Marjorie’s jaw dropped open as she and Dora approached the resplendent waterfront spa for their ‘Relaxing, Rejuvenating, Head-to-Toe Pampering Day’ as advertised by the spa’s glitzy website. And from the moment they snuggled into their fluffy white robes and slippers amongst the restful Scandi-designed interior, they knew their day was going to be luxuriant like no other. The spa’s attention to detail was clearly devised to both relax as well as astound its visitors. Sparkling bluish mosaics made the swimming pool feel exotic; dreamily fragranced creams, lotions and potions encouraged confidence in their anti-ageing claims; the massages and facials pumped and primed and freed the spirits of their clients; the delicious, immaculately cut and prepared sandwiches with bite-sized cakes on the afternoon tea menu with tea in squeaky clean white tea pots and cups was a pure delight.
‘I’d forgotten how invigorating these places can be,’ Dora said, breathily, as they lounged in the café area afterwards. She could see how her facial had ironed out some of her creases, temporarily, and her face still glowed from the experience.
‘Well I have to say this afternoon tea is a zillion times better than the one at our community centre. But the community atmosphere is much better over there. So, have you enjoyed the first part of my fiftieth birthday gift? The hairdresser is booked for 5.00 p.m. so we mustn’t be late.’
Dora’s smile reached her eyes, which told Marjorie everything.
It felt good to have given Dora such a boost. Marjorie could see she’d been down in the dumps recently, probably more because of her impending birthday and what it meant for her. She’d also had a lot of changes of late to contend with and even though Marjorie felt they were ultimately happy changes, she realised her friend hadn’t been happy about the detective’s upsetting news that her daughter didn’t want to know her. That must’ve felt like a stab to the heart, even though Dora had seemed to dismiss the incident. Yet as far as she knew Dora hadn’t discussed it with anyone outside of their Afternoon Tea Club circle. Marjorie noticed that Dora kept her deepest feelings close to her chest. She’d even done that, herself, with Oliver. She kept all her thoughts about him locked away in a pretend box in her heart and only took those memories out when she wanted to dissect her feelings or come to terms with what happened. The only person she properly discussed Oliver with was her doctor. So she did understand Dora’s reticence.
But then, life was never simple. Marjorie of all people knew that! Nor did you get your just desserts all in one go. Life seemed to deal out both blows and snippets of heaven whenever it saw fit. ‘Ours is not to wonder why,’ Oliver’s mother used to say. Boy oh boy, thought Marjorie, she’d come a long way since those dreadful, debilitating days. Her own life, she was happy to note, was much richer and far more fulfilled now than she ever imagined it could be. And she was happy that she and Raymond could simply be friends when they went out for meals. Love was no longer on the agenda for her and that, to Marjorie, was absolutely fine. She had lots of new and wonderful friends now. Plus, joy of joys, she was soon going to become a grandmother – her most treasured dream of all!
At the end of the day Marjorie knew all her own prayers had been answered and she felt blessed.
She took another cake from the top of the cake stand and swallowed it in one go.
‘Greedy pig!’ Dora grinned.
And then they both fell about laughing their heads off!
***
Stacy got into the car and slammed the door shut. She stared at the man beside her. She’d felt very nervous about what she was going to do, prior to this moment. But she knew she had to do this. Somebody should have probably done it a long time ago. But that was neither here nor there. At least she was doing it now.
‘I hope you’ve got this right because this is a biggy! I want no doubt that you’ve done your homework. That’s what I’m paying you for, after all,’ she said.
‘Christ, I said it was all kosher, didn’t I? Now buckle up.’
Stacy clicked her seat belt in place, praying today was going to work out according to her plan and then hung on to the edge of the seat as the driver squealed his tyres as he turned sharply and they sped off down the road. Stacy had practised over and over what she was going to say but she knew she’d only get one shot at it. It had to be hard, impactful, and leave everyone concerned under no doubt what was going on.
When they arrived at the house, Tony told Stacy to stay in the car while he did a quick recce. Stacy knew a lot hinged on this and began biting her nails again. She’d spoken to John at length about what she was going to do today. He’d warned her off, initially. ‘And you can’t just barge in. If you’re not invited in, you can’t go in, Stacy. It’s as simple as that.’ But he’d told her Tony knew the ins and outs of the law and as long as she followed his advice she would probably be okay, providing things didn’t turn nasty. But if things became unpleasant she was to apologise and leave straight away.
‘I don’t want you doing this if truth be known,’ he’d said. ‘But I’m starting to understand how you need to do some of the things you need to do.’
She’d smiled at him. ‘It’ll make you a better copper, understanding crazy people like me.’
He’d given her one of his cosy big hugs then and she’d melted into it. They’d turned a corner in their relationship thanks to darling Tibs. He’d brought them together – reluctant hero and antsy girl. It certainly hadn’t seemed like a match made in heaven at first. But something had clicked between them, and to Stacy’s utter surprise it was working out.
Tony returned to the car. ‘Right. They’re all in there. Now, just to let you know, and as far as I know, there’s no wife or girlfriend on the scene, in any respect any more, to make matters worse. Apparently he’s been single for quite some time. So if you’re going to do this, go for it now. They sometimes leave at different times.’
Stacy did feel a bit uneasy at that.
She clambered out of the car and straightened her jacket. She hoped her first words would put the cat amongst the pigeons and create enough of a disturbance to stop them throwing her out straight away. She’d practised what she was going to say and she’d allowed for various questions. But she would soon see how things panned out. At best it might open a line of communication between them all. At worst, well, even if Andy started a slanging match with Dora it had to be better than no response from them at all.
