this cottage isn’t designed for walkers and wheelchairs.’
‘I’m only joshing you. I wouldn’t inflict me and my maladies onto you, darling.
I’m just grateful that I’m not terribly far away and we can have these family get-togethers.
They make my heart sing with happiness.’ Marjorie clapped her hands together gleefully.
‘Just think, we’ll have another member of the family sitting around this table soon. ’
‘Oh God, Mum, you’re not inviting Dad round, are you?’ said Hannah, deliberately misunderstanding and being provocative too.
‘No, it’s so much more relaxed without your father huffing and puffing about the place. And I’m not sure I’d want to put Rob under the scrutiny of you two, not just yet, anyway.’
‘You both know jolly well that I wasn’t talking about either of them,’ Marjorie said. ‘I’m talking about the new addition to the family. Can you imagine?’
‘No, I really can’t,’ sighed Hannah. ‘It’s as though it’s happening to someone else and I’m just an interested observer.’ She put a hand to her tummy, a wry smile spreading across her lips.
‘Oh well, don’t worry about that. You’ve got a whole load of time to get used to the idea,’ said Marjorie, laughing. ‘And I for one know that you’re going to be a super mother. Especially with me as great-granny! Oh goodness, I’m sounding more and more ancient by the day.’
‘Oh, I don’t know. I won’t have the first clue what to do with a baby, but I’ve managed to defer my course until next year. In the meantime, I’ve found a job working for Gina’s company, which will be great experience and earn me some much-needed dosh too.’
Hannah had had no need to worry. Marjorie had taken the baby news with her usual sangfroid, announcing, ‘Well, of course, babies bring their own joy; it’s a blessing, sweetheart,’ while Charles had blustered and grown red in the face and then harangued Tess when he caught her alone, actually convinced that Hannah had done it only to spite him for causing the break-up of the marriage.
‘Don’t be ridiculous. Not everything is about you,’ Tess had told him. ‘It’s the easiest thing in the world to fall pregnant, and while it wasn’t planned, it’s happened and we can’t do anything to change that. All we can do is support Hannah in her decision.’
‘This isn’t what we wanted for our daughter, though, not like this!’ He’d thrown his arms in the air.
‘Well, she’s not your little girl any more, Charles. She’s a grown woman, old enough to make her own choices in life.’
Since that conversation a couple of weeks ago, Charles had obviously had time to come to terms with what had happened and had mellowed in his approach to both Tess and Hannah.
Whether Melody was behind Charles’s change of heart, Tess didn’t know, but she was only grateful that a peace of some kind had resumed over Hollyhocks Cottage.
With the divorce going ahead and due to be completed in the new year – they still had to agree on a financial settlement including what to do with Hollyhocks Cottage – there was a different kind of future ahead for Tess, but one that filled her heart with anticipation and excitement.
The last few months had shown her that she was much more resourceful, independent and capable than she had ever believed herself to be, and she was ready to step out of her comfort zone and embrace her new role as a single woman.
She had plans aplenty: renting out the beautifully restored garden annexe, going on more overseas adventures with the other three musketeers and preparing for the arrival of her first grandchild, a blessing indeed.
Probably the last thing she needed in her life was the complication of a new man, especially a younger, far too handsome for his own good man with a dubious backstory, but then Tess had recently discovered that you couldn’t always plan for every eventuality.
Whether she liked it or not, and actually she liked it very much indeed, Rob had turned up unexpectedly in her life and looked as though he was going to stay and, if anything, he was the least complicated part of her future.
Their connection had taken them both by surprise and they’d been revelling in spending more time together, getting to know each other better, appreciating that there was still plenty more to discover.
Tess gave a satisfied sigh as she felt Barney collapse against her legs beneath the table, feeling comforted by the warmth of his body, delighting in having all her family back with her around the kitchen table.
All in all, she had to admit that her future was looking very rosy indeed.