Their half?

Anna stood open-mouthed as the rest of the family headed down the side of the dune that led to the beach. They were carrying a piece of her husband with them. A piece that she’d never known existed!

She dug back in her memory to that foggy time after Spencer’s accident, a period when she’d hardly been functioning. Richard and Scott had stepped in and done a lot of what had been needed: meeting with the funeral directors, dealing with probate. It was possible that they could have kept half of the ashes for themselves without telling her, but why would they do that? Why hide it from her?

But maybe they had consulted her. They could have asked if it was a good idea to have circus performers and pink-spotted elephants at the funeral, and she probably would have nodded and said, ‘Fine… Whatever you want…’

The rest of the group had descended the far side of the dune and were already out of sight. Anna started to run after them, but now the sand had been disturbed, the top layer kept sliding over the layer underneath, taking her with it. It was like running up a ‘down’ escalator. She forced herself to stand still for a moment, caught her breath, then chose a different path and planted purposeful feet, one in front of the other, until she made it to the top.

When she crested the dune, she found Teresa waiting for her and they fell into step together, eyes fixed on the other three members of the Barry family, who were now some distance away. Camber Sands was one of those shallow beaches perfect for families on summer holidays, because at low tide the sea retreated almost to the horizon, leaving pools of seawater to be warmed by the sun for children to paddle in. On a day like today, though, it was a long and blustery walk to the waves.

‘You didn’t know?’ Teresa asked as they trailed behind the others.

Anna shook her head.

‘Cow,’ Teresa muttered.

Anna shot her a surprised look. She’d never once seen or heard any hint that her sister-in-law did anything but toe the party line, but the response resonated with her. It resonated quite a lot, actually.

Gayle was being a cow today, and Anna had put up with all of it, ignoring all the little digs and snubs, because she was trying to be the daughter-in-law Spencer would want her to be – kind and supportive, making allowances for the other woman’s pain – but it had become startlingly clear in the last half hour just how much of a one-way street that was.

Spencer had adored his mum, but he hadn’t been blind to her faults, and if there was one thing he’d prefer his wife to be, rather than a doting daughter-in-law, it was someone who had a backbone. He’d always encouraged her to stand up for herself, to be more assertive.

Spurred on by that thought, she marched towards the small cluster of people where the shallow beach met the waves. The furnace of her rage roared brighter with every step. Teresa plodded along behind her, doing her best to keep up.