Pendruggan, 2018
Ella jumped off the sofa with excitement and threw her arms around Kit. ‘That was Henry on the phone. He wants to meet our mum after all.’
‘Careful!’ Kit balanced the two mugs of coffee in his hands. ‘What changed his mind?’
Ella took the cup he offered her and got herself comfy on the sofa, her feet under her. ‘I’m not sure, but he said he wanted to meet her to show her exactly what she’d missed all these years.’
Kit sipped his coffee. ‘Good. I thought he’d be harsher than that.’
‘Well, and to tell her to her face what he thinks of her.’
‘Oh.’
Ella wasn’t bothered. ‘I don’t care! We are going to see our mum and I won’t feel like an orphan any longer.’
‘Is that how you’ve felt?’
‘Yes, now I come to think about it. All those times at school: concerts, plays, art shows. No mum or dad like my mates.’ She picked at the buttons on her cardigan. ‘Granny and Poppa were amazing, but they were Granny and Poppa. Not Mum and Dad.’ She stopped fiddling with the buttons and looked at Kit. ‘Do you think she’ll tell us who our dad is?’
‘Do you want to know?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, ask her.’
‘I’ll wait and see. Test the water. I can’t just spring it on her.’ She laughed. ‘One parent at a time is best, don’t you think?’
Henry, with a rather thick head, rang the solicitor’s office the next morning. He asked to speak to the senior partner, Mr Penhaligon, an elderly man who had been his grandparents lawyer for decades.
‘I’m sorry, but Mr Penhaligon is not in the office today. He hasn’t been well and has handed all his clients to Miss Palmer. Would you like to speak to her?’
Henry waited while she connected him. A young, efficient female voice came on the line.
‘Mr Tallon?’
‘Yes, good morning. I don’t know how much you know about my family history but …’
‘Mr Penhaligon has passed me your files and I am as up to speed as I can be. I am aware your mother wishes to meet you and you are reluctant to do so?’
‘Well, I was, but having thought about it, I would like to meet her. Yes.’
‘Excellent. I shall let her know. Where would you like to meet? Here? In our Trevay office? Or do you have somewhere else in mind?’
‘Your office would be a good neutral place I think.’
‘Exactly so.’
‘And my sister only lives in Pendruggan, so it’ll be easy for her to get there too.’
‘Good. Well, I shall phone your mother today and ask her to make her travel arrangements.’
‘As soon as possible, please.’ Henry chewed his lip. ‘Has she far to travel?’
‘I am not at liberty to tell you where she is located.’
‘Oh. Is she in the UK?’
‘No, she is not.’
Sennen felt sick with anxiety. Who was she doing this for? Her parents? Her children? Or was the reason more selfish? For herself?
Why would Henry and Ella want to meet her after all this time? She had proved herself to be unreliable, feckless and worthless. She paced around her simple hotel room, the whirring breeze of the ceiling fan neither doing anything to cut through the heat, nor helping her thoughts speed around more quickly. Why did she want to see them so much? To ingratiate herself? To show them that she was a decent person? The sort of person who wouldn’t walk out on her two children unless she had very good reason?
And what had been her reason? Really, there was none. She couldn’t cope. That was the bottom line. She couldn’t cope and didn’t want to cope. The truth was as basic as that.
Her mobile phone rang. She scrambled in her handbag.
‘Kafir?’ Her husband.
He was brief. ‘Have you heard anything?’
‘Not yet.’ She hugged the phone to her ear, imagining the feel of his beard on her face. Softly she asked, ‘How are you?’
‘How do you think?’ he said tersely.
She shrank into herself, hungry for his forgiveness. ‘I’m sorry. I know I should have told you.’
He paused, then murmured, ‘Yes, you should.’
‘Please, Kafir. Please don’t.’ She lay flat on her hotel bed wretchedly pressing the phone ever harder to her ear, the pain of it stopping her tears. ‘I know I have hurt you, but please, please don’t push me away.’ Her voice faltered.
Kafir was silent. She imagined him pulling at his beard the way he did when he was angry. Eventually he said, ‘Go and find your English family. You have much work to do.’
‘Yes.’ The enormity of her mistake crushed her.
‘But …’ said Kafir.
‘Yes?’
‘Let me know how it goes.’
‘Thank you, Kafir. That means so much … Kafir?’
But he was gone.
She rolled her face into the pillow and gave way to helpless tears. She had to atone for her past, face who she had been when she walked away from her parents and two helpless babies. Had the girl she had been gone? What scared her most was, that in trying to finally to face her past, she could end up destroying another family. Was she now turning her back on them?
The phone by her bed rang. Wiping her eyes, she picked up and croaked, ‘Hello?’
‘Mrs Tallon-Kaur? It’s Deborah Palmer. Your solicitor in Trevay?’
Sennen sat up, alert. ‘Yes?’
‘I have good news. I have just heard from your son and daughter – and they have both agreed to meet you here in Cornwall. When shall I say you will arrive?