‘I called round to your place to collect Maisie. Alex said you’re not there.’
Lili chewed her bottom lip. She hadn’t told her the situation yet, that her and Alex had split up and he was packing up the flat to leave for Washington.
‘He said you haven’t been there all summer.’
Lili forgot to text her and let her know. ‘Oh, right. Look, there’s no need to get your knickers in a twist,’ Lili joked. Hannah didn’t laugh as Lili expected.
‘Where are you? He said you’re in Aldeburgh, in Suffolk.’
Lili frowned as she left the hospital building by the main entrance. Her taxi hadn’t arrived yet. ‘Yes, I took Maisie on holiday.’
‘You took her on holiday without asking me first?’
‘Wait – you dumped Maisie on me for a week, then extended your trip. You didn’t seem bothered by what I was doing with Maisie. In fact, I recall when I asked you if you wanted to speak to your daughter to hear what she has been doing, you said it could wait until you got back.’
‘Well, I’m back now and I want to know why you took her to Aldeburgh – of all places.’
Of all places? Lili wondered what she had meant by that comment. She had thought Hannah would be pleased that she had taken her daughter away to the seaside for the summer. Lili explained, ‘We had a hotel room booked for the first week. I think Alex intended it to be a romantic break away. It wasn’t going to turn out that way with a kid in tow, so I took her myself and when you said you’d extended your stay, I decided to extend ours.’
‘Yeah – I know that already. But where are you now? Alex told me you checked out of the hotel and were renting a holiday flat. He gave me the postcode, but I can’t find the place.’
‘You’re here in Aldeburgh?’ Lili said in surprise.
‘We drove straight here when I found out.’
‘Okay,’ She guessed Hannah couldn’t wait to see her daughter and tell Maisie all about her holiday. ‘Look, I was going to phone you and let you know today. I got a bit confused with the time difference, so I didn’t expect you would have landed already.’ Lili brightened. ‘You’ll never guess who I met again.’
‘Never mind that,’ Hannah cut her off. ‘Where are you staying?’
‘Well, in a flat over a shop.’ Lili wasn’t surprised Hannah couldn’t locate it. ‘There’s a little cobbled yard off the main high street.’ She paused.Where was that taxi?She spotted it pull up at the kerb in front of the hospital. Lili breathed a sigh of relief and waved.
‘I want to speak to Maisie.’
Lili got into the taxi. This was awkward. ‘She’s not with me right now.’
‘What?’
‘She’s fine. Look, you will never guess who I met again. Remember we went to …?’
‘Just tell me where she is. I’m picking her up.’
Lili gave her the address in Thorpeness. ‘Will you wait for me to arrive? I want to say goodbye to Maisie before you leave.’
Hannah clicked off without responding. Lili looked at her phone in surprise. She leaned forward in her seat. ‘Excuse me, but you couldn’t put your foot down, could you? I don’t want you to break the speed limit, but—’
The driver, who Lili didn’t recognise, smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I know this area like the back of my hand. I’ll get you there in double-quick time.’