Carla stopped dead for a moment, listening to see if anyone replied, but heard nothing.
She walked away, shaking her head, then suddenly realized there was one more question she hadn’t asked Myrtle. Did Lucinda, Suzette, Carla and Jess descend from Agatha’s side of the family? Or from Isabelle’s?
Carla watched silver clouds drifting across the moon, before she threw back her head and roared with laughter. She suspected she already knew the answer.
Thirty-Three
Tea
Following the turmoil and the enlightenment of her encounter with Myrtle, Carla wanted to focus on something more positive instead, and she arranged to see a midwife at her local doctor’s office.
“Your first scan is usually performed when you’re around twelve weeks pregnant,” the midwife explained. “From the dates you’ve given me, I’ll make an appointment for you in two weeks’ time.”
Carla was glad the scan would take place after Bertrand’s funeral, rather than before it. It didn’t seem quite right to look at a potential new life on-screen before saying goodbye to a life that had ended.
All six of the tarot cards Myrtle had given her had now been accounted for. Diego had been the important man waiting for her overseas, though connecting with her exes meant Carla had learned more about herself than she’d ever thought possible. She only hoped Babs had managed to understand and accept Diego’s explanation about his relationship with Suzette.
If there was such a thing as the calm before a storm, Carla was experiencing it now. She felt strangely at ease as she walked away from the doctor’s, mentally readying herself and gathering strength to face Tom when he finally arrived home.
As if he knew she was thinking about him, Carla received a text message.
Hi. Just to let you know, I’ve landed back in the UK. As you can imagine I’m exhausted after traveling for hours. My parents are arriving tomorrow (they decided to fly here early) so I’m going to meet with them. I’ll get back in touch with you when things have settled down a bit.
Carla stared at the message for ages. Did Tom sound cold toward her, or was he just tired? Had he omitted a kiss at the end of his text on purpose? Didn’t he want to ask if she and the baby were okay? Was he still upset about her Paris trip to see Aaron?
She ordered herself to be patient, to allow him space to settle back into his normal life, to address his jet lag and spend time with his parents.
Time was something she had to grant to Jess, too. Since they’d talked on the pier, her sister had retreated to the confines of her apartment, reporting to Lucinda that she was more upset about Mr. Forty-Nine Percent and Bertrand’s death than she’d originally thought. She didn’t want to try to be positive and face her family yet. And she was going to give thought to Carla’s business proposal.
Carla wondered if Jess was also taking time to accept Diego’s arrival. She contacted a local florist and arranged for a bouquet of flowers and a card to be delivered to her sister.
Mimi took over sorting out the funeral arrangements with Evelyn, whether she liked it or not, and agreed to keep things simple. Evelyn didn’t want to return to her own apartment until after the funeral was over, so she remained at Lucinda’s house, where she was looked after by a rotation of relatives.
Carla decided not to return to work for a while and she hung around her gran’s bungalow, too, making numerous cups of tea for her family. She went to the supermarket and bought vegetables, which she made into hot soup. The number of her relatives dwindled as time went on, but some were stalwarts who insisted staying day and night to support Evelyn.
Aaron rang Carla a couple of times, to check in and ask if there was anything he could do to help. She was grateful for his support, recognizing that she’d been guilty of focusing on all the arguments within their marriage and disregarding all of his good attributes.
For a long time, Carla had believed she’d made a big mistake by marrying the wrong person, but she could now see that she and Aaron had been two young people who’d still been learning about each other. They’d been under a great deal of stress after the miscarriage, and they’d both handled it differently. Carla no longer felt regretful about their time together, only how things had ended between them.
Despite the somber circumstances, Lucinda embraced the company in her home. She bustled around her sitting room, offering cakes and moving her acorns and ornaments around to create more space. “Poor Bertrand made me realize that you only get one life and I have to make the most of it,” she told Carla over a cup of tea in her kitchen. “I love you and Jess to bits, and I like working at the agency, but getting older has made me feel all plain and invisible again. I need something else to sink my teeth into, something just for me.”
“You’re the most amazing person I know and I’m glad you’re feeling more like yourself.” Carla smiled softly. “I know something that might help you to keep busy in the future...”
Lucinda perked up. “You do? What is it?”
Carla tried not to think back to her previous pregnancy. When she looked into her gran’s eyes, she didn’t need to speak.
“Oh, honey,” Lucinda exclaimed, jigging on the spot. “Are you...?”
Carla nodded. “Jess guessed and I wanted you to know, too. Though we should keep it to ourselves for the time being.”
Lucinda mimed zipping her lips. “I’m absolutely over the moon for you.”
“Jess and I have been worried about you,” Carla admitted. “I saw you hiding a hospital appointment under a place mat. What was it for?”
“I don’t want to keep a secret from you, either,” Lucinda said. “I’ve been feeling very low recently, out of sorts, like I had no place in the world. So, I made an appointment to speak to someone. I lost your mum, and I lost Ted, and I know it was years ago, but I still feel the weight of their loss and it sometimes drags me down. I wanted to talk to a professional, someone who’d listen to me and help, so I can claw my way out of this dark space.”
Carla beamed at her proudly. “You’ve done the right thing, Gran. Jess and I are always here for you, too, if ever you want to talk. We all have so many things to look forward to.”
“I know and I’m ever so grateful for you girls. In fact, I decided to follow in your footsteps... I went on Facebook to see if I could find Juan again.”
“You did?” Carla’s jaw dropped. “Is he still...around?”
“You mean, is he alive?” Lucinda laughed. “Yes, he’s in his early eighties and runs the family restaurant with his two daughters and their families. He was certainly surprised to hear from me after all this time. He said he’s thought of me often over the years, and we’re already making plans to meet.”
“Oh, Gran. I’m so pleased.”
“I don’t know what he’ll be expecting.” Lucinda ran a hand over her belly. “I’m not the slender young thing he used to know.”
Carla shook her head. “No, you’re even more beautiful now, like how mature olive trees bear the best fruit.”
Lucinda grinned. “I’ll have to remember that when I chat to him. In the meantime, I need to make ten more cups of tea for our family.”
“It’s a good thing I bought more tea bags,” Carla said.
She and her gran stood next to each other in the kitchen as they poured hot water into cups and allowed two minutes for the tea to brew before using the back of a spoon to press the tea bags against the inside of the cups. Carla poured the milk, her gran stirred, and they worked in tandem to deliver the drinks and retrieve empty cups.
Afterward, they reconvened at the kitchen table.
