by Neale, Kitty
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and ended up doing a bit of both. ‘It’s all this,’ she said, waving her hands towards the baby. ‘A bit much, isn’t it?’ She gave a gasp and he hugged her.
‘We’ll be fine,’ he said. ‘And they’ll be fine too.’
‘Hope so,’ Penny said, remembering. ‘Michelle isn’t going to keep her. She’s on her own, her parents have masses of other kids, there’s no room. And she can’t go back to work until she’s fit enough which might be ages. So I don’t know …’
She was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.
‘More people?’ exclaimed Mark from the sofa. ‘Where are you going to put them, dear?’
‘It’ll be them!’ Maureen was delighted. ‘And I just found that final sodding form.’ She ran for the stairs and they could hear the door opening and excited whispering.
Then Lorna and Robert walked in.
‘Meet the parents,’ said Maureen simply. Her face glowed.
‘Don’t worry,’ said Lorna, looking happier than Penny had ever seen her. ‘It’s all right. We’ve been planning this for months. It’s perfect. Michelle didn’t want to raise a child. Robert and I want a child more than anything else in the world. What could be better?’
‘But can you do that?’ Mark asked, astounded. ‘Just take someone else’s child like that?’
‘Well, not just take them, no,’ said Robert. ‘That would be kidnapping. No, this is a private adoption. Michelle has agreed to it and we’ve got all the paperwork sorted out, largely down to Maureen here, who turned out to have friends in the most surprising places.’
Maureen raised an eyebrow.
‘And before you ask, yes, it is all legal and above board,’ she said. ‘So let’s introduce baby to her proud parents. Mark, bring her over here. Give her to me a minute.’ She took the bundle and gazed at it. ‘Right, I’m your Aunty Maureen. I warn you, I’ll take no nonsense from you, as your birth mother drove me to distraction, and there’s only so much of that one person can take. So you see to it that you’re well behaved. But I reckon your parents will sort that out.’ She grinned at her cousin. ‘Here you go. Here’s your daughter.’
Lorna stepped forward and held the baby, knowing at once how to support her tiny head. ‘Oh, we’ll sort you out all right,’ she said, her voice full of love. ‘We’ve had plenty of practice with that Penny. We’ve seen it all. So you’ll never be able to shock us. We’ll be there, whatever happens. Won’t we, Robert?’
He came to stand behind her and put his arm round her. ‘Whatever happens,’ he said. ‘That’s a promise.’
Chapter Forty-Four
Penny grew more and more nervous the closer the bus got to the stop where John had told her she should get off. As they rounded the corner, she could see him waiting, looking up as he heard the bus approaching. He waved as he caught sight of her.
‘You made it, then,’ he said as she got off.
‘I nearly chickened out. Will it be okay? Won’t she think it’s strange, me turning up like this?’
‘I told you, she really wants to see you,’ John said. ‘It’s hardly as if you’ve barged your way in without an invitation. Of course she wants to meet you, after all that’s happened. Come on, this way. She isn’t going to bite your head off, you know.’
Penny laughed but couldn’t get rid of the feeling of butterflies in her stomach. She wasn’t sure what to expect, even after John’s reassurances. Gazing around she took in all the shops and restaurants, many of them looking new and smart. ‘Nice round here, isn’t it?’
John nodded but had a slight frown as he said, ‘It’s changing fast. Lots of new people moving in, mostly young professionals, and plenty of the old families are selling up. Sometimes I hardly recognise it.’
‘Must be weird,’ she said.
‘It’s not so bad for me as I didn’t move here till I was about thirteen,’ he said, ‘but Mum and Dad really notice it. Still, it’s not all bad. Mum sells all sorts of crafts in her shop and the new people love it. They buy that kind of thing when they’re doing up their houses.’ He turned off the main road. ‘Down here.’
John led her towards a row of three-storey buildings and came to a halt outside a brightly lit shop. In the window was a range of colourful cushions and rugs, and a collection of artists’ paint and brushes. ‘This is it – Mum’s shop.’
He pushed open the door and pointed her towards the back. ‘That’s the way up to the flat.’ They went through, John nodding to the woman behind the counter and calling out, ‘Hello, Lucy.’
The woman with the curly blonde hair smiled as she looked up. ‘Nice to see you,’ she said. ‘They’re up there waiting.’
‘Better not keep them then,’ he grinned, and pushed open the door, which gave onto a bright corridor. After a flight of stairs they reached another door. ‘Here we are. You all right?’
Penny nodded. ‘I’ll be fine.’ She hoped this was true as John knocked quickly and then turned the door handle. She knew it was too late to back out now but wondered what sort of welcome would await her.
Standing in the doorway to what looked like a living room were two figures.
‘Mum, Dad, this is Penny,’ John was saying, and she found herself face to face with a slight woman of about fifty, whose elfin features were breaking into a warm smile.
