The Girl in the Scrapbook by Carolyn Ruffles (reading women TXT) 📕

breakfast bar, the doorbell rang. Alex was tucking into his home-made tomato soup and already had orange smears all round his mouth and chin; the two women were idly toying with their spoons. Neither felt very hungry.

Jennifer was not expecting, when she opened the door, to see David standing there, looking rugged and masculine in jeans and a scruffy, navy sweater. She had not long spoken to him on the phone when she'd briefly explained the contents of Iris’ letter. There was a stunned silence on the end of the line so she ploughed on, asking if it would be possible to have another conversation with his mother concerning Susan’s whereabouts. She had heard him whistle his amazement.

‘That’s just incredible, Jen. Are you ok with all of this?’ There was concern in his voice which she found touching.

‘I’m fine. It’s just been a bit … unexpected …’ She struggled to find words to sum up how she was feeling.

‘I guess so. Look, I’ll speak to my mum but I don’t think she’ll be up to another visit just yet. I’m sorry.’

‘That’s fine. I understand.’

She had ended the call and relayed his comments to Emily. Over lunch they had been discussing other possible means of finding her. A search on Google had revealed a number of sites claiming success with finding long lost relatives and they had decided to give those a try when the doorbell sounded.

David’s face was serious and he gave her a searching look. ‘Are you sure you’re ok? This must all have been a hell of a shock. Can I come in?’

‘Yes, of course … please.’ She opened the door wider and waited while he took off his brown, leather work boots. ‘It’s David,’ she called through to Emily. He followed her into the kitchen. ‘Would you like some soup?’ she offered.

‘Actually, that would be great. I haven’t had time for lunch but I wanted to come over straight away. I have some news which you may want to hear.’

‘Really?’ Jennifer spooned more soup into a bowl. ‘What’s that?’

‘I know where Susan lives,’ he answered. He watched Jennifer’s reaction closely.

Both women stared at him open mouthed. ‘You’re joking!’ Emily exclaimed.

He shook his head. ‘I wouldn’t joke about something like this. It’s true. I have her address. After you called, I went back to check on my mum. She wanted to know if the letter had been helpful and so I told her what you had found out and the answers you still needed. It turns out that Susan had contacted her to inform her that Iris had passed away. They met up again at the funeral and, since then, they have exchanged Christmas cards every year. She said Susan had two children but she couldn’t remember their names. ‘

‘Where does she live?’ Emily’s voice was slightly tremulous.

‘Still in Norfolk, near Swaffham. It’s about an hour and a half’s drive from here.’

‘We could drive there this afternoon.’ Emily bounced off her stool and began clearing dishes. ‘What do you think, Jen?’

‘I … yes … I suppose so. Do we have a telephone number for her?’ Jennifer looked across at David. Suddenly, she felt like she was on a rollercoaster, plunging into the unknown and not in control.

‘No. Just the address.’ He handed Jennifer a slip of paper. ‘I’ve written it down for you. I need to get back on site or I would have driven you.’

‘No need. I can drive us.’ Emily threw her arms around David and hugged him excitedly. ‘Thank you so much for all you’ve done. You’ve been brilliant.’

‘No problem. Good luck this afternoon.’

‘Yes, thank you, David. It’s been very kind of you to put yourself out like this,’ Jennifer said, her voice, even to her own ears, sounding stiff and formal compared with Emily’s unfettered enthusiasm.

David escaped from Emily’s embrace and, unexpectedly, wrapped his arms around Jennifer. ‘Promise me you’re feeling alright about all of this?’ His breath was warm against her ear and she felt her body leaning into his. ‘Your life has been turned upside down. You might need a bit of time to come to terms with it all.’

‘I’m fine.’ At least, I will be when you let go of me, she thought. She took a step back and he reluctantly released her.

‘Right. I’ll be off then. I’ll phone you later.’ He stepped through the door and Jennifer felt her tension dissipate. She smiled at Emily who was busily scrubbing at Alex’s face with a wipe. ‘Good news then. At least we know that Susan is still alive. How she’ll feel, though, about me being her niece is anyone’s guess.’

‘First things first. Let’s drive over there and see if she’s in for a start. We can work out what to say on the way.’

Jennifer’s face was pensive with doubt. ‘It’ll come as a dreadful shock, though,’ she argued.

‘Not dreadful – exciting.’ Emily gave Jennifer’s arm a reassuring pat. ‘Come on. I want to get going.’

◆◆◆

The address David had given them was for a village in West Norfolk called Corriton. They passed a rather garish village sign and the satnav instructed Emily to turn right and then right again. Jennifer had fallen silent as they drove down a narrow lane lined with moderately sized, modern brick houses, all squashed in beside each other with little space for gardens.

‘You have reached your destination,’ declared the monotone of the satnav and Emily parked along the edge of the lane, careful not to block anyone’s driveway.

‘It’s number 16.’ Jennifer craned her neck to peer at the numbers on display. ‘I can’t see it at the moment. I’ll get out and see which one it is.’

Her stomach roiled nervously as she headed down the lane. There it was, number 16, a red bricked house with a white front door and a large brick weave driveway. A slightly grubby, black fiesta was parked in front of the garage door. She beckoned to Emily and waited while she unstrapped Alex from his car seat.

‘This is it,’ she said