“Catherine, you came! How wonderful. Please come in… Wait! What’s happened to you? Are you alright?”
“Yes, yes. It’s nothing.” I pointed to my bruises. “I fell off a horse!” I joked. “Edward, it is so good to see you again.”
“And you my dear. Please, please, come right in.”
As I walked down the hallway, my sense of smell was taken on a joyride. The house was warm and smelt so sweet. There were fresh flowers everywhere in the house. We walked past a few rooms — a formal lounge and dining room, and then on to a smaller casual living area.
“Please, sit down,” he told me, as he directed me to a chair.
“Thank you,” I replied with a smile.
Edward sat opposite me.
“Is Elizabeth here?”
“Um… Catherine. I am sorry. I didn’t want to tell you over the phone…”
“Tell me what?”
“My beautiful Elizabeth passed away a few days before you called.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry,” he said as he bent his head down.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Elizabeth was dead. It couldn’t be. To my side, I noticed a round table with a photo of Elizabeth and a small vase of flowers beside it.
“Edward, please forgive me for my reaction. I am so sorry for your loss. I… just really wanted to see her. I can’t believe this has happened. I don’t know what to say. I am so sorry. I don’t want to intrude. I should leave,” I mumbled.
“No… No Catherine, please… Elizabeth was speaking about you in the days before she passed, wishing she could see you, talk to you and see how you were holding up at your new job.”
“I have also been thinking about her. I only wish I had come sooner.”
I looked at the photo and stared into her eyes. They were deep and soothing.
“She is so beautiful,” I said admiringly.
“That she is. I am a very lucky man to have had her in my life for so long. I never understood what she saw in me.”
“Edward, no! What’s not to love? You are a true gentleman.”
“Thank you. That is very kind of you to say.”
I sat back and took a deep breath in and out, still in disbelief that she was gone. My mission here seemed irrelevant now. I felt awful being here.
“Tea?”
“Pardon? Oh yes… thank you.”
You’ve got to love the English and their tea.
Edward left the room to make the tea. While he was gone, I studied everything around me. Ornaments, artwork, curtain fabric — everything was so interesting to me. A wedding photo caught my eye. Elizabeth was so beautiful. That was for sure.
“There we are.” Edward placed a silver tray on the table beside me. “How would you like your tea?”
“Black. Thank you.”
“Now, while you have your tea, would you like to see some photos of my darling Elizabeth?” Edward asked, with a sparkle in his eye.
“Yes please, that would be nice.”
From beside his chair on the floor, he picked up an album. It was obvious that he had been going through it over and over again. I took a sip of tea and placed it on the table. I took the album from him. He got up and sat on a chair close by me, longing to see the photos of his adored wife again, probably for the thousandth time. The first few pages were recent photos. I could tell they were taken in Sydney. Seeing the Opera House in the background made me think of home. As I turned the pages, the photos looked older and older, and the people in the photos were getting younger and younger. Edward explained that he and Elizabeth couldn’t have children and had accepted it as God’s will.
There were some black and white wedding photos and Edward could recall the day as if it were yesterday. He then went on to explain that Elizabeth was the only child of a wealthy couple. She had tragically lost her parents when she was very young. I continued to listen to every single word that came out of his mouth. I continued to turn the pages and stopped. A photo of the little girl in my dream was staring straight back at me. I was speechless. I touched the photo with my hand and tried to compose myself.
“Edward? Who is this little girl?” I asked.
“That little girl is my Elizabeth. I think she may have been about four or five I guess. It’s the only photo I have of her at such a young age, so many photos and memories were lost over the years,” he sighed. “Oh, yes, before I forget. I have something for you.” He left the room while I continued to look at the photo, thinking it was impossible.
Could Elizabeth have been dead when I saw her as a child in my dream? Was I dreaming?
My guessing was making it worse for me. I touched the photo and smiled. She was striking and I loved her somehow.
“My apologies. I am an old man now and everything I do takes forever!” he joked.
In his hand was a small package wrapped in brown paper, a straw ribbon tied around it, and a piece of folded paper tucked under the string. He handed it to me and sat down beside me.
“Catherine, just before she passed Elizabeth wanted you to have this.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders. “But it comes with instructions.”
He smiled.
“Everything about my wife came with instructions,” he joked. “Now… she asked me to tell you not to open it right away, somehow she sensed you might come back.”
“When do I open it then? I don’t understand?”
“Either do I, but she said you will know when.”
“Only when I need to then? Ok… I suppose I will wait…” I announced reluctantly.
“Edward, Elizabeth was a very lucky woman to have found you,” I said, as I reached up and kissed him on the cheek.“ I should go; I have a long trip ahead, and I can’t be late,” I said as I rose from my chair.
“Thank you for coming to see me. I feel that I have made Elizabeth happy by seeing you.”
I smiled and started to make my way to the front door. The taxi I had booked was parked out the front. I turned again to Edward, put my arms around him and held onto him tightly for a minute.
“Take care of yourself. I will try and visit you when I am in London again.”
“I look forward to it, Catherine.”
He nodded and smiled as he closed the door. The taxi driver had opened my door and was waiting for me. As I sat in the car, I had so much to think about and didn’t know where to start. I held on to the little package and wondered if I should open it. Going against my nature, I decided not to. I wasn’t sure what I was waiting for.
Maybe tonight when I am in James’s room beside him in bed, I will open it?
I was still having trouble coming to terms with the news that Elizabeth was gone. I’m certain it was her in my dream and she was the daughter of the couple that I am always dreaming of. But I still couldn’t work out why I was dreaming of them. My head started to hurt, I felt so empty at the thought of Elizabeth’s death I wish I could have come earlier. The journey back to the hospital seemed shorter. I closed my eyes and rested them for a good while.
When the hospital was in sight, I felt anxious, knowing that I was going to have to lie to Jules. As the taxi approached the front doors, I was horrified to see that she was standing there, looking around nervously. When she spotted me, she pulled out her mobile and started dialling. My face started to burn up.
I was busted, really busted.
She finished her conversation the same moment the taxi came to a halt. I opened the door with a sheepish smile.
“Catherine, Mr Barclay is very upset!”