"A Gift of Life"
Chapter 14
Saturday mornings were usually reserved for a leisurely sleep-in but today neither Caroline nor Kate could take advantage of it as they were both far too restless so, instead, Caroline suggested they 'rise and shine' and take a walk to calm their excitement.
Arm in arm, they strolled casually through the local park keeping up an almost constant stream of light-hearted chatter as they did, their two figures dappled by light where the early morning sun penetrated the leafy canopy of the trees. High above them, the overhanging branches reached out like a protective hand across the path they were following.
Since retiring, a morning walk had become a week-day ritual for Caroline, at least, in the warmer months of the year. She would rise with Kate and Flora, share the inevitable rush of preparing lunches and having breakfast, see them both off to work and school and then, after a quick tidy-up of the kitchen and with weather permitting, she would don her runners and head off down the driveway towards the street. Usually she had no set map in mind; directions were chosen spontaneously as were pace and duration, often depending upon factors such as her mood or the demands of the day ahead. Caroline enjoyed this haphazardness as it was in total contrast to the routine that would follow. Occasionally, out of necessity, she would head in a particular direction but generally her route was selected at random, corner by corner. As she walked in this state of solitary bliss, Caroline found she was able to clear her mind of any extraneous worries or stresses and focus on sorting out the hours to come.
With the departure of the carer and Celia requiring full-time attention, Caroline had been forced to rethink her options and was left with no choice other than to end her career as Head Teacher at Sulgrave Heath Independent School in order to look after her mother. Her retirement was a little earlier than planned but there was no other viable option as far as she could see so for almost six years Caroline had devoted a large portion of every day to providing her mother with comfort, care and companionship.
Despite her age, Celia had, for the most part, maintained her mobility, albeit at a much slower pace and with the aid of a walking stick which she reluctantly used while adamantly refusing to have anything to do with the walking frame that Caroline had once hired for her. Her mind had remained quite sharp when she needed it to be and other than an occasional cold, she had experienced very little in the way of physical illness, however, after the heart break of Alan's death as well as the added loss of her carer and close friend, Mary, it was her spirit that had become frail and battle-weary as any enthusiasm for life steadily seeped out of her like the air from a tired balloon. Caroline was constantly confronted with the challenge of keeping her mother motivated enough to face each day. Eventually, only days away from her ninetieth birthday, Celia had passed away in her sleep as her grief-ravaged heart finally sank to rest.
Although it wasn't something that Caroline was totally unprepared for, the reality of it hit her hard and left her inconsolable for days. Regardless of the differences they had had over the years which, on one or two occasions, were serious enough to put the continuation of the relationship in total jeopardy, when tragedy had struck at various stages throughout their lives these differences were promptly put aside and each had been the other one's rock.
At Celia's passing, Caroline had experienced the expected deep sadness but also, hidden below the grief and sorrow, a huge wave of relief had washed over her for although she was always willingly there for her mother in whatever capacity was needed, Caroline recognised that Celia had been unbearably lonely and that every hour of every day her mother's heart ached for the want of Alan. Caroline knew that she too would tumble down that same well of loneliness if anything was to ever happen to Kate, no matter who was on hand to console her. Now her mother's pain was gone in the only manner it could go.
During the months to come the ache did ease for Caroline but just when all seemed quite settled, out of the blue, there would arrive that hot prickle behind her eyes as unsummoned tears welled up and began to flow, triggered by a chance thought, a memory or sometimes just a word and at other times by nothing more than a sudden longing. These tears and the accompanying tightening in her chest often took Caroline by surprise and left her wondering whether it was ever truly possible to get over the loss of a loved one.
Desperate to be of solace but aware that the only relief for such anguish was time, Kate waited patiently for its passing and in the meantime had to be satisfied with providing her wife with much-needed strength and support. Gillian, too, had been there in support, trying to put a positive outlook on things by suggesting that at least now Celia would be happy because she would be reunited with Alan but Caroline didn't have much time for spirits or souls or the after-life. She was more of the belief that once you were dead that was the end of it; you eventually became part of the earth you were buried in.
