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Chapter Thirty-One
Kirsty pulled up outside her dad’s house and sat for a minute, giving herself a chance to collect her thoughts. The past couple of days since Emma’s arrival had been busy and she yawned, realizing just how tired she was. She now just really hoped Emma would get a chance to talk to Max. Looking up, she saw Dad standing at the window. She waved but he didn’t respond and just kept looking out beyond her. She frowned and got out the car.
‘Hi, Dad,’ she called, opening the door.
‘Hello, dear.’
Kirsty walked into the room, but her dad remained where he was and when she went over to hug him, she noticed the glassy look in his usual warm, brown eyes. ‘Is everything okay?’ she said noticing the tear that slid down his cheek.
‘I couldn’t find her earlier.’
‘Who?’ said Kirsty, fearing she knew exactly what he was going to say.
‘Your mum. I was looking for her and I couldn’t find her anywhere and then I remembered that she’s gone . . .’
Kirsty wrapped her arms around him. ‘Oh, Dad. Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll make you a nice cup of tea?’
‘That would be lovely, thanks, dear. I don’t know what I would do without you.’
Kirsty felt a tightening around her heart as he followed her through to the kitchen. Glancing around she saw the post-it notes that he had stuck to the cupboards to remind him what to do when he woke up in the morning. It was a plan they had devised a few months earlier when they realized he was starting to forget to do things, including eating breakfast.
Dad sat down at the breakfast bar, his hands clasped together, his head bowed. Kirsty filled the kettle and flicked it on, reaching for two pottery mugs, in shades of red and blue, from the cupboard. ‘I love these mugs,’ she said, dropping a tea bag in each and filling them with water.
‘I know,’ said her dad. ‘We got them just before your mum became proper poorly. Edie made them, didn’t she?’
Kirsty nodded. ‘That’s right. I remember that day we went out for lunch and stopped in at the gift shop afterwards. She is a talented lady, isn’t she? Remember, we couldn’t decide which ones to choose and so I bought some as well for the B&B.’
Each one of Edie’s mugs was different and she made them in shades of red, orange and blue as she said they reminded her of the changing colours of the sky. Visitors to Meadowbank always commented on them and so Kirsty would send them off in the direction of the gift shop so they could buy their own to take away. At times Edie found it hard to keep up with the demand.
He smiled as he remembered, then his face clouded over. ‘Edie will be at the wedding, won’t she?’
‘Yes, she will. Emma bumped into her on the ferry. She had been away for a few days in Pitlochry and was on her way home. She said she was looking forward to seeing us all.’
He nodded, still looking worried. ‘The flowers and the talk on the day. Those are the only things I have to remember — is that right, dear?’
‘Yes, that’s it and Tom will help you with the flowers. Becky has a copy of your speech just in case.’
‘They’re good kids, you know,’ he said wistfully.
‘Yes, we are very lucky.’ She passed his tea to him and looked inside the biscuit tin. ‘Looks like I need to restock this?’ she said, raising an eyebrow. ‘You’ve either developed a very sweet tooth or Tom has been in to see you?’
He smiled and put a finger to his lips. ‘I can’t give away secrets.’
‘You will have to do without a chocolate biscuit then as he’s cleaned you out. Do you want a digestive?’
He shook his head. ‘No thanks.’
They sat in companionable silence, sipping their tea. ‘Dad, did you and Mum always want to have children?’
He looked at her in surprise. ‘Yes, we did. Why do you ask?’
‘I just wondered why there was such a big age gap between me and Emma.’
He frowned and took a deep breath before answering. ‘Your mum had a stressful time when you were little with various things going on. She actually lost a few babies early on.’
‘She had miscarriages?’
‘Yes, several.’
