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As she neared the end of the street and caught her first glimpse of the tiny red brick cottage at the rear of the coffee house, a powerful wave of nostalgia crashed over her, almost knocking her off her feet.
A lamp glowed from behind closed floral curtains in the front room and she’d bet it was the same awful elephant lamp her mom had picked up for a song at a car trunk sale all those years ago.
Smoke billowed from the crooked chimney and she wrapped her arms around her middle, suddenly aware of the colder, crisper country air and her totally unsuitable chiffon top, the height of fashion in Melbourne, the height of stupidity here.
A shadow passed across the lit window and she gasped, the enormity of what she was about to do hitting home.
The prodigal daughter returns…but would she be welcome? Would she finally learn the truth behind her parent’s selfish actions?
Taking a deep breath, she moved forward, long, strong strides that ate up the distance between her and the cottage. She’d had the courage to leave this house, this town, in the first place, had opened her own café in a city filled with high quality competition, had thrived on every challenge thrown her way.
Surely she could do this?
She knocked on the front door and waited, clutching her bag tight, bracing herself for the inevitable confrontation and all it would entail: the recriminations, the accusations, the judgments.
However, as the door creaked open and she looked into her mother’s open-mouthed astonished face, all she wanted to dowas broach the short distance between them and fling herself into her mom’s arms.
“Cammie?”
She didn’t have to make a move as her mother catapulted her short, rotund body across the threshold and flung her arms around her in a vice-like hug, crushing the air out of her, bringing tears to her eyes with the joy in her greeting.
“Hi, Mom. Long time no see, huh?”
Blinking back tears, she waited until her mother released her, preparing for the censure that would surely follow a purely instinctive greeting.
However, as she scanned her mother’s lined face, the faded blue eyes, the quivering mouth, all she saw was undisguised happiness, and her heart turned over with regret.
Regret for leaving this reunion so long, regret for being so stubborn, but most of all, regret for the years they’d lost.
“Come in, love. Your dad’s out, but he’ll be back soon. The kettle’s on.”
And just like that, Camryn took the first tentative step to mending a fence she’d thought irrevocably broken.
As she followed her mother through the narrow hallway, she inhaled deeply, the familiar aroma of baked golden syrup and rolled oats from her mom’s signature cookies filling the air, enveloping her in warmth, assaulting her senses with vivid memories of juggling a hot cookie from hand to hand before cramming the delicious crunchy goodness into her mouth.
Her throat clogged at the memory and she swiped a hand over her eyes, only to be confronted with more memories as she lowered her hand and her misty gaze alighted on the tilted corkboard next to the fridge, bearing old Christmas cards she’d made at primary school, her first finger-painting, and her high school year photos.
“Nothing’s changed,” she murmured, her gaze sweeping over the dresser covered in imitation Wedgwood plates, the windows draped in faded gingham, the ancient Aga stove, and the worn wooden table with its four spindly-legged chairs.
“Not much changes around here,” her mother said, bustling around the kitchen as she always did, though rather than plonking her favorite chipped enamel teapot on the table she carefully placed her good china one down, the teapot she’d only ever used for ‘fancy’ guests.
Right then, it hit Camryn.
She’d become a guest in her own home: the place she’d grown up, the place she’d always felt safe, the place where she’d first dreamed of a life far, far away from here.
“Don’t stand around, love. The tea’s getting cold.”
The emotion of coming home overwhelmed Camryn and the tears started; a tiny trickle That soon became a cascading waterfall while great sobs wracked her body as she collapsed into her mother’s open arms.
“There, there, love. This has been a long time coming. Let it all out.”
She did, crying bucketloads for the lost years, while her mom rubbed her back in small, soothing circles like she had when she’d broken her arm jumping off the shed roof as a kid.
After what seemed like an eternity, Camryn’s sobs petered out and she pulled away, dashing a hand across her stinging eyes.
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Don’t worry, love. Nothing a good cry can’t fix.”