Caroline had often maintained that rising early and walking when she had been too agitated to sleep had helped her through her period of mourning and any other subsequent problems or distractions that had since arisen in her life so she had kept up the habit whenever possible and, following her own retirement from teaching quite a number of years ago now, Kate would often join her until the weather became chilly and the arthritis in her hips made her body too stiff and sore to walk any distance or at a reasonable pace. The arthritis was a result of the injuries she had received from her accident 25 years ago or so the doctors explained and, although any pain was usually kept under control, exposing herself to the harsh, Yorkshire cold was not advised.
This particular morning, however, was a glorious one with a picture-perfect blue sky fully exposing a bright, warm summer sun that, even at this early hour, made the vibrant colours of the flowers in the various garden beds they passed pop out at them from amidst the foliage and well-manicured lawn like thousands of brilliantly-coloured baubles afloat on a verdant sea with the occasional breeze swaying them in gentle waves.
As the two women reached a junction in the path, they stopped for a moment and, after a brief discussion, diverted off the main circuit and wandered along the lesser path down to a small pond where they stepped out of the shade and stood peaceably in a scrap of sunlight watching the amusing antics of the local wildlife.
When they first reached the pond, word spread rapidly amongst the feathered friends and it seemed every duck, goose and other miscellaneous fowl in the park either waddled, waded or winged its way towards them in the hope of being tossed morsels of food. However, when they realised, with great disappointment, that none was forthcoming, they gradually turned their attention elsewhere, many of them voicing their displeasure and contempt loudly as they marched off in undisguised disgust.
Now, as the women watched on, the ducks resumed their business as usual which consisted mostly of an unhurried paddle across the pond often followed by a line of curious ducklings, eager to experience the world around them but not yet daring to venture far from their parents. At regular intervals necks would bob below the surface to see what they could forage for themselves while elsewhere on the muddy edge others tucked themselves up in their own patch of sun.
Kate glanced at her watch.
"We should start heading back…. If we hurry we'll have just enough time for breakfast before Flora arrives.
Despite the quiet start to the day, things were about to become increasingly hectic for it wasn't any ordinary Saturday….today was Flora's wedding day.
Caroline clasped Kate's hand in her own, noting as she often did, the sense of pride and satisfaction it gave her to have this wonderful woman by her side – a feeling that had refused to fade over the years, on the contrary, it had continued to grow. Together they made their way towards the main track and the path home.
oooOooo
Over a breakfast of toast and tea, Kate and Caroline ran through the logistics of the morning ahead, assigning the jobs they needed to do before the wedding. The ceremony was to be held in the picturesque setting of the Valley Gardens and Flora and Sam, the happy couple, had taken on its organisation. A contingency plan had been prepared in the event of rain but, fortunately, it appeared as though it wouldn't be necessary.
Caroline and Kate had offered to hold the reception at their house and even though they had decided to pay to have it fully catered so they could relax and make the most of the event, there was still some preparation they needed to do, including clearing space for the caterers and putting any breakable objects around the house out of reach of Emily-Jane's two and four year old for there was no telling what mischief they would get into.
Last time they had visited, four year old Leah and her younger brother had disappeared unnoticed out into Caroline's garden where they were found sometime later having taken to eating the flower heads off most of her dahlias and were subsequently complaining of feeling sick. They had rushed both children up to the hospital only to be told, for all their panic, that dahlias were not harmful and the children were probably feeling ill due to the sheer quantity they had consumed. They were advised that the most effective treatment was to simply let it all pass through their system naturally. Caroline, however, had taken particular umbrage to the way the matter had been treated so flippantly, in her opinion, and the implied accusation that went with the doctor's advice that the children had possibly been neglected in being allowed to eat the flowers in the first place. She was sure she had even spied one or two of the nurses having a bit of a laugh at their expense but Emily-Jane and Kate assured her that she was being far too sensitive and with no real harm being done, other than to Caroline's garden, it actually was quite funny. With Caroline calmed and discouraged from making any formal complaint, the two children had been unceremoniously packed back in the car and taken home to allow nature to take its course.
Just as there was a lull in the conversation, Kate and Caroline heard the closing of the front door and the tell-tale echo of footsteps in the foyer which were soon followed by the appearance of their daughter, smiling-faced and bright eyed, as she joined them in the kitchen.
"Hello, sweetheart," Kate offered as Flora gave her mother a warm hug and a quick peck on the cheek. "To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?"
