‘Good. Because that means I can learn from you when you set up your animal-assisted therapy here. If you’re going to learn from someone, might as well learn from the best.’
Tears clouded my eyes and my throat tightened as I nodded.
‘Hear, hear!’ Jude declared. ‘Your mum’s absolutely the best of the best.’
‘What do you think, Mum?’ Maddie asked.
I forced down the lump and blinked back my tears. ‘I think that’s a brilliant idea.’
‘So do I,’ Mam said. ‘And it means we don’t have to change that strapline on our website.’
‘Four women, three generations, one vision,’ we chorused, smiling at each other.
Less than two months ago, I could never have predicted that Maddie would be turning down a place at university to stay at Hazelwick Farm. The angry young woman who’d vehemently declared she didn’t want to be an animal-assisted therapist anymore because she didn’t want to be like me now wanted to learn from me. What an incredible turnaround and what aprivilege it was to be part of this winning team, united in our passion for the healing power of animals. And cake.
50
Nine days after the A level results came out, Maddie turned eighteen. It fell on a Saturday and, despite being offered a day off, Maddie had chosen to work but was going to finish a couple of hours early to get ready for a barbeque for family and friends tonight.
Laurie wasn’t coming but Maddie would be spending a week in Finland next month ahead of starting her Open University course in October. He’d clearly taken in what I’d said about a lot of making up to do with her and was in regular contact now. They weren’t as close as Maddie and me, but they never had been. Our marriage hadn’t been the only thing to suffer from all that time working abroad.
He also kept in touch with me, albeit via WhatsApp, and I’d been delighted to learn that he’d taken my advice around therapy. He’d found the first few sessions incredibly difficult because opening up about his feelings was so alien to him, but he’d heard my voice in his head telling him to stick with it and he was starting to feel a real difference now. I was glad for him. I didn’t want to be close friends with him anymore but he was the father of my daughter and I wished him well.
Maddie was expecting driving lessons for her birthday from Mam, Laurie and me but we’d also all clubbed in together and bought her a small preloved car which had been hiding under a tarpaulin in one of the barns for the past week.
‘No birthday girl yet?’ Caleb asked, joining Mam, Jude, Ned and me in the kitchen and planting a gentle kiss on my lips before adding a card and gift bag to the pile on the table.
‘You’ve timed it perfectly. I can hear her moving around upstairs. Is the car outside?’
He handed me the car key. ‘All ready.’
Everything was going incredibly well with Caleb. He was such a key part of my life now that it was hard to imagine a time when he hadn’t been in it, which was strange considering he’d been a complete stranger a little over two months ago.
‘Looking good in here,’ he said, smiling at the birthday banners and balloons spread around the kitchen alongside large printed photos of Maddie from previous birthdays.
‘Why’s the kitchen door clos—’ Maddie called as she pushed it open and jumped as we popped confetti cannons and sang a chorus of ‘Happy Birthday to You’.
Maddie shook confetti from her hair and worked her way round us all with hugs. Even though it was early, we popped open a bottle of prosecco and all had half a glass to toast to Maddie officially becoming an adult.
She opened her cards and gifts, thanking us all profusely. She’d dropped some exceptionally unsubtle hints about various pieces of jewellery she liked so Jude and Ned had bought her a necklace and matching earrings and Caleb had chosen a bracelet. I handed her a gift bag containing a pair of L plates,The Highway Code, a book containing theory test questions and printed confirmation of a batch of ten driving lessons, the first one being on Monday.
‘There’s something else outside,’ I said, heading towards the door.
The large red gift bow that Caleb had attached to the windscreen wipers looked amazing.
‘That’s never for me!’ Maddie cried, turning to me, eyes wide.
‘It is. It’s from your dad, Nanna and me. Happy birthday, sweetheart.’
‘Oh, my God! My own car! I can’t believe it!’
I opened the driver’s door for her and handed her the key. Maddie clambered in, placed her hands on the wheel and pretended to drive before running her fingers over the dashboard.
‘I love it!’ she cried, hugging me and Mam when she got out.
Mam handed her a gift bag containing a metal guinea pig keyring and a soft toy guinea pig for inside the car.
‘I can’t believe you’ve bought me a car,’ Maddie said when we returned inside.
