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Chapter 11
Lili stood outside the hospital entrance. She was feeling some trepidation about what this visit might throw up after her recent trip to the school. She took a deep breath. She was about to walk inside when her mobile rang, stopping her in her tracks.
‘Lili, are you okay?’
‘Nate, I’m at the hospital. Did the children tell you I’m visiting Joseph? I will be back as quick as I can. I hope you don’t mind …’
‘Not at all. William said you took a taxi. I could have given you a lift.’
‘I know, but I didn’t want to disturb you and your father.’ She paused. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘More than okay. That conversation was long overdue.’
Lili thought so too.
‘He wants to see more of Maisie’s work.’
‘Look, about that …’ Lili knew it was time to come clean about Maisie not being her daughter, and her fictitious friendship with Joseph, but she couldn’t do it over the phone.
‘I asked Dad, and he is going to take on your case.’
‘My case?’
‘You know, finding the benefactor who paid for your schooling.’
Lili stared at the hospital entrance.
‘It’s nice of you to visit Joseph. You can tell me how he is when you get back.’
‘I will.’ Lili walked through the door. She knew her visit wasn’t altruistic. She was only there to examine his ring and find out if it had an inscription on the inside of the band, just like hers.
She spotted Joseph’s room up ahead. She looked about her, keen to see him before any other visitors turned up. ‘Look, I’ve got to go …’
‘Will you stay?’ Nate asked.
‘Pardon?’ Lili didn’t understand the question.
‘Here, in Aldeburgh. Don’t go back to London. Maisie could enrol in the local school …’
They’d had this conversation before. She winced as she said, ‘We’ll see …’
He went quiet, aware she was fobbing him off. She knew that when she returned to the house, it was time to tell him the truth. Lili sighed. ‘I have to go now, Nate.’
‘Okay.’
She could tell by the sound of his voice that he was disappointed. ‘We’ll talk when I get back.’
‘Great, I’m looking forward to it,’ he said, sounding more cheerful.
Lili switched off her phone. She didn’t think he would be very cheerful when he heard what she had to say. She wished she had told everyone from the outset that Maisie wasn’t her daughter and Joseph was not a friend. Nothing good ever came from withholding the truth – she knew that.
Lili walked up to Joseph’s room and hesitated. She was thinking of Ray taking on the case of the mysterious benefactor. Her life wasn’t perfect at that moment – far from it. She had enough problems with the breakup of her relationship. Was she ready to open the door to her past? Where would it lead, and who would it lead to?
Lili wavered. In her heart, she had a strong feeling that once she stepped into that room, there was no going back. She could walk away now and tell Ray she did not want his help. Leave the past in the past.
Connie’s advice came to mind once again:only ever look back to see how far you’ve come. What was in her past that Connie did not want her to find out? Lili thought of Nate reconciling with his father. She had a feeling he could not move on with his life until they had buried the hatchet. It was what they both needed; to sort out those unresolved issues.
Lili stared at the old man in the hospital bed. She had gone through her life with nobody. She’d had people in her corner – Hannah and Maisie, Alex (before they’d split up, anyway), her close circle of friends back in London, and colleagues at Kew. They were important, of course they were, but she didn’t have what she saw with Nate and William, Ray and Sarah. A family of her own; the special bond that only relatives could provide.