Flora's mouth dropped open in stunned surprise. How could they have forgotten that today was her wedding day and her plan to get ready here at the house?
It was only as she went to speak and remind them of the day's significance that she noticed the mischievous grin on both faces and realised she was being teased. When would she learn?
"Sorry, love," Caroline apologised and, with her best impression of contrite, she reached out and drew her daughter into a loving embrace. "Sometimes we just can't resist…..How are you feeling? Nervous?"
"No….well, maybe a little," Flora had to confess.
"What about Sam?" Kate asked.
"No….I don't think so, although I did get this 'sweet' text message reminding me that in a little over three hours' time we'll be 'shackled together forever', to use Sam's exact words…..the last of the great romantics ….I think we're both more excited than nervous to be honest."
For years Flora's undeniable talent for playing the piano which shone from a young age and with the benefit of Kate's tutelage and then, a little later, her skill at writing her own music and accompanying lyrics, had convinced her parents that that was her most likely career path. However, as she progressed through the latter years of secondary school, it became apparent that she had a definite aptitude and passion for science. At the end of school she applied for and was accepted into Oxford University, much to Caroline's delight, to study archaeology. It was a discipline, Flora felt, which conveniently combined her love of chemistry and biology with her curiosity into history and geography.
On completing her first year of study which covered a broad range of theory and practice as well as an overview of human history, she then went on to specialise in field archaeology and it was while she had been honing her skills on an excavation site in the south-east region of England that she met Sam who was two years older than her and working towards a Doctorate.
That had been almost three and a half years ago and, after a false start where they'd had a major disagreement over the age and origin of a recently unearthed artefact but were eventually both proven wrong, they discovered they had a lot in common and hit it off marvellously. They had been virtually inseparable ever since.
Flora had most recently become fascinated with the more specialised area of forensic archaeology which allowed her to be at the cutting edge of technology while applying many of the traditional research methods and her knowledge of the past to help solve what might otherwise remain unsolved crimes. She found this particular field of study intriguing and was convinced it was where her future lay whereas Sam was more than content to continue trekking across the countryside discovering and studying relics which helped clue together the many puzzles of the past.
"When are the caterers supposed to be arriving?" Flora inquired as she went through the last few items on her mental checklist of things that needed to be done before she could relax and enjoy her special day.
Caroline looked at the clock and was caught by surprise at the amount of time they had managed to while away over breakfast.
"Oh hell! They'll be here in just over an hour and we've things still to do before then."
With that realisation, Caroline sprang in action, collecting up the used plates and mugs and rinsing them before placing them in the dishwasher and starting the cycle.
"Mum, do you mind if I put my outfit and things in your bedroom," Flora asked Kate, both of them watching on with amused awe at the whirling dervish that was Caroline as she launched an all-out assault on the kitchen in preparation for the caterers, "and then I'll come and help you if you like?"
oooOooo
It was as though the day had been specially woven for them with every thread, from the sapphire-blue of the sky with its few long stitches of wispy white to the variegated purples, yellows and reds for the gardens and the hatching of various shades of green for the leaves of the trees, all carefully chosen to create the intricate and perfect scene for the wedding of Flora and Sam.
The riff of excited chatter and laughter from amongst the guests had quietened down to an expectant buzz as the large knot of invited friends and family drew themselves in tighter when it became clear that the event that they had all come to see was about to commence.
Kate and Caroline stood front and centre in the crowd, their hands joined, their eyes watery with the mandatory tears of proud parents about to witness the marriage of their daughter, their smiles so broad that the corners of their mouths were within an unimportant distance from their ears. They were flanked on one side by Lawrence, Lily and their twins, Sarah and Oliver, as well as Emily-Jane and her two offspring who she was now raising single-handedly after the death of her partner in a farming accident. William had been unable to make it as he had already committed to appearing as keynote speaker at a conference in New York but he had phoned and sent his best wishes. On the other side were Sam's parents and younger sister.
A further hush fell as the celebrant's voice rang out, welcoming everyone on Flora and Sam's behalf and then cueing Flora with a subtle nod of her head to begin her vows. Flora turned to face Sam, her soft, brown eyes capturing those of her partner. Her voice was low and slightly tremulous as the emotion of the day suddenly caught up with her.
