Where I Found You (22 page)

‘I won’t be long,’ he said before bending down to kiss the top of her head.

Left on her own, Maggie refused to let thoughts of Judith pull her down and it didn’t take long before she was absorbed in her favourite obsession. And it wasn’t only Elsie she was thinking of now, but Tess also. Was it possible that she could be traced? Would Ted ever give his permission to even begin the search? And even if he agreed, if they did find her, would Elsie be well enough by then to recognise her as her baby? And what of the baby herself? Would it be fair to reunite Tess with her birth mother only to lose her all over again?

The debate raged inside Maggie’s head until rudely interrupted by a phone ringing from inside the house. In her urgency to answer the call, Maggie stubbed her toe and, gritting her teeth to suppress a cry of pain, she said, ‘Hello?’

‘Hi, Maggie, it’s Carolyn.’

Maggie could feel her hand tingling but the electric current running down the phone line was all in her mind. There had been some lingering animosity between James and his ex-wife when Maggie had started to date him, mostly caused by Carolyn’s move to Portsmouth, but that had eventually dissipated. James had even considered inviting her to the wedding but Maggie had said no, citing her mum’s recent death as reason enough to keep the day as intimate as possible, but there had been another reason too. As Judith often pointed out, it had been Carolyn’s decision to leave James and even though Maggie didn’t believe for a minute that James was still Carolyn’s for the taking, she was wary of letting her get too close. There was a rivalry between the two, even if Carolyn wasn’t aware of it.

‘Oh, hi,’ Maggie replied as pleasantly as she could. ‘James is out at the moment but he shouldn’t be long.’

‘Never mind. I was only going to check the arrangements for the summer holidays.’

The rash of goose bumps that pricked Maggie’s arms had nothing to do with stepping into the cool shade of the kitchen. She had heard the telltale signs of someone sidestepping the truth. ‘So have you settled on a holiday yet?’ she asked, not so eager to end the call any more. Had Carolyn been phoning James as a shoulder to cry on about the state of her marriage? Another, more rational voice reminded her that the only evidence that Carolyn’s marriage was in trouble had come from Judith.

‘We might be giving it a miss this year,’ Carolyn said.

There was an almost imperceptible inflection in her voice that set Maggie’s nerves on edge. ‘I suppose it’s going to be difficult with a new addition to the family,’ she said with a forced laugh.

There was a sharp intake of breath. ‘Oh, the puppy? Yes, we’re picking him up in a couple of weeks, perfect timing for the start of the school holidays.’ Carolyn laughed nervously before rambling on. ‘I want to enrol him in obedience classes but I think the kids are going to be disappointed when our pup doesn’t turn out quite as well-behaved as Harvey.’

When Carolyn finally took a breath, Maggie threw caution to the wind. ‘What new addition did you think I meant?’

She could hear Carolyn slow her breathing as she summoned up the courage to answer honestly. ‘It’s early days,’ she warned. ‘And we’ve not even told the boys yet but I’m pregnant too.’

The knot of suspicion that had been growing in the pit of Maggie’s stomach dissolved. The news not only washed away the irrational doubts that had plagued her moments earlier but some of her more deep-seated anxieties. ‘Does Judith know?’

‘Good grief, no,’ Carolyn said. ‘Actually, that was why I wanted to speak to James. I wanted to forewarn him.’ As difficult as it was to believe now, Carolyn had fallen out of favour quite dramatically with her mother-in-law after she walked out on James. Judith put the blame for their failed marriage squarely on Carolyn’s shoulders and relations didn’t improve when she remarried and announced she was moving down to Portsmouth. It was only when Maggie appeared on the scene that Judith miraculously mended her bridges with Carolyn; given a choice of daughters-in-law, Carolyn was clearly the lesser of two evils; but Carolyn hadn’t forgotten how difficult Judith could be.

‘You don’t think she’ll take it very well, do you?’

‘About as well as your news I should think,’ Carolyn agreed. In recognising a common foe, the two women formed a tenuous bond. ‘On the bright side, she might actually begin to accept that James and I are both happy and settled in our new lives.’

‘We can hope,’ agreed Maggie, ‘although I think hell will have to freeze over before she accepts that I could make James happy.’

‘She is
impossible
. And I know you don’t need to hear it from me but you
do
make James happy, far more than I ever could. Why Judith can’t see that, I don’t know. She’s never going to give up on this idea that you trapped him.’

