Nova

Phyllis stopped talking, and for a moment the only sound Nova could hear was the wind and the sea crashing below them. Michael had been silent throughout Phyllis’s story, his hands clasped in his lap and his eyes glued to her face.

“So, you hadn’t wanted to give me up?” His voice was so faint Nova could barely hear him.

“It had all been arranged behind my back,” Phyllis said. “I later learned that the nuns usually insisted the babies spend a few weeks with their birth mothers back at the home before they were adopted, but my mother wouldn’t allow it. She and Reverend Platt arranged to have my baby taken away within hours of birth.”

Michael shook his head, clearly too stunned to speak.

“It can’t have been legal,” Arthur said, anger in his voice. “Putting a baby up for adoption without the mother’s consent must have been illegal, even back then.”

“Apparently I signed the papers when I first arrived at the mother and baby home. I had no idea what I was signing; nobody let me read them.”

Michael lifted a hand and ran it through his gray hair. “I can’t believe that my parents knew about this. They were good people, I swear. They’d never have adopted me if they’d known what was really going on.”

“I’m sure they didn’t know,” Phyllis said. “And anyway, things were different back then. Thousands of girls like me had their babies taken away from them in the fifties and sixties, and most of them were unregulated private adoptions.”

“What happened to you after that?” Michael asked.

Phyllis paused for a moment, and Nova could see her struggling with the memories.

“My mother drove me home in silence, and we never talked about what happened again. I’d turned sixteen while I was in the home, and so as soon as my bleeding stopped, she got me a job cleaning local houses. I wasn’t allowed to go to the community center or library anymore, so I didn’t even have books as an escape. It was just me, Mother and church.”

“You must have hated your mum; why didn’t you leave home?” Nova asked.

Phyllis sighed. “Of course I resented her, but I was young and naive. My mother had always controlled every aspect of my life, and I didn’t know it any other way. Besides, back then, I truly believed I’d done something terrible and deserved God’s punishment. And that punishment was staying with my mother, a woman who hated me and never again believed a word I said.”

“What about Billy?”

Here Phyllis slowed for a moment. “I’m not sure. A few months later, I heard he’d got a job in Plymouth and moved there, but I never saw or heard from him again.”

“Oh Phyllis, I’m so sorry,” Arthur said gently.

There was a pause as they all took in the enormity of Phyllis’s story.

“Can I ask you one more question?” Michael said.

“Of course.”

“Why did you stay in St. Tredock all these years? I understand why you stayed with your mother to begin with, but once you were older and more independent, surely you could have left?”

“Ah, now that’s a good question,” Phyllis said, nodding. “For a long time, I told myself I stayed because of my mother: first because I thought I had to and then, when she got older and her arthritis got bad, to be her carer. But that’s not the real reason.”

“What is it?”

Phyllis looked up at Michael, and Nova saw her eyes were damp.

“I stayed for the baby. For you.”

He frowned. “But why? You said yourself, you had no idea who’d adopted me or where I’d been taken.”

“I knew nothing about you or your parents, and I suspected you knew nothing about me either. But I suppose on some level, I always hoped that one day you might find out about me and come looking. And for that reason alone, I chose to stay in St. Tredock, in the house I’d been born in, to make it easier if you ever tried.”

“And did you ever try to trace me?” Michael asked, and Nova heard a slight break in his voice.

“No, but only because I was too scared. What if you hated me for giving you up and wanted nothing to do with me? So, I decided that I’d leave it in your hands as to whether you wanted to find me or not.”

“But you wanted to be found?”

Phyllis smiled then, her eyes wet with tears. “Not a day has gone by when I haven’t dreamed of this moment, Michael. Admittedly, I never imagined it would happen on a cliff edge, but this is all I ever wanted. To finally get to see my son—to see you , Michael—and tell you how sorry I am that I never got to be your mother.”

Michael smiled, too, and it was such a tender, private moment that Nova turned away. Arthur did the same, and Nova could see tears in his eyes too. They both walked to join Ash and Dan, who were standing together by the cottage door.

“Bloody hell,” Arthur muttered. “It’s like something out of a novel.”

“With Phyllis’s mum as the wicked witch,” Dan said. “I can’t believe she did that to her own daughter.”

“She makes Darth Vader look like Parent of the Year,” Ash said, and Nova saw the teenager blush when Dan smiled.

“What a day,” Arthur said. “What time is it now?”

Nova pulled her phone out of her pocket, but it was still switched off. She hit the power button and waited for it to start up.

“It’s 3:40,” Dan said, checking his watch.

“Oh shit!” Nova’s stomach dropped. “We need to get back or I’m going to miss my wedding rehearsal.”

“How are we going to get everyone back up that cliff?” Arthur said. “Michael looks like he can barely walk, and that path isn’t safe.”

“Maybe there’s something in the cottage we can use to bridge the gap,” Ash said.