"I solemnly declare that I know not of any lawful impediment why I, Flora Grace McKenzie-Dawson may not be joined in matrimony to you, Samantha Louise Taylor."
The celebrant then gave Sam her prompt.
"I solemnly declare that I know not of any lawful impediment why I, Samantha Louise Taylor, may not be joined in matrimony to you, Flora Grace McKenzie-Dawson."
Caroline brushed the back of her free hand at the tears she could no longer hold back. Kate gave the hand she was holding a firm squeeze and stroked it with her thumb affectionately.
"I call upon these persons present to witness that I, Flora Grace McKenzie-Dawson, do take you, Samantha Louise Taylor, to be my lawfully-wedded wife…."
As Kate peered proudly at her daughter swathed in her wedding dress of white chiffon which hugged her slim frame until it pooled at the ground in silky ripples, elegant in its simplicity, she too felt the escape of a stray tear. Thoughts filled her mind of the number of times she had tried for a child and failed; how she had almost given up hope and then put her relationship with Caroline on the line in one final effort which, to her amazement and elation, had proven successful and then to have come within a whisker of losing her in a freak accident.
Apart from one or two short-lived phases in her early teens when Kate and Caroline would have quite cheerfully traded her in for a puppy or a goldfish, Kate considered she had been paid back a hundred fold for her persistence as her daughter was an absolute delight, a reward she sometimes marvelled at being worthy of. Despite their apprehension at having a child so late in life, Flora's arrival and subsequent years had filled their home and hearts with enormous amounts of love and happiness. Then she had introduced her partner, Sam, into their lives and they rapidly learned to love her almost as a second daughter.
Sam's laid-back, calm demeanour was the perfect counterbalance to Flora's tendency to be intense and quite serious at times and she was more than an intellectual match for the scholarly Flora. With her naturally positive disposition and easy manner, Sam had effortlessly slotted into their family but, most importantly, both Caroline and Kate had recognised the wonderful alchemy between the two women and the sheer happiness that loving Sam had brought their daughter so they had welcomed her with open arms.
The voice of the celebrant penetrated Kate's thoughts.
"Flora and Sam have given their consent and made their marriage vows to each other. They've declared their marriage by the joining of hands and the giving and receiving of rings. I now pronounce you spouses for life….Congratulations."
As the two women kissed for the first time officially as spouses, a rousing round of applause went up as well as some boisterous cheering.
Following the obligatory photo shoot with family members, Kate and Caroline quickly exited in order to make it home in time to greet arriving guests.
oooOooo
Standing on the top step to the kitchen, overlooking the room where the guests milled, helping themselves to food and drink, Lawrence tapped a silver spoon tentatively against the side of his wine glass in the accepted manner in order to capture everyone's attention and propose a toast.
When Flora had first been born and entered his life he had to admit, in hindsight, to being very unaccepting of her, confused even, as to the purpose of her other than to make his life miserable with what seemed like interminable crying and a constant demand to be fed or changed. The whole situation of his mother marrying again and marrying a woman with a baby no less, had disgruntled him to the point where he had decided he would be better off living with his father which, if he was being honest, hadn't proved to be the walk in the park he had envisaged it would be.
However, with patient guidance and enlightenment from his girlfriend at the time, Lily, he had been able to slowly peel back his prejudices and the petty teenage jealousy of having a younger and undeniably adorable sibling as a rival for attention and eventually grew to accept her as family…as his sister. Before long, he found himself as much enamoured with her as Kate and his mother. Seeing his mother so content and, as maturity brought him sense and understanding, he couldn't fault Kate so he also found a place in his heart for her.
Experiencing the emotional roller coaster of love himself was like giving sight to the blind. Suddenly he was able to see and recognise the fact that you didn't choose the person you fell in love with or how hard you fell. It was simply something that happened regardless of any amount of logic and reasoning to the contrary and Lawrence had fallen hard for Lily. To this day, he described her as his first and only true love.
After almost two blissful years together, Lily had surprised Lawrence by announcing that she was planning to travel abroad for at least a year and it was probably best that they go their separate ways. It was a bitter blow and he would have given anything not to experience the pain she caused his besotted heart but try as he might, he couldn't shake his feelings for her.
