“What? Why?” Alarmed, Caitlin followed her into the bedroom, watching as Liza pulled out an overnight bag and started throwing in some clothes. “What are you doing? Where are you going?”
“Away.” Liza swept her toiletries out of the bathroom and into the bag without bothering to filter them.
Alice appeared in the doorway. “What’s going on?”
“Mum’s going away.”
“Right now? You never said anything. Is Dad going too?”
“No.” Liza stuffed a pair of shoes into her bag. “Dad is at a work event. And someone has to stay with you.”
“But where are you going? You never go away without Dad.”
Another thing that had to change.
Liza grabbed her keys and money. “I’m driving to Oakwood tonight.”
“Why?” Alice frowned. “Granny isn’t even there.”
“I know. Granny is probably drinking cocktails on a rooftop bar in Chicago, because she’s sensible and knows how to enjoy life.” I’m a novice at that, Liza thought, but I’m going to learn. “I’m going to check on Popeye and have some time for myself.”
She could see the girls looking at each other, trying to figure out how serious this was. For once their mother seemed to be following her own agenda, and that was so alien to them they had no idea how to handle it.
“Does Dad know you’re going?”
“I’m going to write him a note right now.” She snatched a pen from her bag and found a scrap of paper.
Sean, I’ve decided to go to Oakwood. I want to check on the house, the cat, and spend some time there. She almost scribbled, keep an eye on the girls, but then remembered she was going to stop organizing other people’s lives. Let him decide whether he needed to keep an eye on them, or not. Should she wish him Happy Anniversary? No, that would be petty, and he might think this was all about the fact he’d forgotten when it went so much deeper than that. Instead she signed off Love Liza x.
She left the note on the pillow, proud that she hadn’t given way to her inner toddler who was ready to yell, You forgot our anniversary.
Caitlin looked alarmed. “But what are we supposed to do?”
“Do about what?” Liza transferred her purse, phone and car keys to a bag that didn’t remind her of work. Did she have everything she needed? Probably not, but the most important thing was to leave before she changed her mind. Her sense of responsibility was already tapping on the edges of her conscience. Hello, remember me?
Liza ignored the tapping. Just because someone knocked on the door, didn’t mean you had to open it.
“We have lots going on this week,” Caitlin said. “Summer activities. You always drive us. What about lunches?”
“Figure it out. Think of it as another summer activity, only instead of learning tennis, or drama, you’ll be learning self-sufficiency.” Liza grabbed the books she’d been saving for France and tucked them into her bag.
“But the difference is that tennis and drama are, like, fun.”
“Life can’t always be fun. There’s a lesson right there. A good life is a balance between doing what you have to do and what you want to do. I’m sure you’re both going to rise to the challenge.” And so was she. She was going to take a close look at the balance in her own life.
“But if you’re not cooking and we can’t order pizza, what do we eat tonight?”
“That’s up to you.” For the first time she was giving them neither the menu, nor the ingredients. “Be creative.”
“We’ll probably die of malnutrition.” Caitlin, the drama queen.
“I doubt that.” Liza carried her bag to the door. Was this too extreme? Was she overreacting? By leaving them to cope alone would she simply increase her workload when she returned?
“But when will you be back?” Alice added her voice to her sister’s. “There’s always so much to do before our holiday.”
Liza paused in the doorway. “And I’m the one who does all of it. Right now, I’m not sure I have the energy.”
Ignoring Alice’s shocked expression, she headed down the stairs and opened the front door. The car sat in the drive like a friend, waiting to whisk her away. On impulse she opened the garage, pulled out a large box and loaded it into the car.
Alice and Caitlin hovered on the doorstep.
“You said you didn’t trust us after what happened last time.”
They didn’t want her to leave, but Liza knew that right now that had less to do with affection and more to do with the fact that she was inconveniencing them.
“You think I’m controlling, and you want me to leave you alone so that’s what I’m doing. Consider this to be an advanced course in Looking After Yourself. I expect you to graduate with top marks.”
“But—” Alice looked alarmed. “You’ll be back for France, right?”
Would she?
Liza slung her bag into the car and slid into the driver’s seat, feeling liberated. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she had only herself to think about.
She turned off her phone.
“Wait!” Caitlin hammered on her window. “You didn’t answer the question about France.”
Because she didn’t have the answer. All she knew for sure was that she needed to get away. She needed to do something for herself. And so far that felt good.
Liza opened the window a crack. “Behave yourselves.”
With a quick wave to the girls, she reversed out of the drive.
Next stop Oakwood Cottage.
Her mother wasn’t the only one going on a road trip. Hers might not be considered glamorous by comparison, but right now it felt like the biggest adventure of her life.
Happy Anniversary, Liza.
9
KATHLEEN
CHICAGO~PONTIAC
At the same time Liza was leaving on her road trip, Kathleen and Martha were leaving on theirs.
Kathleen was unsure whether to attribute the throbbing in her head to her rather reckless ingestion of alcohol or the six-hour time difference. Either way she was secretly relieved to be leaving Chicago behind after two nights. It was all so large and loud and contributed to an excess of stimulation which did nothing to ease her headache.
Martha had spent the free day sightseeing while Kathleen had stayed in the hotel and enjoyed the city from the relative peace of her balcony, her comfort enhanced by the delightful young man who brought her room service order.