style="font-size:15px;"> Dad’s easy smile vanished and he came over to put an arm around me. He knew exactly why seeing Maggie Cunningham was a bad thing. He led me over to the top of the stairs and we sat down.
‘And how did that go, as if I need to ask.’
‘About as well as could be expected. She basically told me to sod off back to London and never tip up in Luna Bay again.’
‘So you didn’t talk about –?’
‘No.’ I cut him off before he said the words that would hurt more than anything else. ‘She made it clear she still blames me for what happened all those years ago. Maybe she’s right Dad, maybe I should just go back to London and never come here again.’
He squeezed my shoulder and pulled me in for a hug. ‘Don’t listen to her Lucy. This is your home and you’ve as much right to be here as she has. All that bad stuff happened eight years ago now; time makes people move on.’
He’s right, I thought, I just wish it didn’t hurt so much after all this time.
‘Yeah you’re right,’ I replied. ‘I’m only here for a few days anyway then I’ll be heading off back to London.’
The thought of going back made me feel sick. I had no job to go to and probably no flat either. With only George’s income, we’d likely have to give up our Kentish Town flat and either find other people to stay with or look for a place we could afford. I hated the thought of the little world I’d created being torn apart. It was safe and ordered and now everything would be turned upside down.
‘You don’t have to go rushing off if you don’t want to. Why don’t you stay a while, go round some of your old haunts? Your mum and me would be delighted to have you here for a bit.’
I could feel his kind blue eyes on me; it was as though he knew about everything that had happened in London and was trying to give me a way out of going back.
Before I could answer, the front door opened and Mum appeared with George in tow. Her eyes widened with horror as she realised her house looked like a scene from The Little Mermaid. My best friend looked equally unimpressed. He looked like he’d stepped into a parallel universe with no clue what to do.
‘DAVID!!’ she yelled. ‘WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?’
Dad took that as his cue to run downstairs and work his magic charms on her.
‘Don’t worry Elaine; I’ll have it sorted in no time. Just you wait and see!’
‘How have you managed this?! I thought it was a minor plumbing problem!’
‘Well, you know how it is love; these old houses just surprise you sometimes, don’t they? It started out minor but it’s gone a bit… Well a bit further than that now! Still, Lucy and I will have it sorted it out in no time!’
Mum gestured to George, ‘You’ll have to get this one here to help you instead. Lucy and I have an appointment at the solicitor’s to sort out Mum’s will. Come on you!’ she called to me.
‘Come on then lad.’ Dad came down and slung an arm round George’s shoulder. ‘We’ll have this trouble sorted out in no time.’
My best friend nodded but didn’t look too sure of himself. He wasn’t exactly a dab hand at DIY and usually ended up making a small problem much worse. Unfortunately for him, my dad was very much the same.
Running down the stairs to grab my jacket, I felt anticipation knotting in my stomach. I was more than a little annoyed that my escape plans had been derailed, but I was also quite excited to see what the solicitor had in store for us.
***
‘A house? Nana Lily left me a house?!’
Mr Shields, the solicitor, looked at me through his small round spectacles. He looked like he belonged in a Charles Dickens novel with his billows of white hair, long pointed nose and gangly frame.
‘Indeed she did, Miss Harper. She instructed me to bequeath Rose Cottage on Beach Road, Luna Bay to you, provided some conditions are met.’
I didn’t know what to make of that. I’d loved Rose Cottage growing up and it had been the scene of so many happy childhood memories. Under normal circumstances I’d have been happy to inherit it. But given that I wasn’t planning to stick around in Luna Bay, Rose Cottage was a beautiful spanner in the works. I also wondered what ‘conditions’ could possibly be attached. Nana Lily had always been full of surprises, but they usually involved an unexpected plate of fairy cakes or an extra tenner when Mum wasn’t looking. This was a whole other ball game.
‘What conditions are they?’
He handed me an envelope as a macabre grin spread across his crinkly face. ‘Perhaps this will explain it better.’
I held the letter in trembling hands and looked at Nana Lily’s wispy, fancy handwriting on the front. A lump rose in my throat; I remembered it so well from my childhood, from Christmas cards and birthdays… my nana. She’d been such a huge part of my life and had influenced me a lot when I was growing up. There were hardly any childhood memories that didn’t have her in them, from baking cakes with her to trips to the beach looking for seashells. They came filtering back into my mind, drenched in a dreamy haze. It was so good to remember them again. I turned the envelope over in my hands, all too aware that things would irrevocably change when I opened it. What I didn’t know was if it was for better or for worse.
‘Open it then!’ Mum urged, breaking through my thoughts. ‘Let’s see what’s inside.’
As my heart raced and pulse quickened, I tore open the envelope and pulled out the slightly crumpled letter.
My darling Lucy,
If you’re reading this, then I’m no longer with you. I’ll be nothing but a collection of memories (and a pot of ashes on the mantelpiece, if your mum’s listened to me! None of that burial lark for me). The day you were born was one of the happiest days of my life and I had the immense privilege of watching you grow up from a beautiful little girl into an even more beautiful woman whose kindness and morals made me proud every single day. I know what happened all those years ago was hard for you darling, but I always believed it wasn’t your fault. You were never to blame for what occurred and I hope you know that. I hated you being so far away from Luna Bay; that London can’t possibly be all it’s cracked up to be!
That’s why I’m leaving you my house. I know you’ve always loved it and you made so many happy memories there. I’d love to think of you making some more. I have some stipulations though: one is that I want YOU to live there. Luna Bay is your home and it’s not been the same since you left. I don’t want you renting it out to some bugger who won’t appreciate it; I want YOU to live there, Lucy. This village needs someone with your kindness – and that bright smile of yours will cheer the place up no end.
There’s one more thing darling: I’d like you to run my book club for three months.
I reached the end of the page and had to do a double take. A book club?! That couldn’t be right, surely! I turned the page to find out more.
You’re