In the time Lily was away they had kept in touch intermittently via the occasional email and the inevitable social media, each new contact stoking the fire of his affections but, with no other choice, he had reluctantly agreed when Lily suggested he should make an effort to see other people. Over the ensuing months he had gone through the motions of dating a number of other women but all it achieved was to affirm to him that his affections were firmly fastened to Lily.
On her eventual return, Lily had tentatively agreed to meet up again with Lawrence but strictly as friends, however, it soon became obvious to both of them, as emotions that had been suppressed flared up again, that they were destined to be together.
Lawrence remembered at the time harking back to when his mother had tried, with a great deal of difficulty and limited success, to explain to him, a churlish teenager, why Kate was the one person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. On reuniting with Lily, Lawrence had immediately and for the first time, fully appreciated what it was his mother had been saying. He also realised that there were no actual words to express that sense of inevitability and that as surely as day follows night, you had to be with that one person.
In no doubt that Lily was the only person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, he had proposed and she had accepted. Just over a month later they had married in the local Register Office, much to the disappointment of Lily's father, Sandon, who had always looked forward to organising a huge, ostentatious affair for his only daughter's wedding but he had been forced to concede that the most important factor was that his daughter was happy. Lily and Lawrence's twins were conceived virtually on their wedding night.
Lawrence cleared his throat loudly and called out above the noisy hum of conversation, "If I could have everyone's attention…."
He waited for silence to fall over the room. When all eyes were upon him he smiled towards the newlyweds and raised his glass.
"I would like to take this opportunity to wish my fabulous sister, Flora, and her equally fabulous partner…wife…. Sam, all the happiness in the world and a wonderful future together…..To Flora and Sam."
The sentiment echoed around the room as the guests also raised their glasses and their voices in the toast.
"To Flora and Sam."
His actions and words earned him an appreciative hug from his sister and sister-in-law as well as his mother and Kate.
Despite having the reception fully-catered with the intention of leaving the worry and organisation to others, Caroline couldn't resist sticking her nose into the kitchen every now and again to assure herself that everything was under control and being taken care of.
It was as she was popping in on one of these visits that she spied a male figure making his way very unsteadily towards her study. At first, she hadn't a clue who it was, however, the stagger had a naggingly familiar sway about it.
"Oh, surely not!" she muttered, "not today!"
She dashed down the hallway after him and, as she suspected, found the unwelcome figure of her ex-husband, John, sprawled in her office chair. From his shabby appearance, the glazed look in his red-rimmed, rheumy eyes and the distinct reek of alcohol from his body, Caroline could only assume that, even though it was only early afternoon, John had been on a bit of a bender. Nothing ever changed with John.
A clearly-irritated Caroline leaned against the door jamb, her arms folded across her chest and a patent scowl on her face as she looked on in annoyance at the pathetic figure before her. His timing, as always, was impeccable.
John struggled for several seconds to bring the blurred image into some sort of focus and then greeted her with an overly-jovial, "Caroline."
"John," she snapped back coldly. "What are you doing here?"
Sensing the chill in the air, he reined in his cheeriness and asked politely, "Have I come at a bad time?"
"How many times have we told you not to just turn up like this? You need to leave."
"It looks like you're having a party…Couldn't I stay for a while? I promise I'll be on my best behaviour," he pleaded, disregarding Caroline's obvious anger at his presence as only John could.
Then, in desperation, he played the 'father' card.
"I thought I saw Lawrence and Lily and the twins out there…..Couldn't I just say 'hello' and then leave?'
Unfortunately for John, Lawrence and his family had very little to do with him these days. John had caused them angst on any number of occasions over the years but their patience with him had finally run out when he carelessly torched their new car several months ago. Caroline knew this and so promptly ignored his plea.
"It's Flora and Samantha's wedding reception and you're not going to spoil it. You're going to leave…now!"
"More bloody lesbians," he muttered under his breath.
"Pardon!" Caroline challenged him, catching the gist of what was said rather than the actual words.
"Nothing…nothing," he mumbled before continuing more audibly, "Listen, you've got to let me stay. I need company. Gemma's left me…for good this time…for another woman. What is it about me that turns women into lesbians?"
Caroline couldn't contain her smirk as she bit back on the many caustic barbs she could have fired his way.
