Page 116 of The Bookshop By the Loch

“Oh bugger. She’s outside? Right now? What should we do?” I asked her. “Should we tell Celeste that Corinne is here?”

“Maybe we should,” hissed Maeve, her attention being pulled away from me and up the hallway. “Oh, I think it might be too late for that.”

Fletcher Young was standing at the residential home entrance. Hovering in front of him was Corinne, clutching a mixed bouquet of pastel roses and lilies.

She stood, casting her eyes around for a few moments, until Maeve hurried over to her. I followed.

Corinne hugged the bouquet. “I’m so sorry for turning up like this.”

Maeve tried to bite back a ball of emotion. “Don’t be. It’s wonderful you changed your mind.”

They exchanged awkward smiles and then Maeve encouraged Corinne to follow her. “Come on. Mum is going to be thrilled.”

Fletcher gave his wife an encouraging nod from the doorway and vanished.

Corinne suddenly looked like she wasn’t sure why she was there. She drew up. She was dressed in slim-fitting white trousers and a frilly, summery top. “Talk about impulsive,” she said into the bouquet she was holding. “I did think about ringing you first and then I thought that if I did that, I might end up bottling it. So here I am.”

Maeve brushed aside her concerns. “It’s fine.”

I issued Corinne with a supportive beam. “Celeste will be beside herself.” I hesitated. “Can I ask what made you change your mind?”

“Not what. Who.” She blushed, glancing back up the hallway to where Fletcher had been standing moments before. “My husband talks a lot of sense when he sets his mind to it.”

We moved in unison down the carpeted hallway and clustered around Celeste’s closed door. Corinne steeled herself. “Is this her room?”

From inside, we could make out the murmured conversation between Tobias and Celeste.

Maeve nodded. “Ready?”

Celeste placed one nervous hand across her stomach. “Right. Yes.”

Maeve swept the door open.

Celeste angled her head as she sat in her wheelchair, chatting to Tobias. She stared at Corinne for a few seconds, a bemused smile on her face. Then one of her hands flew to her mouth.

“Hello, Celeste,” managed Corinne, her voice cracking.

Celeste let out a stunned breath. “Corinne?”

Corinne nodded and gripped her bouquet of flowers tighter.

Celeste’s eyes glistened. “My girl. Oh, my girl. Come here.”

The next few minutes were a blur of stunned expressions, sobs and exclamations, followed by tentative handholding.

Tobias rose to help Maeve get Celeste comfortable in her armchair. Then he sidled up to me, as a tear-stained Corinne lowered herself in front of Celeste’s armchair to talk to her.

“Do you think we should leave them to it?” he murmured.

“Yes. That’s a good idea.”

Maeve was about to vacate the room too, but Celeste wouldn’t hear of it. She shot out one hand and gently took her younger daughter’s wrist. “You two are sisters. We’re family here. I have my girls. Both of them!”

Maeve promised to text me later with a full debrief and so Tobias and I exited and left them to it.

We both stood together in the hallway. Further up, there were bursts of radio programmes and TV shows emanating from cracks in half-open doors and the sweet scent of fresh flowers from the summer room.

Tobias made a satisfied sigh. “It looks like things might be sorting themselves out.”