Sophie’s face lit up.

‘Yes,’ she said, ‘they think the world of each other.’

That was more than obvious.

‘They’re very lucky,’ I nodded.

At least their relationship was one thing I had found in Wynmouth that was just as it appeared to be. I let out a long breath, thinking of my first kiss and wondering if I was in for any more memory-altering surprises during my stay.

‘That was a long sigh,’ Sophie commented. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘What makes you think anything’s wrong?’ I shrugged.

‘Let’s call it a mother’s intuition,’ she said, making me tear up a little. ‘Let me make us some tea and then you can tell me.’

She reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze.

‘But only if you want to,’ she hastily added, making me smile.

*

‘Have you ever,’ I found myself asking, once we were settled with mugs of tea and a packet of Rich Tea biscuits, ‘discovered that something you wholeheartedly believed in, something you had total faith in, was a complete myth?’

‘You mean it was a lie?’

‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I suppose I do, whether that was something that someone had told you, or something you had fooled yourself into believing.’

I was thinking mostly of Mum’s diary, and my parents’ less-than-perfect marriage, but there were also thoughts of my first kiss with Joe and how that hadn’t turned out to be picture-perfect either.

‘Sort of,’ said Sophie, dunking a biscuit.

‘Sort of,’ I frowned, ‘either you have, or you haven’t.’

‘Let me explain.’

I waited while she gathered her thoughts.

‘I once put my complete faith in a man,’ she eventually said, ‘who then let me down.’

I wondered if she was talking about Hope’s father.

‘So, you do know then,’ I jumped in.

‘I haven’t finished yet,’ she tutted.

‘Sorry,’ I apologized, sitting further back.

‘As I said,’ she carried on, ‘he did let me down, but then I discovered why and I realized that what had happened wasn’t straightforward at all. It involved him having to make a very difficult decision and, even though I was hurt, I knew his choice was the right one because it caused the least amount of heartache for everyone involved.’

‘That’s very magnanimous of you.’

Sophie chuckled.

‘Perhaps,’ she said, ‘but it took me a long time to feel that way. We’re talking years, Tess, but time is a great healer. It passes and gives us perspective and of course, whether we resist it or not, life does move on from such things.’

I nodded.

‘So,’ she said softly, ‘are you going to tell me what it is in your life that you’ve realized isn’t what you thought it was?’

I shook my head.

‘Not today,’ I said, ‘but thank you for sharing your experience with me.’