Page 88 of The Summer Escape

“Thank you.”

When he hung up, it was with a small smile on his face as he imagined how excited Ellie would be to receive post.

He couldn’t be certain that Beth would get in touch to thank him. But he suspected she probably would.

CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT

After managing to get through the week without contacting Trystan, Beth felt her resolve wane on Friday morning. She was slightly stung that he hadn’t been in touch with her, which was ridiculous given that he was only doing exactly what she was. And she was the one who’d promised to message and hadn’t.

As she walked home from taking Ellie to school, she contemplated having a glass of wine that evening and calling him. She probably shouldn’t though. There was a definite chance he’d settled back into his life in London without giving her a second thought. It crossed her mind to call Mirren instead and try to find out if Trystan had said anything about her. Squeezing his mum for information was pathetic though.

“Hello!”

The deep voice dragged her from her thoughts and she smiled at the postman standing outside the house. She thanked him as he handed over a couple of envelopes and a small parcel. With her key in the door, she caught the return address on the parcel and almost dropped everything.

Muttering to herself, she pushed the door open and deposited her keys and the rest of the post onto the hall table. The parcel was addressed to Ellie with Trystan’s name and address written clearly as the sender.

“What have you sent?” she mumbled, giving it a gentle shake as she took it to the kitchen. The desire to open it was overwhelming, and she had to stop herself a few times. She even contemplated opening it and then closing it up again, but decided she’d just have to wait until Ellie got home.

The day stretched out before her and the few household jobs she had to do didn’t distract her nearly enough. She caught herself smiling to herself throughout the day and felt a spark of hope. Trystan hadn’t forgotten about them after all.

By the time she collected Ellie from school, Beth was almost beside herself. Thankfully, Ellie walked slightly faster than usual once she heard there was something exciting for her at home.

“What is it?” Ellie asked, climbing up to the kitchen table to peer at the package.

“I don’t know.” Beth fetched the scissors. “Trystan sent it. We have to open it to find out.”

They opened it together and Ellie’s eyes lit up at the set of nail varnishes and multiple packets of nail art stickers.

“These are the ones I wanted, Mummy!” Ellie waved the butterfly stickers in Beth’s face.

“He sent a letter too,” Beth said, plucking the envelope from the box. “Do you want to open it?”

“No.” Ellie spread out the packets of stickers. “I want to look at these. Can I put some on now?”

“Yes. But you should open this and see what Trystan said.” She checked the package in case she’d missed something for her, but apparently he’d only sent stuff for Ellie.

“You read it,” Ellie said without looking up.

Hastily, Beth opened the envelope and unfolded the single sheet of paper. Her heart felt as though it was taking up more space in her chest as she read his writing.

“Dear Ellie. I thought you might like these nail stickers. Make sure you make Mummy’s nails look pretty too.” She smiled widely, knowing that she was going to end up with tiny animals on her nails and imagining the mischievous twinkle in Trystan’s eye when he wrote it. “I hope school is going well. Lots of love, Trystan.” The three kisses after his name made tears well in Beth’s eyes and she clutched the letter to her chest.

“When is Trystan coming to our house?” Ellie asked, still scouring through her treasures.

“I don’t know if he is.”

“He said he would.”

“When did he say that?”

“At Mirren’s house. I asked him and he said he’d come.” Her gaze shifted to Beth. “He said maybe. But that means yes, I think.”

“It doesn’t really mean yes or no.”

“I think he meant yes. Can you call him and ask him?”

“He’s probably at work. Let’s do our nails and call him later so you can say thank you.”