‘Hello,’ the woman said. ‘It’s lovely to meet you at last. John’s told us so much about you. Come on in, sit down and we’ll have some tea.’
The man stood back to let them through and Penny noticed he had a kind face but his nose was misshapen. He gave a short laugh as he saw her glance.
‘So you’re Jimmy’s young friend,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry about my nose, that was from years ago. My misspent youth in the boxing ring.’
She was briefly embarrassed that he’d caught her staring but then she realised he didn’t mind. His pale blue eyes were twinkling.
‘Just you come in here, and have that seat. I expect you’d like a bite to eat, wouldn’t you, after coming all that way? Pearl, where’s that cake gone?’
‘Right there where you saw me put it,’ said the woman, putting a slice on a plate and passing it to Penny. ‘Try that. I’d love to say it was home made but to tell you the truth I’m so busy with the shop I don’t often get the time these days, so Lucy made it.’
‘We saw her downstairs,’ said John. ‘She’s got a real name for her baking these days so we’re in for a treat.’
Penny took a bite and understood what he meant. For a moment she was tempted just to sit and eat cake all afternoon, avoiding all the difficult things she wanted to ask. But that wouldn’t do. She steeled herself to begin.
‘Thank you so much for seeing me,’ she began shakily. ‘I realise it must seem a bit odd. I almost didn’t come. But I did want to find out more about the man I believe to be my real father.’
The woman nodded. ‘Of course you did. We understand. We thought you might want to do that and we’re very happy to have you here.’ She was studying Penny carefully as she spoke and nodded decisively. ‘Derek, what do you think? I’d say there was no doubt at all. You look like Kevin Dolby’s daughter to me.’
Derek looked at her for a moment without saying anything and then he too nodded. ‘I’d say you’re right. I know that might not be what you want to hear but you do look like him in lots of ways.’
‘No, it’s all right,’ Penny said, tucking back her hair self-consciously. ‘I’d much rather you said that than you weren’t sure. At least I know now. It was the uncertainty that was so hard. Even when we added up the dates and worked it all out there was still a bit of me that couldn’t believe it.’
‘Stand up a moment,’ said Pearl. ‘You too, John. Come over here.’ She pointed to the rug in front of the fireplace. A mirror hung above the mantelpiece. ‘Now stand side by side. Penny, keep your hair like that. Do you see the resemblance now? And look at your ears. They’re almost identical.’
They g
azed at their reflections. Then John laughed. ‘You’re absolutely right, Mum.’ He turned to Penny. ‘How funny I never noticed. Come to think of it, I don’t remember seeing your ears before.’
She shook her head. ‘That’s because I’ve always worn my hair down, apart from when I went to dance classes and you never saw me then. Even when I was going through my Madonna phase, I covered them up with headbands or scarves. So it’s no wonder.’ She laughed, overcome with relief. ‘So it is true and we look alike. And I look like my real father. So I suppose you do too.’
‘He’s the spitting image of him,’ said Pearl ruefully. ‘He was a good-looking man, was Kevin Dolby. I’ll say that much for him.’
Penny took her seat once more and plucked up courage to ask the question that had been on her mind ever since the weekend in Margate. ‘So … what was he like? My father – what sort of man was he?’
She felt a chill go through her as the other three exchanged glances. Then Pearl turned to face her directly.
‘There’s no point in lying to you,’ she said. ‘So I won’t pretend he was a saint. He did some very bad things: he let me down and he let John down. You might as well know that he spent time in prison for burglary and worse. But over the years I’ve come to understand that there were reasons why he was the way he was. His mother spoilt him rotten when he was younger and he never had a sense of what was right and what was wrong. She made him think he could do anything and get away with it. By the time he found out he couldn’t it was too late.’ She sighed. ‘Then he mixed with some very dodgy people, so there wasn’t much hope for him.’
‘I sort of guessed that bit,’ said Penny, gazing at the carpet. ‘Maureen let slip what sort of woman my mother was, before she reinvented herself in Spain, and I figured out she must have known some pretty dodgy people herself.’
‘Well, we never met her so we couldn’t say,’ Derek pointed out. ‘Pearl’s right, though, your dad didn’t have much of a chance with a mother like his. His dad was lovely but he was completely under her thumb. Kevin thought the world owed him a living and never understood the value of hard work. So he missed out on a lot. Bringing John up, for one thing.’
‘I can’t complain,’ said John. ‘I’ve got the best parents in the world. I used to wonder what my real dad was like when I was little and when he got out of prison I wanted to get to know him, but that didn’t last for long when I realised what kind of person he was. He couldn’t be straight with anybody – he was so used to lying to get his way that he just couldn’t stop, even with his own son. So that made me understand that even though he was my biological father, Derek here was my dad in every way that really counted. He raised me, he taught me everything that was important about life, he and Mum made me the person I am today. So don’t feel that you’ll turn out like him. Just because you’ve got his ears doesn’t mean you’ve got his character.’
