The morning of the day Travis was coming to lunch, Jodie was on edge. After she’d decided on a simple menu – soup followed by bread and a selection of cheeses, with a tarte tatin to follow with the coffee – she couldn’t stop pacing up and down.
‘What about wine?’ she said suddenly to Ben. ‘Yes or no? Red or white? Or just water?’
‘Wait and see what Travis prefers,’ Ben said. ‘We have both. Are you going to have another quick look through the papers before Travis gets here?’
Jodie hesitated but before she could answer they heard a car arrive.
‘Too late, he’s here,’ Ben said. ‘Do you want me to let him in – or are you going to?’
‘Let’s do it together,’ Jodie said, knowing that having Ben at her side as she welcomed Travis to their home would help banish the mixed feelings she was currently harbouring about him.
As they opened the front door Travis was lifting a large potted plant out of the boot of his car.
‘I was going to bring you some flowers,’ he said. ‘But then I thought a plant for your new garden would perhaps be better?’ He looked at Jodie nervously, waiting for her reaction as he placed the plant on the ground.
‘You didn’t have to bring anything,’ Jodie said, bending down to cover her confusion at the unexpected gift and reading the name label attached to the main stem.
‘It’s a lemon tree. So many buds on it and the label says it’s a four-seasons one. I know just where I’m going to place it – by the French doors that open onto the terrace. Thank you. It will look wonderful in a terracotta pot.’ She pushed the thought ‘and good or bad, it will be a constant reminder of today and you’ out of her mind. It was a nice gesture from Travis. ‘Come on in.’
‘I’ve brought some papers and photographs too,’ Travis said, following her into the house holding a cardboard package close to his chest.
‘Mum’s papers are in the sitting room,’ Jodie said, leading the way.
Travis placed his papers on the coffee table alongside Jodie’s box before turning to face her.
‘Before we start, can I just say I honestly didn’t come halfway across the world to cause trouble or make you unhappy. I simply needed to find my sister. The sister my father didn’t tell me about until the last few months of his life.’
He stopped talking and agitatedly ran his hand through his hair. ‘After today we don’t have to see each other again if you don’t want to.’
Jodie looked at him. ‘How old are you?’
‘I’m twenty-four – twenty-five in January. I was born about eighteen months after Dad arrived in Australia.’
‘Did… did Dad say why he’d never told you about me?’ Jodie asked quietly.
Travis shook his head. ‘Just that he really regretted being estranged from you. It’s because of him that I’m here. He made me promise to find you.’
‘Mum said she was sorry to me as she died. I thought she was referring to the accident but now I’m sure it was more for the things she’d done in the past. And things she’d left unexplained,’ Jodie said.
‘Why did you finally decide to meet and talk to me?’ Travis said.
Jodie took a deep breath.
‘I found the Decree Absolute in an envelope a few weeks ago so I knew you had to be telling the truth about my father not dying when I was led to believe he did. So, eventually, with a bit of persuasion from Ben, I figured I needed to know the whole story – or as much of the story as we can piece together. Whether I like it or not,’ she added quietly. ‘But then, when I finally started going through Mum’s papers, I found this letter from her.’ She picked up the letter from the table and handed it to Travis. ‘I think her regret and guilt increased as the years went by. You can read it if you like. Having discovered it, my big regret now is not reading it a couple of years ago, after she died, when it would have been me coming to Australia to find…’ She hesitated. ‘To find Dad. The really sad thing about all this is, he would have been alive then too. I could have met him. Did he say if he ever tried to contact me?’
Travis hesitated. ‘I think your mum made it difficult,’ he said quietly.
Jodie nodded. ‘I can believe that.’
‘Dad left you a letter too,’ Travis said, opening the package he’d placed on the table and taking out a sealed envelope.
‘I was given strict instructions to hand this to you in person and to answer any questions you might have when you’ve read it.’
Jodie stared at the envelope with her name, ‘Jodie Saville’, written in perfect script across it.
‘Dad didn’t know you’d married,’ Travis said. ‘It was something I discovered when I started looking for you.’
‘Beautiful handwriting,’ Jodie murmured, unconsciously tapping her foot on the floor as she studied the envelope.
‘Dad was proud of his handwriting,’ Travis said. ‘He was forever trying to make me improve mine.’ He glanced at Ben. ‘Does Jodie often do that?’
‘Do I do what?’ Jodie asked, mystified, looking up.
