BooksBarbecue
Back The Library
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. THE LIBRARY
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. EPILOGUE
  54. Questions for your Book Club
  55. Acknowledgements
  56. About the Author
  57. Become an Aria Addict

The jam roly-poly was awesome. I don’t think I’ve ever had it before. Not that I can remember anyway. It was basically rolled up cake with custard on and I chugged it down. Dad and I don’t usually do pudding unless there’s ice cream on offer at the supermarket – he used to buy us that for a treat sometimes. Not recently though.

‘You’re a great cook, Maggie.’ Dad said I was a bottomless pit but Maggie had filled me up. I felt loads better.

‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘It’s nice to have more than just me to cook for. Seems much less effort somehow. Never feels worth it for one person.’

‘Your son was lucky growing up here.’ It was a throwaway comment. A thought that popped into my head and straight out of my mouth but I knew the moment I’d said it that I’d said something wrong. Maggie went rigid like she’d walked into glass. She didn’t say anything so I did. ‘What’s his name?’

There was something about her eyes that told me this was painful to discuss. I wondered why because she had his baby photo up in the other room so they couldn’t have fallen out.

‘River,’ she said, at last.

I think I need to learn to control my automatic expressions. But it was hard not to react to a name like that. Poor kid. Poor bloke. ‘That’s a bit unusual.’ I was going for diplomatic but I think my grin betrayed me.

‘It was the Sixties.’

‘Right. The hippie thing,’ I said. Then corrected myself. ‘The flower thing.’

She sighed as if drifting away. ‘It was a different time. A different me.’

There was something about her expression that bothered me. ‘Does he visit much?’

‘He can’t,’ she said. Her eyes fixed on mine. I recognised her expression now. Like seeing my own face reflected back at me. The look in her eyes was loss. Shit, she’d also lost someone close to her. Now I got why she understood how I felt about stuff. She’d been through it too.

‘I’m sorry,’ I said. It didn’t feel like enough. There should be better words than sorry for when someone has been wrenched from your life.

She blinked and looked away. ‘It’s…’ She fell silent.

I picked up the pudding bowls and stood up. I paused at her shoulder. ‘I’m here too if you ever need a hug.’ She looked up at me and smiled, her eyes brimming with tears. ‘Anytime,’ I said and took the dishes to the sink.

26

MAGGIE