She had made promises, too. At that time, caught in the moment, she had sworn she would come back for him, that their love would draw her back home as surely as a magnet. It took her a moment, and then Elle realised with a stab of grief, that it had indeed drawn her back.

It had just taken almost twenty years to do so.

Chapter 27

The next morning dawned bright and blue once again. Everything seemed to be blessed by the sun, which would grow to full heat by midday. But for the moment, the leaves on the trees stood out in vivid greenness, as though each one was clearly visible, shivering in the light breeze.

Penny felt thoroughly discombobulated. And whatever she tried to focus her mind on she failed miserably.

Yes, she had secured one more album since the Galway trip, winning another auction on eBay. Not overly difficult, albeit somewhat expensive.

But as she pulled out her list and crossed the newly acquired album off – Beatlemania! – she had that feeling again that something was off, something wasn’t right.

Please Please Me

With the Beatles

Beatlemania! With the Beatles

Introducing . . . the Beatles

Meet the Beatles!

Twist and Shout

The Beatles’ Second Album

The Beatles’ Long Tall Sally

A Hard Day’s Night

Something New

Beatles for Sale

Beatles ’65

Beatles VI

Help!

Anna (Go to Him) Single

Rubber Soul

Yesterday and Today

Revolver

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Magical Mystery Tour

The Beatles

Yellow Submarine

Abbey Road

Let It Be

Pondering what she had acquired thus far, she waited for a sense of accomplishment to kick in, something along the lines of what she had felt on the way home from Galway when she was crossing off records with Elle’s help.

But she didn’t feel the same.

Something was missing. Colin was missing. She hadn’t heard anything since he left on Friday afternoon and she had no idea when if ever he was coming back.

And for the first time in days, Penny felt very alone.

Elle laid things out for everyone in the dining room. This is where her talent for organisation came in handy. If there had been resistance before, now Penny and Ned were nodding enthusiastically. She had infected them with her vigour.

She left them both with tasks for the day, as she went off down town on her own. She wanted to ask for help, but she knew she needed to do this by herself. It was part an exercise in getting her self-respect back, part proving to everyone else that she could do it.

Before she left, Penny asked, ‘Shouldn’t we tell Rob about this? After all, he has helped us from the start, he should be a part of this too.’

‘I’ve already talked to Rob,’ said Elle, which wasn’t exactly a lie. ‘He’ll be putting all his energies into the roof. It needs to be finished in time.’