Page 16 of The Sunrise Sisterhood

She had a sudden flashback to being jammed into the back of Dad’s old Triumph Spitfire, which Mum used to joke was held together with rust, her parents up front with the top down and wind in their hair, singing ‘I Second That Emotion’ at the tops of their voices. A happy memory, she thought, smiling. How she wished those days had gone on forever.

As soon as the music stopped, Clare quickly rapped on the door as loudly as she could and then finished with a double ring on the doorbell before the next song began.

It was another minute before the door opened and there was Mike, wearing an unbuttoned linen shirt and a short towel wrapped around his hips. His hair was wet and he was smiling, teeth bright white against tanned skin.

‘Sorry, I was … Oh, Clare!’ He looked furtively over her shoulder and down the drive as if checking there was no one else there. ‘And the baby. How lovely!’

The baby. For goodness’ sake, was it too much to ask for him to use her name?

She stepped forward and kissed his cheek.

‘Surprise!’ She did her best not to take the lacklustre welcome to heart. ‘We thought we’d pop in on the way down to Salcombe.’

‘Salcombe.’ Mike’s face slackened and he rubbed a hand through his wet hair. Clare thought she heard him swear under his breath. ‘Ah, yes, I’d forgotten.’

‘Say hello to Grandad, Ivy!’ said Clare.

But Ivy had gone shy and buried her head into her mum’s shoulder.

‘Hello, Ivy, nice to see you,’ said Mike, with forced jollity, taking the little girl’s hand and waggling it.

Clare managed not to roll her eyes. ‘She’s your granddaughter, Dad, not a client.’

‘I’m aware of that.’ He frowned. ‘But I’m not about to start talking like an imbecile to her just because she’s small.’

‘Fair enough.’ She couldn’t abide that either; all that coochy-coo stuff. ‘But I draw the line at shaking her hand.’

‘Point taken. And sorry I kept you waiting, there’s no one else in and I was in the shower.’ He gestured down at the towel.

She shrugged. ‘It’s fine, I was enjoying the music. It reminded me of Mum. She loved Smokey Robinson, didn’t she?’

He looked at her blankly. ‘Can’t remember.’

‘You must do,’ she insisted. ‘That’s why we played “You Are Forever” at her funeral.’

‘Possibly,’ he said vaguely.

She suppressed a sigh. Getting her dad to talk about her mum since her death was impossible. Clare understood that he and her mum had divorced twenty-something years ago, but surely he could go through the motions of bereavement, if only for her benefit? It did Clare good to speak about her mum.

‘Are you coming in, or …?’ He raised an enquiring eyebrow and Clare had a suspicion that he hoped the answer was ‘or’.

‘We are,’ she said, brightly. ‘I need to get Ivy’s changing bag from the car first. Will you hold her?’

‘Absolutely.’ He held his hands out. ‘Come to Mike.’

She gave him a look. ‘Grandad, you mean.’

‘Of course I do.’ He took hold of Ivy and she stared at him solemnly, her blue-green eyes wide and her little mouth pursed.

Clare dashed back to the car, smiling to herself. So far, so good. Getting her dad to hold Ivy was all part of her plan to get them to bond. Ivy was his first grandchild, that had to make her special in his eyes. And Ivy was adorable, even the stoniest heart would fall in love with her.

She retrieved the bag, slammed the car door and looked back to the porch. Mike was holding Ivy at arm’s-length, his nose screwed up in disgust.

‘Bloody hell, she absolutely reeks.’

‘Welcome to Ivy’s world,’ Clare said with a snort. ‘All part of being a grandad, I’m afraid. And watch your language. I don’t want her first word to be rude.’

He grunted and handed her back. ‘Come in, make yourself at home, while I go and get dressed.’