Penny nodded slowly. ‘It’s hard to take in but I know what you mean. I’ve spent my life hating my mother and blaming her for everything. Now I’m beginning to see that a lot of who I am is down to Lorna – well, and Robert, but he didn’t come along until a bit later. She was always there, from as far back as I can remember, and she doesn’t have a bad bone in her body. Now she’s finally got a baby she’s going to be a fantastic mother.’
‘Yes, but don’t forget what they said,’ John reminded her. ‘They think of you as their daughter in all but name. So for everything that really matters, they’re your family.’
Penny nodded again and felt tears gathering as she recognised that it was true.
‘You can’t choose your birth parents,’ said Pearl slowly. ‘I never knew my own mother until I was grown up. But you can choose who is important to you as you get older, whose beliefs you share, whose values are true ones. It sounds as if you have a lovely family, just not related to you.’
‘And now I’ve got a brother.’ Penny smiled even as a tear fell down her face. ‘I can’t tell you how much that means to me. One who’s going to be a close friend as well. So I must be lucky after all.’ She couldn’t go on.
‘And I hope you’ll come to regard us as family too,’ said Pearl seriously. ‘I mean it. After all, I’m … what am I? Your stepmother? Something like that. You must feel you can always talk to us. Just pick up the phone. Or come here whenever you need to. The door will always be open for you.’
‘Really?’
‘Of course,’ said Derek steadily. ‘We’ve never had a girl to spoil in the family. We’d love one. I’ve got no brothers and sisters, neither has Pearl, so we haven’t even got nieces or young cousins. It would be good for John to have some competition for our attention, wouldn’t it, John?’
John nodded. ‘I can recommend them, even though I’m biased. As families go, they’re the best. What do you say?’
‘I grew up thinking I had no one,’ said Penny, smiling through her tears, ‘and now I’ve got two sets of parents and a brother. I couldn’t ask for more.’ She stood and went to give Pearl a big hug. ‘I’m so glad I came. I nearly didn’t. But I feel I could belong here. It’s the best feeling in the world.’
‘So you won’t be interested in John’s latest news then,’ said Derek with a wink.
‘What’s that? John, what’s this about?’
‘I was going to tell you,’ John said, with a broad grin on his face. ‘Remember that magazine that sent me to Scotland? They want me to do another special for them, and guess where?’
She shrugged.
‘They want me to go to Spain. Even better, they’ve found money in the budget for an interpreter and told me to choose my own. So how would you like a trip with me?’
‘No, you can’t mean it!’ Penny cried. ‘Back to Spain? With you? I’d love it, I can’t believe it. Yes, of course I’ll come with you.’ She turned to him. ‘Thank you. Thank you for everything. I could pick up some recipes, the stuff I remember from when I was little. Robert’s always saying I should run a café or something and he’d help. Maybe I could have one that specialises in Spanish and Italian things. If my mother and my new stepmother can run their own businesses, why shouldn’t I?’’
‘That’s the spirit. And then you can come back here,’ said Pearl, hugging her fiercely even though they were so different in height. ‘You can come home.’
About the Author
Kitty Neale was raised in South London and this working class area became the inspiration for her novels. In the 1980s she moved to Surrey with her husband and two children, but in 1998 there was a catalyst in her life when her son died, aged just 27. After joining other bereaved parents in a support group, Kitty was inspired to take up writing and her books have been Sunday Times bestsellers. Kitty now lives in Spain.
To find out more about Kitty go to www.kittyneale.co.uk.
By the same author:
Nobody’s Girl
Sins of the Father
Family Betrayal
Desperate Measures
Lost and Found
Forgotten Child
Lost Angel
Mother’s Ruin
A Father’s Revenge
A Broken Family
Ex-con Kevin Dolby sets in motion a chilling plan to get what he believes is owed to him, and will get what he wants, whatever it takes. His ex-wife Pearl will fight to the end to protect their son John, and to stop him …
Read the gritty and emotional family drama from bestseller Kitty Neale here.
Jeremy Frost returns to Battersea at his mother’s call, to stop his ‘perfect’ brother Thomas marrying beneath him. But Jeremy develops a dangerous obsession for his brother’s wife. Will jealousy and hatred tear Thomas and Amy apart? Will Jeremy threaten the safety of everything that matters to them, including their new baby?
Read the heartbreaking new novel from bestseller Kitty Neale here.
Copyright
Avon
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First published in Great Britain by Avon
HarperCollinsPublishers 2013
Copyright © Kitty Neale 2013
Kitty Neale asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Source ISBN: 9781847562456
Ebook Edition © 2013 ISBN: 9780007494125
Version: 2013-11-26
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