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

‘Oh, my God!’ she exclaimed softly. ‘It really is you! Oh, my darling, I never thought I’d see you again.’

They moved towards each other, carefully at first, unsure, hesitant. Then, with a sudden rush, Emily flung herself into her mother’s arms.

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Chapter 29

Jennifer - January 2017

Jennifer watched the scene unfolding before her with a lump in her throat. The two women clung to each other as if they would never let go, the older one murmuring over and over, ‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,’ while she stroked the younger woman’s hair.

At last, they pulled apart a little, still holding each other by the arms.

‘You really are my mum. I can’t believe it. Look!’ She reached for the note written all those years before. ‘I still have your letter.’

‘Grace, come and sit down,’ Susan urged gently. ‘We’ve all got a lot of catching up to do.’

Reluctantly, Grace released Emily from her grasp and sat down at the kitchen table. ‘Mum phoned me last night. She said that looking at Emily was just like looking at me at that age, although I think I’d already started dyeing my hair by then! She was convinced that you were my daughter, turned up out of the blue so I’ve been in turmoil ever since. I dropped everything and drove up from London this morning. I had to see if she was right.’

‘I’m so glad you did.’ Emily reached across the table and held Grace’s ringless left hand. ‘Can you tell me about my dad? Is he still alive? Are you in contact with him? Would he be prepared to see me, do you think?’

Grace sighed heavily. ‘I wish I could say yes to all those questions but the truth is that he died of a drug overdose more than twenty years ago. He was a talented guitarist but he fell in with the wrong sort of people. He and I had split up before you were born and I never saw him again.’

No one spoke for a few moments. The mood had changed as everyone waited to see how Emily would react to such tragic news. Eventually, she smiled tremulously. ‘That’s really sad but I never really felt a connection to him like I did to you. From the first, it was you I was looking for. Can you talk about what happened, you know, with the adoption? You don’t have to explain if you’d rather not.’

‘Of course. You need to know but first, tell me. What were your adoptive parents like? I always prayed that you were happy with them.’

‘I was. They were wonderful and I loved them very much. I was devastated when they were killed in a car crash when I was nineteen. They never told me that I was adopted so it came as a huge shock to receive the album, the locket and your letter. That’s when Molly started to make sense to me.’

At Grace’s puzzled expression, she then went on to describe how Molly had appeared at different times in her life.

‘But that was Norah!’ Grace exclaimed. ‘She did the same for me - at least she did until I had you. That’s when she disappeared for good. I always thought she’d abandoned me but obviously, she was busy watching over you. I’m glad.’ She squeezed Emily’s hand and then went on to explain the circumstances which led her to give her baby up for adoption. ‘After that, I was a mess for a long while. I felt I couldn’t come home so I stayed in London. For a while, I lived with a guy called Wayne. He was a good chap and looked after me when you were born but it didn’t really work out and we went our separate ways. I was just working in a bar for a while, just struggling to make ends meet. Then I saw an ad asking for volunteers to help a charity called COTS, Children on the Streets. I started helping out on my days off and my life changed. I loved the work so, eventually, I trained to become a social worker and here I am now. I never married again and I always thought of you, wondering how you were. Now, tell me all about you. I see you’re married.’

Then it was Emily’s turn to provide the highlights of her life. When she mentioned Alex, Grace squealed with delight and sat beside Emily as she scrolled through the hundreds of pictures on her phone.

‘So where is the darling boy?’ Grace asked. ‘With his dad?’

‘No, Adam’s in Australia on a business trip. He has his own wine importing company,’ she added proudly. ‘Alex is at a pottery class this morning. He’s already showing a great deal of artistic talent.’

‘Wow. What a family! I’m so proud of you, Emily.’ Grace threw her arms around her daughter once more, hugging her fiercely. ‘We have so much lost time to make up.’ She leaned back and scanned Emily’s face, suddenly anxious. ‘That’s if you want to …?’

‘More than anything!’ Emily’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I’m so happy to have found you at last … and a granny too.’ She smiled at Susan over Grace’s shoulder.

‘There’s a whole extended family for you to meet. Grace has a brother, Tom, and his wife is called Lucy. Of course, you met their three scallywags yesterday - your cousins. You may well regret all this when you get to know them better!’ Susan joked.

‘It all feels a bit surreal at the moment. It’s difficult to take it all in,’ Emily mused and then she had a sudden thought. ‘Hey Jen, this means we’re related too!’

‘Yes.’ Jennifer pondered for a moment. ‘Your granny is my aunt. Does that make us second cousins or something like that?’

‘No idea,’ Emily said. ‘It’s just all fantastic … amazing …incredible. I’m so happy right now.’

‘Me too and I can’t wait to meet my grandson,’ Grace began flicking through the