‘Trapped him?’

There was silence at the other end of the phone, not even the sound of Carolyn’s breathing until she said, ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. It’s just the way Judith is; she has to make the story fit to justify her rigid view of the world. Honestly, when you’ve had the baby, she’ll have no choice but to welcome you with open arms. If I’m honest, she was a bit aloof with me before the kids came along. Anyway, I’d better go, the boys have gone too quiet and that’s never a good sign.’

‘OK, I’ll get James to phone you later then.’

Maggie put the phone down on the kitchen counter and stood still for a moment. There was no sense of shock. Carolyn hadn’t exposed Judith: she had simply confirmed Maggie’s suspicions about how her mother-in-law’s mind worked. Surprisingly there was no surge of anger either, only a wry smile as she imagined what Judith’s reaction to the latest baby news would be. Surely now she would have to accept that both James and Carolyn had moved on with their lives.

As Maggie’s mood lifted she felt as if she could overcome any obstacle: and that meant considering doing something she had all but convinced herself not to do. Rather than return to the garden, she headed for her office. It was time for some preliminary research on the adoption process and how a birth mother might go about tracing a long-lost child.

15

‘How’s the diary looking?’ Maggie asked after saying goodbye to her latest client. She leaned against the reception counter as Kathy leafed through her appointments book.

‘Busy, busy, busy,’ Kathy recited as she turned the pages. ‘Right up to the end of August and then …’ She let the remaining pages in her hand flutter and drop. ‘Nothing.’

They were barely halfway through July but Maggie had already started to count off her last days at the salon. She stared down despondently at the pages she couldn’t see.

‘Don’t look so miserable. Most people would be looking forward to taking it easy,’ Kathy added when she didn’t get the response she wanted.

‘Maybe I’m finishing too soon. We have a two-week break with the boys but then there’s still six weeks left before the baby’s due.’

‘No,’ Kathy said. ‘We discussed this. You want that time to prepare and besides, you could have the baby early and you don’t want to be paying rent on a place that you can’t use.’

‘And it’s not like I have to worry about keeping the business going any more,’ Maggie added bleakly. She had already surrendered her lease agreement and told Kathy to find a better use for her beloved treatment room. ‘Have you found someone else?’

‘Not yet,’ Kathy said. ‘Let’s see what tomorrow brings.’

‘Tomorrow isn’t the problem. Fifteen weeks away, that’s the part that worries me.’

‘Maggie, I don’t doubt for a minute that you’ll surprise some people by how good a mum you’re going to be but I never thought you’d be one of them. Stop feeling so damned sorry for yourself!’

Maggie should have been shocked by Kathy’s tough love but she expected no less from her friend and she was grateful for it. She pulled herself up and let Kathy see a mischievous glint in her eye. ‘Maybe I could phone Carolyn and ask for some tips on motherhood.’

‘You mean now that she’s expecting too?’

Rather than Kathy, Maggie was the one who was shocked. ‘Who told you?’ she demanded.

‘James.’

‘When? He didn’t say. He hasn’t even told his mum yet,’ Maggie spluttered. She had told James about her conversation with Carolyn as soon as he had returned home but he was less concerned about the baby news than he was about the idea that his mum thought Maggie had trapped him. Typical of James, he fumed silently and had avoided speaking to his mum, about anything.

Before Kathy could explain further, the bell above the door jangled and the latest visitor to the salon introduced herself in her own inimitable way.

‘I’d know that cough anywhere,’ Maggie said as the footsteps drew closer.

‘Yes, and I know what you’re going to say next,’ Alice said. There was another surreptitious cough as she stroked Harvey.

‘So have you seen the doctor yet?’

‘No.’ For a sixty-year-old, Alice made a good impression of a toddler as she ground her foot into the tiled floor.

‘Are you busy now?’ Maggie asked, picking up the reception phone.

Alice tried not to laugh. ‘I came here to make an appointment for a haircut, not a checkup.’

‘You can do both,’ insisted Maggie. She knew the number from memory and dialled it.

The phone was handed over to Alice who was too stunned to object and the appointment with her GP was made without any further prevarication.

‘I’d better go before you railroad me into something else,’ Alice muttered and turned to leave.

‘Hold on, you haven’t seen the Miltons lately, have you?’ Maggie said, trying to hide the desperation in her voice for news.

