Page 83 of Coming Home to Hope Street

‘No.’ She laughed. ‘I mean let’s do something exciting.’

‘How to hurt a man.’ Doug clutched at his chest as if he was in pain.

‘Be serious!’ she cried. ‘Let’s go to New York. Those tickets you got us earlier in the year? I think December might be a nice time to go.’

‘Are you sure?’

Doug had bought tickets for them both, but she’d been putting it off. It would be her first flight and she was scared at the thought of it. Yet if the past few months had taught her anything, it was to live a fuller life.

She nodded. ‘Yes, I’m sure.’

‘Great! Get researching then.’

‘I’ll do that some other time. For now, let’s have that early night too.’

Hannah grinned at him. Somerley had indeed worked its magic by bringing Doug to her earlier that year. And she wasn’t going to waste another minute of their time together.

Chapter Fifty-One

Livvy strolled along Somerley High Street with her head held high. Past Chandler’s Shoes, Ray’s Café, and the entrance to the indoor market. To her left was Church Square, her workplace visibly busy behind it. She had an hour or so before she was due at the book shop.

Next stop along was the community centre. Livvy grimaced. The money that was stolen had been replaced for now, but she was volunteering there with Hannah to make up for what Kieran had done.

It had been a week since Kieran had left after robbing the place. The police had kept her informed as to his whereabouts. As she’d assumed, he wasn’t at the address she’d given them, but someone there had told them where he was staying and he’d been picked up shortly afterwards. He’d been charged and was waiting for a date to appear in court.

She’d been pleased but upset too. She never wanted that to happen, but his crime couldn’t go unpunished. And maybe he would address he had a problem. This way he might get help. Gambling was an addiction and even though it was wrong to steal to feed it, she couldn’t begin to understand how hard it might be to give it up.

Kieran hadn’t been in touch with Pip, nor Pip with him. Livvy was still slightly worried that he’d come back. He had the nerve to do that, but maybe that was when he’d had Pip on his side. His days of using his daughter as a bargaining tool were over. Thankfully, she didn’t have to put up with him trying anymore.

On she went along the high street where the shops changed into residential properties. Hannah had told her about a house that had come up for sale and she stopped for a moment when she spotted the ‘For Sale’ sign. She and her sister had often looked at it as they’d walked past as children on their way home from school. They said they’d both live there when they grew up. It could easily accommodate two families.

It was a pre-war detached house, with a double frontage, bay windows, and a sweeping drive next to a substantial garden. Livvy could picture Hannah in a large open kitchen at the back of it, Doug sitting in the garden with a beer. And she and Pip would be welcome to visit as often as they liked. That made her feel good, not an envious thought in her head.

She continued to walk, Somerley High School to her left, giggling to herself as she remembered running out as fast as she could on her last day with everyone else. Her life hadn’t turned out as she’d planned it back when she was sixteen but at least now, it seemed she had a good chance to start afresh.

A few minutes further and she was on the outskirts of the town. Ahead was Somerley Cemetery, with its walled surround and imposing wrought-iron gates. The weather was fine for an October day. The sun was out and quite warm, a gentle breeze blowing.

She turned into the cemetery and walked through the grounds towards her parents’ grave. Ahead there was a funeral taking place, a group of mourners saying their farewells to a loved one. On the path she took, an elderly couple were walking past, the man carrying a bunch of flowers.

‘Morning.’ They greeted her with smiles that seemed too happy for the cemetery, but equally uplifting to see.

‘Morning.’ She found herself smiling back.

At the graveside of her parents, she stood for a moment in the silence. Whenever she’d come here before, she’d never spoken to either of them but suddenly she wanted to. She kneeled down on the dry grass.

‘Hi, Mum. Hi, Dad. It’s me, Livvy.’ She glanced around, embarrassed, but she couldn’t see anyone near. ‘It’s so lovely here, you know, and so is Somerley. I wish I’d known that a long time ago and not have to come back to find its charm.’

‘I’m so sorry I left you, Mum. I was young and selfish and mixed up. I got taken in by my husband and he wasn’t a very nice man.’ She paused. ‘Actually, hewasnice, that was part of the problem. You see, he was very manipulative but a charmer. You hear people talking about coercive control nowadays. Well, Kieran was coercive but in a pleasant way. He made me feel sorry for him, so that I’d forgive him for his problems. He wasn’t interested in mine, that had evolved because of him.’

Livvy looked again at the headstone, pausing for a moment before continuing.

‘Sometimes he was so loveable. Other times he was anxious, racked with guilt, and he’d argue just to make me feel sorry for him, or to blame me for something instead of himself.

‘Every time he left, I thought it was over. I’d get on with my life as best I could. But after a few months, he would reappear. Of course, Pip would love him for it, and I’d feel so bad because I’d break her heart if I told him to go. And that’s what he used against me… I realise that now. Kieran played on my instinct to protect Pip. He used Pip as much as he did me, and that stings.’

She sat for a moment, realising how lucky she was that things had worked out. Pip was adjusting to life without Kieran, and Livvy was relishing the freedom too. Of course she would talk about him, Pip had a right to ask about her dad, but it was a small price to pay for happiness.

She looked up when she heard a car door slam close by; smiled when she saw Hannah get out of the truck. As she’d seen her do so many times, Livvy brought her fingers to her lips and then pressed them on the top of the headstone.

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