"You don't just turn a woman into a lesbian, John, so don't flatter yourself….it's not all about you."
"Are you sure because that's three…four, counting you….women that I've been with who are now dy…lesbians?"
"You've probably dated more than a hundred woman over the years, John. Odds are some of them are going to realise they're lesbians although I'm sure you helped them decide. You need to grow up….you're too old for this nonsense."
"Old? I'm not old!"
"You're 71!"
"What's your point?" he asked petulantly, his words beginning to slur.
Caroline let out an exasperated puff of air from her cheeks.
"My point is you really need to leave."
"No, what I need is a drink. What do you have out there?"
John attempted to rise from the chair in order to get himself a drink but a fast-moving Caroline blocked his path and a firm shove saw him land back in the chair.
"Stay here," she instructed, "I'm going to call you a taxi."
"Make up your mind….first you want me to leave, now you want me to stay….stupid cow."
"I'm going to call you a taxi and then you're going to leave," she explained impatiently, not rising to the insult.
"Is Gillian here?" he asked, once again attempting to stand and once again finding himself forced back into the seat.
"If you so much as make a move from that chair before the taxi arrives I will break both your kneecaps and then call the police and have you arrested for trespassing. Do you understand?"
The words were spoken with such vehemence so as to leave John in no doubt that she meant every one of them.
His reply was muttered and probably an insult but Caroline wasn't really interested as she busied herself calling a taxi and hoping it wouldn't take too long to arrive.
"Ah! There you are," came the voice of Kate from the doorway. "I wondered where you'd gone to. What are you do…"
Her question trailed off as she caught sight of John in all his crumpled glory slumped in the chair.
"What's he doing here?" she asked less amicably.
"He was looking for a shoulder to cry on but there's none here so he's about to leave just as soon as the taxi arrives," Caroline said, her irritation with her errant ex quite plain.
"Is he alright? He smells…seems very drunk."
"He'll be fine, won't you, John?"
"I won't be fine…..I…. feel….. awful…The room won't stop spinning."
With those words, John doubled over as if he was about to retch.
Kate immediately reached for the wastepaper basket which she stuck beside him for his use but, thankfully, nothing came of all his dramatics.
"I think I might have had too much to drink."
"No shit, Sherlock…..Now stand up."
"I am standing up….aren't I?"
Caroline could do nothing but roll her eyes, appalled at the inebriated state of the man and the fact that she had once seen fit to marry him even if it was another lifetime ago."
"Kate, can you help me walk him to the front steps. He can wait there. The taxi should be here any minute."
With Kate on one side and Caroline on the other, each with a hand on an elbow and another under his arm, they heaved John's flaccid body to its feet and guided him as inconspicuously as was possible and none-too-carefully to the entrance. There they propped him against the wall like a redundant piece of furniture while Caroline opened the door.
"I've made such a mess of things, haven't I…my whole life," John bemoaned as Kate struggled to prevent him from tipping over.
"Yes, you have. Now try and stand up and move towards the door." Caroline's quota of sympathy for him had long since run out.
Together Kate and Caroline manoeuvred him onto the front steps. Fortunately, as Caroline had predicted, it was only one or two minutes before the taxi arrived and they were finally rid of their uninvited guest.
Dusting off their hands in the sign of a job completed, the two women went back inside and re-joined the celebrations.
In dribs and drabs throughout the afternoon, family and friends gradually departed, thanking Kate and Caroline for their hospitality and once again wishing Flora and Sam all the best for the future, as they did. By late afternoon the house had resettled to its usual peacefulness with only Kate and Caroline and Flora and Sam to occupy it.
While Sam went upstairs to finish some last minute packing and Kate was napping on the sofa, Caroline and Flora sat chatting in the kitchen.
"Would you like a cup of tea before you leave?" Caroline asked as she set the jug to boil and located the teapot and mugs. "Oh. We're all out of milk."
"I'll drive down and buy some, if you like. It won't take long," Flora offered.
"Only if you want to otherwise I'll buy some later. You can take the new Jeep."
Flora lifted the keys off the hook and with an "I'll be back shortly" headed out of the kitchen bumping headlong into Kate on her way to the front door.
"Where are you off to at such a furious pace?" Kate asked.
