Lucy winced. She wasn’t surprised at her beloved granny’s reaction but it didn’t make it any easier. ‘But I will have my family. I will have you and mum and dad, and Ollie. And my friends. We will be enough to look after the baby. And I would love itsomuch. Being a mother is the one thing I want more than anything and I just can’t accept that it won’t happen. Please try to understand…’ Lucy felt her eyes welling up with tears.
‘I’m sorry, Lucy, but I really don’t agree with it. Perhaps I am too set in my ways, but it just seems selfish to bring a baby into the world just because you want one. If you are meant to have a child then God will give you one. You will meet a man and have a baby the way nature intended. And I am sure that it will happen, you aren’t past it yet, darling!’
‘I’m not so sure about that,’ said Lucy.
Annie raised her eyebrows and chuckled to herself at the utter absurdity of the suggestion. She shook her head and reached for her book.
Lucy blinked away a few tears and picked up her magazine. She understood that the conversation was closed. It would be too much to tell Annie that she had already had not one but two rounds of treatment. She had to hope that if she fell pregnant, Annie would come round to the idea and accept it. But for now, she would have to leave it at that. Talking about it further would just upset Annie, and that was the last thing Lucy wanted.
After eating some sandwiches from the buffet car, Annie drifted off for an afternoon nap, not another word on the topic was mentioned. Lucy followed suit. She thought there was something incredibly soothing about the rhythmic chugging of the train. Ever since she was little, Lucy had loved dozing in the back of a car, on trains or airplanes, during any long journey, finding the thrum of the engine naturally soporific.
Having slumbered on and off for the rest of the journey, they found themselves arriving at Bodmin Parkway in no time. As always, the reliable Ginny was there waiting for them in her Land Rover. Scatty though she may be, she had never once missed a train’s arrival or departure.
They made their way home through the winding lanes in record time. As they parked outside the cottage, Tiggy raced up to the car, barking and wagging her tail in an ecstatic greeting, sniffing their luggage to see if they concealed any doggy treats for her delectation. They opened the door just as Ollie was padding down the stairs into the hall, rubbing his eyes sleepily, his hair perfecting the just-out-of-bed look much sought after by surfers and teenagers alike.
‘Granny Annie!’ he cried as he came over to the door. ‘Don’t you look gorgeous! You haven’t aged a bit since the last time I saw you!’
‘Oh, Ollie, you charming young man. Come here and give your ancient granny a kiss!’ she chuckled, pointing to her wrinkled cheek and puckering her bright red lips.
Having kissed his grandma, Ollie turned his attention to Lucy. ‘Sis!’ he teased, giving her a massive bear hug, ‘You don’t look too bad either!’
‘Thanks Ols,’ she said, shoving him in the ribs. ‘Have you ever heard of the saying “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”?!’
‘Oy! This is a carefully styled casual chic look, I’ll have you know,’ he said playfully, pouting and striking a pose.
‘I think you look very handsome,’ said Granny Annie, taking him by the arm and leading him into the kitchen.
Just at that moment Gus came in from the garden, wiping his feet on the doormat. He was blue from the cold, having been fixing the fence all morning; Tiggy had managed to find a new escape route.
‘Lucy darling, Annie… you’ve arrived in one piece!’ he said, kissing them both.
Lucy looked at her bespectacled, kind old father, covered in mud stains and shivering, and felt a rush of fondness. She went straight over to the Aga to put the kettle on, offering to make him a cup of tea to warm him up.
Ginny helped her fetch the teapot and cups, unveiling her speciality: a freshly baked chocolate cake covered in thick butter icing which she placed in the centre of the pine table, prompting a flurry of applause from Ollie, Annie, Lucy and Gus. They ate the cake, as light and fluffy as air, the icing gooey and sticky on their fingers, and sipped cups of steaming tea. It felt so good to be home again.
Lucy grilled Ollie about Sofia, and wanted to hear all about the job he had found himself in Buenos Aires, working in a wine bar. She thought about planning a trip to go and see him there, after all it was about time she went to visit him again. She had had a wonderful time in Thailand the last time they had met up on their travels. Though it might depend on whether her second cycle of treatment had worked, of course. She only had another few days left to wait until she would find out. She felt nervous butterflies flutter in her gut at the thought and sent up another silent prayer.
After tea, Ollie and Lucy pulled on their winter wetsuits and walked down to the beach with their trusty old bodyboards under their arms.
‘So, sis, how’s the baby plan working out for you?’ asked Ollie.
‘It’s still in motion,’ said Lucy. ‘Though my plans are currently shelved until the new year.’ She didn’t want him to know that she would be doing a test any day now. It was easier to keep it to herself.
‘Sensible,’ said Ollie. ‘Who wants a booze-free Christmas?’
‘My sentiments exactly!’ laughed Lucy. ‘I told Granny on the train.’
‘Woah… how did that go down?’ asked Ollie, looking at his sister with raised eyebrows.
‘Let’s just say the conversation is closed. I think it’s probably best if we don’t talk about it again.’
‘She didn’t agree with your decision?’
‘No. She can’t get past the idea that a baby needs a father.’
‘I kind of thought that’s how she’d react.’
‘You can’t really blame her, I suppose,’ said Lucy.
