Secrets in Pelican Crossing (Pelican Crossing #2)

Thirty-four

‘I really like this car. It’s so cute.’

‘Thanks, Tilly, I like it too.’ Liz and Tilly were driving back from the airport, having waved Julie off.

Liz glanced at her granddaughter when she paused at an intersection, but the girl was focussed on her phone again. She was beginning to regret her impulsive offer to have Tilly stay until Julie moved to Pelican Crossing. What did she know about looking after a fourteen-year-old? Teenagers today were a different breed to what they’d been when Tara and Mandy were Tilly’s age. It seemed her granddaughter spent most of her waking hours glued to the screen of one device or another.

Liz’s mind began to wander. She’d hoped Mandy would have come round by now and she’d have been able to introduce her to Julie and Tilly, but there had been no sign of her youngest daughter, and Liz’s calls and messages had remained unanswered. Tara was due back today too, and Liz wanted to make sure she spoke to her before Mandy did. Her plan was to drop Tilly off at The Haven , then drive round to Tara’s to welcome her and Mark back. She’d baked Tara’s favourite lemon slice in the hope of finding her in a good mood and was returning the life on a rock plant she’d been minding for her daughter which required daily watering.

‘What are your other daughters like?’

Tilly’s question pulled Liz back to the present. ‘Tara and Mandy? They’re very different from each other. I always think Tara is the sensible one. She’s married to Mark… well, you know that; you’ve seen her wedding photo. She works in recruitment and is very focussed on her career. Mandy…’ How could she describe Mandy? ‘… Mandy’s always been the baby of the family, spoiled and accustomed to getting her own way. She has her own personal training business and works part time at the yacht club. She tends to be quick-tempered and is currently annoyed with me for keeping your mum secret from her.’

‘She doesn’t like Mum and me.’

‘She doesn’t know you. It was a shock for her to learn about you both. I’m sure she will love you when she does meet you.’

‘Were you ashamed of Mum?’

‘Goodness, no! But it was difficult. As you know, I wasn’t much older than you are now. We lived in a small country town. Gossip was rife. It would have been impossible for me if everyone knew I’d been pregnant – and they would have. You can’t keep something like that secret. I made a bad mistake, and I was lucky my parents supported me. But I was never ashamed of your mum. You mustn’t think that. I always hoped to find her, and you are an unexpected bonus.’ Liz threw a grin in Tilly’s direction.

‘I like that, to be an unexpected bonus.’ Tilly grinned back.

‘Here we are.’ Liz turned the car into the grounds of The Haven and stopped outside her mother’s villa. ‘You’ll be all right with Mum while I visit Tara?’

‘Of course. I love Joan. She’s promised to show me more photos of you when you were growing up, and to teach me Mahjong.’

Liz chuckled. ‘That’ll keep both of you busy. Mum’s fanatical about Mahjong. She plays with a group in The Haven a couple of times a week.’

Joan was waiting for them at her open door. ‘You’ll have time for a cuppa, Liz, before you dash off, won’t you? I have the kettle on and there are date scones just out of the oven.’

‘Just a quick one,’ Liz said, her mouthwatering at the thought of her mother’s date scones. She hugged her mother and stepped inside.

The scones were as delicious as Liz expected, but as soon as she had eaten one, she rose to go. ‘I need to catch Tara before Mandy does,’ she said, her mouth suddenly dry at the prospect of what lay ahead.

‘Tara will be fine,’ her mother said .

‘I hope so.’

Liz’s nervousness increased as she drove to where Tara and Mark lived in a townhouse facing the river. It was a little way out of town in a new development. When she reached the complex, she parked and, taking a deep breath and carrying the lemon slice and the plant, walked up to their door.

After the initial hugs and kisses, and Tara’s exclamations on the health of her plant, they finally settled in the small courtyard with coffee and Liz’s lemon slice. The first half hour was filled with Tara and Mark vying to describe their trip to Paris. They’d loved every minute of it and planned to go back the following year. So, still no children on the horizon , Liz thought with regret.

They were on their second cups of coffee, and Tara was talking about lunch, when Liz said, ‘I have something to tell you.’

‘Mandy left me a weird message about some secret you’d kept for years. Is that what it’s about?’ Tara asked, seemingly unconcerned.