***
Stacy’s mouth felt dry as she knocked on the door. She couldn’t believe she was actually going to do this but she was so desperate to help Dora – she couldn’t sit quietly and not make an effort, even if she tried and failed. She, of all people, knew that families made mistakes with each other. But she was halfway to putting her own family back together again. Even Peter and Marvin had thanked her for that.
She waited a few seconds, smoothing her jacket again nervously. She could hear them talking, inside the terraced house that belonged to Lauren’s grandmother. Tony had already checked out the family’s movements, when Dora had employed him, so he knew that Lauren usually went to see her grandmother with her father on a Sunday afternoon.
Lauren’s grandmother, a tall elegant lady with steel-grey curly hair, opened the door.
‘Oh hiya. Sorry to bother you. I’m a friend of Lauren’s and I’ve just popped round to see her with some news. May I come in?’ Stacy began, confidently.
Lauren’s grandmother shrugged and allowed Stacy to step inside. So far, so good.
‘Friend of yours, poppet, with some news, she says.’
Lauren was the spit of Dora, Stacy thought, as the girl looked up from where she was sat with her father at a table. It looked as though they were in the midst of a board game. Her long curly hair was naturally blonde and she had a round face with laughing eyes. And Stacy could see why Dora had fallen for Andy’s boyish good looks. He still had a full head of hair, also blonde, and was trim and slim. They were a very attractive family.
Right, Stacy. Just go for it.
‘Okay, guys, I won’t beat around the bush. So, Andy, did you ever tell Lauren why her mother left her? Have you told your own mother the true story?’
BAM! Yep, that hit the spot as the three of them reacted by blinking and staring, beseechingly, at each other.
‘What?’ Andy struggled to say, as he started to get to his feet. ‘Who are you?’
His mother started to realise she’d been duped, too. ‘You said you were a friend of Lauren’s! You said you had news?’
‘Well, yes, I think Lauren’s old enough to take this news now. She’s what? Eighteen or nineteen? That classes her as an adult. So let me tell you what the situation is between your parents, Lauren. Okay, starting from the beginning, your lovely mum belonged to a wealthy family who were engrossed in their hotel empire and couldn’t understand why your mum didn’t want what they had. After experiencing working in their hotels she decided she didn’t want to work for them so she went travelling and then met your dad. Your dad and your mum moved in together, had you, and it was good for a while, she tells me. Dora finally had something that belonged just to her and she started to plan for your futures together. But, unfortunately, not long after you were born your mum experienced postnatal depression. Your dad probably couldn’t deal with it, which is understandable because it can be very debilitating and stressful. But then your dad decided to have a small dalliance. Like men often do. Isn’t that right, Andy?’
Lauren glanced nervously at her father.
‘Now look here!’ Andy finally snapped, jumping up. ‘Whoever the hell you are, it doesn’t matter what happened. The point is that Dora left her daughter. Dora left us!’
Stacy knew she had to remain calm. ‘It doesn’t matter what happened? People don’t leave each other for no good reason. Dora loved you, Andy. You let her down. Dora wasn’t well and so she left Lauren with you because, at that time, she really couldn’t cope with a young child whilst she was trying to get to grips with her illness, as you know, Andy. She even came back to try and work things out with you again on Lauren’s third birthday but you’d met someone else by then and Dora didn’t want to stress her daughter out further. So she left feeling insecure and let down all over again,’ Stacy explained. She could see she still had time to get her final point across before Andy or his mother threw her out.
‘But worst of all is that you never let Lauren see the letters did you? You never gave her the chance to get to know that her mum really loved her and only wanted the best for her.’
‘L-letters? Did she send me letters, Dad?’
‘She sent letters to both your father and your grandmother. And I’m guessing they’ve never let you see them, have they?’
Stacy allowed her words to settle for an instant. Andy’s mum looked dumbstruck and she sat down again.
‘So it was you who had the affair, Andy?’ she said quietly. ‘That’s not what you told me.’
Stacy let out a nervous laugh. ‘Let me tell you a story about families. Now I have a family, Lauren. Who doesn’t? Families come in all shapes, sizes, colours and creeds. My parents let me and my brother down by squashing our spirits. They didn’t even give us love. I won’t go into all the nonsense about that. But believe me, I’ve realised there is no perfect family. Families make huge and grave errors with each other. That is how life is, Lauren. It’s hard enough trying to make sense of your ruddy family without the extra crap that’s piled onto you out there in the big wide world. But … Do you know what goes some way to making it all better?’ Stacy paused to let her words sink in.
‘Love is what can help make it better. Acceptance is what can help make it better.’
Tears started to prick Stacy’s eyes as the depth of her own situation started to hit home. Her family was still so messed up. Things had started to improve but there was some way to go yet. She felt drained. She felt as though she was always trying to put people back together. But where was it getting her? She looked sadly at the small family in front of her.
‘Your mum, Lauren. Your wonderful, funny, amazing mother sent you letters to try and explain her actions. She watched you from a distance hoping for a way in, hoping for the opportunity to finally be reacquainted with the daughter she has never stopped loving. All I’m asking from you, Lauren, is one thing – give your mum a chance. And to you, Andy, I will say this. All this started with you and what you did. So you really need to be the one to fix this.’
Was Stacy imagining things or was Andy nodding slowly? Lauren’s hand slipped into his as she looked up at him, questioningly, with the same big blue eyes that Dora had. He wouldn’t look at her.
‘Okay I’ve said my piece. Now it’s up to the rest of you to sort this thing out. But the other thing is this: it’s your mum’s fiftieth birthday on Wednesday. The address where we’ll be having her party is on this piece of paper here. I’ll leave it on the table. But I’d sincerely like it if you could all be there. By the way, Dora doesn’t know I’ve come. She’s a proud lady. Oh, and sorry for barging in on your nice quiet Sunday afternoon.’