“After spending this week with the twins with no help, I can understand that.” There was humor in his tone. “I’m going to need a month to recover. What about you? If you haven’t been clearing the house, what have you been doing?”

She thought about Finn. About her shopping trip. About her painting.

For some reason she didn’t understand, she wasn’t ready to tell Sean about it yet.

She looked at the DVDs. “I’ve been trying to find out a little more about my mother. I don’t think I’ve paid enough attention to who she is or what she wants. I’m about to watch her old shows.” She didn’t say anything about the letters she’d found. Nor did she say anything about her painting. “I bumped into Angie.”

“Your old friend Angie? From our wedding? What’s she doing there?”

“She and John divorced, so she moved back here. We had a picnic on the beach together today.” She didn’t mention that Angie was using them as the model for a perfect relationship.

“Sounds fun. I should go—I promised Caitlin I’d try and rescue the white shirt.”

They were doing it again. Talking about life and the children. Never about themselves.

But he’d asked her if she was all right. He’d cared enough to ask her.

She thought about what Angie had said about their wedding day and felt a rush of anxiety. They’d been so happy. Tears stung her eyes. “Sean—”

“Have fun. I’ll speak to you tomorrow.”

Resisting the temptation to call him back, she returned the ring to the drawer in the study, picked up the DVDs and headed downstairs to the living room.

She made herself a tea with fresh peppermint from the garden, slotted in the DVD and curled up on the sofa.

She started right at the beginning, with her mother’s first show.

The Summer Seekers had been one of the earliest travel shows, and its immediate popularity had surprised even its creators. It had run for almost two decades, with Kathleen the face of the show.

As she watched, she saw her mother as others probably saw her—a vibrant enthusiast, hungry to explore all that the world offered and share it with a wider audience.

The show was dated, of course, and in different circumstances she might have been amused by the outfits, the use of language and the places they’d chosen to stay, but even now there was an energy to the show that made its record audience ratings easy to understand. It had been aspirational, and yet somehow still accessible. Her mother drew the audience to her, until you felt as if you were there by her side, traveling with her, laughing with her.