‘The bastard,’ he ejaculated, and looked me in the eye.

We both laughed. ‘So you don’t like him, then?’

‘I love the bastard really, I just need him to pull his finger out on my shipment.’

I loved his boldness, his audacity. His personality crackled in the air like electricity. When I was around him I felt alive like I did when I was with my father.

I looked after Rupert in the office, and then later when I married him, I looked after his life. I had so much pleasure doing that and bringing up Miles. And tolerating Aiden. Miles, so sensitive, so intuitive, ever since he was a toddler. Aiden, always a cheeky handful. In Aiden the positive assertiveness of Rupert and my father had transformed into a bossy arrogance. An alpha personality taken a step too far.

I remember the day I became ill with appendicitis. Fortunately baby Aiden was sleeping. Miles was only two. I lay on the sofa gripping my stomach, moaning and crying. Miles walked across the room towards me, eyes filled with compassion. He rubbed my tummy and said, ‘I’m calling the doctor, Mummy.’

He went to get the cordless phone, picked it up and frowned. ‘What’s the number?’ he asked. I had to rouse myself and look it up in our address book. I managed to dial the doctor myself, just before my appendix burst. An ambulance took me to hospital whilst our neighbours looked after Miles and Aiden. If Miles hadn’t encouraged me to phone our GP I wouldn’t be around today.

And Miles was super bright of course. I wasn’t one of those mothers who boasted at the school gate. I didn’t need to. Everyone knew how intelligent he was. He could count to twenty by the time he was two. No wonder he is a professor now.

There are two types of people in life: givers and takers. Miles is a giver. And you, Saffron, are the selfish kind. But Julie is a giver, so like Miles. Julie has the right attitude. Unfortunately for her, she chose the wrong brother to marry. The difficult one. No wonder she left him; he was more interested in making money than spending time with his wife. Not like Rupert, who made money and really, really, loved and cherished me. My mind and body ache for him still.

I suppose it’s never too late for things to work out. Maybe one day Miles will see sense and find a suitable life partner. Maybe one day Miles and Julie will get back together. He’s only thirty-nine years old. It isn’t too late. He just needs a little push in the right direction. The sort of push only a mother knows how to give.

11

Hayley