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‘I should have come before,’ I tell Gran, ‘but you know how funny Mum always was about Dad’s family.’
‘Your great-aunt Monica is mad as a bandicoot, I wouldn’t rely on her to remember anything accurately,’ Gran says, clearing her throat.
‘What about Bad Granny, do we even know if she’s still alive?’ I ask, smiling at the nickname Mum had for her mother-in-law. Apparently, they had some ‘Big Falling-out’ after Dad’s funeral, and Dad’s mum, Sue, cut off all contact.
‘You shouldn’t call her that,’ Gran says sternly. ‘She and your mother might not have seen eye-to-eye, but she buried her son and her mother within a few months of each other. That would take its toll on anyone.’ Gran goes quiet on the line. Then in a small, worried voice she says, ‘I wish you’d told me you were planning on going there, Laura. It was complicated, your mother’s relationship with your father’s family. Grief can make people behave in peculiar ways.’
Gran’s tone takes me by surprise. I thought she’d be excited to hear about my Jersey adventure, that she would be pleased I’m doing something positive.
‘I didn’t know I was coming myself until two days ago,’ I say defensively. ‘And I doubt I’ll even get a chance to see Aunt Monica. I’m flying back on Sunday night. She might not get my postcard in time, and I couldn’t find a phone number or an email address for her. You don’t have her contact details do you, besides her address?’
‘I’m afraid not. Well, just try to enjoy having a change of scene,’ Gran says, her voice back to its normal volume. ‘Did you take David with you?’
‘Oh. No.’ I should never have introduced David to Gran, we were only together for a total of four months, it was too soon. ‘David and I broke up.’ I’ve been avoiding telling her this for three weeks.
‘Oh Laura, no! Why? I liked David. He had such lovely clean nails.’
Trust Gran to notice these things.
‘Um. Yes, I liked him too.’ I glance at the driver, to see if he seems to be listening to my conversation; he doesn’t. ‘It didn’t feel like what Mum and Dad had; we didn’t have enough in common. I don’t think he was my person, Gran.’
‘Laura! This yardstick you’re using …’ she trails off. ‘I think your mother painted you a rather rosy picture of life with your father, but it was not perfect by any means. You shouldn’t use her relationship as a benchmark for potential suitors.’
I smile at Gran’s old-fashioned idea of ‘suitors’, as though there’s a line of men wearing Regency fashion, waiting to mark my dance card.
‘Maybe she ruined my chance of happiness by setting the bar so high.’ I’m teasing her now, but Gran doesn’t laugh.
‘Look, I want to talk about all this properly, Laura, but Pam’s just arrived with more wood glue so I’m going to have to call you back.’
Gran and her friend Pam make miniature architectural models out of matchsticks. They spend months on each creation and, despite my concerns about them being a fire hazard, her bungalow is stuffed full of them.
‘OK, happy gluing – love to Pam,’ I say, hanging up the call.
Gran has always kept herself busy, as though perpetual motion might help her elude feeling sad. We do talk about Mum, but Gran’s of a generation who see grief as a wound to be licked in private. One weekend when I wouldn’t get out of bed, she accused me of being a ‘Wallowing Wendy’. I called her a ‘Forget-About-It Fiona’ and a ‘Move-Along Mandy’, and then we both started laughing and crying at the same time. I got up and that was the end of the conversation. That’s how it goes with Gran sometimes. Her own husband, a grandad I never met, walked out when Mum was five, so I think Gran got used to taking care of herself.
My gaze drifts out of the window. Though it’s getting dark, I can still see some kind of castle or fortress in the sea to my left. I glance back at the cab driver, whose eyes are still firmly on the road. What a strange job being a cabbie must be, listening to hundreds of one-sided phone conversations, being privy to snapshots of people’s unfiltered lives.
The airport is quiet, hardly any cars around and no planes in the sky.
‘If you’re just going in to swap your bag, do you want me to wait?’ asks the driver. ‘There won’t be any cabs on the rank now, so you’d need to call for one.’
‘Oh, if you don’t mind waiting, that would be great. Thank you,’ I say, surprised at his thoughtfulness. Though perhaps it’s less a case of him being thoughtful, and more of wanting to monetise his journey back into town. Either way, I’ll take it. I grab the suitcase from the boot and hurry through to Departures.
The terminal is deserted, except for a woman behind one of the airline desks. She has short bobbed black hair and fifties-style red-rimmed glasses.
‘Hi.’ I beam at her. ‘I wonder if you can help me? Arrivals is closed, but I picked up the wrong bag when I came in from London earlier. Whoever’s bag I have, I think they must have mine.’
‘Sure, you can leave it here with me,’ says the woman, holding out her hand.
‘But what about mine?’ I ask, making no move to give her the case. ‘Has it been handed in? If someone called, I’m happy to go and make the swap in person.’
The woman wearily checks her watch then picks up a telephone on her desk. She punches a few numbers into the keypad and gazes at me as she lets it ring.
‘No one left anything in the baggage hall, and nothing’s been reported to me,’ she says, hanging up the phone and shaking her head. ‘Best leave it here and call about your bag in the morning. Don’t worry, it will turn up, they always do.’
I grip the handle of the suitcase firmly.
‘No, I’d rather swap the bags in person. Can’t you look on the passenger list to see who owns this one? His name is here, J. Le Maistre – we could call him? He might not have realised the mistake yet.’