"Mum's making a pot of tea and we're out of milk …I was going to make a run to the shop."
"There's condensed milk in the pantry. That will do for now, won't it? Stay."
Kate wrapped her arms loosely around her daughter and gave her a brief kiss on the cheek before they both headed back into the kitchen to join Caroline for that cup of tea.
As Flora stashed the last of their luggage in boot of the hire car, there was a final round of hugs and the holding off of tears before they too were on their way.
Caroline and Kate stalled on the bottom step to give them a last wave and to watch as the car reversed down the driveway.
As it turned out onto the street, Kate said, "The house is going to feel very large and empty now with everyone more or less gone."
Caroline closed her eyes for a moment, picturing the house over her life time. There had rarely been a time when it hadn't echoed with the sound of at least one or two offspring of various ages – babies, adolescents, teenagers, grandchildren. Now there was only Kate and herself left to rattle around within its walls.
"They'll soon return, sweeping in like the inevitable tide and then steadily drifting off again."
"That's very eloquent of you," Kate smiled.
Being a balmy summer evening, a rare occurrence in this part of England, the two women lingered on the step a while longer, soaking in the warmth. Caroline moved in closer and put a proprietary arm around her wife.
"What are we going to do with ourselves in the meantime?" Kate asked.
"Oh, I don't know," Caroline replied, letting her arm drop and holding Kate's hand instead as they turned to head inside. "Do you fancy a fortnight in the Bananas?"
oooOooo
Epilogue
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long," Kate whispered into Caroline's ear as their lips finally parted and their tight embrace loosened just a fraction.
"It's fine," Caroline whispered back, her voice husky with emotion. "You know I'd never expect you to leave before your time."
"Yes, I do know that." Kate choked back the tears brought on by memories of the utter sadness she'd so recently left behind and the sheer joy that she was now experiencing. "I've missed you so much. I thought about you every single day….every single hour. Some days, even though I knew you were gone, I would talk to you…I even imagined, at times, that I could feel your presence…..see you. I was convinced I was going mad with grief."
Caroline drew her in close again, smiled knowingly but said nothing as she reacquainted herself with her wife's soft lips…warm mouth…enticing tongue.
Reluctantly Kate eventually pulled away ever so slightly and gave Caroline a puzzled frown as a thought suddenly struck her.
"If I'm here and you're here, does that mean that everyone else is here too? My mum? Celia? Alan?"
Caroline nodded distractedly, more interested in the woman who was before her than anyone else.
"Gillian? John?" Kate continued more dubiously.
"Gillian's around but I have to admit that I haven't laid eyes on John in the …..How long have I been here?"
"Three years and two months."
"Really? That long? Time doesn't mean much here."
"You don't think John has gone to…..elsewhere, do you?"
"Well, if my mother made it here I tend to think John did too….he was a self-centred jerk but essentially harmless…he's probably in a very big jar somewhere with the label 'Pickled' on it," Caroline laughed.
A bold grin crept across Kate's face.
"So this quite soundly disproves your long-held theory that when we are buried we simply rot into the soil, wouldn't you agree?"
Caroline's blue gaze travelled over Kate's lovely face that she cupped tenderly in her hands.
"It would seem that way," Caroline admitted as their mouths moved close enough that each could feel the smile form on the other's lips. "Apparently and most wonderfully, it appears that there actually is a Forever and I am incredibly fortunate in that I get to spend it with you."
oooOooo
A/N: And so ends another story, my last. I can't see me writing any more LTiH fanfiction although, if I've learned anything in life it's never say never. However, at this stage it is not my intention to begin another LTiH story so I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my readers and particularly those of you who have written such kind and generous words of encouragement. It has been a most exciting and humbling experience to know that there are people out there from all over the world who read and enjoy my stories. Thank you so very much.
The original intent of this story was to ease some of my own pain and hopefully that of others following the devastating events of series 3. I feel I have succeeded to some degree but my heart still aches at the loss of such a wonderful couple who could have potentially done so much to lessen the prejudice lesbian couples face. Although I don't think I will ever be able to forgive Sally Wainwright for what she did to Kate and Caroline, I have to say that I will be eternally grateful to the woman for inspiring me to pick up my pencil and discover the joy and satisfaction of writing. Cheers!