They had decided to make the trip into a Christmas-shopping expedition and had chosen a hotel near to the apartment that Emma shared with her boyfriend, Martin.
‘I can’t wait to see Uncle Fartin,’ said Lily, finishing her doughnut and wiping her mouth on her sleeve.
‘Napkin, Lily?’ said Rachel with a certain amount of exasperation.
‘No, thanks, I’m fine,’ said Lily.
Rachel shook her head and finished her coffee. ‘I’m just going to nip to the loo,’ she said. ‘Do you want to go, Lils?’ Lily shook her head. ‘Are you sure? Because I don’t want to come back and then have to take you. It might be better if you tried now.’
Lily held up her hand like a barrier to her mother’s words. ‘Chill, Mum. I’ll stay with Granny. You go.’
‘All right,’ said Rachel. When she returned five minutes later, her mother was sitting at the table, wearing her reading glasses and frowning at her mobile phone. ‘Mum,’ said Rachel, trying not to sound panicked. ‘Where’s Lily?’
Diana peered up at her daughter and then looked at the empty space next to her. ‘Oh, she went to look at that Christmas tree,’ she said, pointing towards a small spiky artificial tree covered in purple and gold baubles. Lily was nowhere to be seen.
‘Well, she’s not there now!’
‘She can’t have gone far,’ said Diana in a tone that came across as less reassuring and more accusing. Rachel rushed to the top of the stairs and scanned the floor below. Suddenly she spotted Lily standing in front of an altogether bigger and more impressive-looking Christmas tree with flashing snowflake lights and a small train chugging round a track beneath its base.
‘Lily, you can’t run off like that!’ Rachel said, appearing at her daughter’s side, out of breath and patience.
Lily glanced up at her mother and then fixed her eyes back on the tree. ‘I told Granny I was going to look at the tree but she was too busy texting to hear me probably. I love Christmas,’ she sighed.
So once again, Rachel was rushing up and down at another international airport, searching for her daughter, who could not stand still for more than five seconds. She was starting to panic when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to face a tall man with a pleasing air of Denzel Washington wearing an airport security uniform, a gun over his shoulder and an amused expression. He was leading Lily by the hand.
‘Excuse me, ma’am. I think this young lady belongs to you,’ he said with a smile.
‘Oh, thank you so much,’ gushed Rachel. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘It’s quite all right, ma’am.’ He turned to Lily. ‘Now remember, Lily, riding the carousel looks like a lot of fun but it could be dangerous so don’t try it, okay, sweetie?’
‘Okay, Nathan. I promise. Thanks for rescuing me,’ said Lily with a breathy sigh.
Nathan nodded at them both. ‘Now you take care,’ he said, tapping his cap before he carried on his way.
‘He was lovely,’ declared Lily as they made their way back to Diana. They collected their bags and walked through the exit gate. A sea of faces, smiling and full of expectation, looked back at them. Rachel scanned the crowd and immediately spotted Martin. He was wearing a chauffeur’s hat and trying to look serious. He was also holding up a sign that said, ‘Miss Lily Summers’. Lily spotted him too and raced over.
Martin swallowed a smile and said in a terrible American accent, ‘Can I help you, ma’am?’
Lily jumped up and down like a frog in a bucket. ‘I’m Lily Summers. I’m Lily Summers. I’m Lily Summers!’ she cried.
Martin peered at her. ‘But the Lily Summers I’m looking for is a little girl, not a grown-up young lady.’ His face broke into a smile. ‘Hey, Lils, and guess what? I’ve got a surprise for you.’
He stood back to reveal Emma hiding behind him. Lily leapt into her arms. ‘I’ve missed you so much, Auntie Em,’ she cried. Emma had to brush the tears from her eyes.
Rachel appeared alongside them. ‘Oh, for God’s sake, Emma, this isn’t a Richard Curtis film. Stop weeping and give us a hug!’ She laughed, reaching for her sister.
‘I just can’t believe you’re all here!’ cried Emma, squeezing her sister with delight. ‘Hello, Mum,’ she added, putting down her niece and pulling her mother into an embrace.
Diana patted her on the back before letting go. ‘Is all this hugging something you’ve learnt since you arrived here?’ she asked with disdain. ‘Now, shall we go? It’s been a very long day and I could really do with a proper cup of tea. Although I don’t suppose I’ll be able to find one while I’m here.’ She reached up to kiss Martin on the cheek. He smiled and took control of the trolley, sitting Lily on the top like a queen.
‘I love you, Uncle Fartin,’ declared Lily.
Rachel and Emma exchanged glances before linking arms and following the procession out of the terminal building. ‘Welcome to New York City,’ said Emma with a grin.
‘Lily, can you stop ordering things from room service, please?’ said Rachel, carrying another pile of towels into the bathroom where her daughter was having her third bath in less than twenty-four hours.
‘I love hotels,’ murmured Lily, lifting up a handful of bubbles and spreading them over her chin so that she looked like a miniature female Father Christmas. ‘When I’m older, I’m going to earn enough money so that I can just live in a hotel,’ she declared, blowing a handful of foam at her mother.
‘Can I come and live with you?’ asked Rachel with a smile.
‘I don’t think so,’ said Lily.
‘Don’t beat around the bush, Lils.’
‘I expect Will or Alfie will look after you,’ she said in an almost consoling way.
‘I live in hope,’ muttered Rachel, walking back into the bedroom. ‘Don’t be too long. We need to go and meet Granny for breakfast in a bit.’
‘’Kay,’ said Lily before sinking back into the water and breaking into a tuneless but enthusiastic rendition of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Rachel picked up her tea mug and took a large sip. She got the feeling she would be needing a few caffeine hits today after a night sharing a bed with her extremely kicky daughter, who also liked to sleep in a starfish position leaving approximately two feet of space for her mother. She peered at herself in the mirror, ignoring the dark shadows under her eyes. She pulled at her forehead to iron out the wrinkles before coaxing her fringe down to hide the most prominent lines. She scrunched at her hair in an attempt to give it more volume and scrutinised her roots. ‘The Darcy women never go grey,’ her mother had observed one day as if allowing this to happen might show a weakness of character. Rachel was glad; it was one less thing to worry about in the ageing process. She stood up straight, sucked in her stomach and pulled back her shoulders. There were saggy bits, it was true, but she was slimmer and fitter these days. Not bad for a woman approaching the big 4-0, she decided.
She picked up her phone and saw a text from Steve obviously sent before he went to bed.
‘Alf missing you. I’m missing you. Will missing the iPad.’ Rachel smiled. There had been a boys-versus-girls tussle over whether the family iPad would go to New York. New York and the girls had won. Rachel would have liked to phone the boys but she knew even her usually tolerant husband wouldn’t appreciate a call at three-thirty in the morning. She missed them too, she realised. In a way she wished that they’d all been able