The fair was nothing like how I imagined it to be. Don’t get me wrong, we had been busy enough, having already sold most of Lydia’s vases and a good half of the jade rings I had come to adore, but there was something missing.
I wasn’t sure if it was the lack of bacon sandwiches filling the air or the fact the customers were more well-heeled than we were used to, something just felt different. I sneaked a glance across at Lydia who had been staring into space for the past five minutes and wondered if she was feeling it too.
‘Has it always been like this?’ I asked.
‘Sorry what?’ Lydia said, coming to from her daze.
I narrowed my eyes. She had been behaving strangely all morning. For a start she had hardly said a word over breakfast and when I asked her how things had gone with Jack she had clammed up and said everything was fine. I hadn’t liked to pry but I could tell that something wasn’t right.
‘So you said we were meeting up with Jack and Jacob tomorrow night before we go home on Monday?’
‘Yes, that’s right.’ Lydia replied, her face expressionless.
‘What happened last night?’ I tried again. ‘You and Jack were getting on so well when I left, I thought you would be on cloud nine this morning.’
‘I’m fine,’ Lydia replied evenly. ‘I don’t want to talk about it, if you don’t mind. I’m tired, and really I would rather just focus on the fair.’
‘All right.’ I shrugged, knowing there was no point trying to persuade Lydia to talk if she didn’t want to. ‘Anyway, you didn’t answer my question.’
‘I didn’t hear you ask me a question.’
I felt a stab of frustration. I was tired and at that moment didn’t have the patience for yet another of Lydia’s mood swings. She might not want to talk about her personal life, but the least she could do was keep her mind on the job.
‘I asked you if the fair was always like this?’ I hissed.
Lydia blinked at me in surprise. ‘There’s no need to take that tone with me young lady, you want to respect your elders.’
‘Respect cuts both ways, regardless of age,’ I snapped. ‘And if you had the slightest amount of respect for me, for the work I’ve done in tracking Jack down, helping you get your antiques business back on track and putting up with your tireless backhanded insults about my age, you might even go out of your way to answer one simple question.’
I didn’t wait for a response. I turned my back on her and focused on the customers that were beginning to flock to our stall. I had come to adore Lydia but she was driving me up the wall this morning and for once I didn't feeling like hiding my frustration.
Instead, as I talked to our customers through the history of our pieces just as Lydia had taught me, I felt myself relax, and was delighted to see our stock disappear thick and fast. Then of course there was the fact Jacob was working at Sandrine’s stall right across from me. Much to my surprise, I had found myself gazing at him whenever his back was turned, and for the life of me I didn’t know why. I mean, yes, he was gorgeous but it wasn’t like anything could happen between us. His life was here and London, mine was… well, actually I wasn’t sure where it would be once all this was over. However, I didn’t want a boyfriend, I wanted to focus on myself when I got home. I was sick of men getting in the way of my plans. That still didn’t stop the little thrill of excitement I felt in the pit of my stomach whenever I caught Jacob’s eye and he smiled at me.
All in all, a morning of flirting and working was exhausting, and come noon, when we found ourselves enjoying a quiet moment for once, I was more than ready for a breather in the posh restaurant above the fair.
I was just about to turn to Lydia and ask about her lunch plans when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning round, I saw Lydia looking contrite.
‘Sorry,’ she said gently. ‘You were right, I’ve never really thanked you properly for everything you’ve done, have I?’
All the anger I had felt towards her disappeared in an instant. ‘It was my fault as much as yours. I shouldn’t have snapped. We’ve both done a lot for each other, I think I’m just tired.’
Lydia squeezed my arm. ‘Then let’s say no more about it.’
I nodded, keen to put the argument behind us.
‘Mind if I nip off for a sandwich?’ I asked over the rumble of my stomach.
‘Now?’ Lydia asked in alarm.
‘Err yes,’ I said. ‘I won’t be long.’
‘I know that,’ she babbled, ‘but we’re about to get a rush on.’
I cast my gaze around the hall which was practically empty. ‘All the best customers have been and gone,’ I pointed out, ‘and look, apart from one vase we’ve got no stock left anyway.’
‘Just hang on a bit longer,’ Lydia begged.
I sighed, perhaps Lydia wasn’t feeling very confident at handling things alone but didn’t like to say. I felt a flash of guilt. Was that the problem rather than something to do with Jack? Was she having a hard time with her memory? After all she had been so good since we arrived, I had almost forgotten there was ever a problem.
‘Course I’ll stay,’ I said softly.
The relief on Lydia’s face was palpable. ‘Thanks, we’ll need to clear up soon anyway, then perhaps we could have lunch together.’
I ignored the deafening rumbles in my stomach and plastered on a smile. ‘Sounds great.’
At the sound of footsteps nearing our almost empty stall, I swung around ready to greet our latest customer, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. There in front of me were two people I hadn’t seen in almost four years and wasn’t sure I ever would again – my mum and dad.
As I took in the image of my parents – so much older, but still just the same – I tried hard to form a sentence. Was this a coincidence? Did they know I would be here? Why were they here? The last time I saw them it had ended so badly, they had thrown Brad and I out of their home.
‘What are you doing here?’ I managed.
‘We heard this was where you would be,’ Mum said hesitantly. ‘I hope it’s okay that we’ve come.’
‘We wanted to apologise, Erin,’ Dad added, taking a step towards me, a faint trace of his American accent still there.