Liz gave a sigh of relief. At least Mandy hadn’t divulged the news about Julie and Tilly yet. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you both before now, but… it never seemed to be the right time.’

‘So why now?’ Tara asked.

‘Let me start at the beginning, when I was only fifteen and living with my parents in a small country town…’

When she finished there was a deathly hush. Then Tara said, ‘So where are they now?’

‘Julie has gone back to Brisbane to settle things there. Tilly is staying with me till her mother gets back. She starts school tomorrow. They’ve rented an older house near the centre of town and will move in when Julie returns.’ She held her breath.

‘It’s a lot to take in. I can’t imagine you pregnant at fifteen. Was that why you insisted Mandy and I go on the pill? What are they like? Has Mandy met them?’

‘Your sister…’ Liz lifted her cup, realised it was empty and put it down again, ‘The short answer is she hasn’t met them and doesn’t want to. She’s not talking to me either, since she learned about them. She moved her things out the next day. As to what they’re like. They’re lovely. Julie is a single mother, divorced, and works in a library. She’s optimistic about finding work here too. Tilly’s a typical teenager. She wa s a bit standoffish at first, but we get on well now. Your grandmother has taken to them both, though she was a bit stunned at first – she thought all of that was in the past and had been forgotten. Tilly is with her now, learning to play Mahjong.’

Tara chuckled. ‘Good luck to her with that. She never managed to teach me or Mandy. I’m sorry about Mandy, Mum. But you know what she’s like. It must have been a shock. It’s a shock to me too, but I can understand how it might have been for you. I… I had a scare when I was fifteen. I never told you. Mandy didn’t know either. Amber was the only person I confided in,’ she said, referring to her best friend and the daughter of Liz’s friend, Poppy. ‘It was my first time, and it was such a relief when I got my period. You put me on the pill soon after and I thought you’d guessed. You didn’t?’

Liz shook her head, shocked she’d never known of her daughter’s fears.

‘Don’t worry about Mandy,’ Tara continued. ‘I’ll talk her round. It was probably an excuse for her to move in with Gary too.’

‘Hmm.’

‘What are you doing tonight? Why don’t we all go to the yacht club for dinner? We can meet Tilly then. Mark?’

‘Sounds good to me,’ Mark, who had been quiet during all their conversation, said.

‘You’re not too tired from your trip?’

‘No, it’ll probably hit us later. Mandy won’t be working tonight. She doesn’t do Sundays. So you don’t need to worry about bumping into her.’

‘Right.’ It might not be a bad idea for her to meet Tilly unexpectedly but wouldn’t be fair to Tilly.

When Liz left Tara’s after an early lunch, it was still too early to pick Tilly up, so she decided to take a walk along the beach, her usual method of settling her mind and working things out. She was surprised and relieved at Tara’s reaction, though the revelation her daughter had thought herself pregnant brought back memories of her own teenage terror, of the day she told her parents. Hopefully, Tara was right about Mandy, and she could talk sense into her sister.

Liz was paddling in the shallow water at the edge of the sea, lost in thought, sandals in one hand, when she heard a familiar voice .

‘Liz!’

Looking up she saw Finn, his grandson and the small spaniel called Bluey coming towards her. Like her, Finn was walking in the shallows, while his grandson and the dog were running in and out of the water.

‘Finn!’ Liz’s lips curled into a smile as she was suffused with a warm glow. Last week had been magical. Every evening, after Julie and Tilly had gone back to their motel, Finn had arrived with wine or chocolates or both. They’d snuggled up together on the sofa, sometimes talking quietly, sometimes not. Then they’d go to bed to make wonderful love, till it was time for him to go home, leaving her wrapped in the warmth of their lovemaking.

‘I thought you were going to see your daughter today.’

‘I was. I did.’ She smiled as the little boy and the dog rushed past her, splashing salt water onto her legs.

‘And?’

‘It was okay. I won’t go into it now, but she understood. She’s going to try to talk to Mandy, so…’ Liz held up her crossed fingers.

‘I’m happy for you.’

‘And she wants to meet Tilly. We’re all going to the yacht club for dinner. I hope…’ She bit her lip. Tilly could be unpredictable.

