that? They couldn’t round up sheep or manage the ascent of a steep coastal trail. “Where did I get Tony from?”
“No idea, love.” Cups rattled on the tray as Alice came back, and the smell of hot butter permeated the air, drifting from the small silver rack set with a few slices of toast.
“Morning,” she said. Tom understood that the shock of seeing them together like that had passed. It had been years since Alice had seen him with her mother, but he knew it must still be strange to witness this other woman in her mother’s home, a woman of whom she had heard so much and yet knew so little.
“Good morning,” replied Elizabeth. Alice handed her a mug of tea as she sat forward, squinting against the early sunlight, the sun low in the sky and too bright to see. “Your father was just telling me that Brian called,” she ventured.
“Was he now?” she asked, stringing out her words sufficiently so that even Tom, who it seemed was playing the transient deafness card, would understand her dissatisfaction at the perceived intrusion.
After a moment of silence, he decided to reply. “Well, he did. Didn’t he? I saw you checking your phone.”
Alice sat down on the arm of the settee, took a deep breath in before she spoke. “Actually, I called him, let him know what was happening.” The moment of shared understanding between his love and his daughter didn’t go unnoticed, and he wondered what he’d missed. The barrier that had seemed to exist between them the last time they were all together had been brought down, an ease and comfort taking its place. “That’s what you thought I should do, wasn’t it?”
“I think it was; yes,” Elizabeth said.
Alice turned to her father. “He wants to come over. I said I’d check with you first.”
Tom was lost in a daydream until Elizabeth gave him a nudge. Was he feeling confused? He had been at times, forgetting simple facts or the date and day of the week. Like the name of Alice’s husband just now. Perhaps they were just getting old, and this was part of the deal.
“That would be lovely,” he said. “I would like to see him.”
“I’ll find out when he’s available.”
Tom knew there was something else on his daughter’s mind from the way she was focusing on details around her, like the speck of fluff on her trousers and a tuft of hair that suddenly didn’t seem to conform.
“Want to tell me what’s on your mind?” he asked.
Her eyes glistened as she looked up, tears forming, threatening to fall. “I’m thinking about not going to Hastings.”
Tom shared a look with Elizabeth. “Where did that come from?” he said, turning back to Alice.
“How can I go now? You need me. I can’t help from miles away, can I?”
Years ago, she had sat on this same couch, her eyes red with tears then too. In the memory she was barely a teenager who had made a mistake, cigarettes found under her mattress. The only thing that had calmed her then was a cuddle from her dad, telling her that things were still okay and that he loved her just the same. Pushing with all his strength from the chair, he moved across to Alice. The sight of his effort shook loose a tear.
“You can’t change anything by being here, Bab.”
“But I want to be here. I want to help.”
He rubbed her arm like he had when she was small. “I know you do, but it’s not your job to look after me.”
“I thought you wanted me to stick around so that I could fix things with Brian.”
“Well, what do I know?” he said as he shrugged his shoulders. “I only want that if it’s what you want. I’d hate to pry.”
His last comment elicited a smile. “Well, that would be a first. I just thought it would be best for you if I stayed.”
“It’s always best for a parent when they have their child close.”
That idea broke Elizabeth’s heart, and she began to cry too. Guilt forced her to turn away, desperately trying to hide it.
“But I want what’s best for you, whatever that is,” Tom continued.
“Okay,” Alice said, drying her eyes. “I’ll think about it. And I’ll tell Brian to come over anytime he likes after we get back from Porthsennen. Is that okay?”
“Of course, Bab.”
He kissed her on the head, and she managed a little smile.
* * *
When Elizabeth walked back in from seeing Alice out, Tom