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It was strange meeting her friend’s children, especially when they were so grown up and she’d missed their childhood, their infanthood. She had not seen Darcie when she was pregnant and waiting for labour to begin, or when she’d been sleep deprived in those early days after the birth and later when her babies were teething and restless. She had missed so much.
‘And this is my husband, Ross.’ Darcie placed a hand on the man’s arm.
He was tall with thinning sandy hair and kind hazel eyes and he shook Ellie’s hand firmly. ‘Nice to meet you.’
‘You too,’ she said. He seemed familiar but then she’d probably seen him around the village over the years during her visits to her aunt and on Facebook when she’d seen Darcie’s photos now and then. Not that she’d seen them for quite some time but she must have at some point, even if she hadn’t taken much notice because she was scrolling through her feed in the distracted way she often did when she had things on her mind. The only things that did seem to catch her attention then were parrots singing and dancing, dogs skateboarding or those young people who liked to run and jump onto the most precarious ledges and walls, often missing and falling into water or making it by the skin of their teeth. Just thinking about those acrobatics and the risks they took made her palms clammy but she had to admit that it could be addictive viewing.
‘Shall we have a seat?’ Darcie gestured at a corner sofa near bifold doors.
‘Is there anything you need help with?’ Ellie asked as they sat down.
‘It’s fine. Cole has it all under control.’ Darcie smiled, looking over at her son who was currently instructing his dad how to stir the gravy.
‘It smells incredible,’ Ellie said.
‘Cole is amazing in the kitchen and he loves cooking, which is even better. It’s made our lives a lot easier.’ She smiled. ‘I still do things around the house, of course I do, but having help in the kitchen is wonderful. Ross has always been brilliant, mind, and we used to take it in turns cooking but now Cole does the lion’s share, so we get to focus on other things.’
‘Neither of my children were keen on cooking,’ Ellie said. ‘But they were good around the house so I couldn’t complain.’
‘What about your ex?’
Ellie grimaced. ‘Not so much.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘It’s OK. I was home more than him, so I used to take care of things. It would’ve been nice to have more help but it doesn’t matter now. We’ve both moved on.’
Her eyes flickered over to the kitchen where Finn was helping Cole and Ross, the three of them filling the kitchen with their tall frames. They looked so relaxed, like they did this all the time and knew how to work well together.
‘It must be strange seeing Finn again,’ Darcie said before taking a sip of her wine.
Heat rushed to Ellie’s cheeks at the comment but then she told herself that Darcie didn’t know aboutthatnight, so she couldn’t possibly mean what she’d said inthatway.
‘It is.’ After all, he’d rejected her and she knew he didn’t find her attractive. Then she’d moved away with her parents and so that had been that.
‘Time flies, right?’ Darcie said.
‘I can’t believe how quickly it passes. Doesn’t seem five minutes since we were Cole’s age and life was ahead of us filled with possibilities.’
‘I wouldn’t go back though,’ Darcie said. ‘It’s tough being a teen and trying to find your way in the world.’
‘Too true.’ Ellie sighed. ‘Be nice to have a few more years to play with though.’
Darcie laughed. ‘Hey, Grandma, you’ve got a few years left in you yet.’
They both laughed at that and Ellie felt some of the tension that had crept into her shoulders dissipate.
‘Gosh I hope so.’
‘Mum!’ Cole called from the kitchen area.
‘Yes, love.’
‘This is nearly ready so do you want to go to the table?’
‘Absolutely.’ Darcie placed a hand on Ellie’s arm. ‘I’ll just grab us some more wine.’
Chapter9