“Good idea, let’s look inside,” Dan said, and the two boys disappeared in through the door.

Nova glanced at Arthur and saw he had a small smile on his lips. “What are you looking so pleased about?”

“Oh, nothing. It just turns out that Ash had his Mr. Darcy moment after all.”

Nova was about to ask what he meant when her phone buzzed into life. She looked down and saw message after message flashing up on her screen, all from Craig.

“I need to make a call,” she said, pressing dial and stepping away from the others.

Craig answered within seconds, his voice high with panic. “Nova! Are you okay?”

“I’m completely fine. I’m so sorry, my phone was switched off, but I’m safe.”

“Oh, thank God, I’ve been worried sick. Where are you?”

“I’m near Lizard Point. We found Michael, the missing man, but then—”

“Lizard Point? But our rehearsal is in two and a half hours; you’ll never make it back in time.”

“I’m sorry, Craig, I had no idea it would take this long. I’m going to leave soon, we just need to repair a cliff path so we can get back to the car.”

“Repair a cliff? I thought you said you were safe.”

“I am, it’s just a bit of path fell away so we’re a little trapped, but we’re working on that as we speak.”

“Fucking hell, Nova!”

“I know I must have worried you sick by not answering my phone, but it’s been full on down here. I’ll explain properly later, but basically it turns out that Michael is Phyllis’s son, and he had no idea his mum’s been killed so—”

“Stop! Nova, listen to yourself. We’re supposed to be getting married tomorrow and you’re miles away, stuck down a cliff, getting caught up in some weird soap opera drama and missing your own rehearsal. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Nova bit her lip at the tone of his voice, and then imagined how she’d feel if the tables were turned and Craig was the one halfway down a crumbling cliff face.

“Have you even spoken to your mum yet?” he asked.

“Not since this morning, but she should be on her way to Bogotá by now.”

“Well, I’m afraid she isn’t. There are still storms and her local flight wasn’t able to take off.”

“What?” Nova felt a wave of vertigo and grabbed hold of the wall to steady herself. “What does that mean? Can she fly later?”

“I’ve been talking to her and a travel agent all afternoon, trying to work something out, but there’s nothing we can do. She’s not going to make it back in time for the wedding.”

Nova let out a low moan.

“I’m sorry,” Craig said, his voice softening.

Nova’s knees wobbled and she sunk down to the ground. Her mum wasn’t going to be at her wedding: wouldn’t be there to help her get ready or walk her down the aisle, or to make a speech. She was going to have to do it all alone.

“Do you want to cancel the wedding?” Craig asked.

“We can’t just because of Mum.”

“I don’t mean because of your mum, I mean because of you.” She heard him take a deep breath. “Yesterday, I asked if you still wanted to get married and you promised me you did. And this morning, you swore you’d stay out of trouble; but look at you now.”

“I meant what I said, Craig; I do want to get married. I just really wanted to save my job and the community center as well, and I thought by coming down here today I could do that.”

“And have you?”

Nova swallowed. “No. Michael claims he doesn’t have the money, so we’re back at square one.”

“This is what I mean, Nova. You’ve let your search for this stolen money completely take over your life, to the point you’re missing your own wedding rehearsal.”

“It’s over now. I’ll stop trying to find the money.”

“No, that’s not enough.” Craig paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was quiet. “I thought this job would be a good thing for you. After everything that happened with Declan, I thought it would help rebuild your confidence, but I was wrong. Clearly you’re still traumatized by that attack and you’re not ready to be back at work, especially not in a similar environment.”

“That’s not true, I love this job.”

“Sure, but it’s just five months in and you’re once again breaking all the rules and repeatedly putting yourself at risk. This is not normal behavior.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“I know your career is important to you, but you need to take a proper break. Allow yourself to grieve for your dad and get over your attack.”

Nova stifled a sigh; she really wasn’t in the mood to have this conversation right now. “You know I’ll go stir crazy if I don’t work. I’ve always had a job, and being a youth worker is such a big part of who I am.”

“I know, and I think you need time to work out who you are aside from your job.”

“Please can we talk about this after the wedding, Craig? I’ve had a hell of a day, and I really want to just get home and get some sleep, otherwise I’ll look like a zombie bride tomorrow.”

“No. I’m sorry, but I can’t keep doing this, Nova. I want to marry you tomorrow, I really do. But if that’s going to happen, I need you to promise that you’ll resign.”

“What? You’re kidding me, right? You can’t seriously—”

“I’m deadly serious. Your job at the community center has caused nothing but problems over the past few months. If you want to get married tomorrow, I need to know you’re willing to prioritize our relationship, and your own damn safety, by resigning.”

“You can’t ask me to give up my career, that’s completely unreasonable. I’m not some child who needs your permission to leave the house.”

“Then stop bloody acting like one. Now please just come home.”