‘I’ve been calling in now and again and things are much the same. Elsie has her moments but nothing like that day at the bank. Whatever happened to her in the past must have been heartbreaking. If it happened at all,’ she added quickly.

‘I’m sorry,’ Kathy said in exasperation. ‘I know you want to protect her, but it’s too late for Elsie to keep her secrets, they’re already out there.’

‘But that doesn’t mean we can’t pretend that they’re not, for Elsie’s sake,’ Alice said sternly, daring Kathy to contradict her. They were old friends who weren’t afraid to argue. ‘On the positive side, if you can call it that, she’s raking up all kinds of other memories. We’ve worked out that I must have bumped into her a couple of times. After she married Ted, they used to visit her Aunt Flo quite regularly. Yvonne and Nancy would have been a bit younger than me but I can remember playing in the park with two little girls from Liverpool and I’m sure it was them.’

‘Wow, really? Do you remember Flo Jackson then? Would you know what happened to her family?’ Maggie asked, now wondering if Alice could help with the search for Tess. She had discovered that the search through the adoption agency could be a lengthy process and couldn’t even begin until the Miltons agreed. If Maggie could track down Mrs Jackson’s niece in the meantime, they would at least be one step ahead and time was of the essence.

‘Sorry,’ Alice said. ‘I knew of her, but she became a bit of a recluse and died sometime in the sixties. Believe it or not, I would have been quite young back then. Like I said, I can only vaguely remember playing with the girls and Yvonne doesn’t remember being here at all.’

‘You’ve met her daughter? What’s she like?’ Kathy asked, jolting them back to the present.

‘Very friendly but a bit bossy. Reminded me of you,’ Alice added under her breath. ‘She only stayed a week but she didn’t waste any time. There were all kinds of meetings with doctors, specialists and social workers – the lot. She even took her mum and dad to look at care homes.’

It wasn’t the news Maggie wanted to hear. ‘Ted thought Yvonne might do that. How did they get on?’

‘To be honest, Elsie is more open to the idea than he is because she doesn’t want to be a burden. Yvonne suggested they could try it for a few days’ respite when things get too much for Ted but he still said no, not while he’s got breath in his body. He says he can manage and, with a bit of help, he will.’

‘He’s lucky to have you.’

‘Oh, I live close by so it’s no trouble. I only hope that one day someone will do the same for me. In fact, I’m insisting on it. I’ve got two strapping lads and my daughters-in-law are a blessing. I’ve already told them that I have every intention of being a burden to them,’ she said with a raspy laugh. ‘Jack said he could always convert his canal boat into my very own granny flat.’

As Maggie waited for another coughing fit to ease, a thought occurred to her. ‘I’d forgotten Jack had a barge. They’re supposed to be a great way to relax, aren’t they?’

‘They go at a snail’s pace so it takes forever getting anywhere but that’s the point, it forces you to slow down. I’m sure Jack wouldn’t mind if you and James wanted to use it. He loans it out to his friends all the time.’

‘James loves boats,’ Maggie mused. ‘But I’m hoping to take advantage of another friend’s generosity for our summer holiday. She has a place in France and has been trying to convince me to go there but the time has never been right.’

‘Until now?’ Kathy asked, completely taken aback. The place in question was a farmhouse that had belonged to her father as part of his property business. James had been there with Carolyn and that had been reason enough to turn down the offers in the last couple of years but Maggie was beginning to realise that time moves on. And at least if they were abroad James couldn’t be called away for emergencies at work.

‘We were thinking about it, if you didn’t mind and it’s available?’

‘Of course I don’t mind! It’s yours.’

‘Well, it looks like I’ve been outbid,’ Alice agreed. ‘But the offer still stands if ever you need a short break.’

Maggie couldn’t hide a mischievous smile; her meddling wasn’t over yet. ‘Do you think you could extend that offer to someone else? It’s Jenny who could really do with a break right now. I don’t mind paying Jack, it could be my early birthday present to her.’

‘You will not pay! I’ll let Jack know to expect a call and the two of you can sort out the details.’

Eventually Maggie released Alice from her clutches but it would be hours later before anyone realised that she had left without making the hair appointment she had come in for. Maggie for one was too distracted making plans for Jenny and Mark. Assuming Jack agreed, she would have the time and place, which only left the small matter of persuading the troubled couple to go away together, not to mention explaining to James that they would be babysitting Lily for a whole weekend. But other than that, it was all planned.