Page 88 of One Cornish Summer With You
After a brief discussion they soon realised that with their work commitments, they’d be better off flying to Glasgow, and renting a car.
‘Let’s get an Airbnb. It’ll be more private,’ Tammy suggested, but instantly regretted her choice of words.
However, Ruan gave a nod of approval. ‘Better to have our own space.’
‘It’ll be cheaper too,’ she added hastily, realising an Airbnb would be more private but also riskier than getting two hotel rooms.
Even though she was conflicted about Ruan, the temptation to sleep with him would be off the scale. Then again,how would Ruan feel about it even if she weakened? She had flung some pretty harsh accusations at him lately … no wonder it felt as if they were both treading on eggshells around each other.
‘OK. I need to ask Polly’s cousin, Deidre, to warn Kathleen first,’ he said. ‘Can you hold off on the booking until I get an answer? We don’t want a wasted journey.’
‘I’d better warn my mum too. And make up an excuse for visiting to Davey because I don’t know how I’m going to explain that I have a sudden urge to see her after all this time.’
Ruan stood up. ‘I’ll call Polly to set the wheels in motion with Kathleen. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.’
‘Thanks. I’d better call my mother,’ Tammy said with a sense of dread, wondering if her mother would even want to see her.
The gods must have been pleased with them because Tammy’s mother seemed happy at Tammy’s suggestion of a visit. Tammy told her she would be ‘in the area’ with a friend who was visiting a relative. Well, it was pretty close to the truth.
Ruan also heard back the next day. Polly told him that Deidre was ‘cock-a-hoop’ to be part of an ‘intrigue’, which filled Ruan with dismay. He didn’t want any more drama in his life, but Deidre did call Kathleen and whatever she’d said to Kathleen, the woman agreed to see him.
‘Deidre hasn’t breathed a word to Kathleen about the contents of this letter,’ Polly assured him. Ruan hoped it was true.
The stars aligned further in that there were two seats available on the Friday flight to Glasgow and Tammy managed to find a rental apartment in a village midway between Kathleen’s retirement village and her mum’s town.
Meanwhile, Davey proved a trickier proposition.
She couldn’t stop analysing everything he said to her, sifting his words for clues. Davey had sounded exactly like a father: worrying about her all the time.
She’d even taken to looking at old photographs, comparing herself to Davey and to her dad – to Neil. If she was honest, she couldn’t see much resemblance to either of them; not in the way she could with her mother, with whom she shared eye shape and colour and a similar body shape: petite, with gentle curves.
After everything was booked, she ambushed Davey when he’d finished firing a batch of pieces in the kiln and was relaxing with a bottle of beer. He hadn’t started his treatment yet but that was scheduled within the next couple of weeks.
‘I – er – am going to Scotland at the weekend. I thought it was time I visited Mum.’ She realised she was judging every nuance of his reaction, hoping for a sign – of what, though? Guilt? Fear?
‘Oh?’ he said in mild surprise. ‘Anything wrong with your mum?’
‘No. It’s only that I realised it’s been a very long time since I saw her and now the festival’s over, I thought Iought to go before I talk myself out of it.’ She gave a wry smile. ‘Will you be OK without me in the shop over the weekend?’
Davey looked confused by her reasoning but then laughed softly. ‘For what it’s worth, I think it’s about time you visited her too. The break will do you good and I think I can manage with Breda and Mullet Boy.AndI’m not going to pop my clogs while you’re away if that’s what you’re worried about.’
Tammy scoffed. ‘Course not. I only wanted to warn you I wouldn’t be around.’
‘It’s fine. I’m pleased. It can’t do any harm to reconnect with your mother. I know the two of you haven’t hit it off, to say the least, but she wasn’t entirely to blame for the split … it takes two to tango, as they say.’
Or three,thought Tammy, but kept any trace of suspicion from her face. ‘It seemed like a good time. Do you want me to tell her about …’
‘The cancer?’ Davey said starkly. ‘If you like but, for God’s sake, don’t make a drama out of it. There’s no drama to be made. I’m going to have treatment and I’m going to get better.’
‘She’d want me to be honest,’ Tammy said, wondering what her mother’s reaction would be. Horror? Would she cry? Tammy had no idea. Davey and her mum hadn’t seemed very close before or after she and her dad split up, though that could be a sign that the two of them felt responsible. On the other hand, as far as she could remember, they’d seemedon good terms during those happy early days at Rosewarne. Although she was a child then, and they’d probably have kept any possible secrets well hidden from her.
‘Go, and I hope it brings you both some peace,’ Davey said and seemed suddenly struck by a thought. ‘Are you driving all that way on your own?’
‘No, I’ve – er – booked a flight and rented a car.’
He whistled. ‘Fancy. I’m glad, otherwise you’d have spent most of your time on the roads. Pricey, though. Do you need a bung for the flight?’
‘Thanks for the offer, but I have savings and I haven’t had a holiday away from Cornwall for ages. I have enough beaches here.’ She smiled. ‘The mountains will be a change.’
