Isaac still can’t understand why his mum seems to be desperate to visit the actual spot where her brother died. For years she’s been avoiding even the slightest mention of Eddie, but now, she’s talking about him even as they walk towards the cliffs.
‘We weren’t particularly close by the time he went on that last school trip,’ Lucia tells Peter and Polly. ‘I was fifteen and getting interested in boys, and Eddie was just a kid.’ She pulls a face. ‘He was what the newspapers always call a loveable rogue, when a young lad who’s never been out of bother dies too soon. Eddie gave trouble a whole new meaning.’
Isaac’s heart goes out to his mum, rattling on about the worst moments of her life.
‘I think you’re doing a very brave deed, Lucia,’ Peter says. ‘Your brother would be proud of you, I’m sure.’
Lucia pulls a face. ‘I hope so. He wasn’t the kind of boy to be very aware of what other people were doing though. Are you okay, Polly? You’ve been looking a bit peaky today.’
Isaac is glad to see some colour returning to Polly’s cheeks. Her freckles were standing out way too clearly earlier, a sure sign she’s anxious. He realises with a start that he’s beginning to read Polly’s body language, something he’s always had issues with. Her strong brown hands fascinate him. Her fingers are long and slim, so she’s got what his gran would have called pianist’s hands. Polly’s nails are unvarnished and bitten.
As he watches, Polly lifts one hand and brushes back a strand of hair from her forehead, tucking behind her ear. She’s wearing tiny gold sleeper earrings. Her face is devoid of make-up, smooth and unlined. Everything about her is straightforward, honest and beautiful. Isaac swallows hard. He has a sudden urge to touch the long, shining locks that are flowing loosely over her shoulders and down her back as usual.
‘You look nice today, Polly,’ he says, hearing the banal words leave his lips and immediately wishing he’d been more imaginative.
‘Why, don’t I usually?’
‘Yes, I didn’t mean …’ Isaac sees that Polly’s grinning. Oh, only joking then. He presses on, trying to think of something a bit different. ‘You always do. You could be a model … if you wanted to …’
Polly’s laughing now. ‘Oh yeah? Maybe as the before picture. I could manage that. Never the after though. Now your mum, she’s the pretty one. She’s got that inner glow, you know what I mean?’
Isaac looks across at Lucia. She’s walking along briskly, hair blowing in the breeze and eyes wide as she contemplates the task ahead. It’s hard to look at your mum objectively when you’re so used to seeing her but Isaac thinks she’s changing. She’s altered her style of dress so subtly he’s hardly noticed, but on this warm afternoon her cut-off jeans and vest top show how tanned she’s become over the few days. Isaac can see that his mum is more energetic and carefree, even weighed down by the echo of her brother’s last hours on earth. He considers, with a pang, whether she needed to be away from his dad to find this new version of herself.
‘What are you thinking about, Lucia?’ Tommy asks, happily going where Isaac dare not intrude.
‘Getting out of my comfort zone, I guess. The feeling of escaping. Leaving your troubles behind.’
‘Is that possible?’ Isaac wonders aloud.
Polly nods enthusiastically. ‘I think you’re doing that already, aren’t you, Isaac? I’ve seen you on this trip, dreaming about the future. I didn’t realise what you were doing at the time but now I can see that your computer game is taking up all of your thoughts.’
Isaac knows this isn’t strictly true. His thoughts are largely bound up with Polly. But since they talked about the bluebird game, he certainly has given it a lot more consideration as a proper business proposition. He considers all this as they follow the well-trodden path that will take them right to the top of the cliffs. Is he really leaving his troubled past behind? And if he is, can he take Polly and Reggie with him? Would he be enough for her?
Reggie’s wide awake and waving his arms about happily. The bluebird is still going everywhere with him, and as Polly takes the baby from Isaac, he accidentally bashes her over the head with it.
‘Ouch! That hurt, Reg. Be careful, love,’ she says. Reggie’s eyes are huge as she rubs her head and one fat little hand reaches out to pat Polly’s arm. As she looks at him in astonishment, he leans towards her and nuzzles his face against her shoulder, his lips meeting the bare skin below the short sleeve of her T-shirt. She gasps.
‘Isaac, did you see that? Reggie gave me a kiss, He’s never done that before. Wow, that’s so lovely.’
Isaac looks down at her happy face and in that instant, he knows there will never be another woman for him. Polly is everything. Her clear green eyes that seem to be able to smile even when her mouth doesn’t, the way she cares for her little nephew even though she knew nothing at all about babies when she took the job on, her quirky sense of humour, all of these things and many more make a person that he just cannot live without.
Polly puts Reggie in his buggy and stands up, still grinning, and Isaac impulsively reaches out and hugs her. She leans into him for a second, before Reggie’s wail of dismay at having the attention snatched away from him makes her disentangle herself and bend down again to soothe the baby.
The scent of Polly lingers. Isaac can still feel the warmth of her soft skin. He gives himself a shake. This won’t do. Lucia is looking back over her shoulder to see what’s keeping them. Isaac smiles down at Polly and Reggie and together, they head for the cliff top.