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“Don’t be daft. You could always take Ellie with you.”
“It’s like a five-hour drive. That long in the car wouldn’t be fun for either of us.”
“Take the train. You can get directly into London and it’s pretty quick.”
“I might look into it. If the train schedule works out I’ll take it as a sign to go. If not, we’ll stay put.”
“Let me know what you decide. But I really think you should go if you can. A little weekend adventure will be fun.”
After ending the call, Beth sank to the edge of the bed and opened a browser on her phone to check the train timetable. There was a train leaving in an hour. It took three and a half hours to get to Paddington Station, which was a lot faster than driving.
With a jolt of determination, Beth turned to Ellie. “Would you like to visit Trystan today?”
“Not really, Mummy.”
“You’re still half asleep, aren’t you?” Beth smiled gently. “By the time you wake up properly, you’ll think it’s a good idea. We can go on the train, and we’ll get to see where Trystan lives. There are lots of fun things to do in London.”
“Can we go to the shop where Trystan bought my nail stickers?”
“I think there are probably more fun things we can do, but we could also ask Trystan about that.”
“Can I take my nail stickers so I can do Trystan’s nails?”
“Yes. And you should take toys and books for the train. Grab a few things for your backpack. We’ll need to leave soon.”
Ellie moved annoyingly slowly while Beth encouraged her to get ready and eat some breakfast. They should have had plenty of time but ended up dashing onto the train just in the nick of time. It was a relief to find that it wasn’t busy and they got four seats and a table to themselves. With her colouring book and crayons, Ellie was kept quietly entertained for the first hour, then they killed a little more time going to the buffet car.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Beth asked when Ellie lacked enthusiasm for the snacks they’d picked out.
“Only a bit,” she said, taking another bite of the muffin before picking up her carton of orange juice.
Beth sipped her coffee. “Do you want to do more colouring?”
“No. Are we nearly at Trystan’s house?”
“It’s still a bit further. We’ll have to get a taxi from the train station when we arrive in London.” It struck her that the surprise approach might be utterly foolish. She told herself that if things went wrong, they could find a hotel for the night and do some sightseeing, then shook the thought from her head. There was no way Trystan would turn them away. He’d be delighted to see them. Beth imagined his face lighting up at the sight of them on the doorstep.
“It’s a very long way,” Ellie said, breaking Beth’s thoughts.
“Not really. And it’s nice being on the train, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know,” Ellie said, unconvinced.
“Shall I read you a story?”
“Yes, please.” Ellie slouched in her seat as Beth read to her. Then she switched to quietly looking out of the window while Beth finished her coffee and polished off the snacks.
The closer they got to London, the more she grappled with doubts. What if Trystan really wasn’t pleased to see them? She’d be left heartbroken and stranded in London. In an attempt to quieten the noise in her head, she messaged Dee. They had a short exchange before Beth got frustrated and called her instead.
“Tell me this isn’t the most stupid thing I’ve ever done,” she said in a panic. “Because it’s really starting to feel like it. What if he’s not happy to see us? He was distant with me all last week … maybe I should have taken that as a hint to back off, not force myself on him.”
“Being a bit distant can mean anything. From what you’ve told me it’s more likely he was just tired and stressed. You said he was having a busy week with work.”
“Yeah.” Beth let out a long breath. “That could have been it.”
“And last weekend he was definitely happy to see you again?”
“Yes.” She thought of how eager he’d been to visit and how enthusiastic he’d been at seeing her again. “Okay. This is good. I feel calmer. But do you think I should call him and give him a heads up?”
