‘Oh, Bella,’ said Rosie, eventually opening the door. ‘There you are. I am so sorry I should have offered to get you from the bus stop at the very least. Come on in out the rain.’
Bella stepped across the threshold. ‘That’s okay. I did text Mum to let her know I was on my way.’ She frowned at Rosie who seemed distracted. Normally she made a fuss of any visitors who came to the cottage. But she was looking towards the living room and Coisty was nowhere to be seen either.
‘Is everything okay?’ asked Bella.
Rosie hesitated before answering. ‘Yes, sorry we just got caught up talking,’ she said levelly. ‘Here, let’s get your wet stuff off. I’ll hang it in the airing cupboard to dry. Shall I get you something dry to change into?’
‘That’s okay,’ said Bella, now wondering why her mum and Ash hadn’t come to the door to greet her too. ‘I’ve got mypyjamas with me. I’ll just take my jeans off and put them on just now.’
‘Good idea,’ said Rosie brightly. ‘You do that and come through and I’ll let them know you’re here.’
A pained look flickered across Rosie’s face and Bella wondered what had happened. Is that why Ben was worried about her? Had he sensed something wasn’t right with his mum? Maybe she was ill? Or it was something to do with Dermot? Bella went into the downstairs loo to change and then pulled out her phone to check whether her text to her mum had actually been delivered. It had, which was so strange. Then she noticed a message from Ben. Did he know what was going on with his mum now and was letting her know?
Hey Bella, hope you have a nice time with the oldies. Bet it will be fab seeing Ash. Say hi to everyone from me. Bx
Bella grinned when she saw the kiss. She replied with a heart. Then realised she really wished he was there for moral support and she quickly typed a message.Wish you were here xSomething was definitely amiss and Ben was the only other person who would understand. He always got the in-jokes and their mums’ funny ways. She washed her hands and quickly pulled them through her hair, which had turned to frizz in the rain. Then she unlocked the door, dumped her bags into the hall and walked towards the living room where she could hear voices. Except it wasn’t the low murmur of excited chatter from friends who had been reunited after years of being apart she could hear. The voices were raised and they sounded as though there was a bit of atensediscussion going on. Bella’s excitement about seeing Ash quickly faded. Maybe joining them at this very minute wasn’t the best idea. No wonder Rosie had looked so strained when she had answered the door. Bella’s timing obviously hadn’t been ideal. Her hand hovered above the door handle.
‘We did what we thought best at the time,’ said Rosie pleadingly.
‘I know we did,’ said Ash. ‘But none of this was planned, was it? But it’s all worked out okay over the years, hasn’t it? I thought we had agreed thiswasall for the best?’
‘Well, yes, and it has been,’ said her mum tensely. ‘But it’s been much easier for you. You’ve been away the other side of the world all this time. It’s beenmewho has been dealing with all the questions. I absolutely hate all the lies. It’s eating me up inside and even more so this past couple of weeks. I can’t do this anymore. We need to put an end to all this.’
There was a silence and Bella waited for someone to talk.
Ash spoke first. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, I think we should just come clean.’
‘But are you sure Isobel? Because if we do then there is no going back,’ said Ash.
Bella took a sharp breath. What were they talking about?
‘Yes, I am sure. I haven’t thought of much else lately.’ Her mum again. ‘It’s time we told her. We need to talk to Bella and tell her the truth.’ Bella was on high alert when she heard her name being mentioned. Why were they arguing about her?
‘Look, I will respect your decision and support you. Of course I will. I . . . I just don’t get why we need to do it right now.’
‘Because . . . as I have already told you,’ said her mum now speaking extremely slowly but loudly, a tell-tale sign she was close to losing the rag, ‘she has been asking lots of questions about where she came from. She even went and confronted Luke Giles, for God’s sake. And I have had enough of all of this. That was the final straw. I always said there would be a time when we would need to tell her the truth. And I know for a fact that the time is right now. I just can’t lie anymore. It’s not fair on Bella or on any of us.’
‘I know, I do understand that,’ said Ash, with a loud sigh. ‘I just wasn’t expecting us to be having this kind of reunion. I guess I would have liked to have a bit more time to mentally prepare.’
‘Mentally prepare?’ shrieked her mum. ‘God, you can be a total eejit at times. Will you listen to yourself. You’ve had plenty of time to get your head round all of this.’
Bella stood frozen in the hallway unsure whether to move. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. They were all meant to be excited to be reunited again and drinking glasses of fizz together. Shouldn’t they be gathered around the table eating Rosie’s famous spicy sausage pasta and catching up on what everyone had been doing since they had last been in the same room together? Having a massive fallout should not be on the agenda.
‘Hey,’ said Rosie, more softly. ‘Ssh. Come on, Bella might hear you. This isn’t the way to do it. In fact, I wonder where she is. She’s been in the loo for ages.’
Just then Bella swung the door open and stood surveying the scene in front of her. Ash was white-faced and standing by the wood-burning stove, her mum’s face was streaked with tears and Rosie sat on the sofa with Coisty tucked in tightly beside her. He managed a feeble wag of his tail, clearly aware that something wasn’t right in the house.
‘Bella,’ gasped her mum, rushing over to her and giving her a hug.
Bella was tense in her mum’s arms and she took a step back. She could feel the blood rushing to her head and she bit her bottom lip as she tried to keep the tears at bay. ‘Does anyone want to tell me what this is all about? Why are you all shouting at each other?’
Her mum crossed her arms and stared pointedly at Ash, who now walked to Bella and pulled her into a hug. ‘It is so good to see you, darling.’
Then all of the jagged jigsaw pieces of Bella’s life started to slowly slot together as she realised what they were arguing about. She untangled herself from Ash’s arms and surveyed the scene. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what the missing piece was. Bella couldn’t quite believe she hadn’t fathomed it until now. Yet it all made perfect sense. The answer had been right in front of her all along. Nobody spoke and the only sound she could hear was the tick of the grandfather clock in the corner. Bella stared at her mum and then she turned and looked at Ash.
‘Is it true?’ she said in a whisper as she looked again at her mum for confirmation and then back again towards Ash.