‘Tap your foot.’
‘Oh, sorry. I didn’t realise I was doing it,’ Jodie said, immediately keeping her foot still.
‘She does it all the time,’ Ben said. ‘I always know when she’s uptight or nervous about something.’
‘Dad used to do the same when he was agitated,’ Travis said quietly.
Jodie looked at him but said nothing as she opened the envelope carefully. She moved away from Travis and began to read the first and last letter she’d ever received from her father.
My dear Jodie, if you are reading this letter it means that the reconciliation I’ve longed for over the years will never happen now. Which fills me with regret and saddens me.
I’ve had a good life over here in Australia, one I’d hoped in the beginning to share with Jacqueline and you, but it was not to be. Jacqueline had her reasons for not wanting to leave England and I had to respect that while, at the same time, knowing it wasn’t the place I wanted to stay all my life. I did ask her repeatedly to change her mind and join me out here but stubborn was her middle name. She said she couldn’t imagine living in a foreign country. (Are you stubborn too? It’s not a bad trait when used carefully.)
In the end we decided it was better to set ourselves free so we could both have another chance of a loving relationship, but I want you to know, Jodie, that your mother was my first true love and I loved you from the moment you were born. It broke my heart leaving the two of you.
But, I was lucky enough to meet and fall in love with Caroline and have Travis with her. I’m sad your mother never remarried and wish she too could have found a second chance at love.
Travis will tell you everything he can about me – he’s a lot like me in many ways and maybe through him you’ll get an inkling of the kind of father I wanted to be for you. My dearest wish is that the two of you can form a brotherly-sisterly relationship even at this late stage.
I’m sorry I haven’t been a presence in your life but I sincerely hope you are happy and will continue to be so.
Your loving father,
Tom Saville
Travis was watching her as she looked up from reading and Ben silently handed her a tissue.
‘Wow, that’s a letter I never dreamt I’d receive, let alone read,’ she said, wiping her eyes, the despondent phrase ‘if only’ springing into her mind again. Another letter received too late. ‘I don’t know what to say other than I wish it wasn’t too late to change things.’
‘We can’t change the past but we can stop the estrangement if you want to,’ Travis said quietly. ‘Get to know each other. Try to build that brother-sister relationship Dad mentioned. But you have to promise not to start bossing me about just because I’m your kid brother,’ he added, grinning at her uncertainly and waiting for her reaction.
‘Spoilsport – what’s the point of having a younger brother if I can’t tell him what to do!’ Jodie said, taking a deep breath. ‘Right, let’s talk more over lunch.’
During lunch Travis told them about his childhood and showed Jodie several photos of him in the Outback with their father. In return Jodie showed him a few photos of her and Jacqueline on holiday in Tenby, which seemed very tame in comparison.
‘Is this home?’ Jodie said, looking at the photograph of a wooden ranch.
‘Yes, that’s where I grew up. If you come and visit I’ll drive you out there,’ Travis said. ‘You will come and visit, won’t you? Mum would love to meet you and spoil you with good old Australian hospitality.’
‘Has your mum always known about me?’
Travis nodded. ‘Dad apparently told her before they got married because he didn’t want any secrets from the past causing problems between them in the future. It was only me he didn’t tell until recently.’
‘At least he didn’t lie to you,’ Jodie said.
‘He did by omission,’ Travis said quietly. ‘Which is as bad.’
Jodie nodded. ‘True.’
‘Where are you staying at the moment?’ Ben asked. ‘We know you spend a lot of time with your friend up in the mountains, but down here?’
‘I’m in the next village,’ Travis said. ‘I think next time I’m over I’ll rent a gite.’
‘Don’t be silly. You’ll stay with us,’ Jodie said, reaching for another photo. Silence greeted her words and she looked up to see both men regarding her. ‘What? Of course he stays here.’ She smiled. ‘I need my kid brother where I can keep an eye on him.’
It was nearly five o’clock when Travis stood up to leave, after promising to become a regular visitor before he left to go home for Christmas.
Standing by the door waving goodbye, Ben put his arm around Jodie’s shoulders and she leant against him thinking how strange life could be – and how quickly it could change. From being the only child of a widow a few months ago, she suddenly had two new families – one in France and one in Australia.
‘I like your brother – I hope you do too?’ Ben said.
‘D’you know what? I think I do,’ Jodie said. ‘I’m looking forward to getting to know him.’