I looked from Mum to Dad, a mixture of shock and disbelief pulsing through me. A million and one questions raced through my mind. Why now? Why here? Why after all this time did they want to apologise? Had they heard about Brad’s death? Was that something that had triggered all this? I didn’t know what to think, I wasn’t prepared, but as I took in Mum’s slightly greyer hair and the lines that were now etched across Dad’s forehead, I realised it didn’t matter why they had come, all that mattered was the fact they were here. Too much time had passed already and I didn’t want to lose any more. I looked from one to the other, feeling as if I were a five-year-old girl who had got lost in the supermarket. All I wanted was to cuddle my mum and dad and never let them go. Unable to stop myself I ran round the front of the table and wrapped my arms around them. For a moment I said nothing, happy to drown in the all too familiar scent of washing powder and coffee that was uniquely my parents. God, how I’d missed them.
‘I have dreamed of this moment for so long,’ I said, my voice cracking with emotion.
‘So have we,’ Dad whispered. ‘We made some mistakes, Erin, some very stupid ones. You are our world, you always have been, we should never have let you go because of Brad.’
My heart banged against my chest as I looked at him. Were those tears in his eyes?
‘I keep going over and over it,’ Mum added falteringly. ‘I wished we had done things differently. We always encouraged you to be yourself, to find your own path in life and when you did just as we had raised you to do we turned our back because we didn’t approve, because I was so worried you were going to end up alone and penniless like Sandra.’
‘It was a shock to us that we had behaved that way,’ Dad admitted unable to look me in the eye. ‘We were embarrassed by what we had done and dug our heels in.’
‘So stupid, so, so stupid,’ Mum echoed.
I stared from one to the other – this was all so unreal. I glanced beyond them and saw Jacob staring quizzically at me. I smiled, surprised that I found myself wanting to explain everything to him before turning back to my parents.
‘It’s not just you who should apologise,’ I said earnestly. ‘We both made mistakes. I broke up with Brad and should have come to you then, but pride got in the way and I was terrified you would reject me.’
I caught a flicker of guilt pass across Mum’s face. ‘Erin, you have always been full of grace, but truly the mistake is ours not yours.’
‘We know about Brad, Erin, Lydia has told us, well your mother all about it. To be honest, we hated seeing you with him,’ Dad said. ‘You are worth a thousand of him.’
‘As for that so-called best friend of yours,’ Mum said, her face darkening. ‘She’s always been out for what she could get.’
‘We wanted you to have the world, Erin,’ Dad put in. ‘That’s why we behaved as we did. We never wanted you to settle for second best and that’s exactly what we always felt Brad was.’
‘Quite right,’ Lydia agreed hotly.
I turned to look at her in surprise, only for Mum to start talking again. ‘Your dad and I have been foolish, Erin, and it’s thanks to your wonderful friend here that we have realised just how very wrong we have been.’
I swung back to look at Lydia and saw that she wasn’t as shocked as I was to see my parents. In fact, she was sort of glowing. A smile lit up her face and the way she was hugging her arms to her chest told me that she knew something.
‘You were in on this,’ I gasped. ‘You planned it, didn’t you?’
Lydia nodded, her eyes full of contrition. ‘I’m sorry if I interfered, Erin. After Harry died, and knowing how I had gone through life not knowing the truth about Jack, I realised just how short life could be. To see you so upset over some dreadful man and woman who betrayed you, well, I thought you needed your mum and dad. And I thought this was the perfect time for you to be reunited.’
I gaped at her in surprise. I thought Lydia had been lost in her own world of finding Jack and getting over Harry. I had no idea she had gone to all this trouble. I mean, she had been there for me of course, but to think that all this time this was what she had been plotting was staggering. I walked back around to the table and hugged her. ‘You have nothing to apologise for,’ I sobbed into her neck. ‘I can’t believe you would do all of this for me.’
I pulled away then and smiled as Lydia reached up and ran a hand down my cheek. ‘Oh, my darling, you are worth it. I just hope you realise quite how much.’
Gently she kissed my cheek, before turning back to my parents. ‘Why don’t you all get some lunch and talk?’
‘I would like that very much,’ Mum said shakily.
‘As would I,’ Dad added.
‘Then let’s go.’ I smiled, before turning to Lydia in alarm. ‘Unless you don’t want to be left alone. I mean, can you manage?’
Lydia threw her head back and roared with laughter. ‘Contrary to what several people think, I have managed to get through life largely unscathed for the past seventy-eight years. I think I’ll manage the rest of the afternoon myself – especially as there’s hardly any stock left.’
I shook my head in disbelief. Lydia Harper was one tough cookie, make no mistake. I looked at her. This woman in front of me had given me the world – a home, a new life, and become the best friend I never knew I needed. Without taking my eyes off her, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the tiny box I had been carrying since we left Bath.
‘What’s this?’ She frowned as I passed her the box.
‘Open it,’ I said.
As she did, I saw a flash of surprise pass across her face. ‘This is your engagement ring,’ she gasped. ‘Why are you giving it to me?’
I laughed. ‘I’m not giving it to you, I’m asking you to sell it. Do you remember when I moved in, you very wisely told me to keep the ring. You were right, but now I think the time has come to sell it.’
‘Are you sure?’ Lydia asked gently.
I nodded. ‘I’ve been thinking about it for a while, it’s why I brought the ring with me. I wondered if I could try and sell it at the fair. Mum and Dad turning up like this is proof that this is the right time to say goodbye to the past and, Lydia, you’re the person I trust most of all to sell this for me.’
There was a pause then as Lydia gave the ring a final glance then shut the box with a smile. ‘Best decision you’ll ever make. I’ll get you a good price, don’t you worry.’
I hugged her again. ‘I know you will Lydia, you’ve always had my back.’