all round the school about …’ Peter hesitated, unsure how to phrase Harriet’s news. ‘Well, to be blunt, about her real mother. She wants to know who she is.’
‘Oh, God!’ Caroline sat down abruptly on the sofa.
‘Caroline! We knew it would come some time and it’s come now , so we have to face it.’
‘Not yet, not now. Please. I need time.’
‘We’ve had ten years of time to think and all we’ve done is amble along from day to day, putting it off, thankful for their ignorance.’
‘I won’t face it. I just won’t. I’m not ready for it.’
Peter’s answer to Caroline’s anguish was not the sympathetic one she’d hoped for. ‘I’m sorry, darling, but they are , even if we’re not, and something must be done about it.’
‘No, we don’t need to. We can just amble along as you say, and wait and see. They haven’t asked us , so it can’t be that serious.’
‘That’s probably because they don’t want to hurt us, especially you. Harriet pointed out to me the strong possibility that others might tell her and that could be catastrophic.’ Peter paused for a moment while he searched for the right words. ‘You see, other people might be … cruel … you know, and Beth and Alex can’t fight that kind of cruelty without having a strong bond with us about the whole matter. I know it’s painful, my darling, but we’re the grown-ups in this and we’ve to smooth their pathway.’
Caroline shook her head vehemently. ‘I know they need to know, but not yet, they’re so little. So innocent.’ As she said ‘innocent’ she gave a great agonised sigh.
Peter went to sit beside her on the sofa. He put his arm round her shoulders and held her close. ‘I know, I know. We don’t need to tell them today or even tomorrow, but we must very, very soon. Deep down, you know I’m right. If they have a need to know then now’s the time, isn’t it? Otherwise it puts us on the wrong foot and makes us appear deceitful, and … Suzy herself didn’t want that. She begged me to be truthful and we both know she was right.’ Peter gave her a gentle shake. ‘Eh? Don’t we?’
‘But what will they think of you?’
‘That’s my burden, not theirs.’
Caroline shrugged his arm from her shoulders and turned to face him. ‘My absolute dread is if they want to see her.’
‘I don’t think they will, not yet anyway, but we can’t blame them if they do, can we? It’s only natural. Think it over, seriously, please.’
‘I will. But how shall we … kind of … do it?’
‘Heaven knows. We’ll think of something. We’re not entirely bereft of brains, are we?’
‘I wasn’t thinking of brains, it was heart and feelings and … things I’m most concerned about.’
‘Ah! Yes.’
Never one to allow the grass to grow under his feet, Jimbo had Mrs Jones installed in the mail order office and Vince doing practice runs with doorstop designs in less time than it takes to tell. Mrs Jones glowed with satisfaction the first morning she was allowed back in the Store.
Linda waved cheerfully from behind her post office grille. ‘Hello, Mrs Jones. Quite like old times. I expect you’ll be glad to be back, just like me.’
Mrs Jones’s normally grim face was creased with smiles. ‘You’ve no idea! Things have been very tight since Vince retired, but now the sun is out as you might say and I’m back doing what I was cut out to do.’ She looked around the Store, glad to know she’d be able to shop in here again instead of trailing to Culworth for everything she needed.
She bounced into the back of the shop and went straight to the mail order office, closed the door behind her and breathed a sigh of delight. There was a pile of orders waiting for her so she flung off her coat and hat, dug in her bag for her reading glasses and waded in. She reached out and took down a jar of ‘Harriet’s Country Cousins’ Seville Orange Marmalade’ but, before she parcelled it up for the post she ran her
‘Oh, God!’ Caroline sat down abruptly on the sofa.
‘Caroline! We knew it would come some time and it’s come now , so we have to face it.’
‘Not yet, not now. Please. I need time.’
‘We’ve had ten years of time to think and all we’ve done is amble along from day to day, putting it off, thankful for their ignorance.’
‘I won’t face it. I just won’t. I’m not ready for it.’
Peter’s answer to Caroline’s anguish was not the sympathetic one she’d hoped for. ‘I’m sorry, darling, but they are , even if we’re not, and something must be done about it.’
‘No, we don’t need to. We can just amble along as you say, and wait and see. They haven’t asked us , so it can’t be that serious.’
‘That’s probably because they don’t want to hurt us, especially you. Harriet pointed out to me the strong possibility that others might tell her and that could be catastrophic.’ Peter paused for a moment while he searched for the right words. ‘You see, other people might be … cruel … you know, and Beth and Alex can’t fight that kind of cruelty without having a strong bond with us about the whole matter. I know it’s painful, my darling, but we’re the grown-ups in this and we’ve to smooth their pathway.’
Caroline shook her head vehemently. ‘I know they need to know, but not yet, they’re so little. So innocent.’ As she said ‘innocent’ she gave a great agonised sigh.
Peter went to sit beside her on the sofa. He put his arm round her shoulders and held her close. ‘I know, I know. We don’t need to tell them today or even tomorrow, but we must very, very soon. Deep down, you know I’m right. If they have a need to know then now’s the time, isn’t it? Otherwise it puts us on the wrong foot and makes us appear deceitful, and … Suzy herself didn’t want that. She begged me to be truthful and we both know she was right.’ Peter gave her a gentle shake. ‘Eh? Don’t we?’
‘But what will they think of you?’
‘That’s my burden, not theirs.’
Caroline shrugged his arm from her shoulders and turned to face him. ‘My absolute dread is if they want to see her.’
‘I don’t think they will, not yet anyway, but we can’t blame them if they do, can we? It’s only natural. Think it over, seriously, please.’
‘I will. But how shall we … kind of … do it?’
‘Heaven knows. We’ll think of something. We’re not entirely bereft of brains, are we?’
‘I wasn’t thinking of brains, it was heart and feelings and … things I’m most concerned about.’
‘Ah! Yes.’
Never one to allow the grass to grow under his feet, Jimbo had Mrs Jones installed in the mail order office and Vince doing practice runs with doorstop designs in less time than it takes to tell. Mrs Jones glowed with satisfaction the first morning she was allowed back in the Store.
Linda waved cheerfully from behind her post office grille. ‘Hello, Mrs Jones. Quite like old times. I expect you’ll be glad to be back, just like me.’
Mrs Jones’s normally grim face was creased with smiles. ‘You’ve no idea! Things have been very tight since Vince retired, but now the sun is out as you might say and I’m back doing what I was cut out to do.’ She looked around the Store, glad to know she’d be able to shop in here again instead of trailing to Culworth for everything she needed.
She bounced into the back of the shop and went straight to the mail order office, closed the door behind her and breathed a sigh of delight. There was a pile of orders waiting for her so she flung off her coat and hat, dug in her bag for her reading glasses and waded in. She reached out and took down a jar of ‘Harriet’s Country Cousins’ Seville Orange Marmalade’ but, before she parcelled it up for the post she ran her
Similar Books
