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But she didn’t want to be a lecturer. Teaching wasn’t for her, which was why she worked at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Cataloguing artefacts, Freya dreamed of her big break, joining an Egyptian dig and visiting the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria by the Mediterranean Sea. The new library had been built in homage to the Library of Alexandria that had been, until it was lost to antiquity, one of the largest libraries in the ancient world.
Alice turned from the lounge door, the estate agent’s letter still in her hand, thoughts of Theo getting through the first round of interviews for the new position interrupted by the sound of Jeffrey still chatting to their daughter in the lounge. She recalled that first conversation over putting the house on the market. She’d been stunned by the suggestion at first, after they had worked all their lives for the house. It was all going to go to Freya in the end anyway. Why did Alice and Jeffrey have to turn their lives upside down now? She knew why. If Theo and Freya wanted to stay living in Cambridge, they needed a hefty deposit. The Bank of Mum and Dad had savings, but nowhere near enough to help them on the property ladder – unless they sold the house. Freya and her partner had been on track saving for a deposit, then along with Theo being made redundant, there had been a housing boom and prices had shot up way beyond their reach. They’d need more deposit money. And to top the situation off, as soon as the young couple’s landlord had found out that Theo had lost his job, he had given them notice to quit because he’d wanted to sell up. And here they all were.
They had a lot riding on this sale; they’d had an offer accepted on a little cottage in Grantchester, a village walkable distance from Cambridge. There was also a lot riding on Theo getting another job, and more importantly, Alice agreeing to go through with selling the house.
Alice sighed. Freya and Jeffrey were talking about the property market yet again. They’d marketed the house just before Theo had lost his job. Unfortunately, even if Theo secured another position – and soon, so their mortgage offer wasn’t withdrawn – getting a buyer so quickly on their own property in Cambridge would not do Freya and Theo any favours if Alice and Jeffrey didn’t find a new place that suited them to buy. After so many years of living in the same property, finding another house to call home was going to be difficult, especially for Alice.
Although she’d thought she wanted her own space back when they all moved in, the fact was that she was enjoying living together with her family. She’d miss Theo, and she’d miss Freya walking in after a day at the museum, telling her all about her day, the new artefacts the museum had acquired, and how her PhD was going. Alice had even borrowed some of her daughter’s books for her own course that she was starting, and had been enjoying chatting about their shared interest. It reminded her of when Freya used to live at home before she moved out.
Alice had never expected that Freya would have the same love of archaeology that she did. She couldn’t talk to Jeffrey about it as she could talk to Freya. Of course, Jeffrey would listen, but she could tell he was only being polite. He wasn’t all that interested, although he did like the sound of a trip to The Valley of the Kings in Egypt when he retired.
When Alice saw Theo and Freya together, cuddled up on the sofa, or getting ready for a date night at the theatre or cinema or a club, it reminded her of a time gone by – the time just before she and Jeffrey had bought this house, when they had gone on holiday to that guest house. The time before Freya arrived on the scene. ‘You know, it doesn’t sound a bad idea. We could get a little rental, travel, maybe even go on that round-the-world cruise I’ve had my eye on, or a road trip in a campervan.’
Alice stopped in her tracks as she passed the lounge door, her thoughts interrupted.Run that by me again, she felt like saying when she overheard her husband. She frowned. Had Freya suggested to Jeffrey that if they couldn’t find something they wanted to buy, and put a chain together, then the solution was to sell up anyway and go into rented?
Chapter 2
‘That’s settled then,’ she heard Jeffrey say.
Settled? She stared at the door. Did he really think they were going to move into rented accommodation? Alice shook her head. When it came to their daughter, he was always the biggest soft touch.
Alice thrust the letter from the agent into her pocket and walked into the kitchen.
‘Oh, Mum, I didn’t realise you were up.’
She stared at Freya. Why did her daughter think she would still be in bed at nine o’clock in the morning? Maybe because she was retired. And she had been avoiding Freya since the house had gone on the market, feeling absurdly childish, as though it were Freya’s fault. Which it was. In a way. But as Jeffrey had pointed out, why wait until they were six feet under to help their daughter out? Why not now?
Freya tucked a strand of her brown hair behind her ear. Alice couldn’t decide whether it was the way she dressed, younger than her years, or her small, slight frame, but Freya, in her blue dungarees, checked shirt and Doc Marten boots didn’t look in her mid-twenties, but in her late teens.
Freya cast her dark eyes over at her mother. ‘I’m not sure this job is going to work out for Theo.’
‘Really?’ Alice was surprised. ‘He didn’t say anything to me. In fact, he seemed very upbeat this morning.’
‘I just got this feeling. It’s all about networking, y’know. We went along to the Christmas office party of the firm where he’d been made redundant. He thought it would be a good way to network, which is how he got this interview.’
Alice and Jeffrey exchanged a glance, reading in each other’s expressions the same thought. Neither of them were sure what this had to do with his interview.
Freya frowned. ‘I asked him what was going on but, typical Theo, he said he didn’t want to talk about it. I did say I hoped it didn’t have anything to do with those silly DNA kits that were handed out by the executive of the American company who was at the party. And before you ask, yes, it was the company he is having the interview with this morning.’
Alice turned to look at her husband. He’d gone as white as a sheet. Alice turned to look at Freya. ‘What was that about a DNA testing kit?’ Alice asked, hoping her nonchalant tone didn’t betray her.
‘Oh, it’s all the rage in America to give these kits as presents. Just not Theo’s thing. So, I reckon they’re going to ask, and he probably won’t lie and say we’re going to use ours.’
Alice heard her husband breathe an audible sigh of relief. He said, ‘I’m sure that won’t affect his chances of getting the job.’
‘Yeah, you’re probably right. I suppose I’m just being paranoid that things won’t go our way and he won’t get another job just when we need it.’
Alice knew she was referring to buying their own place.
‘Anyway, about selling the house. I know you haven’t found anything you like yet …’
Alice frowned. It wasn’t for want of looking. The trouble was that after living in their house for so long, it was going to be a wrench to leave. Besides, it wasn’t as though she’d had a lot of time to get her head around the thought of moving, let alone putting the house on the market and going through with it. Now she felt under immense pressure to find somewhere.
Their buyers, a couple with a young family, were after moving in soon, so they could get the children settled into the local primary school. Alice was surprised it had sold so quickly. She was aware the house needed updating, but the young couple were looking for a home in Cambridge so they could settle down and raise their family, and they were happy to put their own stamp on the place. Alice liked that the house had been sold to a family rather than investors. However, it still didn’t change the way she felt; it was all proceeding too fast.
‘Look, Dad and I had an idea …’ Freya said, looking at Alice sheepishly.
Alice had already overheard their idea about letting the sale go through and moving into rented. She caught Jeffrey throwing her a sheepish look, too. ‘I overheard what you two were talking about. I am not moving into rental accommodation.’ Alice had nothing against renting. It was the thought that they might never find something of their own that was the problem. That she might never find another house that she felt in her heart she could call home. She didn’t want to settle in a rented house with the possibility that after six months, they would have to move again.
