Chapter 15
The taxi dropped Lili off at the entrance to the yard. She didn’t feel like staying the night at the flat. It would be strange not having Maisie there with her. Lili opened the shop and walked straight upstairs. Ten minutes later, she emerged carrying her luggage.
Before turning the lights off, Lili glanced about the shop one last time. There was less stock than when she had taken over running the shop after Joseph’s fall, but there was more choice for the tourists, with the rack of amber jewellery – a bestseller, it had turned out – taking pride of place in the window. Lili thought of Joseph. She would have liked to see him again before she left, but that wasn’t possible.
She’d looked up the timetable; there was a train leaving for London in thirty minutes. The taxi company said they would get her to the station promptly to catch her train. Lili checked her watch. The taxi would be back any minute. She didn’t have time to stand there dawdling, wishing the impossible; that they were her family and this was her home. She switched off the lights and closed the door, locking it behind her.
Reggie in the music shop spotted her closing the shop early. He noticed her suitcase. He stepped outside his shop. ‘Are you leaving?’ he said in surprise.
‘Yeah, something came up.’
‘I, for one, wish you didn’t have to go. I’m not looking forward to that grumpy so-and-so coming back.’
For a moment, Lili thought he was talking about Nate. ‘Oh, you mean Joseph.’
‘When he returns, I’ll ask him to have you back.’
Lili thanked him, even though she knew he’d be wasting his time. ‘Goodbye, Reggie. I’m going to miss you.’
‘And I you.’
Lili glanced at the flower shop. ‘I have to go now. I’ve got a train to catch. Will you say bye to Sarah and Zoe for me?’
‘Anything for you, Lili.’ Reggie raised his hand, waving her goodbye before stepping back inside and closing the shop door.
Lili nipped across the yard and posted the keys through Ray’s letterbox. She could have popped her head into the flower shop and handed them to Sarah or Zoe, but there was a reason she was doing it this way; it would give Ray an excuse to visit The Potting Shed.
Lili stood for a moment in the yard. She hadn’t been in Aldeburgh long, but in that time, she’d made friends and found a place that felt like home. But she reminded herself, as she walked through the courtyard to the waiting taxi, that it wasn’t – it was just a holiday that had become something more. She wished it hadn’t.
As the train left the station, Lili got out her mobile and rang Hannah’s number, feeling anxious that she wouldn’t answer the phone when she saw who was calling. The train had been delayed, so by the time she boarded and started her journey, she imagined Hannah would have arrived home. Lili glanced at Maisie’s little Trunki, which she’d picked up in the flat along with her own suitcase, before she left. She wasn’t surprised she’d forgotten to mention Maisie’s luggage to Hannah at the house earlier.
Lili breathed a sigh of relief when Hannah answered. ‘Hannah, I want to apologise that I took Maisie on holiday to Aldeburgh and—’
Lili was about to mention Nate when Hannah interrupted. ‘I’m sorry I flew off the handle like that. It’s my fault. I should have told you years ago.’
So why didn’t you?Lili wanted to ask.
‘We were so young,’ Hannah continued. ‘I didn’t think he’d want anything to do with Maisie. It wasn’t something I was proud of. When I saw him at school, after the party, we were both so embarrassed we couldn’t look each other in the eye.’
Lili was so relieved she’d patched things up with her best friend. ‘I’ve got something to tell you too. Look, I’ve split up from Alex.’
‘No way! What happened?’
Lili glanced around the carriage. She didn’t want to go into it over the phone. ‘I’m on the train back to London. I can’t return to our flat. Can I stay with you for a few days while I figure out a place to live?’ She was about to mention that she had Maisie’s suitcase when she noticed Hannah had gone quiet. She furrowed her brow, wondering if she’d lost the signal. ‘Hannah – are you still there?’
‘I’m sorry, but now isn’t a good time, Lili.’
‘Pardon?’
‘We’ve hit a bit of a rocky patch too.’
Lili didn’t understand. ‘But you’ve just been on holiday together and got engaged. Maisie told me you have moved to a new house.’
‘Yes, it was a make-or-break holiday, which went well, beyond well, but we’ve still got things we need to sort out. Besides, I know he wouldn’t like it if I had a friend turn up, you know, out of the blue.’
Lili couldn’t believe it. She’d been in the same boat with Alex. How many times, over the years, had Hannah turned up with Maisie in tow? She hadn’t turned them away, not once, even though Alex often hadn’t wanted them there.
‘If it had been any other time … but right now I’ve got to put my relationship first. You understand, don’t you, Lili?’
‘I understand,’ Lili mumbled. She ended the call, forgetting to mention Maisie’s luggage. She didn’t feel inclined to phone back. She stared at her phone and then turned to the window so that nobody would see tears rolling down her cheeks. She understood all right. All those years, she had been prepared to drop everything for her best friend. This one time the boot was on the other foot, and she needed help, Hannah wasn’t there for her. Alex had been right all along. He had once said, ‘I know her type. There will come a time when you need her, and it won’t be reciprocated. She’ll put herself first and turn her back on you, then you’ll find out what sort of friend she really is.’
Lili stared out of the window into the blackness and thought of the other person she could always rely on for help – Connie.