Nobody moved.

Catrin stared at the paper in the silver frame.

Romy stared at Catrin.

Liz stared at Romy.

And Lana stared at them all. Till the silence, weighted down with fresh pain, was broken by Catrin.

‘Will it happen?’ she asked them. ‘Will I see him again?’

And then it came. The release that she’d been waiting for, the catharsis of tears that had so far eluded her.

‘Oh Sol …’ she wept, clutching the little frame to her chest. ‘My beautiful, beautiful Sol …’

54

Judith

They were on their way to Coed Celyn to see Catrin in her new home. Judith felt a tinge of jealousy that Lana had helped her choose it, but one thing she was learning was that petty jealousy and resentment was not a good look. And she didn’t want to turn into her mother, who she hadn’t spoken to for over a month now.

As they were arriving in Coed Celyn, Jack called to say the Preston solicitors had finally been back in touch and that, due to unforeseen circumstances, they would no longer be pursuing Adrian Oliver’s request to be made power of attorney, nor would they be processing Patricia’s application to put her house in trust.

‘That’s brilliant, Jack!’ said Judith, who’d put the call on to speakerphone.

‘Yeah, well done mate!’ said Gareth from behind the steering wheel. ‘D’you think that’s all down to your posh letterhead and strong words?’

‘Seems that way. They must have been up to no good to crumble so easily. And even if they weren’t up to no good, I reckon they just didn’t want the hassle.’

‘Blimey,’ said Judith. ‘Well, hopefully my mother has seen sense and won’t pursue it any further.’

Gareth suggested that in the light of this development it might be a good idea to make peace with Patricia, especially seeing as Christmas was only three weeks away. ‘Goodwill towards men an’ all that?’ he’d said.

‘Don’t mention wills, Gareth Metcalf. Sore point.’

He smiled. He knew she agreed with him. ‘Let’s take her out for lunch somewhere, and then you’ve done your festive bit,’ he said.

‘Fair enough, but you can ring her to arrange.’

Gareth thought this a good compromise.

That night at Catrin’s new-build they were both heartened to see that she’d started to regain the tiniest glimmer of life in her eyes. Romy had cooked dinner for them all – a vegetarian Bolognese that she’d learned to make in school – and they all tried to be hearty and cheery, avoiding the subject.

The only time the conversation came close to mentioning Sol was when Romy told them about the cruise. ‘Aunty Lana’s taking us away for Christmas!’ she announced. ‘On a mini-cruise.’

Catrin looked sheepish. ‘Well, no, we haven’t definitely decided yet, sweetie.’

‘What’s this?’ asked Judith, desperately trying to sound nonchalant.

‘Oh, I dunno, Lana thought it might be an idea for us to get away, and she’s working on this Tenerife mini-cruise over Christmas, so she can get us a free cabin.’