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Back Reluctantly Home Save as PDF
Chapters (55)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  55. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

‘We didn’t come to the beach very often when I was growing up,’ replied Pip, deftly shifting the attention away from Evelyn’s drowned child. ‘It seems ridiculous now, but the farm is a little way out and Mum and Dad were always too busy to bring me. And then, when I was older, I had my studies and not much time for anything else. It’s a shame really. It feels like a lost opportunity now.’

‘Well, when you have children of your own you can make sure they get the benefits of living by the sea,’ Evelyn said.

It was mischievous of her, a statement designed to make a point to Pip, and she took pleasure in watching Pip take the bait.

‘Oh, I doubt I’ll be having any children,’ she said flatly. ‘And I don’t live here, not really.’

‘I forgot,’ replied Evelyn, doing her best to hide her smirk. It was like a reflex in Pip, the need to deny her roots. ‘You’ll be back in London. Is that the plan?’

Pip cast her eyes out across the waves to the wide horizon beyond, and Evelyn saw something in her soften.

‘There is no plan,’ she said forlornly. ‘And I don’t have a home in London, not any more. And no one to have a child with, so the whole thing is pretty much immaterial.’

‘Time to make some changes, then?’ chanced Evelyn, casting her a sidelong glance.

Pip turned to face her and their eyes met. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I think you’re right.’

40

40

Pip loved the pier. She always had done, but somehow that had been forgotten in and amongst everything else. She used to imagine what it would be like to live in one of the little white houses that sat on the wooden boards out to sea. She could remember her disappointment when her father told her that nobody actually lived there, that they weren’t real houses but little businesses. She didn’t let that affect her daydream, though. She continued to picture herself existing quite independently of her family in her own world on the pier, and even under it when the tide went out.

And then one day, she just forgot. Other things took up space in her head and her childhood fantasies got left behind. How had that happened? What else had she lost sight of in her single-minded pursuit of her career? Even though she loved her job, she was beginning to wonder whether she might have made too many sacrifices along the way.

Evelyn had made a sprightly start, but was beginning to look a little jaded as they approached the pier. Should she be worried about her? Pip wasn’t sure. She had no first aid skills. Girl Guides was something else that had been lost to her dogged dedication to her studies.