‘I’m sure it’ll go well. I wish…’

‘I do too.’ Liz knew what he meant. It was going to be difficult for them to see each other while she had Tilly to stay. ‘But it won’t be for long. I expect Julie to be able to move up in a couple of weeks’ time.’

‘I can’t wait.’ Finn gave the lopsided grin Liz had come to love.

There might not be any future in this relationship, given the demands of both families, but she intended to enjoy it while she could.

‘Maybe I’ll see you at the yacht club,’ Finn said, as Sandy became tired of the game with Bluey and insisted it was time for an ice cream.

Liz’s heart leapt as she wondered if he meant to join them for dinner.

‘Maybe,’ she said.

*

Tilly was excited at the prospect of meeting Tara, saying, ‘I never thought I’d have an aunt and now I have two.’ She spent the drive to the marina peppering Liz with questions about Tara and asking if Liz was sure Tara wanted to meet her.

By the time they parked the car, Liz was ready to scream.

Tara and Mark were already in the restaurant when Liz and Tilly walked in.

‘Is that her?’ Tilly whispered, when the elegant woman with a cap of short dark hair seated at a window table waved to them.

Liz nodded and steered Tilly towards her. ‘This is Tara and Mark,’ she said.

‘And you must be Tilly. Welcome to the family,’ Tara said, rising and giving a diffident Tilly a hug. ‘Wow, you look so like Mum.’

Tilly gave a tight smile, as if unsure how to react.

‘It’s okay,’ Tara said. ‘Both Mandy and I look a bit like our dad too, but you could be Mum when she was your age.’

‘Tilly’s mum looks like me too,’ Liz said. ‘Wait till you meet her.’

‘I’m looking forward to it.’ Tara smiled.

‘Good to meet you, Tilly,’ Mark said, holding out a hand which Tilly shook after only a moment’s hesitation.

Once they were all seated, Liz began to relax. It was going to be all right.

They had ordered and been served drinks, wine for the adults and a lemon, lime and soda for Tilly, when Liz heard Finn’s voice.

‘Room for a few more?’ he asked. ‘You all know Adele and Sandy, don’t you?’

Tara’s eyes widened. She gazed from Finn to Liz and back again but didn’t speak.

Sandy didn’t wait to be invited but climbed onto a spare chair next to Tilly who grinned at him.

‘I remember you,’ she said. ‘You had a book about spaniels.’

‘I have a spaniel. He’s called Bluey,’ Sandy said.

‘Do join us,’ Liz said somewhat belatedly as a waiter hurried to add another table and two chairs to theirs. She wasn’t sure if this was a good idea; she knew she’d have some explaining to do to Tara later.

As the evening progressed, however, Liz realised the presence of Finn and his family helped dispel any awkwardness Tilly might have felt at this first meeting with Tara. Young Sandy was delightful, managing to keep everyone entertained by his stories about his puppy, and Tara was able to gently sound Tilly out about her plans and her move to Pelican Crossing.

‘She’s lovely,’ Tara whispered to Liz when they were preparing to leave, ‘but you’ve been keeping very quiet about our local newspaper editor.’

‘Isn’t she?’ Liz said blushing. ‘Your sister knew. She didn’t tell you?’

‘Not a word.’

While Finn and Mark were arguing about who should pay the bill, Tilly pulled Liz aside. ‘Sandy wants me to visit him to see his puppy. Will that be okay?’

Liz glanced at Adele who was smiling. ‘I guess so,’ she said.

‘Why don’t you both come to dinner next Saturday?’ Adele said. ‘I think it’s time we got to know each other better.’

‘Thanks, we’d like that,’ Liz replied, looking round to see if Finn was listening. But he was too busy negotiating payment with Mark. She hoped he’d be happy with the arrangement.

Outside the club, the three groups went their separate ways, but not before Tara gave Liz a meaningful look indicating she intended to talk with her about Finn.

‘Tara’s nice,’ Tilly said as they made their way back to Liz’s apartment. ‘Why doesn’t Mandy want to meet me?’

‘I’m sure she will soon,’ Liz said, hoping with all her heart she was right. Meanwhile, she knew she was in for an interrogation from Tara about her relationship with Finn.